Chapter 329 - I'm Not Good-looking
A few days later, Chen Chen led Xia Xishuang on a treasure hunt in the Boundless Sea.
During this period of time, Xia Xishuang also liked the feeling of finding treasures.
Although the treasures they had found may not be very precious, the thrill of finding them was just very enjoyable for her.
...
"Chen Chen, this seems to be an Undersea Spirit Ginseng!"
Xia Xishuang's voice, which was transmitted via divine senses, appeared in Chen Chen's head. When he heard it, he quickly swam over, only to see that there was indeed an Undersea Spirit Ginseng that was nearly 10,000 years old.
Looking at the Undersea Spirit Ginseng, Chen Chen glanced at the Adversity-Overcoming Seal on his hand and secretly thought. 'Damned Heaven, if you don't get rid of my seal, I'll pick up all the spiritual objects of heaven and earth in the Boundless Sea. Do you believe me or not?"
After threatening for a while, Chen Chen realized that there were no changes to the Adversity-Overcoming Seal, which made him enraged.
"You forced me into this! I'll pick all the treasures now. Since you are unkind to me, I will be unrighteous to you. I don't believe you'd drop a thunderbolt on me, to kill me!"
Chen Chen decided to go all out and reached out to touch the 10,000-year-old Spirit Ginseng, but Xia Xishuang stopped him.
"You don't have to pick it, we'll just look at it."
Xia Xishuang said with a smile.
Of course, she was very clear about Chen Chen's Adversity-Overcoming Seal, so whenever they encountered the spirit objects under the sea, she wouldn't let Chen Chen touch them. She would at most collect some undersea Spirit Pearls and other similar stuff for fun.
Chen Chen retracted his hand and secretly felt a sense of relief.
Now, he had really let go of all his burdens and responsibilities. The only thing that was still making him worried was the Adversity-Overcoming Seal.
During the transcendence of his Essence Soul realm, Heaven gave him the Adversity-Overcoming Seal, so he wondered what the Void Refinement realm tribulation would look like.
If he were to die, Xia Xishuang would be widowed.
In order to delay the arrival of such a day, he stopped cultivating entirely and spent his time thinking about how to enjoy life and have fun now.
The thought of such a good young man with a bright future being forced to become a sloven person who idles about all day made him rather sad.
However, he had a heaven-defying physique, so even if he did nothing except having fun every day, his cultivation level would still increase at a speed that was much faster than ordinary elites.
According to his estimation, at his current rate of progress, he would probably reach the peak of Essence Soul realm and touch the Void Refinement Realm within ten years.
"Ah, with this cultivation level, I can't even suppress it, if I want to."
Chen Chen smiled at Xia Xishuang while sighing continuously.
'There's a chance, I have to contact Yao Qing and see what plans she has for the future. Maybe I can get some inspiration from her.'
...
Back on the shore, he received a message from Nan Pinghai via the communication token.
"Alliance Master, some cultivators have recently entered the area of the Boundless Sea to check for news about you."
"Oh? What did you say?"
"I've already given them instructions, they all say that they haven't seen you."
"That's good." Chen Chen nodded.
It's always better to have one less trouble when possible. Now that he had already let go of almost everything, he couldn't be bothered about the other people in the world out there, let alone think about taking revenge.
"Alliance Master...an expert came today and asked to see you. He claims to be a chancellor of the Great Jing Dynasty and wanted to use the power of the merchant alliance to find you. He also offered an extremely high price."
Hearing these words, Chen Chen was speechless.
Although he had been to the Boundless Sea several times, the news of his arrival had only been circulated within the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan and the Heavenly Diabolism.
Heavenly Diabolism now existed only in name, and there was no way the Jade Tripod Alchemy Clan could have revealed this information to the four imperial dynasties. So, the four imperial dynasties should know nothing about the connection between him and the Boundless Sea.
"An extremely high price? How high exactly?"
"A large batch of materials for alchemy but he said that he would only pay part of it in advance after meeting you and reaching an agreement."
Hearing this, Chen Chen stayed silent for a long time before saying helplessly, "Alright, send him to Kongming Island then."
"Yes!"
...
Half a day later, Chen Chen returned to the State of Jin.
A small flying boat landed on Kongming Island, and seven cultivators from the imperial dynasties walked towards the Crystal Palace under the lead of Nan Pinghai.
Upon sight of such a majestic palace, even the knowledgeable imperial dynasty cultivators were somehow astonished and even more in awe of the master of the merchant alliance.
