Borrowing a sword

Chapter 198 You are Wood Bingjiu, I am not Fire Dingyi
Inside the main hall, Jiang Zhi exuded a terrifying aura.

"Are you threatening me with the Origin Spirit Realm?" He looked coldly at the young man standing there.

Chu Huaixu's inner sword began to automatically resist this pressure, so that its "weak" master, who was only at the first level, could be protected from harm.

This allowed the young man in the black robe to remain standing there with an unchanged expression, his posture upright, looking directly at Jiang Zhi.

"This disciple wouldn't dare!" His words and his eyes were completely different things.

You fucking dare not call me that?

In fact, Xiang Yan and the others had known Chu Huaixu for so long that they already understood what kind of person he was.

"This kid is actually quite stubborn."

"And don't be fooled by his usual polite and courteous demeanor."

"Actually, he always uses honorifics, but as a result, he says or even does some very disrespectful things."

In fact, Chu Huaixu dared to do this purely because, after so much contact, he had come to understand Xiang Yan and the others better.

These high-ranking members of the Taoist sect did not actually possess an overly strong aura of superiority.

Chu Huaixu knew very well that based on what he had just said, some superiors would not consider his personal feelings at all, nor would they allow him to have any feelings. They would regard all his disobedience as willfulness.

He understands them, which is why he dares to "be arrogant because of their favor".

As for Jiang Zhi...
They already disliked each other, so why bother with this old man!

Even if this junior grandmaster were to do something, the final outcome would only be that Xiang Yan and the others would persuade him: "Junior grandmaster, the big picture is more important, the big picture is more important."

He is the leader of the Xuanhuang sect and can slay primordial spirits!

When a person possesses uniqueness, then everyone must unite around him!
The Primordial Spirit Realm and Kunlun Grotto-Heaven are Jiang Zhi's Achilles' heel.

Often, the thing a person cares about most is their weakness.

Looking at the young man before him, who was able to withstand the pressure emanating from him, Jiang Zhi once again realized the terrifying power of the Heart Sword.

The scene before him was undoubtedly a reminder of Chu Huaixu's special nature.

He took a deep breath, then glared at Li Chunsong and vented his anger on him.

—I just told you to take him home, didn't you understand? Why are you still sitting here!

Chu Huaixu's "royal mount" quickly got up.

"Chu Huaixu, come with me first. The sect will handle this matter properly." He winked at the boy.

As a result, Chu Huaixu immediately became much easier to talk to in front of Li Chunsong.

"This disciple will obey Sixth Elder." That scheming fox's green tea behavior kicked in again, and he actually said something like that.

Even Jiang Zhi, who was sitting in the high seat in the main hall, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his eye.

Xiang Yan and the others felt both amused and exasperated.

But Li Chunsong got to enjoy it again.

Look at the respect he shows me!
This person, I brought up the mountain!
The equally unremarkable-looking Sixth Elder immediately waved his sleeve with an air of arrogance, signaling his "chosen" savior to hurry up and follow.

Xiang Yanchong smiled gently at the young man in the center of the hall and gave a subtle hint with his eyes.

Chu Huaixu then left the main hall with the Sixth Elder.

After the two left, Xiang Yan turned to look at his junior uncle, his face full of helplessness.

"Junior Uncle, I think Chu Huaixu has misunderstood your meaning."

Jiang Zhi glared at him and said, "Do I need the understanding of a junior like him?"

Xiang Yan and the others were already somewhat used to this situation.

Junior Uncle was rather poor at interpersonal relationships and knew almost nothing about social etiquette.

He used to be a carefree and irresponsible person, but now when it comes to the Origin Spirit Realm, he becomes somewhat obsessed.

They all find it exhausting to talk to him about these things, let alone a young man as vigorous as him.

As the sect leader, he had a fierce and menacing face, and he had to appease both the young and the old.

Everyone started to coax their junior uncle with words of encouragement.

Only Chu Yinyin sat leisurely on the big chair, her little feet swinging in the air, feeling that her future apprentice was just like her, speaking and acting with such imposing manner!

Jiang Zhi's anger finally subsided a bit, but then she said to Xiang Yan, "Chu Huaixu's descent from the mountain this time was arranged by you and me. Although the appearance of the primordial spirit was unexpected by everyone, strictly speaking, we both bear responsibility for Liu Tianfeng's death in this accident."

The sect leader, who was naturally stingy, immediately thought to himself that something was wrong!
Sure enough, Junior Uncle's next words were: "Give his son a Profound Heaven Fetal Breathing Pill, and you and I will make up the difference in contribution points if needed."

Xiang Yan: Junior Uncle! No! You...me...sigh—!
Nangong Yue and the others simply watched the spectacle from the sidelines.

In previous years, at this time of year, everyone would usually share the cost equally.

But they were happy to save money, and even happier to see their stingy sect leader suffer a setback.

