: Chapter 55: The End! Trust me once more, Your Highness!
"Third Young Master?!"
Upon hearing Chen Zhixing's call, Zhaoguang and Guichen, who were searching high in the sky, hurried over.
They looked him up and down and, seeing that Chen Zhixing was not seriously harmed, they sighed with relief, saying, "Third Young Master, where have you been these past few days?"
Chen Zhixing replied honestly, "Not long after the trial began, two of the Chen family's collateral disciples tried to snatch my wristband. Luckily, they weren't strong, and after I knocked them out, I feared others would come for me, so I hid in a cave."
Upon hearing this,
Zhaoguang and Guichen exchanged glances, both finding it somewhat amusing yet ridiculous.
"The Third Young Master certainly has great fortune..." Elder Zhaoguang couldn't help but remark.
Of the dozens of Chen family disciples who came for the trial, almost all are now heavily injured and unconscious. Some unfortunate ones, being at the center of Chen Tianchen and the black-robed man Shijiu's fight from the beginning, turned instantly into a mist of blood.
Only this Third Young Master, by sheer luck, managed to escape unscathed.
"What happened?" Chen Zhixing asked, confused.
"Ah, it's a long story..." Elder Zhaoguang sighed deeply, then, as if recalling something, turned serious and asked:
"By the way, Third Young Master, have you seen the Eldest Young Master?"
"Brother Zhaosheng?" Chen Zhixing shook his head and replied, "I hid in the cave on the first day and haven't seen him."
Hearing this, Elder Zhaoguang and Elder Guichen exchanged another glance, both seeing a deep gloom in each other's eyes.
They had been searching for Chen Zhaosheng here for several hours.
But apart from finding Chen Zhaosheng's shattered wristband, they hadn't seen any trace of him.
They couldn't help but think of the five black-robed men who had rushed in first, two of whom headed towards Chen Zhaosheng, making their hearts feel like they were burdened by a heavy stone, turning their expressions extremely grave.
"The Eldest Young Master shoulders the future of the Chen Family. If something happened to him..." Guichen said with a complex expression, seemingly already imagining the upheaval the Chen Family would face.
Before he could finish speaking,
Zhaoguang stopped him with a glance and said solemnly, "This matter is not ours to discuss. Everything waits for Fourth Master to decide."
Immediately afterwards,
Zhaoguang and Guichen searched the nearby area for another half an hour. Seeing they couldn't find any trace of Chen Zhaosheng, they had no choice but to leave with Chen Zhixing.
On the way, Zhaoguang and Guichen briefly recounted the recent events to Chen Zhixing, especially when mentioning the person with the White Ten Mask, their emotions became quite fervent.
"Is that so? I didn't expect there to be such a benevolent figure in the world."
Chen Zhixing immediately echoed in amazement.
Upon returning to the deck,
Chen Tianchen was sitting cross-legged, healing his wounds.
Seeing Chen Zhixing arrive, he sighed in relief, stood up to greet him, and gave Chen Zhixing a strong hug.
"Luckily you're okay, Zhixing, otherwise I wouldn't know how to explain to Brother Zhaosheng!"
"Fourth Uncle, are you alright?" Chen Zhixing quickly asked.
Upon hearing this, Chen Tianchen managed to force a smile and said, "I'm fine, luckily, I encountered a Daoist friend hiding here who helped out, or else it would have been very difficult today.
That person is a great benefactor to me and even to the Chen Family!"
"Yes, I heard Elder Zhaoguang and the others mention it." Chen Zhixing nodded, curious, "Fourth Uncle, where is this person? We should invite him to the Chen Family to properly express our thanks."
Chen Tianchen laughed bitterly and said, "That Daoist friend has an eccentric personality; after helping, he didn't leave his name and just left. But the person was wearing a White Ten mask—if you meet him in the future, you must thank this senior properly.
This senior is truly a good person."
"Understood." Chen Zhixing's expression turned serious, nodding thoughtfully.
He looked as if he had memorized the person's appearance.
