200: Chapter 199 Huang Chen

News seemed to grow legs, flying faster than Chen Zilong.

In just a few days, the name "Chen Zilong" spread across ten thousand miles around Qingyan City in a bloody and powerful manner!

Fighting four Soul Transformation cultivators alone, destroying the Wang Family, and flattening the branch sect of the Xuan Yin Sect...

This record was unheard of.

Some called him the "Thunderous Baleful Star," while others secretly called him the "Qingyan Demon King."

But more low-level cultivators and Mortals, upon learning of the usual deeds of the Xuan Yin Sect and the Wang Family, actually felt a faint sense of satisfaction and...

Admiration.

After all, the Xuan Yin Sect was a demonic path and the Wang Family was a local bully; neither had done few things to oppress the good and virtuous.

A few days later, east of Qingyan City.

The gloomy mountain range that originally belonged to the Heisha Mountain Branch Sect of the Xuan Yin Sect had already become a massive ruin.

Charred wooden beams, broken Nether Iron, shattered formation bases, mixed with a faint scent of blood and burnt odor that had not yet dissipated, told of the past tragedy in the wind.

The intimidating ghostly baleful aura of the past had already mostly dissipated.

A handsome middle-aged man with a tall stature, wearing an elegant green robe, stood quietly before the ruins.

He looked to be only in his thirties or forties, but his eyes were as deep as an ancient well, as if centuries of time had settled within them.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his face devoid of any expression—neither anger nor sadness.

He simply observed the dilapidated scene before him calmly, as if appreciating an antique that had nothing to do with him.

He was the truly elusive person in charge of the Heisha Mountain Branch Sect of the Xuan Yin Sect—the Great Sect Master, Huang Chen.

He spent most of the year traveling or in seclusion, and the affairs of the branch sect were mostly handled by the four elders, "heaven and earth limitless."

He never expected that upon returning from a trip, he would see such a scene.

He had already been standing there for half an hour.

His divine sense had already swept through the ruins countless times, and through special channels, he had learned the general sequence of events.

The provocation of the Wang Family, the greed of Tian Yin, the innocence of the Zhou Family, and...

that young man named Chen Zilong's unbelievable combat power.

"Chen Zilong... the successor of that Fairy Liu Mei..."

Huang Chen murmured to himself, the corners of his mouth seemingly curling into an extremely faint, inscrutable arc. "Interesting."

"To be able to cultivate the techniques of the Dao, Demon, and Buddha to such a level..."

"This boy has quite a few secrets on him."

He did not fly into a rage because the branch sect was destroyed and his subordinate elders were all lost.

At his level, joys and sorrows were no longer shown on his face; interests and the path of the Dao were the fundamentals.

The potential Chen Zilong displayed and the secrets on his body instead piqued his interest even more.

"It seems I must personally go and meet this 'Little Demon King'."

Huang Chen chuckled softly, his figure slowly dissipating like green smoke, as if he had never appeared.

Thousands of miles away from Qingyan City, in a medium-sized city called "Maple Forest City."

The atmosphere here was relatively relaxed, as the bloodshed of Qingyan City had not yet fully spread this far.

In the bustling lobby of the "Yuelai Inn" in the city, the noise was deafening.

Cultivators, merchants, and wanderers were mixed together, drinking, eating, and bragging.

And the hottest topic lately was naturally that earth-shaking battle in Qingyan City.

"Have you heard? Over in Qingyan City, an extraordinary baleful star has appeared! Named Chen Zilong!"

"More than heard! My second great-uncle's nephew does business in Qingyan City, and news came back saying—my god—it was truly like a god of slaughter descending! The four elders of the Xuan Yin Sect and the Wang Family Ancestor were all taken care of by him like chopping melons and vegetables!"

"For real? The four elders of the Xuan Yin Sect, 'heaven and earth limitless', are all Soul Transformation experts! And the Wang Family Ancestor..."

"It's absolutely true! Now the Heisha Mountain Branch Sect and the Wang Family in Qingyan City are in ruins! Not even a chicken or dog was left! Those methods, tsk tsk, were truly ruthless and decisive!"

"This... this is simply the behavior of a demon king! Too brutal!"

"Brutal? Hey, brother, you can't say that. You don't know the wicked things the Xuan Yin Sect and the Wang Family usually did in Qingyan City! Forcible seizures, bullying men and women, treating human life like grass... In my opinion, this Senior Chen was acting on behalf of Heaven! It's most heartening!"

"Right! I heard it too. To force Senior Chen to show up, the Xuan Yin Sect surrounded the Zhou Family, who had some friendship with him, and even wanted to publicly humiliate the female members of the Zhou Family... Such a vile sect deserves to be destroyed!"

