The little yellow chicken, with the significant help of the fatty, quickly reverted to her original form – a beautiful phoenix. Although still somewhat weak, once she regained her phoenix form, she became formidable, no longer easily harmed by anyone.
"Brother Ye, wake up quickly. You don't need to cultivate anymore. The little phoenix has returned to her original state and should be fine. You should wake up too."
Ye Tiancheng had entered a state of deep cultivation. Without Fatty's call, he wouldn't have woken up. Upon hearing Fatty's voice, Ye Tiancheng quickly regained consciousness.
"What's going on?"
"Brother Ye, the ring you gave me and the bracelet are a pair. The bracelet's power activated the ring's function, attracting many small monsters. After I defeated them, I channeled all the spiritual energy generated from subduing demons and eliminating evils directly to the little phoenix. The little phoenix has now recovered her true form, though she's still a bit weak."
Ye Tiancheng hadn't expected such a gain from what was initially a desperate situation. It was a pleasant surprise, truly astonishing.
"That's great! Then we can talk to the little phoenix and find out what happened."
The little phoenix was not human and couldn't speak. Ye Tiancheng had to have the little phoenix enter his spiritual consciousness space so they could communicate telepathically. Ye Tiancheng was eager to know what had happened to Lin Xue that had caused the little phoenix to become so weak, even transforming into a little yellow chicken. It was all very strange and required an explanation.
Soon, guided by Ye Tiancheng's true qi, the little phoenix cooperated fully and entered his spiritual consciousness space, recounting recent events.
Lin Xue had been foolish enough to transfer the curse onto herself. Lin Xue was resisting with her powerful spiritual energy, but even so, it wasn't enough. Everything was spiraling out of control, and Lin Xue had even encountered many tribulations. The little phoenix had been helping her withstand these tribulations, which is why she had turned into a little yellow chicken. Now, she had come to seek Ye Tiancheng's help.
Most importantly, the little phoenix could pinpoint Lin Xue's exact location. This was crucial information, and with it, Ye Tiancheng and Fatty could go find Lin Xue.
The reason they had ventured into this vast desert and experienced so many terrifying things was primarily to search for their beloved disciple. Now that they had specific information about their disciple from the little phoenix, Ye Tiancheng felt ecstatic, overjoyed beyond measure.
"Fatty, I've heard of this location before. It's a very mysterious small city called Tianxiang. A very ancient and elegant name. Since we know where it is, let's set off immediately and go find her."
Ye Tiancheng was impatient. Seeing his disciple as soon as possible was paramount. He only trusted his own eyes; otherwise, he wouldn't believe Lin Xue was safe. He needed to see it with his own eyes to believe it.
"That's wonderful! Brother Ye, I've also been worried about Miss Xue'er's safety. Now that we finally have news, it's a great thing. We must hurry to find Miss Xue'er. I'm worried something might happen in the meantime."
Although Lin Xue was Ye Tiancheng's disciple, Fatty also had a very good relationship with Lin Xue. They were a small, inseparable group, and it was understood that they were all very important to each other.
Ye Tiancheng and Fatty were both a bit excited. After sleeping for less than two hours in the tent, they set off. This small city called Tianxiang, while not prosperous, wasn't far from the provincial capital and was considered a place of revelry. Ye Tiancheng couldn't help but start to worry.
"Fatty, I'm truly a bit scared. I've never been this scared before. I'm starting to worry that the reason Xue'er hasn't appeared is due to the curse's influence, that something has gone wrong, which is why she hasn't shown up."
"Brother Ye, why worry so much? Don't rush, take it slow. I believe Miss Xue'er is very strong and won't easily get into trouble."
Fatty was also feeling uneasy, but he had to comfort Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng had been having too many worries lately, and they couldn't let negative emotions take over. The necessary comfort had to be provided.
With Ye Tiancheng harboring doubts, Fatty quickly urged him to sleep. They needed to reach their destination as quickly as possible, lest further complications arise. If anything else happened, they might lose track of Lin Xue again. The thought alone was quite frightening.
Thus, the two of them nearly worked themselves to death. When they arrived at the city and entered the toll station, both brothers had a profound feeling that they were about to turn into mummified corpses. If they didn't reach their destination soon, they would surely die, perishing on the spot.
Even the attendant at the toll station couldn't help but frown upon seeing their complexions. At that moment, a strong thought struck her: where on earth did these two come from? Why did they look so unfortunate, like desiccated corpses that had been drained dry?
With the phoenix guiding them all the way, finding Lin Xue's location wasn't difficult. Lin Xue had a contractual relationship with the divine beast, and their locations couldn't be hidden from each other. Anytime the phoenix wanted to find Lin Xue, it was easy, with absolutely no obstacles.
