CHAPTER 1069: CHAPTER 949: ESCAPING DANGER, INVITATION

The time left for Ye Fan was running out; he had to make a choice. If the people ahead reached him and discovered the Nine Heavens Mysterious Crown, he would be doomed.

After much deliberation, Ye Fan decided to step out of the Virtual Space within the Nine Heavens Mysterious Crown. He might be able to fight against the White Ape, but he wouldn’t have a chance to escape from the cultivators of the Xuan Realm.

Swish!

Time was limited. Although Ye Fan’s injuries hadn’t been fully healed, he had no choice but to take risks. He gritted his teeth and stepped out of the Virtual Space within the Nine Heavens Mysterious Crown. With a thought, the Nine Heavens Mysterious Crown instantly vanished into his body.

Originally, the attention of the Ice Snow Spirit Ape was drawn by the disturbances ahead. It suddenly found its hand empty, and Ye Fan appeared in front of it.

"Roar..."

The Ice Snow Spirit Ape let out a howl. It was filled with extreme hatred, though the three strikes before didn’t cause any harm, the sheer impact was enough to cause it physical pain.

Seeing Ye Fan appear as suddenly as he had disappeared, the Ice Snow Spirit Ape went berserk, roaring as it swung a massive palm fiercely at Ye Fan.

Boom—

A muffled sound echoed, and Ye Fan was struck flying, several bones breaking within him. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his face pale. If not for his strong Martial Arts Will keeping him conscious, he would have been knocked out instantly.

If Ye Fan had been in peak condition, he might have had a twenty percent chance to dodge this close-range violent strike. But now, his injuries were severe; though treated somewhat in the Virtual Space, they hadn’t healed, severely affecting his ability to perform, his speed and reflexes lagging.

In crisis, Ye Fan bit down hard, and with a thought, the Golden Feather Wings unfolded instantly. But he could no longer propel himself to fly; he could only glide using air currents.

Whoosh!

The Ice Snow Spirit Ape never expected Ye Fan to survive its heavy strike and seize the opportunity to flee swiftly. It stomped, turning into a white lightning to chase after him.

After sustaining two heavy hits in quick succession, Ye Fan finally couldn’t control the Golden Feather Wings anymore, which retracted instantly. Under gravity, he fell like a severed kite, heavily crashing beside a girl as graceful as a fairy, rolling his eyes and nearly losing consciousness.

The Spotted Leopard had already been killed, its Beast Core extracted. The girl and her companions were resting when Ye Fan suddenly fell from the sky, leaving them stunned.

"Roar~"

The Ice Snow Spirit Ape followed closely, roaring as it launched an attack at Ye Fan, catching even the girl nearby within its attack range.

"What a beast, daring to act viciously before me, Tong Qianchen!"

The girl’s brows knit tightly in anger, her eyes filled with killing intent. She shook the sword in her hand, shooting out rays of Sword Radiance, encompassing the Ice Snow Spirit Ape.

The Ice Snow Spirit Ape, albeit the dominant Half-step Yuan realm, was keenly sensitive to danger. From the moment Tong Qianchen made her move, it realized it had hit a wall. But retreating wasn’t an option now, forcing it to face her attack.

Tong Qianchen’s sword light erupted, disrupting the Ice Snow Spirit Ape’s vision in the sunlight, with the fierce Sword Qi hissing sharply.

Immediately after, the Ice Snow Spirit Ape felt a chill on its neck, its attacking body froze in place, maintaining its defensive posture. The fierce gaze in its eyes gradually blurred, letting out an unwilling grunt as it fell headfirst to the ground.

"Congratulations, Junior Sister. Besides a Beast Core, the creature also has an Ice Pearl, an Anti-Aging Holy Object, useful for beauty," the Purple Robed Youth approached, smiling, congratulating Tong Qianchen.

Tong Qianchen ignored the Purple Robed Youth and turned to Ye Fan, extracting a Jade Bottle from her clothes. She poured out a fragrant Elixir Pill and gave it to Ye Fan using clean water.

With difficulty, Ye Fan sat down cross-legged, intending to express thanks, but suddenly realized he didn’t know how to speak the Xuan Realm’s language, only pretending to purse his lips while he began operating to catalyze the Elixir Pill, healing his injuries.

"It’s my oversight, I forgot to plant some information about the Xuan Realm in your mind!"

Meanwhile, Elder Xuan reappeared, imparting some basic information about the Xuan Realm into his sea of consciousness, including the language.

From this foundational information, Ye Fan found the language of the Xuan Realm and Huaxia different but not vastly distinct, allowing mutual comprehension, which surprised him a bit.

Half an hour later, Ye Fan’s injuries finally came under control, gradually recovering. Though far from healing, he could care for himself without issue.

"You’re just a True Qi realm cultivator, how dare you venture alone into the Xuan Beast Forest?"

Once Ye Fan awakened from healing, Tong Qianchen handed him a water pouch, urging him to drink to soothe his throat, before asking curiously.

The curiosity stemmed from her knowledge that the Xuan Beast Forest is a Forbidden Land for humans. Unless led by an elder, weaker cultivators wouldn’t dare to delve its depths alone.

