Put away your magical powers now!.

Chapter 183 [One Hundred and Thirty-Five Brothers] (7000)

Chapter 178 [The 135th Brother] (7000)

The seventeenth generation of the Gu family...

Chen Yan replied to these words: "I know them very well!"
The previous ghost marriage, the ceremony, and the marriage certificate were all written by my own hand!

Gu Qingyi, the seventeenth-generation legitimate daughter of the Gu family!

Good heavens, this Gu Jinjia in front of me is the seventeenth generation of the Gu family... and he's the eldest son of the legitimate wife?!
He is Gu Qingyi's eldest brother!
Chen Yan stared at Gu Jinjia's face with a strange expression.

Wait a minute!

Gu Qingyi is my legal mother.

Therefore, Gu Jinjia...

Holy crap, it's my uncle?!
What the hell!

After calling me "brother" for so many days, he's become my uncle?!

·
Seeing Chen Yan fall silent, Gu Jinjia misunderstood and cupped his hands in a smile, saying, "Brother, are you blaming me? My concealment before was definitely not meant to look down on you..."

As he spoke, he leaned closer, put his arm around her shoulder, and chuckled, "I'm not like those other scions of noble families who are so snobbish and look down on lowly cultivators—I didn't tell you before not because I was deliberately hiding something..."

At this point, Gu Jinjia slapped the water and laughed, "Today I'll be frank with you, brother. Tonight I'll treat you to a good drink! These past few days we've been together day and night, sharing joys and sorrows, and we've truly become kindred spirits! If you don't mind, brother, how about we become sworn brothers today?"

Sworn brothers...?
Chen Yan opened his mouth.

Become sworn brothers with your maternal uncle?
How should I compare myself to Gu Qingyi?

Yes, your brother and I are sworn brothers, so you should call me brother.

You and my biological father are a couple, so I call you Mom?

Damn it!
Seeing that Chen Yan remained silent, Gu Jinjia became a little anxious: "Brother, if you're not saying anything, are you still blaming me?"

“…Uh, that’s not it.” Chen Yan came back to his senses, cleared his throat, and deliberately smiled bitterly, “I just didn’t expect that you, fellow Daoist, would have such a powerful background, that you are actually the eldest son of the Gu family.”

After a pause, Chen Yan deliberately asked, "Would the eldest son of the prestigious Gu family come to a place like this to undertake such a dangerous mission?"

Infiltrating the enemy-occupied territory of the Badlands Mountains and penetrating the areas inhabited by the rebelling Fiend Clan to investigate intelligence on "Demonization"—Gu Jinjia had mentioned this mission on the way. It was an extremely dangerous mission with a very high mortality rate. Over the years, Sendai had sent out countless people, and many elites had died or been wounded.

Gu Jinjia sighed, his tone becoming somewhat complicated: "Brother, you don't know, this is the difference between me and those spoiled brats from aristocratic families. In my eyes, those guys are nothing but withered bones in a tomb, good-for-nothings who suck the blood and flesh of their families."

My Gu family has established itself through military strategy, serving as generals in Sendai for generations. While other families' children drink fine wine and eat delicacies, the sons of my Gu family are tempered from a young age, eating the flesh and blood of enemy chieftains and tasting the bitter cold of the battlefield!

Other families, when they reach a certain age, usually send their children to remote, third-tier border posts to gain experience and prestige. But in the eyes of my family's children, such behavior is a great disgrace!

I was born as the eldest son in my family. Originally, I was to go to one of the three positions in the imperial court, but there is a rule in the imperial court that only one son from the family can be chosen to go to the three positions.

As for my family members, hehe... If there are people more capable than me, I won't be able to qualify for the Three Platforms. But I also don't want to go to the Sixteen Towns to live a life of idleness and waiting for death. So I racked my brains and chose Xueya Pass, a second-tier pass. But the danger of infiltrating the territory of the fierce tribe may not be less than that of the Three Platforms!

"If I achieve enough merit here in the future, I can face my other brothers and sisters with a clear conscience. I, Gu Jinjia, am not the kind of parasitic good-for-nothing or someone who just wants to live off others!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Yan looked at Gu Jinjia and couldn't help but feel a sense of respect.

