105. Night Journey to Shenyang

Chen Fengyun had finally understood that the Southern Sect wanted him to act as a bodyguard. If the Earth Palace of Mount Changbai truly was an old cultivation ground of ancient practitioners and held resources he needed, there was no harm in escorting them along.

After all, he still owed the Southern Sect a debt of obligation—both to Uncle Thirteen and to the gift of the Breath-Reading Pulse-Needle Art he had received. The Southern Sect also wielded considerable influence across the southern realms of Hua Xia, and if they did not scheme against him, having them help him find the way would not be bad.

“I am not familiar with the conditions on the other side of Changbai Mountain,” he said after a moment’s thought. “Leave all the preparations to you. When do we leave?”

“Mr. Chen, if you are willing to come, that is excellent news. I’ll book a direct overnight flight to the Northeast tonight. Please send me your identity number.”

“Of course. Thank you all,” Chen replied. He hung up and sent Feng Tianbao his ID. Soon a text arrived: he had secured a flight landing in Shenyang at midnight.

In truth, Chen Fengyun could now fly with a flying sword and move almost as fast as an airplane, yet he avoided doing so in public. Such a display could attract military attention and perhaps be mistaken for an unidentified aircraft. When one can avoid it, there is no need for unnecessary spectacle.

“As Feng Tianbao said, once the Earth Palace of Changbai Mountain opens, people from the Northern Sect will likely know as well, and other powers across the country may join this operation too. I should prepare myself—and take Earth Dragon with me.”

He inspected his cultivation panel and found eight attribute points remaining. Since he could not raise his cultivation rank in such a short time, he pushed his Duhua Scripture and Six-Character Mantra Seal up to Mortal Grade, Tenth Rank to strengthen himself.

His cultivation interface now read:

Spirit Root: Yellow Grade, Peak
Spirit: Yellow Grade, Mid-Level
Cultivation: Ninth Layer of Qi Refinement
Core Methods: Cosmic Pivot and Earthfold Formula (Mortal Grade, Tenth Rank), Golden Bell Dome (Mortal Grade, Tenth Rank)
Skills: Formation Tactics (Mortal Grade, Tenth Rank), Medical Skill (Mortal Grade, Third Rank), Artifact Forging Arts (Mortal Grade, Seventh Rank), Alchemical Pillcraft (Mortal Grade, Fifth Rank), Meridian Arts (Mortal Grade, Tenth Rank), Duhua Scripture (Mortal Grade, Tenth Rank), Six-Character Mantra Seal (Mortal Grade, Tenth Rank)
Treasures: Flying Sword (Mortal Grade, Seventh Rank), Spirit-Gathering Formation Banner (Mortal Grade, Seventh Rank), Mysterious Yin Mirror (Mortal Grade, Seventh Rank), Elixir Crucible (Yellow Grade, Peak), Mantra Pearl (Yellow Grade, Peak)
Pet: Earth Dragon
Special Item: Miniature Microcosmic Field
Attribute Points: 2

Apart from several strengthened capacities, Chen’s cultivation itself had not yet changed. Yet Earth Dragon had become his pet, and the system had generated a dedicated pet space, so Chen could carry it with him anywhere from then on.

On this journey to Changbai Mountain, Chen’s greatest hope was to find a better cultivation method to raise his arts. Otherwise, once he rose to the Tenth Layer of Qi Refinement, he would be stuck and no longer able to improve.

At dinner, Chen told his parents he had to fly to Shenyang that night for a qigong master conference, and that he would depart after midnight.

As expected, Feng Tianbao came in person shortly afterward. Chen left with only a shoulder bag containing a few toiletries.

Feng Tianbao was thoughtful and organized; he booked a room at a hotel outside the airport, let Chen rest for a while, and only half an hour before boarding did he take him straight to the gate.

“How many people from the Southern Sect are going this time?” Chen asked during the drive.

“All the elders are going,” Feng Tianbao said, “and Wangshu will go too. We had planned to ask him to stay behind, but his longing to find his father was urgent, so Uncle Thirteen allowed him to come.
Mr. Chen, the Earth Palace has remained hidden for centuries; we do not know what dangers lie inside. If a crisis comes, please help protect Wangshu.
Most of us here are men with half our life already in the grave. The next generation of the Southern Sect will need Wangshu to lead them, so this is our greatest request.”

They spoke with genuine earnestness.

“If you have danger, as long as I can handle it, I promise to do everything I can to protect all of you. Of course, it depends on the situation; if it becomes impossible, I cannot give impossible promises. Once inside, I will keep Wangshu at my side as much as possible, to protect him to the fullest.”

Since it was the Southern Sect’s request, Chen nodded in agreement. A hard-fought battle with An Jing Yifu had already given him an intuitive understanding of Earth’s power scale.

To be frank, even a peak martial arts grandmaster like An Jing Yifu was only on par with a fourth-layer Qi-refining cultivator. Even the mightier martial grandmasters would be, at best, around the sixth layer.

So Chen estimated that the upper limit of human power on Earth might be somewhere between the eighth and ninth layers of Qi Refinement. In other words, even if he unleashed everything he had now, there were probably no more than five people on Earth who could match him.

If he could break through to the Tenth Layer this time and then find a higher-level cultivation method, then no one on Earth would be his rival afterward—unless hidden cultivators existed, or ancient cultivators returned from beyond Earth.

For this reason, he was not anxious about exploring Changbai’s Earth Palace. He was, in fact, a little excited. As long as he stayed cautious, he believed he would emerge with the greatest gains.

Besides his terrifying personal strength, he also carried Earth Dragon with him. When fully unleashed, Earth Dragon’s power was by no means weaker than that of An Jing Yifu that day. It equaled a peak martial arts grandmaster, and with just a bit more it could rise to grandmaster level—comparable to a fifth or sixth layer Qi-refining cultivator.

At half past midnight, the plane took off from Shuangliu Airport in Chengdu. About three hours later it landed in Shenyang, where a business sedan came to pick them up.

In a small county town more than a hundred li from Shenyang, Chen Fengyun checked into a star-rated hotel with Feng Tianbao. Yang Wanshi and Liang Lungan were already there. It was the second time Chen met them.

“Mr. Chen, if I have offended you in the past, please forgive me,” Liang Lungan said, his face reddening. He had never imagined that the youth who had once snatched things from him at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain had become Uncle Thirteen’s ally and now deserved his respectful address as an elder.

Chen had indeed taken Liang’s items before, but now the matter seemed reversed, as if Liang himself had done wrong. Chen paused in surprise, then nodded with a smile.

“We met in combat and came to know each other. That, too, can be called fate.”

“Thank you for sparing me last time, Mr. Chen,” Yang Wanshi said, somewhat awkwardly, remembering their encounter in Lincang, Yunnan.