This Is Not Over

The facts proved that even though the pills refined by his master were incredibly potent, they couldn’t cure everything. Despite consuming two bottles—dozens of pills—Li Zi still failed to wake up.

Chu Xingchen scanned Li Zi’s condition with his divine sense several times, only to find that the faint traces of consciousness in Li Zi’s mind were in complete chaos. Without being a professional physician, he couldn’t accurately diagnose the issue, nor could he find a way to revive the unconscious man.

In the end… after ensuring Li Zi wouldn’t die from worsening injuries, Li Xingtian stuffed him back into the Qiankun bag. Since taking him out would just mean having a motionless body lying around, it was safer to keep him inside the bag.

Li Xingtian planned to have his master take Li Zi back first to see if they could find a physician to treat him.

As for himself, though his injuries looked severe, they were mostly superficial. After taking some pills, he recovered quickly.

Then there was the matter of the Heavenly Rosy Sect.

No matter how one looked at it, his disciple had been wronged.

Sure, the opposing side had lost a Nascent Soul elder, but his own disciple had nearly lost his life.

The way Chu Xingchen calculated it, the scales were far from balanced. This account still needed settling.

On the bright side, as expected of a Nascent Soul elder from a mid-tier sect in the Central Continent, the spatial ring he left behind contained quite a few valuable treasures. This incident had at least replenished their resources considerably.

However, Li Xingtian seemed reluctant to trouble his master further for his sake.

He insisted that the matter should be left as it was for now—once he mastered his divine techniques, he would return to settle the score himself.

In response, Chu Xingchen delivered a firm slap to the back of his head, asserting his authority as the sect master and shutting Li Xingtian up decisively.

What kind of disciple dared to challenge his master’s will?

Though the slap didn’t actually hurt, Li Xingtian still rubbed his head with a hand.

"Keep that bottle of pills for yourself," Chu Xingchen said, then handed Li Xingtian a Thousand-Mile Teleportation Talisman. "Caution is the parent of safety. When I’m not around, be careful."

"Where do you plan to go next? I’ll escort you part of the way. After that, I need to hurry back. Right now, your senior sister is watching over the sect. If I return too late, the main hall might be gone."

Li Xingtian looked at his master, then accepted the talisman while handing over the Qiankun bag.

He didn’t refuse his master’s offer, merely grinning as he replied,

"Then I’ll trouble you, Master, to accompany me eastward for a while."

With a sweep of his sleeve, Chu Xingchen transformed into a streak of light, carrying Li Xingtian away.

The sun rose and set.

By a small riverbank,

Li Xingtian gazed at Chu Xingchen, who wore a faint smile.

Softly, he called out, "Master…"

Chu Xingchen patted his shoulder and said,

"Sweet words won’t help. If there’s a next time, no matter what you say, you’re coming back to the sect with me. Train properly before you go out and embarrass me again."

Li Xingtian nodded lightly. "Understood…"

"Remember, you have a sect behind you. If you’re wronged, run back and tell your master."

Li Xingtian nodded firmly.

Chu Xingchen gave a slight nod. "Go on. I’ll head back too."

With that, he turned and left without another word, his figure vanishing into a streak of light.

He disliked farewells and never lingered on them.

Li Xingtian stared in the direction his master had disappeared for a long time before slowly kneeling. He kowtowed deeply, then rose and walked away with unwavering determination.

---

Heavenly Rosy Sect.

Chu Xingchen stood calmly before the grand and imposing sect.

This matter wasn’t over yet. His second disciple was stubborn—if he knew Chu Xingchen was coming here, he would refuse to leave, forcing Chu Xingchen to worry about him.

Better to send him away and act without distractions.

Sometimes, Chu Xingchen was domineering. A master’s decisions didn’t always need to be explained to his disciples, did they?

His Nascent Soul manifestation erupted at full power, its colossal form towering like a small mountain.

The icy, emotionless eyes of the Nascent Soul behind Chu Xingchen opened slightly.

The manifestation raised its foot and violently stomped down on the Heavenly Rosy Sect’s mountain-protecting formation!

BOOM!

A violent surge of spiritual energy erupted!

After reaching the Nascent Soul stage, cultivators developed unique manifestations based on their cultivation techniques and personal enlightenment.

The Blood Lotus of the Demonic Saintess, the Waning Sun of the Heavenly Rosy Sect’s elder—both were Nascent Soul manifestations.

Each had different abilities, reflecting the cultivator’s individual path.

The Nascent Soul stage was about proving one’s ideals and solidifying one’s future path.

Chu Xingchen’s manifestation, however, was a chibi version of himself.

In the cultivation world, this was known as a Karmic Nascent Soul—the pinnacle of Nascent Souls.

It didn’t rely on external objects but embodied the self as both origin and end.

No longer borrowing the world’s karma, it became karma itself.

Hence, it was called the Karmic Nascent Soul.

A flawless Golden Core forming a Karmic Nascent Soul—wasn’t that perfectly reasonable?

Admittedly, the Heavenly Rosy Sect’s "turtle shell" was tough. Even after the Nascent Soul’s kick, the mountain-protecting formation flared brilliantly, enduring the blow.

But the spiritual light dimmed noticeably afterward.

Immediately, alarm bells rang throughout the Heavenly Rosy Sect as countless streaks of light shot toward Chu Xingchen’s Nascent Soul.

The manifestation raised its hand, and a spiritual longsword materialized, slashing down at the formation once more.

Mid-swing, the sword transformed into flowing water—his eldest disciple’s divine ability could be applied to the Nascent Soul manifestation.

This made it a weapon of mass destruction.

After all, most Nascent Souls took the form of objects—who’d expect a lotus flower to perform a sword dance?

Only a Karmic Nascent Soul had a humanoid form.

And if it was humanoid, was it so strange for it to wield a divine technique?

This was precisely why Chu Xingchen dared to come alone for retribution.

The Heavenly Rosy Sect’s Nascent Soul elders and sect master, originally intending to intercept him, hesitated upon witnessing the terrifying sword strike.

Instead, they quickly formed a defensive array, channeling vast spiritual energy into the mountain-protecting formation to withstand the blow.

Otherwise, the sect might have been flattened by that single strike.

The flowing-water sword descended, its overwhelming pressure reducing the once-scenic surroundings to ruins.

Chu Xingchen’s gaze was ruthless as he poured his full power into the Nascent Soul. The formation held for a brief moment before teetering on the brink of collapse.

Just then, a sigh echoed through the air.

A streak of dark-gray light shot toward the Nascent Soul like a flash of lightning.

Compared to the colossal manifestation, it was as thin as a strand of hair. Yet, the Nascent Soul’s cold eyes locked onto it instantly, redirecting the sword to intercept.

Upon impact, Chu Xingchen saw that the dark-gray light was, in fact, an ancient longsword.

BOOM!

The Nascent Soul took a step back, while the ancient sword was sent flying.

A withered, elderly figure appeared in the sky, catching the rebounding sword.

The man looked ancient, as if the earth had already reached his eyebrows. A few sparse white hairs fluttered in the wind.

His murky eyes fixed on Chu Xingchen as he spoke:

"Fellow Daoist… from which top-tier immortal sect do you hail? Has my Heavenly Rosy Sect offended you?"

"All can be discussed. This old man offers his apologies first."