Chapter 2

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"Ah!!!"

Chu Chen screamed, waking up from the endless darkness. Everything he saw in the darkness was too real.

The withered figure sitting in the darkness gave him an immense shock. It was Hongjun Daoist! The supreme being who was said to have opened the heavens and earth and transformed into the Heavenly Dao! Yet, he fell on that ancient immortal mountain!

"Brother Chu, you're awake!"

A surprised cry accompanied by a faint scent of a young girl's body rushed into his nostrils. As his consciousness returned, he saw a youthful and innocent face in front of him.

The girl sobbed, "I thought... I thought I would never see you again!"

"It's... It's fine. I just had a long dream." Chu Chen patted his head and, feeling a bit heartbroken, used his sleeve to wipe the tears from the girl's face. "Meng'er, you saved my life again. Over the years, you've saved me so many times. I'm so useless..."

The girl threw herself into Chu Chen's arms, hugging him tightly as if afraid he would disappear if she let go.

Chu Chen's nose suddenly felt a bit stuffy. This silly girl had done too much for him. He knew everything, actually.

She was a once-in-a-century cultivation genius, but to avoid being separated from him by entering the inner sect, she not only concealed her cultivation level but also deliberately slowed down her cultivation speed.

She thought he didn't know, but every time he thought about these things, he felt guilty for holding her back.

When they first entered the sect, she looked like a little beggar, dirty and sick, and no one cared for her. Only he didn't mind her dirt and took good care of her.

He never expected that this simple little girl would decide to follow him for life. But he, a useless person, had no right to let her follow him for life.

Thinking of this, Chu Chen couldn't help but feel a deep sorrow.

"I knew Brother Chu would be blessed and turn danger into safety. You're still weak after your illness, so stay in bed and don't move around."

Chu Chen noticed that his junior sister, Tong Meng, stayed in front of him after leaving his embrace, as if trying to block something from his view, unwilling to move.

"Meng'er, move aside."

Under Chu Chen's repeated requests, the girl reluctantly moved, revealing the mess in the room, with clothes and books scattered everywhere.

"Where's my medicinal hoe?"

"It... It was borrowed by Senior Brother Zhang..." The girl's face turned bright red, clearly flustered.

"What about the brass box I brought from home?"

"It... It was lent out." Tears welled up in the girl's eyes, and she shook her head continuously.

"What about my Qingming Sword? Where's the life-bound sword given to each disciple when they enter the sect?" Chu Chen's eyes were filled with sorrow, and his fingers clutched the bed edge as if trying to sink into it.

The girl couldn't hold back any longer and burst into tears, her tear-streaked face shaking. "Brother Chu, don't worry, we'll find everything back."

"Meng'er, tell me the truth. Was it Senior Brother Yao Jinghai who did this?"

Tong Meng hesitated for a moment and finally nodded.

Chu Chen felt a lump in his chest, making it hard to breathe. He knew that Senior Brother Yao Jinghai of the outer sect had always seen him as a thorn in his side because he had repeatedly asked to form a Dao couple with the highly talented Tong Meng, only to be rejected without hesitation.

After learning that Tong Meng liked him, he had been looking for every opportunity to drive him out of the sect.

"Senior Brother Yao received the news that Brother Chu had turned danger into safety and was out of danger, so..." Tong Meng stammered, "So he took advantage of my absence and sent people to throw out Brother Chu's things and sword, saying... saying that since Brother Chu couldn't gather the required medicinal herbs this time, he would definitely be expelled... and he could clear out Brother Chu's courtyard first..."

"Bang!"

Chu Chen punched the wall with all his strength, blood seeping from his hand. He didn't feel the pain in his hand, only the suffocating feeling in his chest.

"Brother Chu, don't worry. I've already asked someone to look for your things in the back mountain garbage dump, and I'll go look myself." The girl, wiping her tears, didn't know how to comfort Chu Chen.

"That's not necessary. You've been taking care of me for days and must be tired. Go and rest." Chu Chen sighed deeply and leaned back against the head of the bed.