They had already investigated and found out the strength and power of the alliance, so they could basically conclude that the islands of the Boundless Sea were under the control of the merchant alliance.
That was also the reason that they wanted to cooperate with the merchant alliance to find Chen Chen.
As the saying goes, a powerful foreigner cannot defeat a local tyrant. Within the boundaries of the Boundless Sea, the reputation of the four dynasties was not as good as the Merchant Alliance.
"When you meet the Alliance Master later, make sure to be polite, don't do the same as you do within the imperial dynasties."
Xiao Liang gave some instructions to the other cultivators behind him with his divine senses as he walked.
On the way here, he had already heard a lot of legends about the alliance master.
There were legends that the alliance master manipulated the Void Refinement realm sea demons, and that alone was enough to make him scrupulous.
If not for the support of the four dynasties that were behind him, he really wouldn't dare to see the master of the Merchant Alliance.
When he arrived in front of the palace, Nan Pinghai pointed at the entrance with a calm expression.
"Dear distinguished guests, the alliance master is in the main hall."
Xiao Liang didn't think too much about it and led the others into the palace.
After seeing the decor and arrangements inside the palace, he felt a vague sense of uneasiness.
Faced with such a powerful person of such stature, it seemed a little petty of him to raise that condition.
Soon, the seven people arrived in the depths of the palace and faintly saw a figure through the curtain in front of them.
Xiao Liang thought about it and finally took the initiative to bow to him.
"Greetings, Alliance Master, I'm Xiao Liang of the Great Jing Dynasty. Please come out to see me, Fellow Daoist."
Upon hearing his words, Chen Chen chuckled behind the curtain and said in a different voice, "No hurry, tell me your purpose for coming here."
Xiao Liang was a little peeved. He was the chancellor of the four great dynasties, and even though this alliance master was rich, he still couldn't compare to the four great dynasties.
Yet, the alliance master seemed reluctant to meet him even though he had already taken the initiative to request for it. In his opinion, it was really rude of him.
However, now that he was on their turf, he had no choice but to lower himself.
Just as he was about to speak, Chen Chen explained, "Don't be offended, the reason that I don't want to see you mainly, is that I'm hideous, and I'm afraid of traumatizing all of you."
The sullenness of Xiao Liang's face dissipated a little after he heard those words, but he secretly and maliciously guessed that the alliance master might be the offspring of a sea demon and a human.
Otherwise, why would he be able to control the sea demons?
'Forget it that people and demons can have children. Can humans and fishes have children too? That's really...eccentric. How did such a monster get born in this world? No wonder he's too embarrassed to see anyone!"
Xiao Liang felt disgusted, but he soon smiled and said, "Sorry to be embarrassing myself, Fellow Daoist. At our current cultivation level, physical bodies are just outer shells. Aesthetics don't mean anything to me."
"That makes sense." Chen Chen praised.
Xiao Liang took this opportunity to get straight to the chase. "Fellow Daoist, we have arrived here with no other purpose except to request for you to deploy the resources of the Merchant Alliance to find someone for us. This person's name is Chen Chen, but of course, he is likely to have assumed an alias by now."
"Oh? What does he look like?"
After a long moment of silence, Xiao Liang said, "He has a handsome appearance and an extraordinary temperament..."
"Be more specific."
"He's about eight feet tall, has sharp and bold eyebrows, a dignified and dashing appearance, a domineering and imposing aura..."
Hearing these adjectives, Chen Chen couldn't help but giggle sheepishly.
Sometimes, hearing compliments from people you hate is much more comfortable than hearing compliments from people you like.
If an enemy can praise you despite having a grudge against you, it must be an indisputable fact.
"Well said! I'll help you find him!" Chen Chen immediately clapped his hands and decided.
Xiao Liang did not expect this trip to go so smoothly and was in disbelief for a while.
After coming back to his senses, he said gleefully, "Fellow Daoist, I take my hat off to you. I reckon Chen Chen is very likely to be floating on the Boundless Sea now. Fellow Daoist, you can instruct the people on those giant boats at sea to pay more attention."
"That's not necessary."
Chen Chen smiled faintly and the curtain in front of his body drew open slowly.
When they saw Chen Chen's face, all seven of them including Xiao Liang froze immediately.
Chen Chen remained composed and chuckled. "Didn't you say that the physical body is just an outer shell? Why are you shocked now?"