Chapter 288 - Changed In Color
The fire burned for a day, and several miserable screams were emitted from time to time.
Zhou Renlong watched from the side, and his eyelids kept on twitching, but he didn't dare to call for help from anyone.
The scene was too tragic, and if others were to see it, they would probably be traumatized, especially those who were extremely close to Chen Chen. They might even suffer mental and emotional breakdowns after seeing it.
Huff!
On the second day, a breeze blew over, and the flames were gradually extinguished.
Zhou Renlong hurriedly leaned over to see that Chen Chen's appearance had completely changed as he was now covered in a strange golden color.
More importantly, he was no longer breathing, and he looked just like a statue.
"Ahem! Old Zhou, I'm about to be refined into a potion by this fire... Surprisingly, I'm still alive. It's been really tough..."
Before Zhou Renlong could panic and become flustered, Chen Chen suddenly opened his eyes and looked straight up at the sky as he spoke feebly.
Zhou Renlong wiped the cold sweat on his forehead, his heart full of lingering fear.
'Fortunately, this brat didn't die. He may have gone through great hardship today, but at least he's still alive. As long as he's not dead, he can recover.'
"Kid, stop clamoring. It's good enough that you survived. I'll take you back to rest and recuperate."
Hearing Zhou Renlong's words, Chen Chen suddenly sprung up and pulled out a mirror from his storage ring to look at himself.
The man in the mirror was unclothed and completely hairless. If not for his handsome features, Chen Chen wouldn't have been able to tell that it was himself.
Of course, that wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was that the man in the mirror was covered in gold that had a saturated, yellowish hue.
"No... no! I... I'm not going to go back! Damn it, I look hideous. If others see me in this state, it's going to affect my perfect image in their eyes!
Chen Chen punched the mirror, causing it to break into pieces. He then shook his head profusely.
"How do you expect me to explain this when I go back?" Zhou Renlong asked speechlessly.
As a cultivator who actually cared about his appearance, this seemed rather unbelievable in his opinion.
If he was in Chen Chen's shoes, he wouldn't mind looking like poop as long as he could become stronger.
Appearance meant nothing to him.
Chen Chen ignored his gaze and pondered quietly for a moment before saying, "Just tell them that my body refinement cultivation level is about to break through to the Essence Soul realm, and I need to cultivate alone in silence for a while. I will return soon."
After saying that, Chen Chen took out a communication token and relayed the information to Yuan Qingtian and the others without waiting for Zhou Renlong's response.
As for Xishuang, she happened to reach the peak of the Nascent Soul realm lately and was currently in the recluse to break through to the Essence Soul realm. Otherwise, he really wouldn't bear to go into hiding.
After informing the crowd, Chen Chen raised his head to glare at Zhou Renlong.
"Old Zhou, don't let anyone know that I've become so hideous, alright?"
Zhou Renlong frowned slightly. 'What is Chen Chen doing? Is he threatening me?'
At the thought of this, he suddenly felt a little rebellious. As a diabolic cultivator, it was almost an instinctive response.
Seeing this, Chen Chen said with a cold expression, "Old Zhou, you owe me many favors! It may be difficult for you to repay them in this lifetime. Do you remember that Blood Coral? Tsk, tsk, even an Essence Soul realm powerhouse won't be able to get his hands on one by offering his body in exchange!"
At the mention of favors, Zhou Renlong's cheeks twitched, and only after a long time did he say, "I understand..."
"Good that you understand!"
After saying that, Chen Chen's body flickered, and he appeared at a spot that was more than a thousand meters away. At the same time, a suave white robe appeared on his body.
Unfortunately, it didn't come with a hood so Chen Chen couldn't cover his head. Instead, it was sticking out like a sore thumb as it resembled a large yellow lemon.
...
"System, is there anything within a 500-meter radius that can restore my appearance?"
"No."
"How about now?"
"No."
...
Chen Chen headed all the way to the east, asking the system questions along the way while carefully observing the condition of his body. However, neither the system nor himself could change his current appearance.
An hour passed.
Chen Chen's handsome face was once again restored, but there was an additional scarf on his neck now which seemed rather peculiar. A wisp of a bright yellow color could be seen from the seams.
There was nothing he could do. Although what he could is cover his face with a mask, the mask couldn't cover his neck.
