Chapter 695 - 696: Master, Come With Me

Chapter 695: Chapter 696: Master, Come With Me

The Peak of One Big Happy Family.

Chu Xingchen walked leisurely into the courtyard, his gaze naturally falling on Cui Hao—the only one still sitting inside—and the empty Chunnuan bottle still on the table.

He asked: "Where are San Dong and Qinghe?"

Cui Hao looked at his master with a somewhat resentful expression:

"Qinghe ran off after drinking the Chunnuan. San Dong got a bit drunk, so I sent her back to rest."

Chu Xingchen smiled and sat down:

"So you were specifically waiting for me to come back?"

"She wanted me to pass a message to you." Cui Hao sighed. "She said master is magnificent and mighty, and carries heaven’s mandate, so if there’s something to discuss, discuss it properly—don’t use petty tricks."

Chu Xingchen nodded in understanding, didn’t take that bait, and instead asked a counter-question:

"After drinking some wine, it’s all she this and she that. You two weren’t drinking cross-cupped wine, were you?"

"Zheng Zhaoling’s taste isn’t very good, is it? How could she even take a liking to you?"

Cui Hao waved his hands repeatedly: "Master, you can slander me, but please don’t slander her, or it’ll bring trouble."

"Your master isn’t afraid of her."

"But I am! Zheng Zhaoling wouldn’t dare come after you, but wouldn’t she dare come after me?"

"If you’re afraid, then I can only tell you not to be—because being afraid is useless anyway."

Chu Xingchen’s smile was gentle as he reached out and picked up the Chunnuan bottle from the table, then continued:

"Did you promise Zheng Zhaoling anything?"

Cui Hao nodded with a pained expression, as if he’d suffered a great loss:

"Naturally."

Chu Xingchen raised an eyebrow in inquiry.

Cui Hao’s expression turned playful again:

"She wants to treat me in return. When I have time, I’ll go to Yunmeng Pavilion for the appointment."

"She didn’t hold the Northern Julu Continent matter against me, didn’t find fault with you either, and said not to underestimate her."

Chu Xingchen wasn’t surprised, instead smiling lightly:

"Then consider yourself lucky this time. You also need to understand—if you want to do what you want, you always have to pay a price."

"Your master can’t do everything either."

Cui Hao turned his head slightly, as if understanding his master’s unspoken meaning.

He didn’t say much more, simply nodding lightly.

This was something Cui Hao had wanted to do himself, and his master had helped. But the aftermath naturally fell to him to handle.

Master... seemed very tired too.

Chu Xingchen tilted his head slightly upward.

In cultivation, years pass without notice, and time slips by unknowingly.

It seemed deep winter had arrived, with goose-feather snow beginning to pour down.

In these quiet years, he didn’t know how much longer they could be maintained.

Although he hadn’t even left Tianyan Sect’s gates recently, news from outside still came like snowflakes.

First was the Buddhist sect’s obscure and unclear attitude. The Radiant Buddha’s Mahayana Buddhist Teachings and the Celestial Demons within the Buddhist sect—one could cost the Buddhist sect its life, and the other had already cost them their reputation.

The Buddhist sect still didn’t know if there were Celestial Demons lurking within, and even investigating their own secular Buddhas internally carried enormous pressure.

The sect’s intelligence organization had already produced a rough report—either the Buddhist sect would fall into complete chaos with the secular Buddhas cutting themselves off, or the Buddhist sect would go down a path it shouldn’t.

Runan could still suppress the Buddhist sect’s surface for now, but suppressing problems didn’t solve them.

Trying to wait things out was probably no longer practical.

That day’s Celestial Demon slaughter, although they had escaped in time, still left traces.

Besides the Buddhist sect, almost all eighteen immortal sects were offering assistance.

Regardless of whether their attitudes were genuine, there was indeed practical help.

The fleeing Celestial Demons still left traces, and the Xuanqing Heavenly Sect had been leading the pursuit.

Naturally, some Celestial Demons with too few traces were selectively abandoned, with forces concentrated on pursuing those with clear trails.

By current count, of the eight great Celestial Demons, one was already dead. Of the seven under heaven’s mandate, two were still being actively pursued.

The remaining five had gone into hiding once again.

Chu Xingchen’s publicly announced condition had always been extremely poor—his cultivation reduced to less than a tenth, and even if his immortal path could continue, it probably wouldn’t be as astonishing as before.

