Chapter 37

Su Jiao's gaze was calm and serene, silently scrutinizing the young man before her. Her expression was equally tranquil, making it impossible to discern her thoughts.

"Are you Chen Xi?" After a moment, Su Jiao slowly spoke, her voice carrying a hint of condescension.

Chen Xi?

When these words were spoken, the surrounding crowd was baffled. Only those cultivators from Songyan City who heard this name showed a look of surprise.

In Songyan City, who didn't know the name of the ill-fated Chen Xi?

Precisely because they knew this, when they saw Chen Xi mingling with the young masters of several major families in Longyuan City, they were taken aback.

"Damn, how could the ill-fated Chen Xi be here? Isn't he just a useless person who can only make talismans? How could he also participate in the Southern Barbarian Nether Realm trial?" someone said, hardly believing it.

"Ah, I finally remember. He was hiding behind Young Master Duanmu just now. Everyone was captivated by Young Master Duanmu's charm, so we overlooked this guy," someone seized the opportunity to flatter Duanmu Ze.

"Really? Su Jiao is quite a figure. Anyone she calls by name can't be an ordinary person. Hey, who is this Chen Xi?" The visiting cultivators were curious and began to inquire about Chen Xi's identity.

"Haha, you're still too young. I'll tell you, Su Jiao was once Chen Xi's betrothed. It was probably when Chen Xi was four years old..." someone began to recount the scene of Chen Xi's annulled engagement without restraint.

Listening to the loud discussions around him, Chen Xi remained silent, his expression calm to the extreme, as if everything around him was irrelevant.

"Hey, the ill-fated Chen Xi? Is this true?" Duanmu Ze feigned surprise, the mockery and schadenfreude in his eyes evident to anyone who wasn't blind.

"I didn't expect Su Jiao to have such a past with him."

Cang Bin, who had been standing with his arms crossed, glanced at Chen Xi with a look of intense disdain and contempt. "But if I were in her place, I would never marry such a waste of a person."

Amidst the surrounding ridicule and mockery, Chen Xi stood up, his gaze fixed on Su Jiao. Suddenly, he said, "Is my grandfather's death related to you?"

"I..." Su Jiao was taken aback, then her expression turned cold. She frowned and said, "Is my grandfather's death related to me?"

"Are you afraid to admit it?" Chen Xi continued to press.

Pressed by Chen Xi's relentless questioning, Su Jiao was furious. She said, word by word, "Do you think I would explain to a waste from a fallen family? You should understand that our families' engagement is no longer valid. Now, even if I kill you, I won't have to worry about any trouble. Got it?"

Seeing Chen Xi remain silent, a look of disdain flashed in Su Jiao's eyes, and her tone became even more unrestrained. "Even if I killed your grandfather, what could you do with your current strength?"

"Remember, the weak have no right to speak. A poor family background is a先天不足, and mediocre abilities are a后天不足. You have both, yet you dare to speak to me like this. Truly foolish and laughable."

"The next time I see you, if you dare to speak to me like this, I will definitely kill you!"

With that, Su Jiao turned and left with Cang Bin. As she walked away, a serene smile still hung on her beautiful face, like a triumphant queen.

"Su Jiao, I'll take care of Chen Xi. I'll make sure to deal with him until you're satisfied," a clear voice echoed from a distance.

"Lord Li Huai, that's very thoughtful of you, but the Southern Barbarian Nether Realm is more important. Let's put other matters aside for now."

Li Huai?

Chen Xi suddenly looked up, his eyes fixed on the handsome young man in the crowd. He murmured to himself, "The eldest son of the Li family? You are indeed a group..."

"Are you okay?" This was the second time Du Qingxi asked Chen Xi.

Chen Xi shook his head, his expression as calm as ever. Since childhood, he had endured countless ridicule and sarcasm. Su Jiao's slight did not make him feel particularly wronged or angry.

On the contrary, seeing Li Huai and Su Jiao together made him even more certain that his grandfather's death was related to the forces they represented!

Du Qingxi didn't say more, as the Southern Barbarian Nether Realm was about to appear.

Buzz!

A moment later, a strange fluctuation suddenly echoed around Lingkong Lake. The originally calm lake surface seemed to be hit by thousands of bombs, causing waves a hundred feet high to rise.

The waves surged like a hundred-foot-long water dragon, roaring and surging. The spiritual energy in the sky was violently stirred, and the air currents whistled like a hurricane.

Whoosh!

Everyone's attention was drawn to the scene before them.

"The Southern Barbarian Nether Realm is about to appear, everyone step back!"

As the words were spoken, above Lingkong Lake, over a hundred water dragons formed by waves coiled together, creating a huge water vortex that spun wildly.