The city wasn't very prosperous, but it wasn't dilapidated either. It was a typical medium-sized city, much better than the urban-rural fringe.
However, the location the phoenix led them to seemed rather secluded. After taking a very dim path, they finally arrived at a dilapidated small building.
As it was already dark when they arrived, and the neighborhood was very run-down, with the gate almost collapsing, and most embarrassingly, the streetlights were mostly broken, they had to walk step by step. Fatty nearly slipped several times.
"Fatty, walk slower. We haven't found the person yet, and you're going to slip and fall yourself."
Ye Tiancheng quickly reminded Fatty. He knew Fatty's feelings were the same as his. Of course, they both wanted to see Lin Xue quickly, but there was a saying that haste makes waste. It was better to stabilize themselves. Only when they were truly stable could they make the right decisions.
"I know. You walk slower too. We can't panic. Miss Xue'er is blessed with great fortune and resilience; she'll be fine. Instead, we're thinking too seriously about this, which isn't good for Miss Xue'er either."
The two of them finally slowed down a bit, following the phoenix's tracks. Using their true qi as a guide, Ye Tiancheng followed meticulously, fearing he wouldn't find his beloved disciple.
The neighborhood was extremely run-down. Coupled with the fact that it had rained that afternoon, walking through it, they could clearly feel the muddy terrain that made progress very difficult.
They walked in the neighborhood for an unknown amount of time, feeling as if they were playing a maze game, turning around and around, until they finally stopped under a unit door. "It must be here. Miss Xue'er must be in this building, otherwise the phoenix wouldn't have guided us here."
Ye Tiancheng was also a bit nervous. He cleared his throat, saying nothing, which immediately heightened the tension to its peak.
There was supposed to be a password lock, but the neighborhood was so run-down that the unit door was broken, hanging precariously and seeming like it could fall off at any moment. They quickly entered the unit door, both of them slightly out of breath.
Before they could confirm which floor it was, they held their breath, seemingly unsure how to face what was to come. Both of them had a bad premonition, and when these bad premonitions met, they could trigger an infinite chain of effects.
Before knocking, they didn't say anything, but exchanged glances, both sensing the other's nervousness.
Fatty knocked on the door first. There was no response from inside. This situation made them somewhat uneasy. They weren't the type to wait foolishly outside. Lin Xue was inside, yet there was no sound. According to Lin Xue's usual schedule, she wouldn't be sleeping at this hour. Therefore, the best course of action was to kick the door open.
After kicking the door open, Fatty glanced at Ye Tiancheng, feeling a bit embarrassed. After all, there had been a loud bang, and Fatty was also worried that Ye Tiancheng would blame him for startling his beloved disciple.
However, Ye Tiancheng had already anticipated Fatty's thoughts. Even seeing Fatty kick the door open, he showed no surprise. There was no time for surprise; instead, he immediately rushed in.
As soon as the two of them rushed in, they smelled the scent of alcohol, mixed with a slightly decaying aroma. This scent was very strange.
After all, Ye Tiancheng had never imagined that someone as ethereal as Lin Xue would be associated with alcohol and decay. Even without perfume, Lin Xue would emit a faint fragrance, a transcendent and refreshing scent.
"Xue'er, Master is here. Where are you? Answer Master."
Ye Tiancheng was anxious but dared not intrude into Lin Xue's room without permission. After all, there was a difference between men and women, and even with a master-disciple relationship, some decorum should be maintained.
However, there was no response. Ye Tiancheng had to open a bedroom. As it turned out, that bedroom was empty. Neither on the bed nor on the floor was there anyone. It seemed she was in another bedroom, as this was a two-bedroom, one-living-room apartment; there shouldn't be any mistake.
Ye Tiancheng quickly went to the outside of another bedroom and knocked. There was no sound from inside. Ye Tiancheng thought that if there was no response after a few seconds, he would immediately push the door open. After all, Ye Tiancheng was extremely eager to know his disciple's condition and wouldn't wait foolishly any longer. It was better to take the initiative.
At this critical moment, the door suddenly creaked a few times, and then a faint voice was heard from inside.
"Master."
At that moment, Ye Tiancheng, a grown man, felt nothing but the urge to shed tears. After searching for so long, he finally had an answer, and it was deeply moving.
"Xue'er, Master is here."
Ye Tiancheng opened the door and found Lin Xue sitting on the floor beside the bed, with many wine bottles scattered around. It was obvious that Lin Xue had been drinking. This baffled Ye Tiancheng greatly.
Because Ye Tiancheng had never thought of Lin Xue as a girl with any bad habits. Drinking was something too distant for her. So, even seeing it with his own eyes now, he still found it hard to believe, thinking it was utterly absurd.
"Xue'er, what's wrong? Why are you drinking?"