by Translator: BornToBe; Author: Ordinary Magician (平凡魔术师); Licensed From: 17k
“You… You’ll soon be sixteen years old. When will you grow up? That nectar is something you might spend months looking for without finding it. Furthermore, this is the absolute worst time to look for it. I know you don’t want to see your aunt Qing in pain, but during this time, if something happened to you, wouldn’t you just make aunt Qing feel even more pain?” That woman rubbed Xiao Fei’s cheek a bit tenderly.
“Hmph, how many times have we told you? The invaders are all despicable and shameless schemers. How could you be so stupid as to trust them?” The man who had been sent flying by Long Chen now arrived in front of Xiao Fei, furious.
“Big brother Long Chen isn’t a bad person!” Xiao Fei didn’t retort the woman’s words, but he immediately became enraged when this man spoke.
“What do you understand? Invaders are enemies, and how could enemies be good people?!” shouted the man furiously.
“Don’t use this kind of tone. Xiao Fei is the future inheritor of the tribe. Pay attention to your status.” That woman immediately came up to protect Xiao Fei upon seeing him curse Xiao Fei so furiously.
“Hmph, someone without a head will only cause trouble for others. How can someone who can’t even understand the big picture be the tribe leader? Furthermore, his talent can only count as average in his realm. Are people really supposed to be convinced by that?” snorted the tall man disdainfully.
“Xiao Gu, you go too far!” raged the woman.
“How did I go too far? I just have this temperament. You know me,” said the large man Xiao Gu obstinately.
“How dramatic. Truly a good drama!” Long Chen finally interrupted their argument. “Well, please continue with your drama. I still have stuff to do, so I’ll leave first. Little brother, goodbye!” Long Chen waved his hand to Xiao Fei and turned to leave.
“Hold it! Leave your life behind first!” shouted Xiao Gu. Everyone immediately surrounded Long Chen. Half of them had reached Sea Expansion, and most importantly, they were all Celestials.
Long Chen narrowed his eyes and icily said, “I didn’t kill you just now because of Xiao Fei. If anyone wants to block me now, then don’t blame me for starting a slaughter.”
“Sister Ling, don’t do this! Big brother Long Chen saved our lives, and he also helped us find the seven star red spider lily nectar! Look!” Xiao Fei was appalled to see that a battle was about to erupt and he hastily showed that sister Ling the nectar. He gave everyone a quick recount of his experience with Long Chen.
“Are you telling the truth?” asked a startled Xiao Ling.
“Of course it’s true! Don’t fight! We’re all on the same side!” said Xiao Yu.
“Everyone stop!” ordered Xiao Ling. Following her shout, the majority of the people came to her side. Only three people continued to surround Long Chen, and one of them was Xiao Gu.
“Xiao Gu, what do you think you’re doing?” Xiao Ling’s expression sank. This Xiao Gu was becoming more and more unbridled. He was clearly going against her.
“Hmph, have you forgotten our ancestors’ rules? Invaders are enemies that absolutely can’t be trusted! Are you planning on violating the ancestors’ rules?” shouted Xiao Gu. He had no intention of giving up.
Long Chen’s attack just now had humiliated him. Although Long Chen had spared him, Xiao Gu wasn’t grateful. He still wanted to work together with everyone to kill him.
Long Chen didn’t say anything. He just watched. If any of them dared to attack, he would kill them no matter what anyone said. He definitely couldn’t indulge such people.
“I don’t need you to teach me the rules. He saved Xiao Fei and Xiao Yu, so he is a benefactor of our Xiao tribe. To forget gratitude is also forbidden according to the ancestral teachings. This matter can’t be handled by me, nor can it be handled by you. The tribe leader will naturally make his decision. Right now, we should go back as fast as possible. Don’t make me turn hostile against you.” Xiao Ling’s expression became increasingly stern. Her position was clearly the highest here.
“Hmph.” Xiao Gu snorted and retreated with the other two. But he still kept a close eye on Long Chen.
“You are Long Chen?” Xiao Ling’s expression became slightly more gentle.
