Chapter 74: The Journey of Ancient Tibet

  Along the way, there were naturally many loose cultivators heading towards the ancient land of Gu Cang, forming groups and teams that looked quite impressive.

  When Xiatian walked alone, some monks would come up from time to time to chat with him and ask if he was willing to join their own team. They vowed that they could share a cup of soup in the ancient hidden land, but it's unknown where this confidence came from.

  The summer dust was unbearable, and after refusing several times in a row, another black-bearded monk in his forties came forward to ask.

  Just as Xia Chen was about to refuse again, he suddenly changed his mind and thought that joining a team would be good too. At least he wouldn't have to be bothered by others anymore, so he nodded in agreement.

  "In the lower reaches of the river, may I ask your esteemed surname and great name?" The black-whiskered monk asked with a smile, clasping his fists in greeting.

  "Xiao Tu!" Xia Chen said lightly, casually coming up with a name.

  "It's actually Xiao Brother, I've long admired you!" Xu Changmao laughed and said, but didn't know where this admiration came from.

  Xu Changmao's team was small in number, including Xia Chen, there were only seven people. Apart from Xu Changmao, there were two young men, one middle-aged man and two young women.

  Through Xu Changmao's introduction, Xia Chen nodded to the five of them one by one, and they considered each other acquainted. Everyone saw that he looked ordinary, with a calm expression, thinking he was just an average cultivator, so no one paid attention to him.

  Xu Changmao, although he had only acquired three days of postnatal cultivation, was extremely garrulous and quite capable of winning people's hearts.

  "Have you guys heard? The Qian family has suffered a huge loss this time!" Xu Changmao said with relish, "The young master of the Qian family, Qian Xue Ming, was actually killed in public by a mysterious monk, and Qian Li is furious, searching everywhere for that monk. He's even issued a wanted notice and offered a reward of 10,000 yuanqi dan!"

  "It's so much, it seems that the Qian family has really gone all out." A young woman named Liu Yun exclaimed in surprise, "But this is also no wonder, Qian Li was originally a tyrant in Yunyangdu, now someone killed his only son in public, he wouldn't go crazy if he didn't."

  "Alas, I'm not that lucky. If I had caught that monk, I would have gotten my hands on 10,000 yuan of Qi Dan and could have swaggered around anywhere, no need to come to this ancient temple to try my luck." A young monk exclaimed excitedly.

  "Daydreaming, Wang Jie." Another young cultivator named Zhao Yun sneered, "Someone dares to publicly kill Qian Li's only son, not to mention anything else, just this kind of cunning and bravery is not that of an ordinary cultivator. Who knows, maybe they're even more powerful than Qian Li himself. To look for someone like that, it's simply because you're not satisfied with dying quickly enough, right, Lu Xue?"

  When he said the last four words, he suddenly turned to another young nun, not only was his face full of smiles, but his tone was also soft and gentle, full of fawning intentions.

  Na Lu Xue was quite beautiful in appearance, with a subtle hint of arrogance in her demeanor. Upon hearing the words, she only smiled faintly and didn't say anything.

  King was mocked by Zhao Yun in front of Lu Xue, his face turned red with anger, and he retorted: "Zhao Yun, if you're not dreaming, what are you doing in this ancient land? Do you have a treasure key? You just want to muddy the waters! I know how formidable they are, but it's just talk.

  Zhao Yun's eyebrows rose, and he was about to get angry.

  "Hehe, you two shouldn't quarrel." Xu Changmao said with a smile, "We're all here to muddy the waters and catch fish. We need to work together, or else we'll just end up watching the excitement."

  "Yes, Brother Xu is right." The middle-aged cultivator also acted as a peacemaker, "Our team was already short-handed, if we can't unite and work together, I'm afraid we won't even be able to squeeze into the front row to watch the excitement."

  Zhao Yun and Wang Jie glared at each other, each letting out a disgruntled hum.

  Lu Xue suddenly said coldly: "The vast majority of people are just here to watch the excitement, you still think you can enter Gu Cang? Don't dream about it."

  This bucket of cold water poured down, except for Xia Chen, everyone else had an awkward expression.

  Xu Changmao's face still wore a smile, but it was somewhat unsightly: "Lu Xue, don't speak so absolutely, if you can't enter the ancient storage, then what are you doing here? Moreover, you have the highest cultivation among us, and even you say this, isn't that a blow to everyone's morale?"

  Lu Xue said faintly, "Without the treasure key, you can't enter the ancient storage. Whoever owns the treasure key knows better than to provoke them with their heel. Even if they could be provoked, why should so many cultivators let you have it? Are you here to watch the excitement or what?"

  Liu Yun said with a hint of anger: "Lu Niangzi, you keep saying 'you', I suppose you have a way to enter the ancient storage? I really didn't expect that you would have such skills!"

  She spoke in a sour tone, and all the way, not only Zhao Yun and Wang Jie treated Lu Xue with great courtesy, but also Xu Changmao and the middle-aged Taoist were very attentive to her, while ignoring her, she was extremely jealous in her heart.

  "What qualifications do I have? You probably don't even dare to think about it!" Lu Xue said proudly.

  "Miss Lu Xue, can you really get the treasure key? Then I'll follow you even more closely. If you want me to go east, I'll go east; if you want me to go west, I'll go west. I'll risk boiling water and walking through fire without hesitation!" Zhao Yun's eyes lit up as he spoke in a loud, flattering tone.

  "Miss Lu Xue, I won't say anything more, but I will silently take action. I am willing to work hard for you like a horse or a dog. No matter what task there is, I will listen and obey your orders. Unlike some people who only know how to speak empty boasts." Wang Jie said, also casting a provocative glance at Zhao Yun.

