Chapter 55: Cang Huai

Chapter 55: Cang Huai

He extended his Spiritual Sense to scan the surroundings, but found nothing.

Shen Lian withdrew his gaze, the wariness in his eyes not relaxing. After all, he could only use his spiritual sense to sweep the area around his own quarters. In the cultivation world, casually sweeping others with one's spiritual sense would be seen as provocation or disrespect.

Of course, Great Powers didn't fall under this category.

After several days of reading, Shen Lian prepared to sit in meditation and rest.

He didn't notice a faint disturbance in the air, which quickly returned to stillness.

Shen Lian suddenly opened his eyes.

He was momentarily stunned.

Why did he feel... as if he had caught that cool, aloof aura again?

But a flicker of disgust quickly rose in his eyes.

He quickly cast the Cleansing Art twice over the entire room.

Chen Xue was baffled. "What's wrong?"

Shen Lian said in a cold voice, "Nothing."

Then, as if realizing he had overreacted, he softened his tone. "Get some rest."

Outside the door, a figure who had been setting an oil-paper package on the windowsill paused upon witnessing this, then pulled his hand back.

Shen Lian ended up resting for an entire day.

And he increasingly felt that the demonic and spiritual energy within him were on the verge of breaking out of control.

He had to hurry and find a way to use the Water Dragon Azure Smoke.

But even Void Immortals at the third stage couldn't enter the barriers set up there. How could someone at the Void Insight stage like him get in?

As Shen Lian was thinking, there was a sudden knock at his door.

"Is anyone there?"

The visitor turned out to be a man of striking handsomeness, who broke into a smile upon seeing him. "Hello, I'm from the Alchemy Peak too. Just call me Senior Brother Yan."

Shen Lian caught a glimpse of the jade token at his waist, which read "Alchemy Peak · Yan Yiqing."

Yan Yiqing smiled warmly. "I came to tell you that you've been cultivating at the Zichen Sect for more than a month now."

"You're eligible for the Trial Competition."

"Trial Competition?"

"Yes."

Yan Yiqing explained gently, "It's a competition jointly organized by the Ten Great Sects, held every ten years. Disciples from the Void Insight Stage to the Spirit Transformation Stage of each sect are eligible to participate."

"Participants can enter a small secret realm to seek out treasures or Spirit Plants."

"If you can distinguish yourself and bring glory to the sect, you can also ask the sect for one favor."

"Don't worry, I don't have any ulterior motives. I just figured since you're new, you might not know about this."

Shen Lian's eyes brightened. "Thank you for letting me know, Senior Brother Yan!"

Yan Yiqing met his bright, glistening eyes, and somehow, his heart gave a slight flutter. He had long heard that the new junior disciple of the Alchemy Peak was extremely eye-catching, but he hadn't expected that seeing him once would be better than hearing about him a hundred times.

When he smiled, especially when those bright eyes looked at you, it seemed to chase away all darkness.

His voice became even softer and slower. "The Trial Competition is in half a month. Each peak has a limited number of spots. Our Alchemy Peak has few disciples, so we only have eight spots. The qualifiers will take place in three days."

Yan Yiqing smiled. "Oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you—it's best to find two people to form a team with. Alchemy Cultivators have weaker physical stamina. You'll be up against Sword Cultivators, spell cultivators, and even beast cultivators, along with disciples from the other Ten Great Sects. It's perilous beyond measure."

Shen Lian nodded. "Thank you, Senior Brother Yan!"

On the day of the qualifiers, Shen Lian ran into Yan Yiqing again.

The two of them breezed through the qualifiers.

Over the past half month, he had become close with Yan Yiqing and shared quite a bit of alchemy techniques.

Shen Lian had gained a great deal.

And so the days passed one by one.

Once the Trial Competition actually started, Shen Lian went quiet the moment he arrived.

Everywhere he looked, there were groups of two or three people teaming up.

Yan Yiqing also had several people around him—sword cultivators with long swords strapped to their backs, a strikingly beautiful and alluring talisman cultivator, and a beast cultivator petting a white tiger with a crimson forehead.

Shen Lian walked in, and by all appearances, he looked like someone who'd be eliminated in a second.

Seeing Shen Lian all alone, Yan Yiqing paused for a moment. "Are you still alone?"

Shen Lian noticed Yan Yiqing's hesitation and knew he wanted to invite him to join but didn't know how to ask.

In a team, having one alchemy cultivator was already the maximum—after all, alchemy cultivators were squishy and needed someone to watch over them.

He immediately said, "I already have cultivators to team up with! Don't worry about me."

Probably having guessed Yan Yiqing's intentions, the few teammates behind him all frowned slightly, looking Shen Lian over with somewhat scrutinizing gazes.

To keep from making things awkward for Yan Yiqing, he just waved his hand. "I'm off to find my friends."

"Alright, then we'll see each other in the small secret realm."

"Sure."

But the moment he walked out, Shen Lian came to a halt.

He pressed his lips together. It seemed he truly had no friends at all.

Chen Xue tried to console him. "It's okay, Master. You still have us."

Shen Lian gave a soft "mm" and his eyes curved into a smile.

Before long, the Grand Elder of the Zichen Sect appeared in the air above them. He first gave a string of motivational speeches, then, along with the other nine elders, opened the entrance to the secret realm.

Shen Lian looked at the thousands of cultivators, and his heart also began to stir with excitement.

Thinking back to when it all started, he was just an ordinary mortal!

And now, he stood in the world of cultivation.

Flying on a sword, splitting mountains with a single strike.

These were things he wouldn't have dared to even imagine before.

However, as cultivators filed in one after another, when it was Shen Lian's turn, he got stopped.

An Alchemy Cultivator at the Void Insight Stage going in alone would be walking straight into death.

Shen Lian had no choice but to look at the other cultivators, yet all of them looked away.

After all, they all had their teams, and since they didn't know Shen Lian's strength, they didn't dare ask him.

Just as Shen Lian was wondering if he could sneak in, a voice suddenly spoke up beside him.

"I'm also on my own. Would you like to team up?"

Shen Lian turned around and saw a Sword Cultivator, at the Void Insight Stage, with a cool, handsome face, a calm expression, dressed in purple robes, standing tall and poised.

Without a second thought, Shen Lian said, "Sure."

After all, they could always split up once inside.

With no one stopping him now, Shen Lian glanced at the Sword Cultivator's jade token—it read Cang Huai, and he gave his own name as Lian Song.

As the two entered, a matching purple mark appeared on both their wrists.

This meant they'd successfully formed a team, letting them share scores in the small secret realm, and it also worked as a shared temporary storage space.

When Shen Lian and Cang Huai entered the secret realm, they hit a wind tunnel.

The harsh wind nearly blinded Shen Lian.

Seeing Shen Lian's state, Cang Huai was about to reach out and pull him behind him, saying, "Take cover behind me—"

Before he could finish, he saw Shen Lian—an Alchemy Cultivator—draw a sword and slash through the gale.

"No need, this little wind is nothing." Shen Lian gave him a polite yet distant smile.

Cang Huai's hand hung in the air, then he lowered it and gave a small hum.

After about half an incense stick's time, the two of them finally made it in.

Pausing to catch his breath, Shen Lian immediately popped a Replenishing Pill and handed one to the Sword Cultivator.

After all, they were teammates now; the Sword Cultivator would protect him, and he'd supply the pills.

"Thank you." Cang Huai expressed his gratitude.

Shen Lian had figured this guy would be aloof, but when Cang Huai looked at him,

his eyes were surprisingly warm—or at least, not so cold.