Chapter 02: The Mysterious Mirror

In the blink of an eye, Chen Chen had been in the Flowing Cloud Sect for more than half a month.

More than half a month ago, Chen Chen pretended to struggle with a thousand-jin heavy bronze tripod, and was eventually admitted as an outer sect disciple of the Flowing Cloud Sect.

Wang Yue also smoothly entered the Flowing Cloud Sect and became an outer sect disciple.

"Damn it, I finally managed to transmigrate, but now I'm forced to hide my name and identity, and I only have three years left to live. Heaven, you're really playing with me!"

At the sunset on Luo Yan Peak, a slender figure once again tilted his head at a forty-five-degree angle, questioning the sky.

Just as he was feeling indignant, a pebble suddenly hit the back of his head, and an unpleasant voice came from behind: "Look, I told you this guy would be here."

As the voice faded, about seven or eight people emerged. The leader had a high bun, a pale face without a beard, and a pair of inverted triangular eyes, his face full of arrogance and pride. The most noticeable thing was the exquisite silver robe he wore, which shimmered with silver light as he walked, exuding nobility. On the sleeves of the silver robe, three brilliant smoke cloud patterns could be faintly seen.

The silver robe was the specific attire of high-ranking disciples in the Flowing Cloud Sect, and only inner sect disciples were allowed to wear it. The three brilliant smoke cloud patterns indicated that this young man had reached the third level of the Blood Fusion Realm.

And this young man, who looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, had already reached the third level of the Blood Fusion Realm, a talent that was quite remarkable, no wonder he always had a high and mighty attitude.

"Chen Chen! Why aren't you bowing to Senior Brother Liu Yong? You should know that Senior Brother Liu Yong is an inner sect disciple of our Flowing Cloud Sect and is about to be taken under the wing of an inner sect elder..."

"Come on! Senior Brother Liu Yong is in a good mood today and wants to spar with you and give you some guidance! Don't be ungrateful! Of course, sparring requires a stake. The stake, of course, will be the Body Tempering Pill you just received today..."

"However, I still advise you to hand over the Body Tempering Pill you received today without a fight, so you don't end up lying in bed for four or five days like last time!"

"Ha ha ha..."

...

A few Flowing Cloud Sect disciples wore deep expressions of disdain and mockery, cursing and scolding, completely disregarding Chen Chen.

The Flowing Cloud Sect was located in the Cloudy Mountains outside Luoyun City in Yunzhou, one of the Nine Provinces, and was an ordinary sect within a thousand miles of Luoyun City. Among the dozen or so families and sects in Luoyun City, it was only a medium-sized force.

It was precisely because of the ordinary and low-key nature of the Flowing Cloud Sect that Chen Chen chose to hide within it, secretly seeking opportunities to enhance his strength and try to resolve his family's hidden illness.

As for Chen Chen, who had just joined the Flowing Cloud Sect and become an ordinary outer sect disciple, a mere first-level Blood Fusion Realm warrior, he had already been targeted by Liu Yong and his gang. After several inquiries, they found out that Chen Chen had no background, so they boldly decided to take action against him.

The Body Tempering Pill was a fixed allocation for the disciples of the Flowing Cloud Sect, helping them to better temper their bodies and improve their cultivation speed, allowing the disciples to become stronger quickly.

However, the Body Tempering Pill was extremely precious. Even high-ranking inner sect disciples only received ten pills a month, while ordinary disciples received only three pills a month. Therefore, it was common for disciples to challenge new outer sect disciples under the guise of sparring to gamble for Body Tempering Pills. The Flowing Cloud Sect, in order to encourage disciples to improve through sparring, turned a blind eye to such gambling.

Liu Yong and his gang had used this method to seize many Body Tempering Pills from new outer sect disciples, which allowed them to quickly reach the third level of the Blood Fusion Realm.

"Hmph! Liu Yong, stop blabbering and come and take it if you have the guts!" Chen Chen coldly snorted, facing the third-level Blood Fusion Realm Liu Yong without any fear.

If it weren't for that incident, Chen Chen wouldn't have had to hide his name and identity in the Flowing Cloud Sect. The Body Tempering Pill, a low-grade pill, wouldn't even be worth a glance from Chen Chen. And a small fry like Liu Yong, Chen Chen could destroy with just a word!

But now, this was the best pill Chen Chen could get. Moreover, in his previous life, Chen Chen had a very fierce personality, preferring to break rather than bend, and he wouldn't easily give in to pressure. If Chen Chen was willing, he might have given the Body Tempering Pill away, but if he wasn't, even the Son of Heaven couldn't make him hand it over easily.

"Really, you never learn! Then let me teach you a lesson again!" The silver-robed young warrior named Liu Yong said disdainfully, quickly stepping forward, his fingers curling into a claw, and swiftly grabbing towards Chen Chen's chest without any fancy moves.

A faint mist of pale green suddenly spewed from the acupoints on Liu Yong's arm, swirling around his claw-like hand, which instantly took on a jade-like luster, becoming as hard and sharp as jade.

A sharp, piercing sound followed!

The Mystic Eagle Claw, a lower-grade Mystic-level technique, was considered a fairly good technique in the Flowing Cloud Sect. When fully mastered, the Mystic Eagle Claw could shatter a thousand-jin boulder with a single claw.

Although Liu Yong hadn't fully mastered the Mystic Eagle Claw, with his current third-level Blood Fusion Realm strength, it was still quite formidable! If this claw hit, Chen Chen would likely be disemboweled on the spot.

