After witnessing the earth-shaking battle in Cangxuan Heaven, the so-called Heavenly Sun stage experts could hardly bring Zhou Yuan any sense of oppression like before.
From what he learnt these days, he already knew that Qiu Ji would certainly do something, so Zhou Yuan’s priority now was to restore his strength as soon as possible.
And asking Yi Quishui for the essence of ancient wood was undoubtedly the fastest way to restore his strength.
The silence lasted for a good while before the young man named Mu Chao burst out laughing. He said in a mocking voice to Yi Qiushui, “Qiushui, I always say you are too kind to people. In this world there are many people who are never satisfied with what they have.”
The others also sneered.
The stunned look on Yi Qiushui’s pretty face faded, and her brows scrunched in a frown.
She stared at Zhou Yuan. She thought he was indeed a little bit too rash this time.
She indeed possessed essences of ancient wood, which were essential for refining healing elixirs, and the value of those that were over 500 years old weren’t low at all.
Yi Qiushui knew that Zhou Yuan had asked for ancient wood essence because of his injuries.
It was just that what he said was unbelievable because...it seemed a little too arrogant.
Although Yi Qiushui had previously told Mu Chao and the others that she wasn’t afraid of Qiu Ji, she also understood that the Qiu family had been operating in Xiaoxuan Province for hundreds of years and the place could be said to be their territory.
Even if the real clout of the Qiu family was used against her Yi family in Xuanzhou City, Qiu Ji might have other connections.
This was what Yi Qiushui was afraid of and the reason why she wanted the prides of other influential families and clans, such as Mu Chao, to join her. She hoped to use their strength to deter Qiu Ji.
And even she was secretly afraid and cautious about reaching Xuanzhou City, but Zhou Yuan was full of confidence.
Therefore, Zhou Yuan’s move seemed more like an excuse to deceive her for ancient wood essence.
This made Yi Qiushui a little uncomfortable. Although Zhou Yuan had saved Dong’er and she was willing to help him, she didn’t want him to use such means to deceive her.
Yi Qiushui was silent for a moment. Then, her red lips moved, and she said, “Zhou Yuan, I can give you five essences of ancient wood around one hundred years old. As for the escort, it’s not necessary.”
Zhou Yuan bitterly smiled when he heard this. That little bit of ancient wood essence would make no difference. He naturally knew that he sounded too arrogant, but at present he needed to restore his strength as soon as possible. He wasn’t familiar with this place, and the only person he could ask was Yi Qiushui.
Zhou Yuan drew a deep breath. He wasn’t going to give up like that. He tried his best to look sincerely at Yi Qiushui. “Miss Qiu, I know you may not believe me, but I am not deceiving you. If I don’t have the opportunity to do anything for you on the way to Xuanzhou City, I can stay until I do to repay you.”
“Haha, you just want to stay with Qiushui on purpose, am I right? Your tactic is pretty good.” A young woman smiled with disdain.
Mu Chao narrowed his eyes. “Qiushui, this person doesn’t have any good intentions. I think we should kick him out of the camp. If you’re too kind to do it, you can leave it to me.”
His voice faded as he lifted his palm.
Suddenly several figures appeared behind Zhou Yuan. All exuded powerful Genesis Qi.
They were at the strength of the initial Divine Dwelling stage.
Zhou Yuan frowned, and a chilling intent flashed through his eyes.
“Stop.”
However, just when they were about to act, Yi Qiushui suddenly stopped them. She turned to Mu Chao and said, “I don’t want to bother you, brother Mu.”
“I overstepped. I’m just worried you would be deceived.” Mu Chao elegantly shrugged his shoulders.
Yi Qiushui fixed a penetrating stare at Zhou Yuan, who neither retreated nor flinched back. He only looked at her earnestly.
The atmosphere was a little tense.
A worried frown crossed Yi Dong’er little face, and she couldn’t help but tug her sister’s sleeve.
Yi Qiushui finally retracted her gaze. After pondering a moment, she nodded. “Fine, I will meet your request.”
The surrounding men and women were all in shock.
Mu Chao couldn’t help but cry out, “Qiushui!”
Yi Qiushui did not speak again. She shook her head, showing that she had made up her mind.
