"Xiao Chen, aren't you afraid that old man will take your prescription and leave?" The ancient white tiger asked curiously.
At this moment, Xiao Chen had already left Feng Yue City and was flying swiftly eastward. He smiled faintly and replied, "Little White Tiger, if you were in his place, knowing that I am just a second-grade alchemist but can produce fourth and fifth-grade pill prescriptions, would you leave?"
The ancient white tiger pondered for a moment, then transmitted telepathically, "If it were me, I would choose to stay. For an alchemist, cultivating soul power is extremely difficult, more so than cultivating true essence. Therefore, having a fourth and fifth-grade pill prescription along with a supply of herbs would definitely make me stay. Constantly refining pills would only make my soul power stronger."
"Exactly! Think about it, the old gentleman is a fourth-grade alchemist. The fourth-grade pill Golden Spirit Pill already made him tempted. Do you think he wouldn't be tempted by a fifth-grade pill prescription? For the old man to advance to a fifth-grade alchemist, he must constantly refine pills to have a chance of advancing. Although alchemists can create prescriptions by studying the properties of herbs, it is quite challenging. Now that he has a fifth-grade pill prescription, he definitely won't waste it." Xiao Chen explained.
"I see. Xiao Chen, it seems you know a lot about alchemists." The ancient white tiger transmitted telepathically with a smile.
"Hehe, all this knowledge comes from the alchemy experiences of Senior Ba Hun. Of course, I understand it. If it weren't for his experiences, I wouldn't have been able to invite the old gentleman so easily." Xiao Chen laughed proudly.
"Little White Tiger, there aren't many people around here. Come out and get some fresh air." Xiao Chen suggested, smiling. The ancient white tiger hadn't come out for a long time, so he naturally wanted it to get some exercise.
"Xiao Chen, how long will it take to reach the Cultivation World from here?" The ancient white tiger asked as it came out.
"Wow! Little White Tiger, you've gotten even bigger! You're several times larger than me now!" Xiao Chen exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the massive body of the white tiger.
"The ancient white tiger tribe naturally has such a large body. It will be at least three times my current size before it stops growing. But don't worry, I can change size at will." The ancient white tiger said with a smile.
"I see." Xiao Chen replied, then flipped onto the white tiger's back, saying, "Little White Tiger, Tianzhou is the most remote place in the western part of Tianyue Continent. It will probably take several months to reach the Cultivation World from here."
"Several months? Really? That long?" The ancient white tiger asked in surprise.
Xiao Chen smiled faintly, "Of course. The Cultivation World is vast, hundreds of times bigger than Tianzhou. This is what my father told me."
"Did your father go to the Cultivation World? How else would he know?" The ancient white tiger asked.
Lying on the white tiger's back, Xiao Chen laughed, "Because my mother is from the Cultivation World. My father said that my mother came back with him from the Cultivation World. But she died when I was born, and my father never told me who my grandfather was."
"So, you have never seen your mother?" Hearing Xiao Chen's words, the ancient white tiger felt a bit sad, thinking that it was more fortunate than Xiao Chen as it had never been mocked or bullied for being useless and at least had its mother's love.
Xiao Chen shook his head, "No."
"Do you miss her?"
"Of course, I do. When I was little, I thought about her almost every day, crying for her. My father always told me that she went to a faraway place. But now I understand, he was just trying to comfort me, so I don't blame him." Xiao Chen smiled, seemingly unaffected.
"Xiao Chen, I'm sorry for bringing up a sad topic." The ancient white tiger apologized.
"What are you talking about? I'm not sad. Although I want to be sad about my mother, I've never seen her, so where would the sadness come from?" Xiao Chen laughed, genuinely indifferent.
"Haha." The ancient white tiger laughed happily.
Ten days later, Xiao Chen and the ancient white tiger had already left Tianzhou and entered a new territory. Xiao Chen didn't know where this place was, only that it was closer to the Cultivation World.
"Xiao Chen, in the past six months, you have rarely cultivated because of the Xiao family, which has hindered your progress. I think you should find a place to cultivate properly. The nearby mountains seem quiet and suitable for cultivation." The ancient white tiger suggested.
Hearing this, Xiao Chen smiled faintly, "You're right. Although I haven't cultivated much in the past six months, my current cultivation has reached the peak of the early Golden Core stage. I have quite a few high-grade spirit stones, which should be enough for me to break through to the middle Golden Core stage. After flying for ten days, we should rest."
"Xiao Chen, I smell human presence. I'd better enter the storage ring to avoid scaring people." The ancient white tiger said with a smile and entered Xiao Chen's storage ring.
Xiao Chen descended into the forest below, glanced around, and didn't bother finding a perfect spot, settling on a large rock to meditate.
However, just as he sat down, he suddenly heard the sound of a zither, filling the air like a tide. The sound seemed to dance like a white elf in the wind, with an elegant and noble demeanor.
