Chapter 174: You May Leave

Chapter 174: You May Leave

At a rate of 100,000 per minute for a late Fusion Realm body, Chen Huai’an had already spent half an hour in Cangyun Realm.

Why not stay longer?

Just take a look at the horrifying expense—if he didn’t control himself, forget ten billion, even a trillion wouldn’t be enough to sustain it.

Besides, distance makes the heart grow fonder.

Leaving right after a brief appearance would make Qingran miss him every day.

It was definitely not because his avatar couldn’t physically touch her, so he simply gave up.

To make traveling more convenient for Li Qingran and the others, Chen Huai’an bought a mid-sized flying boat.

The Virtual Girlfriend Shop had now upgraded to mid-Foundation Establishment, allowing for direct purchases of mid-sized flying boats.

Onboard the flying boat, Su Qinian was all smiles, looking as if he were celebrating the New Year.

"Fellow cultivators, you've all had a long journey. How about having a meal here? Rest assured, though the Sword Pavilion may be poor, we still uphold proper hospitality."

"Ah, about that—Sect Master Su, I have a pill refining in my furnace. I should head back first…" Zhou Xuanzi chuckled awkwardly and was the first to excuse himself.

"Oh! I just remembered—my spirit beast is having a difficult birth. I need to return and handle it immediately," said an Elder from the Beast Taming Sect as he turned to leave.

"Amitabha… This humble monk must also go beg for alms…"

One by one, the cultivators vanished, each with their own excuse.

In no time, the once-crowded flying boat was completely empty.

Su Qinian watched as even the Nascent Soul cultivators fled in a hurry, utterly baffled.

Today should have been a day of joy!

His ancestor had put on a spectacular display, eliminated a great threat to Cangyun Realm, and it was finally time for Sword Pavilion to shine. He had even overcome his own anxiety to host a banquet—yet everyone ran off as fast as they could!

"Strange, strange… Usually, these old guys can't wait to squeeze every last resource out of me. Why are they being so polite today?"

"You seriously don’t know?"

Yue Qianchi tilted his chin towards Chen Huai’an, who stood near Li Qingran, never straying more than half a step away.

"Look at that killing formation," Yue Qianchi said.

On the flying boat, tens of thousands of spiritual qi swords hovered in midair, sword intent so thick that the sky had turned dark.

"Who in their right mind would dare stay here?"

Su Qinian turned around and took one glance—and immediately shivered.

Countless swords twisted in the air, roaring like dragons, crackling like thunderous lightning cascading down from the heavens. The entire flying boat had become a prison of swords.

"This… this isn’t just protection… This looks like someone’s about to annihilate an entire sect!"

"...Fine, fine. This works too. At least I saved ten low-grade spirit stones."

Shaking his head, he clasped his hands behind his back and obediently returned to his seat inside the boat.

Even Li Qingran had gained insight into the sword, and he needed to digest what he had just witnessed as well.

"Ten low-grade spirit stones…"

Yue Qianchi scoffed.

Seriously? So stingy.

Good thing those Nascent Soul cultivators didn’t stay—otherwise, Sword Pavilion’s hard-earned reputation would have instantly crumbled.

"If you’re going to host a banquet, at least spend twenty low-grade spirit stones, right?"

Meanwhile, Chen Huai’an was in the middle of flexing.

But he wasn’t flexing just for the sake of it.

Li Qingran had entered a state of enlightenment, and he was protecting her.

Why the grand display?

Simple.

He rarely got to see her in person.

Now that he finally did, he had to give her the best.

His protection had to be absolute.

Seeing that Li Qingran still needed more time, Chen Huai’an shifted his attention to his recent gains.

After slaying the Buddhist-Demonic manifestation, the loot didn’t drop immediately.

Only a few minutes later, he received a Demonic Cultivator Fragment and a book—"Heavenly Demon Technique"—clearly the cultivation method of the mastermind behind the scenes.

What really caught his attention was this:

That Demonic Cultivator should have died instantly, yet some unknown force revived his manifestation.

Moreover, the Buddhist-Demonic manifestation wasn’t controlled by a single individual.

And the Buddhist portion of it felt pure and balanced, clearly originating from a highly orthodox Buddhist technique.

Curious, he asked the Sect Leader of the Zen Sect for insight.

But even that monk couldn’t give him a clear answer.

He only mentioned that Cangyun Realm had many rogue cultivators who practiced Buddhist techniques.

The Buddhist Order had strict precepts, and many Buddhist cultivators were expelled for breaking them.

For example, Cold Zen Mind, also known as Smiling Buddha, was a prime case.

Over the years, who knew how many of these rogue Buddhist cultivators were out there?

And among them, there could very well be one or two ridiculously powerful ones.

"Something doesn’t feel right… Is this a setup? Is there another mastermind behind all this?"

Chen Huai’an narrowed his eyes.

To be safe, he decided to perform another round of Heavenly Divination.

Previously, divining that Demonic Cultivator had cost him fifty layers of Fortune Loss, leaving him with fifty layers of leeway.

That should be enough.

"Tell me—who is the real mastermind behind the Heavenly Demon Sect’s Young Lord?"

The loading circle in his customer service interface spun for a long time before a warning box popped up:

"The target’s fate has been concealed by a Dao Artifact. Forcibly divining will increase your 'Fortune Loss' by at least 2000 layers. At your current strength, you cannot withstand a Fortune Loss above 1000 layers. Please reach Foundation Establishment before trying again."

"A Dao Artifact?!"

Chen Huai’an frowned.

This was the first time he had encountered something his Heavenly Divination couldn’t penetrate.

He tried another question.

"What is a Dao Artifact?"

"This is your fourth divination today. This answer will cost 10,000¥ but will not increase your Fortune Loss."

"Ten thousand spirit coins?!"

Chen Huai’an fell silent for a moment.

Then, his gaze slowly shifted toward Su Qinian, who was meditating in the next room.

His eyes glinted.

"Sect Master Su, come here. I have a question for you."

"Sect Master Su, what is a Dao Artifact?"

"Uh… A Dao Artifact is a spiritual artifact that contains a trace of Dao Law. These artifacts have various mystical properties… There's also another theory—highly talented and fortunate cultivators can be refined into Dao Artifacts. But that’s usually something demonic sects do to extend their lifespan."

Chen Huai’an nodded.

"Good. Your knowledge is solid. You may leave."

Su Qinian’s smile froze.

"Uh… that’s it? You’re not going to ask anything else?"

Chen Huai’an closed his eyes.

"Nope."

Su Qinian: "???"

Where was his opportunity?

Where was the Ancestor’s guidance?

Just one simple question that any Nascent Soul cultivator could answer, and now he was dismissed?

"Heartless bastard!"

He wanted to protest, but in the end, he shut his mouth.

Ancestor had his own reasons.

Ancestor was a Void Piercing cultivator—every action carried deep meaning.

It wasn’t something he could question.

Su Qinian sulked as he pouted and sat back on his mat, casting resentful glances at Chen Huai’an.

Chen Huai’an felt his gaze—and ignored it.