Chapter 168: The Mysterious Number

Chapter 168: The Mysterious Number

"Master hasn’t visited me all day…"

By the bedside, Li Qingran paused her cultivation, resting her cheeks on her hands as she stared into the void, a hint of worry between her brows.

No matter how busy Master was, he would always check in on her at least once a day.

This was the first time he had disappeared for a full day.

Could he have encountered an unbeatable monster in that subspace and gotten seriously injured?

"If only the Zhongzhou Secret Realm would open sooner…"

Li Qingran bit her lip and let out a soft sigh.

Every day, she used the Dragon-Patterned Tao Alchemy Cauldron to refine her spiritual herbs, preparing for the eventual creation of the Hundred Herbs Detox Pill—the only way she could help her Master.

Aside from that, all she could do was train hard.

She was still too weak to be of any real assistance.

【Qingran.】

A familiar presence brushed against her mind.

Li Qingran’s eyes brightened.

"Master!"

"Master, where have you been? Did something happen? Your disciple missed you so much…"

【Mn. I battled a great demon and suffered serious injuries, but it’s been dealt with… However, one of my companions sacrificed himself to save me. His body was destroyed, leaving only a fragment of his soul.】

"Ah…"

Li Qingran opened her mouth but hesitated.

She didn’t offer empty words of comfort.

Instead, she quietly retrieved a bottle of spiritual wine from under her bed—one of the Dan Sect’s brews—and poured Master a cup.

Her voice was soft:

"Master, this is the Dan Sect’s ‘Relief from a Hundred Sorrows’.

Your disciple may not be able to handle liquor, but I can still share a drink with you."

Chen Huai’an didn’t refuse.

He clicked [Drink], and the wine materialized in his hands.

Instantly, the rich fragrance of aged liquor flooded through Containment Chamber 0.

Baji, who had been dozing off, immediately snapped awake, eyes gleaming.

But one glance at the Nine-Turn Spirit Orchid, which was staring him down, made him wilt back onto the floor.

Damn it.

If he were still at full strength, how could he let some tiny weed intimidate him?

Meanwhile, Li Qingran took a single sip—

And her cheeks instantly flushed.

Dan Sect’s liquor was notoriously strong.

The alcohol gave her a bit of liquid courage, and she finally spoke the words in her heart.

"Master… don’t be sad.

Those who protect the world are the true heroes.

That senior… wouldn’t want to see you like this either.

Your disciple will train hard—hard enough to become the sword at your back, so you’ll never have to face separation and loss again."

Chen Huai’an chuckled.

"Oh? So if you’re at my back, I become invincible?"

Li Qingran’s face turned even redder.

She pouted, then whispered shyly:

"Your disciple… will become very, very strong.

Your disciple can protect you too…"

Before she could finish, her body swayed, and she collapsed against the headboard, eyelids drooping.

She was completely drunk.

Her flushed cheeks didn’t hold the shyness of a maiden, but rather the carefree intoxication of a mischievous little fox.

She murmured sleepily, rubbing her cheek against her koi-patterned sleeve:

"Master… this wine is way harder to memorize than the Sword Manual…"

The moonlight spilled through the ornate windows, turning the half-empty wine cup on the table into a frosted silver pool.

A slight breeze rang the bronze chimes under the eaves, which startled the small silver bells tied around the girl's wrist—

But not enough to wake the sleeping figure curled under the cloud-patterned quilt.

Chen Huai’an smiled.

Then he carefully moved the cup away from the edge of the table.

Like hell he was drinking that.

Li Qingran got wasted off one sip—if he drank even half a cup, he might die on the spot.

Better water it down first.

Maybe it had some special effects.

Using his finger, he gently pulled the blanket over her.

His gaze softened.

Then it sharpened again.

He had several urgent goals to accomplish.

His top priority was to help Li Qingran survive the Zhongzhou Secret Realm and eliminate all threats.

Second—

He needed to find a way to revive Luo Haisheng.

If a "fragmented soul" was just an incomplete set of three souls and seven spirits, then there had to be a way to summon them back.

Compared to that, running cross-realm trades was just a side hustle.

And lastly—

Power.

Reality had changed.

The emergence of Corpse King Di Jiang had left him feeling completely unsafe.

Who knew if an even stronger enemy might appear next?

He didn’t have a second Thunder Talisman of the Violet Sky.

Opening his inventory, Chen Huai’an found three new items.

[Demonic Cultivator Fragment]

[Broken Soul-Suppressing Nail]

[Imperial Sword – Sinking River]

"Equipment drops? Nice!"

Relief washed over him.

Corpse King Di Jiang had truly been annihilated—no secret escape plans, no trickery.

But these drops were… odd.

The Soul-Suppressing Nail, for example.

If he remembered correctly, it had been nailed into Di Jiang’s face.

But what was truly strange—

Was that there was a number inscribed on it.

137.

What did it mean?

A serial number?

An employee ID?

Or did this mean Di Jiang was the 137th one, implying there were at least 136 more like him?

Or was it just a fragment of some larger code leading to a shocking secret or treasure?

Chen Huai’an shook his head.

"No, wait… is it possible that this is just a manufacturing number?

As in—this was the 137th Soul-Suppressing Nail produced?

Maybe if I collect all of them, I’ll get a free Di Jiang silicone doll."

…Maybe his imagination was running too wild.

He moved on to the Imperial Sword – Sinking River.

The sheath was made of flood dragon skin wrapped around millennia-old darkwood.

The hilt was reinforced with dragon bone, wrapped in black silk from a water serpent’s cocoon.

The blade was forged from Nether Iron and Heavenly River Frost Crystal, giving it a silvery sheen, with wave-like patterns running along its edge.

Most notably—

The entire blade was covered in frost.

Weapons with built-in elemental effects were always valuable.

[Imperial Sword – Sinking River (High-Grade Spiritual Weapon / Sword Soul Missing)]

[Di Jiang, the Emperor of Shang, forged this sword during a great drought. To summon the Heavenly River and save his people, he poured his life force into it. His soul transformed into a dragon, forever bound to the blade.]

"Holy sh*t, backstory!"

Chen Huai’an raised an eyebrow.

"So Di Jiang was actually a good emperor?

Why did he turn into a Corpse King then?

And why was his face covered in Soul-Suppressing Nails?

Was his tomb looted or something?"

He materialized the sword.

A wave of imperial majesty radiated from the blade.

"Nice sword, nice sword!"

Reaching out to grab the hilt—

His hand froze mid-air.

Literally.

A layer of frost formed over his fingers before he could even touch it.

"…I spit on you."

Chen Huai’an’s eye twitched.

He promptly hung the sword on the wall.

"Fine. Stay there and think about your actions."

Then, with a smirk—

He reopened My Virtual Girlfriend.

10 billion in funds.

It was time.

Time for the demonic cultivators of Cangyun Realm to experience the wrath of heavenly divination.

…

…