473: Chapter 473 Mutual Testing

Chen Xuan remained unmoved by this threat; he even felt a bit like laughing.

"Having entered the territory of my Dao Seeking Sect, with your mere cultivation base at the fourth level of the Tribulation Crossing Realm, how are you any different from an ant? If reasoning doesn't work, this venerable one isn't opposed to simply taking it by force."

He looked up indifferently, his gaze passing over Yu Chen Celestial Venerable to land outside the hall doors: "Qi Yue, bring them in."

After a short while, Wang Guan and the other three were led into the great hall.

"Revered Master!"

Wang Guan and the other two bowed in unison, performing a formal salute. The moment Leng Yimei saw her Revered Master, her eyes immediately reddened, and her mouth puckered as she prepared to rush forward, her voice trembling with grievance:

"Revered Master, you've finally come! Your Disciple... your Disciple here has..."

Before she could finish, Zhuang Ruoheng, who was standing beside her, quickly covered her mouth.

While holding down her struggling Junior Sister, Zhuang Ruoheng discreetly gave her Revered Master a meaningful look.

She understood perfectly well—the strength of this Sect Master of the Dao Seeking Sect was likely not inferior to her Revered Master's. Currently, the relationship between the two sides was still unclear; if they truly fell out, her Revered Master might not necessarily come out on top.

Moreover, the so-called "hardships" her Junior Sister spoke of were merely being fed Medicinal Pills for a few days. Based on her understanding of her Junior Sister, she was likely just holding a grudge over her confiscated snacks, which was why she looked so aggrieved.

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable's gaze swept over his four Disciples. Seeing their stable auras and rosy complexions—especially his closed-door disciple, Leng Yimei, whose aura seemed even stronger than it was half a year ago.

It seemed they hadn't suffered any mistreatment during these past six months.

His heart settled slightly, though he showed nothing on his face.

Chen Xuan didn't care to beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "You've seen the people. Now, hand over the item."

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable's expression remained unchanged as he said indifferently, "Is Fellow Daoist so certain that this venerable one will go through with this trade?"

He paused, his gaze landing on Chen Xuan's face. "The Chaos Void Jade is incredibly rare. Even a single fragment possesses such mystical properties; if they could be integrated into one, it would surely be extraordinary."

Chen Xuan gave an "oh" in a lazy tone. "Then the deal is off."

As soon as he spoke, the atmosphere in the hall suddenly froze.

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable's sleeves fluttered slowly as the aura around him surged faintly, pushing outward like waves: "This venerable one wishes to use other Magic Treasures to exchange for these four Disciples. Fellow Daoist, just name your price. Whether it be god-rank pills or god-rank magic treasures, I will not refuse."

Qi Yue, standing to the side, narrowed her eyes slightly, her expression turning cold.

This old geezer actually dared to test the Sect Master here.

Chen Xuan smiled slightly, but the smile didn't reach his eyes: "Why go through all that trouble? Let's just be more direct."

Just as he finished speaking, nine mysterious pillars of light suddenly rose in unison around the Dao Seeking Sect's mountain gate!

Spiritual light in shades of azure, white, and purple intertwined, instantly weaving into a massive net of light that blanketed the sky, sealing the air above the entire Dao Seeking Sect tight. Spirit runes flowed between the pillars, each line containing a heart-palpitating pressure, as if all the spiritual energy in the world was being drained and suppressed at this moment.

Chen Xuan sat motionless, his tone becoming increasingly casual: "If Fellow Daoist is confident, feel free to leave with the four of them. It would be a good chance for me to see just what the great Yu Chen Celestial Venerable is capable of."

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable looked up abruptly, his gaze piercing through the hall's dome to look at the inescapable net woven by the nine pillars of light.

Though he didn't know exactly what was happening outside, his instincts told him one thing—danger.

It was a long-lost sense of crisis for a Cultivator of the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, like a thin needle pressed against the back of his neck, cold and real. Since his Breakthrough to the Tribulation Transcendence Realm, he had forgotten how many years it had been since he last felt this way.

