"My name is Ye Bufan," Ye Bufan said.
Zhu Zizhen took out a business card and said, "This is my business card with the address of my Xuan Yi Tang. I hope you will have the opportunity to visit and offer guidance."
Ye Bufan nodded. Zhu Zizhen hesitated for a long time, his face turning red.
"Could you leave a contact method?" Zhu Zizhen wasn't satisfied with just giving Ye Bufan his business card. He was afraid Ye Bufan wouldn't visit Xuan Yi Tang, in which case it would be impossible for him to see the Zhu You Thirteen Needles again.
The Zhu You Thirteen Needles, a lost divine acupuncture technique of ancient Chinese medicine, was said to be able to save anyone with a breath left from the clutches of death.
Therefore, the safest method was to get Ye Bufan's contact information.
Zhu Zizhen obtained Ye Bufan's mobile number as he wished. After bidding farewell to everyone, he left happily.
"Yaoyao." At this moment, Elder Chu, who was lying in bed, raised his hands.
"Grandpa." Chu Mengyao went to Elder Chu's side.
"You must thank Mr. Ye properly and arrange accommodation for him. Don't neglect him." Chu He winked at Chu Mengyao. Chu Mengyao understood immediately and nodded.
"Mr. Ye, please come this way. My grandfather wants to have a chat with my father and my cousin."
Chu Mengyao led Ye Bufan to the living room.
"Mr. Ye, thank you for saving my grandfather," Chu Mengyao said. "My attitude in the room just now wasn't good. I apologize."
"Just call me Ye Bufan. 'Mr. Ye' sounds strange. Also, I saved your grandfather to repay a favor." Ye Bufan smiled.
"Repay a favor?" Chu Mengyao looked at Ye Bufan, confused.
"I came to Jinhe to break off my engagement with the Liu family."
"Break off engagement?" Chu Mengyao looked at Ye Bufan's attire and couldn't imagine him having an engagement with a prominent family. Nor did she understand how this related to the favor Ye Bufan claimed to owe her.
"When I arrived in Jinhe, I came straight here to find the Liu family. But I was stopped at the villa entrance. The Liu family wouldn't acknowledge me, and the guards certainly wouldn't let me in. Later, you happened to return from outside, which gave me the chance to enter the villa. To retrieve the other half of the jade pendant my master left with the Liu family," Ye Bufan explained.
"So you don't have a place to stay?" Chu Mengyao asked.
Ye Bufan nodded.
"Since Mr. Ye has nowhere to stay, I'll have someone from downstairs take you to our Chu family hotel. We can also properly express our gratitude."
Chu Qianceng's voice rang out. He had already come out of Chu He's room.
"Dad, I'll take Ye Bufan," Chu Mengyao said.
Seeing that Chu Mengyao wanted to escort him personally, Chu Qianceng couldn't help but frown. A stranger of unknown origin suddenly appearing in their home and saving his critically ill father made him suspicious of his motives.
Thus, under Chu Mengyao's arrangements, Ye Bufan checked into a Chu family hotel.
The sun set in the west, and the moon rose. Moonlight shone into the room through the hotel window.
Ye Bufan sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating the sect's secret technique, the "Nine Revolutions Heavenly Ascension," and exhaled a cloud of turbid air before opening his eyes.
"A few days after descending the mountain, the spiritual energy has become increasingly dense. It seems my master was right; this world is beginning to recover."
Ye Bufan muttered to himself, a sense of urgency stirring within him. From a young age, Lin Xiaoyao had been instilling various knowledge into Ye Bufan, as if he wanted to transfer his entire being into Ye Bufan.
Lin Xiaoyao came from another world. During his ascension, he failed to withstand the nine-nine heavenly tribulation. His cultivation greatly declined, and he was swept into a spatial rift by heavenly lightning, arriving on Earth, where spiritual energy was scarce. However, due to Earth's depleted resources and thin spiritual energy, Lin Xiaoyao was unable to repair his physical body for a long time. After drifting on Earth for several hundred years.
During this time, Lin Xiaoyao traveled the world and discovered that Earth was also a relic of an ancient cultivation civilization. It had transformed into its current state after a war of the gods.
A hundred years ago, Lin Xiaoyao noticed that Earth's spiritual energy began to increase, as if Earth was about to break through the shackles left by the war of the gods. However, the spiritual energy recovery was limited, and his physical body never healed. He was nearing the end of his life and could not wait for the spiritual energy to fully recover.
Therefore, Lin Xiaoyao decided to find an heir. He wanted to leave his mark on this world, to pass on his lifetime of supreme learning, and to let the world know of Lin Xiaoyao's existence. His disciples, if they were to emerge, must make a global name for themselves.
"I wonder what the gift master mentioned is?"
Ye Bufan held the two jade pendants, aligning their fractured edges. Simultaneously, he channeled his true qi into both pendants.
"Buzz—" The two jade pendants emitted a dazzling green light.
Ye Bufan opened his eyes again, and the two jade pendants had miraculously become one.
The next second, the jade pendant vibrated slightly, and the true qi Ye Bufan injected was repelled. This puzzled Ye Bufan.
"Enter!" Ye Bufan held his breath and concentrated, injecting his true qi again, but it was repelled once more, transforming into the two characters "筑基" (Foundation Establishment) in mid-air.
Ye Bufan finally understood that this jade pendant could only be opened when he reached the Foundation Establishment stage. Currently, Ye Bufan's cultivation level was stuck at the peak of the Qi Refining stage, just one step away from Foundation Establishment.
"Bang—"
Just as Ye Bufan put away the jade pendant, the hotel room door was forcefully kicked open, and five people entered the room.
The leader was a bald man, with a cigar in his mouth and wearing a tank top. The four men behind him were dressed in black suits and carried batons, clearly appearing as henchmen.
The bald man walked to the sofa opposite the bed and sat down, looking at Ye Bufan.
"You are Ye Bufan?" the bald man asked.
"I am," Ye Bufan replied.
"With your impoverished appearance, you want to marry into the Liu family?" the bald man said disdainfully, taking another puff of his cigar.
"Are you sent by the Liu family?" Ye Bufan looked at the bald man, understanding his purpose.
"Stop the nonsense. Hand over the marriage contract obediently, and I can make you suffer less," the bald man glanced at Ye Bufan.
"What if I don't?" Ye Bufan looked at the bald man calmly.
"Heh! You've got a tough mouth. I'll see how tough you are later." As the bald man's voice fell, the four men with batons charged forward.
"Kid, don't say I didn't give you a chance," the bald man said leisurely, sitting on the sofa. "Break all his limbs first. Remember, I like the sound of begging, the louder the better."
After speaking, the bald man took a puff of his cigar and closed his eyes, preparing to enjoy Ye Bufan's screams.
But after half a minute, the bald man found the room still quiet and, realizing something was wrong, opened his eyes. Ye Bufan was standing before him, looking at him silently.
Behind Ye Bufan, the four men brought by the bald man lay on the floor, motionless.
"Your fetish is quite peculiar," Ye Bufan's lips curved into a slight smile.
"You court death!" The bald man sprang up, his killing intent boiling, and lunged at Ye Bufan with a palm strike.
Ye Bufan's figure flickered, and the bald man's palm strike missed its target...