Chapter 1642: Sworn Brotherhood
Zhang Ruochen had never heard of such a miraculous clairvoyance before.
So, he decided to test it.
He used illusions and the Thirty-Six Transformations together, even activating the power of the Illusory Pearl, but every time, Xiang Chunan saw through it. His eyes were even more formidable than the Yin-Yang Mirror.
"Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?"
Zhang Ruochen rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on.
Why did he have to run into this reckless fool, Xiang Chunan?
He had painstakingly carved three Time Imprints onto the Daylight Arrow, only to fail to kill the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden. Not only that, but he had lost the lethal arrow and alerted the enemy.
From now on, assassinating the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden would be even more difficult.
Xiang Chunan walked closer to Zhang Ruochen, grinning slyly. "Brother, I'm just wondering, why were you peeping at those ugly women from dozens of miles away? And what were you shooting arrows at them for? Are they your enemies?"
"Ugly women?"
Zhang Ruochen looked at Xiang Chunan with a strange expression.
Although Zhang Ruochen had no interest in the famed Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden, Heavenly Beginning Fairy, or Qie Huairou, he had to admit they were truly peerless beauties, pursued by countless proud sons of heaven.
If they were ugly women, then there probably wasn't a single good-looking woman in the entire world.
Xiang Chunan said, "Right, they're too ugly! Look at their skin, so pale, and their figures are all bumpy and uneven, not round at all. Especially their faces—truly an eyesore. The ugliest one at least had some self-awareness, covering half her face with a cloth. Otherwise, with a face like that, if she walked through our village, she'd get beaten up a lot."
Zhang Ruochen was stunned, then laughed inwardly. If the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden knew she was being described this way, she would probably chase Xiang Chunan to the ends of the earth.
Clearing his throat twice, Zhang Ruochen asked, "So, what kind of woman do you consider beautiful?"
Xiang Chunan's eyes lit up, and drool practically dripped from the corner of his mouth. No one knew what he was thinking, but he said dreamily, "First, her figure has to be perfect. Her waist at least shouldn't be thinner than a bucket, right? Her skin has to be at least as dark as mine. She needs a big face, thick lips, flared ears, and a short neck. Especially her legs—legs are very important. They can't be too thin; at least as thick as a tree stump."
Then, Xiang Chunan sighed long and hard. "Unfortunately, such a peerless beauty is too hard to find. Since coming to Truth Heaven Domain, every woman I've met is uglier than the last. It's truly disheartening."
Zhang Ruochen rubbed the tip of his nose, carefully examining Xiang Chunan. After a long silence, he asked, "Have you ever seen such a peerless beauty?"
"Of course I have! My master's wife and my junior sister are both top-tier beauties," Xiang Chunan said very seriously.
Zhang Ruochen suddenly understood. "So, your understanding of beauty was taught to you by your master's wife?"
"No, it was my master."
Then Xiang Chunan added, "Ever since I was little, my master told me that my master's wife is the number one beauty in all the realms, and my junior sister will become the new number one beauty in the future. Brother, I've never told anyone this secret. If you ever meet my junior sister, don't get any ideas just because she's beautiful. She's already my woman."
Xiang Chunan said this with a mix of pride and caution.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Xiang Chunan with pity. What a pitiful soul, his aesthetic sense twisted since childhood. His master was probably a pitiful man too.
This reckless fool was likely just arriving in the bustling outside world from some isolated place. His earlier mistake was probably unintentional.
Otherwise, instead of patting Zhang Ruochen on the shoulder from behind, he would have smashed Zhang Ruochen's head with a punch.
Zhang Ruochen didn't ask any more questions and prepared to leave quickly, flying toward Kongling Island.
"Brother, wait for me!" Xiang Chunan chased after him.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Why are you following me?"
"Didn't we agree to become sworn brothers?" Xiang Chunan said.
"But we just met."
Xiang Chunan said, "As long as there's fate, why does it matter how long we've known each other?"
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen didn't know how to refute.
This reckless fool's speed was astonishingly fast. Even when Zhang Ruochen used Space Displacement, he could quickly catch up, and Zhang Ruochen couldn't shake him off.
So, Zhang Ruochen stopped, ready to tell him the truth.
Xiang Chunan caught up, panting, and saw Zhang Ruochen waiting for him ahead. His face lit up with joy. "Brother, have you agreed?"
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands behind his back. "Following me is really not a good thing. I have many enemies, some of them very powerful. Their methods are extremely ruthless—they'll not only target me but also those close to me. If you become my sworn brother, aren't you afraid you'll lose your head tomorrow?"
For a reckless fool with no scheming, Zhang Ruochen truly didn't want to harm him. The sight of his senior brothers' and sisters' heads hanging on the gates of Yin-Yang Hall was still vivid in his mind.
Xiang Chunan immediately looked furious. "Am I, Xiang Chunan, someone who fears trouble? Brother, tell me who your enemies are, and I'll go blast them to pieces right now!"
This reckless fool never played by the rules, leaving Zhang Ruochen both amused and helpless. He had no choice but to say, "Fine, if you want to follow, then follow."
Xiang Chunan walked cheerfully beside Zhang Ruochen, laughing boisterously. "To be honest, since coming to Truth Heaven Domain, I haven't known a single person. I don't even have a place to stay. Every day, I find a big tree, sleep on it, and wake up at dawn."
"Don't you cultivate at night?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
"I do cultivate, but I still need to sleep. Otherwise, life would be so boring."
Zhang Ruochen sighed softly, suddenly realizing that the truly pitiful person wasn't Xiang Chunan but himself.
When could he, too, not have to think about anything, worry about anything, or desperately cultivate? When could he just find a tree and sleep peacefully every day?