Before coming to the Dao Seeking Sect, he had intended to use force to suppress them. If that failed, he would settle for the next best thing and conclude the matter decently through a trade.

But he hadn't expected this Man in White Robes to be so firm and confident; he clearly didn't respect this venerable one at all.

Both Wang Guan and Zhuang Ruoheng looked toward their Revered Master, shaking their heads slightly with solemn expressions.

The hall fell into a dead silence.

Instead, it was the area outside the Sect's plaza that became lively.

Seeing the nine pillars of light soaring into the sky above the Sect, many Disciples ran out to watch the spectacle, gathering in small groups at the edge of the plaza, pointing and whispering. Some were full of excitement, while others wore mocking expressions, but without exception, they all watched with the composure of spectators at a play.

They wondered which blind fool had come to their Sect to seek death this time.

Inside the hall.

Chen Xuan leisurely watched Yu Chen Celestial Venerable. He neither hurried him nor applied pressure; instead, with a casual wave of his hand, he brought out three heaven-rank magic treasures, which hovered neatly in the air before him, their flowing spiritual light quite beautiful to behold.

"By the way, I haven't had the chance to thank Fellow Daoist for our previous deal."

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable's eyes sharpened as he looked at the three Magic Treasures that had been traded for the Chaos Void Jade back then, and he understood instantly. It turned out that Number Six had also been playing the hidden expert. From the looks of it, the ultimate beneficiary on the Rain God Continent was indeed this Dao Seeking Sect.

Is he trying to provoke this venerable one into making a move?

He calculated in his mind many times, but each result was blurred, as if separated by a thick fog, impossible to see clearly. The pressure from those nine pillars of light was too intense—so intense that he couldn't even be sure if he could escape unscathed.

After a moment, Yu Chen Celestial Venerable suddenly laughed, a hint of helplessness in his smile: "Fellow Daoist, you overstate things. Since it was a pre-arranged deal, we shall proceed as planned."

Wang Guan and Zhuang Ruoheng exchanged a glance, finally breathing a small sigh of relief.

Chen Xuan clicked his tongue twice, his smile unchanging. He beckoned with his finger toward the other side, his movement as casual as if he were asking an old friend for a common item:

"Hand it over."

Although Yu Chen Celestial Venerable was reluctant, he still took out the Black Jade Fragment and sent it floating toward Chen Xuan, tracing a quiet arc through the air.

The moment Chen Xuan caught the fragment and his fingertips touched its cool surface, he subconsciously let out a sigh of relief, his shoulders slumping imperceptibly for an instant—before he quickly suppressed the emotion, his expression returning to normal as he waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Then, please help yourselves out. I won't see you off."

As his voice fell, he gave a casual wave, lifting the Restrictions on Wang Guan and the others.

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable narrowed his eyes, his gaze locking onto Chen Xuan's face like a hawk; he had caught that brief moment of relaxation earlier.

Beside him, Wang Guan and the other three noticed none of this. They simply bowed in unison, looking ashamed: "It is your Disciples' incompetence that has caused trouble for Revered Master."

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable waved them off without saying much, his gaze still fixed on Chen Xuan. He suddenly asked, "Why was Fellow Daoist so certain that this venerable one would value these four Disciples so much?"

Chen Xuan toyed with the fragment in his hand, not even looking up as he said indifferently, "If the upper beam is not straight, one cannot teach Disciples who would stay behind to cover for their fellow Sect members."

Yu Chen Celestial Venerable was stunned by the words. His gaze swept over his four Disciples before he finally gave a slight nod and turned around:

"Let's go."

Watching the retreating back, Chen Xuan suddenly whispered with regret, "He didn't even make a move."

Beside him, Qi Yue pursed her lips and smiled, asking softly, "Did the Sect Master want him to act?"

Chen Xuan casually placed this fragment of the hunxu jade together with the previous six. As spiritual light flowed, they actually showed signs of merging.

"It was just a casual attempt." He looked down at the jade stones slowly coming together in his palm. "I gave him one last tease just now and he didn't take the bait, so I'll just have to let nature take its course."