When Mu Chao and the others saw this, they could only helplessly shake their heads. But the gazes they sent Zhou Yuan were obviously more dissatisfied and cold than previously. In their view, Zhou Yuan was someone who accidently saved Dong’er but kept making greedy demands.
Zhou Yuan also didn’t expect Yi Qiushui to agree, but from her eyes, he knew that she didn’t truly trust him.
Perhaps she only agreed because he had saved Dong’er.
“Thank you.”
Zhou Yuan didn’t say more. He nodded to Yi Qiushui before he turned around and left.
Yi Qiushui watched Zhou Yuan leave with a calm look on her beautiful face. She indeed didn’t have much confidence in Zhou Yuan; even she didn’t dare to say they could reach Xuanzhou City as long as they didn’t meet experts of the Heavenly Sun stage along the way.
Zhou Yuan should be similar in age to her, so on what basis could he make such a statement?
If Zhou Yuan was also from Hunyuan Heaven, Yi Qiushui would have speculated whether he was the pride of some other family. However, Zhou Yuan was from another heaven, which meant that it was not possible.
In her view, there was a huge gap in strength between the people of other heavens and those of Hunyuan Heaven.
Therefore...
Zhou Yuan’s words weren’t credible.
Yi Qiushui sighed inwardly. Never mind, I will just see it as repaying him for saving Dong’er. Once we get to Xuanzhou City, I will ask him to leave, and this debt will also be cleared.
Chapter 754 Zhao Yue
Not long after Zhou Yuan returned to the tent, someone lifted the curtain and came in.
Zhou Yuan looked up and was stunned for a moment. The person who had come in was a woman. Her face was beautiful but aloof, and her long shapely brows were like knives, emitting a chilling and fierce intent.
She was dressed in combat gear that highlighted her perfect body and long legs.
Zhou Yuan had seen this cold and beautiful woman before. Her name was Zhao Yue, and she was Yi Qiushui’s personal bodyguard and someone whom Yi Qiushui trusted a lot.
But at this moment, Yi Qiushui’s personal bodyguard revealed a look of contempt upon seeing Zhou Yuan. Before waiting for Zhou Yuan to speak, she tossed him a spatial bag and uttered coldly, “The essences of ancient wood you need are all inside.”
Zhou Yuan took the spatial bag and, without paying attention to her expression, immediately checked the bag. Only when he found that the number of ancient wood essences matched his request did he give a slight smile.
“Please thank Miss Yi for me,” Zhou Yuan said sincerely.
No matter what Yi Qiushui thought of him, she had still given him the ancient wood essence at a time like this. Zhou Yuan was very grateful; this was not a small favour.
“No need. If you really want to thank her, leave when we reach Xuanzhou City.”
“Is this what Miss Yi wants?”
“Does it matter?” Yi Qiushui replied in a cold voice.
Zhou Yuan smiled faintly and didn’t try to argue with her. After all, he was just a liar in everyone else’s eyes. More importantly, he also couldn’t prove anything.
“I don’t like to owe people. If I feel that I have repaid my debt, I will naturally take the initiative to leave,” Zhou Yuan said calmly.
Zhao Yue coldly snorted. She spoke with a tone of threat in her voice: “I hope you don’t
step out of line. If you push too far, as someone from another heaven, it would be difficult for you to continue to walk in Xiaoxuan Province.”
Zhao Yue and Yi Qiushui were very close, and their relationship wasn’t as simple as master and servant. This was the reason why she was furious that Zhou Yuan had used such an almost deceptive way to ask for the ancient wood essence.
Her thoughts were similar to most people. Could Zhou Yuan, someone from another heaven, be more outstanding than a similar-age pride of Hunyuan Heaven?
The answer was simply impossible.
This was similar to how the people of Cangxuan Heaven’s Shengzhou Continent would never admit that the prides of other continents were better than them.
However, in the face of Zhao Yue’s words, Zhou Yuan didn’t respond. He instead closed his eyes as though telling her to leave.
This made Zhao Yue feel even more annoyed with Zhou Yuan. She felt that he was outrageously bold to deceive the Yi family.
She snorted coldly, then flicked her sleeve and turned away.
After she left, Zhou Yuan opened his eyes again, revealing a look of helplessness. After what happened today, he was afraid that nobody in the camp would welcome him anymore.
