The Hot Spring Confrontation

Mist curled over the water, fragrant with the scent of a hundred flowers. The hot spring paradise was filled with exotic herbs and rare blooms, with vines and fine trees woven together to form a natural barrier separating each noble’s private pavilion.

Xiao Chen had indeed crossed the boundary. When he caught sight of Yan Qingcheng and Hai Yunxue in their light gauze robes, he knew the situation was unfavorable. Fortunately, his cultivation was deep. With a gentle flutter of his Undying Wings, he flew backward more than ten meters in an instant.

Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon exchanged glances, then hung their heads and followed him back.

Fortunately, no one noticed them, or a commotion would surely have erupted.

When Xiao Chen shed his clothes and sank into the warm spring in bliss, a beautiful maid brought wine. She was a barbarian tribeswoman, with fair, supple skin, two fluffy, furry ears, and a fox tail behind her. The lovely little maid gently placed a sandalwood tray laden with fine wine onto the spring water and said softly, “Sir, do you require any other services?”

“Hm?” Xiao Chen was taken aback. Seeing the maid’s watery eyes, he understood at once. “No, that’s all.”

“Very well. If you need anything, you may pull this bell cord, and we will come at once to fulfill your requests.” The little maid swayed her hips as she withdrew.

Shrouded in mist, Xiao Chen soaked in the warm spring, leaning back against the pool wall. He breathed in the intoxicating fragrance of flowers, took small sips of wine from the floating tray, and felt his entire body relax. It was truly a pleasure.

“I’ll let my body rest a while, then go settle accounts with that scoundrel.”

The layout of the hot spring paradise was a feast for the eyes: built into the mountain slopes, landscaped in garden style, with fragrant flowers and plants. Amid the bustling clamor of Heavenly Emperor City, it was like a pure land detached from the world.

One had to wonder how such delicate plants could thrive in the drifting mist, yet here a hundred flowers vied in splendor, fine trees grew lush, and vines coiled and intertwined.

The tribute wine was pleasantly mellow. Xiao Chen rarely had such an opportunity to unwind. Every pore of his body seemed to open, suffused with ease. All along, his body had been under extreme tension, but now, drinking alone in the hot spring pool, he felt a hint of intoxication.

In that moment, his mind wandered freely. He thought of many things. Having come to the World of Immortality by chance, where would he go from here?

He longed deeply to return to the mortal world. He missed his parents, his friends, everyone he knew. Even the faces of a few old enemies, when they surfaced in his mind, no longer seemed so hateful.

How could he return to the mortal world? The information he had gathered since arriving in this world filled him with a sense of powerlessness. Even those who had broken through life and death and reached the realm of Deathless Longevity would face a near-certain death if they tried to tear through the void and enter the mortal world.

If one had the power to break the void, entering the World of Immortality from the mortal world was like floating downstream, while going from the World of Immortality to the mortal world was like swimming against a raging current. The difference in difficulty was not of the same order.

“Even if it means nine deaths and one chance at life, I want to go back and see.” Since entering the World of Immortality, Xiao Chen had been moving toward this goal: to cultivate unceasingly, striving to one day break into the Deathless Longevity realm.

Someone like Lan Nuo, who maintained eternal youth and reached the Deathless Longevity realm before the age of thirty—such a person appeared not once in a thousand years. She was a true celestial prodigy. Especially against the backdrop of the mortal world’s sparse spiritual energy, being able to cultivate to that level made Lan Nuo’s transcendence all the more remarkable. She was a peerless genius of her age.

Xiao Chen did not expect to enter the Deathless Longevity realm by thirty. The goal he set for himself was to break through to the peak of that realm before the age of forty-five. For ordinary people, this was an unattainable, ethereal target.

But Xiao Chen had no choice but to drive himself so harshly. He was already twenty-one, and his parents were approaching fifty. Twenty-four years from now, he did not know whether his parents would still be alive. He could not afford to waste a single moment.

The next twenty-four years were the most brilliant years of one’s life—the necessary passage from youth into middle age. Would that maiden from the mortal world have become someone else’s wife?

Youth fades, beauty ages.

The emotions once moved would be shattered under the relentless grind of time. Xiao Chen dared not hope. If, twenty-four years later, she still remembered that there had once been a youth named Xiao Chen, he would be content.

“Twenty-four years…” Xiao Chen’s voice carried a trace of bitterness. “I use my youth for cultivation, but I cannot see the outcome.”

A pang of sorrow rose in his heart. He let out a helpless sigh. Those clear eyes, those long lashes, that innocent smile, that slender silhouette—slowly receding, slowly fading. Xiao Chen tugged at his glossy black hair, then abruptly lifted his head.

“Borrowing trouble. I once liked. I was once moved. That is enough.” Xiao Chen’s will was exceptionally firm. He quickly forced himself to shake off the low spirits. “May you find someone truly worthy of your trust.” His gaze seemed to pierce through time and space, once again seeing that clever, smiling, bright-eyed maiden.

