Chapter 1381: Chapter 1377: Visiting
"That’s excellent!" Chu Zhiyuan moved close and took a deep sniff.
Immediately, he felt a surge of vitality.
The mere scent alone helped restore a fraction of his spiritual power.
Among the Spiritual Medicines he had encountered, this one was undoubtedly the best.
"It’s kept in the Hundred Herbs Tower; you can go directly to fetch it."
"Okay." Chu Zhiyuan agreed readily.
Then he asked, "Was this brought by Uncle Duan?"
"Uncle Duan roams the world and isn’t seen for a year, maybe even longer," Zhang Ji Yuan said. "This time, he called me over, handed me this, and then vanished again."
Chu Zhiyuan nodded.
Ning Dongge said, "Junior Brother, you want to seek advice from Uncle Duan?"
"I wish to consult him face-to-face," Chu Zhiyuan said. "I haven’t truly met the Spirit Venerable yet."
Even though he knew consulting might not mean much, he still wanted to confirm the true strength of a Spirit Venerable.
Ning Dongge leaped and gracefully landed on the roof ridge, gazing into the distance.
Chu Zhiyuan and Zhang Ji Yuan followed, lightly landing beside him.
The Heaven-Reaching Sect floated in the Void, surrounded by twelve peaks within a hundred-mile radius.
In his Insight, these twelve peaks were like twelve suns. Their dazzling brilliance could be seen, yet their true form could not be discerned.
Ning Dongge’s eyes became deep as an abyss, and his aura turned calm.
Moments later, he returned to normal. "Grandmaster Wang should be back."
"Grandmaster Wang? Then forget it," Zhang Ji Yuan shrank his neck.
Chu Zhiyuan looked at him.
Zhang Ji Yuan lowered his voice but still used Sound Transmission into Secret: "Junior Brother, stay away from Grandmaster Wang, he’s too harsh! He’s critical, sarcastic, and harsh... Don’t go asking for trouble!"
Chu Zhiyuan frowned.
Ning Dongge glanced at Zhang Ji Yuan and shook his head, "When Grandmaster Wang is around...Meeting the Spirit Venerable requires timing; sometimes it happens two or three times a year, and sometimes not even once in a decade."
Zhang Ji Yuan said, "Sometimes not even once in twenty years!"
"Then let’s pay respects to Grandmaster Wang," Chu Zhiyuan said.
No matter how harsh, it’s just sarcasm and criticism, not as if he’ll kill you.
"Junior Brother, think about it again," Zhang Ji Yuan said.
"Yes, no rush, Grandmaster Wang shouldn’t be leaving immediately."
"Then let’s go now," Chu Zhiyuan said.
He probably won’t leave immediately, but what if?
Spirit Venerables act freely and with ease, leaving whenever they wish, who could stop them?
Ning Dongge hesitated, "But Junior Brother, your current condition..."
He could sense Chu Zhiyuan’s outward strength masking inner weakness.
He looked spirited and vigorous, but deep inside, he was frail.
Obviously, he had expended a lot earlier; although his spiritual power was replenished, his physical fatigue hadn’t fully recovered.
Chu Zhiyuan said, "I’m fine, and paying respects to Grandmaster doesn’t involve fighting, nothing physical."
"Ahem." Zhang Ji Yuan quickly interrupted, "Grandmaster might test you."
"Will he?"
"Naturally."
"...then wait a moment, I’ll meditate for a while," Chu Zhiyuan said.
Ning Dongge said, "Junior Brother, you go inside to meditate, we’ll wait outside."
"Alright." Chu Zhiyuan turned and stepped through the Light Gate on the wall of the great hall.
Zhang Ji Yuan said, "We didn’t even ask Junior Brother how the flower was."
"No rush, we can ask afterward," Ning Dongge said.
Zhang Ji Yuan was impatient nevertheless.
Eager to know what the Divine Flower looked like after being refined.
At the moment, the Divine Flower had already appeared in Chu Zhiyuan’s palm.
He sat cross-legged on the Golden Meditation Mat in the great hall, observing the Divine Flower arising in his palm.
Isolated from the Void Divine Flower’s influence up above, this Divine Flower was finally wholly refined by him, becoming one with him.
He finally understood what this Divine Flower was, and what the one in the Void was.
He thought of the Demon Suppressing Divine Tree.
