Extreme Spirit Chaos Technique

Leaving those words behind, Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing simply walked out of the restaurant under Zhou Zihan’s utterly stunned gaze. It took a long moment for Zhou Zihan to react, his face instantly turning as black as the bottom of a pot. In a single step, he flashed out of the restaurant. Zhou Ziheng, also baffled by Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing’s actions, quickly followed after his cousin.

When they stepped outside, however, Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing’s figures were not far off. A head of purplish-red long hair made them easy to spot.

"Cousin Zihan, they..." Zhou Ziheng pointed in the direction Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing had gone.

Zhou Zihan gazed in their direction and snorted coldly. "No woman I set my sights on has ever gotten away. Follow them."

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The guards at the restaurant entrance understood immediately. With a nod, they vanished without a trace.

In the distance, Chu Aoqing and Mu Chen walked side by side. Mu Chen glanced back over his shoulder, a slight smirk playing on his lips. "They’re actually following us."

Chu Aoqing shot Mu Chen a look and said nonchalantly, "Are you doubting my charm?"

Mu Chen broke out in a sweat. "How could I? I could doubt anyone in the world, but never you."

’He had to be kidding. He’d never once doubted Chu Aoqing’s charm. If he didn’t already have someone he loved with all his heart, he probably would have wanted to pursue her himself. But her stunning looks aside, her special status alone was enough to stop him from entertaining any such thoughts. She was the young mistress of the Hidden Sword Manor, while he was just a commoner from a poor, remote village. How could he dare to cross such a line?’

’Besides, even if by some miracle Chu Aoqing agreed, her family never would. For a Hidden Clan like hers, with their deeply ingrained traditions, a mismatch in social standing would lead to nothing but humiliation.’

Upon hearing Mu Chen’s reply, Chu Aoqing smiled faintly. "That’s more like it. So, what’s your plan?"

Mu Chen grinned. "What’s the plan? We’ll play it by ear."

"Good point," Chu Aoqing said. "He’s only a Peak Nine-Ring Emperor. You weren’t afraid of one a year ago, much less now."

"But... why didn’t you deal with him back at the restaurant?" Chu Aoqing asked.

"You can’t just go starting trouble the moment you arrive," Mu Chen said, rubbing his nose. "Besides, this is their turf. He had guards at the restaurant entrance. If a fight had broken out there, someone would have inevitably notified a Zhou Family Elder. I’m not scared—especially with you here—but it would have been an unnecessary hassle. Which way to Medicine City?"

Chu Aoqing pointed south. "Straight south. The Ding Palace is on Zhongling Mountain, in the southwestern part of the Central State. The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi there is incredibly dense, which allows Cauldron Masters to feel right at home when practicing alchemy, helping them perform beyond their usual limits."

Mu Chen nodded guiltily and pulled Chu Aoqing toward the south. Every mention of the Ding Palace reminded him of the Golden Dragon Scripture and the White Dragon Cauldron inside his body. He rarely used them, but they had saved his life at critical moments. According to his Master, both items were not just from the Ding Palace, but were its most valuable treasures. He could only imagine how important they were to the Palace. ’I wonder if they have some way to detect the items inside me,’ he thought anxiously. ’If they can, I’m basically a sheep walking into the tiger’s den.’

Though called a city, Border City wasn’t particularly large. Based on Mu Chen’s rough calculations, it was only about a third bigger than Luofeng City. However, the strongest Martial Artists in Luofeng City were merely at the Martial King Level, whereas here, there were experts in the Saint Realm. ’So this is the so-called disparity,’ he mused.

Disparities aside, their journey continued. In just a few minutes, with Mu Chen subtly quickening their pace, he pulled Chu Aoqing along to Border City’s South City Gate. The closer they got to the gate, the thinner the crowds became.

This was understandable. Merchants who traded along the border only needed to bring their goods this far. Few would transport them any further; not only was it a waste of time and money, but more importantly, every town was under different jurisdiction. A toll was collected for every city one passed through—the more cities, the higher the cost, and no merchant was a fool. As a result, while many people came and went from the city, the North Gate was by far the busiest. The other three gates were comparatively deserted.

"We’re going out."

Mu Chen could feel their pursuers closing in. With a stomp of his foot, his Primordial Power erupted. The next instant, he shot out of the city gate, covering several thousand meters before finally stopping.

The very instant they stopped, seven or eight figures in black materialized, completely encircling Mu Chen and Chu Aoqing. At the same time, Zhou Zihan and Zhou Ziheng appeared before them, having followed close behind.

"Oh? Isn’t this my kindred spirit?" Mu Chen feigned surprise as he looked at Zhou Zihan. "It really must be fate! Don’t tell me you’re just passing through Border City, too?"

Zhou Zihan snorted. "Enough," he said dismissively. "I don’t have time for your nonsense. Do you recognize him?"

As he spoke, Zhou Zihan gestured toward Zhou Ziheng.

Mu Chen pretended to study him for a moment before nodding. "He looks vaguely familiar."

"What do you mean, ’vaguely familiar’?" Zhou Ziheng sneered. "Weren’t you the one using the crowd to pressure me earlier so I couldn’t do anything? You thought you were in the clear once you left Border City, didn’t you?"

"I just stepped on your foot," Mu Chen said with a sigh. "And I already apologized. You should always leave a little leeway in life; you never know when you’ll meet again. See? Your shoe isn’t even that dirty. How about this? Tell me how much it cost, and I’ll pay you back. How does that sound?"

Listening from the side, Zhou Zihan thought it sounded reasonable enough and nodded along. But when he heard Mu Chen had merely stepped on Zhou Ziheng’s foot, he was utterly dumbfounded. ’All this fuss... was over *that*?’

"Are my shoes something you can just fucking step on?" Zhou Ziheng’s arrogance flared. "Let me tell you, these were a gift from the Flame Dragon Emperor, Long Yuan! They’re woven entirely from Profound Celestial Silk—the only pair in the entire Dynasty! I wore them today out of respect for my visit to Border City. I usually can’t even bear to take them out of their box! You got them dirty, and now you want to pay me back? You? Go on, try and find me another pair!" Especially when recounting the shoes’ origin, he was so haughty he was practically looking down his nose at the sky.

At his words, it wasn’t just Mu Chen who was taken aback—even Zhou Zihan and Chu Aoqing froze on the spot. The reason, of course, was none other than the mention of Profound Celestial Silk.

The Profound Celestial Silkworm, also known as ’A Thread of Silk Worm.’ As its name implied, this silkworm would only spin silk once in its entire life. When it did, the process was completed in a single, uninterrupted go. The amount of silk produced depended entirely on its mood—more if it was happy, less if it was not. But regardless of the quantity, the silk it produced was an exceedingly rare treasure.