Chapter 155: Sudden Change

In the Chore Hall, Xu Chen handed Lihua and Xueyao over to Chief Steward Bai.

"From now on, the two of you will cultivate within the sect. I will assign tasks to you when needed."

Xu Chen produced a storage bag from his hand and handed it to Xueyao.

"Inside are some spiritual coins and cultivation resources, enough for you to establish yourselves securely within the sect."

After speaking, Xu Chen turned his gaze back to Chief Steward Bai.

"Sister Bai, I will have to trouble you to look after them," Xu Chen said courteously.

"It is no trouble at all. It is my honor to be of service to you, My Lord."

"Such sweet and charming twin maidens, yet My Lord does not keep them by your side." Chief Steward Bai looked at the sisters, noting that their beauty was by no means inferior to those of her own clan.

"Their current strength is too weak; increasing their strength comes first."

Xu Chen replied calmly. What importance did romantic desires hold compared to enhancing one's strength? Besides, a single meal could not change him; moreover, since his mother had spoken, he had to accept this person, but how to handle them was entirely his own affair.

Having settled the two of them, just as Xu Chen was preparing to return to his immortal cave, a startling piece of news instantly swept through everyone.

"The Gold Immortal spirit of Mount Tai'ai, conferred by the Human Sovereign, has rebelled on the battlefield, causing the entire frontline to collapse!"

"A Great Luo of the human race has fallen! How could he dare?!" Upon seeing this news, Xu Chen immediately thought of his parents.

Before he even had time to send a message of inquiry, he received a notification from the Human Sovereign Temple.

Meanwhile, several messages had already arrived on Xu Chen's communicator.

Jiang Beici, the Junior Grandmaster, Li Chengfu, and Zong Changshou had all sent messages to inquire about his situation.

However, Xu Chen was in no mood to attend to any of them, his eyes fixed dead on the message sent by the Human Sovereign Temple.

A figure materialized before Xu Chen.

"The frontline has suffered a routed collapse, with a higher-tier powerhouse making a move. One Great Luo and three Gold Immortals have fallen in the blink of an eye. The entire human frontline is, presumably..."

"Condolences..."

Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou also hurried over.

Gazing at the few people around him, Xu Chen felt a warmth in his heart.

"My parents left their souls in the Human Sovereign Temple; they cannot be resurrected there. I need to make a trip over."

"I am in no major trouble," Xu Chen said in a deep voice.

"I will accompany you," the Junior Grandmaster said.

"There is no need for such trouble. I shall go and return swiftly."

Hearing Xu Chen's words, the Junior Grandmaster nodded, knowing that Xu Chen must have someone protecting him in secret.

"Be careful, go and return soon," Li Chengfu and Zong Changshou urged.

"Understood."

Xu Chen summoned his spirit boat and manipulated it to fly toward the sect's teleportation hall.

At the Leizhou Capital Teleportation Hall, Xu Chen quickly located the head administrator.

"I need to teleport to the capital in the region where Ganggang City is located."

In the territory where his father was stationed, the Human Sovereign's Dao and fortune were currently expanding and covering the land, so the name of the province where Ganggang City resided had not yet been finalized.

"The teleportation array to that side will only open in three days," the administrator said with bureaucratic formality.

"I wish to activate the emergency teleportation array." Xu Chen knew that in emergency situations, one could specially commission the teleportation hall to open an array, though the cost required was quite exorbitant.

"Fifty million spiritual coins or five human race contribution points," the administrator stated formally.

"Deduct the contribution points immediately," Xu Chen said swiftly.

The Human Sovereign Temple in Ganggang City was not yet fully constructed; currently, it could only store souls. If he wished to resurrect them, he had to bring his parents' souls back.

The moment the colorful payment light screen appeared, Xu Chen immediately clicked to pay.

At that moment, the administrator also stood up, leading Xu Chen deep into the recesses of the teleportation hall, where the emergency teleportation array was located.

Just as the teleportation array was about to activate, an unseen figure quietly stepped behind Xu Chen, teleporting away alongside him.

Zimeng City, the capital of a future province, had been newly constructed just a few years prior.

