Chapter 432 - 408: The Qin Family Siblings’ Choice

Chapter 432: Chapter 408: The Qin Family Siblings’ Choice

’What a Zhang Chi, what a Chen Bufan. How did his Cultivation rise so quickly? And he managed to hide his true strength so well. If this Prince’s predictions are correct, he must be harboring a great secret!’

’It’s even likely he was the one impersonating Master Taixuan. The Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion has almost certainly fallen into his hands!’

After hearing this, the Third Prince began to regard the name Zhang Chi with unprecedented gravity.

Even though they were enemies, he couldn’t help but admire his opponent’s patience in biding his time and hiding his strength.

He immediately made some bold deductions about Zhang Chi.

"He was the one impersonating Master Taixuan?"

"It’s possible. No wonder Master Taixuan never truly made a move back then. It turns out he was just bluffing!"

"Damn it! We were tricked out of a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure! And just now, we thought he was a Divinity Transformation Cultivator and were too scared to give chase. This is an utter humiliation!"

"Exactly! Since he isn’t a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, he must have used some kind of explosive technique. We were all fooled!"

Hearing this, Fellow Daoist Zhou and Fellow Daoist Long immediately connected the dots. Their expressions turned ugly, and they were so overwhelmed with anger and frustration that they felt like spitting blood.

It turned out that after being scared into leaving behind the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure by Zhang Chi back then, the two had always felt that something wasn’t quite right about Master Taixuan.

But they could never put their finger on what it was.

It wasn’t until now, hearing the Third Prince’s deductions, that enlightenment dawned on them. Everything suddenly made sense.

"What? It was Chen Bufan who left with Qin Yushan and the others? And that Chen Bufan could actually fight against Divinity Transformation cultivators? And he’s Zhang Chi? And Zhang Chi is Master Taixuan?"

"How can this be?"

Even Wang Chongming and the others, who were fortunate enough to overhear, were stunned.

Wang Chongming, in particular, felt a surge of belated fear as he recalled how he had once tried to steal Zhang Chi’s concubine, Qin Susu.

Fortunately, Zhang Chi had always been relatively low-key.

Otherwise, he would have likely been killed long ago.

"Someone, go at once and capture Zhang Chi’s concubine and disciples! He will surely be unable to resist showing himself. And even if he doesn’t, it’s no loss to us!" the Third Prince commanded.

"Yes, Your Highness."

His subordinates immediately accepted the order and departed. This time, it was even the Tiger Demon, Fellow Daoist Zhou, and Fellow Daoist Long who went together.

Firstly, they were faster.

Secondly, they were afraid of running into Zhang Chi alone, only to find he had some other powerful trump card up his sleeve. There was more safety in numbers, making their success more certain.

Furthermore, they had all been played by Zhang Chi. So even if the Third Prince hadn’t given the order, they wouldn’t have spared Zhang Chi’s relatives and friends.

Unfortunately, despite their speed, they still came up empty-handed when they arrived at the Red Sand Oasis and then the Canglan Oasis.

Both Zhang Chi’s concubine and his disciples had vanished without a trace.

The Canglan Sect was still there, but its connection to Zhang Chi was clearly not close enough. Taking the entire Canglan Sect hostage would have no effect, and they would even become a laughingstock to the world.

What made them even more wary was that while searching for Zhang Chi’s concubine and disciples, they found a piece of paper in Qin Susu’s former abode. On it was a warning left specifically for them by Zhang Chi.

The message read: "Harm the innocent, and I will repay you twice over."

Moreover, a terrifyingly powerful Sword Intent still lingered on the characters, enough to make one’s heart tremble in fear.

"Damn it! How dare this cur threaten us?"

"He already knows that we know his true identity? And he predicted we would come to capture his people? It looks like we won’t succeed this time!"

The Tiger Demon and the other Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarchs were furious, but they didn’t dare to act rashly against Zhang Chi.

The reason was simple: though they were powerful, they were not lone wolves without ties.

As subordinates of the Third Prince, if they acted on impulse and annihilated a force like the Canglan Sect, Zhang Chi would surely retaliate against the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty from the shadows. When the time came and the Third Prince couldn’t catch Zhang Chi, they would undoubtedly be held responsible.

"Forget it. Taking friends and family hostage is not the act of a hero. This Prince will return and ask the Ancestor to divine his whereabouts. When that happens, he and those three great beauties won’t be able to escape, even if they sprout wings!"

The Third Prince was surprised and frustrated when he received the report, but he quickly calmed down, and a confident smile returned to his face.

——

’Divinity Transformation Celestial Monarchs are truly powerful. Even the Sword Intent I nurtured for two hundred years couldn’t kill or even injure them!’

「A short while earlier」

As Zhang Chi led the group away from the battlefield, he shook his head with regret. He was quite dissatisfied with his own strength, and his resolve to become stronger became even firmer.

It turned out that the Sword Qi Zhang Chi had unleashed earlier was the strongest attack he could muster.

After his exploration of the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion, he had never truly used his Star Swords or the Spirit Treasure Flying Sword.

This time, however, he had used them all at once as a precaution.

He had used the Spirit Treasure Flying Sword as the core, with the other Star Swords as support, and combined them with the Array Map to form the Star Sword Array. This made the Sword Array more powerful than ever before.

He had also activated the Asura Blood Burning Technique, the Extreme Rejuvenation Technique, and the Star Sword Essence Technique, which made his Magical Power exceptionally potent and sharp.

That was how he had been able to cause such a huge commotion.