Although this guy is cunning and ruthless, he has good ambitions. As a member of a noble family, he does not eat rich food, but is willing to hone himself and come to this place of hardship to lie on ice and snow and risk his life to gain merit. Just look at this, he is a man in golden armor!
The two of them took a comfortable bath in the bathhouse. Chen Yan was curious and went over to experience the "puppet scrubbing" sensation, which turned out to be much more comfortable than he had expected.

Both of them had been living in the wild for a long time, especially Gu Jinjia—the two first met when Chen Yan came to the realm last time, and Chen Yan had at least gone back once and stayed in the real world for a long time.

Gu Jinjia, on the other hand, had been infiltrating and lying in wait in the strange forest near Badlands Mountain for several months.

After scrubbing themselves in the bath, the two of them almost rubbed off several pounds of dirt. Then they rinsed their bodies thoroughly with hot water before coming out with their skin flushed red.

After changing into clean clothes, Gu Jinjia waved his hand, and someone took Chen Yan's dirty clothes to wash and then sent them to his room.

Chen Yan then followed Gu Jinjia to the dining hall of the inn ahead, where the charming woman named Ruyi had already prepared a table of food in a corner of the dining hall.

Gu Jinjia was clearly very well-regarded here. As he walked, many people greeted him, some calling him "Young Master Gu" and others "Brother Jinjia".

Gu Jinjia showed no airs of a scion of a noble family, and greeted these people warmly with foul language and obscenities.

“These are all rogue cultivators who came to Xueya Pass to earn battle merits and rewards for the bounty orders.” Gu Jinjia sighed, “They are all your fellow practitioners, brother. I have been in Xueya Pass for almost three years, so I am familiar with them. I have even met some of them in the wild, and we have quite a bit of camaraderie.”

Chen Yan looked at these rogue cultivators...

They were all dressed in tattered clothes, wearing fur coats, with unshaven beards, and reeking of the greasy smell of not having bathed for days. Their hair was also greasy.

He doesn't look like a cultivator at all.

These guys are a bunch of mercenary slickers!

The food on the table was quite plentiful, but Chen Yan didn't recognize most of the dishes. He only recognized one dish of roast meat, which was probably game meat, because he felt a warm sensation rising in his stomach after eating it.

As for the others, he couldn't identify them, especially a plate of leafy greens. Chen Yan couldn't recognize them; they were probably some kind of vegetable native to the realm.

However, there was only one plate of vegetables on the table—it seems that in such a harsh and cold place, vegetables are probably the rarest and most precious thing.

Gu Jinjia was in a great mood, and he actually picked up the wine jar and chugged it down in a row, showing off the whole jar on the spot.

After putting down the wine jar, he wiped his mouth vigorously and looked at Chen Yan with a smile, saying, "Now that we have a good relationship, I, as the elder brother, have a few things to make clear to you."

As he spoke, he laughed and said, "I am the eldest son of the Gu family, and I have three younger brothers and a younger sister. Since we are going to become sworn brothers in a little while, my younger brothers and sisters will also be your brothers and sisters! I need to make this clear to you!"

Chen Yan remained silent, but a strange thought suddenly arose in his mind...

"I won't mention my name, Gu Jinjia, as you already know me. My second brother, the second son of this generation of the Gu family, is named Gu Yinyi. He is at the Celestial Realm and serves in the Sword Box Pass. My third brother, Gu Tongbing, is the head instructor of combat techniques at the Immortal Prediction Pavilion in Sendai."

Of course, you've probably heard of my Gu family's most outstanding prodigy of this generation, the renowned Gu Qingyi, who is famous throughout the realm—that's my fourth sister!

"Yes, your fourth sister, my stepmother," Chen Yan muttered to himself.

However, despite thinking this in his heart, he loudly proclaimed, "Gu Qingyi, who went to the Prison Suppression Platform at the age of fifteen, fought for five years, and advanced to the Celestial Realm before the age of twenty—such a great name is renowned throughout the realm, and I have naturally heard of it!"

