Chà Chà Novel

Outside, Chen You was stopped by the elderly servant, who played deaf and insisted that the young lord was resting and the guest cultivator was in the midst of a breakthrough. Neither could be disturbed.

Chen You was already preoccupied with his unrecovered Myriad Shadows Mirror, and he found everything about the young lord suspicious. This evasiveness only deepened his doubts. His voice turned cold as he ordered the servant to move aside.

The servant knew perfectly well that his young master was keeping something that might or might not be a demon. Naturally, he dared not let anyone in.

The two argued outside, every word reaching the occupants of the room. Xue Yan looked at Song Liang.

“The Myriad Shadows Mirror is important to the Taixuan Sect. If you don’t want trouble, you’d best return it.”

Song Liang turned his head and studied the ceiling beams in silence.

Xue Yan drew a deep breath, his tone sharpening.

“Qu Feng has infiltrated Xiushui City, and my injuries have yet to heal. The Taixuan Sect excels at dealing with demons. Offending him does you no good. Consider the bigger picture.”

Song Liang remained unconvinced.

“Then why can’t he consider the bigger picture and give it to me?”

“…”

Xue Yan could not understand how anyone could be so unreasonable—stealing someone’s belongings, then demanding that the victim put the greater good first.

“Is this how the young lord of Xiushui City conducts himself?”

Had 3085 been able to hear his thoughts, it would have rallied every line of its code in wholehearted agreement. Yes. Exactly. Its host was precisely that unreasonable, that utterly lawless menace!

Song Liang raised an eyebrow at his stern, chilly expression.

“What’s wrong, Your Immortal Venerableness? Don’t approve? Am I supposed to believe every cultivator is honorable, upright, and possessed of a sense of shame?”

Xue Yan frowned. Of course he did not think all cultivators were honorable, nor did he demand that everyone be so. But the person before him was plainly twisting his words.

He was about to reply when the sounds of fighting suddenly erupted outside. Both of them froze. Song Liang instinctively hurried toward the door, but Xue Yan’s expression abruptly changed.

“Come back!”

Song Liang stopped at once, but it was already too late. The door exploded with a crash. An invisible wave of pressure surged toward him like a towering ocean swell, crushing against his chest like a massive boulder. His blood churned, his heart pounding wildly.

“Raise your hand.”

A low voice sounded beside his ear. An arm drew him into an embrace, his back pressing against another man’s chest. Cool strands of hair brushed his ear. Then an unfamiliar, wondrous warmth flowed into him through the center of his back—like blood, yet lighter, flooding swiftly and forcefully through the meridians of his entire body.

The next instant, he raised his hand.

An invisible force surged forward, sweeping up the shattered door and slamming it into the man outside.

“Bang!”

A figure went hurtling backward. Only after three breaths did he manage to use a wind-riding technique to land unsteadily, then stare at the person inside in astonishment.

Song Liang stood with one hand behind his back and the other raised. Clearly, that palm strike had come from him.

Chen You stared in disbelief. Didn’t this person lack spiritual roots? How could he possess such pure, powerful spiritual energy—enough to overwhelm a Golden Core cultivator like him???

The Yaoshang cultivators arriving behind him were equally startled, momentarily unable to make sense of what had happened.

The Taixuan disciples immediately rushed to support Chen You, but he raised a hand to stop them. Although he had been thrown backward, he was unhurt. His opponent’s spiritual energy had been formidable, but it had lasted only an instant before withdrawing. Clearly, there had been no intention of injuring him.

He regarded the boy in the room with a complicated expression.

“I never imagined the young lord was concealing such ability.”

Song Liang thought he had not imagined it either. Even with his spiritual energy suppressed by the Spirit-Locking Ring, a certain someone could still unleash a strike powerful enough to drive back a Golden Core cultivator. As expected of the immortal venerable hailed as the foremost cultivator in the Nine Provinces.

Still, possessing such powerful spiritual energy felt even more exhilarating than he had imagined.

He raised his eyes to the man outside.

“A trifling trick, hardly worthy of your praise, Fellow Daoist Chen. But you came here as a guest. Why resort to violence against my people?”

This was Chen You’s first time doing anything of the sort, and he looked distinctly embarrassed.

“I was in the wrong. But the Myriad Shadows Mirror was bestowed upon me by my master. Please return it, Young Lord.”

“The Myriad Shadows Mirror is indeed precious, but to me, the people of Xiushui City are more precious still. A demon now lurks within our walls, waiting for an opportunity to harm them. As their young lord, I am nonetheless hindered by my mortal limitations and cannot see where the demon might be. That is why I took the liberty of borrowing your mirror. Once the demon is caught, I will return your treasure immediately.”

Then, under Chen You’s astonished gaze, he continued at his leisure.

“Of course, I understand how valuable it is. And the people of Xiushui City are hardly your responsibility. I’m willing to offer some spirit stones as compensation. Name your price.”