Inside the city's teleportation hall, the array formations still shone with a fresh radiance, and the entire hall appeared quite spacious.

A teleportation array lit up with spiritual light. Xu Chen purchased a map at the teleportation hall with utmost speed and arrived outside Ganggang City.

"Thank you, Senior," Xu Chen called out.

The moment he saw the news sent by the Human Sovereign Temple, he had sent a message to Xie Changming, who was protecting him, stating that he was heading to Ganggang City.

"I am here. Go ahead with peace of mind."

Xie Changming's unhurried voice resonated in Xu Chen's ears.

Xu Chen nodded, retrieved his spirit boat from his spatial artifact, and following the directions indicated on the map, flew rapidly toward Ganggang City.

At this moment, on the frontline between the human race and the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court.

A pair of giant pupils, resembling the sun and the moon, gazed toward the towering mountain in the distance.

"The Human Sovereign has treated you well; why have you rebelled?" an angry voice rang out.

"Why have I rebelled? Could it be that your human race does not know?"

"I have lingered at the peak of the Gold Immortal realm for tens of millions of years. Clearly, there is a Heavenly Spirit Dao Heart in the human treasury; if you had simply given it to me, it would have been enough for me to ascend to Great Luo Immortality!"

"I have risked life and limb for your human race for so many years, and my contribution points were clearly sufficient. Why would you not let me exchange for it?"

That towering mountain trembled, showing signs of uprooting itself from the earth.

"I told you long ago that your potential is vast; the Human Sovereign did not want you to stop merely at Great Luo."

"You fool just refuse to understand!"

"Betraying the human race and cooperating from within caused the fall of one Great Luo and three Gold Immortals of our race."

"This debt, the human race has recorded. Consorting with outsiders and turning to the River of Hades Clan—what do you suppose the River of Hades Clan will treat you as in the future?"

"You refuse to properly be a god conferred by the Human Sovereign, yet insist on going to be a dog!"

"You are finished. The Myriad Spirit Hell of the human race will be your ultimate destination!"

That giant pupil, resembling the sun and moon, looked coldly at the colossal mountain.

"I want to ascend to Great Luo Immortality. What your human race cannot give me, the River of Hades Clan can."

"Once I ascend to Great Luo Immortality and stand upon the battlefield, your human race is bound to lose!"

Across the entire frontline, tens of millions of miles of land had been reduced to a desolate wasteland, with wisps of eerie power slithering across this barren earth.

At this moment, Xu Chen was on his way to Ganggang City. Driven by his vast, ocean-like spiritual power, the speed of the spirit boat was pushed to its absolute limit.

Xu Chen manipulated the spirit boat, expressionless, continuously channeling his spiritual power in an attempt to make the vessel move faster.

He knew that the sooner he brought back his parents' souls for resurrection, the more he could minimize the side effects.

"Spirit of Mount Tai'ai, you had best hope I do not grow strong enough," Xu Chen gnashed his teeth.

The speed of the spirit boat was blistering. Traveling day and night, he arrived at Ganggang City after a single day.

At the Ganggang City Human Sovereign Temple, an immortal official retrieved two jars from within.

"Stored inside here are the souls of your father and mother. They must not be placed into storage bags or storage artifacts, and it is best not to place them inside immortal cave artifacts either."

Xu Chen carefully accepted the two urns and expressed his gratitude to the immortal official.

"You are a fine fellow. Your father and mother are famous figures in Ganggang City."

"When your father is resurrected, tell him to stop tossing his life about and return to Ganggang City to continue serving as a chiliarch." The immortal official looked at Xu Chen with a trace of envy in his expression.

For all these years he had kept watch in the Human Sovereign Temple, he had seen and heard plenty of sons resurrecting fathers and fathers resurrecting sons, though he had never witnessed it firsthand.

The immortal official could not help thinking how wonderful it would be if his own son were just as exceptional.

"I will convey your words to him."

Xu Chen took his leave immediately after speaking, driving the immortal boat without a moment's rest to rush back toward Zimeng City.

