Borrowing a sword

Chapter 38 The Seventh Gate
The next day, early in the morning, Liu Tianfeng led everyone to look for Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang.

Clearly, with the secret realm opening, the Liu father and son, who had been planning for a long time, were already eager to get started.

Niu Yuanshan was also brought along by Deacon Liu.

He planned to bring this kind-hearted man along to protect them outside the secret realm.

If something really happens, he can lend a hand, right?

Old Niu readily agreed to the request.

In Liu Tianfeng's view, this hardworking man was as easy to talk to and warm-hearted as ever.

Little did they know that all of this was exactly what Niu Yuanshan wanted.

There was no way around it; Old Niu had an immense curiosity about Chu Huaixu.

But he didn't want to be slapped again.

However, it's two different things for me to take the initiative to spy on someone and for someone else to ask me for help.

Moreover, he naturally hoped that Chu Huaixu could successfully conquer this Daoist secret realm.

Doesn't this mean that all the benefits inside are pocketed by our organization?
Therefore, today's purpose is not to approach this like-minded person, nor to satisfy my personal voyeuristic desires; this is an operation!

My first action with this newcomer within the Taoist sect!
Chu Huaixu, who had made all the preparations the night before, stretched under everyone's gaze.

The so-called preparations actually involved stocking up on food, water, and daily necessities in the storage token, as well as bringing along the tool person Han Shuangjiang.

"Let me see today whether you, as the protagonist of this world, are any good or not," he thought to himself.

"I'm leaving the household to you," Chu Huaixu said, turning to instruct the servant.

Xu Ziqing nodded and said respectfully, "Yes."

He hadn't expected that he would be all alone after just arriving here.

The lowly servant was extremely envious of their ability to explore the secret realm.

"I wonder if I'll ever have such an opportunity someday." He was incredibly envious.

The group thus arrived at the cold pool.

Along the way, Chu Huaixu kept an eye on the disciples following Liu Chengqi, who were also secretly observing him and Han Shuangjiang.

Liu Tianfeng also gave a brief introduction, and, with unwavering determination, instructed these disciples at the peak of the Qi Refining stage to also protect the two of them.

But only the old man himself knows what he's really thinking.

Upon arriving at their destination, everyone observed the icy pool before them.

Some cold-natured spiritual herbs grow nearby, and in the past, they would absorb the cold air emanating from the cold pool.

Normally, people would feel a chill as soon as they got close to the cold pool.

But today, it's just like any ordinary pond.

That chilling aura had long since vanished without a trace.

Liu Tianfeng took out ten azure beads from his storage token and handed them to everyone: "These are water-repelling beads, please take them."

Han Shuangjiang and that Junior Sister Chen's eyes lit up slightly.

After all, for a woman, if she were to dive down like that, she might end up engaging in a wet and seductive act.

After everyone had put the water-repelling beads into their pockets, Steward Liu began to give his final instructions.

"No one knows what secrets lie within each of the Taoist sect's hidden realms."

"But you can rest assured about one thing: although there may be dangers in the secret realms within the sect, they are tests from your seniors and will not take your lives."

"Furthermore, everyone must remember the sect rules: all opportunities are for those who are destined to receive them. Do not break the rules or cause internal strife among your fellow disciples!"

His words were actually a subtle warning to Chu Huaixu and Han Shuangjiang: don't take advantage of your background and do whatever you want!

After all, this is a major taboo. If it is discovered, even the Sixth Elder will not be able to protect them!
As for the seven disciples he sent, they were all his carefully selected confidants.

He had trained each and every one of them, and this time he had promised them many benefits.

Under normal circumstances, once a disciple has opened all nine orifices, he would be eager to go to the library. Why would he not try to break through to the next level like they are?
They were waiting for the secret realm to open under Liu Tianfeng's orders!
Once inside, he devoted himself to assisting Liu Chengqi and giving him a helping hand.

"Alright, go ahead." Liu Tianfeng waved his hand.

Niu Yuanshan stood to the side, always with a smile on his face, and hardly said a word.

But his gaze was almost entirely fixed on Chu Huaixu.

"The fifth aperture?"

"He has actually opened the fifth acupoint?"

