Chapter 365 - 349: Three Years

Chapter 365: Chapter 349: Three Years

"Senior Brother Wu, you stand guard here. I’m going to see if other places need support."

After finishing his conversation with Qin Yushan and seeing that the Beast Tide hadn’t arrived yet, Zhang Chi said to the Canglan City Lord.

"Okay. I already told the Sect Leader and the others about your achievements yesterday, but none of them believed me. This is a good opportunity for you to prove it. However, even though your combat power is considerable, you must be careful. Act according to your ability and the specific situation."

The Canglan City Lord thought for a moment and immediately agreed.

The sect’s upper echelons had originally told him to look after Zhang Chi, but judging by his performance in the previous battle, that was clearly unnecessary. In fact, it was more like Zhang Chi would be the one looking after him.

"Mm!"

Zhang Chi nodded slightly and was about to leave.

Of course, while he was ostensibly going to support other areas, his real purpose was to slay more Tier Four Demon Beasts.

After all, it wasn’t difficult for him.

"I’ll go with you."

But just then, Qin Yuyan suddenly spoke up.

Upon hearing this, the assembled cultivators all looked over in confusion.

Even the Canglan City Lord was curious and perplexed.

After all, although the two envoys had been at the Canglan Sect for a long time, they had never really interacted with Zhang Chi.

"Alright."

Zhang Chi was also taken aback. Seeing her expectant expression, he could only look toward Qin Yushan.

Unexpectedly, Qin Yushan gave a slight nod, so Zhang Chi had no choice but to agree.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t affect him much.

SWOOSH...

Then, under the puzzled and envious gazes of the other cultivators, Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan transformed into two streaks of escape light and flew off side by side.

The two of them flew directly into the desert, intending to circle the Canglan Oasis from within the sands.

Soon, the pair arrived near Bai Zhi Immortal City, the closest immortal city to Beiluo Immortal City.

Just as expected, a Beast Tide was present here, furiously assaulting Bai Zhi Immortal City and the vast surrounding area.

Bai Zhi Immortal City, in particular, was the primary target.

Leading the beasts were, shockingly, two Tier Four Early Stage Desert Giant Lizards.

Each lizard was a hundred zhang long, with sharp claws and fangs and bodies covered in golden scales. Every one of their attacks left the immortal city’s Grand Array on the verge of collapse.

The two Nascent Soul Early Stage True Monarchs from the Canglan Sect guarding the city had no choice but to fly out of the array’s protection and use every trick they had to painstakingly hold off the two demon beasts.

"Vile beasts, die!"

Seeing the situation, Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan immediately attacked together.

The Golden Lotus and the black Giant Cauldron instantly shot toward the giant lizards separately.

ROAR!

One of the giant lizards swiped a claw at the Golden Lotus, only for the lotus to snap one of its claws, causing blood to gush out as it roared in fury.

CRACK!

The other lizard had its skull crushed by the Giant Cauldron. It died on the spot without even a chance to scream, and even its Demon Pill was unable to escape, being sucked directly into the cauldron.

Without pausing, the Giant Cauldron spun violently and, in the next instant, struck the other giant lizard, killing it with the same ease.

"This..."

The battlefield fell silent as all the cultivators, and even the demon beasts, were stunned.

BANG! BANG! BANG...

But the Giant Cauldron and the Golden Lotus didn’t stop. They continued to slaughter the other demon beasts, and in an instant, flesh and blood flew everywhere. Their advance was utterly unstoppable.

The demon beasts finally snapped out of their stupor, immediately lost their will to fight, and scattered in a panic.

"Kill!"

"It’s Elder Chen Bufan and the Honorable Envoy here to reinforce us! Quick, take this chance to wipe out these demon beasts!"

The cultivators also snapped back to their senses and charged at the demon beasts, the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs included.

Thus, the Beast Tide near Bai Zhi Immortal City was soon successfully repelled by the combined effort of all the cultivators.

Although many demon beasts escaped, it was still a resounding victory for the cultivators.

