Chapter 2073: Chapter 2072 (Raw 2177, Raw 2167-2176 Nonexistent): Seeing the Azure Mountain Again

The Holy Daughter left Chu Xiang to bring Xiao Chen to meet Senior Cui.

“Xiao Chen!”

When Senior Cui saw Xiao Chen, he walked over with a wide grin, obviously excited.

“Congratulations! After you return, please give my regards to Old Seven, tell him that his old friend in Peach Blossom City misses him a lot.”

Senior Cui sounded somewhat choked as he spoke. He had waited for thirty years for his old friend but only managed to get a cup of familiar wine.

However, Xiao Chen still managed to help Grandpa Seven fulfill his dreams in the end.

Xiao Chen gained victory in the Wine King Contest and defeated Grandpa Seven’s old opponent, Great Master Yuanfei. This would resolve Grandpa Seven’s mental block.

Xiao Chen nodded and said, “Definitely.”

“Keep this carefully. The City Lord and I picked it with you in mind. The City Lord likes your Heart Burn a lot.”

Senior Cui took out a brocade box and gravely handed it to Xiao Chen.

“What is it?”

Just as Xiao Chen was about to open the brocade box, Senior Cui held Xiao Chen’s hand down and said, “Don’t be in a rush to open it. Open it after you return. Also, help me pass this Heavenly Source Pill to Old Seven.”

The Heavenly Source Pill was a pill for extending a cultivator’s life when their lifespan approached the end.

It was a Rank 5 Heavenly Pill and was worth cities.

Xiao Chen felt startled. It looked like Senior Cui and Grandpa Seven shared a deep friendship, one so deep that Senior Cui was willing to gift Grandpa Seven such a precious Medicinal Pill.

“Haha! I won’t remain for long, then. I still need to deliver the gifts for the other people.”

After chatting idly for a while, Senior Cui took his leave with a cupped-fist salute to deliver the gifts for the other Wine King Contest participants.

“Senior Cui, please wait!” Just as Senior Cui was about to leave, Chu Xiang called out to him. Then, she sent him a voice projection. After that, Senior Cui’s expression immediately changed dramatically.

“To think that there was such a matter! Unexpectedly, someone dared to barge into the Heavenly Fragrance’s residence in Peach Blossom City! How lawless! Don’t worry. I will do as Miss Chu said.”

Senior Cui left in a rush, with some anger on his face. However, this confused Xiao Chen somewhat.

“Chu Xiang, what did you say to Senior Cui?”

Chu Xiang smiled and explained, “Since Senior Sister said that the person from last night is definitely a participant of the Wine King Contest, we can get Senior Cui to check it out. From that, we can see who is injured or does not dare to show themself. That would tell us who the suspicious ones are.”

Xiao Chen said softly, “It is best if this matter does not spread.”

“Don’t worry. I told Senior Cui not to inform others.”

After Xiao Chen returned to his room, he opened the brocade box. There was a jade strip and a beast bone inside.

This...

Xiao Chen picked up the beast bone and looked. He was shocked to discover that it was the Heart Burn recipe he had given to the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor.

Xiao Chen stared blankly into space for a long time before he recovered.

The Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor was indeed a trustworthy person. He had never thought of taking advantage and even returned the recipe to Xiao Chen.

Moreover, the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor still helped Xiao Chen shoulder the danger.

The world knew that Xiao Chen had publicly handed the recipe to the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor for safekeeping. However, the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor secretly returned it to him.

This method of giving out and receiving it back saved Xiao Chen a lot of trouble.

As for the other jade strip, when Xiao Chen placed it on his forehead, a cryptic circulation method entered his mind.

This was a very rare Eye Technique, Candle Dragon Eyes.

One drove this Eye Technique with Soul Energy and the Ice Dao’s Great Dao Energy, imitating the eyes of the legendary Candle Dragon. Once activated, it could seal the opponent in ice. Furthermore, it would seal not only the physical body but the soul as well.

[TL Note: The Candle Dragon can be considered a kind of dragon. However, it looks bizarre. It has a human head and a dragon’s body. Depending on the legend, some say it has no legs, and some say it only has one leg. I could not find an English translation for the Candle Dragon, so I went a little more literal, although it could also be rendered as an Illuminating Dragon. I went with “candle” since the eyes are compared to candle flames later on.]

This was both an Eye Technique and a Soul Technique. It possessed extremely strong offensive power and could catch people off guard.

If Xiao Chen could shackle his opponent—even for just a second—he could kill his opponents a few hundred times.

The scarier thing was that, even if the ice seal broke, the Candle Dragon Eyes would continue to stare at the opponent and interfere with the opponent’s Movement Technique and Veritable Essence Energy circulation.

The only deficiency of this Eye Technique was that it was troublesome to execute, making instant execution difficult.

However, this Candle Dragon Eyes was eminently suitable for Xiao Chen.

It appeared that the Peach Blossom Sovereign Emperor had seen the three Great Dao in Xiao Chen’s body and that Xiao Chen used his Ice Dao less often. Hence, he specially chose this Eye Technique to give Xiao Chen a means of using his Ice Dao.

Since Xiao Chen possessed a Dragon Race bloodline, he would find cultivating this Eye Technique easier than others, achieving more with less effort.

