Chapter Thirty-Five: Gathering

  This guy must have encountered a group of bubble mice.

  When he heard Du Mu Ze's scream, Chen Xiao wasn't surprised at all. Just ahead of them, about a hundred feet away, there was a patch of soft and muddy ground where a group of fist-sized rodent-like demons lived underground.

  The puffy mouse walks underground, coming and going like the wind. Its body is like a blown-up bubble, filled with foul-smelling dark green toxic liquid inside. Although the toxicity is not great, when sprayed on people, that stench can drive people crazy.

  What's more, the temper of the bubble mouse is extremely violent. When encountering unfamiliar enemies, these disgusting and ugly little things will collectively choose to self-destruct, with a miserable green ** bursting out from their belly skin, just like a sudden rainstorm, covering the sky and earth, leaving no place to hide.

  "This..."

  When Du Qingxi saw Duanmu Ze, he almost didn't dare to believe his eyes. He looked as if he had been thrown into a dye vat and soaked, with his hair, skin, and snow-white clothes all smeared with a hideous green color, looking like an ugly toad monster.

  If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, it would be hard to imagine that the person in front of me was actually Du Mu Ze, who was as elegant and handsome as a white-clad immortal.

  A gust of wind blew in, and a nauseating stench instantly filled every corner of the space.

  "How disgusting." Song Lin was smoked by the foul smell in the air, making him wide awake, covering his nose and retreating continuously.

  "Isn't he in danger?" Du Qingxi frowned and asked.

  "It's nothing, just a bit smelly."

  Ugh~

  Du Qingxi was smoked almost to the point of vomiting, and immediately left here without hesitation, saying: "Duanmu, hurry up and change your clothes, leave here."

  "How can you all be like this?!"

  Duanmu Ze's eyes widened, and he stared blankly at Du Qingxi and Song Lin, who were far away, his voice filled with a strong sense of sorrow, like an abandoned woman.

  "Duanmu Gongzi, I reminded you just now, but you didn't listen... Alas, you'd better change your clothes quickly, it really stinks." Chen Yao shook his head and turned to leave.

  Du Mu Ze was struck as if by lightning, and he stood there stupidly for a moment, letting out a low growl of extreme grief and indignation.

  Chen Xiao, you absolutely did it on purpose!

  I'm going to kill you!

  Du Mu Ze gasped heavily, but as soon as he smelled the foul odor on himself, he almost fainted, and his heart was filled with another wave of violent anger, thoroughly hating Chen Tai to the bone.

  When Duanmu Ze reappeared, he had restored his usual elegant appearance, but his face was gloomy and his gaze at Chen Tai was as if he wanted to kill him.

  "It seems I've already offended this guy terribly, but as long as Du Qingxi is around, he probably wouldn't dare to make a move against me in secret."

  Chen Xiao shook his head and ignored Endo Takeru's gaze, turning around and walking forward.

  All the way, Du Mu Ze was silent and taciturn, under Chen Yu's leadership, nothing unexpected happened again.

  Du Qingxi followed behind, the surprise in her heart growing thicker and thicker. Along the way, they would encounter some powerful demon beasts more than once, but Chen Yao seemed to be aware of them beforehand, leading the team to carefully avoid them, each time without any danger.

  She had to admit that she had underestimated Chen Yu, because even she occasionally found it difficult to discover those extremely skilled hidden demons.

  In Tanmu Ze Xin's heart, Chen Ting's performance of being familiar with the surroundings made him even more convinced that everything before was Chen Ting's deliberate attempt to make him lose face. For a moment, his hatred for Chen Ting had reached an irreconcilable level, and if not for Du Qingxi being there, he would have killed Chen Ting in the first instance.

  At around dawn, Chen Xiao and others finally passed through the forest that seemed like a natural screen, entered the forbidden land of Nán Màn, and appeared in front of a huge lake.

  This boundless great lake is called Ling Cui Lake, Chen Tang naturally recognized it, the first pre-heavenly demon he personally killed was the double-headed purple rhinoceros that had been cultivating for over 2,000 years in the center of the lake.

  At this moment, tens of thousands of cultivators have gathered beside the Lingyue Lake. As far as the eye can see, there are dense crowds of people, with loud and chaotic conversations rising and falling in waves, making it extremely lively.

  "Isn't the entrance to Nán Màn's underworld above Líng Kuāng Lake?" Chen Tàì looked at the crowd in the distance, feeling somewhat surprised.

  "You don't know?" Du Qingxi seemed even more surprised than Chen Tang.

  Chen Xiao shook his head: "I've never participated in the Nanman Mingyu trial, nor have I paid attention to news about this aspect."

  "Hah, as a child of Songyan City, you haven't even participated in the Nanman Mingyu trial, you're really quite pathetic." Du Mu Ze chimed in from the side, his tone filled with strong disdain.

  Chen Xiao glanced at him and said lightly: "Although I have never been to the Nánmán Míng Domain, I know how to navigate the mountains of Nánmán."

  How to get through the Nanman mountain forest...

  Du Mu Ze's expression changed, and he recalled the icy stinger wasps and bubble mice he had encountered before. His face turned gloomy, as if someone had ripped open a wound on his heart. He spoke slowly and deliberately: "I hope your mouth is as powerful as your skills, don't die in the Nanman Ming Domain."

  This sentence is equivalent to completely falling out with Chen Yu.

  Du Qingxi frowned and glanced at the two of them coldly, saying: "Enough! If you're going to enter the Nán Màn Ming Domain like this, then please leave now!"

  Duanmu Ze twitched his mouth and stopped talking, apparently afraid that Du Qingxi would really drive him away.

