Chapter 23: Zhu Jiao Template

"Outer Sect Disciple Xu Fan."

Xu Fan carefully sized up Ye Xiaoyao, feeling more and more that he might be the protagonist.

Handsome appearance, Xu Fan didn't want to admit that he was more handsome than himself.

As the sky-defying Qi Fortune, he was no longer the clueless Outer Sect disciple he was when he first joined.

At least the flying sword just now was a peak-grade Treasure Artifact, and it was very likely to be a sealed Dao Tool.

"Haha, so it's Junior Brother Xu."

The young man who seemed to be the protagonist took out a spherical artifact and handed it to Xu Fan.

"Since we've met, this Fixed Water Pearl is a gift from me to you. I hope Junior Brother doesn't mind."

The protagonist-like youth looked at Xu Fan meaningfully, clearly implying that by accepting this artifact, he would help him keep a secret in the future.

Xu Fan ignored the protagonist-like youth's words and instead tried to test him with a phrase.

"Even and odd?"

"Grateful fortune?"

"The river flows east?"

"The bright moon shines at the window?"

Ye Xiaoyao was puzzled by the four consecutive sentences.

"Junior Brother, don't tell me you think the thing is too small." Ye Xiaoyao said with a frown on his face.

Seeing Ye Xiaoyao's reaction, Xu Fan was somewhat disappointed as he took the Fixed Water Pearl in his hand.

"I understand Senior Brother's intentions, thank you for the gift." Xu Fan decided to stay as far away from the protagonist as possible, as being around him could have both great opportunities and great risks.

Generally, a few friends would die around a protagonist.

Xu Fan wouldn't do anything risky.

"I feel relieved that you've accepted the gift."

Ye Xiaoyao then sacrificed the newly-acquired flying sword, turning into a long rainbow and flying towards the sky.

"See you again, Junior Brother Xu~~"

Hearing the noise from the sky, Xu Fan couldn't help but say, "I'd rather not."

Once everything returned to calm, Xu Fan looked at the lake again.

"I wonder if there's anything else in it." Xu Fan decided to search again.

Xu Fan pointed his hand towards the lake, and a small fish the size of a palm jumped out of the water. A purple divine light entered the small fish's body, followed by several more lights.

Now completely under Xu Fan's control, the small fish returned to the lake.

A picture of the underwater world appeared in Xu Fan's mind, and he controlled the small fish to swim towards the bottom of the lake.

An hour later, Xu Fan let out a sigh, giving up control of the small fish.

"Damn, they really picked it clean. Even the worthless Luminous Pearls were taken."

Feeling disappointed, Xu Fan continued on his treasure-seeking journey.

As time passed, the secret realm began to fall into night.

Xu Fan found a relatively exposed spot in the woods and set up his cabin.

Inside the cabin, Xu Fan took out all the spiritual medicines he had collected and counted them one by one.

"What a treasure trove."

At this moment, a low wolf howl sounded, and the dozen or so demon wolves that Xu Fan had controlled during the day came to find him.

As he opened the door, Xu Fan was nearly startled by the more than ten pairs of glowing green eyes.

Each demon wolf had leather-wrapped packages in their mouths.

"Wow, quite a good haul."

Xu Fan casually picked up a beastskin bundle and opened it.

"Sky Scale Grass, Rootless Flower, Purple Copper, Wood Spirit Fruit, and even a few Spirit Stones!"

"Is there a Spirit Stone mine nearby?" Xu Fan excitedly said.

It took a long time for Xu Fan to understand that the Demonic Wolf, whose beastskin bundle was taken away, had found it on a corpse.

"People are dying already."

Xu Fan then started to open the other beastskin bundles and count the loot.

"These things are worth about 200 Spirit Stones, not bad."

Having taken all the items, Xu Fan sent the pack of tool-like Demonic Wolves off to search for more treasures.

"Today, I'll have a good night's sleep, and deal with the rest tomorrow."

In order to refine an Artifact before entering the Secret Realm, Xu Fan was overworking himself relentlessly.

Outside the cabin, a semi-circular light shield enveloped the whole cabin, and after a while, the cabin quietly disappeared from its original place.

Early in the morning, Xu Fan cooked a pot of shredded chicken and spiritual rice porridge, and enjoyed it heartily. After a night of rest, Xu Fan was back at his peak, just a bit hungry.

'Whoosh!'

The sound of something tearing through the air came, and a rainbow light descended beside Xu Fan.

Xu Fan, who was drinking his porridge, didn't raise his head--just hearing the sound, he knew it was Ye Xiaoyao that he had met yesterday. Like the sound of a car, every cultivator had a unique sound for their escape speed.

"Junior Brother Xu, it's you." Ye Xiaoyao smiled, but his eyes were fixed on the pot of porridge next to Xu Fan.

Xu Fan put down his bowl, sighed, and said, "Senior Brother Ye, if you don't mind, come and have some porridge together."

As he spoke, Xu Fan took out a bowl from his storage space and served Ye Xiaoyao a portion of porridge.

Having made up his mind, Xu Fan resolved to keep his distance from this seemingly fortunate person in the future. It was safer to lay low and grow stronger, without taking risks.

Ye Xiaoyao's eyes lit up as he grabbed the bowl and started eating.

He was indeed a bit hungry as he had forgotten to bring any food when he came.

"Senior Brother Ye, you're so amazing. You must be a Reserve Disciple from the A-Class Hall, right?" Xu Fan asked casually, mainly wanting to see if this guy was a lucky protagonist template.

"No, I'm a reserve disciple of Ten Thousand Sword Peak under Elder Yuan Hui." Ye Xiaoyao responded with a smile, his eyes becoming increasingly friendly when looking at Xu Fan.

"Elder Yuan Hui, he is a Great Unification Ability practitioner from the Inner Sect Sword Immortal lineage."

"Senior Brother Ye, your future is boundless." Xu Fan pretended to envy.

Having a powerful master could barely be considered one of the protagonist templates.

At this point, Ye Xiaoyao's smile became somewhat bitter, and Xu Fan immediately caught the change.

"Senior Brother Ye, with your extraordinary talents and recent discovery of a Heavy Treasure in the Secret Realm, you are sure to soar to the skies once we return." Xu Fan continued to flatter.

"I am not afraid to be laughed at by Junior Brother Xu. A few months ago, I was a Foundation Establishment Stage Inner Disciple, but my cultivation mysteriously disappeared, and now I am at the 9th Layer of Qi Refining. I don't even know when this will end."

"Now, I'm thinking of accumulating more worldly possessions, in case I become a First-Order Mortal one day. Living a life of great wealth and luxury wouldn't be a bad choice either." Ye Xiaoyao sighed.

Even his Master sought help from a Tribulation Crossing Stage Great Elder to deal with his situation, but in the end, to no avail.

Upon hearing this, Xu Fan instantly looked at Ye Xiaoyao's hands, and sure enough, there was a simple, unadorned ring.

"I believe that Senior Brother Ye will return to his former self, and take back his own glory."

But Xu Fan was thinking in his heart, "Damn it, now I'm sure this guy is definitely the protagonist, I must stay away from him in the future."

"Thank you for comforting me, Junior Brother Xu. In the past, when others found out about my situation, they would ridicule and mock me. Even if their strength was lower than mine, they would still be glad to see me suffer."

"Junior Brother Xu, you are my friend now." Ye Xiaoyao said sincerely.

No, I don't want to be your friend. Xu Fan's heart was very resistant at the moment.

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