Chapter 9

"Understood!" Hengyi solemnly promised, and Dayuan felt greatly relieved. "Find a way to bring the money, Master can use some to win people over, and you should also keep some for emergencies, don't let the younger disciples suffer too much. I, as the sect leader, will one day make them not regret being part of the Sanyuan Sect, and one day make them proud of the Sanyuan Sect!"

"Yes!"

Dayuan left, but Hengyi's emotions still couldn't calm down. He understood Dayuan's restraint. He knew the brotherly bond between the three masters, who had lived together and relied on each other since childhood. Master Er was forced to leave the peaceful farming life due to Dayuan's decision, and ended up meeting with misfortune... In the past, they had devoted all their energy to building the Sanyuan Sect's base, but now it was all lost, and the one who suffered the most was undoubtedly Dayuan.

'Master, rest assured. As soon as there's a chance, I will shine and stand out!'

Dayuan went to the North Mountain forest, where Sanyuan was still cutting trees, drenched in sweat. Compared to Dayuan, Sanyuan was almost worthless in the eyes of the Hu Hai Sect's leader, and was casually sent to do hard labor every day. Especially after they found out he couldn't read, they no longer expected to get any information about the divine book from him.

"Big Brother, is Hengyi doing well?" Sanyuan took off his outer clothes and casually wiped the sweat from his body.

"Hengyi has grown up... He's not the little kid who used to listen to everything we said." Dayuan recounted the conversation with Hengyi, but Sanyuan was indifferent. "Isn't it because you taught him to be a saint?"

Dayuan was stunned, speechless with bitterness.

"Actually, I think what Hengyi said is right. The one who deserves to die is that poisonous kid Li Hua!"

"Third Brother, the immortal sect is a hundred times more dangerous than our past life! It's hard to stand out in the immortal sect, and it's even harder for us to live long!" Dayuan was troubled, knowing that without the divine book, they wouldn't have been kept, but with the divine book, the Hu Hai Sect would never let them go. Dayuan was very clear that even if he handed over the divine book now, the Hu Hai Sect's leader would never let them live, and would certainly silence them. Now, only careful maneuvering could save their lives.

Sanyuan didn't think much about it and didn't understand Dayuan's troubles. "Big Brother, why don't we go back to farming? So many disciples are with us, and the land of the Sanyuan Sect has been cultivated a lot..."

"Nonsense! We are already part of the immortal sect, how can we think about going back to farming? Besides, even if you want to go back, the Hu Hai Sect won't agree!" Dayuan couldn't bear his third brother's lack of ambition and lack of understanding of the reality.

Sanyuan smiled, unconcerned. "Big Brother and Hengyi, and Feizi, are part of the immortal sect, but I know my own situation. I can't even step into this door."

Dayuan was stunned, speechless for a long time...

Hengyi calmed his emotions and began to focus on his cultivation.

Dayuan, working in the Reward and Punishment Hall, had some advantages, but he had no chance to test his own strength. His decision to act against Li Hua was based on his trust in the divine book and his confidence in his ability to absorb true qi.

Killing Li Hua made him realize clearly that Li Hua's strength was no match for him at all!

But, what level was he at? How did he compare to those in the Hu Hai Sect who were more famous and skilled than Li Hua?

Li Hua had the cultivation of the first level of Dharma Venerable. At his age, this level of cultivation was well-known in the Hu Hai Sect, but not the highest. Because he had some connections with the elders in the Reward and Punishment Hall, he was highly favored and held a significant position in the sect.

Hengyi wanted to know his own strength, but the First Master clearly couldn't take him to the true qi testing room in the Reward and Punishment Hall yet.

The cultivation techniques Hengyi learned were still those from his dreams. Dayuan also knew the techniques and had tried to cultivate them, but found no use, unable to absorb the surrounding natural energy. If Dayuan didn't know his character and didn't trust him, he would have thought Hengyi was holding back. But in fact, Hengyi had nothing to hide.

The day after the Sanyuan Sect was annexed, Dayuan deliberately found a chance to pass by Hengyi and told him to continue practicing his own techniques, saying that the Hu Hai Sect's true qi techniques were far inferior to those he learned in his dreams, and even worse than the divine book's techniques.

A red glow enveloped Hengyi's body, and the surrounding true qi rushed into his body, quickly reaching the limit of absorption and accumulation.

