"Hmm? We're leaving now? Is it that urgent?"
Tu Shan Che frowned slightly, clearly not expecting Chen Xiao to be in such a hurry.
Chen Xiao gazed into the distance and sighed, "Time waits for no one. The reason the Seven Gods are willing to follow me is because they are about to arrive."
"Hmm? The Seven Gods communicated with you? What did they say?"
Tu Shan Che looked at Chen Xiao in disbelief.
"No."
Chen Xiao shook his head. "As you know, the Seven Gods Trial Realm is just a void, but the moment they decided to follow me, I could feel their will. It's hard to describe, but that's the general idea."
"Oh, I see."
Tu Shan Che nodded slightly and then asked, "Brother Chen, do you have any way or channel to reach the Immortal Hidden Realm?"
Chen Xiao shook his head again. "Not yet. I plan to ask some old friends from the ancient martial sects."
"Ancient martial sects?"
Tu Shan Che sneered. "A bunch of crude martial artists. What could they possibly know?"
Chen Xiao was rendered speechless. Well, that was some blatant contempt.
Tu Shan Che had no personal vendetta against martial artists; he simply looked down on them.
It was because, in his opinion, the martial arts practiced by martial artists were utterly beneath him.
"Brother Chen, actually, I do have an old friend in the Immortal Hidden Realm."
"I can send you to the Immortal Hidden Realm through her channels."
Tu Shan Che hesitated for a moment before suddenly saying.
Chen Xiao was slightly taken aback, then his heart rejoiced. "Brother Tu Shan, if you have this friend, why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Heh, it's not too late to say it now."
Tu Shan Che forced a smile, a smile that seemed to carry a hint of guilt.
Chen Xiao didn't think too much of it. He cupped his hands and said, "Then I'll trouble you, Brother Tu Shan, to introduce me to that friend."
Tu Shan Che pondered for a moment and took out a jade hairpin from his wide sleeve.
Chen Xiao's heart stirred. This jade hairpin wasn't taken from his clothes; it was... Oh, so Tu Shan Che's green robe was a magical artifact with storage space.
No wonder he always wore this outfit, though he changed his inner linings frequently.
"Brother Chen, I'll give you this jade hairpin."
Tu Shan Che's voice interrupted Chen Xiao's thoughts. "Keep this token. Go to Mount Luwu in Xuzhou. There's a Taoist temple there called Lotus Temple. Present this token, and the Taoist priest in the temple will send you to the Immortal Hidden Realm."
Chen Xiao carefully put away the jade hairpin and bowed. "Brother Tu Shan, thank you!"
"You're welcome..."
Tu Shan Che gave a sheepish smile, his expression a little off. He opened his mouth as if he had something to say but hesitated.
Seeing that Tu Shan Che didn't say anything in the end, Chen Xiao didn't dwell on it. He bid farewell. "Brother Tu Shan, we shall part ways here. Until we meet again!"
"Brother Chen, I'll see you out."
Tu Shan Che escorted Chen Xiao to the exit of the Demon Realm's sacred land. The Four Great Demon Kings had also arrived.
Seeing his father about to leave again, Xiao Hei was reluctant. "Father, why are you leaving after only being here for half a day? I haven't spent enough time with you yet!"
Xiao Hei was like a child left behind, lacking paternal love.
Chen Xiao smiled slightly. "I have important matters to attend to and cannot stay here long. I'll visit you again next time."
"What important matters? Father, where are you going? Can I go with you?"
Compared to staying in the Demon Realm's sacred land, Xiao Hei seemed to prefer the outside world.
Before Chen Xiao could reply, the Demon Venerable spoke first, "Your father is going to the Immortal Hidden Realm. Do you dare to go?"
"Then never mind, never mind."
Upon hearing the words 'Immortal Hidden Realm,' Xiao Hei immediately stuck out his tongue, abandoning the idea of accompanying Chen Xiao.
Demon cultivators and human cultivators were sworn enemies. If this little black fox dared to go to the Immortal Hidden Realm, it would be like offering himself up as food.
"Brother Chen, this journey to the Immortal Hidden Realm is extremely perilous. You must be cautious in everything you do and return safely!"
The Demon Venerable admonished.
"Don't worry! I'm leaving, everyone. Mountains remain, and rivers flow. We'll meet again!"
Chen Xiao cupped his hands towards everyone and then turned back, stepping into the teleportation array.
"Mr. Chen, may you return victorious!"
The three Demon Kings cupped their hands and said in unison.
...
After leaving the Qingqiu Secret Realm, Chen Xiao could once again use the Judge's Brush to teleport.
"I am within Xuzhou!"
Chen Xiao quickly wrote a line of text. With a flash of light, Chen Xiao found himself on the streets of an unfamiliar city.
Xuzhou was just a third or fourth-tier city in the country, and it was past midnight. There were hardly any pedestrians on the street.
Not only were there no pedestrians, but even vehicles were scarce. It was as desolate as if the entire city had fallen asleep.