In fact, in addition to the essence of ancient wood, Zhou Yuan also needed a lot of other things, including Divine Dwelling medicines and some important materials for the second stage evolution of the Ancestral Dragon Scripture. But if he were to ask Yi Qiushui for these materials, no matter how good her temper was, she would most likely throw him out of the camp.
Zhou Yuan shook his head. Never mind. Since he wasn’t familiar with these people, then perhaps he would find a chance to leave once he arrived in Xuanzhou City.
But the most important thing right now was to completely solve the problem of his injury.
Perhaps others might feel that what Yi Qiushui did wasn’t worth it, but Zhou Yuan felt he was worth that much, because he didn’t lie. As long as he regained his strength, he had the confidence that he could escort Yi Qiushui to Xuanzhou City.
“Luckily, I am the first Chosen of the Cangxuan Sect. My Cangxuan Sect perhaps can’t be compared to the entire Tianyuan Region, but it is stronger than a Yi family, right?” Zhou Yuan muttered.
If it were in Cangxuan Heaven, it would have been impossible to hire the first Chosen of the Cangxuan Sect as an escort.
Therefore, Zhou Yuan felt a little injustice at the suspicion directed at him. The proposition clearly benefited them greatly, but why did he have to receive all those kinds of looks....
After these childish thoughts continued for some time, Zhou Yuan finally shook them away. He was now in Hunyuan Heaven, not Cangxuan Heaven.
Moreover, he was no longer the first Chosen of the Cangxuan Sect, but just an ordinary person in an injured state.
But Zhou Yuan also didn’t feel depressed because of this. When he first came to Cangxuan Sect, he was also just an ordinary disciple, but a few years later, even the influential figures in Cangxuan Heaven had firmly learnt his name, even if it was for various different reasons.
Who could be certain that Zhou Yuan’s name wouldn’t also ring throughout Hunyun Heaven in the future?
Thinking of this, Zhou Yuan smiled. He had thought too far. The most urgent task now was to restore his strength and then find a way to contact his two senior brothers.
Only with the help of the power of Tianyuan Region could he have access to the Ancestral Dragon Lamp.
Of course, the most important thing was to seize all opportunities to enhance his strength because he also knew that he would have to return to Cangxuan Heaven one day.
Although he had broken the Cangxuan Saint Stamp and blocked the ambitious thoughts of palace master Sheng Yuan, he also understood that it was only temporary.
Sheng Yuan had stepped into the false Saint stage, and now nobody in Cangxuan Heaven could suppress him. Therefore, the Sacred Palace would slowly gain the upper hand in the battle of the shattered Cangxuan Saint Stamp.
And the day Sacred Palace succeeded would also be the day of the Cangxuan Sect’s destruction.
Once the Cangxuan Sect was destroyed, the Great Zhou, which was under its shelter, would also be destroyed.
Zhou Yuan’s eyes flickered coldly. He didn’t have much time. He needed to return to Cangxuan Heaven before Sheng Yuan succeeded. And at that time, he also needed to have the strength to fight against Sheng Yuan.
Hu.
Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and no longer hesitated. His spatial bag vibrated and a glowing sphere rose from within.
The glowing sphere landed on Zhou Yuan’s palm, turning into a jade wooden heart about the size of a fist. It emitted streams of strong vitality.
This was the essence of ancient wood, which also contained the Yimu Qi required for the refining of the Green Wood Mark.
Zhou Yuan gradually closed his eyes. In the palm of his hand, the essence of ancient wood exuded a bright luster. Countless green spots of light burst forth and ultimately entered his body through the palm of his hand.
A rich life energy bloomed in his body, and as it poured in, the throbbing pain in his flesh and blood dissipated.
A glow of jade green light accumulated around the surface of Zhou Yuan’s body. It was the reemergence of the Green Wood Mark that he had exhausted.
For the next few days, Zhou Yuan never left his tent. He used all his time to absorb the Yimu Qi to refine the Green Wood Mark.
And with the help of the 100 five-hundred-year-old ancient wood essences, in just a few days’ time, numerous Green Wood Marks were formed. The fractures deep in his flesh, under the divine effect of the Green Wood Marks, finally began to heal rapidly.