  Chen Yu Ba couldn't bear to leave, but looking at Du Qing Xi's extremely cold expression, he thought of the three-year contract they had signed and hesitated to open his mouth.

  A group of people quickened their pace and after dozens of minutes, they appeared on the empty land by the side of Ling Cui Lake.

  As Chen Yao approached, he found that these cultivators were mostly gathered in groups of three to five, holding their swords and being vigilant. Apparently, in this treacherous southern barbarian forbidden land, although they were all competitors, in order to prevent those powerful demonic beasts from rushing out, everyone had unconsciously gathered together.

  After all, the Nanyue Mingyu has not appeared yet, and it's not time to tear off the skin and rob the killing beads.

  The appearance of Chen Yu and his party attracted the attention of most people around them. The reason was simple, the white-robed Yan Ze standing there was like a flag, and any cultivator who had mixed in Longyuan City could recognize that this young man with exceptional demeanor was none other than Yan Ze, the young master of the Yan family.

  "So it was Lord Tongmu!"

  "Ah, Duanmu Gongzi has also arrived!"

  "Lord Duanmu, I never expected to see you here!"

  ……

  All the way, the voices of greetings to Endo Sakura were endless. The eyes that originally had some hostility towards Chen Yu and his group also shrank back. The name of the Endo family was so big that it could be considered a giant in the entire South Territory. Ordinary cultivators didn't have the guts to provoke them.

  At this time, Duanmu Ze's face showed that familiar smile again, with a hint of pride in his reserve, and relying on the dazzling halo on his head, the four of them easily picked out an excellent location.

  Chen Xuan also felt a sense of awe, and couldn't help but feel that the reputation alone was enough to have such a great effect. Those ancient families with deep roots were indeed not living up to their names in vain.

  After being surrounded by the crowd, Du Mu Ze's mood seemed to have improved a lot. He glanced at Chen Tang who was sitting on the ground and frowned: "Hey, you're not qualified as a chef, didn't you see that everyone has been walking all night?"

  Chen Xiao directly ignored him and looked at Du Qingxi: "Do you need something to eat?"

  Du Qingxi thought for a moment, then nodded. As she walked out of the forest, she wore a black veil on her head that could isolate the power of divine souls from prying eyes, covering her face and making it impossible to see her expression.

  Chen Xiao finally got up, took out some ingredients from the storage ring, lit up the spiritual fire and started cooking.

  This storage ring was given to him by Du Qingxi when he left the Qingxi Wine House. Inside, there is a space of about 100 meters, with piles of food stacked up like small mountains. If eaten sparingly, it's enough for several people to eat for two or three years.

  Ignored by Chen Xiao, Duanmu Ze didn't mind at all. Being able to make Chen Xiao cook in front of everyone had already achieved his goal.

  He wants everyone to know that Chen Tang is just a humble cook who follows him around, and not the equal friend he appears to be on the surface.

  At this time, seeing Chen Tang cooking, Endo Tatsuya couldn't help but start looking forward to it. This guy's mood at this time must be really bad, right?

  However, what disappointed Duanmu Ze was that although the surrounding people cast surprised, suspicious, stunned and contemptuous glances from time to time, Chen Tang's expression as the person involved did not change from start to finish.

  Before long, a pot of Hundred Treasure Congee made from over a hundred types of spiritual fruits mixed with the Five Grains Spiritual Porridge was cooked. The enticing aroma of the congee carried the faint scent of fresh fruit wood and wafted gently in all directions.

  Gulu~ Gulu~

  All around, the sound of growling stomachs rose up. Most of the cultivators here were at the Pre-Heavenly stage and couldn't live off nothing like the Zi Fu cultivators could, so they had all brought dry rations with them. But when they smelled this freshly cooked delicious porridge, who wouldn't drool? Their stomachs wouldn't listen!

  "Duanmu Gongzi is indeed a man beyond compare, and he even brings along his personal chef when traveling. This kind of life quality really makes people envy."

  "That's not all, just smelling that porridge aroma, I absolutely know that young man is at least on the level of a two-leaf Spirit Chef!"

  ……

  Du Mu Ze heard this, his heart felt even more at ease, and with a composed expression, he picked up a white dinner napkin to cover his legs, then instructed: "Bring me a bowl of congee."

  Chen Ting was holding a bowl of porridge and drinking it, and replied vaguely: "It's gone."

  It's really gone, and I've filled a bowl for Du Qingxi, one for myself, and another large bowl for Song Lin, who is starving to death, the bottom of the pot has been scraped clean.

  Du Mu Ze lowered his head and took a look at the tablecloth prepared on his leg, then looked at the empty pot, his expression changed unpredictably, magnificent.

  "Hmm, this porridge is delicious, and what's more, it has a unique flavor that's not inferior to our family's top spiritual chef." Song Lin drank the porridge in big gulps, his face filled with satisfaction and bliss, occasionally letting out a loud slurping sound.

  "This porridge must have been created through self-exploration, with a sweet and soft texture that is unlike the usual, its spiritual energy is also condensed without dispersing, pure and lingering, indeed not bad." Du Qingxi nodded in evaluation.

  Seeing that neither of them had any intention of speaking up for themselves, but instead savored the flavor of the Baizhen porridge with gusto, Tuanmu Ze's face grew increasingly unsightly.

  "Huh? That's..."

  At this moment, a commotion arose in the crowd, and all eyes looked far away.

  Du Qingxi looked up and then withdrew her gaze, her expression calm as she said, "So it's that little girl from the Su family. I knew she wouldn't miss this opportunity."

  Is it Su's family?

  Chen Xuan's heart suddenly shook violently, and he abruptly lifted his head.