Chen You: “…”

What could Fellow Daoist Chen possibly say? Surely he could not actually demand spirit stones now. This man had already invoked the welfare of the people and the righteous cause of hunting demons. What argument remained? Besides, he could wield such formidable spiritual energy without even possessing spiritual roots. Even if Chen You refused, what could he do about it?

“In that case, you may borrow the Myriad Shadows Mirror for now, Young Lord. I also hope you will cooperate fully with our efforts to capture the demon. As for spirit stones…” He ground his back teeth. “There is no need to mention them again.”

Song Liang gave an inscrutable smile.

“Then you have my thanks, Fellow Daoist Chen. The Taixuan Sect truly lives up to its reputation as an orthodox immortal sect. Such devotion to the greater good.”

Chen You’s smile did not reach his eyes.

“You flatter us, Young Lord.”

Beside them, Jing Feishuang glanced between the two and cleared her throat.

“The young lord is a man of honor. Once the demon has been slain, he will surely return your treasure, Fellow Daoist Chen.”

The implication was that she was willing to stand witness to the agreement.

Chen You relaxed. Jing Feishuang represented not only the Yaoshang Sect, but also Immortal Venerable Shuanghua himself. However brazen this young lord might be, he would surely not dare act out before Shuanghua.

“In that case, we shall take our leave. Please dispatch your people to investigate every resident of Xiushui City as soon as possible.”

After some thought, Chen You still found this man unreliable and deliberately added:

“Immortal Venerable Shuanghua of the Yaoshang Sect is also in the city. I expect he will lend us his aid.”

Song Liang nearly laughed aloud. Behind his back, he gently bounced the warm, soft bundle of fur in his palm and thought, You mean this one?

Xue Yan: “…”

He had never imagined that a mortal receiving spiritual energy for the first time could immediately master its use—let alone draw out every last trace remaining in his body without being taught, forcing him back into his original form.

At the thought, he could not resist biting a certain someone’s hand.

Song Liang’s hand twitched. Then a smile escaped him, and he brought his other hand behind his back to stroke the little beast.

Xue Yan fell silent. Perhaps his animal instincts were eroding his judgment. Why else would he do something so foolish?

Outside, Chen You was still explaining just how formidable Immortal Venerable Shuanghua was. Song Liang stroked the little beast’s back as he asked with a smile:

“Oh? Does someone so remarkable happen to have a Dao companion?”

Chen You paused. He had not expected such a question, but answered readily enough.

“I’ve never heard of one. I would assume not.”

He then looked at Jing Feishuang, who replied:

“My master has no Dao companion.”

Song Liang nodded. “Good.”

The remark was so peculiar that Jing Feishuang could not help asking, “Why is that good?”

“Because I still have time to make your master my Dao companion.”

“…”

Everyone outside froze. Even the elderly servant stood stunned, never having expected him to say such a thing.

Song Liang seemed oblivious to their astonishment. He continued stroking the body that had gone slightly rigid in his hands and smiled.

“Why so surprised? Can’t I be his Dao companion?”

Since the subject was her own master, Jing Feishuang found it difficult to answer.

Chen You, however, could not hold back.

“Immortal Venerable Shuanghua was born with the potential to ascend. By thirteen, he already stood at the pinnacle of his generation. Now, at barely a hundred years old, he is the foremost cultivator in the Nine Provinces. Even if he were to seek a Dao companion, it would surely be a prodigy of comparable standing.”

How could he possibly choose a mortal like you? Chen You left that last part unsaid, reluctant to wound the young lord’s feelings.

Song Liang replied serenely:

“I’m only nineteen this year. I still have eighty-one years before I turn a hundred. Who’s to say I can’t become a prodigy? Or even surpass Immortal Venerable Shuanghua himself?”

The disciples of both sects stood dumbfounded outside. They were already among the finest talents in the cultivation world, proud by nature and well acquainted with others equally proud. Yet none had ever dared claim they would surpass Immortal Venerable Shuanghua. Now a mortal without spiritual roots was declaring that he would do so within a century. The sheer audacity made them forget he had just announced his intention to become Shuanghua’s Dao companion.

To Chen You, this man was an ant that had never glimpsed the vastness of the sky. Even Jing Feishuang gave a quiet sigh.

Only Xue Yan, hidden behind Song Liang, lowered his gaze. He recalled how this person had mastered the spiritual energy imparted to him in an instant, even turning a defensive spell into an offensive one without instruction. And on their first encounter in the forest outside the city, when he had bitten into this person’s flesh, he had felt a surge of divine will so immense that it had overwhelmed him into unconsciousness.

Such formidable divine will, such a rare gift for wielding spiritual energy—he should have been unrivaled throughout the Nine Provinces.

Yet someone so extraordinarily gifted possessed no spiritual roots, as though the Heavenly Dao had deliberately played a cruel joke on him.