Chapter 16: The Invitation of the Two Peaks

## Chapter 16: Two Peaks' Invitation

"I await them." As Ge Hong departed, his icy threat echoing, a cold smile played upon Ye Chen's lips.

The stage of wind and clouds, where a battle of supposedly no suspense unfolded, turned into a spectacle. The intern disciple, against all expectations, counterattacked, not only defeating the chief disciple of Di Yang Peak but also publicly provoking Ge Hong, causing Di Yang Peak to lose face entirely.

This battle was destined to propel Ye Chen into sudden prominence within the Heng Yue Sect and solidify his place as a topic of constant discussion.

"Did you all see that? Zhao Long was almost smashed to death by a single sword from Ye Chen."

"The chief disciple of Di Yang Peak was so furious he wanted to kill on the spot! You should have seen his old face!"

"This... this isn't logical!" On Tian Yang Peak, Old Dao Zhong, who had been slumped in his chair like a sack of grain, involuntarily sat up upon hearing his disciple's report. Surprise still lingered on his plump face.

"Zhao Long lost?" On Ren Yang Peak, True Person Qing Yang, deep in Zen meditation, also opened his eyes in surprise at Su Xinyue's report. The outcome was beyond his expectations.

Compared to Tian Yang Peak and Ren Yang Peak, Ge Hong's furious roar from Di Yang Peak had already reverberated throughout the entire mountain.

"Trash, all of you!" His old face grim, Ge Hong couldn't help but roar, "The face of my Di Yang Peak, you've all thrown it away!"

Below, the disciples of Di Yang Peak prostrated themselves, not daring to breathe a sound as they witnessed Ge Hong's thunderous rage.

And at this very moment, the one who had caused this small storm, Ye Chen, was currently hidden within the back mountain forest, counting his spoils of war.

The so-called spoils of war were naturally the storage bags Ge Hong had given him.

Inside the storage bags were piles of gleaming stones, spirit stones. These were the universal currency of cultivators, sealing within them abundant spiritual energy. They could be used for purchasing goods or for cultivation.

"Five hundred spirit stones." Carefully counting the number of spirit stones in the storage bags, Ye Chen was still slightly surprised, secretly remarking on Ge Hong's generous gesture.

One must know that in the outer sect of Heng Yue, each disciple received only twenty spirit stones per month. For Ye Chen, these five hundred spirit stones were a considerable fortune.

*Crack!*

Gently crushing a spirit stone, Ye Chen greedily absorbed the overflowing pure spiritual energy, replenishing the energy consumed during the intense battle.

After continuously absorbing the pure spiritual energy from more than ten spirit stones, Ye Chen put away the storage bags, a contemplative expression on his face. On the wind and clouds stage, he had thoroughly enraged Ge Hong. Though he hadn't been in the Heng Yue Sect long, he had heard quite a bit about Ge Hong's character – he was a vindictive lord.

"It seems the days ahead may not be easy," he murmured, rubbing his brow with a slight headache.

As the sun set in the west, Ye Chen quietly emerged from the back mountain and returned to the small spirit garden.

Zhang Fengnian and Hu Wa's injuries had mostly healed, but the spirit beast, Xiao Ying, was in a less optimistic state.

Soon, a large iron pot was set up, a roaring fire burning beneath it. Ye Chen stewed the entire blood wolf he had hunted, its tempting aroma permeating the small spirit garden.

"It's been so long since I've seen so much meat!" Hu Wa wiped his saliva more than once, not forgetting to glance at Xiao Ying, who was eagerly eyeing the iron pot. He chuckled, "Xiao Ying, you can eat your fill today."

"Little one, you today..." Zhang Fengnian looked at Ye Chen, hesitating to speak.

"Nothing happened to me today!" Ye Chen smiled carelessly, continuously throwing ingredients into the iron pot, not mentioning a word about the wind and clouds stage today.

"No... nothing good, nothing good," Zhang Fengnian smiled warmly, but his eyes held deep worry.

He had seemingly heard something about Ye Chen's intense battle with Zhao Long. It was somewhat unexpected, yet a warm current flowed through his heart. He had never thought that the unrelated person he had saved would be willing to stand up for him, even publicly challenging Ge Hong's dignity.

Thinking of this, a touch of sadness still lingered in Zhang Fengnian's heart.

He had once been an elder of the Heng Yue Sect, but ever since being demoted down the mountain, his situation had been miserable. His former fellow apprentices looked down on him, and even the later generation of disciples would occasionally come to trouble him.

Compared to his fellow apprentices and those later generation disciples who bullied their seniors and betrayed their roots, Ye Chen, in his eyes, was a stark contrast.

"Come on! Let's eat!" Ye Chen, beside them, evidently didn't notice Zhang Fengnian's change in expression and had already scooped out the stewed wolf meat.