More importantly, the cultivators suffered almost no casualties, and the Grand Array hadn’t even consumed many Spirit Stones.

"Junior Brother Chen, Honorable Envoy, thank you so much. If you two hadn’t come to our aid, we would have been in a very difficult position!"

"Exactly! We never expected two Tier Four Low Grade demon beasts to appear here at once. Just the two of us would have been completely unable to repel them. A single mistake could have even cost us our lives!"

At this point, the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs came forward to thank Zhang Chi and Qin Yuyan.

Of course, their thanks were mainly directed at Zhang Chi.

Because even though Zhang Chi’s displayed cultivation wasn’t high, his combat power was clearly the strongest. It could be said that he had killed both demon beasts himself.

At the same time, the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs couldn’t help but look at Zhang Chi with gazes full of awe.

They had known Zhang Chi for a long time, but they had always just considered him an ordinary junior brother.

Even when they did pay him any mind, it was only because he was an Artifact Refiner.

But now, they finally understood that Zhang Chi wasn’t just skilled in Artifact Refining; his combat power was also exceedingly formidable.

Previously, the Canglan City Lord had actually sent them a message about Zhang Chi’s achievements from the day before.

But at the time, they all thought the Canglan City Lord was just embellishing Zhang Chi’s accomplishments. They figured that even if a Tier Four Demon Beast was slain, it must have been the work of the two envoys.

Only now did they realize that the Canglan City Lord had been telling the truth, without a shred of exaggeration.

"All hail Elder Chen!"

At the same time, the cultivators on site cheered in unison, their voices filled with adoration for Zhang Chi.

"Haha, it was nothing," Zhang Chi laughed, clearly unconcerned. "Since the Beast Tide here has receded, we’re going to support other areas. Farewell!"

"Okay, we’ll help you process these two demon beasts, Junior Brother, and then send them over to Beiluo Immortal City," the two Nascent Soul True Monarchs said quickly, their admiration for Zhang Chi growing even deeper upon hearing his words.

"I’ll have to trouble you both, then."

Zhang Chi nodded slightly and, together with Qin Yuyan, quickly flew toward the next city.

And so, similar events soon occurred several more times.

In fact, Zhang Chi didn’t return to his Volcano Cave Mansion for a whole month, instead working with Qin Yuyan to clear out all the Tier Four Demon Beasts around the entire Canglan Oasis.

Moreover, thanks to the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi stored by his Divine Whale Devouring Sea Technique, Zhang Chi’s cultivation progress, while slowed, was not severely hindered.

At the same time, Zhang Chi harvested even more Tier Four Demon Pills and materials, so much so that even Qin Yuyan watched with considerable envy.

However, when Zhang Chi suggested they split up, she flatly refused, saying she needed to stick with him in case they encountered even stronger demon beasts.

Seeing this, Zhang Chi didn’t press the issue.

In any case, the Divine Palace Envoys were just here to observe the battle; normally, they weren’t required to take action personally at all.

And since most of the Tier Four Demon Beasts that appeared around the Canglan Oasis this time were Tier Four Early Stage, with a few at the Middle Stage and almost none of a higher level, Zhang Chi found it very easy to kill them.

After making a full circuit, Zhang Chi returned to rest for a few days. When the Beast Tide reappeared, he resumed his patrol.

And Qin Yuyan still followed him.

Time flew by. Zhang Chi spent his days fending off the Beast Tide and slaying Tier Four Demon Beasts. Rather than just guarding Beiluo City, he was essentially guarding the entire Canglan Oasis.

The pressure on the various locations throughout the Canglan Oasis was greatly reduced as a result, while Zhang Chi’s own gains from the process grew larger and larger.

The upper echelons of the Canglan Sect, as well as the countless cultivators of the Canglan Oasis, came to fully understand just how formidable Zhang Chi was.

When they encountered dangerous situations, they would even appeal directly to Zhang Chi for help, because the results were even better than asking the two Supreme Elders for aid.

