Chapter Twenty-One: After the Dragon Gate

Page 1/3

“Whoosh!”
Chen Xuan darted along the mountain path, rushing at breakneck speed into the ancient forest where towering trees stood. He relentlessly pursued a rare mountain treasure fish.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Chen Xuan summoned the trick of the Little White Ape, gathering immense strength to grab a fist-sized stone from the mountain and hurled it like a cannonball towards the fish ahead.
“Roar!”
The treasure fish was struck by the stone, its body rippling with a silver shimmer as several scales cracked open. It let out a miserable cry, hurtling far away, then like a flash of silver lightning, it shot upwards in anger, smashing the stone into fragments with its head before continuing its frantic swim deeper into the southern wilderness.
A force from deep within the southern wilds was beckoning it, compelling it to move forward recklessly.
“Is its body really this tough?”
Chen Xuan was stunned. His full-strength strike had only grazed the fish’s scales?
Qi cultivators would not dare to withstand such a powerful stone throw—this was a burst of tens of thousands of pounds of force, enough to pierce a hole through the body. Yet the mountain treasure fish had endured it?
“Arrgh!”
A passing wild wolf spotted the treasure fish, suddenly ecstatic, it pounced—but with a bang, its jaws exploded, blood gushing out, all its sharp teeth shattered and scattered.
The wolf clutched its bloodied mouth, howling in pain as it rolled on the ground, the hunt a failure.
“Have the people of Green Deer Mountain really caught a treasure fish before?”
Chen Xuan’s eyes widened at the scene. He now deeply doubted the claim. Judging by the strength of Chu’s four disciples, he believed they had no ability to capture the treasure fish.
“Then I’ll do it myself!”
One after another, the stone attacks slowed the fish’s leap over the Dragon Gate. Chen Xuan finally caught up to the fish skimming the ground, launching a straightforward pounce like a hungry tiger, grabbing the fish with both hands.
“Roar!”
The treasure fish emitted a clear dragon’s cry, its slippery body impossible to hold. It was immensely strong, whipping its tail like a divine dragon, slipping from Chen Xuan’s grasp.
Chen Xuan pressed on, now experienced, swiftly seizing the moment. His fingers clamped onto the fish’s gills, hoisting it up and swinging it like a club against a nearby giant tree.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
He struck repeatedly over a dozen times; wood chips filled the air, scales scattered. The tree as thick as a waist was broken in half with a thunderous crash, falling to the ground. The treasure fish was stunned, dizzy, and passed out stiffly in Chen Xuan’s hands.
“Arrgh…”
In the distance, the wild wolf stared dumbfounded, frightened, it scrambled to its feet and fled, tail tucked, rolling and tumbling away. This man was too cruel; it feared being treated the same. This was no simple hunt, but brutal slaughter.
“Finally caught the treasure fish… even more exhausting than the magical duel.”
Chen Xuan wiped the sweat from his brow as he lifted the over one-foot-long mountain treasure fish for inspection.
The fish was battered and bruised; a gentle silver light and refreshing fragrance emanated from its broken scales and flesh—no fishy odor at all. Just sniffing it was invigorating, almost transcendent.
This was a living medicine comparable to the treasured trees of the land!

…
Deep in the southern wilderness mountain ranges.
At the summit of a towering mountain over a thousand zhang high, in a pool of water, the “Dragon Gate” slowly opened wide, waiting for the treasure fish to leap through.
Suddenly—

Page 2/3

The “Dragon Gate” slowly closed, and a snow-white ancient turtle, over half a human’s height, emerged from the pool.
The old white turtle did not crawl on all fours but stood upright and walked like a human. Its glowing white shell resembled a rotating Tai Chi Bagua diagram, and its skin was wrinkled and bark-like, as if molded from rubber clay—its neck, head, and limbs all formed this way.
It stretched its long neck, puzzled, not understanding why its food had suddenly stopped moving.
The so-called “Dragon Gate” was the old white turtle’s mouth.
The mountain treasure fish of Little Stone Lake, after enduring countless hardships and passing thousands of perilous mountains, finally leapt into the “Dragon Gate” to be “ascended” and become the old white turtle’s meal.
“Lately, the mountains have grown too chaotic. People don’t follow the rules… even stealing an old man’s food now.”
The old white turtle’s deep eyes gazed into the distant night sky, its hands clasped behind its back like an elderly man nearing the end of his days.
The entire mountain was silent; all beasts, birds, insects, and spirits cowered in fear, trembling and daring not to make a sound at this moment.