The day he fully recovered was just around the corner.
Chapter 755 Night Raid
Horse beasts with Genesis Qi rising under their hooves galloped past at lightning speed, as though soaring into the sky.
Yi Qiushui was riding a tall and strong horse beast. Her upper body was straight, and the clothes wrapped around her body revealed her slender waist, curved body and long legs.
Her appearance and elegance were extraordinary. Although Zhou Yuan was somewhat immune to her beauty because he was used to seeing Yaoyao’s ethereal beauty, in the eyes of other young masters from Xiaoxuan Province, such as Mu Chao, Yi Qiushui was undoubtedly the goddess in their hearts. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have risked offending the Qiu family to follow her.
Of course, more importantly was that the strength of the Yi family wasn’t weak at all. Although the Yi family couldn’t be compared to the Qiu family in Xiaoxuan Province, the elders of the Yi family still occupied fairly high positions in Tianyuan Region. Therefore, if they could win Yi Qiushui’s favour, it would also greatly benefit their family.
“One more day and we’ll arrive in Xuanzhou City. If Qiu Ji still hasn’t given up, then tonight is his last chance to do something,” Yi Qiushui stated, gazing into the distance.
Hearing this, Mu Zhao and the others froze for a moment.
They didn’t doubt Yi Qiushui’s judgment, because there was most likely nobody in Xiaoxuan Province who didn’t know about Miss Yi’s intelligence. When the Yi family first came to Xiaoxuan Province, it was precisely because of Miss Yi’s advice and plan that the Yi family achieved a stable position. If the head of the Yi family hadn’t encountered an accident, in a few years’ time, the title of strongest family in Xiaoxuan Province would have most likely transferred from the Qiu family to the Yi family.
“With Qiu Ji’s strength, it won’t be easy for him to swallow us in one bite. I’m just worried that they’ll bring unknown reinforcements,” Yi Qiushui uttered.
Mu Chao reassured, “Almost all the forces of the Qiu family are kept in Xuanzhou City, and it’s likely that they won’t be easily deployed elsewhere. The clans and families in Xiaoxuan Province also shouldn’t dare to interfere in the affairs between the two families. I can’t think of any reason for them to help Qiu Ji.”
&nbs
p; Yi Qiushui bit her red lips, her unwitting action incredibly alluring. It caused the gazes on her to burn even more brightly.
“No matter what, we must be on full alert tonight,” she said.
Yi Qiushui’s face was very solemn. She suddenly glanced at the back of the carriage where Zhou Yuan sat. For some reason, she suddenly thought of Zhou Yuan.
Perhaps, it was because Zhou Yuan was the first person she had met who dared to ask her for something so blatantly?
Mu Chao, who had been paying close attention to Yi Qiushui’s every movement, felt a little uncomfortable when he saw this, and asked in a joking tone of voice, “Qiushui, you aren’t taking that boy’s words seriously are you?”
The other men and women also laughed out loud one after another.
In the past few days, Zhou Yuan had undoubtedly become their top conversation topic.
Yi Qiushui smiled and retracted her gaze. She had very good self-restraint and had never laughed at Zhou Yuan, even if she doubted what he said.
“Miss, that guy hasn’t shown his face in days, and he even asked people to bring his food over,” Zhao Yue whispered. She pursed her lips. “I really feel like we invited an ancestor here.”
Yi Qiushui also couldn’t help but chuckle, “He saved Dong’er, so we really should serve him like an ancestor. It doesn’t matter.”
Zhao Yue was helpless. Most likely, if it were up to her, she would have already sent that guy away.
“Sister Yue, please remind Zhou Yuan that something may happen tonight, and we may not be able to take care of him at that time. So if he finds that the situation isn’t right, tell him to find a chance to flee,” Yi Qiushui said quietly.
If there was a great battle tonight, it would be bound to be extremely tragic. Zhou Yuan’s strength was unknown, and he was seriously injured; he really could lose his life if he wasn’t careful.
When Zhao Yue heard this, her look of helplessness worsened. But it was Yi Qiushui’s order, so she had no choice but to turn her horse around to the carriage and pass along Yi Qiushui’s words. Without waiting for Zhou Yuan’s answer, she spurred her horse away.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 399