Chapter 668: News from the South Sea Region

After leaving Beili, Dean Chen traveled first to East Shu, then to Nanyuan, where he spent some time in the place Ye Qianning had grown up.

Emperor Xi Yan repeatedly invited Dean Chen to teach in the capital of Xi Yan Country, but he refused every time.

Xiang Minghou’s movements were erratic, and he rarely contacted the other families.

The sect founded by Du Ying, Luo Wen, and Luo Xuan was already taking shape nicely. In just one year, word spread throughout Beili of a new sect in the martial world.

They took in children displaced by war from all over, teaching them to read and practice martial arts.

Everyone was striving in their own way, and in their hearts, they were all waiting with anticipation for the person they held dear.

One year...

Two years...

Five years...

Then, in the sixth year, a massive tsunami struck the East Sea. Seawater surged onto the land, drowning many people, and this very tsunami washed some strange and curious objects ashore.

These were transparent porcelain bottles. Sealed inside were slips of paper with strange writing that no one could decipher.

The ornate bottles didn’t resemble anything from the four nations. Many people took them to sell, and wealthy merchants, who had never seen such craftsmanship, offered handsome prices for them.

This caused people to flock to the beaches to search for treasure. Rumors also spread of an immortal land deep within the East Sea. These bottles, it was said, were artifacts used by Immortals, and the notes inside were written in their celestial script, indecipherable to mortals.

Gradually, the rumors mounted, and word of the bottles and their mysterious notes spread like wildfire across the four nations.

People from many nations flocked to the East Sea, setting sail in search of the Immortals’ abode.

Dean Chen had heard the rumors early on but paid them no mind. Then, by a stroke of luck, he happened to see one of the notes from inside a bottle. A single glance was all it took; he was utterly captivated.

"This is..." Dean Chen reached for it excitedly.

Another hand picked up the bottle just before he could. "This here is a bottle used by the Immortals of the South Sea. You can look, but you can’t touch."

"Young man, could you let me have a look?" There was an unconcealable excitement in Dean Chen’s voice.

The dark-skinned youth looked him up and down. "Old man, this thing is incredibly valuable. If you break it, even selling you wouldn’t be enough to pay for it."

"How much? I’ll buy it."

"Don’t try and fool me. You look broke." The youth turned to leave.

Dean Chen reached out and stopped him. "Young man, just name a price. I’ll buy it no matter the cost."

"You’re really rich?" The youth was still hoping to make a killing from the item.

"I am."

"Alright then. Someone just offered me fifty taels, and I didn’t sell. But since you want it so badly, if you can come up with fifty taels, the treasure is yours."

"Alright," Dean Chen agreed readily.

Seeing him agree so readily, the youth mentally kicked himself for not asking for more. "I meant fifty taels of gold."

"I’ll give you one hundred."

...

The youth was dumbfounded.

"Come on. Follow me to the tavern up ahead. I’ll have someone get the money for you," Dean Chen said, pulling the youth along.

After just two steps, the youth suddenly shuddered and pulled away from his grasp. "Old man, you’re not a con artist, are you? I’m not going with you."

’Fifty taels of gold, and he offers a hundred?’

’Even a fool isn’t that foolish. Something’s definitely fishy.’

"Young man, it’s true! As soon as we reach the tavern, I’ll immediately have someone get you one hundred taels of gold."

"I’m not going! I’m not going, unless you bring the gold here."

The youth was terrified.

Dean Chen grew anxious. "Alright, alright, young man. You stay right here and don’t move. I’ll go get the money now."