Chapter 9: I Cannot Give Up the Entire Forest for You

Chapter 9: I Cannot Give Up the Entire Forest for You

"This is a bit tricky."

Chen Ping'an stood with his hands behind his back, murmuring to himself with a calm expression. Fu Hongying was merely unconscious; her life was not in immediate danger, so there was no need for excessive worry. Based on what Xuan Zi had said, it could be inferred that the seven types of venomous insects required were extremely rare, and finding them would surely be a troublesome endeavor.

"System, open the mission gift pack."

Chen Ping'an decided to check the rewards for completing the mission to see if there was any miraculous antidote.

"Mission gift pack opened!"

"Reward One: Three Resurrection Cards. (Note: Omitted.)"

"Reward Two: Three Transcendent Realm Experience Cards. (Note: Upon activation, the host gains the cultivation of the peak of the Tenth Layer of the Transcendent Realm for twelve hours.)"

"Reward Three: Three Ordinary Vajra Shield Defense Cards. (Note: Omitted.)"

"Reward Four: Three Nice Guy Cards. (Note: Omitted.)"

"Reward Five: Ten thousand Top-Grade Qi-Blood Pills. (Note: Top-tier pills for body tempering cultivation.)"

"Reward Six: Nine-Turn Immortal-Demon Technique. (Note: A supreme cultivation method from the Immortal World. It allows for the simultaneous cultivation of both Immortal and Demon paths, merging them into one body to reach the pinnacle of creation and become invincible in the world.)"

"Reward Seven: One Destiny Shield Experience Card. (Note: One of the seven great immortal treasures of the Profound Heaven Realm, known as the strongest defense in the world. Once activated, the host is protected by the Destiny Shield for one hour.)"

"Reward Eight: One Primary Antidote Pill. (Note: Can suppress any poison for a duration of three years.)"

"Reward Nine: One Saint-Grade Divine Sword. (Note: Named the Blood-Sucking Demon Sword. It must see blood once drawn; use with caution.)"

Hearing the system list off so many rewards, Chen Ping'an was pleasantly surprised. He didn't die in vain after all; trading his life for these rewards was worth it!

Chen Ping'an: "System, since you've been so generous, why not throw in a high-level antidote pill?"

System: "..."

Seeing the system speechless, Chen Ping'an didn't mind. This primary antidote pill would suffice as a temporary emergency measure. With a three-year buffer, he would have plenty of time to find the seven venomous insects and fully cure Fu Hongying.

"Great Ancestor, in this world, any poison associated with the 'Seven Stars' is extremely thorny..." the Old Ancestor Xuan whispered.

"Why is that?" Chen Ping'an raised an eyebrow, showing interest.

Xuan looked around nervously and lowered his voice: "Great Ancestor, there is a saying in this world that any poison with the words 'Seven Stars' in its name originates from the Seven-Star Grave..."

The Seven-Star Grave?

A spark flashed in Chen Ping'an's mind, and his expression shifted slightly.

There are seven great immortal treasures in the Profound Heaven Realm. The Longevity Coffin that granted him ten thousand years of life is one; the Destiny Shield the system just mentioned is another; and the Seven-Star Grave is also one of them.

The seven great immortal treasures stand above all things in the world. Even an Emperor favored by destiny, as powerful as one could be, could never subdue any of these treasures; they could only hope to obtain them through serendipity. No one knows where these seven treasures exist, and aside from the Longevity Coffin, the other six rarely appear in the world. Even if they rarely appear, the legends of the seven treasures are widespread throughout the Profound Heaven Realm.

"I know very little about the Seven-Star Grave..." Chen Ping'an shook his head.

Xuan whispered: "Great Ancestor, I only know this from an ancient book. It is said that in the most ancient of times, the Seven-Star Grave once appeared in the Profound Heaven Realm. Several powerhouses obtained opportunities and inheritances within, including divine weapons, pills, techniques, formations, talismans, and even the art of Gu poison..."

Chen Ping'an was not very interested in the Seven-Star Grave. Now that he had the system and such abundant rewards, he had no desire for the inheritance of the Seven-Star Grave.

He took out the Primary Antidote Pill and knelt down to place it between her delicate red lips.

Yan Qingyu was both startled and afraid, trembling as she asked, "You... what did you feed my master?"

"An antidote."

Chen Ping'an smiled, remaining crouched there, waiting quietly for Fu Hongying to wake up.

An antidote?