Gu Jinjia chuckled: "It's not surprising that you've heard of my fourth sister's name. There are probably not many people in the realm who don't know her name."

However... Gu Qingyi is the name she uses when she's out in public; her real name at home isn't that..."

Chen Yan laughed inwardly—Good, good, good! Gu Qingyi, you like to hide your real name, don't you! Now your own brother is going to tell me.

"In my generation of the Gu family, the second character of the name is ordered by gold, silver, copper, and iron, and the third character is ordered by 甲, 乙, 丙, and 丁."

I'm the eldest, so my name is Jin Jia (Golden Armor). My second brother is called Yin Yi (Silver Bone), and my third brother is called Tong Bing (Bronze C). Therefore, Gu Qingyi is my fourth sister, and her name is…

"Gu Tieding?" Chen Yan blinked.

"Not bad!"

"..."

Chen Yan burst into laughter.

Gu Tieding?
No way! What kind of family would name their daughter Tie Ding?
Gu Tieding?!

No wonder Gu Qingyi was unhappy with her real name, and looked like she wanted to kill someone whenever she mentioned it.

·
Gu Jinjia was a free-spirited and unrestrained man. After the two drank another jar of wine, Gu Jinjia slammed his hand on the table, glared at Chen Yan, and shouted, "Brother! Let's become sworn brothers!"

Chen Yan looked at Gu Jinjia and thought to himself, "I'm fine, anyway, I'm not the one who'll suffer... just don't regret it in the future."

Both men then stood up. Gu Jinjia slammed his hand on the table and roared, silencing all the diners. Gu Jinjia then picked up a bowl of wine and said, "Gentlemen, I killed many ferocious beasts and earned a lot of merits on my trip to Badlands Mountain! But the biggest gain from this trip was meeting this brother of mine!"

We fought side by side on Badlands Mountain, sharing both hardships and tribulations! Protected by Heaven, we barely escaped with our lives and made it back alive!

My brother is a true hero. I respect him as a person, and I am moved by our shared loyalty. Today, here and now, with all of you as witnesses, we two pray to Heaven and become sworn brothers!

After these words were spoken, the entire assembly of cultivators erupted in cheers, and some, their faces flushed, raised their wine bowls and shouted, "Congratulations to Brother Golden Armor!!"

Gu Jinjia then pulled Chen Yan to the table and they knelt down together. The two drank a bowl of wine, kowtowed together, and then supported each other's arms, their faces filled with excitement. They then changed how they addressed each other.

"brother!"

"Brother Golden Armor!"

"brother!!"

"Brother Golden Armor!!"

"Brother..."

"Alright, alright, that's enough." Chen Yan gratefully pulled Gu Jinjia down to sit: "Stop shouting, let's drink."

"Of course we'll drink, but we can't just drink with me, the eldest brother. All the other brothers have to drink too!"

After he finished speaking, dozens of rogue cultivators in the hall suddenly knelt on the ground, raising their wine bowls together.

"Heaven is above, brothers unite in righteousness!"

Gu Jinjia laughed heartily: "Brothers, our newest brother is named Wang Chuyi. From now on, we are brothers, as close as family, and we will share life and death!"

After everyone agreed enthusiastically, they all raised their bowls and drank the wine in one gulp, and then flocked to Chen Yan.

"Brother Chu Yi! Come, come, let me have a drink with you! I am Tong Lie, the thirteenth in the guild, you can call me Brother Thirteen from now on!"

"Haha, I'm You Hu, from Bank of China No. 27. From now on, you can call me Brother No. 27!"

"I'm……"

Chen Yan was dumbfounded!
Before he could react, he was forced to drink more than twenty bowls of wine in one go, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. Only then did he look at Gu Jinjia and say, "No, Brother Jinjia... these..."

"I want my brothers to know that everyone here is my sworn brother, Gu Jinjia! From now on, you are all my brothers! Our Xueya Pass Brotherhood is as strong as gold, and we will share weal and woe!"

With that, Gu Jinjia shouted, raised his bowl, and drank it all with the whole audience.

The entire audience shouted: "Brother!!"

Chen Yan's eyes widened.