  "Hehe, if Miss Lu Xue really has a way, don't forget about me, old brother." Xu Changmao smiled slightly, completely forgetting the sarcasm from Lu Xue earlier.

  That middle-aged monk also came forward one after another, speaking loudly and saying good things.

  Liu Yun's face turned bright red with humiliation and grievance, wanting to retort, but seeing everyone surrounding Lu Xue, she didn't dare.

  Lu Xue didn't even bother to speak, with a hint of disdain in her eyes. In her opinion, this team wasn't even worthy of her attention.

  Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, Lu Xue saw Xia Chen with a expressionless face, not even looking at her, seemingly indifferent to what she and others were saying, and was taken aback.

  She was proud of her beauty and had a good cultivation, most men she met were infatuated with her, so naturally she was very haughty. This Xiao Tu looked ordinary, not outstanding in any way, yet he didn't even glance at her, it seemed like he was even more arrogant than her, which made her feel indignant.

  "Your Excellency seems to be quite quiet? Are you also confident about entering Gu Zang?" Lu Xue said calmly.

  Xia Chen's eyelids didn't even twitch, as if he hadn't heard. His purpose for joining the team was to avoid being bothered by others in the first place, so what others said had nothing to do with him.

  Lu Xue's face changed, this was the first time she had spoken up but was ignored. Normally only she dared to treat others like that, unexpectedly today she also got a taste of it herself, and couldn't help but grit her teeth in anger, her temper secretly rising.

  "Hey, Miss Lu Xue is asking you a question! Are you deaf, can't you hear?" Zhao Yun said indignantly, seeing his beloved being rebuffed.

  Xia Chen coldly swept a glance at him: "You're talking to me?"

  Zhao Yun was swept by his cold eyes, and suddenly he felt as if he had been poured with ice water from head to toe, his whole body chilled, his spirit shaken, and involuntarily took a step back. He even stuttered when speaking: "I... wasn't, I, I didn't."

  Xia Chen withdrew his gaze and continued walking calmly, neither Lu Xue nor Zhao Yun sparked any interest in him.

  Everyone stared at him in surprise, suddenly feeling that this ordinary-looking, pale-faced monk had an inexplicable and profound aura that couldn't be put into words, but could be felt.

  "Did you not hear me speaking? Or did you simply ignore me?" Lu Xuehan said coldly.

  "Who do you think you are?" Xia Chen said calmly.

  "You!" Lu Xue's eyes flashed with cold stars, her heart seething with extreme anger.

  "Lu Xue, don't mind some boring people. Some people pretend to be indifferent on purpose just to get your attention. If you talk to him, you'll actually fall into his trap. This kind of person is not worth a penny, let's ignore him." Wang Jie said with a flattering tone.

  "Hmph! You're right, if I say anything more, it's as good as giving him face." Lu Xue saw someone giving her an excuse to save face and calmed down a bit, saying coldly.

  "I don't know who didn't give face to whom, but the other person simply disdained to speak with you and yet you still sought trouble without knowing any better." Liu Yun sneered, seeing Xia Chen's furious expression towards Lu Xue made her feel extremely pleased in her heart.

  "Liu Yun, how dare you mock me?" Lu Xue's face turned iron-green, her heart was already seething with anger, and Liu Yun's words made her furious.

  "This is what's called irony." Liu Yun said with a smile, "I just spoke a few words of truth, and you can't take it? You're really lacking in magnanimity."

  "How dare you say I don't have the capacity?" Lu Xue's eyes grew colder.

  "What can you do about it?" Liu Yun said fearlessly.

  Two women were about to come to blows, but Xu Changmao and the middle-aged monk rushed forward to intervene, saying a lot of kind words before finally separating them.

  Zhao Yun and Wang Jie naturally surrounded Lu Xue's side, lavishly flattering and offering their devotion, muttering curses at Xia Chen under their breath.

  "Xu Daoyou, if you still keep that Xiao whatever in the team, I'll quit. I won't coexist with this person, and you can forget about entering Gu Cang too." Lu Xue said indignantly, suddenly speaking out loud.

  Xu Changmao furrowed his brow, Lu Xue was indeed arrogant and difficult to provoke, but after all, she was one of the four strongest in the later stages, and also the person with the highest cultivation in the team. Moreover, judging from her tone, it seemed that she had a way to enter the ancient repository. In comparison, Xia Chen was insignificant, so it was natural not to bother thinking about whether to keep him or not.

  Moreover, the team was on the verge of disintegration, and it all started with Xiao Tu. Xu Changmao also had a grudge against him.

  He calmly said: "Xiao brother, this team has no room for a great god like you, please leave quickly."

  Xia Chen raised his head and looked out, only to see that in front of him was a narrow and vast mountain valley. The surrounding mountains were already packed with cultivators, numbering nearly a thousand.

  It seems that this valley is indeed the ancient burial ground, Xia Chen thought to himself, and without saying a word to Xu Changmao and the others, he left.

  His goal has been achieved, and even if Xu Changmao doesn't say anything, he will still leave the team. As for Xu Changmao and Lu Xue's rudeness, Xia Chen naturally wouldn't take it to heart.

  Xu Changmao originally thought Xia Chen would be very angry or argue a few words, and had already prepared to defend himself, but unexpectedly Xia Chen didn't care at all, and he was taken aback.

  "This guy is really good at pretending to be a bystander, but he's actually just a troublemaker who dares to dream of entering the ancient temple? He should have been kicked out long ago!" Lu Xue said coldly.