Chapter 43: The Destined Son-in-Law (5) |
The two quickly reached an agreement.
Su Chen would draw away the demon beasts. Fang Bubai would slip in and steal the treasure.
A thunderous crash echoed through the mountains.
Su Chen deliberately created a massive disturbance. The demon beasts were instantly alerted and surged toward him in pursuit.
Fang Bubai seized the moment and darted into the heart of the beast tide. With his grandfather concealing his presence, even the Spirit Sea Realm beasts failed to detect him.
Before long, Fang Bubai had slipped past the horde and reached the entrance of a cave. Inside grew a single tree bearing several fruits. He also discovered an egg of some unknown species.
Fang Bubai hid the egg carefully, plucked the fruits, and fled.
…
Roar!
Covered in dirt and blood, Su Chen fled in disarray. Fang Bubai soon caught up with him and shouted, "The beasts here have gone berserk! Run!"
Neither dared pause. Together they raced madly toward Green River City.
The Green River Mountain Range had erupted into full chaos. Every demon beast poured out in force, determined to hunt down and devour the thieves who had dared rob them.
Inside Green River City, Xia Chenfeng stood before Xia Hongcai with his head bowed in shame.
"Chenfeng, why didn't you stop him?"
Xia Hongcai was furious. The central region of the Green River Mountain Range was no place for someone at Spirit Gathering. Even Spirit Vein Realm experts rarely ventured that deep.
"Alive or dead, I want to see him!"
Xia Hongcai resolved to search for Su Chen himself.
The Xia family elders tried to dissuade him, but Xia Hongcai replied coldly, "He is my sworn brother's son. How can I stand by and watch the last of my brother's bloodline vanish from this world?"
At the Fang residence, Fang Zhan, the Fang family patriarch, paced anxiously. Fang Bubai had still not returned.
"My Bubai cannot be dead. He will not die!"
Fang Zhan set out for Green River Mountain Range alongside Xia Hongcai, intent on finding both Su Chen and Fang Bubai.
Seeing the determination of the two patriarchs, the elders of both families gritted their teeth and followed.
At sunset, three figures emerged from the mountain entrance. The third was Xia Yingyue.
Su Chen had never imagined that, when everyone else chose to retreat, Xia Yingyue would charge straight into the beast tide to save him. If he had not arrived in time, she would have perished.
Behind the three came a massive tide of demon beasts in relentless pursuit. When the experts from the Fang and Xia families saw them, relief and shock mingled on their faces. Relief that all three were still alive. Shock at whatever outrageous act they had committed to provoke such an enormous pursuit.
"Save them first!"
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The powerhouses of both families reached the same conclusion without a word. They surged forward as one, forming a defensive line to hold back the tide and buy the trio precious time to breathe.
Su Chen wasted no time. He hoisted Xia Yingyue onto his back and sped past the defenders to safety.
Fang Bubai followed close behind. His mask had long since fallen away, revealing his youthful features. He paid it no mind, gasping for breath in great heaving gulps. For the sake of a few treasures, all three had nearly lost their lives. Fortunately, each possessed enough means to escape.
Su Chen and Fang Bubai exchanged a glance and a wry smile. They now had a bond forged in life-and-death danger. If Fang Bubai had truly wanted to betray him, he could have left Su Chen to die in the mountains. If Su Chen had wished to strike at Fang Bubai, he could at least have forced the old grandfather into a deep slumber. Neither had done so.
"Don't forget my share!"
Su Chen caught his breath and reminded Fang Bubai. They had risked their lives for those treasures, after all.
Xia Yingyue watched the two men with obvious suspicion. What exactly had they taken from the depths to enrage the mountain's demon beasts so fiercely?
Fang Bubai spoke first. "Brother Mu, I found three Nurturing Spirit Fruits in the depths, plus one strange egg. What would you like?"
He made no attempt to hide anything and openly listed their gains.
Su Chen's eyes widened slightly. "Nurturing Spirit Fruits… no wonder those beasts chased us so relentlessly."
The Nurturing Spirit Fruit bloomed once every three hundred years, fruited once every three hundred years, and ripened once every three hundred years. It dramatically increased the chances of breaking through from the Spirit Sea Realm to the Spirit Soul Realm.
A single fruit was an exceedingly rare heavenly treasure, easily worth several hundred thousand gold coins—and usually priceless on the market.
As for the strange egg Fang Bubai had obtained, Su Chen guessed it likely belonged to some demon beast with an exceptional bloodline. If successfully hatched, it could serve as a powerful guardian spirit beast for a clan—though it would devour enormous resources.
Su Chen was no Child of Destiny. He knew he lacked the fortune and protection needed to raise and safeguard such a creature, so he chose two Nurturing Spirit Fruits instead. Besides aiding breakthroughs from Spirit Sea to Spirit Soul, the fruits also offered tremendous benefits to cultivation below the Spirit Sea Realm.
Su Chen handed one fruit to Xia Yingyue and kept the second for himself.
Fang Bubai retained one fruit and the unknown demon beast egg. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief. A wave of goodwill toward Su Chen rose in his heart. After all, his master had quietly told him that the egg's bloodline was extraordinary—far more valuable than all three Nurturing Spirit Fruits combined.
Soon, with the combined strength of the Xia and Fang families, the beast tide was temporarily forced back. The three returned to their respective clans.
Su Chen's standing within the Xia family rose dramatically. Back home, he immediately began preparations to break through to the Spirit Vein Realm. Unfortunately, the Xia family's Spirit Vein reserves were pitiful—only white- and azure-grade veins.
Su Chen had no interest in low-quality veins, so he could only wait for the right opportunity and find his own way. For the Xia family, the most pressing matter now was Su Chen and Xia Yingyue's wedding. They performed the traditional rites, bowed to heaven and earth, and entered the bridal chamber.
Xia Yingyue spoke softly, her voice delicate and shy. "Please be gentle with your wife, my lord."
Su Chen looked at her curiously. "Why did you choose to follow the family's wishes and marry me?"
Xia Yingyue leaned closer. Her jade-white face flushed with color as she answered bashfully, "Does my husband still remember our first meeting?"
Su Chen thought back. Fragments of memory surfaced. It had been a snowy night. The blind old servant of the Mu family had knelt at the Xia family gates, cradling the infant him in his arms.
Xia Hongcai had appeared with young Xia Yingyue at his side. Nothing particularly special came to mind.
Xia Yingyue blinked and smiled gently. "Back then, my husband's eyes were lost and helpless, like an injured little beast all alone in the freezing snow. It made me want to protect you."
Su Chen: "…"
Xia Yingyue continued. "Father told me you were my fiancé. As your fiancée, I had to protect my husband well."
Su Chen thought to himself, 'What a good father-in-law!'
"Later… my husband grew more and more handsome, and naturally I liked him more and more. So I agreed to the marriage without hesitation."
Xia Yingyue gazed at Su Chen's face, her eyes sparkling like stars.
Su Chen rolled over. Their bodies moved in perfect harmony.
For the next half month, the newlyweds were inseparable, lost in each other's company.
Finally, Xia Yingyue asked, "Husband, are you truly unwilling to return with me to the Water Cloud Sect to cultivate? With your aptitude, the sect would surely nurture you with all its resources."
Su Chen looked at the beauty before him and shook his head. "My path does not lie within the Great Yan Dynasty. Soon I will leave this place and venture into the wider world."
Xia Yingyue's expression dimmed with disappointment, yet she still trusted him completely.
"Wait for me to make my name known across the lands," Su Chen said, his eyes bright with ambition. "Then I will come find you."