“There’s no need to waste the time. I only saved them because I saw that they didn’t abandon each other even in the face of death. There’s no need to thank me. I just do whatever I want. Now, I want to leave as I have many more things to do. I really don’t feel like watching your melodramatic internal fight.” Long Chen shook his head and was about to leave.
“Big brother Long Chen, don’t leave. Follow us back to the tribe so we can thank you,” said Xiao Yu sincerely, pulling on his sleeve.
“I appreciate the thought, but there’s no need. I really have things to do, so I can’t tarry any longer.” Long Chen politely escaped her hold.
Seeing that Long Chen refused to go back with them, Xiao Yu and Xiao Fei were a bit disappointed. Xiao Gu suddenly sneered, “I just knew he had to be scheming against you two. He’s afraid of being exposed, so he doesn’t dare to come.”
“Leave your shallow provocations for children. It’s embarrassing to look at,” retorted Long Chen. As expected, wherever there were people, there were idiots.
“Long Chen, I can use my head to guarantee your safety. Our Xiao tribe has its own pride, and we definitely won’t harm someone who has helped us. Furthermore, I trust that you came to the Immemorial Path in search of opportunities. Well, who understands the Immemorial Path better than us, the people who live here?” said Xiao Ling.
Long Chen was moved by that. That was true. The map he had obtained was something created through generations of experts that had entered the Immemorial Path.
But these indigenous people had lived here for countless years. They definitely had to have a greater understanding of this place. If they told him a few good secret locations, wouldn’t he have made a huge profit?
But he was still a bit hesitant. If they didn’t have any good intentions, then wouldn’t he be sending himself to the tiger’s den? However, looking at Xiao Fei and Xiao Yu’s expectant gazes, as well as Xiao Ling’s righteous manner, it seemed they were trustworthy. Well, as long as he ignored that idiot Xiao Gu, they seemed trustworthy.
“It seems it really is difficult to refuse hospitality. If I continue to decline, I would become someone who doesn’t know how to appreciate kindness.” Long Chen smiled. Although it was a bit risky, he trusted his intuition. People unafraid of death were normally more trustworthy.
“Great! Big brother Long, once we get back to the tribe, I’ll treat you to some wine,” laughed Xiao Fei excitedly. Although his size was no longer so small, his manner was still quite childish.
Only Xiao Gu looked at Long Chen a bit disdainfully upon seeing him agree. But he didn’t say anything.
They crossed seven blocks. Long Chen didn’t sense anything, but Xiao Fei and the others’ auras began to grow as the halos of light around their bodies faded.
“Hahaha, we finally escaped that damnable suppression. Long Chen, do you believe me when I say that I can now crush you with a single fist?” Xiao Gu suddenly laughed and pointed at Long Chen.
“Xiao Gu! Long Chen is our guest. If you dare to be so rude again, don’t blame me for becoming hostile!” shouted Xiao Ling.
It wasn’t just Xiao Ling who was infuriated now. The other experts were also dissatisfied. One of the other Sea Expansion Celestials icily said, “Xiao Gu, pay attention to your status. Don’t go too far.”
“Xiao Qiang, it seems that with your mid Sea Expansion power, you don’t have the qualifications to criticize me,” sneered Xiao Gu. But he didn’t continue making things hard on Long Chen. He just continued traveling with them.
Perhaps she felt a bit apologetic, but Xiao Ling took the initiative to say, “All the indigenous people are normally fine and won’t suffer any suppression except perhaps in some trial regions. But when the Immemorial Path opens, the laws of the Immemorial Pa
th change. Other than near our homeland where we have special formations, we will receive a heavy suppression.”
Long Chen nodded. He hadn’t expected there to be such a secret. Although he had guessed a bit of it before, for Xiao Ling to be so sincere, it seemed he had made the right choice in coming.
They once more advanced for a while when Xiao Ling suddenly stopped and apologetically said, “Long Chen, I’m sorry, but the rest of the way is a secret of our tribe. Please wear this blindfold. It will isolate your divine sense. I hope you can understand why we need to do this.”
Long Chen looked at Xiao Fei and Xiao Yu. They nodded, so he smiled and received the blindfold. Since he had chosen to trust them, he would trust them to the end.