…
“You belong to me. Behave yourself!”
In the forest, Chen Xuan scolded sharply, pressing down on the treasure fish and mercilessly smashing its head with a stone. Only after confirming it was not just temporarily unconscious but truly lifeless did he tie the fish with vines and hang it from his waist.
Having done all this, he took a deep breath and glanced back at the path he came from, frowning tightly.
“The person on the road—Green Deer Mountain’s… Shen Lingfeng?”

…

Page 3/3

“The one chasing the fish… Chen Xuan!”
On the mountain path, Shen Lingfeng murmured, eyes fixed on the disappearing figure of man and fish in the forest, his heart pounding with fear.
His gaze was sharp; from that fleeting glimpse, he discerned that the pursuer’s surging qi and blood pressure was no less than six thousand jin, and his speed was even faster than when Shen Lingfeng had undergone his second metamorphosis.
Shen Lingfeng was shocked, for he was a rare genius who had once crushed his peers with his qi during his metamorphosis—but now, this man had clearly surpassed him.
An unknown prodigy with unparalleled talent was chasing the mountain treasure fish of Little Stone Lake…
Apart from Chen Xuan, he could not think of anyone else.
“I’ve already fled, so why do I still cross paths with Chen Xuan?”
Shen Lingfeng was inexplicably terrified, thinking bitterly, “Is the Yellow Millet Dream really so powerful? This Chen Xuan must want to kill me… Wang Chan dragged me into this mess, that damn troublemaker!”
He felt a chill run through him, his fingers stroking the mane of the Green Deer, sensing a horrifying fate anchoring him, impossible to escape.
“You… have gone too far.”
Shen Lingfeng gritted his teeth, growing angrier by the moment. Clenching his fists, his chest filled with rage as he cursed aloud into the void.
“Chen Xuan, I admit your talent is extraordinary, but am I not a one-in-a-million genius? You’ve only practiced qi for a little over half a month!”
“...”
“Hah, a mere half-month qi practitioner, and you’ve already slaughtered four qi cultivators from Green Deer Mountain…”
“...”
“Forget it. Meeting a monster like you is just the bad luck of eight lifetimes.”
Shen Lingfeng suddenly leapt off the Green Deer, quickly removing his teal robe symbolizing Green Deer Mountain. He covered the deer’s head with it, blocking its sight, then stabbed a knife into its rump.
“Worthless beast, run!”
Shen Lingfeng shouted fiercely before punching apart his topknot, covering his face. His hair disheveled, he jumped down the mountain path and vanished in another direction.
He still had to run.

…

“Six from Green Deer Mountain have scattered.”
Chen Xuan emerged from the forest, staring into the darkness at the end of the mountain path, thinking, “There won’t be a better chance.”
He paused in silence, then followed the mountain road ahead. Tonight was the best time to act.
Even if Shen Lingfeng, with his second metamorphosis, had over ten thousand jin of strength, he was alone.
“As long as you’re not invincible, I’ll see what you’re made of.”
Chen Xuan rubbed the golden-green jade hairpin he had taken from the Peach Town underground palace. The unmatched coldness at its tip calmed his mind.
After a moment, a teal-colored elk with a robe covering its head and blood flowing from its rump appeared in sight.
“What’s happening?”
Chen Xuan was stunned, staring at the elk grazing by the roadside, puzzled. “Where’s Shen Lingfeng?”
The elk’s wounded rump seemed deliberately exposed to lure a pursuer. Was Shen Lingfeng being chased?
But why would a second metamorphosis cultivator from Green Deer Mountain—someone feared by all—end up the one being hunted?
“Wait… Could the pursuer actually be me?”
Chen Xuan was suddenly alarmed. He recalled the earlier brief encounter when the other’s eyes had sharply contracted, reacting strongly.
He had recognized Chen Xuan and guessed he would give chase, thus taking these actions to avoid him.
“That makes no sense… Shen Lingfeng and I have no connection; he shouldn’t even be aware of me.”
Chen Xuan’s head ached as he muttered, “Besides, why would Shen Lingfeng—a second metamorphosis master—avoid me? Logically, I should be the one running.”
“What disgusting conspiracies are you people playing behind my back!”
Chen Xuan was utterly baffled, unable to think clearly. His head throbbed with pain, and he knocked his skull hard.
It was as if a vast, intricately woven net had descended, sticky and dim, trapping him, making even breathing difficult.
“Wang Chan… you have gone too far.”
After a moment, Chen Xuan raised his head, bloodshot eyes blazing, then turned and headed toward the Green Deer Mountain cultivation grounds known as Ox Horn Mountain.
Shen Lingfeng had already fled.
Opposite him were at most five first metamorphosis qi cultivators…
He was about to smash open Wang Chan’s skull and see what kind of Yellow Millet Dream was lodged in his brain!