Chen Chen didn't dare to be careless and quickly dodged to the right, crossing his arms to protect his chest, ready to defend against Liu Yong's iron claw.

"Hmph!" Liu Yong coldly snorted, a look of disdain on his face. His right hand, which had been heading straight for Chen Chen, suddenly changed direction, turning into a crane's beak, and with a trail of afterimage, aimed at the Zhongtan point on Chen Chen's chest.

With a "Peng!" Chen Chen had no time to react, feeling a massive force travel up his arms, as if a thousand-jin boulder had struck him. Chen Chen was immediately sent flying, sliding several meters in the air before landing heavily on the ground, struggling to get up.

The difference between the first-level Blood Fusion Realm and the third-level Blood Fusion Realm was not just a little! Even if Chen Chen could predict Liu Yong's moves, he couldn't withstand the three-thousand-jin force of Liu Yong's attack!

"Today is your bad luck! If it weren't for Senior Brother Lin Hai scolding me, making me in a bad mood, I wouldn't even bother with a mere first-level Blood Fusion Realm rookie... Truly, you're not worth a hit!" Liu Yong muttered, standing up and dusting off his robe.

"Good!"

"Senior Brother Liu, what excellent skills!"

...

The warriors following Liu Yong quickly cheered loudly.

At the same time, a perceptive Flowing Cloud Sect disciple quickly walked to Chen Chen, reaching into his chest and pulling out a small jade bottle.

The disciple pulled the stopper from the bottle, pouring out the pills inside. The emerald-green pills emitted a faint herbal fragrance, making one feel refreshed and relaxed, with all the pores of the body opening up. It was the Body Tempering Pill!

After confirming that the pills in the bottle were indeed Body Tempering Pills, the disciple quickly walked to Liu Yong and obediently handed the bottle to him.

"Let's go!" Liu Yong took the bottle, coldly glanced at Chen Chen, who was lying on the ground with blood flowing from the corner of his mouth, and turned to leave.

"Kid! Be smarter next time!"

"Or I'll break your legs next time!"

...

Liu Yong's followers angrily cursed Chen Chen, spat a few times, and then followed Liu Yong away.

Only after Liu Yong and his group had walked far away did Chen Chen slowly stand up, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, and coldly staring at their backs.

"Damn it! If it weren't for that incident, I wouldn't be cut off from my family, and a small fry like Liu Yong would be dead without a trace with just a word from me! ... Hmph! Just wait! I'll return today's humiliation a hundredfold, a thousandfold!" Chen Chen clenched his fists, saying with hatred.

In the previous battle, although Chen Chen had deliberately avoided a direct confrontation with Liu Yong, he still suffered serious injuries, with his ribs almost broken, and even breathing caused excruciating pain.

Fortunately, the Flowing Cloud Sect had a rule that disciples were not allowed to kill each other, otherwise, if Liu Yong had applied a bit more force, Chen Chen would likely be dead by now.

The feeling of life and death not being in his control made Chen Chen very angry!

"I need to recover quickly and, more importantly, improve my strength! I can't let this happen again where my life is in someone else's hands!" Chen Chen thought to himself.

Slowly walking to a secluded place, Chen Chen sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to absorb the spiritual energy from the heavens and earth to nourish his body and heal his injuries.

"Exhale... Inhale..." Chen Chen followed the most basic cultivation technique, the "Mind Calming Technique," regulating his breathing and using the few acupoints that had already broken through to absorb the spiritual energy floating in the air.

As time passed, a small amount of spiritual energy gradually gathered in front of Chen Chen. After about half an hour, the spiritual energy formed a small, snake-like white mist, swirling in front of Chen Chen, continuously being absorbed and released with his breathing.

"Slurp" Chen Chen opened his mouth, and the snake-like spiritual energy was instantly sucked into his stomach.

As this snake-like spiritual energy entered Chen Chen's mouth, before it could reach his dantian, a black vortex suddenly appeared in Chen Chen's mind, instantly devouring the spiritual energy he had painstakingly gathered over half an hour. Then, a burst of turbid air was expelled.

"Phew!" Chen Chen opened his eyes and stood up.

"Was it devoured by that thing again? How much longer will it take for that thing to completely refine the old man's soul? How much longer do I have to endure this miserable life..." Chen Chen sighed.

"Ah... No!" At that moment, a miserable and angry roar suddenly echoed in Chen Chen's mind.

Chen Chen quickly closed his eyes again, his consciousness sinking into his sea of consciousness. In the sea of consciousness, a palm-sized, ancient mirror with a pattern of fine cracks was steadily floating. Inside the mirror, the head of an old man, with a fierce and painful expression, was struggling and howling, trying with all his might to break free from the mirror.

"Is that old thing finally being refined? Great!" Chen Chen was not surprised but felt a sense of joy and excitement.

Perhaps to verify Chen Chen's guess, after a while, a fine, pure energy, as thin as a hair, seeped out from the mirror, merging into Chen Chen's sea of consciousness and flesh, nourishing his soul and purifying the impurities in his blood.

Chen Chen instantly felt refreshed, as if he had returned to his childhood, lying in his mother's arms, warm and comfortable, with every cell in his body feeling invigorated, and the blood in his veins boiling.

"Rushing... Rushing... Rushing..." With the help of the pure energy, a surging blood qi continuously flushed through Chen Chen's acupoints.

"Boom... Boom... Boom..." The acupoints on Chen Chen's head were the first to be opened one by one.

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