Xiang Yan sighed and could only nod before beginning to make the remaining arrangements.

He said to the Second Elder, a master alchemist, "Second Senior Brother, give the pills to Chu Huaixu and let him take them privately."

This favor was essentially given to Chu Huaixu, making him the good guy.

Then he added, "Junior Sister Nangong, you should arrange for some people to escort Zhao Qianfeng from the Sword Sect to the Sword Sect for processing."

"The Sword Sect must give our Daoist sect an explanation for this matter!"

“Okay.” Nangong Yue nodded.

Meanwhile, Li Chunsong had already sent Chu Huaixu back to the bamboo house.

He looked at the young man in front of him and became more and more satisfied.

But after thinking about it, he still said, "It's not that Junior Uncle is unwilling to give me the Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill, it's just that he always acts like this when it comes to the Origin Spirit Realm."

"It's understandable that you don't like him because you're not familiar with him."

"If you spend more time with him..."

"Oh well!" He felt that the possibility of disliking it even more was greater.

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu couldn't help but smile.

Clearly, this is the reputation of the junior master of the Taoist sect.

But Li Chunsong finally said, "But Junior Uncle doesn't have any ill intentions towards you. On the contrary, from now on, he will definitely pay more attention to you than anyone else."

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu was completely unconcerned. Just because someone doesn't have bad intentions doesn't mean they can get along well with others.

He simply said, "This disciple understands."

After exchanging a few more words, Li Chunsong flew away.

The following day, Tai Tingbai, the second elder of the Daoist sect, personally delivered a Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill.

"Take it privately, and don't let anyone else know about it," Tai Tingbai instructed.

"Yes, disciple understands."

The second elder of the Taoist sect looked Chu Huaixu up and down, and after a while, he spoke: "I've heard that you're studying the art of alchemy?"

"Yes, I didn't expect the Second Elder to know about this?" Chu Huaixu tried to get information out of him.

“We certainly know which techniques you exchanged in the library.” Tai Tingbai had actually seen through his attempt to get information out of him, so he simply gave him the answer.

Chu Huaixu breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that he only knew that Chu Huaixu had exchanged for magic.

The Second Elder, whose name carried a touch of poetry but whose appearance and demeanor resembled that of a peasant, took out a jade slip from his storage token.

"I returned late. Before that, I was with my junior uncle at the foot of the mountain fighting demons and searching for sword servants."

"I heard from my junior sister that you will become her and my seventh junior sister's disciples in the future."

"Moreover, Fifth Junior Brother and the others have already given you gifts upon meeting you."

"Then I, who will be the second senior master in the future, shouldn't be stingy."

"These are my early alchemy insights. Since you want to learn this art, perhaps they will be useful to you," he said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Chu Huaixu was delighted to learn that Chu Yinyin had urged him to bring a gift. He immediately said respectfully, "This disciple thanks Second Elder."

Tai Tingbai smiled and nodded, but still added, "But you should focus on preparing for the Origin Spirit Realm for now. The way of alchemy is extremely time-consuming, so you should study it carefully. Don't get too engrossed in it recently."

“Alright, disciple understands.” Chu Huaixu agreed.

Obsessed with this?

The medicine cauldron [Dao Sheng Yi] is my anti-addiction system.

Just let it immerse you in the experience!
As for himself, he can simply use experience points to improve his alchemy skills.

After Tai Tingbai left, Chu Huaixu began to "digest" the jade slip.

He soon heard the system notification tone.

"[Ding! You have obtained a jade slip—Tai Tingbai's early alchemy insights.]"

"[This can reduce the learning and leveling experience points for any intermediate-level alchemy technique.]"

Chu Huaixu took a look and found that it could actually reduce the amount by 40%.

"Not bad, not bad!" He felt very satisfied.

Once his cultivation level improves, Chu Huaixu will definitely need to learn intermediate alchemy techniques.

[The Dao gives birth to one] It is so heaven-defying that it cannot be used to refine low-grade spiritual pills forever; that would be a waste of its resources.

After carefully storing the Xuan Tian Fetal Breathing Pill, Chu Huaixu prepared to go to the Liu family later.

To his slight surprise, two familiar faces arrived outside the bamboo house.

Leading the way was Mo Qingmei, a Taoist deacon with a pleasing appearance and a delicate, refined air.

Chu Huaixu was even more familiar with the person following behind her.

However, due to some other reasons recently, he didn't particularly want to see the other person. Moreover, he knew in his heart that the other person probably didn't know how to approach him either.

Chu Huaixu, with an outwardly composed expression, began to bow: "This disciple greets Steward Mo and Steward Niu."

The visitor was none other than Old Niu.

For some reason, Chu Huaixu felt that the other person looked extremely tired.

He seemed to have aged several years in an instant.

Mo Qingmei smiled and took a few steps forward, then immediately said, "Huai Xu, when we're alone, you don't need to be so polite and formal. You saved my life."