But he couldn't even remember the last time he slept.
Xiang Chunan suddenly thought of something and asked, "Brother, there's something I need to ask you. Do you know what Truth Esoterica is?"
Zhang Ruochen stopped and stared at Xiang Chunan seriously. "You obtained Truth Esoterica?"
"Yeah, when I was crossing the Truth Sea, every time I passed a layer of the sea, an annoying voice would ring in my head, saying I had obtained some Truth Esoterica. Then, some strange specks of light entered my body. But no matter how much I asked, it never told me what Truth Esoterica is actually useful for," Xiang Chunan said angrily.
Zhang Ruochen looked deeply at Xiang Chunan. Could this reckless fool really be crossing the Truth Sea for the first time?
And on his first crossing, he passed the third layer?
The Moon God had once told Zhang Ruochen that the Truth Esoterica in the world is eternal and unchanging, with a total of "one." Every cultivator who possesses Truth Esoterica will do their utmost to collect others' Truth Esoterica. Once they gather one percent, they can become a Truth Envoy.
Therefore, those who possess Truth Esoterica must keep it a secret.
Once exposed, it would bring a deadly calamity upon them.
Zhang Ruochen said, "Truth Esoterica helps cultivators comprehend the Sacred Dao and has many benefits. Anyway, remember this: never mention this to anyone, or it will bring you great disaster."
"Do I need to be so cautious?" Xiang Chunan asked.
Zhang Ruochen answered firmly, "Yes."
Even a being like the Moon God had repeatedly warned Zhang Ruochen, showing how significant the secret of possessing Truth Esoterica was.
Fortunately, this reckless fool had run into him. Otherwise, he would probably be a dead man by now.
Xiang Chunan didn't know that Zhang Ruochen also possessed Truth Esoterica. With his personality, he wouldn't pose a threat to Zhang Ruochen, so Zhang Ruochen naturally wouldn't take the initiative to deal with him.
Zhang Ruochen's assassination attempt on the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden was mainly to eliminate a potential threat.
After all, the Thousand Star Heavenly Maiden and Xiang Chunan were not the same kind of people.
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Did you go to cross the Truth Sea as soon as you arrived in Truth Heaven Domain?"
"Yeah!" Xiang Chunan said.
Zhang Ruochen was curious. "But your attainment in the Way of Truth is very high. Where did you learn it?"
"My master taught me."
Then Xiang Chunan added, "From a very, very young age, my master had me study some diagrams and patterns, comprehending the principles within them."
"What kind of diagrams and patterns?"
"Just some diagrams and patterns carved on tables, walls, and benches. They're strange and give me a headache to look at. If I don't look, I get a beating," Xiang Chunan said, shuddering at the memory.
Zhang Ruochen frowned, deep in thought.
According to Xiang Chunan, those diagrams and patterns carved on tables, walls, and benches must contain the Way of Truth.
But even gods can only carve Truth Way diagrams in Truth Heaven Domain, based on their own understanding of the Way of Truth. Outside Truth Heaven Domain, without the power of the Truth Divine Temple, even gods cannot manifest the Way of Truth concretely.
Who exactly was Xiang Chunan's master?
Then, Zhang Ruochen asked more questions. Some Xiang Chunan could answer, and some even he didn't know the answer to.
For example, when Zhang Ruochen asked him where the village he and his master lived in was, Xiang Chunan only knew it was in a primeval mountain.
On the night before coming to Truth Heaven Domain, Xiang Chunan and his master got dead drunk. When he woke up, he was no longer in the village but in Truth Heaven Domain, sleeping naked under a big tree.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The cultivators in Truth Heaven Domain are different from the people in your village. Here, you need to be more cautious and not tell everyone everything."
"Hehe, brother, the way you talk is exactly like my master's wife. I can tell you're a good person," Xiang Chunan said, completely ignoring Zhang Ruochen's advice and still laughing boisterously.
"There are no good people without reason in this world, nor bad people without reason."
After saying this, Zhang Ruochen sped up and soon returned to Kongling Island.
Then, Zhang Ruochen introduced Xiang Chunan to Feng Yan. Feng Yan was genuinely hospitable and enjoyed making friends. Soon, he and Xiang Chunan hit it off, chatting and laughing, and he ordered the finest sacred wine to be brought for them to drink together.
"Brother Zhang, it's boring just the two of us drinking. Why won't you have a single drop?" Xiang Chunan complained.
Zhang Ruochen sat in a corner of the pavilion. "It's not that I never drink, but drinking leads to mistakes. It's better not to drink unless necessary."
Xiang Chunan pointed a finger at the sky. "Tonight, the moon is round and big—a perfect day. How about the three of us become sworn brothers? From now on, we'll share blessings and hardships alike."
Feng Yan's expression stirred. "With the bright moon in the sky and a gentle breeze, it's indeed a rare night. What great fate brought the three of us together?"
Then, Feng Yan filled a cup of wine and pushed it toward Zhang Ruochen. "If Brother Zhang thinks highly of us and is willing to become brothers with us, then drink this cup."
Both Feng Yan and Xiang Chunan fixed their eyes on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen frowned. Xiang Chunan was thick-skinned and kept clamoring for a sworn brotherhood, which was understandable. But Feng Yan was a rational and intelligent person—why was he joining in?
Once they became sworn brothers, they would be bound by karma.
Just as Zhang Ruochen hesitated, feeling that such a hasty brotherhood was too rash, Mu Lingxi walked over from under the distant lamplight, like a beautiful elf in the night. Her sweet voice rang out, "Everyone is so enthusiastic, and it's rare to encounter a full moon night. Don't worry about other things anymore—drink this cup of wine!"