Chapter Twenty-Three: The Summons of the Grandmaster

Gu Linglong led the group, following Ye Zhiqiu’s personal guards to the two tents they had fought to obtain. The moment Li Chengzhu stepped inside, he felt his whole body relax. Indeed, these tents not only shielded them from the torment of the dust storms, but also slowly restored their spiritual energy.

Li Chengzhu rummaged through the tent for a long time before finally discovering the secret. At each of the tent’s eight corners, there were two high-quality stones placed—clearly forming a large-scale Eight-Trigram Spirit Gathering Array.

No wonder it felt so refreshing inside. He wondered how many Celestial Stones Ye Zhiqiu used in his own command tent. The speed at which spiritual energy was absorbed in there must be astonishing! Li Chengzhu smacked his lips, recalling the scene just now—it was very likely those were Celestial Spirit Stones.

Thinking of the Celestial Spirit Stones, Li Chengzhu suddenly remembered he had acquired two pieces from Cui Xiaosa in the past, but had never determined their grade. If they were of the lowest quality, he wouldn’t even bother with them now, given his substantial wealth. But if they were top-grade?

A trace of drool began to gather at the corner of Li Chengzhu’s mouth.

Xiaoying, having settled Yuansen, whose cultivation had been completely depleted, glanced sidelong at her boss’s greedy look, quietly approaching him and whispering, “Scheming again, are you?”

Li Chengzhu grinned, “The secrets of Heaven must not be divulged!”

Xiaoying pursed her lips, “It’s definitely nothing good.”

Suddenly, Li Chengzhu remembered something important and looked at Xiaoying seriously, extending his hand. “Where’s my Divine Crystal?”

She hadn’t returned it since she took it to play with. After running all the way here, and hauling along that blowhard Niu, he’d actually forgotten about it.

Xiaoying smiled awkwardly, batting her lashes at him, “What’s the rush? I just wanted to study it, that’s all.”

“Are you done studying? Give it back to me now.”

Reluctantly, Xiaoying pouted and pulled the grey Divine Crystal from her storage ring, tossing it heavily into Li Chengzhu’s hand. “Who cares!”

Li Chengzhu chuckled, leaning in to whisper, “Want it?” He raised an eyebrow suggestively, grinning lewdly. “Kiss me and it’s yours!”

With a bright smile, Xiaoying drew close to the boss, grabbing at the fat around his waist with gleeful mischief. “If you dare treat me poorly, abandon me after starting something, I’ll…” She glanced down at Li Chengzhu’s lower half, then made a scissors gesture with her fingers, “Yours, understand?”

With a thick skin, Li Chengzhu wrapped his arms around Xiaoying, “Would you really do that?”

In the end, Xiaoying was no match for Li Chengzhu’s shamelessness. She surrendered, stomping on him twice before fleeing out the door, while Li Chengzhu laughed heartily behind her.

His laughter soon faded, as the voice of the beautiful Grandmaster Aunt suddenly rang in his ears, “You little rascal, hurry up, your Grandmaster wants to see you!”

Li Chengzhu rubbed his waist and feet vigorously, making sure his grimace was concealed before stepping outside. In just a moment, Xiaoying’s claws had tormented him over a dozen times.

Stepping out, he saw the beautiful Grandmaster Aunt and the Grandmaster both watching him with amused smiles. Li Chengzhu blushed, bowed, and greeted, “Greetings, Grandmaster, and Grandmaster Aunt.”

Chongzhen, the Golden Immortal, smiled broadly, “Very good—reminds me of your master’s style.”

The beautiful Grandmaster Aunt playfully glared at him, “Master! Still so improper even now.”

Chongzhen laughed even more heartily, “Enough. It’s rare to see such a promising great-granddisciple—I’m delighted. This isn’t the place to talk; come with me.” With a wave of his hand, he instantly transported the two of them dozens of miles away.

Li Chengzhu looked around; not a soul was in sight, and he couldn’t sense anyone’s spiritual pressure. Even the dust storms were much weaker. He realized that, with the Grandmaster’s Golden Immortal power, they had moved quite a distance.

“May I ask why Grandmaster sought me out?” Li Chengzhu waited a long time—the two elders said nothing, merely stared at him as if he were a national treasure. He had to speak first.

The beautiful Grandmaster Aunt smiled gently, “Your Grandmaster sensed something off with your cultivation—is that so?”

Feeling as though he’d found his long-lost kin, Li Chengzhu’s eyes filled with tears. Without waiting for further questions, he hurriedly explained the discrepancy between his physical and Nascent Soul cultivation. When he had first developed such a peculiar imbalance in his cultivation, Li Chengzhu had worried for days, but found no ill effects. He had joined Gu Linglong in coming to Red Rock Plateau hoping to reconnect with his sect and find a solution. Yet, after encountering that Sixth Uncle, his anger had stopped him from confiding in the kindly Grandmaster Aunt.

Now, the Grandmaster had sensed it after all. It seemed the Amethyst Bracelet’s abilities were not omnipotent—it could not shield him from the eyes of a Golden Immortal.

After Li Chengzhu finished, Chongzhen quickly took his hand, sending a strand of divine sense to roam through his body.

The more Chongzhen examined him, the more satisfied he became. Who knew which lifetime Xiao San had such incredible luck to take on a disciple of such potential?

This youngster’s Nascent Soul cultivation had already reached the middle stage of Soul Division, and what’s more, it stored celestial spiritual energy. His meridians were wider and tougher than Chongzhen’s ever were at the same stage. Looking forward, this child’s future was limitless.

Seeing the Grandmaster’s smile, Li Chengzhu’s terror eased. If the Grandmaster could smile, there could not be any major issues—perhaps no problem at all.

Once Chongzhen finished checking, Li Chengzhu asked anxiously, “How is it?”

Chongzhen replied with a smile, “Your cultivation is indeed unusual, but your foundation is solid and stable—there is absolutely nothing wrong!”

Relieved by the Grandmaster’s reassurance, Li Chengzhu’s worries melted away.

The beautiful Grandmaster Aunt hesitantly asked, “Master, he’s only been cultivating for a little over two years—are you certain there’s no issue?”

“What?” Chongzhen was stunned. Two years? Impossible! This youngster’s Nascent Soul cultivation was at least eighty to a hundred years’ worth, and it stored celestial spiritual energy. Though Chongzhen couldn’t know what fortuitous encounters he’d had, to have only cultivated for two years was truly shocking.

“That’s right!” Li Chengzhu chimed in, oblivious to the gravity of his words. “Two years ago, I ascended from the mortal realm with a certain immortal—I had no idea how to cultivate back then.”

Chongzhen’s mouth twitched. He had always boasted of his rapid progress, reaching late-stage Golden Immortal in a thousand years, and soon to cross the celestial tribulation to become a Great Golden Immortal. Compared with his great-granddisciple, it was utterly insignificant.

Wasn’t this a severe blow to his confidence as an elder? Chongzhen’s face turned green with envy.