On the altar, if Chu Huaixu hadn't stepped in to help and resolved all the troubles in the end, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but I was the steward in charge, responsible for protecting all the outer disciples. Yet, I was the first one to be knocked unconscious on the altar.

Mo Qingmei walked to the table outside the bamboo house and placed some of the gifts she had brought on the table.

Seeing that Chu Huaixu was about to say something, she immediately said, "Hey! They're nothing valuable, just things you and Shuangjiang can use for your daily cultivation."

Niu Yuanshan then somewhat awkwardly placed the basket of spirit oranges he had brought on the table.

These kinds of spiritual fruits aren't particularly precious; they're just something to have.

Mo Qingmei frowned immediately upon seeing his expression.

"I called you over because you're most familiar with Huai Xu. What's wrong with you now? You look like you don't know him at all!" she scolded.

Chu Huaixu and Niu Yuanshan were somewhat taken aback, and after hearing this, they couldn't help but exchange a glance.

For [Mu Bing Jiu], Chu Huai Xu, who had completely abandoned the identity of [Huo Ding Yi], was indeed somewhat unfamiliar.

For some reason, after hearing what the Crown Prince said and learning that Chu Huaixu had betrayed the organization, Old Niu's first reaction was shock and disbelief, but not much anger. Only endless confusion and a touch of indescribable sorrow remained.
Especially after he finally understood everything that day, he also realized his current awkward situation.

Currently, everyone is in a delicate balance.

Chu Huaixu didn't betray the organization or Lao Niu, and His Highness the Crown Prince didn't intend to take action against Chu Huaixu right now.

If either side breaks off relations, the first person both sides will likely target is Niu Yuanshan!

This has made him unsure how to get along with the child now; they're no longer on the same path.

"But of all things, he saved Qingmei again this time when he went down the mountain!"

I owe Qingmei a great deal.

In this way, he had no choice but to accept Chu Huaixu's favor.

Niu Yuanshan had an unusual fondness for Mo Qingmei, which was why he didn't end up with her.

The more he cared, the more important she became, and the more he owed Chu Huaixu.

He had led teams down the mountain several times before, but he never expected things to turn out this way.

"How could it have turned out like this?" Niu Yuanshan couldn't understand.

But today's Chu Huaixu is not much different from the past.

After hearing Mo Qingmei's reprimand of Lao Niu, he boldly began to openly tease the two of them.

"Deacon Mo, please don't talk about Deacon Niu like that. You said that I saved your life, and then Deacon Niu became so flustered. I'm starting to overthink things."

But his words, however, made Mo Qingmei's mind wander, and she immediately started to have all sorts of wild thoughts.

Despite being middle-aged, she possessed a touch of girlish shyness and reproach.

"What nonsense are you spouting? You're talking gibberish and even making fun of your elders!"

After she finished speaking, even though her heart was racing, she couldn't help but glare at Lao Niu.

But in reality, when the old ox heard the dead fox's words, he would think a lot about them.

After all, imagine the situation back then: Mo Qingmei, who was at the third realm, was no match for the evil cultivator, yet Chu Huaixu, who was at the first realm, rushed over to rescue her without hesitation.

Today he openly "revealed" it again, acting as if he had heard about the scandalous rumors between the two of you.

So what does this mean?

Niu Yuanshan sighed inwardly:

"Chu Huaixu, Chu Huaixu, what am I supposed to do with you?"

As a seasoned spy, Lao Niu quickly adjusted himself and began chatting with the young man in front of him as usual.

After chatting for a while, Mo Qingmei didn't intend to stay any longer and decided to leave with the old ox.

Before parting, Niu Yuanshan gave Chu Huaixu a deep look, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Chu Huaixu watched his retreating figure, thinking, "How come I never noticed before that Lao Niu actually has a rather serious hunchback?"

He had once foreseen the future and fate of the old ox.

At this thought, he suddenly called out to the Taoist ox.

"Steward Niu, I have a few more words to say to you. I wonder if now is a convenient time?"

Mo Qingmei glanced at the two of them. At her age, she had some sense of propriety and immediately said, "You two chat. I still have some things to take care of at my disciples' academy."

Chu Huaixu took a few steps forward and came to the old ox.

He was considerably taller than Niu Yuanshan, by a full half head.

Old Niu really looks quite old now.

Chu Huaixu said, "Steward Niu, since I entered the sect, I have received much care from you, in everything big and small."

"No one knows what the future holds."

"If anything happens, I hope that Steward Niu will carefully consider everything before doing anything and follow his own heart."

“Steward Niu, I’m not saying this because I want you to let me go under any circumstances. I sincerely hope that one day you can also let yourself go.”

After speaking, without waiting for his reply, the outer disciple bowed to the Daoist deacon and then turned to leave.

(P.S.: First update, please vote with double monthly tickets!)

(End of this chapter)