As for Bai Xuanling, who had become a True Immortal, she had been researching how to avoid ascending to the Immortal World and temporarily remain in this realm to handle the Celestial Demon matter. But progress was slow, and it probably couldn’t last much longer.

All of this news was false.

The purpose of spreading these false messages was also clear—to delay the time until the Celestial Demons made a desperate last stand.

After all, everyone knew that if Chu Xingchen’s injuries were fine and his realm was recovering at a flying pace, and Bai Xuanling had no pressure to ascend at all, then what awaited the Celestial Demons was certain destruction.

The advantage of time was on Chu Xingchen’s side.

The Celestial Demons understood this too. No one knew if the Celestial Demons still had other trump cards.

After all, to this day, no one had clear records of where the Celestial Demons came from—they had appeared as if dropped from the sky.

Buy some time.

Wait for the future.

Wait for his disciples to grow a bit more, for his own cultivation to recover further.

And hopefully, by then, the heaven’s mandate could be ended by him alone.

Chu Xingchen’s gaze slowly settled on Cui Hao, and he smiled lightly:

"Is Wanban still working well for you?"

Hearing this, Cui Hao instinctively touched the Wanban at his waist.

When he had returned to the sect, he had offered to return Wanban to his master, but his master hadn’t accepted.

So Wanban was still on him.

Cui Hao lightly touched the Wanban at his waist. He didn’t actually go complain about Lord Wanban, instead smiling:

"As expected of master’s spiritual treasure—it’s truly unparalleled in the world. I didn’t even need to lift a finger. Lord Wanban handled everything for me."

This was also the truth—he really didn’t need to act. He just had to use his mouth to beg.

Hearing this, Chu Xingchen nodded with relief:

"That’s good. Wanban is a bit picky. I was worried it wouldn’t cooperate."

Cui Hao said proudly:

"How could that be? Given my relationship with master, Lord Wanban has no reason not to cooperate."

Chu Xingchen was about to tease Cui Hao a bit more when he heard Li Yingling’s teasing voice from behind.

"Cui Hao, did you cause trouble again and get caught by master for a scolding?"

Chu Xingchen looked to the side to see Li Yingling walking over quickly, with Li Xingtian following closely behind.

Li Yingling didn’t wait for Cui Hao’s rebuttal, directly waving her hand to signal him to shut up first. She looked at her master:

"Master, how has your rest been lately?"

Hearing this, Chu Xingchen sighed deeply, shaking his head repeatedly:

"Besides the comfortable parts, there isn’t a single comfortable spot. What troublesome matter has come to find your master now?"

Li Yingling blinked with a playful smile, her tone mischievous:

"I’m not like Cui Hao, causing trouble and needing master to help. As your warm padded jacket, naturally I’m bringing master good news."

Chu Xingchen looked skeptical, his gaze shifting to Li Xingtian.

The warm padded jacket might leak, but this pair of long johns was still solid—at least he could judge on the spot whether it was good or bad news.

Seeing his master’s questioning gaze, Li Xingtian gave a subtle nod to indicate it was good news.

Chu Xingchen grew somewhat interested:

"Come on, let me hear what good news the not-leaking warm padded jacket has brought."

Li Yingling’s eyes lit up, her expression quite proud:

"Master, do you still remember Donggua?"

Chu Xingchen’s reaction wasn’t big.

But Cui Hao suddenly straightened his neck.

Could this... have something to do with him too?

[

Dear Readers,

I hope you are doing well. Things are genuinely tough right now, and I need your help to keep going.

My financial situation is the worst it has ever been. Despite this, I am still posting multiple high-quality, human-polished Chapters every single day. I love doing this and do not want to stop, but I cannot do it alone for much longer.

If you enjoy the story, please consider supporting the release schedule to unlock massive advanced Chapter buffers:

$6 Tier

* Read 20+ Chapters Ahead (High-speed daily updates!)

$8 Tier

* Read 40+ Chapters Ahead

* Access to exclusive character images

$10 Tier (Best Value)

* Read 60+ Chapters Ahead

* Access to exclusive character images

* Access to Patreon Community Chat

Special Note: Every tier receives 150 Chapters across all fics per month! On top of that, these Chapter counts are guaranteed minimums—because of my rapid update schedule, you will often get even more!

Important: If you are on iOS, please subscribe via your web browser (Safari/Chrome) instead of the Patreon App to avoid Apple’s 30% fee and payment delays.

Even a small contribution or sharing my work makes a real difference. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for keeping these daily releases going!

Support Here: [patreon.com/Alex_Cruise]

]