Holy crap... have I wandered into Liangshan Marsh?!
·
Besides Chen Yan and Gu Jinjia, there were more than fifty independent cultivators present, all of whom were sworn brothers of Gu Jinjia's "Brotherhood".

Chen Yan downed more than fifty bowls of wine in one go, but eventually gave up.

More than fifty brothers raised their bowls to toast each other.

Don't ask, the answer is that we'll be like brothers from now on!
Just drink it!

After downing over fifty bowls of wine, Chen Yan was completely dumbfounded. His tongue was numb from drinking, and he couldn't help but ask, "..."

"Brother Jinjia... um, are all the brothers of Liangshan... no, our Brotherhood here?" "Of course not!" Jinjia laughed heartily: "My Xueya Pass Brotherhood has a total of 134 sworn brothers - today, with you, it becomes 135!"
There are only fifty-seven brothers present today; most of them are still scattered elsewhere and haven't returned. I'll introduce them to you one by one when there's another opportunity in the future!

Holy crap! One hundred and thirty-five people!
Chen Yan suddenly felt like he was in a dream.

After drinking this much, I gained 134 more "brothers"?!

Thinking of this, Chen Yan couldn't help but steal a glance at the golden armor...

This man in golden armor has gathered over a hundred sworn brothers. Is he planning a rebellion?
Raise the banner of righteousness, recruit soldiers and horses, storm the Sendai, and rebel against that bird-like Heavenly Venerable...

·
Chen Yan woke up on the wooden bed in his room.

When he woke up, he was still feeling extremely dizzy and lightheaded. You can forget about last night's drinking session!

There were over fifty "sworn brothers" present, and each of them would offer you a bowl of wine, which would amount to over fifty bowls!

If someone shows you respect, you can't not reciprocate, right? Wouldn't that be disrespectful?
Okay, you return the favor with one bowl each, that makes over fifty bowls!

That's over a hundred bowls!

It's not over yet!
In high spirits, one of them said, "Brother 135! Although this is our first meeting, I feel an instant connection with you. From now on, when we brothers visit each other, I'll offer you another bowl..."

Okay!

Once one person does it, a second, a third...

You'll have to retaliate again, won't you?
Even more outspoken individuals would throw down their bowls, shouting, "What small bowls! I want to drink with my 135 brothers! Bring me a big jar!"

Before Chen Yan could react, the other person was already chugging away from the jar, then tossed the jar aside and stared at him with wide, bull-like eyes: "Brother, I'll drink first as a sign of respect!"

Do you want some or not?

So, are you going to drink it or not?

Forget about drinking capacity, everyone present is a cultivator! Each and every one of them has experienced the nourishment of their physical body with vital energy!
That's over fifty Captain Americas!
Drinking alcohol is like drinking water to me!
Can Chen Yan withstand it?
In the end, he didn't even know how he got back to his room. He only vaguely remembered that several people staggered and carried him back.

When Chen Yan woke up, he felt dizzy and his mouth was dry. He struggled to get out of bed and finally found a kettle that was placed next to him in the room.

The kettle was filled with water, and Chen Yan didn't care whether it was cold or not. He picked it up and poured it down in one gulp.

After pouring a pot of water down his throat, he felt the fire in his throat subside. Then he felt his stomach churning violently. He lay back down and remained there for a long time before the fire gradually subsided.

A moment later, a knock was heard at the door, followed by the voice of the proprietress, Ruyi.

"Little brother, are you awake? I can bring you some food."

Chen Yan took a deep breath and replied weakly, "I'm awake... Come in."

"Then I'm in."

Ruyi gave a charming laugh and pushed open the door.

The woman, still wearing an apron, walked in gracefully, carrying a food plate and placing a large bowl of steaming soup on the bedside table.

"This is a hangover soup that I had made. Drink it as soon as you wake up." Ruyi looked at Chen Yan and smiled charmingly: "My hangover soup is the most effective. Jin Jia and his brothers always rely on my hangover soup to come back to life when they get drunk."

After saying that, she looked at Chen Yan's face and nodded, saying, "After you drink the soup, rest for a while. If you can get out of bed, come to the front to eat."