"Heavens! Third Brother, you actually neutralized the attacks of three Divinity Transformation cultivators with a single sword strike and even forced them to retreat?"

"Yeah, you’re just too strong, aren’t you?"

But at this moment, Qin Yushan and the others, oblivious to Zhang Chi’s inner thoughts, were crying out in astonishment and overjoyed.

After all, the stronger Zhang Chi was, the greater their chances of escape.

"I just used some explosive techniques. In a real fight, any one of them could defeat me."

Zhang Chi, having already composed himself, replied with a smile.

"Third Brother, you’re being too modest!"

"Exactly!"

Qin Yushan and the others didn’t doubt Zhang Chi’s words, as it seemed like a reasonable explanation. Still, they idolized him, and his humility only deepened their admiration.

’All this time, I thought that even if Third Brother’s Combat Power was strong, it couldn’t compare to mine. At most, he was just more efficient at killing Nascent Soul Late Stage Level experts.’

’I thought that when faced with a Nascent Soul Peak Level expert, I, as the big brother, would still be stronger. But now it seems I’ve been overconfident all along.’

Qin Yushan, in particular, couldn’t help but sigh with emotion internally.

"They’re not following us? That’s great! They must have been too scared by you to give chase, Third Brother!"

"Yeah!"

Afterward, when the group saw that the Third Prince and his experts weren’t pursuing them, they were even more overjoyed and finally, truly relaxed.

"They will give chase, but they’ll be cautious until they’ve figured out the situation. And that will give us enough time to escape successfully."

"Next, I plan to take Susu and Lan Xuan and leave the Endless Desert Sea. We’ll change our identities and continue our Cultivation in Seclusion. What about you all? What are your plans? Do you want to leave with me?"

Zhang Chi nodded slightly, not at all surprised by this, and then immediately asked the other Cultivators about their intentions.

He clearly knew that the enemy had not left him much time, so he had to make arrangements quickly.

"My sister and I plan to stay in the Endless Desert Sea. The truth is, we don’t have much of our Lifespan left. The time we have remaining isn’t enough for us to cultivate to the Nascent Soul Limit, let alone gather enough Pills and extra Spirit Medicine to break through to Divinity Transformation."

The group immediately began to discuss amongst themselves or ponder on their own.

Soon, Qin Yushan was the first to speak.

"Are you sure? You actually still have a chance!" Zhang Chi sighed softly but still tried to persuade him.

Zhang Chi actually had plenty of resources for Divinity Transformation and could sell them to Qin Yushan at a discount if necessary.

But it was clearly impossible for Qin Yushan to cultivate to the Nascent Soul Limit.

The reason was simple: normally, only those who had achieved Nascent Soul Formation from a Nine Patterns Golden Pill had any hope of this in the Desert Divine Palace.

Moreover, such geniuses usually received the best training from a young age and thus wasted no time.

As for those with Eight Patterns, they would need a great stroke of luck.

According to what Zhang Chi knew, Qin Yushan had possessed an Eight Patterns Golden Core, which made him a top-tier prodigy in the entire Endless Desert Sea.

After all, even within the Desert Divine Palace, there were often entire generations without a Nine Patterns Golden Pill genius.

But even so, Qin Yushan was already over two hundred years old when he condensed his Nascent Soul.

After that, it took Qin Yushan a hundred years to reach the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, another two hundred to reach the Late Stage, and four hundred years to go from the Late Stage to the Peak.

That process took seven hundred years in total.

Normally, to go from the entry-level Nascent Soul Peak to the Nascent Soul Limit, even with abundant Pills, a Tier Four Peak Spiritual Vein, and other favorable cultivation conditions, Qin Yushan would need another eight hundred years.

This meant that Qin Yushan would have to reach the age of one thousand seven hundred to cultivate to the Nascent Soul Limit.

But his maximum Lifespan was only one thousand five hundred years, and that was after consuming all the Lifespan Extension Pills from Tiers One to Four.

If this was the case for Qin Yushan, then it was even more hopeless for Qin Yuyan and the others.

——

"I’ve decided. I’m staying. Besides, the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty will continue to hunt us. If my sister and I stay with you, Third Brother, we will definitely drag you down," Qin Yushan said with determination.

"That’s right. If you don’t take us with you and focus all your energy on Cultivation, you should still have a hope of reaching the Divinity Transformation Realm. But bringing us along might cause you to lose that chance. So we won’t go with you!"

Qin Yuyan followed with a solemn nod but didn’t look at Zhang Chi.

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to stop her eyes from turning red.

After all, they had been together for many years and had grown very close.

And this parting was, in all likelihood, a final farewell.

*Sigh!*

Hearing this, Zhang Chi couldn’t help but sigh again, but he didn’t try to persuade them any further.

After all, they had a point. In a situation like this, even he was powerless to help them.

Besides, when he had first met the two of them, they were already several hundred years old.

’If I didn’t have the Jade Pendant to protect me, allowing me to consume Pills without limit, and the help of my powerful physical body and Divine Thought—all of which greatly increase my cultivation speed—I’m afraid my fate would have been far worse than theirs!’

At the same time, Zhang Chi sighed to himself.

He clearly couldn’t help them with their situation.

He could absorb Pill Poison, but that would expose his great secret. Besides, even if they could consume Pills limitlessly, they still wouldn’t have enough time.

"If you want to stay, then stay. But remember to keep cultivating diligently. If I have the chance in the future, I will come back to see you. By then, if I’ve become a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, I’ll surely have more treasures and might be able to help you," Zhang Chi continued.

The three of them had a very good relationship, so if it were possible in the future, he wouldn’t mind helping them within his means.