Chapter 362 - 347: Oath of Brotherhood and Gifts

Chapter 362: Chapter 347: Oath of Brotherhood and Gifts

’To think they even collude with Demon Beasts... The Heaven-defying Alliance truly deserves death!’ Zhang Chi’s gaze turned cold after reviewing the information.

He had a distinct loathing for Demon Beasts that fed on humans, especially after what had happened at Beast King Valley.

Of course, humans also fed on Demon Beasts. This was the law of the jungle, the natural order of the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

But being human, it was impossible for him not to side with humanity.

After that, Zhang Chi immediately collected the Magical Treasures, Storage Bags, and Array Flags.

He sealed away their Nascent Souls and extracted any Divine Souls that hadn’t yet dissipated, saving them for a Soul Search later.

He tossed the Divine Soul of the Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator directly into the Beast Soul Banner, feeding it to the Demon Souls.

Next, Zhang Chi used Magic to clean up the scene, even extending the cleanup for hundreds of miles around.

He then retrieved his Flying Sword and Treasure Cauldron, suppressed his Cultivation, and flew off in Qin Yuyan’s direction.

As for Qin Yushan, he wasn’t concerned. For one, he had already done his best—saving one of them was good enough.

And for another, Qin Yushan was already safe.

He had used the Spiritual Mark on Qin Yushan to pinpoint his location and found that he had already regrouped with Qin Yuyan.

Furthermore, the two were now rapidly approaching him.

’I still need to get stronger. That Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator was careless, and his strength was only average. Otherwise, I might not have managed to kill him.’

’If he had escaped, it would have definitely been troublesome!’

As Zhang Chi flew, he reviewed the previous battle, secretly warning himself not to get complacent over this minor victory.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you... you’re alright?"

Soon, Zhang Chi encountered Qin Yushan and Qin Yuyan. Both of them looked pleasantly surprised to see him.

Qin Yuyan had mostly recovered, but Qin Yushan was a mess, his hair disheveled and his body covered in blood. He looked wretched, but in truth, none of the blood was his.

Evidently, he had also been ambushed, but not only had his attackers failed to capture him, they had likely suffered a great loss in the process.

"That’s right. I got lucky. I used the Blood Shadow Divine Escape just in time and managed to shake them off," Zhang Chi said with a nod.

His face was currently pale and his aura was weak, giving the distinct impression that he had consumed a great deal of his Primordial Essence.

Of course, this was all an act.

"I see. As long as you’re safe, Fellow Daoist. Let’s go. We’ll head back to Beiluo Immortal City first."

The Qin Family Siblings seemed to understand. Qin Yushan immediately led the two of them, and they flew quickly toward the Oasis.

Evidently, even though he was alive and not bleeding his own blood, he had still expended a great deal of energy in the previous fight and had even sustained injuries.

Therefore, he was terrified of those enemies catching up.

Even though the siblings hated their enemies to the bone, they had matured a great deal from this incident. At the very least, they had learned to stay calm.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you saved my life and expended a great deal of energy in the process. After we return, we will be sure to compensate you properly!" Qin Yuyan promised solemnly at that moment.

"That’s right. Saving my little sister is the same as saving me, Qin Yushan. From now on, you are the benefactor of my sister and me," Qin Yushan said, nodding gravely.

As he spoke, he looked at Zhang Chi, his face filled with gratitude, while internally he felt a pang of lingering fear.

He had already heard from Qin Yuyan about what happened, so he knew that if it weren’t for Zhang Chi, his sister would have been finished.

Then, his own hands would have been tied, and he might very well have been captured by the enemy as a result. In that case, both of them would have faced certain death.

"Haha, it was a small effort, nothing worth mentioning. You were blessed by fortune to escape this disaster. Besides, since you call me ’Fellow Daoist,’ that makes us friends. And friends should naturally watch out for one another!"

Zhang Chi just smiled, offering a few humble words in return.

Hearing this, the Qin Family Siblings felt an even greater sense of gratitude and admiration for Zhang Chi.

Normally, they looked down upon Cultivators from outside the Desert Divine Palace, but Zhang Chi was clearly an exception.

Even setting aside the life-saving debt they owed him, his earlier courage and current humility alone made them feel inadequate by comparison.

"Yes, friends!"

Zhang Chi didn’t act aloof; he simply smiled and nodded.

After all, forging a connection with the two of them would be highly beneficial for his future prospects in the Endless Desert Sea.

He wanted to find an Ancient Teleportation Array to return to the Great Abyss, and to do so, he would undoubtedly need to inquire for information via their backer, the Desert Divine Palace.

Then, the group began to chat as they flew.

Zhang Chi then learned that the siblings had come from a Major Immortal Cultivation Clan, but their family had been annihilated by the Heaven-defying Alliance when they were children.

Their loving parents and relatives, along with the brothers and sisters they often played with, had all been sadistically slaughtered one by one before their very eyes by Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators.

They themselves had nearly been killed, but thankfully, an expert from the Desert Divine Palace arrived in time to save them.

Afterward, they joined the Desert Divine Palace, but this also forged an irreconcilable blood feud between them and the Heaven-defying Alliance.

That was why they had fallen for the trap so easily earlier.

Of course, speaking of their earlier performance, they both felt rather ashamed, believing they had been too thoughtless and overconfident, which almost led to a terrible mistake.

But Zhang Chi said he understood.

After such a traumatic childhood experience, it would have been strange if the Qin Family Siblings *could* remain calm when encountering Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators.

When the Qin Family Siblings saw that Zhang Chi truly understood and even comforted them, their favorable impression of him soared once again.

Then, Qin Yushan recounted what had happened to him earlier.

