“Old man, hurry up, there’s no time left! Are you going to play a pair of tens or not?” Su Xiaojiu suddenly asked impatiently.
She only had two cards left; if she played them, she would be out.
At this moment, the three of them were playing Landlord.
Hong Shan had spent a long time on Earth before, but he had never encountered the game of poker. Other Transcendents from Kyushu also seemed not to have noticed this game, so poker had not been introduced to Kyushu.
He initially thought that these decorated paper cards wouldn't be much fun, but after two rounds of Landlord, Hong Shan immediately fell in love with the game.
He and Su Xiaojiu were not very good at playing, and they both had wins and losses, with more than a dozen white strips pasted on their faces. As for An Chen, he only had two strips on his face.
He could easily remember which cards were left and, based on the card types in his hand, deduce Su Xiaojiu and Hong Shan's card types, then analyze what cards would be the optimal play for him.
Even though he only understood the rules of Landlord and had barely played it before, he was still dominant in the card games with the two of them, winning however he pleased.
The two games he lost were entirely because Hong Shan and Su Xiaojiu each had a turn of incredible luck, with cards so good that An Chen couldn't even play his own.
In the end, Hong Shan and Su Xiaojiu both dared not bid for Landlord, but they also dared not not bid.
If they bid for Landlord, they were easily targeted by An Chen and the other player together. If An Chen got the Landlord position… then there was no way to play at all!
In the end, both of them reached a consensus: the goal was no longer about winning or losing, but about sticking white strips on each other's faces.
“But it’s good that you’re back. An Chen said four people can play Guan Dan!”
“What time is it? You’re still thinking about playing cards, playing cards.” An Chen slammed his cards on the table, annoyed.
“Exactly! We’re returning to Kyushu soon, is this the time to play cards? No more playing!” Hong Shan ripped off all the white strips from his face and then threw all the cards into the pile to shuffle.
“I only had two cards left! Ah ya ya, you old geezer!” Su Xiaojiu was almost going crazy, looking at the pair of twos left in her hand that she couldn't play, almost throwing the cards at Hong Shan’s face.
An Chen checked his phone, saw there were six or seven minutes left, and then took out a tongshen jade talisman from his qiankun bag.
“Now, our preparations should be complete, but our communication in Kyushu has not yet been established. The tongshen jade talisman cannot be used on Earth. Ye Xinning, please tell me your number first, and I will add your contact information once I reach Kyushu.”
Just as a mobile phone requires signal base stations to be used, the tongshen jade talisman also requires similar base stations. The Tongshen Temple Branch locations throughout Kyushu actually serve as these base stations. The coverage area of each Tongshen Temple Branch is very large, with a significant amount of overlapping coverage.
Tong Shen Hall itself claims that even if half of the Tongshen Temple Branch locations were closed, it could still guarantee the full Kyushu usage of the tongshen jade talisman.
However, there are no Tongshen Temple Branch locations on Earth, so it naturally cannot be used. One can only first remember the tongshen jade talisman identification number, which is similar to a phone number.
“Okay.” Ye Xinning recited a string of numbers. Knowing An Chen could remember them, she also gave her master’s number.
“If you have something, you can call me, or my master.”
“I charge for my services,” Hong Shan said, feigning profundity.
A Peak Soul Transformation Stage expert is very powerful in Kyushu; even a small Sect Master is not that strong.
To invite such a powerful being to act, one would have to pay some price.
“Then you can find me. If I come, my master will come too.” Ye Xinning glared at Hong Shan.
“The four of us are already strategic allies, Master, didn’t you agree?”
“Did… did I?”
Su Xiaojiu and An Chen each gave their numbers, while Ye Xinning wrote hers down on paper and carefully put it into her qiankun bag.
The four quickly quieted down, waiting for the Transmigration to arrive.
An Chen slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he was already in the small room of the Qingfeng Sect dormitory area.
He took out his tongshen jade talisman and, following the string of numbers in his memory, added Hong Shan and Ye Xinning as friends.
After doing this, he immediately took out his Spirit Gathering Array and began to Cultivate.
An Chen had also determined his current goals: to improve his Realm strength, and to wait for news from both Su Xiaojiu and Ye Xinning.
He hoped that Su De, the Sect Master of the Fire Phoenix Sect, would be pleased to see thirty brand-new electric wheelchairs and reward him with some good things. He also hoped that Hong Shan could truly help him sell the goods.
But just as he began to Cultivate, An Chen noticed something unexpected.
The countdown was not 48 hours, but 168 hours, which was a full week.
An Chen was not surprised, because while playing cards, the old man Hong Shan had told him a lot about Transmigration, including how the Transmigration time would become increasingly uneven.
Hong Shan was, after all, an old Transcendent, so it was normal for him to know more things than him.
In fact, An Chen had originally intended to ask, but Hong Shan's mouth became loose whenever he played cards, and he ended up spilling all this information without realizing it.
An Chen not only did not find this seven-day stay problematic but was even a little pleased.
Unlike other Transcendents, he didn't have to worry about livelihood issues; he had enough to eat and wear. He could use these seven days entirely for Cultivation.
He was not far from the Cultivation level four and with hard work this week, he might even be able to Breakthrough to the Qi Refining Fifth Level.
The tongshen jade talisman sent a notification. This notification directly communicated with the Primordial Spirit; there was no vibration or sound, but it directly let the user know that someone was looking for him.
An Chen picked up the tongshen jade talisman and, after using it, saw a message from Ye Xinning.
“My master and I are going to Central State. We’ll leave Qingfeng City tomorrow morning. I’ll try to get my master to bring me back before this week. How about we meet in the city?”
“No,” An Chen refused.
“In Kyushu, we should try not to meet. It’s better to just contact each other on the tongshen jade talisman.”
Then, An Chen explained in detail why he could not go down the mountain to meet Ye Xinning.
If he were to go to Qingfeng City, he would either have to apply to the steward or only be able to take on a mission. But no matter which option, the news would definitely be reported to the Grand Elder.
Once he went down the mountain, the Grand Elder would definitely be following behind him in some corner. If he were to rashly meet Ye Xinning and Hong Shan under such circumstances, not only would his Transcendent identity be suspected, but his ability to contact an expert of Hong Shan's Realm would definitely arouse suspicion from the Grand Elder and even the Sect Leader.
After all, they were also afraid that An Chen would be poached by outsiders and people from other Sects, so they would be extra careful.