—

As the sun set, Senior Cui returned to the Heavenly Fragrance’s residence and informed Xiao Chen and Chu Xiang of his findings.

“The whereabouts of the Heavenly Slaughter Sect’s Wang Yun is unknown, so the Heavenly Slaughter Sect Elder received the gift on his behalf. The Glacial Mountain Manor’s Ye Han already left the city. Pei Shaoxuan seemed to be slightly injured. He said that something went wrong with his cultivation. Besides these three, the rest seemed quite normal and showed nothing suspicious.”

Xiao Chen entered deep thought before asking, “What about Wenren Yu, the Profound Heaven’s Holy Son?”

“That person seems to be the least suspicious. He took the initiative to chat with me for a long time, showing nothing unusual,” Senior Cui answered honestly, not hiding anything.

Chu Xiang said, “It looks like the suspicious ones are Wang Yun, Ye Han, and Pei Shaoxuan. Pei Shaoxuan is the most suspicious. Once something goes wrong with a Demonic Dao Cultivation Technique, the rebound is extremely severe. He should be trying to treat his injuries in closed-door cultivation; how could he personally come out and receive Senior Cui?”

Xiao Chen remained silent, not saying anything.

Could it be Pei Shaoxuan?

If it is, then this person is rather horrifying. He presents a crazy front but hides a scheming heart.

In the following days, Xiao Chen got the Heavenly Fragrance disciples to send Iron Egg back while he remained in the Heavenly Fragrance’s residence for now.

During the day, he would practice his Saber Techniques with Chu Xiang.

During the night, he worked on the Candle Dragon Eyes. Once he succeeded, this Eye Technique could become a decisive killing move that rivaled the Divine Lightning Eye.

Seven days later, Xiao Chen said goodbye to the Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter and left the Heavenly Fragrance’s residence.

Before he left, the Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter said, “Young Master Xiao, do take care. If you need help, you can send a message to me at any time.”

“Many thanks.”

Chu Xiang said reluctantly, “How unfortunate! After parting with Young Master Xiao today, who knows when we can meet again?”

Xiao Chen smiled and countered, “You just have to tell me how to get to the Heavenly Fragrance, and I can come and see you.”

The location of the Heavenly Fragrance Holy Land had always been a mystery. No one knew where it was.

During the previous war between the righteous and demonic factions, the Black Dragon King had searched for the Heavenly Fragrance Holy Land several times to no avail. Xiao Chen’s words were just meant to tease.

“In your dreams.” Chu Xiang covered her mouth while laughing, the melodious, tinkling laughter sounding like wind chimes.

“Goodbye.”

“Chu Xiang, please help me send Young Master Xiao off.”

Chu Xiang sent Xiao Chen all the way to the Peach Blossom Wall. Xiao Chen’s figure dwindled into the distance until it vanished. Then, she sighed softly and turned to leave.

—

The return trip went much more smoothly than Xiao Chen anticipated.

The journey was calm and peaceful. Aside from some reckless ferocious beasts and the Desolate Slaves that appeared out of nowhere at night, there were no other disturbances.

The azure mountain came into view seven days later.

The ancient, mysterious azure mountain rose high, receiving the nearby villages’ worship for millennia.

This steep azure mountain showed a grandeur that suddenly cut off at the summit.

The azure mountain was still there, but where was the dragon head?

Now that Xiao Chen could see the azure mountain, the village was nearby. He could rush over before sunset.

The journey had been overly peaceful, making Xiao Chen feel uncomfortable.

He initially thought that even if that person that night did not come to seek trouble for him, the Hound Lion Empire’s crown prince, Xiahou Wu, and the Heavenly Slaughter Sect’s Wang Yun would not let him off so easily.

As Xiao Chen traveled, he kept his guard up, not daring to be careless.

Who could have imagined that those people would not make a move?

After thinking about it, Xiao Chen figured out the only possibility: the Heavenly Fragrance’s Holy Daughter had secretly helped him settle this matter.

Otherwise, given the characters of Wang Yun and Xiahou Wu, how could they not come and seek trouble for him?

This was fine too.

Xiao Chen withdrew his gaze and focused his attention on the azure mountain once again.

“Whoosh!”

Xiao Chen gently pushed off with his feet, and his figure moved like lightning, rushing towards the azure mountain.

This mountain seemed to be magical, able to capture his attention every time. With just a glance at it, he could not help rushing over.

Xiao Chen stopped when he was ten kilometers away from the azure mountain.

He recalled his strange encounter when he previously touched the azure mountain. When he climbed the azure mountain, his Demonic Qi had erupted from his entire body willy-nilly.

However, the more forbidden something more, the more tempting it appeared.

Xiao Chen considered himself a calm person. However, when he faced the forbidden azure mountain, he found it hard to suppress his urges.

He hesitated for a moment before raising his leg, moving over step by step.

Although Xiao Chen could travel a distance of ten kilometers in the blink of an eye, he moved very slowly.

A strange forcefield shrouded the azure mountain. The air was replete with hate, rage, murderous intent, pain, and other negative emotions; among which, despair was the heaviest.

To anyone else, this would be a demonic mountain without a doubt.

However, Xiao Chen’s instinct told him there was something strange about this, a startling, hidden secret.

“Don’t touch it!”

Just as Xiao Chen was about to touch the azure mountain again, someone behind him placed a hand on his shoulder.