The ancestors of the Qingyun Sect were all bewildered, especially since Xuan had deliberately emphasized the terror of the Seven-Star Soul-Breaking Poison, only for the Great Ancestor to produce an antidote in the blink of an eye. Xuan's old face burned with embarrassment, and he stared blankly. The Great Ancestor had slapped him in the face quite hard, catching him off guard and nearly making him fall into a ditch.

Just as he was about to ask a question, he heard a soft moan; Fu Hongying had suddenly regained consciousness.

Products from the system are always of the highest quality. Seeing the antidote take effect so quickly, Chen Ping'an felt a weight lift off his heart. Regardless, Xiaoying was once his girlfriend; he had abandoned her, and today he had "sheared the wool" off her, so she shouldn't have to suffer from this poison.

"Wang Ye, we are both dead, we can finally be together."

As soon as Fu Hongying opened her eyes and saw her long-missed lover, her eyes lit up. She broke free from Yan Qingyu's embrace, leaped up, and hugged Chen Ping'an.

...

"Let go..."

Poor Chen Ping'an, only at the first level of the Qi-Blood Realm, was being held by a powerhouse of the Divine Void Realm and could hardly breathe. Just as he was about to suffocate, he finally managed to gasp out two words.

"Don't speak."

Fu Hongying released her arms, cupped his enchanting, handsome face with her hands, and blushed, murmuring as if in a dream: "Wang Ye, from now on, you belong only to me."

Belong only to you?

How could that be possible? Without the system's help to continue "shearing the wool" from so many ex-girlfriends, how could he cultivate? Forget it, the girl is delirious from the poison; no need to bicker with her.

He stepped back and smiled: "Xiaoying, I cannot give up the entire forest just for you."

"Brilliant, Great Ancestor! Are you leaving an opportunity for me?" Qin Jian, standing nearby, felt her eyes light up, and a flush rose to her cheeks.

"The Great Ancestor is the world's most handsome man. If he were trapped by one little woman, it would be a tragedy for all the women in the world." Xuan appeared solemn, feeling even more admiration for the Great Ancestor. In the eyes of a powerhouse at the peak of the Tenth Layer of the Divine Void Realm, if someone of the Great Ancestor's status were to marry a wife, she would at least have to be a beauty with Transcendent cultivation. This Fu Hongying simply didn't qualify.

"What?"

Hearing this, Fu Hongying felt as if she had been struck by lightning, murmuring: "Say that again."

Chen Ping'an smiled bitterly and said with extreme sincerity: "I could die for you, but I cannot give up the entire forest for you. My apologies, Xiaoying, but I have my own constraints..."

"You, you..."

Fu Hongying stared blankly at Chen Ping'an, her expression shifting constantly. It took a long while before she gritted her teeth and said, "Scumbag!"

Chen Ping'an smiled and said nothing.

Let her call him a scumbag; she was in the heat of anger and wouldn't listen to reason, and he didn't want to argue. Having lived a second life, he was destined to become an Immortal and an Ancestor; he must never ruin his path to immortality for the sake of romantic entanglements.

"Master, the poison in your body was cured by him," Yan Qingyu whispered as she approached.

Upon hearing this, Fu Hongying's expression turned bleak. After giving Chen Ping'an a deep look, she swallowed the thousands of words she wanted to say and transformed into a streak of sword light, breaking through the air and leaving.

"Master, wait for me!"

Yan Qingyu looked back once more at the man who had captured her heart, as if trying to carve his peerless beauty into her mind, then shouted and chased after Fu Hongying.

In the square, only the members of the Qingyun Sect remained.

"Xiao Long, send people to investigate the seven venomous insects involved in the Seven-Star Soul-Breaking Poison..." Chen Ping'an waved his hand and said indifferently.

"Yes, Great Ancestor."

Du Rulong agreed hurriedly and turned to make the arrangements. He had been responsible for organizing the Great Ancestor's concubine-taking ceremony, which had turned into an embarrassingly public social disaster, and the marriage had fallen through. He had been terrified that the Great Ancestor would scold him, but to his surprise, the Great Ancestor didn't seem to blame him at all and had even given him a new task. This energized Du Rulong, who swore to himself that he would find these seven venomous insects for the Great Ancestor no matter what.

"Ding! Detected a suspected ex-girlfriend within the Qingyun Sect. If the host can successfully confirm it, you will be rewarded with a Saint-Grade artifact and one Entering-Saint Realm Experience Card."

The system's voice suddenly rang out.