Chapter 56: This Person Feels So Familiar

Chapter 56: This Person Feels So Familiar

Like a warm piece of jade melted by the sun, with a faint, clear light flowing through it.

Shen Lian didn't know why, but he froze for a moment.

A wave of familiarity washed over him.

But Shen Lian quickly shook off that thought.

Cang Huai seemed to notice, his thin lips parting slightly as he asked, "What's wrong?"

Shen Lian shook his head. "Nothing. Let's go look for spirit plants."

The moment he finished speaking, he saw Cang Huai look away, then his hand on the sword shifted slightly.

Shen Lian suddenly felt a cloak being draped over his shoulders, while Cang Huai turned his head aside.

Shen Lian looked down and saw that his clothes had gotten torn in a few spots when they crossed the wind tunnel earlier.

He coughed, quickly changed outfits, then took off the cloak and handed it back to Cang Huai. "Thanks, by the way."

But Cang Huai just said, "Keep it."

Shen Lian didn't overthink it. He figured Cang Huai might just be a bit of a clean freak. He glanced at the cloak—it didn't look like Zichen Sect attire, just a regular piece of clothing.

Still, he couldn't help but appreciate Cang Huai's gentlemanly behavior. If they got along, maybe they could team up.

Shen Lian smiled. "Alright, I'll keep it for now."

He tucked it into his storage space.

Back at the Zichen Sect, a cultivator frowned as he checked the participant list. "Elder, why is there an extra person?"

The ten great elders, who had been in meditation, furrowed their brows. "What?"

"The numbers don't add up. Sword Peak has one extra person!"

"Who is that person?"

"Unknown..."

Shen Lian gazed at the small secret realm, where spiritual energy was a solid ten times denser than outside, and couldn't help but smile.

In the Taichu Realm, many ascended Great Powers left behind their treasures and rewards to bless future generations or build up karmic merit.

Some top-tier Great Powers had hoards that rivaled or even exceeded those of a major sect.

Nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, these treasures gradually shaped their surroundings—drawing in spirit beasts, nurturing spirit plants, and even birthing new treasures.

And that's how small secret realms came to be.

This particular secret realm was chosen by several major sects, and the spirit plants and beasts inside were mostly at the Void Insight Stage.

Unknown, yet brimming with endless possibilities—that was the allure of cultivation. Fortune favors the bold.

Scoring was simple: whoever gathered more treasures, or higher-grade ones, won.

The moment Shen Lian entered, he spotted the low-grade spirit plants but didn't give them a second thought. They weren't worth many points.

Still, he glanced at Cang Huai. "You wanna pick some?"

Cang Huai stayed as aloof as ever, then gave him a light look. "Up to you."

When those pale eyes met his, Shen Lian's heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

That familiar feeling crept back up.

He couldn't help frowning. What was wrong with him?

Shen Lian quickly shoved the thought aside and let out a quiet scoff.

What was he even thinking? That person was a lofty, untouchable genius.

How could he possibly be this Void Insight Stage sword cultivator standing right in front of him?

The trial would last three months.

They'd barely stepped inside when they ran straight into a Void Insight Stage fire demon beast.

Shen Lian's expression instantly turned serious.

His real cultivation was at the Void Insight Stage, but the guy beside him was just a minor disciple at that same level.

He even thought about telling Cang Huai to just hide somewhere safe.

But before he could, Cang Huai had already charged forward, sword drawn and hand seals forming. His purple robes didn't even stir, and his expression stayed cold and detached the whole time.

Shen Lian froze, and that weird feeling bubbled up again.

Watching the fire demon beast get pushed back step by step, he couldn't help wondering—was a Void Insight Stage disciple really this strong?

Just as his thoughts drifted, Cang Huai's body suddenly swayed, nearly getting his head scorched by the beast.

He turned his head. "What are you standing around for?"

Shen Lian snapped back to reality. "Sorry."

Cang Huai took the front line while Shen Lian snuck in attacks from behind, occasionally popping pills for both of them to instantly refill their spiritual energy.

That fire demon beast was practically fuming.

Here were two cultivators weaker than it, yet every time they popped a little black pill, their spiritual energy was instantly back to full.

It took some effort, but they finally killed the fire demon beast.

Their teamwork wasn't perfect, but it was remarkably smooth.

Shen Lian was still catching his breath. That beast had been at the late Void Insight Stage, already halfway to Spirit Transformation—no joke to deal with.

But Cang Huai's robes were completely unruffled, and his breathing was perfectly calm.

He even turned to Shen Lian. "You okay?"

Shen Lian paused. "I'm fine."

He couldn't help but stare at Cang Huai. "You're not even out of breath."

This man was still only at the Void Insight Stage, a whole rank below him. Was this what sword cultivators were like?

Cang Huai paused, then turned around, letting Shen Lian see the back of his robes, which were slashed to shreds.

"I'm a mess too."

Shen Lian let out a stifled chuckle. For some reason, seeing this cold-looking man with his back all torn up like that struck him as unexpectedly... cute.

He told Cang Huai to change his clothes right away.

Then he got ready to take the fire beast's inner core.

But then, out of nowhere, four disciples in blue robes appeared in front of them.

They were unmistakably from the Feiyun Sect.

These Feiyun Sect people straight-up snatched the fire beast away. One of them, a Sword Cultivator, dug out the inner core with one strike and pocketed it.

Shen Lian's face immediately turned cold. "What the hell are you doing? We're the ones who killed this beast."

To their surprise, the cultivator hovering in mid-air burst out laughing, deliberately looking around, left and right. "Who's talking? Is somebody there? I don't see anybody."

Shen Mo ground his teeth from inside Shen Lian's sleeve. "This is going too far!"

Shen Lian held Shen Mo back.

He stared at the ones still sneering at them. "So you're just robbing us outright?"

At that moment, the man who was clearly the leader among the four turned his gaze cold and sharp. "While I'm still in a good mood, get the hell out. Now."

A surge of spiritual energy exploded from him—he was a late Void Insight Stage cultivator, and the pressure around him was already hinting at Spirit Transformation.

Shen Lian didn't bother with pleasantries either. "Cang Huai! Go!"

The Feiyun Sect members sneered. "Looking for death."

But they didn't even glance at Shen Lian, since he looked way too frail and was just an Alchemy Cultivator.

Their attention was completely fixed on the sword cultivator.

For some reason, even though he was merely a small disciple at the Void Insight Stage, something felt off to them.

In those pitch-black eyes, they caught a fleeting glimmer of icy frost, and in that instant, it was as if they had been plunged into a frozen hell.

They weren't pushovers either. They had assumed these two were nothing but trash, but it turned out one of them was extraordinary.

They immediately changed their strategy—two of them charged at Shen Lian.

But unexpectedly, Shen Lian looked totally harmless—yet when he casually tossed out three pills, they exploded one after another in mid-air.