After Ruyi left, Chen Yan struggled to sit up and picked up the bowl of hot hangover soup next to him.

The aroma was enticing; a bowl of snow-white, thick soup, brimming with the fragrance of meat.

Chen Yan took a sip; it was slightly sour and spicy, but very appetizing.

He drank it all in one gulp, and his churning stomach seemed to be soothed and gradually calmed down. A warm feeling spread from his chest and abdomen to his limbs and bones.

Two words: Comfortable!

I don't know what kind of meat was used in this soup, or maybe some hangover medicine was added. Anyway, after drinking a bowl, Chen Yan did feel like he had been "resurrected".

After lying down for a while, I actually felt a bit better.

Remembering Ruyi's words, he got up, dressed, and left the room to go to the shop in front.

Inside the shop, about half the people were seated, about twenty or so.

Golden Armor was also seated among them.

As soon as Chen Yan entered, more than twenty people looked up, greeted him warmly with smiles, and called him "Brother 135".

Chen Yan felt a chill run down his spine... In fact, he didn't remember the names of most of these people at all. He did remember some names, but he couldn't match them with their faces.

He forced a smile and bowed in greeting, and the man in golden armor beckoned him to come and sit next to him.

On the table was a dish resembling soup or porridge, along with some cured meat as a side dish to accompany the rice.

Jin Jia smiled at Chen Yan: "Brother! Last night we became sworn brothers, and you officially joined our brotherhood. I have already sent word to the brothers scattered outside, and more than forty brothers have replied, saying that they will come back in the next two days to see you, their 135th brother."

Then, they'll want to get drunk with you!

Chen Yan was holding a bowl of soup when he heard this and his hand trembled.

Still drinking?

More than forty more brothers have arrived?!
He looked at the man in golden armor, only to find that the man was looking at him with a half-smile.

Damn it! This guy did it on purpose!
This is revenge! Absolutely revenge!

During their revenge on Badlands Mountain, the two betrayed each other!

Fortunately, Jin Jia was just joking. He then stopped smiling and gestured to Ruyi, who was sitting behind the counter.

Ruyi immediately came over and placed a bulging leather bag on the table.

“Brother, this is the bounty we earned from killing the heads of those ferocious beast tribes outside before we entered the pass. I sent someone to the town gate yesterday to exchange it for merit points and collect the bounty. This is your share.”

After a pause, Gu Jinjia slowly said, "The heads of the ferocious beast tribe you killed, along with the spoils of war including weapons and equipment, were exchanged for a total of 1,600 coins at the town gate."

Since you're drunk and asleep, I'll take charge for you. Here's a bag with six hundred coins; you can keep it with you for spending money.

As for the other thousand coins... it's inconvenient for you to carry so much money around."

As he spoke, he took out a jade token and placed it on the table: "This is my Brotherhood's 'money token,' which is valid in all shops and businesses within Snow Cliff Pass! Whether it's a medicine shop, an alchemy room, or a weapon workshop, you can use this money token to buy and sell. If you see my Brotherhood's money token, I can even give you a 10% discount."

"I've stored your thousand coins in this token. If you leave Snow Cliff Pass, you can come to this counter anytime, find Ruyi, and exchange the remaining balance in the token for jade coins to take with you."

Money cards?

It's just a bank card, isn't it? Paying by card is actually more convenient.

Chen Yan smiled and accepted it, saying, "Thank you, Brother Golden Armor."

Jin Jia sat and ate with him for a while longer before saying, "I only found out yesterday when I returned to the pass that my family had been sending me messages for several days, asking me to return to Sendai. I must leave today. I don't know when we will meet again..."

"Well, our brotherhood's base is in this inn at Ruyi in Xueya Pass. We brothers gather here and meet. You can leave anytime if you need anything, but if you don't, feel free to stay."

He paused for a moment and then smiled and said, "Just pay for the room. Ruyi is giving the brothers the room at cost price."

Haha! It's not that I, as the older brother, want to make money off you, it's just that this deal is going well, and I can't just eat and drink here for free.

So, are you planning to stay a few more days, or are you leaving? Or you could come with me to Sendai.