As it turned out, Qin Yushan had indeed been ambushed, and by an even larger force of Heaven-defying Alliance experts. Although there was no one at Nascent Soul Peak, there were as many as four at the Nascent Soul Late Stage.

Moreover, his opponents had also prepared an Array.

Fortunately, his own Combat Power was immense, he had plenty of trump cards, and he possessed a Protective Treasure from the Divine Palace Master. That was how he had managed to fight them off and successfully use a Secret Technique to locate Qin Yuyan.

And just a moment ago, the Qin Family Siblings had been on their way to rescue Zhang Chi.

However, they were doing it mostly to have a clear conscience, as they both assumed he was almost certainly dead. They never expected him to be so lucky as to actually be alive.

As they spoke of this, they felt extremely fortunate and couldn’t help but express their gratitude once more.

"There’s no need for that. However, I do have one thing I need your help with. Since I rescued someone, the Heaven-defying Alliance will certainly target me. So I hope you two can keep my identity a secret," Zhang Chi said with a smile.

"Of course. But didn’t those Heaven-defying Alliance Cultivators see what you look like?" Qin Yushan asked, confused.

"No. I used the Light Splitting Escape Shadow Technique, so they definitely couldn’t get a clear look at my face."

"Also, when I used my Magical Treasure, the Black Cauldron, I used a Secret Technique and the treasure’s own light to conceal its appearance."

"It’s just that your sister was too close at the time, so she didn’t notice anything unusual."

Zhang Chi immediately spun a lie.

In any case, he had already killed all those Cultivators. As long as the Qin Family Siblings kept his secret, there was no way the Heaven-defying Alliance would find out the truth.

Even if the Heaven-defying Alliance investigated, their suspicion would never fall on him.

"I see. No problem. I, Qin Yushan, swear to the heavens that I will never breathe a word of what happened today to an outsider. If I break this vow, may I be invaded by a Heart Demon and suffer a miserable death!"

"I, Qin Yuyan, also swear to the heavens..."

The Qin Family Siblings finally understood. They immediately swore their oaths, not even giving Zhang Chi a chance to stop them.

"You two really..."

Zhang Chi shook his head slightly, but their actions put him more at ease. He found himself admiring the siblings.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, Brother, I have a suggestion. How about the two of you become sworn brothers?" Qin Yuyan suddenly proposed.

"A fine idea! What do you think, Fellow Daoist Chen?" Qin Yushan’s eyes lit up, his expression full of anticipation.

"This..."

Zhang Chi was stunned. He hadn’t expected the Qin Family Siblings to suggest such a thing at all.

"Are you unwilling, Fellow Daoist Chen?" Qin Yushan asked, looking a bit confused and awkward.

"It’s not that," Zhang Chi said, shaking his head. "It’s just that I’m only a Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivator from a minor sect in a small region. I’m afraid I’m not worthy of such an honor."

Clearly, while he was willing to befriend them, he didn’t want to get too deeply entangled.

"Haha, that’s not a problem! We don’t care about such things, so why should you? Besides, I’ve already decided to recommend you for membership in our Desert Divine Palace. Once that happens, what will your origins matter?"

Qin Yushan, thinking Zhang Chi was genuinely lacking in confidence, laughed heartily and tried to persuade him.

"Exactly! You’re overthinking it, Fellow Daoist Chen. We’re not that kind of people! Besides, while your Cultivation may not be high, your Combat Power is incredible. You are more than qualified to become my brother’s sworn brother."

Qin Yuyan immediately chimed in, her expression full of eager anticipation.

"Since you’ve put it that way, it would be disrespectful of me to refuse."

Things having reached this point, refusing again would just be arrogant. Thus, Zhang Chi immediately agreed.

"Haha, excellent!"

The Qin Family Siblings were overjoyed.

By now, they were close to the Oasis, so the three of them were no longer in a hurry. They immediately landed on a sand dune and began to make preparations.

They first took out and lit three sticks of Concentration Incense. Then, they laid out some Demon Beast flesh and blood as an offering and performed the sworn brotherhood ceremony right there on the spot.

During the ceremony, Zhang Chi and Qin Yushan asked if Qin Yuyan wanted to join, but she refused.

Qin Yuyan said it wasn’t necessary, as she and Qin Yushan were already siblings.

Neither Zhang Chi nor Qin Yushan gave it much thought.

Afterward, the way the three of them addressed one another immediately changed.

Qin Yushan became Eldest Brother, Qin Yuyan became Second Sister, and Zhang Chi was demoted from "Fellow Daoist Chen" to Third Brother.

This arrangement was based on age, with Zhang Chi being the youngest.

Even though Zhang Chi was using a fake identity and had reported an age older than his actual one, he was still younger than the Qin siblings—after all, Qin Yushan was already about to break through to the Nascent Soul Peak.

However, among Cultivators of the Same Tier, both siblings were still considered young and had plenty of Lifespan left, which was why they appeared youthful.

’Good thing I’m not number two, that would just feel weird,’ Zhang Chi griped internally.

"Third Brother, this is some Star Divine Iron, a gift from me as your Eldest Brother. And here are a Teleportation Talisman and a Nine Revolutions Soul Reviving Pill to replace what you used earlier. Take them."

"Additionally, this is a Blood Jade Bodhi. It’s a great tonic for Blood Qi and can even strengthen one’s physical body. Take this to help your recovery as well."

Qin Yushan then took out several items and, without giving him a chance to refuse, stuffed them into Zhang Chi’s hands.

Apparently, back when Zhang Chi was exchanging for items, Qin Yushan had keenly noticed his interest in the Star Divine Iron.

That’s why he had specifically chosen it as a gift to commemorate their new bond.