The last spell in the divine book required more natural true qi than he could currently absorb, so for a long time, Hengyi focused on refining the spells he already knew from the divine book.

Although refining the spells to the third level was slow, and the increase in power was not as significant as advancing in true qi cultivation, Hengyi felt that since the spells in the divine book were very practical and powerful, and he hadn't encountered any other equally valuable spells, it was better to refine the divine book's spells. Now, the first spell, Infinite Sword, had successfully reached the fourth level.

The night wind blew.

Suddenly, a clear cough came from the wind.

"Cough—"

Hengyi stopped his cultivation and looked around, seeing a man accompanied by a woman in a golden dress.

Despite never meeting, he immediately guessed that the man was Chen Shao. There were few disciples in the Hu Hai Sect who didn't wear the sect's uniform, and Chen Shao was well-known, partly because of his woman, Hu Qingqing, who was the great-granddaughter of the Hu Hai Sect's leader and never wore the sect's uniform.

Chen Shao, unexpectedly, came.

When Hengyi stood up, Chen Shao and Hu Qingqing were already in front of him, looking him over. Hu Qingqing then flew to a nearby tree, her long dress fluttering in the wind, and her white legs made Hengyi uncomfortable to look at.

"I heard about the incident and know it wasn't your fault. Unfortunately, one of them is related to me, and it's impossible to ignore it." Seeing Hengyi's calm and composed demeanor, Chen Shao felt a liking for him and explained his helplessness. "I won't let this spread, and I don't intend to seriously hurt you. This is just to give him some comfort, and I apologize for the inconvenience."

As he spoke, Chen Shao drew his immortal sword, which glowed with a hazy sea-blue light.

Hengyi secretly activated the fifth and sixth spells from the divine book. These were not offensive techniques. One was called Dark Burst, which could absorb natural energy and mental energy during battle, and after killing an enemy, it could instantly absorb enough energy to continuously cast other spells, while also reinforcing the body's meridians to ensure it could handle the influx of true qi. If the enemy wasn't killed, the absorbed energy was minimal, but better than nothing. The other was called Limit Qi, a special way to circulate true qi in the body, which could absorb an enemy's true qi and enhance the purity and power of the spells, with the effect increasing as the cultivation level rose.

These spells were difficult to cultivate, and Dayuan's true qi was still far from sufficient, but Hengyi's absorption of natural energy was enough to easily grasp them.

A red glow covered Hengyi's body.

The wind blew Hu Qingqing's golden dress, and her face suddenly showed surprise. She leaned forward slightly, murmuring, "Treasure..."

Chen Shao's expression turned serious. He had been in the Hu Hai Sect for twenty-five years and had seen much more than the likes of a vicious dog. "It seems I might have come to the wrong place. I didn't expect such a young expert to be in the Sanyuan Sect!" The sea-blue light on his sword grew brighter.

Hengyi calmly said, "Why don't we not fight?" He could sense from Chen Shao's true qi that Chen Shao was not his match, and he also knew his own limitations, as he could only use the same number of attack spells as Dayuan.

"Since I'm here, we can't avoid the fight. After today, I probably won't have another chance to challenge you." Chen Shao chuckled, and his sword began to move swiftly, creating waves of true qi that surged forward, ready to pounce!

Hengyi knew that if he could use the seventh spell, he could end the fight by killing Chen Shao as soon as he charged, before the spell gathered.

But he couldn't use it.

As Chen Shao charged, Hengyi's hand flashed with a red true qi sword, which he quickly threw!

Infinite Sword was not well-suited for this fight, as its power was best used against multiple enemies, not a single opponent.

The red sword flew at incredible speed and struck Chen Shao's protective true qi.

Chen Shao spat out a mouthful of blood, and his protective true qi was shattered, meaning he could only use his flesh to defend against further attacks.

"Heavenly Wave!" Chen Shao, after taking the hit, quickly swung his sword, and a surging wave of true qi rushed forward, covering a ten-zhang area!

The divine book had spells that could easily avoid Chen Shao's attack, but Hengyi couldn't use them. He had to charge through the wave, a crescent-shaped light blade in hand.

The wave crashed into Hengyi, and the powerful impact caused him pain, but his protective true qi held, and he only suffered minor injuries.

After breaking through the wave, the distance between them was only three zhang. Hengyi threw the crescent-shaped light blade, which transformed into a swirling white light and struck Chen Shao's sword.