Niu Yuanshan couldn't understand how this was done.

Moreover, he remembered very clearly that the Sixth Elder came to find him again that night, asking him where the jade slip of the "Sword Refining Manual" came from, and calling it an evil technique.

He was quite worried at that time.

"Now that I think about it, could it be that because it's an evil technique, my progress is so rapid?"

This gentle middle-aged man with thick eyebrows and big eyes began to feel a vague sense of worry.

Without realizing it, he truly began to regard Chu Huaixu as a junior member of the family.

At that moment, under Liu Tianfeng's watchful gaze, a slightly chubby disciple was the first to leap into the icy pool. The water-repelling pearl was quite miraculous; this man's jump barely created any splashes.

Everyone entered the cold pool in turn, with Chu Huaixu being the last.

The cold pool was very deep, and I swam there for a long time.

After everyone gathered at the bottom of the pool, they took out the fragments of the Pill King Token together, as instructed by Liu Tianfeng.

The faintly glowing fragments floated up on their own in the water and then gathered together.

The faint light began to grow brighter and brighter, and suddenly a huge whirlpool appeared at the bottom of the pool!

Before the ten people could react, they were all sucked into the vortex.

A dizzying sensation washed over me, making me want to vomit.

Everyone's vision was blurred, and they couldn't see anything around them at all.

Some of the registered disciples with poor mental states were already on edge.

Only Chu Huaixu persevered, maintaining a stable mindset.

The reason is simple: the moment the vortex appeared, he heard a system notification.

"[Ding! Entering the dungeon—Danwang Token!]"

"[The dungeon is currently open]"

Oh, it was loading a bar.

Nearly a minute later, everyone fell heavily to the ground from a height of about one meter.

The vast majority of the registered disciples cried out in pain.

Han Shuangjiang let out a muffled groan.

Only Chu Huaixu remained silent, though he felt a little nauseous.

It's only a tiny bit of pain, why are you yelling like that!
He was the first to get up from the ground and then looked ahead.

He wasn't sure if this was in the underground space of the icy pool or somewhere else.

At this moment, there are ten entrances in front of Chu Huaixu.

It looks like there are ten caves.

"Does this mean that the ten of us will have to split up and each choose an entrance?" Liu Chengqi frowned.

For some reason, after he finished speaking, he subconsciously looked at Chu Huaixu.

He wanted to hear his opinion.

Unexpectedly, Chu Huaixu called Han Shuangjiang aside, and the two began to whisper to each other, ignoring him completely.

"Which one do you want to choose? Follow your own intuition," he said softly to the iceberg.

The cold-faced girl, unsure of his intentions, raised her eyes and glanced at the ten entrances.

“The seventh one, starting from the left,” she said.

There was no other reason, it was simply because she liked number seven the most out of ten.

"Okay." Chu Huaixu nodded.

Then, he turned to Liu Chengqi and the others and said loudly, "Fellow senior brothers and sisters, have you made your choices yet?"

"Why don't you go first, junior brother?"

“We’ll choose these two entrances,” he said, pointing to entrances seven and eight.

Upon hearing this, Liu Chengqi's eyes darkened slightly, and he felt displeased.

Fortunately, he himself prefers the number nine.

Nine is the ultimate number!

Therefore, his eyes shifted, but in the end he just smiled and said, "Alright, then numbers seven and eight will be given to Junior Brother Chu and Junior Sister Han."

Before long, everyone had chosen their own entrance.

"Shall we go in?" Liu Chengqi took the initiative to take charge of the overall situation again.

This time, Chu Huaixu finally responded to him: "Okay."

The crowd hurried forward, eager to get started.

Just as Han Shuangjiang was about to enter the entrance, her arm was suddenly grabbed by a large hand.

"What's wrong?" She looked at Chu Huaixu, who was holding her, with a puzzled expression.

Even through her clothes, she could feel that the large hand was quite hot.

Chu Huaixu simply pulled her arm and looked into her eyes.

"We won't separate; I'll go in with you."

(P.S.: Second update, please vote with monthly tickets.)

(I'll probably post both chapters together at noon from now on.)
(End of this chapter)