Chapter 54: A New Little Pet

Chapter 54: A New Little Pet

That's the Tianheng Sect!

The Tianheng Sect! And he's turning them down? To go to the eighth-ranked Zichen Sect instead?

Yan Huaixuan said nothing more, and stormed off with a flick of his sleeve.

Shen Lian ignored the strange looks from those around him, lowering his head and sitting quietly, like some hick.

But unexpectedly, word of Shen Lian's decision got to Zichen Sect first.

When they heard someone had rejected the Tianheng Sect and insisted on coming to Zichen Sect instead, the people of Zichen Sect were about to laugh their faces off.

And since Shen Lian's talent was indeed impressive—after all, if Yan Huaixuan himself said it was good, how could it be bad?—they didn't even bother testing him. They let him enter the sect directly.

Shen Lian really hadn't seen this perk coming.

The ones who came to pick him up were a few younger disciples.

They even asked Shen Lian if there was a master he wanted to study under. Shen Lian hadn't expected them to be so enthusiastic.

But he hadn't come this time to actually take a master—he just wanted to use the alchemy furnace while he had the chance. Even his name and face were made up.

So he said, "I am an Alchemy Cultivator. I prefer to cultivate solo. Just give me a place to stay."

When they heard he was an Alchemy Cultivator, the Zichen Sect folks were stunned.

They gathered around him, muttering, "Weird, weird."

Shen Lian was puzzled. "What's wrong?"

He wondered inwardly if they'd sensed the demonic aura on him.

But the disciples said instead, "You look like you're cut out to be a Sword Cultivator."

Shen Lian smiled. "Is that so? But I'm more into alchemy."

Hearing that, the young guys dropped it. "We do have an Alchemy Peak. You can stay there."

A faint smile crossed Shen Lian's face. "Thank you."

The disciples then said, "Come on, we'll get you registered."

Shen Lian nodded.

As they walked, one disciple suddenly thought of something and asked, "By the way, when you turned down True Lord Yan, you said you had a brother here at Zichen Sect? Who is your brother? We asked around, but nobody stepped up. Did he go out for training or something?"

Shen Lian revealed an embarrassed smile. "I totally made that up on the spot. I mean, he was from the Tianheng Sect—I couldn't just say no to his face."

Hearing that, the disciples let their guard down. Soon enough, they took Shen Lian to get registered.

He changed his name to Lian Song.

He got a jade token with his name on it, plus a purple Void Insight Stage disciple robe.

Shen Lian was brought to Alchemy Peak.

Compared to other peaks that had tens of millions of disciples, Alchemy Peak was dead quiet—only a few dozen people lived there.

Shen Lian actually liked that.

Shen Lian nodded and made himself at home.

Once they were gone, he went into his room, immediately set up a soundproofing artifact, and then held out his sleeve.

Shen Lian's face changed. "Get out here."

A small pitch-black snake slowly crawled out of his sleeve.

It had a round head and a chubby face, but right in the middle of its head, a single horn had grown.

Shen Lian was taken aback. "Since when do you have a horn?"

Just then, a clear, crisp voice rang in Shen Lian's ear.

"Master, don't I look awesome?"

Shen Lian couldn't help but say, "Didn't I already tell you to stop calling me master? And why did you follow me here?"

This little snake was the one giving off that demonic aura on the ship.

He'd found it by accident while picking a Demon Plant. Seeing it half-dead and being chased by a bigger snake reminded him of when he'd been hunted by a Demon Dragon.

So he saved it on a whim and gave it a healing pill.

Once the little snake recovered, he let it go back into the demon beast forest. But out of nowhere, it came back just a few days later.

It even went on about how Shen Lian saved it, so it had to repay him!

Shen Lian didn't want a pet—he was living a wandering life himself and didn't want to drag a little snake into it.

But the little snake was dead set on staying, showing up month after month. Then, in the winter of the third year, it stopped showing up.

Shen Lian left some pills where it used to stay. If the snake came back, it could take them. If not, whatever.

Who would've thought it had secretly snuck onto the ship?

The little snake said pitifully, "Master, I went to advance my rank, and when I came back, you were gone. I barely managed to catch up to this ship."

Shen Lian pinched the bridge of his nose. "Aren't you afraid of those cultivators?"

If Yan Huaixuan had discovered it, this little snake wouldn't have stood a chance.

"But I have to repay you—you saved me!"

Shen Lian sighed. Since it had already followed him, and the snake's cultivation was low, if he didn't help hide it, it would definitely be found out.

He had no choice but to say, "You must not stray too far from me."

The little snake's eyes lit up. "So you'll let me stay?"

Shen Lian was about to say this was only temporary when the little snake happily bit his hand and swallowed a drop of blood.

A pet contract immediately appeared in Shen Lian's mind.

Shen Lian: "..."

Meeting the little snake's hopeful gaze, Shen Lian ultimately held off on signing the contract, just saying, "Let's settle down first."

Once signed, if the master were to die, the spirit beast would surely die as well.

"Alright."

Although the little snake was a bit down, it still nodded.

"What's your name?"

"I don't have a name. I just woke up and was already by your side."

Shen Lian looked at it, pitch-black all over. "Then how about I give you a name?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

"I'll call you Shen Mo."

The little snake looked super happy. "Shen Mo, good, Shen Mo."

The place here was quiet and peaceful. There weren't many alchemy cultivators, and they barely left their homes, so Shen Lian was living the good life.

Beyond that, to Shen Lian's delight, the library also had tons of books on alchemy.

Although he now basically understood most elixir recipes, the world was big, and there was always something he didn't know.

Sure enough, the Zichen Sect's records had plenty of elixir recipes Shen Lian had never even heard of, and some that cleared up his confusion with just one look.

Shen Lian would unknowingly get lost in his reading for ages.

He had no clue that, without him noticing, a crowd had gathered around him, all of them staring at him.

The young man sitting in the library, dressed in a purple robe, which made his cold, stunning features glow like polished jade.

Just sitting there quietly, eyes down, focused on the book in his hands, he made people feel like everything was calm and peaceful.

Shen Lian tried to ignore it but couldn't. Noticing more and more people watching him, he pursed his lips, feeling embarrassed, and hurried away.

The moment he got back to his alchemy cottage, he touched his face.

He'd already disguised himself—this shouldn't be possible.

Chen Xue couldn't help chuckling. "Master, even if you disguise yourself, you can't change the vibe you give off."

Shen Mo popped out too and chomped down a spirit stone in one go—the common currency of the cultivation world.

Shen Lian hadn't expected Shen Mo to enjoy eating those.

He also noticed that the horn on Shen Mo's head was growing bigger.

Shen Mo had no explanation for it either, only saying he didn't know what he was. As far back as he could remember, Shen Lian had carried him back to the cottage to nurse him back to health.

What troubled Shen Lian, though, was that he had no chance to access the Zichen Sect's water-attributed alchemy furnace.

Called the Water Dragon Azure Smoke, it was a peerless treasure, heavily guarded by the sect. One would need to be at least at the Void Immortal third realm just to catch a glimpse.

Shen Lian propped his chin on his hand, when suddenly he felt someone watching him.

The sensation was the same as back in the cold palace, as if someone were observing him from midair.

He abruptly looked up, his pupils contracting, and the familiar, cool, refreshing scent seemed to return to his nose.

Yan Huaixuan?