"I'm not tired." The girl shook her head gently, a stubborn look in her eyes, then sat beside Chu Chen to check his pulse. After confirming that he was fine, she slowly stood up.

"Brother Chu is still weak after his illness. Stay in bed and don't move around. I'll be back in two days with some wild game to help you recover. Wait for me at home, okay?"

After checking again to make sure Chu Chen was really fine, the girl's expression relaxed, and she got up to leave.

"Wait."

"Brother Chu, what's wrong?" The girl turned her head and asked softly.

"Meng'er... You're not going to hunt wild game, are you? You're going to gather medicinal herbs for me, right? You haven't even gathered enough for yourself this month... Don't do it for me. I'll find a way myself."

Chu Chen looked at the girl's small figure, his eyes filled with bitterness. He didn't want to be a parasite or drag her down anymore.

The girl was taken aback, a shadow of gloom passing over her face, but it quickly disappeared. She smiled and said, "Don't worry, Brother Chu. The medicinal herbs are not important. The most important thing now is to recover. I'll be back soon."

The girl spoke and ran out as if afraid of being caught by Chu Chen. Her beautiful figure quickly disappeared from sight.

"Meng'er, you silly girl..."

Chu Chen sighed, feeling extremely depressed. There were only five days left until the deadline for submitting the medicinal herbs. Although his junior sister had given him all the herbs she had gathered, they were still short by one pound.

Their luck had been unusually bad this month. If nothing unexpected happened, they wouldn't be able to gather enough for even one person.

Last month, with the help of his junior sister, they had already attracted the attention of the outer sect elders. This month, his junior sister had refused to submit her share of the medicinal herbs for his sake. He couldn't drag her down any further.

After this near-death experience, although Chu Chen was still determined to cultivate, he didn't seem as determined to stay in the Biquan Immortal Sect.

But how could he leave? If he was expelled from the sect, Senior Brother Yao Jinghai, the genius who had reached the Spirit Water Realm in just one year after entering the sect, would definitely make a move on his junior sister.

No matter what, he couldn't be expelled from the sect. What would happen to his junior sister then?

Others had condensed their Spirit Water in just one year, while he had been stuck at the second level of the Spirit Qi Realm for three years. The difference was like heaven and earth!

However, after being touched by the black mist, he should have been dead for sure, and he even experienced soul separation. Now, he had miraculously come back to life.

Strangely, his body felt no discomfort, except for some weakness.

Chu Chen felt that since he had survived such a great calamity, he should persevere no matter how difficult the situation.

Lying in bed for too long made him uncomfortable, so Chu Chen decided to continue doing the first thing he did every morning: cultivation.

Although cultivation was basically useless for him, as he remained stuck at the second level of the Spirit Qi Realm no matter how much he practiced, Chu Chen knew that if he persisted, there was still a one in ten thousand chance of improvement. If he gave up, he would never have a chance to improve.

Chu Chen sat cross-legged, slowly closed his eyes, and began to practice the "Spirit Attraction Technique," quickly entering a meditative state.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. Something was wrong. It was too wrong. In the past, when he entered a meditative state, countless streams of energy would rush towards him like a tsunami, quickly engulfing him.

But now, the violent streams of energy were all gone. He sensed countless light points in the space around him, like a sky full of stars, which were the Spirit Qi.

What had happened? Did his perception change after he fell?

Chu Chen activated the "Spirit Attraction Technique" again, and his Sea of Qi became like a powerful black hole, drawing all the "Spirit Light" into it.

Chu Chen felt an indescribable comfort. The "Spirit Qi" being continuously drawn into his body rapidly refined his skin, flesh, blood, and bones, while most of it was converted into his life-bound true spirit in the Sea of Qi.

In less than three hours, a brilliant white light of breakthrough shot out from his body.

Chu Chen almost went crazy. Was it so easy to break through?

This was too unreal! Was he dreaming? What had gone wrong?