The two Supreme Elders, the Sect Leader, and the others were overjoyed, feeling incredibly fortunate to have accepted Zhang Chi into the sect all those years ago.

In the blink of an eye, three years passed, and the Canglan Oasis finally weathered the outbreak of this exceptionally large Beast Tide. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

With Zhang Chi and the Qin Family Siblings present this time, the Canglan Sect’s losses were unprecedentedly small.

Even the duration of the Beast Tide was much shorter than in the past.

Previously, an exceptionally large Beast Tide would typically last for about ten years. But now, whenever a Tier Four Demon Beast appeared, it would be slain by Zhang Chi. The remaining demon beasts became easy to defeat as a result, so the Beast Tide naturally receded ahead of schedule.

During these three years, the Heaven-defying Alliance did not cause any more trouble.

This was because after Qin Yushan handed that intelligence over to the Desert Divine Palace, the Heaven-defying Alliance had long since found it difficult to even protect itself.

After all, the Nascent Soul Late Stage Cloaked Cultivator that Zhang Chi had killed was definitely a high-level member of the Heaven-defying Alliance, and the intelligence he possessed was naturally vast and important.

Normally, there would be a Divine Soul Restriction in their divine souls, making it impossible for them to leak these secrets even if they were killed or captured.

Unfortunately for them, they encountered a unique existence like Zhang Chi, who could surprisingly ignore these Divine Soul Restrictions and perform a Soul Search directly.

* * *

With the Beast Tide having completely receded, the Qin Family Siblings’ mission was also complete.

On this day, the Canglan Sect held a farewell banquet especially for them.

Afterward, the Qin Family Siblings left the Canglan Oasis. The Nascent Soul Cultivators of the Canglan Sect escorted them for a distance before returning, but the siblings specifically asked Zhang Chi to stay behind.

Qin Yushan took out a Storage Bag and handed it to Zhang Chi. "Third Brother, this is the reward from the Divine Palace. Take it. Also, my little sister and I will be participating in a Divine Palace operation soon to hunt down those Heaven-defying Alliance cultivators. Do you want to join us?"

Zhang Chi wasn’t one for false modesty. "Alright, I won’t be polite then," he said, gladly accepting the Storage Bag. "However, I won’t be joining the hunt. And you two must be extra careful. Don’t let your desire for revenge make you act rashly."

Zhang Chi inspected the Storage Bag and was surprised to find a large quantity of Tier Four Cultivation Materials inside, even things like Spirit Tea and Spirit Wine.

And although these materials were all relatively common, they were actually extremely valuable and were exactly what Zhang Chi needed.

As for the invitation, however, Zhang Chi decisively refused.

After all, Zhang Chi had gained a great deal over the past three years. Adding that to his massive haul from killing the Heaven-defying Alliance cultivators and this new reward, he wouldn’t be short on materials for at least a hundred years. There was naturally no need to go looking for risks.

"Alright, then you should stay here and focus on your cultivation," Qin Yushan said with a slight smile, not at all surprised. "We’ll be careful, so don’t you worry."

"Besides, I plan to make a breakthrough first before participating in the operation, so it will be absolutely foolproof."

After spending the last three years together, he and Qin Yuyan had come to understand Zhang Chi quite well.

They knew that despite his immense combat power, Zhang Chi had always been low-key and rarely did anything he wasn’t certain about.

"That’s good. Then I’ll wish you success in your breakthrough in advance, Big Brother!"

Zhang Chi nodded.

The two sides chatted for a while longer before finally parting ways.

The Qin Family Siblings went to Beichen Oasis to regroup with their fellow sect members before returning to the Desert Divine Palace.

Zhang Chi, on the other hand, made a trip to the sect and quickly collected another large batch of materials.

This was his personal reward from the sect.

After all, he had not only participated in fending off the Beast Tide but had also performed exceptionally well. The sect naturally wouldn’t treat him poorly.

Only after all that did he finally return to his Volcano Cave Mansion and once again begin his cultivation in seclusion.