"Can't wait any longer,嘿嘿."

"Xiao Ying, this piece is yours. Eat more to recover."

They ate their fill, sweating profusely. The blood wolf, a demon beast, was a treasure from head to toe. Used for stewing soup, it was a great tonic for the body, especially for Zhang Fengnian and Hu Wa. After eating, they felt a steaming heat radiating from their entire bodies.

The small spirit garden was not peaceful that night. Halfway through dinner, a beautiful guest arrived.

The newcomer was a female disciple in fluttering white robes, bathed in moonlight, pure and flawless. Her cheeks always carried a coldness that kept people at a distance. Looking closely, wasn't she the same Su Xinyue who had watched the battle from below the wind and clouds stage during the day?

"Yo! Senior Sister Su, what wind blows you here?" Ye Chen didn't look at Su Xinyue, while fishing out a piece of wolf meat, his words neither particularly warm nor cold.

To Ye Chen's neither warm nor cold response, Su Xinyue's expression darkened slightly, but she still took a deep breath and didn't flare up on the spot.

"Master invites you to join my Ren Yang Peak," Su Xinyue's words were clear and cold. As she spoke, she sent a letter through the air. "If you agree, you can come to my Ren Yang Peak tomorrow."

Although Su Xinyue spoke plainly and coldly, a suppressed frustration brewed in her heart. Who was she? She was a beauty of the outer sect of Heng Yue, the chief disciple's closed-door disciple of Ren Yang Peak. Yet, today on the wind and clouds stage, she had been taught a lesson by Ye Chen. To top it off, True Person Qing Yang had sent her back after she returned to deliver this message.

"Ren Yang Peak's invitation, I am truly flattered!"

"The message has been delivered. Take care of yourself," Su Xinyue didn't want to stay any longer. She left the letter and turned to leave.

Just as she was about to exit the small spirit garden, she stopped again, glancing sideways at Ye Chen, who was still wolfing down his food. "Don't think that defeating Zhao Long makes you invincible. You must know that there are many disciples in the Heng Yue Sect who can destroy you. Your killing intent is too heavy; you will ultimately find it difficult to achieve positive results."

After speaking, Su Xinyue disappeared at the door like a gust of clear wind.

Her departure didn't cause Ye Chen to change in the slightest. He was still wolfing down the wolf meat.

"Little one, Ren Yang Peak is one of the three main peaks of the outer sect. Go there! Don't delay your future. Endure it, and you'll get through it," Zhang Fengnian's words were warm and sincerely considered Ye Chen's well-being.

"Senior, I understand," Ye Chen chuckled, not forgetting to wipe the grease from his mouth.

Soon, the door of the small spirit garden opened again. This time, it was a handsome disciple in white clothes. His cultivation had already reached the sixth layer of Qi Condensation. Although only one layer higher, he was much stronger than Zhao Long.

This person was Wei Yang, the chief disciple's closed-door disciple of Tian Yang Peak.

"Did you just defeat Zhao Long?" Wei Yang walked in, lightly fanning himself. He glanced at Zhang Fengnian and then playfully looked at Ye Chen.

Good! Ye Chen had initially thought this Wei Yang was truly as polite as he appeared, but with these words, his impression of Wei Yang significantly diminished. He seemed handsome, but in reality, he was that kind of hypocritical master.

"May I ask, Senior Brother, what is the matter with your late-night visit?"

"It's nothing major, just helping Master pass a message. Master said you can be a disciple of Tian Yang Peak."

*Urgh!*

Ye Chen simply gave a casual response and then buried his head, stuffing wolf meat into his mouth.

With this posture from Ye Chen, Wei Yang wasn't angry or annoyed. He simply smiled playfully, then turned and walked towards the door.

However, just as he was about to leave, he, like Su Xinyue, glanced sideways at Ye Chen. "You've already provoked Di Yang Peak, not knowing the height of the sky and the depth of the earth. Don't be ungrateful. You must know that in the eyes of my Tian Yang Peak, you are nothing."

Saying this, Wei Yang lightly fanned himself and stepped out the door.

Only after Wei Yang left did Ye Chen truly put down his bowl and chopsticks.

"Little one, you..." Zhang Fengnian wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Ye Chen's words.

"Senior, I know what you want to say," Ye Chen said, wiping the oil from the corner of his mouth. He smiled. "How could I not want to find a backer? But you also saw, they inherently look down on me. If I were to lick their faces to become their disciples, wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"

*Sigh!*

Zhang Fengnian fell silent, then sighed.

"I see things in the sect very clearly," Ye Chen smiled faintly and continued, "This is a world where the strong are respected, full of dangers. Although I am an intern disciple, I would rather not enter the three main peaks."

"Do your best, don't make it too hard on yourself."

"This junior will remember Senior's teachings in his heart."

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