Chapter 21 – The Test
"Lose? Impossible!"
Chen Chang'an stood with his hands behind his back, moonlight streaming through the window lattice, coating him in a silver glow.
Outwardly, he appeared calm and unhurried, but inwardly he was delighted.
Just now, he had concealed his presence and watched Xiao Chen mutter to himself; how could he not realize that the other party truly carried an old grandmaster within him?
Good. A broken engagement, a betrayal, and an old master in a ring—this web novel protagonist's buffs were stacked to the limit. Tell him, how could he possibly lose?
"Sir…" Xiao Chen stepped back half a pace warily, three poisoned silver needles concealed between his fingers.
"Don't be nervous." Chen Chang'an flicked his sleeve and took out a bottle of Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill from his sleeve pouch.
This time, he truly had not brought any spirit stones, but apart from those, he had forgotten nothing else.
The jade bottle traced a graceful arc through the air and landed in Xiao Chen's hand. "Heal your injuries first."
Xiao Chen's hand trembled as he pulled out the stopper. Inside the ring, Yao Lao cried out, "Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill?! This is actually a Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill!"
"Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill? What is that?" Feeling Yao Lao's excitement, Xiao Chen removed the jade bottle's stopper.
Instantly, a refreshing fragrance spread out. It was like orchid yet not orchid, like musk yet not musk—at first whiff like a spring breeze against the face, and upon savoring, like cold spring water soaking the body, even calming the chaotic spiritual power within him.
"Real… it's actually real…"
Yao Lao's voice trembled within the ring, and even the ring itself quivered slightly in Xiao Chen's grasp.
Xiao Chen carefully poured the pill into his palm. It was the size of a longan, its body a glassy hue with nine naturally formed cloud patterns on the surface, flowing with multicolored radiance under the moonlight.
Most astonishing of all, within the pill seemed to be a mass of liquid flame slowly rotating, each turn sending faint sparks dancing across its surface.
"Xiao Chen, do you know…" Yao Lao's voice was more solemn than ever, "Even at my peak, the chance of successfully refining this pill was less than thirty percent."
Xiao Chen's pupils shrank sharply.
After spending these past days together, he already knew Yao Lao was a grandmaster of the pill dao in the Longevity Realm.
"The Nine-Turn Soul-Returning Pill requires nine types of millennia-old spirit herbs as the main ingredients, supplemented by eighty-one rare auxiliary materials," Yao Lao continued, his tone filled with reverence.
"The very first step, 'Spirit Tempering,' demands continuous refinement over forty-nine days with heavenly flames. If the heat is off by even a hair, all previous effort will be lost."
Xiao Chen saw the pill's cloud patterns begin to shift, projecting a miniature star map illusion into the air.
"See those cloud patterns?" Yao Lao gave a wry smile. "That is the Great Dao resonance triggered upon the pill's completion. Legend says that each additional cloud pattern doubles its potency. Nine turns… is already a legendary grade."
"What's even more frightening…" Yao Lao's voice dropped lower, "The flow of these cloud patterns… they are clearly 'Heaven-Tribulation Cloud Patterns.' This means the pill's creation triggered a Pill Tribulation…"
Xiao Chen instinctively tightened his grip on the pill.
He had heard of Pill Tribulation—an omen that appeared only when heaven-defying pills were born. Any pill that could withstand such tribulation was without exception a divine object that seized the fortune of heaven and earth.
"This pill can knit flesh to bone and restore the dead to life," Yao Lao sighed. "Even if only a remnant soul remains, consuming it can rebuild the body. In the cultivation world, it could spark a bloody storm…"
"It's… such a precious thing?"
Xiao Chen took a deep breath, replaced the stopper, and, suppressing his reluctance, carefully returned the jade bottle with both hands. "One should not accept reward without merit—Xiao Chen cannot bear such a great gift from sir."
"A great gift?" Chen Chang'an waved it off casually. This thing? Every so often the system handed out a few bottles at sign-in—it was probably the least valuable item in the entire reward pool.
However, he quickly changed his mind. After all, this was just a youth from a small, rural town who had never seen the world—understandable.
Even the so-called head of the Xiao family was merely a cultivator at the Returning Origin Realm.
Thinking of this, Chen Chang'an felt a surge of satisfaction. This was exactly the effect he wanted!
If he waited until the protagonist had leveled up to a higher stage, there would be no room left for him to show off.
He maintained a mysterious demeanor, not reaching out to take the medicine bottle. Instead, seizing the moment, he said, "Xiao Chen, are you willing to take me as your master?"
Before the youth could reply, Yao Lao warned from within the ring, "This person's identity is unclear—be cautious of deceit!"
But this time, Xiao Chen ignored Yao Lao's words.
Do not underestimate the young and poor!
It was this man before him who, with only five short words, had reignited the flame in his heart that was on the verge of going out.
Otherwise, he might never have had the courage to set that ten-year agreement.
"I am willing!"
He suddenly dropped to his knees, moving so fast it startled Chen Chang'an.
Xiao Chen's expression was serious. "Master above, please accept your disciple's bow, and please take me away from the Xiao family!"
Uh… wasn't that a bit too fast to kneel?
Now it was Chen Chang'an's turn to be a little stunned.
Still, why refuse a protagonist handed to him for free?
He instinctively opened his mouth to agree… then suddenly froze mid-breath.
Wait—that wouldn't work. This incarnation only had Tongxuan Realm cultivation; how could he break through the Xiao family's layers of surveillance?
Chen Chang'an fell into thought.
To tell the truth outright? Of course not!
His persona was that of a reclusive master—how could he be stumped by something so trivial?
But taking Xiao Chen away really was beyond this incarnation's ability. Should he let his true body appear?
He hesitated for a moment, then a thought flashed in his mind—this was the protagonist, so why should he be the one solving the problem?
His gaze swept over Xiao Chen, seeing the sincerity and anticipation in his eyes. Kid, if you truly are the protagonist, you should prove it to me first.
With that thought, Chen Chang'an let out a long sigh, his fingers within his sleeve quietly forming a seal to cancel the incarnation. No matter the outcome, the act still had to be played to the end.
"In that case… I will first give you a test."
His figure began to grow transparent, moonlight passing through his robes. "From here, travel east for one thousand li to an unnamed valley. I will wait for you there. If you can arrive within three days… I will officially take you as my disciple."
Before his voice had faded, his body dissolved into countless points of starlight and vanished into the night.
Xiao Chen stood frozen in place.
Inside the ring, Yao Lao sucked in a sharp breath. "An external incarnation?! That is a legendary supreme immortal art! This convenient master of yours must have an extraordinary background!"
"Then no matter what… I must pass this test!" Listening to Yao Lao's words, Xiao Chen made up his mind.
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