"Hmm." Chen Tianchen nodded with satisfaction, then looked toward Zhaoguang and Guichen, and asked, "Still no sign of Chen Zhaosheng?"
"Reporting to Fourth Master, we only found the shattered wristband of the Eldest Young Master," Zhaoguang replied quietly.
"Ah!"
Chen Tianchen let out a long sigh to the sky.
As a core figure of the Chen Family, he fully understood how much the Patriarch valued Chen Zhaosheng.
He was practically regarded as the future successor of the Ziwei Chen Family, without any exaggeration.
This time, Chen Zhaosheng's incident.
He couldn't imagine the extent of madness Patriarch Chen Daoyan would unleash.
And as for the Eldest Brother Chen Tianxiong, he feared...
"Guichen, stay here and continue searching for that child Zhaosheng. The rest of you, come back with me."
As he finished speaking,
Chen Tianchen flipped his right hand, and a leaf-like flying shuttle appeared in his hand.
The flying shuttle expanded with the wind, quickly growing to several dozen feet in size.
"Let's go."
Chen Tianchen swept his large sleeves, enveloping the group of unconscious Chen Family disciples, and with his other hand grabbed Chen Zhixing, stepping onto the flying shuttle.
With a roaring sound!!!
The flying shuttle accelerated instantly, shooting into the sky towards Yanzhou.
...
...
At the same time,
Southern Border, the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
On a distant end.
"Elder Fei Long, why don't I lead the way?"
Mo Qingyue looked exhaustedly at Master Fei Long, who was searching for the path ahead while scratching his head.
Three days!
For a full three days after entering the Southern Border, not only had they failed to find the Chen family's Land of Trial, but they had also strayed further, venturing deep into the heart of the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
She was close to breaking down!
"Your Highness, give me another hour, and I will soon find the path," Master Fei Long vowed confidently.
"...You said the same thing three days ago," Mo Qingyue said, gazing at him quietly.
"Uh."
Master Fei Long winced and then clenched his fist, coughing dryly, "Trust me one more time, Your Highness; I have a feeling this time that the Land of Trial is not far to the east!"
"Yes, Your Highness, believe me; I won't be wrong this time!"
After saying this, Master Fei Long turned and began walking firmly towards the east.
After a few steps,
he noticed Mo Qingyue hadn't followed, and with a puzzled look back, he asked, "Hey? Why aren't you coming, Your Highness?"
Mo Qingyue looked at him exhaustedly and said with complete defeat,
"Elder Fei Long, you're walking northward!"
...
...
At the same time,
in the deepest part of the Hundred Thousand Mountains,
within a deep, damp underground cave,
a whirlpool suddenly appeared on the ground without a sound.
Following this,
a black-robed person wearing a golden spider mask, with the number "Shijiu" engraved on the left forehead, slowly rose from the whirlpool.
A moment later,
the whirlpool vanished without a trace.
The black-robed Shijiu surveyed the area.
Inside the cave, another gaunt black-robed person was already waiting.
Beside him, on a stone bed, lay a corpse in silence.
"My lord, we have obtained the thirty-seventh fire seed. Should we now strip the King's Map from the body?" the gaunt black-robed figure asked in a low voice.
"No rush."
The black-robed Shijiu shook his head, then frowned and asked, "Where's that Purple-Bearded person? Wasn't she with you?"
Upon hearing this, the gaunt black-robed person paused in surprise and laughed, "Reporting to my lord, when I brought back the thirty-seventh fire seed, it was already dead, and the third peak's eldest son of the Chen Family, Chen Zhixing, was nearby.
So, I let Purple-Bearded deal with Chen Zhixing conveniently; didn't she return with you?"
Upon hearing this, the black-robed Shijiu frowned slightly.
Then, a piece of ancient black jade appeared in his hand.
He glanced at it and seemed to sense something, speaking slowly:
"Purple-Bearded... has been killed."
As soon as these words fell,
the gaunt black-robed person's pupils contracted violently.
"What?!" He was instantly plunged into a state of shock.