Chen Yan thought for a moment and then smiled and said, "I've just arrived at Xueya Pass, so I'll stay here for a few days."

"Okay! If you need anything, just tell Ruyi."

After saying this, Jin Jia stood up, and the other "brothers" from the fraternity at the table also stood up. Some bowed to Chen Yan, some hugged him, and after a warm farewell, they left with Jin Jia.

After finishing his meal, Chen Yan went to the counter and chatted with Ruyi, who was sitting inside, for a while. He inquired about various matters concerning Xueya Pass and the locations of various shops before getting up and leaving.

The interior of this mountain has been hollowed out, with tunnels crisscrossing the mountain, and all the facilities are cave dwellings dug into the mountainside.

Chen Yan left the Brotherhood's stronghold and traveled through mountain tunnels. If he missed a section, he would ask a patrolling soldier for directions. Seeing that he was carrying the Brotherhood's money token, the soldiers were quite friendly and pointed him in the right direction.

A moment later, Chen Yan arrived at a place where the entrance to a cave dwelling was quite exquisite. After pushing the door open, Chen Yan saw two middle-aged men sitting in front of a counter inside. They looked like brothers.

"I need a practice room, what's the price?"

"A Class A room costs ten coins a day, Class B five coins, and Class C two coins." One of the middle-aged men immediately stood up with a smile: "If you use a Class A room, the daily fasting pills will be provided free of charge by our store."

Chen Yan nodded and tossed over the Brotherhood's money token: "First-class room, three days."

After taking the money token and glancing at it, the other party's expression became more respectful, and he smiled and said, "It's a distinguished guest of the Brotherhood. According to our agreement with the Brotherhood, distinguished guests of the Brotherhood will receive benefits for their patronage."

"Well, there won't be a discount, but since you've booked a Class A room for three days, we'll give you three extra hours."

After saying that, he took out a porcelain bottle and placed it on the table: "This is a three-day fasting pill. Please keep it safe, esteemed guest."

After Chen Yan accepted the money, the middle-aged man came out from behind the counter and led Chen Yan to the back door of the cave dwelling.

Passing through the back door and walking down the tunnel, you'll see rows of exquisite cave dwellings, which are all practice rooms.

Chen Yan followed the man for a while and arrived at a doorway. The man opened the door and said with a smile, "The Bagua plate on the wall is activated, and the door is sealed by a magic array. Even I can't open it unless I forcefully bombard it."

The Spirit Gathering Array will automatically activate after you turn on the Eight Trigrams Plate, and will automatically deactivate after three days and three hours. Dear guest, please cultivate diligently, and we wish you a swift breakthrough!

After saying that, the man left. Chen Yan entered the room and glanced at the training room.

The room wasn't large, with a small futon in the center for meditation. The floor was made of jade, carved with various runes.

Chen Yan walked over and twisted the Bagua plate on the wall. The door closed automatically, the formation was activated, and the door was sealed off.

Then, rich primordial energy continuously emerged from beneath the jade stones on the ground!
Chen Yan's heart stirred, and he walked over and sat down on the futon, carefully feeling the surge of vital energy.

The concentration of vital energy is quite good, several times stronger than our previous version of the spirit-gathering array made of bluestone strips!
Chen Yan took a deep breath, opened the porcelain bottle, swallowed a fasting pill, then sat cross-legged and began meditating to circulate his vital energy...

After completing a cycle of energy transfer, Chen Yan felt his body full of vital energy, and then took out the thumb ring and put it on his thumb.

As another cycle of vital energy was circulated and cleansed within his body, it was not stored or retained, but rather completely poured into the ring without leaving a trace...

·
Although my updates were a bit irregular the past couple of days, at least I didn't miss a day and managed to post what I was supposed to post each day. The reason was that I was busy with a business trip the other day, and I had to squeeze in time to write every day. The business trip itself was also very tiring, and sometimes I was so sleepy that I couldn't keep my eyes open, so I would splash cold water on my face to stay awake while writing.

Fortunately, my business trip is over, and I haven't missed any updates. I'll try my best to maintain the previous update schedule.

·
(End of this chapter)