The two were almost the same species, both growing in the Void, without needing to draw nourishment from the earth.
The Demon Suppressing Divine Tree absorbed Merit, transforming and purifying the soul.
This Divine Flower absorbed all sentient forces, transforming them into pure flawless spiritual power and True Yuan.
Soul, spiritual power, and even emotional fluctuations could be absorbed.
Compared to the Demon Suppressing Divine Tree, its scope of absorption was broader, and the power transformation was wider.
The Divine Flower he refined was a clone of the Void Divine Flower.
A part of the power condensed by the Void Divine Flower, it couldn’t absorb and transform, only borrowed part of the Void Divine Flower’s power.
Nonetheless, it was strong enough, more than sufficient to protect the Flower God Sect.
Chu Zhiyuan felt secretly relieved in his heart.
Recognizing danger, he fled directly to the Heaven-Reaching Sect; otherwise, there would have been no way to survive.
With it, it’s tantamount to having an attack from a Spirit Venerable.
It could be used to save his life in crucial moments.
...
Chu Zhiyuan and Ning Dongge stood on a round Stone Plate made of Jade, which was lifted by the White Jade Plate, gliding silently in the Void.
Surrounded by silence, only the wind howled.
The Stone Plate carved from White Jade was a palm thick, with a ten-meter radius.
Intricate patterns were densely carved on it.
These patterns were gleaming with a soft white light, propelling the White Jade Plate to hover and fly.
Chu Zhiyuan’s robes fluttered as he looked around curiously.
The surrounding Void was boundless, infinitely high, infinitely low.
He did not know how far he was from the ground, nor how far from the sky.
This was truly a state of not knowing heaven’s height or earth’s depth.
"Did Brother Zhang really suffer such a loss?" Chu Zhiyuan commented with a smile as he looked around, "He was so scared he went pale and refused to come along."
He didn’t use Qinggong, letting the White Jade Plate carry him forward.
Whenever he thought of Zhang Ji Yuan’s expression, he couldn’t help but laugh.
Zhang Ji Yuan’s hands moved rapidly, refusing adamantly to come along.
Ning Dongge laughed, "Grandmaster Wang indeed gave him a harsh beating, causing severe injuries."
"Severe injuries?"
"Yes, bedridden for three days," Ning Dongge shook his head, "more importantly, he was severely scolded by Grandmaster Wang."
"Why was that?"
"Grandmaster Wang has no regard for face," Ning Dongge said, "complaining about Junior Brother Zhang’s frivolity, his incompetence, saying he was worse than a woman, shaming our Heaven-Reaching Sect, and, ironically, it was all for a woman that caused the sect’s disgrace, claiming he was incompetent as he had wooed a disciple from the Profound Yin Palace but failed to truly win her over."
Chu Zhiyuan slowly nodded.
Ning Dongge said, "In the middle of the scolding, he simply resorted to physical action."
Chu Zhiyuan said, "Brother Zhang didn’t expect Grandmaster Wang to act, did he?"
"Indeed, he didn’t expect it, after all, a Spirit Venerable rarely bothers to deal with disciples physically." Ning Dongge shook his head, "Grandmaster Wang made an exception."
"No wonder he was so terrified," Chu Zhiyuan said. "Afraid that Grandmaster Wang would lay hands on him again?"
"It’s quite possible," Ning Dongge said, "Just seeing Junior Brother Zhang might trigger Grandmaster Wang’s temper, so it’s better that he didn’t come."
"Senior Brother Ning," Chu Zhiyuan said, "will I get beaten too?"
"You won’t be beaten, not only that, you won’t even be scolded," Ning Dongge said, "you haven’t caused trouble, and moreover, for someone your age, your cultivation already surpasses ours, how could Grandmaster Wang scold you?"
"Let’s hope so," Chu Zhiyuan said.
If it were that easy to predict, they wouldn’t be Spirit Venerables.
But among the various Spirit Venerables, seeing the one from our sect was the safest bet.
Spirit Venerables from other sects were a deadly threat to him.
Who knows if they might have a change of heart, give birth to murderous intent, and attack directly?
No matter how angry Grandmaster Wang was, or even if he wanted to clean the house, he wouldn’t go for a kill.
In the Void, the White Jade Stone Plate had unknowingly traveled dozens of miles.
The verdant mountain floating in the Void became increasingly grand, its imposing aura magnificent.