Then he pushed aside the sandalwood tray and began to cultivate in the hot spring. If anyone had seen him, they would have muttered that he was a cultivation fanatic.

Keke was also enjoying the hot spring. Even the Little Defiant Dragon seemed to feel a sense of comfort. Both wore expressions of contentment as they paddled around the pool. Finally, Keke swam toward the sandalwood tray, grabbed the wine flask, and took two big gulps. Immediately, it choked, its large eyes brimming with tears. It threw the flask away and scampered out of the pool in a flash.

Xiao Chen was not deeply meditating. Soon he sensed someone approaching—the barbarian maid with the furry ears.

“Young master, I have brought you more wine.”

“Put it here.”

When the little maid placed the tray into the water, Xiao Chen asked, “Is that scoundrel from the Ligen family here?”

“This… You mean Young Master Hoffman?”

“That scoundrel, yes.”

“This…” The little maid hesitated, seemingly troubled.

“Don’t worry. I won’t cause a scene here. From your expression, I can tell that scoundrel is here.” Xiao Chen’s voice was calm, but it carried an overbearing force. “Go tell him that if I do not come to him, he must come to me!”

“J-just like that?” The little maid’s heart pounded. Who was this man? So arrogant! That was a young master of the Ligen family—how many dared to provoke him?

“Yes, exactly like that!”

“If he asks who you are, what should I say?”

“He knows who I am. If he doesn’t, he’s dead!”

“Oh… all right. I’ll go at once.” The little maid fled in panic, feeling that this was definitely a madman.

When the barbarian maid reached Noble Pavilion Seven, a few idle young masters were flirting in the hot spring with several beautiful women in light gauze.

“Is Young Master Hoffman still here?” The barbarian maid knew well the bad habits of these wastrels. She was afraid of these bold, reckless young masters who dared everything in broad daylight.

“Heh, a little barbarian girl. Come over and keep me company.” A chubby youngster grinned unpleasantly at her. “I have a taste for exotic beauties.”

The barbarian maid hurriedly lowered her voice. “Young Master Zhuge, someone is looking for Young Master Hoffman. Do you know if he is still nearby?”

“Heh heh…” Several young masters burst into laughter.

A few wanton women in the water also giggled, their laughter shaking their bodies. One woman pursed her lips. “He’s in the room.”

Not far from the hot spring, among the flowers and trees, stood a row of exquisite wooden cabins covered with vines, blending naturally with the surroundings. From one of the cabins came faint, indistinct moans that made one’s face flush.

“Hoffman, someone’s looking for you!” the chubby youngster shouted mischievously.

“Don’t bother me!” came an impatient voice from the cabin.

“Really not coming out? It’s a barbarian beauty!”

“Bang!”

The cabin door was shoved open. A golden-haired man, hastily wrapped in a bath towel, strode out. He was heavily furred, with hair over an inch long on his chest and thighs—dark, thick, quite frightening. On top of that, he was tall and burly, like a gorilla.

“Tsk tsk, a sweet little barbarian girl. Ha ha…” Hoffman laughed loudly and strode over, followed by a dark-skinned woman in disheveled clothes. She was clearly a seductive vixen, her hips swaying like a water snake’s, her face full of spring passion.

“Young Master Hoffman, there is someone who… who wishes to invite you over,” the barbarian maid said.

“Oh? What’s this?!” Hoffman immediately dropped his lecherous smile, his eyes turning wary. “Who is it?”

“I don’t know the details. He said… for you to come. He is in Noble Pavilion Two.”

Hearing this, Hoffman put away all other thoughts and asked gravely, “What exactly did he say? Repeat it word for word.”

After listening to the barbarian maid’s account, Hoffman’s eyes blazed. “Damn it! Which delusional bastard dares to call me a scoundrel to my face? Tells me to bow my head and come to him? He must be tired of living! And he even dares to brag like that—he must have eaten a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall!”

From the hot spring came the chubby youngster’s laughter: “You’ve got such terrible karma, with so many enemies, you don’t even know who you’ve offended.”

Hoffman glared. “Zhuge Kun, don’t be smug. Don’t you do plenty of dirty deeds yourself? If not two or three a day, at least one. You get people coming to settle scores every day. Can you remember them all?”

A young noble in the spring, holding a pretty young woman, said, “This man is indeed very arrogant. If he dares to speak like that, he must have backing. I think he might be someone you’ve crossed recently.”

“I’ve offended plenty of people. How should I know which one is courting death?” Hoffman cursed viciously, put on a bathrobe, and called to the young masters in the spring, “Come, let’s go see together and teach that pest a lesson.”

Pushing aside the voluptuous women, the young masters got out of the spring and walked toward Noble Pavilion Two where Xiao Chen was.

