Chapter 66 You Should Stay Here to Reflect and Mature-Família de mártires leais teve seus bens confiscados; tornei-me imortal terreno(Imortal Questionador do Mundo)

The little girl offered no resistance whatsoever, simply following him as he walked forward.

The two of them walked for roughly more than two hours until, confirming they were safe, Chu Tianchen finally found a grotto for her.

Chu Tianchen took out a piece of daylight stone and embedded it into the wall of the grotto, instantly illuminating the cavern.

"The Chu family has been ransacked and destroyed. Why are you unharmed?"

The little girl asked.

"What should I call you?"

Instead of answering, Chu Tianchen countered with a question.

"My name is Qiao Wanling."

"You can call me Young Mistress, just like the others do."

Qiao Wanling said.

The middle-aged man in black robes earlier had addressed her as Young Mistress.

Her status and standing within their faction must be quite high, judging by that.

She was very likely a young master or mistress.

However, Chu Tianchen was still quite curious as to how she knew his grandfather.

"The entire Chu family vanished overnight, leaving only my grandmother, two younger sisters, and myself."

"My grandmother and sisters were probably spared because they deemed them unworthy of targeting. As for why they kept me alive, I am currently investigating the reason."

Chu Tianchen replied.

Prior to this, Chu Tianchen had always assumed that the Human Emperor spared him simply because he was regarded as a fool.

Ever since stepping into Cloud Sea Academy, however, he had accidentally learned from Liu Qingcheng and Liu Qingfeng that the Human Emperor had deliberately kept him alive.

This point had also been confirmed by Lin Shengbin.

It wasn't just the Human Emperor; forces like the Liu Family, the Cloud Dream Marsh Valley, the Gloomy Bamboo Ancient City, and the Profound Heaven Sword Sect all seemed to have suddenly formed a connection, though what they were plotting remained a mystery.

Even less clear was what they hoped to gain from keeping him alive.

Once the trial in the Magical Beast Mountains concluded, Chu Tianchen felt it necessary to enter the inner courtyard as soon as possible.

"Did Chu Qingcang leave anything behind for you?"

Qiao Wanling asked next.

Chu Tianchen shook his head.

His grandfather had indeed left him nothing. The bone ring on his hand had been left by his mother, not given to him by his grandfather.

Yet Qiao Wanling's casual use of the name Chu Qingcang made Chu Tianchen feel quite uncomfortable.

After all, she was merely a child of eight or nine years old.

"So, your entire Chu family perished in that Abyss of Buried Demons?"

Qiao Wanling asked, unwilling to let the matter go.

"They were likely imprisoned somewhere by the Human Emperor; I haven't found out yet."

"However, as long as they are still breathing, I will definitely find them."

Chu Tianchen said earnestly.

Hearing this, Qiao Wanling clenched her small fists tightly.

"He must be found."

"I want to see them alive if they breathe, or their corpses if they are dead."

Qiao Wanling said with a cold voice.

This immediately caused Chu Tianchen to frown.

"You haven't answered me yet. How do you know my grandfather?"

"Are you really only eight or nine years old?"

Chu Tianchen asked.

"Who I am is none of your concern. From today onward, you are responsible for looking after me."

"Find me a safe place; I need to go into seclusion for a period of time."

Qiao Wanling commanded in an authoritative tone.

As soon as those words fell, Chu Tianchen's face instantly darkened.

"Why on earth should I look after you?"

"Besides, is this attitude of yours any way to ask someone to take care of you?"

Chu Tianchen said with a stern face.

"Even Chu Qingcang had to obey me. You dare to defy me?"

Qiao Wanling said coldly.

"My grandfather is my grandfather, and I am myself."

"When the Human Emperor moved against him, he didn't fight back. But if you let that bastard of a Human Emperor touch me, I'll drag him down to hell with me even if it costs me my life."

Chu Tianchen said indifferently.

His core philosophy right now was pure rebellion.

Having experienced the destruction and confiscation of the Chu family, his mindset had completely broken free of all constraints.

To hell with everything; the only thing in his eyes now was power.

Qiao Wanling gazed at Chu Tianchen, a trace of chilliness flashing in her eyes.

"Then what do you want?"

Qiao Wanling demanded.

"I don't know what kind of relationship exists between you and my grandfather."

"You must have used some secret technique to seize the body of this little girl. As for your true identity, since you don't wish to speak of it, I won't ask."