"In that case, this Senior Chen is a true hero who distinguishes clearly between kindness and hatred and is decisive in killing! It's just... his hand was a bit too heavy, not leaving a single soul alive..."

"It had to be heavy! If you don't pull out the roots when cutting grass, they will grow again when the spring breeze blows! To deal with the demonic path, one must use thunderous methods!"

...

In a quiet corner of the lobby, at a table by the window, an unremarkable young man in black martial attire, looking travel-worn, was burying his head in a bowl of plain Yangchun Noodles.

He ate quickly but quietly, out of place with the surrounding clamor.

Hearing those discussions, he didn't even lift an eyelid, as if they were talking about people and things that had nothing to do with him.

This youth in black was precisely Chen Zilong.

After leaving Qingyan City, he headed east, deliberately concealing his aura and dressing plainly, traveling among the crowd while inquiring about news of a large-scale teleportation array to Pill City.

Just then, the light at the inn's entrance dimmed, and a burly middle-aged man with a dignified appearance, wearing ordinary brown short clothes and looking like a common wanderer, walked in with steady steps.

He scanned the lobby casually.

Finally, his gaze landed on the black-clad youth eating noodles in the corner, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

He walked straight over to Chen Zilong's table.

He naturally pulled out a stool and sat down, his voice loud and filled with amusement:

"Little brother, sorry, the shop is crowded. Mind if I share the table?"

Chen Zilong, who was eating his last mouthful of noodles, paused almost imperceptibly.

He slowly raised his head and looked at this uninvited middle-aged man.

The other party had a warm smile and calm eyes.

But beneath that calmness, Chen Zilong felt a solid aura as deep as an abyss or an ocean.

He couldn't see through this aura, but it was definitely far beyond Soul Transformation!

Moreover, the other party seemed casual, but the position he sat in happened to block the route where it would be easiest for him to escape.

Deep in Chen Zilong's eyes, a flash of cold light flickered like lightning.

He put down his chopsticks, drank the noodle soup in one gulp, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and said in a flat voice:

"It's fine. This humble Chen has finished eating. Please enjoy yourself."

As he spoke, he was about to stand up.

"Hey, little brother, don't be in such a hurry to leave."

That middle-aged man—Huang Chen—spoke with a smile. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly suppressed the surrounding noise and reached Chen Zilong's ears. "Even my Xuan Yin Sect's guardian 'Xuan Yin Earthly Fiend Formation' couldn't trap you, and the four elders joining forces fell at your hands... With such skill, would you be afraid of sharing a table and chatting for a bit with an old man like me?"

Chen Zilong's figure froze, and he slowly turned his head back to look at Huang Chen, his face still expressionless.

But his eyes had already turned cold.

The other party had directly exposed his identity and record; he was clearly prepared.

Huang Chen picked up the teapot on his own, poured himself a cup of cold tea, took a sip, and continued with a tone of lament and inquiry:

"Truly worthy of being... Fairy Liu Mei's disciple and Dao companion."

"She was exceptionally brilliant and famous in the Middle Region back then. I didn't expect her successor to be so... extraordinary as well."

Hearing him mention Liu Mei, Chen Zilong's vigilance increased even more.

He twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile with no warmth, and lowered his voice extremely low, yet with an unquestionable warning:

"I don't care who you are. If you don't want to die, don't follow me."

"Otherwise, This humble Chen does not recommend... killing one more person from the Xuan Yin Sect."

After speaking, he no longer looked at Huang Chen, dropped a few pieces of broken silver on the table, turned, and walked unhurriedly toward the outside of the inn.

His back was straight and his steps were steady, as if he had just refused a common request to share a table.

Huang Chen sat in place, holding his teacup, watching Chen Zilong's back disappear through the door. The smile on his face gradually faded, and a glint of playfulness and thought flashed in his eyes.

"Quite a temper, and high vigilance... interesting."

He finished the cold tea in his cup, stood up, dropped a piece of silver, and leisurely followed in the direction Chen Zilong had left.

On the street outside the inn, the sunlight was just right.

Chen Zilong blended into the crowd, walking seemingly at random, but his divine sense had already quietly spread out like a spider web.

He could feel that deep, sea-like aura following him closely like a maggot on a bone, neither far nor near.

New trouble seemed to have arrived again.

And this time, the opponent would likely be much more troublesome than the "heaven and earth limitless" combined.

But Chen Zilong's steps did not show the slightest panic.

The road to the Pill Mansion would never be smooth.

Soldiers will be blocked by generals, and water will be covered by earth.

Only, this Xuan Yin Sect...

is truly persistent.