“Which bastard is so cocky? Calls me Hoffman to come apologize? Are you tired of living?!” The voice arrived before the man. Hoffman, with a patch of black hair on his chest, strode in like a gorilla.

Xiao Chen glanced at him and noticed a familiar face among the four. That moderately handsome young noble was none other than the so-called “seventh brother” of Kanasi, the precious daughter of the Mande family. This was the man who had once invited Xiao Chen to the Mande family’s residence at the beast-fighting arena with a somewhat arrogant air. Xiao Chen had declined, which had set off a chain of events.

Xiao Chen ignored Hoffman and looked at Kanasi’s seventh brother. “We’ve met before. What’s your name?”

“Luo Gu’ao.” For some reason, Luo Gu’ao did not reveal Xiao Chen’s identity.

“You all state your names,” Xiao Chen said coldly, with a commanding tone that sounded like an officer drilling recruits.

“Who the hell are you?! How dare you talk like that? Looking for death?!” A black-haired man with freckles on his face snarled. “Remember, my name is Li Dongbo. You can’t afford to mess with me. Don’t act deep and pretend to be a big shot when you’re nothing.” As he spoke, he stepped forward, as if to slap Xiao Chen, who was sitting in the spring.

“Crack!”

The sound was extraordinarily crisp. But the vicious slap was not dealt by Li Dongbo—it was Xiao Chen who struck, sending Li Dongbo flying sideways with a splash into the hot spring.

“I’ll kill you!” Li Dongbo leaped up from the water, furious. “You’re dead! You’re so dead!”

Xiao Chen ignored him and addressed Hoffman and the other two. “State your names.”

“I’ll say! Who do you think you are?! My name is Hoffman!” The towering Hoffman suppressed his anger, stepped into the spring in one stride, and sat down opposite Xiao Chen. He had made many enemies, so he wanted to see what tricks this pretentious man could play.

“My name is Zhuge Kun,” said the chubby youngster, shaped like a landmine, as he leisurely stepped into the spring.

Xiao Chen almost laughed. How many fat people did the Zhuge family have? This guy’s girth was enough for two people tied together. His pudgy cheeks trembled with fat. Xiao Chen had been planning to look for this very man, but it turned out he was with Hoffman, saving him a lot of trouble.

Finally, Luo Gu’ao also stepped into the spring.

Among the four young masters, Li Dongbo and Hoffman were the most enraged. The man opposite them was far too arrogant. They wished they could beat him to a pulp immediately.

“If you want to die, this is not the way to do it!” Hoffman glared coldly at Xiao Chen, a trace of contempt in his eyes. With just one word from him, the experts guarding outside would rush in and cut Xiao Chen to pieces. That was the source of his boldness.

“I really don’t understand. A golden-haired gorilla like you, so stupidly arrogant, how have you managed to live this long?” Xiao Chen sighed, almost suffocating Hoffman with anger.

“I’ll kill you!” Hoffman nearly jumped up, but then held himself back, grinning viciously. “All right, I’ll play with you slowly.”

“Keke, go bring everyone outside to me. Hm?” Xiao Chen was startled to find that the little white beast had vanished at some point. He felt a sense of foreboding. That little thing was the most mischievous. Where had it run off to in just this short while? Next door, a few Southern Wasteland beauties were soaking in the spring—it hadn’t gone to cause trouble there, had it?

In the adjoining hot spring pool, several Southern Wasteland beauties were scrambling, all trying to corner the little white beast in the water.

“Catch it, quick! Almost got it!”

“There, there! Block it!”

“Oh! I almost had it!”

The little white beast was having a grand time in the water, making the women run and jump around, not caring about revealing their charms as they pursued it.

Long snowy legs, soft jade-like arms, slender waists—gauze fluttered, bodies swayed—a scene that would make any man bleed from his nose.

If a man had stood there, he would surely have been overwhelmed—either his blood would boil until his vessels burst, or he would faint from excitement.

Poor Keke. It had taken two big gulps of wine out of curiosity, and the choke had set its throat on fire. It had fled Noble Pavilion Two in search of some food to wash down the spicy drink, only to end up in the spring of several beautiful women. It had cleaned out their desserts, but that had provoked a wild chase from the women, all of whom were starry-eyed, wanting to hug it tightly.

The little white beast could sense goodwill. It knew they meant no harm and seemed to adore it, but that was precisely what scared it. It didn’t want to use divine arts against them, so it fled around the spring.

Only Yan Qingcheng did not join the chase. She recognized Keke and knew whose beast it was. Her beautiful eyes flickered with thought, and a faint smile slowly crept across her lips.

“Plop!”

“Oh! Why am I suddenly flying and falling into the water?”

Keke had finally acted, using its Binding Art to freeze two women, then scampered back to Noble Pavilion Two like a puff of smoke.