Chapter 304 - Four Seniors and One Blessing

Chapter 304: Chapter 304 - Four Seniors and One Blessing

The Zhuge Clan expert stopped several steps away from Su Bai and studied him openly.

There was no hostility in his gaze.

If anything, he looked amused.

"Zhuge Tianhe."

He tapped his own chest.

"Zhuge Jing’s uncle."

Su Bai’s expression immediately softened.

Zhuge Tianhe laughed when he noticed the recognition.

"That brat has mentioned you often enough that I was beginning to wonder whether I had gained another nephew without being informed."

Su Bai cupped his hands.

"Senior Zhuge."

"None of that."

Zhuge Tianhe waved him off before narrowing his eyes slightly.

A moment later, his expression changed.

"Hm?"

Su Bai stood quietly.

Zhuge Tianhe’s eyebrows slowly rose.

"Interesting."

The others immediately became curious.

Zhuge Tianhe looked toward Lu Canghai.

"With my cultivation, I still cannot clearly see through your disciple’s foundation."

Lu Canghai’s beard almost seemed to rise with him.

"Naturally."

Su Bai glanced at his master.

That single word had contained far too much pride.

Before Lu Canghai could continue, the Great Elder from Myriad Swords Sect stepped forward.

"I am called Han Jianyu."

He gave Su Bai a measured nod.

"I am one of the Great Elders of Myriad Swords Sect."

His manner was considerably more restrained than Zhuge Tianhe’s, but there was clear approval in his eyes.

"The younger generation spoke highly of what happened inside Fallen-Star Sanctuary. Whatever else may be said, you helped bring several factions closer together during a time when suspicion would have been much easier."

Su Bai bowed again.

"Senior overpraises me."

Han Jianyu shook his head.

"I rarely praise juniors without reason."

The cultivator from Scorching Sun Valley immediately stepped forward before anyone else could speak.

"I’m Yan Changkong, Elder of Scorching Sun Valley."

He looked Su Bai over once, then reached into his storage.

Han Jianyu’s eyes narrowed.

Yan Changkong ignored him.

A palm-sized stone appeared in his hand.

The surface was dark red, but golden formation lines moved beneath it like threads of fire trapped inside crystal.

"Accept this as a first-meeting gift."

Su Bai looked at the object, then at him.

"Senior, there is no need."

"There is."

Yan Changkong placed it directly into Su Bai’s hands before he could refuse.

"The stone stores concentrated Yang fire and can release it through the formation carved inside. It is not something extraordinary, but it may be useful."

He paused.

"Compared with what you helped our disciples obtain inside Fallen-Star Sanctuary, this is small."

Han Jianyu stared at him.

Yan Changkong finally looked back.

"What?"

Han Jianyu said nothing.

His expression, however, suggested that he had just remembered something important several breaths too late.

Zhuge Tianhe looked equally displeased.

Neither had brought a first-meeting gift.

Lu Canghai noticed immediately.

His smile became dangerous.

Su Bai quietly stored the stone before his master could make the situation worse.

The last visitor approached.

The woman from the Glass-Lotus Holy See carried herself with the same calm composure she had shown throughout the battle.

"This one is Lian Qingyue."

Her voice was soft.

"I am Bai Zhi’s master."

That immediately caught Su Bai’s attention.

Lian Qingyue studied him for several breaths.

"Bai Zhi described you as someone unusual."

Su Bai had no idea whether that was a compliment.

Judging from Bai Zhi, it could easily mean several things.

Lian Qingyue seemed to notice his uncertainty.

A faint smile appeared.

"She meant it favorably."

"That is reassuring."

Zhuge Tianhe laughed.

Lian Qingyue glanced toward Yan Changkong’s empty hand before looking at Su Bai again.

"I did not bring anything suitable for a junior."

Yan Changkong’s posture straightened almost imperceptibly.

Han Jianyu looked away.

Lian Qingyue continued as though she had noticed neither reaction.

"I can give you a blessing instead."

Su Bai’s instincts immediately warned him that accepting mysterious blessings from powerful cultivators should probably require more consideration.

Unfortunately, Lian Qingyue had already raised one hand.

Golden lotus-shaped patterns appeared around her fingers.

