“Swoosh!”
A bolt of green lightning crackled in front of everyone and forcing them to close their eyes. They dared not open their eyes even after the thunder had subsided for a while. When they did, they noticed that the intense light around them had died down so that they could finally see Chen Fan standing in the wash of brightness.
“Are you Chen Beixuan?”
Lu Yanwu gaped at the shadowy green figure in disbelief.
Standing before her was a young man in a black outfit.
The young man’s dark and thick hair tumbled down to his shoulders, his eyes let out an azure light, and his skin was so pale and lustrous that it resembled a piece of illuminating Mutton Fat Jade. The most striking change in Chen Beixuan’s appearance was his facial features. Lu Yanwu reckoned that there were still parts of the boy that she knew a few months ago in this gorgeously put-together face. Not only was Chen Beixuan a head taller than he used to be, but he also looked far more handsome and charming. It was as if someone had designed his entire body with an obsession for perfection. He looked like the glorified image of the Sun God Apollo in Greek Mythology.
“Yes, it is me.” Chen Fan said lightly.
His voice didn’t change much, except for a hint of huskiness that soothed Lu Yanwu’s ears and nerves as the most beautiful music would.
“So you really are Chen Beixuan.” Lu Yanwu was stunned.
Chen Fan had changed into a new person in less than three months, transforming himself from a croaking frog to a dashing prince. Although from time to time, Lu Yanwu could register a faint otherworldliness in Chen Fan, for most of the time, she found Chen Fan’s looks mediocre at best. However, Chen Fan now looked like the embodiment of prince charming, making people believe that he should have belonged in the fairy tales.
“He had turned over a new leaf.”
Lu Yanwu thought to herself in amazement.
Chen Fan indeed had improved himself by leaps and bounds. Other than his Primordial Essence and the Jade Bones, everything under and including his skin had been reshaped and reinforced according to Azure Thearch Longevity Body. By then, he already had the Connate Body, and therefore, he could live over a hundred years even if he halted his cultivation altogether.
“Congratulations on reaching the God Reining State, Immortal Master.”
King of Elixirs cupped his fist and bowed reverentially.
The elders and alchemist who were attracted by the commotion gathered around Chen Fan and was stunned by the development. They dropped their knees before Chen Fan as the most fervent devotees would before their god.
“Congratulations, Immortal Master!”
Everyone around Lu Yanwu kowtowed to Chen Fan, leaving the girl standing among them awkwardly. She was not sure if she should follow the others and kowtow to Chen Fan.
The change came so fast that in her mind’s eye, she still saw Chen Fan as the Young Grandmaster. Although Chen Fan had proved his power by subjugating her entire family, it was still admirable for her to see that the group of Medicine God Valley Sect members worship him like a god.
“Did he really reach the Immortal State?”
Lu Yanwu thought incredulously. She was born and raised in a Martial Artist family, but she was not a martial artist. She knew of the Immortal State, but she had no idea exactly what it meant.
“Immortal State?” Chen Fan crocked his head to a side and said: “No. I am not in the Immortal State yet.”
“Not Immortal State?” King of Elixirs was taken aback.
“No. But I should be able to hold up in a fight against an Immortal State cultivator.” Chen Fan stepped forward as the azure light in his eyes receded, revealing a pair of clear and innocent eyes.
Chen Fan’s voice was light and calm when he spoke of an Immortal State cultivator. It was as if he didn’t think an Immortal State cultivator was a big deal. The thought of Chen Fan’s power made King of Elixirs tremble all over again, so he knelt and kowtowed one more time.
He believed in Chen Fan’s power. Let it be the fire spilling out from his eyes, the flame that burned away the sky, or his elixirs that could cure even the deadliest poison in the world, everything about Chen Fan screamed loudly of his uncanny abilities. King of Elixr had a gut feeling that Chen Fan was not an ordinary mortal, instead, he was a cultivator who had long since surpassed the Transcendent State.