Not only Tong Qianchen, but others also stared questioningly at Ye Fan.

"Here’s how it is..."

Elder Xuan had just shared some basic information about the Xuan Realm with him, so Ye Fan concocted a lie, saying he came from a small village around the Xuan Beast Forest mountains, self-cultivating for a time intending to venture out in hopes of joining a sect for further cultivation.

He ended up being chased by a strong Xuan Beast around the Xuan Beast Forest’s perimeter, escaping into the Xuan Beast Forest in panic. Though he shook off the mutant beast, he got lost and bumped into the Ice Snow Spirit Ape while seeking a way out, nearly losing his life.

"So that’s how it is..."

Tong Qianchen pondered for a moment and said to Ye Fan, "It’s just perfect, our Xuanwu Sect is currently recruiting outer disciples. If you are willing, you can join our sect’s outer sect, which would at least give you a place to stay."

"Junior Sister Tong, this doesn’t seem appropriate, does it? He seems to be over twenty years old, and he’s only at the late-stage True Qi Realm. His talent must be poor, and joining the sect would be pointless."

The graceful Purple Robed Youth slightly frowned, opening his mouth to block Ye Fan from joining Xuanwu Sect.

On one hand, as he said, although the outer disciples of Xuanwu Sect require only late-stage True Qi Realm, those recruited are all young teenagers—as younger they are, the better their potential and growth space.

On the other hand, he was pursuing Tong Qianchen and had already felt animosity towards Ye Fan when he saw Tong Qianchen holding him, wishing the Ice Snow Spirit Ape had smacked Ye Fan to death right then. Why would he want Ye Fan to join Xuanwu Sect?

"Senior Sister Tong, Brother Chu is right. Although he’s at the late-stage True Qi Realm, he’s already missed the best age for cultivation. Joining the sect wouldn’t make much sense and would waste a spot for outer disciples."

Beside the elegant Brother Chu, a plump girl like a ball of flesh quickly chimed in.

As Chu Feng’s follower, she naturally saw Chu Feng’s thoughts, and took this chance to express herself. How could she not perform?

Besides, although she was only sixteen years old, her cultivation had reached the peak of True Qi Realm, equivalent to the peak of Gang Qi Realm on Earth, stronger than Ye Fan’s power, so her words carried a noticeable sense of superiority.

"Since I cannot meet the requirements for recruiting disciples, I won’t attempt it. Thank you for your kindness."

Ye Fan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and spoke.

Although he was eager to join a sect for cultivation, the condescending attitude and disdainful gaze from Chu Feng and the meat ball made him feel particularly uncomfortable.

"It’s okay, you’ve met the requirements; it’s just that you’re slightly older. However, that’s not much of an issue. Perhaps you haven’t undergone formal cultivation before, which resulted in slow progress."

"Moreover, history has shown that there are many powerful cultivators who matured late. This is not a hindrance for you. Please join our sect!" Tong Qianchen said with a smile.

"Senior Sister Tong, this..."

The meatball youth was about to say something again, but Tong Qianchen’s brows furrowed, and her phoenix-like eyes glared fiercely with anger, immediately silencing him, making him tremble like a cicada in winter and causing him to stand aside, afraid to say anything more.

"Though he’s quite a bit older with limited potential for advancement, he can still do some menial work as an outer disciple. Let’s decide on that!"

While everyone was silent, the Qing Robe Elder spoke, expressing his opinion.

Though he didn’t believe Ye Fan would have the potential to mature late as Tong Qianchen suggested, since Tong Qianchen was the beloved daughter of the Xuanwu Sect Leader, he couldn’t afford to disregard her decision.

A seasoned elder, the Qing Robe Elder managed to take on a leading role in this training exercise; regardless of his strength, his interpersonal skills were definite. He knew when to say certain things, his perceptive skills surely rivaled his cultivation powers.

He wouldn’t want to clash with the beloved daughter of the Xuanwu Sect Leader over Ye Fan, sparing some negative words in front of the sect leader might not threaten his elder position but would certainly affect him.

"Alright, from now on, you are one of us at Xuanwu Sect!" Tong Qianchen smiled.

"Are you feeling alright now?"

At the same time, the Qing Robe Elder walked over and spoke to Ye Fan, "If you’re able to move on your own, follow us back to the sect and then, according to rules, take a test. It’ll let everyone witness your strength."

His move was quite shrewd; he couldn’t afford to offend Tong Qianchen, and Chu Feng had reasonably strong backing too. Although he sided with Tong Qianchen, by setting a test by rules, it left Ye Fan’s entry into the outer sect still uncertain, thus offending neither.

"Let’s go, you can ride the flying artifact with me!"

Saying this, Tong Qianchen summoned a dual-row flying shuttle, inviting Ye Fan to ride with her back to the sect.

Swish!

On hearing this, Chu Feng’s expression changed, as Tong Qianchen’s flying shuttle was one he hadn’t ridden before. He hadn’t expected her to invite Ye Fan, which made him extremely displeased, feeling just as uncomfortable as swallowing a fly during a meal!

However—

Despite his displeasure, his mind remained dark, and he said nothing, although his gaze towards Ye Fan harbored an increasing undisguised animosity.

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PS: Four Chapters completed~

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