However, this was normal. After all, Xuzhou was located in the northern inland region, with poor economic conditions and lagging urban development, so a less vibrant nightlife was understandable.
Chen Xiao initially intended to go directly to Mount Luwu to find the Lotus Temple, but he suddenly recalled Tu Shan Che's expression when he handed him the jade hairpin.
That expression was somewhat constipated, as if he had something more to say, trying to conceal it...
Wait... Lotus Temple... What kind of Taoist temple would be called that?
The head of this temple was probably a Taoist nun.
Combining that with Tu Shan Che's constipated expression, could it be that the female head of the temple and Tu Shan Che had...
Thinking of this, Chen Xiao imagined a breathtaking story of a female Taoist master and a male fox spirit having a love affair that defied worldly norms.
Yes! It must be like that!
Chen Xiao became increasingly convinced of this.
Since there was such a connection with Tu Shan Che, visiting at night would not be appropriate. It would be better to wait until morning.
After all, it wasn't long until dawn.
Having made up his mind, Chen Xiao thought about finding a hotel or some place to stay.
Although Xuzhou's nightlife was not developed, it was still a city, and finding a hotel or guesthouse shouldn't be a problem.
Chen Xiao strolled along the deserted streets. He didn't find a hotel or guesthouse, but he did find a porridge shop that was still open.
This porridge shop was open twenty-four hours, and there were quite a few customers inside.
Most of them were people who had been drinking all night and came to sober up, as well as taxi drivers.
The spacious porridge shop was bustling with noise and activity, making it quite lively.
Chen Xiao walked into the porridge shop, ordered a bowl of preserved egg and lean meat porridge, three steamed buns, and a few small dishes, and began to eat.
In fact, with his current cultivation, he could already abstain from grain, as he no longer needed to rely on food for energy.
The only reason he ate was to satisfy his cravings.
Besides, it also made him seem more human.
As the warm, smooth, and fragrant porridge entered his mouth, Chen Xiao's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly, he gave a silent thumbs-up.
It was damn delicious! No wonder there were so many customers so late at night!
Just as Chen Xiao was slurping the hot porridge and eating heartily, there was a bang, and the glass door of the porridge shop was forcefully pushed open from the outside.
A slender figure stumbled into the porridge shop and fell to the ground.
"Help! Help me!!!"
The slender figure was a woman. As she fell to the ground, she let out a desperate cry for help.
She was wearing a black silk camisole, with two mounds of white flesh peeking out from her chest. The hem barely covered her delicate, rounded buttocks.
However, her attire and her current disheveled state made it difficult to imagine what had happened.
Her cries for help drew the attention of the customers inside, and at the same time, a series of question marks floated above everyone's heads.
But regardless of the reason, a woman dressed so provocatively bursting into a porridge shop in the middle of the night and crying for help immediately garnered sympathy and affection from the male customers, igniting their overflowing sense of justice.
"Little sister, what happened? Come tell us!"
"That's right, get up quickly. Were you bullied? Don't be afraid, we have so many big men here, we can protect you!"
"Judging by this situation, your boyfriend beat you up? Little sister, you picked the wrong man. Your boyfriend is a scumbag. If I had such a beautiful girlfriend, I would never hit her!"
A group of men stepped forward, showing concern for the slender woman. Although they didn't take advantage of her, their covetous eyes were fixed on certain parts of her body, unmoving.
The woman looked flustered and didn't care about the brazen gazes.
Before she could explain what had happened, a group of hooligans with lewd expressions also barged into the porridge shop.
"Damn it, that little slut runs fast, huh? Damn, run, keep running, where do you think you can run this time?"
The leader of the hooligans was wearing a small suit, tight pants, and driving shoes. He was even wearing tinted sunglasses in the middle of the night, who knows what he was trying to show off.
"Save, save me..."
The woman in the camisole looked terrified and cowered towards the crowd behind.
The group of 'righteous individuals' numbered over ten people, while the hooligans opposite them were only five. They had the numerical advantage.
However, their presence was incomparable.
As the driving-shoe-wearing hooligan glared, the group of 'righteous individuals' involuntarily flinched back.
Some even quietly detached themselves from the crowd, returning to their seats, pretending they were just watching the commotion...
The driving-shoe-wearing hooligan looked at them with disdain and sneered, "Anyone who doesn't want to die, get out of the way. Honestly drink your porridge and stop being nosy!"
Although the group of 'righteous individuals' were unconvinced and unwilling, facing these few menacing hooligans, they ultimately lost the courage to continue 'upholding justice.' They quietly returned to their seats, continuing to drink porridge, pretending that what had just happened didn't occur.
The woman in the camisole gave a wry smile, her eyes filled with despair.
She had long expected this outcome. Men were simply unreliable.
Even her husband, who was legally married to her, had pushed her into a fiery pit. What more could she expect from these unrelated strangers?
But other than that, she had no other options, because she had run all the way and was completely exhausted.
This group of hooligans were not ordinary hooligans.
To her, they were a group of ferocious demons who could take her life.
However, she was helpless and sank into deep despair...