“Immortal Master, this woman claims to be your old friend. She had been waiting for you outside of the vault for over thirteen days.” King of Elixirs rose to his feet and reported.
“Oh? What brings you here?” Chen Fan’s gaze landed on Lu Yanwu.
Lu Yanwu held Chen Fan’s gaze, and right away, she shivered uncontrollably. Chen Fan’s eyes were two pools of the dark abyss; if she gazed too long into them, the abyss also gazed back into her”
After a while, she finally managed to gather herself, but anger quickly reclaimed her: “Chen Beixuan, Lei Qianjue had planted a Frigid Qi inside of my sister’s body because of you. She is getting closer to death every day, and they have already transferred her into an intensive care unit. She could die at any moment now.
“Didn’t you call yourself the Young Grandmaster? Didn’t you promise her a happy life? Go save her NOW!”
“Is that true?” Chen Fan furrowed his brows and looked to King of Elixirs.
King of Elixirs bowed and said: “Indeed it is. Three months ago, the Grandmaster of the Hong Sect, Lei Qianjue had returned back to China. He carried a Tripod Cauldron into the Lu family in an attempt to terrorize the Lu family. He also planted the Qi inside of a young lady as a punishment for siding with you. He had announced a challenge to you publicly and is currently waiting for your reply at the shore of the West Lake.”
“Since everything happened when you were still in seclusion, I didn’t dare to alert you. Neither did I dare to leave the entrance since I was afraid that someone else would disturb you during my absence. Our fire element elixirs were used up before the girl even got ill, so the only thing I thought I could do was to wait for you to come out of seclusion.” King of Elixirs paused a second and then apologized. “Immortal Master Chen, If I knew she is related to you, I would have gone straight to Lin City and saved her. I don’t think Lei Qianjue is so stupid as to clash against the Medicine God Valley Sect.”
“No harm is done.” Chen Fan waved a hand.
After all, Lu Yanxue was just an acquaintance of him. King of Elixirs had done the right thing, ensuring Chen Fan’s cultivation in seclusion was the uttermost important task to him at this moment.
However, he wagered that if he had revealed his personal connection to the girl, King of Elixirs would have hurried to save the girl three months ago, leaving the entrance to the vault unguarded.
“Lei Qianjue had not only broke his oath and set foot in China again, but he had also hurt my friend. It is a blatant taunt. Very well, I think I will use him as a test target for my new gained power of Ethereal Enlightenment.”
A sharp green light flickered in Chen Fan’s eyes as he thought so.
“So are we heading back to Lin City right now?” Lu Yanwu asked.
She was not familiar with cultivation jargon, but she knew that since Chen Fan had come out of his seclusion, Xiao Xue could finally be saved.
“There is no hurry. I have just completed my Ethereal Enlightenment, and I still need to improve it. We will leave tomorrow.” Chen Fan said calmly.
Fire burst out from Lu Yanwu’s mouth as she shouted at the top of her lungs hotly.
“Chen Beixuan, you are an asshole! Do you want to wait for another night? Xiao Xue is dying! haven’t I been clear?”
Then, she plastered on a sulky and indignant look and pleaded with a softer voice: “Chen Beixuan, let’s leave now. It will take us at least two days to reach Lin City. I don’t know how long Xiao Xue can wait.”
“At most two days.” Chen Fan replied, inviting a hot glare from Lu Yanwu.
Unknown to her, Chen Fan had planted his Divine Will inside of Lu Yanxue’s body so that he could monitor Lu Yanxue’s condition at any time. He noticed that despite Lu Yanxue’s weakening vitality, she would still last a few more days, enough time for him to make it to her.
Seeing Lu Yanwu was about to refute again, Lu Yanwu held her in place with a restraining hand. She knew she wouldn’t do anything so she stamped the ground, shook her head and put on a sulky look to protest silently.
The Medicine God Valley Sect had long since cleaned up a room for Chen Fan to meditate.
