Chapter 111: Luan Yi!
Several days later, Chen Xuan emerged from the Seven Trials Tower.
His aura had grown noticeably stronger. Though he was still some distance away from the Late Stage Nascent Soul Realm, he had traveled a significant portion of the journey.
Even so, a "weary" expression lingered on his face.
"I never expected us alchemists to work so hard. Even with my supreme talent and unparalleled aptitude, I still had to spend so much time refining a mere handful of Nascent Soul Pills."
He let out a long sigh.
Chen Xuan knew the reason all too well. He was simply too outstanding.
Ordinary people would never devote so much effort to "studying" alchemy like him.
Only someone with his heaven-defying talent could afford to do so.
Sure enough, the heavens tested the more capable.
Chen Xuan praised himself silently for several minutes.
After a while, however, the amusement faded, and his expression grew serious.
He knew that his next course of action should be to gather more medicinal materials and use the Four Myths Cauldron to refine Nascent Soul Pills.
Unless one of his disciples achieved a breakthrough and triggered a special System reward, this was currently the fastest path for him to advance his cultivation.
With that thought, he stored the Seven Trials Tower into his spatial ring.
He had no intention of attempting the second trial. Or rather, no ability.
In fact, he had already tried ascending to the next floor, only to be stopped by an invisible barrier.
Clearly, he had yet to satisfy the conditions necessary to challenge the second trial.
This was perhaps because his cultivation was insufficient, or perhaps because there was some hidden requirement he had yet to discover.
Either way, Chen Xuan did not dwell on the matter.
The reward from the first trial alone was already more than enough for the foreseeable future and had gone beyond his original expectations.
Unfortunately, the lack of another challenge and the shortage of medicinal herbs meant something else.
He could no longer avoid the matter at hand or choose to ignore it any longer.
Thinking of this, he tremblingly took the transmission talisman out.
Over the past few days, the messages he was receiving had shown no signs of slowing down.
If anything, they had become even more frequent.
Tang Yuechen had already learned of his return, so the messages were not from her.
Unfortunately, that realization brought little comfort.
The person responsible for the messages was as terrifying, if not even more.
As Chen Xuan connected his divine sense to the transmission talisman, countless voices exploded within his mind.
Yet one stood out above all the others. For no reason other than the fact that the sender was practically screaming.
"Junior Brother Chen, where are you? Are you avoiding me?"
--
In a faraway land lay a vast lake shimmering with the glow of thousands of iridescent colors.
Nebulas drifted overhead while the elements surged, making the entire area resemble a corner of the real Immortal Realm.
The lone figure standing along its edge only reinforced that impression.
It was a beautiful woman.
Long black hair descended down her back, while a thin, veil-like dress barely concealed her graceful figure.
She sat at the edge of the lake with her feet dangling in the water.
Each playful kick sent ripples spreading across the surface, as though responding to her calls.
The woman radiated tranquility and holiness, as though she were a celestial maiden descended to save mortals from their eternal suffering.
Her emerald eyes glimmered brilliantly. Reflecting against the colorful lake, they seemed to contain an entire starry sky.
But the next moment, the peaceful atmosphere was suddenly shattered.
The waters beneath her feet became turbulent.
A massive shadow emerged from the depths.
Then a colossal creature burst from the depths of the lake, splashing water everywhere.
It resembled both a dragon and a giant armored lizard.
Dragonblooded Lizard—an infamous beast with a resounding reputation throughout Tianxuan Domain.
This one, in particular, had even reached the Nascent Soul Realm.
In terms of strength, it was no weaker than the Void Tide Leviathan Chen Xuan had faced.
Given its ambush, the danger it posed to the woman was arguably even greater.
Yet she remained utterly calm.
A faint smile appeared on her lips. With a casual wave of her hand, a black banner materialized on her palm.
She waved it casually, as if she were waving a handkerchief toward a beloved lover.
The result, however, was terrifying.
As the flag of the banner fluttered, thousands of ferocious creatures surged forth.
With illusory forms and grotesque appearances, their expressions twisted with madness as they locked onto the Dragonblooded Lizard.
Before the beast could even complete its attack, the ghosts descended upon it.
Countless spectral limbs wrapped around its body. As it was engulfed, chewing sounds soon came.
Several moments later, the ghosts retreated, as had the Dragonblooded Lizard.
Only a gigantic skeleton, over a hundred meters long, remained suspended above the lake.
Above it floated a translucent soul, resembling the ghosts that had just appeared.
The woman’s smile widened even further.
With a wave of her hand, she collected the beast’s soul and infused it into the Myriad Souls Banner.
Within the endless darkness inside the banner, among millions of ferocious spirits, a dragon-like silhouette slowly emerged.
The banner itself—the representative magic weapon of the Myriad Souls Sect—seemed to have grown stronger.
Yet the woman paid little attention to the improvement.
She shifted her focus back to the lake.
She resumed idly stirring the water with her feet as her eyes wandered to places unknown.
After storing the Myriad Souls Banner away, she let out a soft sigh.
"Junior Brother Chen... where are you...?"
Her voice drifted across the lake.
"Could it be that you’re trying to run away from Yi’er?"
She tilted her head to the side.
"Maybe... Maybe I should have sealed you inside this banner long ago..." she whispered, her voice growing increasingly unsettling with each word.