Su Bai’s expression changed.

"Senior, you really don’t have to—"

The hand seal completed.

Warm golden radiance descended over him.

The blessing entered his body before he could move away.

For the first instant, nothing happened.

Lian Qingyue lowered her hand.

"This blessing nourishes vitality and strengthens recovery for seven days. Minor exhaustion and ordinary injuries should recover much faster while it remains."

Su Bai opened his mouth.

That’s when pain exploded through his body.

His vision went white.

The golden energy that should have nourished his flesh twisted the instant it entered his system.

His constitution responded exactly as it always did when something beneficial tried to act upon him.

What should have strengthened vitality became violently harmful.

Su Bai staggered.

Blood ran from his nose.

Lian Qingyue’s expression changed immediately.

"Junior Su?"

His legs nearly gave way.

The golden blessing continued circulating.

Every strand of vitality it tried to provide reversed into damage as it passed through him, turning what should have been a gentle restorative effect into something his body absolutely did not appreciate.

Su Bai managed one thought through the pain.

’Of course.’

He had survived Fallen-Star Sanctuary, demonic cultivators, ancient inheritances, hostile formations, and enough strange substances to ruin several normal cultivators.

Apparently, a blessing was what finally ambushed him successfully.

Lian Qingyue went pale.

"My blessing backfired?"

She stepped forward immediately.

"Do not move. I will stabilize your condition."

More healing radiance began gathering around her hand.

Lu Canghai’s face changed.

For a moment, he had been just as confused as everyone else. Then he remembered Su Bai’s Reversal Body.

’His Reversal!’

"Stop!"

Everyone looked toward him as he appeared beside Su Bai almost instantly and caught him before he could fall.

Lian Qingyue froze, while Lu Canghai quickly moved his disciple away from the gathering golden light.

"Don’t give him any more, Old Lady."

Her expression stiffened slightly.

"What happened?"

Lu Canghai checked Su Bai with his spiritual sense before answering as simply as he could.

"My disciple already has unusually abundant vitality. Your blessing added too much at once, and his body couldn’t handle it."

Lian Qingyue’s face paled.

"I didn’t know. Let me stabilized him first."

Lu Canghai’s expression changed again.

"No."

He lifted Su Bai before the latter could protest.

"Master, I can—"

Su Bai’s body convulsed before he could finish, making Lu Canghai tighten his hold.

"No, you cannot."

A cloud formed beneath his feet as he turned toward Clear Cloud Peak.

Lian Qingyue stepped forward.

"Should I come with you?"

"There is no need. I’ll handle him."

Before anyone could say more, the cloud carried master and disciple away from the group.

By the time Clear Cloud Peak came into view, Su Bai’s condition had worsened enough that his body jerked again in Lu Canghai’s arms.

The old man looked down at him with genuine alarm and immediately pushed the cloud faster.

"Brat, do not do this to me. You survived Fallen-Star Sanctuary and came back carrying enough trouble to frighten half the sect. If you die because someone wished you good health, I will never hear the end of it."

Su Bai wanted to tell him that this was not particularly encouraging, but his consciousness disappeared before he could manage it.

The humor vanished from Lu Canghai’s face as the cloud shot toward Clear Cloud Peak.

...

Back near the mountain path, Lian Qingyue remained where she was.

The panic on her face gradually faded, only to be replaced by something that made Zhuge Tianhe and Han Jianyu quietly glance toward her.

She reached into her storage and brought out a small mirror.

For several breaths, she inspected her reflection in silence. Her face remained smooth, her complexion clear, without even the faintest sign of age around her eyes.

Yan Changkong slowly looked elsewhere.

Han Jianyu suddenly became very interested in the distant mountains.

Lian Qingyue finally lowered the mirror and turned toward Clear Cloud Peak with a faintly dangerous smile.

"Old lady?"

Nobody answered.

Zhuge Tianhe quietly shifted a step farther away, while Li Xuanzong wisely remained silent.

Even Shen Youran looked from Lian Qingyue toward the fading trail of Lu Canghai’s cloud, and for the first time that evening, the corner of her mouth seemed dangerously close to moving.

Lu Canghai had survived an entire battle without being injured.

Whether that would remain true after the banquet was suddenly much less certain.