This time, he only intended to reflect on what he had learned over the three months, so he didn’t care about how much Qi was available to him.
“In these three months, I had used up all the Wood Element Spirit Qi in the Spirit Wood. It was the equivalent of all the Spirit Qi inside of a Connate Cultivator.” Chen Fan thought to himself as he fiddled with a piece of wood.
The wooden egg used to hold a green sheen on its surface, but now it looked dull like any piece of ordinary wood.
“It is a Spirit Core of a Spirit Tree. Although I have spent its Spirit Qi, it would grow into a Connate Spirit Tree once again if I planted it at the right place.” Chen Fan thought to himself.
However, since the Spirit Qi was spent, the tree will start out as an ordinary tree, and will eventually turn into a Connate Spirit Trees after tens of thousands of years.
That was clearly too much waiting for Chen Fan. Nonetheless, Chen Fan wagered that this tree didn’t grow to be a Connate Spirit Tree randomly, it must have been a sapling from a tree from the immortal world that possessed magical abilities.
Even if Chen Fan decided not to plant the core, he could turn the core into a Dharma Artifact that was no less powerful than the Jade Marrow talisman.
“At any rate, I should find out what kind of Ethereal Enlightenment abilities I have unlocked first.”
Chen Fan closed his eyes and felt the pulsing energy inside of him.
The True Essence in his system was at least a few times more powerful than it used to be, better, they had been converted to the Azure Wood True Essence. The powerful energy coursed in his veins like the turbulent flow in a large river.
Chen Fan suddenly had a thought. He wagered whether he could continuously shoot out over hundreds of Blade Auras. If he unleashed the True Essence out of his body as he did before,
“Such a surge in True Essence was not unexpected. What really made the Ethereal Enlightenment so important was the Divine Powers that came with it. I wonder what kind of Divine Powers the Azure Thearch Longevity Body would have unlocked for me?” Chen Fan thought expectantly.
What made the Ethereal Enlightenment so much more powerful than the Foundation Establishment was the Divine Powers. They were much more potent than Dharma Spells. The Li Fire Golden Eyes, for example, was one of the most powerful divine power that could be wielded by cultivators who had reached the peak of the Ethereal Enlightenment.
As for lesser Divine Powers, they were not as potent as the abilities that came with the Azure Thearch Longevity Body.
“I don’t care about Indestructible Longevity, nor do I care about Three Lives Incarnations. I just want something practical, such as the Azure Dragon Divine Eyes. “So thinking, Chen Fan started the Azure Thearch Longevity Art to initiate the divine powers.
“Kaboom!”
When he started the divine spell, a wave of vitality energy poured out from his body. He then flicked a finger in the air and sending green energy through the Void Dimension. The energy landed on the wall across the room.
The wall was made out of bricks and a small blade of grass managed to squeeze its root in between two bricks. The tiny grass quickly absorbed all the energy and started to spread all over the wall.
“Damn it, it’s the most common power: Yi Wood Spirit Qi! ”
Chen Fan was very disappointed.
The Yi Wood Spirit Qi was the most basic Divine Power of the wood element cultivation. He could speed up the growth of plants and trees and it could also be used to cure any ailment. In other words, this divine power was about as useful a Magical Cure Immortal Elixir. He would be able to cure even terminal diseases with one dose of the Yi Wood Spirit Qi. This divine power was even more effective than Essence Enhancing Pill.
However useful the Yi Wood Spirit Qi was, it was not meant for combat.
“Fine. This is not entirely useless. I was going to make an Essence Enhancing Pill for grandpa anyways, and now I have a better alternative.” Chen Fan let out a wry smile and shook his head. However, he found that something was amiss.
The Azure Thearch Longevity Body was the most powerful Spirit Body of the Five Elements Immortal Sect. It’s unlikely that it only came with one basic divine power.
“Could be that the art had also awakened another divine power in me?”
Chen Fan’s eyes lit up with hope as he thought so.