The beautiful zither music made Xiao Chen feel at ease and extremely comfortable, as if all worries and troubles vanished with the elegant sound.
"Such beautiful zither music, Little White Tiger, can you hear it?" Xiao Chen asked, already entranced by the music and unable to continue cultivating. He walked towards the source of the sound.
"Such elegant music, I've never heard anything so wonderful." The ancient white tiger transmitted telepathically, also captivated by the melody.
Xiao Chen walked through the forest and entered a fiery red woodland, following the sound. From a distance, he saw an elegant pavilion and smelled a faint fragrance. The seemingly simple pavilion exuded a sense of comfort.
Inside the pavilion, a woman in a light yellow gauze dress was elegantly playing the zither. The beautiful music came from here. The woman wore a white veil, hiding her appearance, but playing such beautiful music suggested she was a rare beauty.
"Xiao Chen, there's a woman in that house, and many birds on the surrounding trees." The ancient white tiger transmitted telepathically, its voice tinged with surprise.
"Such beautiful and elegant music, why does it make me cry?" Xiao Chen, seemingly unaware of the ancient white tiger's voice, was completely immersed in the zither music.
Although the music was elegant and beautiful, it contained a trace of sadness, helplessness, and a sense of being at the mercy of fate, deeply entrapping people in sorrow and pain.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed around the forest, and several figures quickly moved through the woods, blocking the simple wooden door of the pavilion.
"Xiao Chen, who are those people?" The ancient white tiger asked telepathically.
Xiao Chen was also awakened, looking at the group from afar, and shook his head, "I don't know. But judging by their attire, they seem to be from a powerful background, at least on par with the three major families of Tiandu. Their cultivation levels are all at the fasting stage."
"Miss Dongfang, my young master requests your presence." One of the apparent leaders said politely.
"Go back and tell your young master not to bother me anymore, or I won't be polite." The woman playing the zither replied coldly, not even looking at them, and continued playing.
"Dongfang Xue is the daughter of City Lord Dongfang. Offending her is like offending the City Lord. What should we do?" One of them asked, clearly intimidated by the City Lord.
"The young master said we must bring Dongfang Xue back today, no matter what. Once the rice is cooked, why fear the City Lord?" The leader said coldly, eyes flashing with malice.
"Dongfang Xue's cultivation is not below ours. She is the genius of Dongfang City." Another person said.
"I have a way! If we don't bring Dongfang Xue back today, we'll be the ones to die!" The leader said, his gaze turning to Dongfang Xue, "Miss Dongfang, we mean no offense, but we have our orders. Forgive us! Attack!"
Dongfang Xue coldly replied, "You dare to seek death, you useless lot?"
"Xiao Chen, they're about to attack!" The ancient white tiger transmitted telepathically.
"Damn!" Xiao Chen's face darkened, but just as he was about to intervene, he sensed a powerful true essence emanating from the pavilion, causing him to halt.
"What a strong aura! This woman is at the Golden Core stage! Amazing! She hid it well; I didn't notice earlier." Xiao Chen exclaimed, eyes widening.
As the seven cultivators charged in, the zither music suddenly changed, transforming from an elegant melody into a frightening demonic tune. Golden energy waves spread rapidly, instantly blasting the intruders out, each spitting blood and turning pale. The powerful energy sent fiery red leaves flying everywhere.
"Wow! Amazing! Just by playing the zither, she sent seven fasting stage cultivators flying!" The ancient white tiger exclaimed in shock.
The leader who had been flung away, enduring the pain, retrieved a bottle from his storage ring. Upon opening it, a wisp of cyan gas diffused. The leader formed a seal with one hand and shouted, "Water Mist Technique! Water Transformation!"
The cyan gas was instantly encased by water droplets, which then transformed into countless raindrop-sized beads, each enclosing the cyan gas. Under the leader's control, these beads rapidly shot out.
"Tricks of the trade!" Dongfang Xue coldly remarked. She then plucked a string on her zither, and a golden energy beam burst forth.
"Wind Transformation!" The leader's face changed drastically. He quickly shouted, and the cyan gas encased in water droplets rapidly dispersed around the pavilion.
"Boom!"
The powerful golden energy wave struck the leader hard. With a loud bang, the leader was sent flying, crashing into a flaming red tree.
"Not good! This is..." Dongfang Xue seemed to detect a pungent smell. Her expression changed instantly, and before she could finish her sentence, she collapsed helplessly.
"Success! Quickly, capture her and take her back!" one person exclaimed joyfully.
"The effects of Hehuan San must be kicking in. Let's take her back to the young master immediately!" the leader outside the pavilion sneered.
"Despicable scoundrels!" Xiao Chen growled, his figure swiftly transforming into a black mist as he flashed towards them.