This blindfold had strange runes to block his divine sense, but they weren’t aware just how strong his spiritual perception was. With his vast Spiritual Strength, this blindfold was unable to completely block his divine sense.
Just relying on a bit of Spiritual Strength that could slip through, Long Chen could see everything. After two more blocks, a new group of people appeared. Upon seeing Long Chen, they didn’t say anything.
After a bit more, a transportation formation appeared. Once it activated, Long Chen found that he had appeared within a huge tribe.
Chapter 793 Punishment
The blindfold was taken off. Although Long Chen had seen everything, he still put on an act and looked around carefully.
This was a flat grassland, and the emerald grass spread far into the horizon. There were some large tents further away, looking like stars sprinkled around a large plaza. At the center of the grassland was an ancient altar.
Before Long Chen could examine that altar, a huge group of experts surrounded him. There were hundreds of them, and they were all Celestials.
Long Chen couldn’t help being startled. What was going on? Did Celestials just sprout out of the ground here? It seemed that every member of the Xiao tribe was a Celestial!
In the outside world, amongst a million cultivators, there might not even be a single Celestial. But here, they were all Celestials.
“An invader?” These people all glared at Long Chen, seeming to want to bite him to death. It was like he was the person who had killed their fathers.
“Seventh Elder, don’t be impetuous. I’m bringing him to see the old tribe leader,” said Xiao Ling.
It seemed Xiao Ling’s status amongst these people was a bit special. Although that Elder was displeased, he still nodded to one person. That person immediately rushed off.
Being stared at by hundreds of blade-like eyes was extremely uncomfortable. Long Chen even started to feel regret for coming.
“Don’t be nervous. These uncles are actually all good people. They just have a great deal of enmity with the invaders. You’re different.” Xiao Fei comforted Long Chen.
“Hmph, how is he different? Invaders are all violent and shameless. Each time they come, they’ll undergo a slaughter of us. What do you children understand?” shouted a man from the crowd.
Xiao Gu’s gaze suddenly focused on that man. He cast him a certain look, and that person immediately understood. He took off his boot and threw it at Long Chen.
“I’ll beat you damn invaders to death!”
Pow!
Long Chen’s expression sank. He definitely wasn’t able to endure such humiliation. Even in front of powerful enemies, he couldn’t endure it. He was just about to take out his saber, but Xiao Ling was even faster than him. She caught the boot and viciously flung it back into that person’s face.
“Xiao Ming, when did you become someone else’s dog? Someone looks at you, and you go to bite someone?” shouted Xiao Ling furiously.
That person hadn’t expected that Xiao Ling would actually interfere. As a result, he was struck by the bottom of his boot, and the smell made him almost faint.
In truth, he didn’t know that he had just brushed up against the gates of hell. If it hadn’t been for Xiao Ling, he would already be dead.
“Xiao Ling, you would fight your own tribesmen for an invader?! Just where do your loyalties lie?!” Xiao Gu was specifically waiting for this moment. He was finally in the right.
“Fuck off.”
Pow!
Long Chen really couldn’t keep watching anymore and sent out a slap. Xiao Gu’s square face was struck perfectly.
Xiao Gu shot out like a cannonball. People tried to catch him, but Long Chen’s slap hadn’t left them with any ability to help.
Although these people were Celestials, they hadn’t summoned their Heavenly Dao runes. That made their power limited, and as a result, Xiao Gu smashed through them.
Even Xiao Ling was stunned. She had never imagined that Long Chen would be so brazen as to strike Xiao Gu here.
She could strike someone because these were her tribesmen. Whatever happened, they could discuss it later. But Long Chen was an outsider. People already hated him. Now, he had truly provoked a disaster.
As expected, despite her shouting, everyone else furiously charged at Long Chen.
Xiao Fei and Xiao Yu were both stunned. They had never expected matters to reach this point.
Long Chen snorted. His saber was already in his hand. Although this wasn’t going according to the plan, it was impossible for him to accept such a humiliation. The only way he could accept such a thing was if he was dead.
Seeing killing intent condensing around Long Chen, Xiao Fei and Xiao Yu turned pale with fright.
