"Looks like I was right. He actually did it. The Ghost Town is gone with our brush, forever," Hu Liman said, sighing.
"I can see the obvious," Fu Qua said in frustration.
"Itâs sad. But at least we wonât have to worry about someone else getting it," Hu Liman added.
"Are you trying to anger me?" Fu Qua yelled.
She started flying towards Long Chen.
"Wait! Donât do anything stupid in anger! Donât forget that heâs much stronger. Donât make him angry!" Hu Liman said as he ran behind Fu Qua.
"What the hell did you do?!" Fu Qua yelled as she landed before Long Chen.
"I? What did I do?" Long Chen asked, acting ignorantly.
"Didnât you say you wonât ruin our exploration and that youâll wait until weâre done?" Fu Qua asked, almost yelling.
"That? I know I promised that, but I just couldnât see the pain of the Spirits after I got here," Long Chen said, sighing. "It was heart-wrenching."
" Moreover, all the men that you sent were taking so long to come here. I couldnât wait. The poor souls waited here, being tormented for thousands of years. Waiting more was no different than doing injustice to them. I couldnât control myself," he added, acting like he couldnât see the pain in this world.
"Iâm sorry, but their redemption was more important than your treasures. Thatâs all Iâll say. In any case, I donât think you all need a formation brush. Youâre already a good formation master. Instead of searching for a treasure, you should focus on yourself," He further said as he prepared to depart.
"How did you know we were after the Formation Brush? On that note, how did you even know that the Formation Brush was here in the first place?" Fu Qua asked, squinting her eyes.
"We can read your mind. Did you really think we wouldnât know of it? Kid, you really underestimate us," Snake Monarch proudly answered as he jumped over Long Chenâs shoulder.
"Donât rely on treasures, young lady. They wonât always support you. In the end, itâs only your own ability that comes to help you," he further said, leaving Fu Qua stunned.
"I think weâre done here. Letâs leave," he told the Snake Monarch.
"Thatâs right. Weâre done here. All the poor souls are free," Long Chen said, nodding.
He glanced at Fu Qua. " Tell your father that Old Qian said hi. If I get time, Iâll soon come to visit that kiddo."
After speaking vague words, Long Chen flew away. He took the Snake Monarch with him as well.
Fu Qua watched the two leave, unable to stop them. She ultimately stomped her foot on the ground in frustration.
"They destroyed everything! Arghhh!"
....
Leaving the upset youngsters behind, Long Chen left the place.
It was only after he went far that he stopped.
"Youâre pretty good at acting. Talking to her as if youâre the teacher of her father. Not bad. You learned from the best, after all," Snake Monarch said proudly.
"Donât waste time. Get bigger. We need to go to the Royal City of Western Empire now."
"Why that place?" Snake Monarch inquired.
"Youâll know when we get there," Long Chen answered.
Snake Monarch started getting bigger. Long Chen sat on top of him while the Snake Monarch flew towards the Western Empire.
" Donât tell me youâre going there to simp over that Princess?" Snake Monarch asked after some time.
"What else could it be if not that?" Xun chimed in.
"Donât be stupid. She might be pretty, but she is not the reason for me going there. The next thing I need is in the treasury of the Western Emperor. Thatâs why I need to get there," Long Chen answered. "So get your head out of the trashcan."
"Inside the treasury of the Western Emperor? Can you even get the item outside from there? I mean, is it even possible?" Snake Monarch asked, stunned.
"Of course I am. But who says Iâm going to fight him? Iâm just going to steal something. Itâll be hard, but it canât be as hard as fighting him," Long Chen let out. "Donât worry that much."
"Thatâs true as well. Youâre pretty good at theft. So donât worry about it. But thereâs still a risk. You must always keep me with you. Iâll protect you from any risk," Snake Monarch responded.
" I canât. Iâll need to use my shadow transformation, and I canât use it with you around. So youâll have to go back to the Beast Region for me to continue ahead," Long Chen let out, shaking his head.
"After Iâm done there, Iâll bring you out again," he added as he smiled.
...
"The way he talked, it seemed like he was even senior to our Sect Master. Do you think heâll know him? It certainly sounded like that," Standing where the Ghost Town used to be, Hu Liman commented.
"Iâll certainly ask my father who this person was. Itâs because of him that we lost the items we were after. Even father canât blame us after this," Fu Qua said as she called out her flying beast to go back.
"Letâs leave. We also need to get to the Western Royal City for the event. We canât miss that," she told Hu Liman.
"I know that," Hu Liman said as he also called out his beast. He and Fu Qua left that place, moving towards their sects.
....
The journey back was also long for Long Chen as it took almost as much time to get there as it took for him to come here from the mountain.
Days kept passing, which were spent in cultivation and training his family inside his Inner World.
At the same time, Long Chen also kept modifying his second inner world, trying to create a perfect prison world where he could trap his enemies and kill them effectively.
Generally, no other cultivators tried it as it was risky. If someone broke their inner world, it was enough to destroy their whole cultivation. Just because of that risk, not many people tried it.
Long Chen, on the other hand, had two inner worlds, both of which were separate. He could afford to have one destroyed, so he didnât worry about that.
Instead, he thoroughly tried to create a perfect world to attack his enemies with. It was also a world where he was a god, but unlike the other world, this one had no civilization. There were no people here, so he could do anything he wanted here, which was what he was using.
As he watched his prison world come closer to the perfect prison world that he imagined, excitement filled his eyes.