Almost simultaneously, a massive suction force erupted from the vortex, instantly devouring all the spiritual energy within a hundred miles of Lingkong Lake. The green plants on the ground withered and turned yellow at an alarming rate. A cultivator near the lake was unable to retreat in time and was instantly sucked into the vortex, his body turning into a spray of blood and disappearing in the blink of an eye.

"Be careful! Once you are sucked into the vortex, even a Two Instruments Golden Core cultivator will be instantly shredded into pieces."

Actually, no reminder was needed. After witnessing the scene, everyone had already retreated hundreds of feet, feeling that the vortex's suction force was no longer a threat, and they stood firm with lingering fear.

Rumble!

A thunderous sound suddenly echoed in the sky, and a shocking scene unfolded. Behind the huge vortex, the void seemed to be shattered by a divine hand, inch by inch, and a large 'gate' of black light gradually took shape.

With the appearance of this 'gate,' the terrifying suction force disappeared, and the world returned to normal.

"Go!"

A figure dashed into the 'gate' first.

Seeing this, the others were not about to fall behind. They transformed into black shadows and rushed into the 'gate.'

"Big Sister Qingxi, I'll go ahead."

Su Jiao turned and laughed, her white crane flapping its wings and disappearing into the 'gate.' Cang Bin and Li Huai, riding on flying swords, followed suit.

"Let's go in. This gate to the Southern Barbarian Nether Realm will only appear for a quarter of an hour. The next time it appears will be a month later."

Not long after Su Jiao and her group left, Du Qingxi also led Chen Xi and the others into the 'gate.'

Buzz!

A quarter of an hour later, the area around Lingkong Lake was empty, and the large 'gate' in the sky suddenly disappeared, the void returning to its original state.

Rip!

Just as the 'gate' to the Southern Barbarian Nether Realm disappeared, a pair of long, fair hands emerged from a tear in the void at the edge of Lingkong Lake.

Then, a tall, slender young man in a purple robe stepped out of the tear, stroking his chin and gazing at Lingkong Lake, lost in thought.

The sunlight illuminated his face, and his well-defined features seemed to be intricately carved, exceptionally handsome. His eyes were like a lake, and his pupils seemed to contain two swirling purple thunderbolts, adding a mysterious and eerie aura to him.

"Damn! It turns out to be a wasteland existing in a spatial rift. I thought it was an undiscovered small world. Now I'm in trouble. If that arrogant little girl catches me, I'll be..."

The handsome young man in the purple robe showed a hint of frustration, then sensed something. His sword-like eyebrows shot up, and in a flash, his figure vanished as if evaporated into thin air.

"Escaped again, that damn bastard!"

The void shattered with a bang, revealing a deep, dark tunnel. A beautiful, slender girl stormed out, her eyes scanning the surroundings. Not finding what she was looking for, she stomped her foot in anger and turned to re-enter the void tunnel without hesitation.

In the depths of the Southern Barbarian Mountains, a place recognized by cultivators as the Southern Barbarian Forbidden Zone, a cliff with a waterfall, the void suddenly rippled, and a tall, slender figure emerged, none other than the young man in the purple robe.

"Hmm, there are so many great demons... Not bad, not bad. Hiding here for a while seems like a good choice."

As he spoke, the young man in the purple robe stroked his chin, looked around, and extended his long, fair right hand, gently grabbing into the void. Suddenly, a black python as thick as a bucket appeared in his hand.

The python had a small blood-red horn on its head, its body covered in cloud-like scales, and four small golden claws on its belly.

"Wow, you're about to transform into a dragon, but what a pity. After over five thousand years of cultivation, you'll end up as my meal..."

The young man in the purple robe smiled wickedly, ignoring the python's pleading eyes. He clenched his fingers, which pierced deeply into the python's head like sharp blades.

Puff!

The python's head instantly turned into a shower of blood.

The young man in the purple robe's eyes, like purple vortices, narrowed slightly, and a sharp smile curved at the corners of his lips. He tilted his head back, extended his crimson tongue, and let the blood rain down on his body, savoring the crude and bloody feast.

...

Bang!

Chen Xi had just steadied himself and hadn't had time to look around when a black shadow lunged at him. Without hesitation, he punched out, sending the black shadow flying dozens of feet away.

Roar!

The black shadow lay on the ground, letting out an angry roar.

Chen Xi then saw that the black shadow was a wild beast the size of a calf, with a fierce appearance. Its body was as black as ink, and its eyes were blood-red like copper bells, exuding a savage and cruel aura.

A demonic beast? Is this the Southern Barbarian Nether Realm?

Chen Xi looked around and saw that the sky was shrouded in thick, leaden clouds, faintly tinged with a dark red hue. The ground was covered in rocks and sand, and a fierce wind howled, stirring up dust that spread like a fog, making it impossible to see the horizon.

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Wishing all the high school seniors success in their college entrance exams and admission to their desired universities!