"Father, Mother, once you are resurrected, both of you can settle down in Leizhou Capital to enjoy peace and comfort."

Gazing at the two urns on the spirit boat, which were protected with the utmost care, Xu Chen could not help murmuring.

With the frontline having collapsed, Xu Chen felt that Ganggang City was no longer safe either, which prompted his earlier thought.

Along this entire journey, Xu Chen was exceedingly cautious, terrified lest any mishap occur to damage these two urns.

Fortunately, the journey passed without incident or peril, allowing Xu Chen to return safely to Zimeng City.

When Xu Chen stepped onto the teleportation array heading back to Leizhou Capital, cradling the two urns, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

At the Leizhou Capital Human Sovereign Temple, Xu Chen carefully handed the two urns over to the immortal official stationed there.

"Resurrection requires a full year. You may return in a year's time," the immortal official said, placing the two urns onto a specially crafted array formation.

"Thank you for the trouble," Xu Chen bowed slightly in salute.

"It is only my duty."

Xu Chen departed the Human Sovereign Temple, his tense state of mind finally relaxing.

Upon returning to the Great River Sect, Xu Chen first briefed the others on the situation.

luego, he used his communication artifact to contact Jiang Beici.

"Are you all right?" Xu Chen asked directly. He maintained daily contact with his good brother and was aware of some of his movements.

"Half-dead, I suppose. I managed to escape the powerhouses of the Holy Spirit Heavenly Court, only to be targeted by the River of Hades Clan, who possessed me using a secret technique."

"By the time I made it back to the Human Sovereign Dao Palace, I had to sever nearly half of my soul to resolve that secret technique." Jiang Beici's voice sounded somewhat weak and breathless.

"Have you arranged things properly on your parents' side?"

"They have already been placed in the Leizhou Capital Human Sovereign Temple for resurrection."

"That's good."

After chatting for a while, the two hung up the call.

"Cultivate, become stronger!"

Inside the immortal cave, the moment Xu Chen returned, he stepped straight into the pristine white space.

"Spells, divine abilities, cultivation techniques, Dao texts."

"If I wish to grow stronger, not a single one can be left behind."

"No matter how great my potential is right now, I am merely an ant with potential."

"Strength and cultivation level are everything."

"On the Primordial Desolate Battlefield, I was almost tortured to death by that Xuan Yi because my strength was lacking."

"My parents perished on the frontline; although they can be resurrected, as a son, I ought to exact revenge. Yet right now, it is still because my strength is lacking that I cannot take revenge."

"I ignited the bones and flesh to become a proud prodigy, but after advancing to the Precious Body realm, my cultivation began to slacken, and I lost that original perseverance to defy the heavens and change my fate."

"Wrong! Even if I ignite my bones, I would still be a mere ant, let alone defy the heavens and change my fate!"

Sitting cross-legged within the pristine white space, gazing at the numerous doors around him, Xu Chen recalled his experiences after advancing to the Precious Body realm and felt that he had become extremely impetuous.

"Settle the mindset, and grind!"

With that, Xu Chen pushed open the door to the Fire Bird Spell once more.

Early the next morning, just as Xu Chen exited the pristine white space and prepared to cultivate, his disciple token rang out.

At the Great River Sect's teleportation hall, the nine individuals who had initially emerged from the Primordial Desolate Battlefield gathered together.

"An immortal official has brought an edict bearing the Human Sovereign's command, summoning everyone who emerged from the Primordial Desolate Battlefield to head to the Human Sovereign Dao Province." The Junior Grandmaster looked at the other eight people, displaying the Human Sovereign token.

"Is it still because of the Primordial Desolate Battlefield?" Zong Changshou asked.

The Junior Grandmaster nodded slightly.

"At the time, alien powerhouses at the Mighty figure level possessed some individuals. The human race is worried that lingering backdoors might remain, so going to the Human Sovereign Dao Province for an inspection will be much safer."

"Let's wait another half-hour. The large-scale teleportation array of the Leizhou sect will be ready then, and we will cross over together."

The nine individuals came to a resting area within the teleportation hall.

"What a troubled autumn," Xu Chen could not help lamenting.