The impact caused Chen Shao to spit out another mouthful of blood, and the crescent-shaped light blade exploded into a hazy light mist.

The blood splattered onto Hengyi's chest but couldn't penetrate his protective true qi, which was formed from the natural energy he absorbed.

The crescent-shaped light blade was the second offensive spell in the divine book, called Limit Blade, which had less killing power than Infinite Sword but was a close-range combat technique. If an enemy was hit by the light mist and then suffered another attack, the blade would transform, causing extreme damage.

Chen Shao's pale face showed he couldn't withstand the blade's transformation, and he never expected the gap in their true qi cultivation to be so great, to the point where he could be defeated in one hit!

He knew he couldn't withstand even one more hit from Hengyi!

Hengyi didn't continue his attack, and the energy of the wind blade Chen Shao hastily gathered dissipated...

Chen Shao sighed and landed. "I'm not your match."

"Are you okay?" Hu Qingqing landed beside Chen Shao, checking his internal injuries. She found his true qi was less than thirty percent, and his internal organs and meridians were damaged, requiring at least half a month to recover.

"I won't mention this to anyone else." Hengyi's sincere words made Chen Shao smile bitterly. This was his goodwill before the fight, now returned by Hengyi.

Despite the bitterness, he appreciated Hengyi even more. If this fight became known, Hengyi would undoubtedly be in the spotlight, but he didn't gloat and instead considered Hengyi's reputation. "We became friends through this fight. The Hu Hai Sect is too small for you. With such talent, you have many choices. Why stay in the Hu Hai Sect?"

"My junior disciples are here."

"Righteous!" Chen Shao praised sincerely. Hu Qingqing, fearing his injuries would worsen, said, "Don't talk anymore, let's go back and rest." She then supported Chen Shao and flew away without looking back.

Hengyi originally wanted to ask Chen Shao about his own strength, but didn't have the chance to speak.

This conflict ending this way was the best outcome. Chen Shao was not someone easy to dislike, and he was willing to have such a friend.

The garden returned to peace, and Hengyi continued to cultivate his true qi. Chen Shao reminded him of the interesting man Chen Zizai he met at the Sanyuan Sect's base. Now, he was almost certain that man had just coincidentally discovered the place and didn't know Li Hua. He was a person hard to forget...

Under the moonlight.

Hu Qingqing supported Chen Shao back to their residence.

"That person is really strong."

"The Hu Hai Sect has found a treasure..." Chen Shao smiled, and Hu Qingqing busily wiped the blood and changed his clothes. "Yes, a living treasure. You should tell your great-grandfather."

"Not in a hurry. The annual cultivation examination is coming soon."

"You don't want the credit?" Hu Qingqing really didn't understand Chen Shao. Discovering a living treasure from an unremarkable servant was a significant recommendation. The higher the treasure's achievements, the greater the benefit to the Hu Hai Sect, and the more the recommender would benefit. No credit was more lasting than this.

"I mean, tell the sect leader first, but do nothing. Let him surprise everyone during the cultivation examination."

Hu Qingqing smiled. "How good is his talent?"

"Hard to say, but better than anyone I've seen."

"Then that's amazing!" Hu Qingqing was visibly pleased.

---

The garden returned to peace, and Hengyi continued to cultivate his true qi. Chen Shao reminded him of the interesting man Chen Zizai he met at the Sanyuan Sect's base. Now, he was almost certain that man had just coincidentally discovered the place and didn't know Li Hua. He was a person hard to forget...

Under the moonlight.

Hu Qingqing supported Chen Shao back to their residence.

"That person is really strong."

"The Hu Hai Sect has found a treasure..." Chen Shao smiled, and Hu Qingqing busily wiped the blood and changed his clothes. "Yes, a living treasure. You should tell your great-grandfather."

"Not in a hurry. The annual cultivation examination is coming soon."

"You don't want the credit?" Hu Qingqing really didn't understand Chen Shao. Discovering a living treasure from an unremarkable servant was a significant recommendation. The higher the treasure's achievements, the greater the benefit to the Hu Hai Sect, and the more the recommender would benefit. No credit was more lasting than this.

"I mean, tell the sect leader first, but do nothing. Let him surprise everyone during the cultivation examination."

Hu Qingqing smiled. "How good is his talent?"

"Hard to say, but better than anyone I've seen."

"Then that's amazing!" Hu Qingqing was visibly pleased.