"For the sake of my grandfather, I can take you to Cloud Sea Academy, but once we reach Cloud Sea Academy, everything must be done my way."

Chu Tianchen stated.

Hearing this, Qiao Wanling looked at Chu Tianchen in astonishment.

She seemed shocked that Chu Tianchen had guessed correctly and actually discerned that she had seized someone else's body.

After a moment of silence, Qiao Wanling drew a deep breath.

"I can agree to your terms, but I require massive amounts of resources to recover my cultivation as quickly as possible."

"Otherwise, if those people track us down, we will all die."

Qiao Wanling said.

The people she referred to were undoubtedly those who had been hunting her earlier.

Being pursued by two practitioners of the Celestial Sky Realm out of nowhere was indeed a thorny problem.

"Once we arrive at Cloud Sea Academy, I will find a way to get primal stones for you."

"You can stay here for a little over two months for now. When I return, I will take you with me."

"Take these primal stones for the time being."

With that, Chu Tianchen took out three thousand superior-grade primal stones from the storage ring of one of the pursuers and handed them to Qiao Wanling.

"Just this little bit?"

Qiao Wanling's small brow furrowed tightly.

Before her voice had even faded, Chu Tianchen moved with lightning speed and snatched the primal stones right back.

He refused to spoil her.

"You can temper yourself here alone. Once you've thought things through and figured it out, you can come with me then."

Having said that, Chu Tianchen turned and made to leave.

Instantly, Qiao Wanling clenched her fists, and the aura of the ninth stage of the Meridian-Pulse Realm erupted instantly.

She struck out with a palm toward Chu Tianchen.

The technique she employed was precisely a high-tier Mysterious-grade divine ability, the Seven-Fold Tidal Palm.

Seeing this, Chu Tianchen's gaze deepened. The primal Qi within his four pulse wheels also burst forth in an instant, and he struck out with a palm to meet Qiao Wanling's attack head-on.

"Seven-Fold Tidal Palm!"

Chu Tianchen shouted explosively.

Boom!

As their palms collided violently, Chu Tianchen was sent flying back seven or eight meters, while Qiao Wanling also retreated two steps.

A flash of shock immediately appeared in Qiao Wanling's dual pupils.

"I never gave this Seven-Fold Tidal Palm to Chu Qingcang. Where did you learn it?"

Qiao Wanling asked in astonishment.

"Qiao Wanling, you may be the Young Mistress to others, but you are not mine."

"The reason I gave you those three thousand superior-grade primal stones earlier was precisely because you handed me a set of the Seven-Fold Tidal Palm."

"If you truly wish to follow me in the future, I've already said that it must be on my terms."

"I have no desire to keep someone by my side who might launch an attack on me at any moment."

Chu Tianchen declared.

"You mean... you just learned the Seven-Fold Tidal Palm right now?"

Qiao Wanling seemed not to have heard his latter words, remaining utterly immersed in the shock of him executing the Seven-Fold Tidal Palm.

Although Chu Tianchen's palm strike just now was slightly unpolished, he had nevertheless unleashed three folds of force.

When practiced to the peak of mastery, the Seven-Fold Tidal Palm could stack up to seven folds of force, possessing terrifying might.

However, this was a high-tier Mysterious-grade divine ability, which was inherently domineering. Ordinary practitioners in the Meridian-Pulse Realm could not cultivate it because their meridians were too fragile to endure such an overbearing technique.

Yet Chu Tianchen had managed to unleash three folds of force just by taking a single glance?

This was somewhat mind-boggling.

"Is this difficult to learn?"

Dropping those words, Chu Tianchen turned to leave.

"Wait a moment... please leave those three thousand superior-grade primal stones behind."

Qiao Wanling said.

Seeing that Chu Tianchen paid her no mind and continued walking away, she relented.

"I was in the wrong just now... please, please give me the primal stones."

Qiao Wanling said with lowered head.

Hearing this, a slight curve formed at the corner of Chu Tianchen's mouth, thinking to himself that she was not so hard to manage after all.

He turned back and left the primal stones behind.

"It will be the same in the future. Resources can be given to you, but remember your position. We are not master and servant; if you want resources, you must work for them."

Chu Tianchen said.

"Work? What kind of work?"

Qiao Wanling asked in confusion.

"You'll find out once we reach Cloud Sea Academy."

With that, Chu Tianchen walked out of the grotto.

He found a massive boulder to block the entrance, scattered some aura-concealing medicinal powder around the perimeter, and only then departed with peace of mind.