Chapter 2399 - 2367: Young People Need Encouragement

Chapter 2399: Chapter 2367: Young People Need Encouragement

Of course, since the Heavenly Profound Sect had already given its word, it wasn’t going to go back on it.

Although Elder Chu’s heart was bleeding, he still wouldn’t tear up the Heavenly Profound Sect’s promise on the spot. But having two such fine items taken away in one go, even he had no choice but to report it.

What he didn’t know, though, was that Li Chen had silently palmed off a piece of Rune Hollow Mother Iron as well.

If the Heavenly Profound Sect found out they’d actually had a piece of Rune Hollow Mother Iron piled there like trash, and that Li Chen had casually taken it away, then even with the Sect’s magnanimous style, they’d probably still make a move to intercept it.

After all, Rune Hollow Mother Iron is something even Dao Saints dream of, and even Founding Realm, Heaven-shrouding Powerhouses want to get their hands on.

Credit only matters when you actually need to use it.

With Elder Chu’s face dark as he saw them off, Li Chen made his way back to the mountain gate of the Heavenly Profound Sect.

By this time, people from the other major forces were already waiting there.

"Little brother, looks like your harvest was pretty good, huh."

"Fellow Daoist, what sort of Treasure did you obtain in the Heavenly Profound Sect? Care to share a bit?" Someone probed Li Chen, and someone else wanted to sound out Red Moon.

But clearly, when it came to the Heavenly Profound Treasury, both Li Chen and Red Moon kept their mouths shut.

Li Chen could still joke around with people; Red Moon, though, didn’t say a single word, just faced them with a cold expression.

Of course, some tried to get information from Elder Chu too, but Elder Chu was an old fox. After blackening his face at Li Chen for a while, he now wore a broad smile, giving nothing away.

"Then next, shall we head to our Hidden Dragon Valley?" At this moment, a middle-aged man spoke.

Hidden Dragon Valley was also one of the Nine Heavens Continent’s Top Level forces.

And the so‑called Hidden Dragon Valley actually had true dragons!

Because this middle‑aged man had a pair of dark-gold eyes, and in his hair one could faintly see protruding Dragon Horns.

He was clearly a powerful member of the Dragon Clan!

"Sure!"

"Then we’ll let Hidden Dragon Valley go first. But the next stop has to be our Heavenly River." Another elder said with a smile.

Elder Chu, smiling, saw the group off.

Watching the figures recede into the distance and vanish, the smile on Elder Chu’s face gradually faded.

"That brat is definitely the type who plays the pig to eat the Tiger." Thinking of Li Chen’s constantly smiling face, Elder Chu couldn’t help feeling his temper rise.

The Heavenly Profound Treasury indeed had plenty of Treasures, but not everything in there was a rare gem. Yet that kid had managed to pick out two of the rarest of the rare—it was obvious his eye for treasures far exceeded their previous estimate.

After Li Chen had gone through these few forces, it was without question that not a single one of them would be in a good mood.

"This matter’s already been reported upstairs. I wonder what arrangements they’ll make." Elder Chu muttered helplessly.

But after turning back to look at the grand Momentum of the Heavenly Profound Sect, Elder Chu’s expression regained its calm.

"Kid, there are plenty of good things in this world. But getting something for nothing is never that easy. You can get things into your hands, but whether you can keep them—that’s your own problem." As if thinking of something, Elder Chu let out a cold laugh, then turned and walked into the mountain gate.

And events unfolded exactly as Elder Chu had guessed.

Every time Li Chen walked out of one Major Force, he would see a whole row of black faces from that force’s people.

Of course, when they were chatting with members of other forces, their smiles would return.

...They just didn’t want to be the only ones taking a loss—they wanted to drag the next house down with them.

This time, the Nine Heavens Continent’s nine Major Forces had joined hands to organize this event.

And after Li Chen had walked through all nine forces, his gains could only be described as truly bountiful.

"Looks like I won’t have to worry about resources for a while." Li Chen carefully counted up his haul, a smile appearing on his face.

His Universe still couldn’t be opened.

Li Chen estimated that only after he reached the Soul Realm, or even the Peak of the Soul Realm, and perhaps the Palm Realm, would he be able to reopen his own Universe.

Li Chen’s situation was a bit different from others.

He was Re-cultivating; his Universe was there, but he couldn’t open it.

For cultivators entering the Palm Realm for the first time, though, there was a process of shaping one.

In the end, Li Chen concluded that once his Cultivation returned to the Peak of the Soul Realm, he should be able to open his Universe again.

This didn’t really count as good news, but it wasn’t bad news either.

At the very least, Li Chen no longer needed to follow the usual steps: cultivate up to the Palm Realm and then create a Universe from scratch.

Strictly speaking, Li Chen’s Universe had also undergone a bit of mutation.

Back then, he’d only had the Heaven and Earth Realm Cultivation, yet already possessed a Pseudo-Universe. But after that Pseudo-Universe fused with the Minor Universe he’d condensed based on the Five Elements as its seed, a change occurred that he himself couldn’t fully understand.

His Universe naturally birthed life.

He hadn’t known at the time, but later, through the Seven Realms Tome, he came to understand that life wasn’t something you could casually shape.

Li Chen had set foot on a road whose outcome even he couldn’t foresee.

From a normal perspective, Li Chen had already deviated from the ordinary path of cultivators. As for what lay ahead, he didn’t know; all he could do was take it one step at a Time.

"Fellow Daoist, you’ve come out of seclusion?"

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

When Li Chen walked out from the resting place the Major Forces had arranged for him, he saw the reception representatives from each force approaching with smiles that didn’t reach their eyes.

Nothing they could do—who can still genuinely smile after the powerful Treasures of their clan have been looted?

But seeing the others wear the same expression, they felt a bit more at ease.

After all, we’re not the only ones who got fleeced.

"Gentlemen, is there something you need?" Li Chen asked, feigning surprise.

He knew full well that the possessions of these Major Forces were anything but easy pickings, yet he’d still gone for them.

After all, just like the Seven Realms Tome said: if you don’t take what’s free, you’re a sucker. Since these things had already been delivered right to his mouth, they could forget about him spitting them back out.

As for what might happen afterward, that wasn’t his concern.

Soldiers block the enemy, waters cover the flood—put bluntly, Li Chen right now was the "barefoot doesn’t fear the man with shoes" type.

"This time, Fellow Daoist’s harvest has been tremendous, so we’d like to invite you to give a speech in front of the youths of our various clans, to motivate them in their cultivation. What do you think?" A powerhouse from the Mystic Heaven Gate said, his smile stiff.

Though his wording was light, there was an unmistakable hint of threat beneath it.

This wasn’t motivation at all; they clearly wanted to set him up as a target.

But who was Li Chen? You think this little lineup is enough to scare him?

"Sure!" Li Chen nodded and agreed on the spot, smiling as he said, "It’s a small matter. Young people need encouragement to find motivation. I’ll make sure to give these juniors a proper dose of inspiration."

The faces of the several powerhouses immediately turned black again.