Before entering the
He brought
Xu Qingxuan looked around at the barren surroundings — no sign of civilization within hundreds of miles — and was slightly surprised. "Stinky brother, this place is scarce in spiritual energy. Cultivators wouldn't be caught dead here. Who are you taking me to see?"
"Heh heh, you'll know once you see them."
Jiang Chen sent out a thread of spiritual sense, summoning the Gold-Munching Mouse King.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King received Jiang Chen's call and knew he had returned. It immediately burrowed up from underground.
"Chen Shao, looks like things went smoothly." Old Gold was a massive golden rat, standing as tall as a grown child, a truly imposing sight.
That said, Xu Qingxuan was a martial cultivator who had ventured out on expeditions and seen all manner of monsters and beasts, so encountering the Gold-Munching Mouse King didn't particularly faze her.
"Stinky brother, this big rat can burrow through the ground — that's rather interesting. Is it your contracted beast?" Xu Qingxuan was a girl at heart, and her earlier grievances were quickly forgotten, replaced by curiosity.
Having followed Jiang Chen for so long, the Gold-Munching Mouse King naturally understood human speech. Hearing Xu Qingxuan's words, it bared its teeth and made faces at her.
Xu Qingxuan burst into giggles. "Stinky brother, is it threatening me?"
Jiang Chen smiled. "Qingxuan, don't provoke Old Gold. It's usually pretty even-tempered, but when it gets angry, you won't be able to stop it."
Xu Qingxuan tilted her head, studying the Gold-Munching Mouse King with fascination. "Is it really that powerful?"
The Gold-Munching Mouse King didn't like hearing that at all. It scowled and grumbled, apparently protesting Xu Qingxuan's skepticism.
Jiang Chen laughed and smoothed things over. "All right, Old Gold, don't take it to heart. This is my sister."
"Qingxuan, Old Gold is the leader of the Gold-Munching Mouse clan. Its children and grandchildren are beyond counting. If they all swarmed out at once, they could wipe out an entire kingdom. So tell me — is it powerful or not?"
Xu Qingxuan's eyes widened slightly in surprise, though a trace of disbelief still lingered on her face.
"All right, let's go have a look at our Young Master Tianlin first." Jiang Chen said with a leisurely smile.
"Young Master Tianlin?" Xu Qingxuan's body jolted. "Stinky brother, what did you just say? Young Master Tianlin? He's... where is he?"
"Old Gold, bring him up." Jiang Chen ordered.
The Gold-Munching Mouse King let out a strange cry, dove underground, and brought out Young Master Tianlin.
Young Master Tianlin's entire body was restrained, limp as a dead dog, utterly powerless, his gaze hollow. Every part of him had been sealed by Jiang Chen — even his spiritual sense was locked down. The current Young Master Tianlin was essentially a living corpse, with no reaction to the outside world whatsoever.
"Qingxuan, do you recognize him?" Jiang Chen asked with a smile.
"I do. He's... he's the youngest son of the Pill Emperor." Xu Qingxuan truly did recognize Young Master Tianlin.
"That's right. I didn't expect the Pill Emperor to have such a young son."
Xu Qingxuan's face was full of shock. "Stinky brother, where did you catch this fellow?"
"Pill Fire City, of course. The guy never leaves the city. I went through an enormous amount of trouble to capture him alive, all without anyone noticing."
Jiang Chen smiled. "With this fellow in hand, the Pill Emperor will be forced to think twice before acting. Let's see how he continues to be arrogant now! That old scoundrel wanted to capture you to threaten me, so I had to strike first."
Under normal circumstances, Jiang Chen would never resort to such methods.
But against someone as shameless as the Pill Emperor, the only option was to fight fire with fire.
Xu Qingxuan was speechless for a long moment.
Jiang Chen made it sound easy, but she knew perfectly well that sneaking into Pill Fire City and capturing Young Master Tianlin alive was a feat comparable to climbing to the heavens.
Only someone with extraordinary skill and extraordinary courage could pull it off.
For as long as she could remember, Xu Qingxuan had possessed a competitive fire that drove her to measure herself against Jiang Chen. But at this moment, she could no longer deny it in her heart — her brother truly was a figure she could never hope to match.
"Stinky brother, catching Young Master Tianlin means you've got a real hot potato on your hands." After thinking for a moment, Xu Qingxuan spoke up.
"Heh heh, since I dared to catch him, I'm not afraid of getting burned. By the way, Qingxuan, you should head to the Glass King City first and reunite with Mother and Father."
"What about you? You're not coming with me?" Xu Qingxuan froze, surprised.
Jiang Chen smiled leisurely. "The Pill Emperor is still waiting for me. How could I let his expectations go unfulfilled?"
"Where is he waiting for you?" Xu Qingxuan was somewhat exasperated. She realized that she and her brother truly were not operating on the same level.
Xu Qingxuan's horizons were still focused on the young prodigies of the Upper Eight Domains, and her competitive spirit largely existed within that arena.
But now she had come to understand — her brother, though also a young genius, had already ascended to the very pinnacle of the Upper Eight Domains.