“Stop.”
A shout rang out. It wasn’t very loud, nor was it very domineering. It was an extremely dignified shout.
But it was this shout that caused all of them to stop. Instantly, it became so quiet that it was possible to hear the drop of a pin.
“Young people must guard against pride and impatience. Pride will bring envy, temper will bring rage, and it will be impossible to make correct decisions when overcome by anger. How many times have I told you this, but you still don’t mature at all?” Two elders walked over.
They were both white-haired and covered in wrinkles. But their bodies were still tall and straight like ancient cedars.
One of them was holding an ebony cane. There weren’t the slightest fluctuations coming from him, but he gave off a mountain-like pressure.
The other elder walked behind him. His eyes were completely white. He had no pupils at all.
“Old tribe leader!”
Everyone hastily bowed. The cane-carrying elder nodded. Looking at Long Chen, shock flashed within his turbid eyes, but they quickly returned to calm.
“Tribe leader, what happened is…” Xiao Ling hastily began to explain about how Long Chen had saved Xiao Fei and Xiao Yu, and then even helped them find the seven star red spider lily nectar.
After hearing the story, the elder nodded and comforted the slightly apprehensive Xiao Ling, “Good child. You’re not inferior to any man when it comes to your conduct. Does our Xiao tribe have any little people who don’t know how to repay gratitude?”
Seeing that the old tribe leader wasn’t angry and actually complimented her, Xiao Ling was relieved. She hastily said, “Long Chen, this is our old tribe leader.”
“Greetings, senior.” Long Chen cupped his hands and bowed slightly toward this person.
“Many thanks for helping my Xiao tribe’s people. This old man will remember this favor,” said the tribe leader.
Because he had gotten closer, Long Chen now saw an air of death around the elder. His longevity was clearly near its end. He might fall at any moment. This was something he saw only because of his proficiency in the Pill Dao.
“You have a good vision. I still have some affairs to handle before I can go.” The old tribe leader saw Long Chen’s shocked expression and smiled. But turning to look at his people, his smile disappeared and he coldly said, “Xiao Fei, as the future leader of the tribe, how could you be so impetuous as to go out during such a dangerous time? You made Xiao Ling go searching for you with so many people. D
o you realize that your actions brought danger to every one of them?!”
Toward the end, his voice became an icy shout. Xiao Fei’s actions had clearly infuriated him. Everyone was silent for a moment, not daring to say anything. But Xiao Gu had a hard-to-notice smile on his face.
Xiao Fei knelt on the ground, but he stubbornly said, “Old tribe leader, I don’t want to be the tribe’s heir, nor do I have the ability to. You can call me selfish. You can say I don’t know how to handle things. I, Xiao Fei, accept my punishment.”
Xiao Fei didn’t confess to anything, nor did he try explaining, nor did he bother asking for leniency. His eyes were completely calm as he looked at the old tribe leader.
“You…” The old tribe leader looked at the obstinate Xiao Fei and didn’t know what to do. In his eyes, Xiao Fei looked too similar to his deceased father.
“Old tribe leader, although Xiao Fei was impulsive, he had good intentions. Now, we’ve obtained the seven star red spider lily nectar, and the Xiao tribe didn’t suffer any loss. It’s best to have the merit cancel the punishment,” implored one tribe Elder.
“He was just lucky this time. To have his companions risk death just because of a selfish whim is a trait unsuitable for a leader. If our tribe allowed such a person to lead us, wouldn’t that terrify us all? How many of us could accept such a thing?” Xiao Gu was the first to retort.
At the same time, there were also quite a few other young disciples who stood out. They obviously didn’t look favorably upon Xiao Fei. That was because Xiao Fei wasn’t very strong. He could only count as average within his generation. It wasn’t enough to convince them.
With this many people retorting, Xiao Ling wanted to say something, but anything she could say would be useless.
As a tribe’s leader, the first requirement was the power that convinced everyone that they should be the number one figure. The next most important requirement was to be calm, steady, and experienced. Xiao Fei didn’t meet any of those requirements. Xiao Yu also couldn’t say anything. She wanted to beg for leniency, yet she knew doing so would be useless.