That was the only method to conceal the skin of his neck that Chen Chen could think of.
After flying around for a while, Chen Chen found a cave to hide in. He entered and then ducked into the Little Carefree Immortal Palace.
Green Bean, Little Yellow, and the little morning glory didn't laugh at him because they had strange appearances themselves too. Little Yellow and little morning glory felt much closer to him because he now seemed like one of them.
As for Qinglin, she had been focusing on cultivating and seemed to be training her divine senses.
Seeing the state that she was in, Chen Chen could empathize and understand her situation. After all, the divine senses of Qinglin the demoness were now similar to his, and it was only normal for him to feel the pressure.
After taking a deep breath, Chen Chen took out a heavenly treasure, cut it into slices, and then sat down cross-legged as he began to carefully sense the condition of his body today.
...
After staying in the Little Carefree Immortal Palace for some time, the treasures on Chen Chen's face had already been replaced seven or eight times. The treasures that he used all had wood, water, fire, earth, and gold elements.
However, the effects were minimal.
If alchemists saw what he was doing, they would probably be enraged.
They had seen treasures going to waste before, but not to such an extravagant extent!
While swapping the treasures on his face with a different set, Chen Chen took out his communication token and connected the people in Wufeng City.
"Qingtian, nothing has happened to Wufeng City, right?"
"Senior Brother, everything's fine, there are no movements from the demons. When are you coming back?"
"It might take a while."
Chen Chen took out the mirror, looked at himself, and sighed in his heart.
"Oh, it's okay, just wait outside. With the Clan Master, nothing will happen in Wufeng City," Yuan Qingtian answered.
Chen Chen heaved a sigh of relief after hearing that.
After thinking about it again, he added, "Qingtian, if Xishuang is about to transcend the tribulation soon, I'll rush back immediately even if I'm at the critical moment of my cultivation."
"I understand. Don't worry, Senior Brother."
Chen Chen put away the communication token without saying anything else.
He didn't know when his body would return to normal again, and if he still couldn't recover by the time Xia Xishuang transcended the tribulation, he would have to return no matter what.
At the end of the day, he didn't rely on his appearance to sustain a livelihood.
Of course, even though he was now in such a state, he was still far more dashing than most men so he reckoned that Xishuang probably wouldn't mind.
At the end of the day, humans should focus on talent and competency because a handsome appearance is only temporary, but talent will always remain.
At the thought of this, Chen Chen's smile gradually became more and more radiant. Just as he was about to take out another piece of ginseng and slice it up, one of his communication tokens suddenly lit up.
There were only four words on it.
"Master, save me!"
Chen Chen frowned a little when he saw the communication token.
'What is Hu Xian'er getting up to?'
Despite feeling speechless, Chen Chen nevertheless asked quickly.
"What's the matter? Make yourself clear!"
However, he didn't get a further response from that communication token.
Chen Shan's expression changed a little, and he quickly contacted those on Mount Wufeng.
Now, the State of Zhou and State of Jin were under Hu Xian'er's jurisdiction, so if something happened to Hu Xian'er, the people on Mount Wufeng should be able to find out something after some investigation.
As expected.
He soon got a reply from the people on Mount Wufeng.
"Master, we don't know what's going on with that vixen, but the demons of the State of Zhou and State of Jin seem to be showing signs of an impending attack."
Hearing this answer, Chen Chen's face instantly became extremely gloomy.
Clearly, Hu Xian'er was no longer within the two states. Otherwise, she wouldn't have ignored the demons.
Coupled with Hu Xian'er's call for help, Chen Chen could already conclude that something must have happened to Hu Xian'er, and she should be in the demon tribe's territory at this time.
Chen Chen felt a headache coming on when he thought about it.
He had finally handled the matter of the two states and could go to the battlefield on the Western Border without any other concerns. Yet, this happened now, and the situation of the two states had become a huge mess again.
Huff!
After letting out a long sigh, Chen Chen stood up and left the Little Carefree Immortal Palace.
He had long wanted to go to the demon territory, but he hadn't dared to do it. He now had the perfect opportunity.
He naturally had to save Hu Xian'er. Apart from doing so, he also wanted to investigate the background of the master of the Heavenly Diabolism and find out his true identity.