Chapter 1395: Baixiang Tower

Zhou Yuan spent half a day with Elder Xuan on the back mountain. After the elder and the young man finished the entire pot of wine, Zhou Yuan, still reluctant to leave, made an appointment with Elder Xuan for the next day before standing up and departing contentedly.

As Zhou Yuan walked out from the back mountain, he paused. He saw a graceful figure in a white dress, beautiful as an immortal, perched on a nearby rock. Her dark hair swayed gently, and her aura was ethereal.

He looked at the familiar figure, smiled, and with a single step, was by her side.

"Senior Sister Qingchan, it's been many years, and your grace remains unchanged," Zhou Yuan said with a hearty laugh.

"How could I compare to you?" Li Qingchan turned her head, her face exquisitely beautiful. Staring at Zhou Yuan with a hint of a smile on her red lips, she continued, "From now on, you'll be the Alliance Leader of the Cangxuan Alliance. In all of Cangxuan Heaven, no one will be more powerful than you."

"Did the news spread so quickly..."

Zhou Yuan said somewhat helplessly, "If the four great Sacred Sects hadn't refused to yield to each other and failed to integrate for so many years, I wouldn't bother inviting this kind of trouble upon myself."

The identity of the so-called Cangxuan Alliance Leader held no attraction for him. After all, at his level, if he could take that step in the future and truly advance to the Saint realm, he would be a giant no matter where he was. Such power was simply not worth mentioning compared to his own strength.

Li Qingchan, also aware of Zhou Yuan's character and potential, raised her beautiful face to the star-filled night sky and softly said, "Unconsciously, Junior Brother Zhou Yuan, who joined the sect later, has actually reached this point."

"Now, you can be considered the pride of our Cangxuan Sect."

Zhou Yuan laughed heartily, saying, "After these ten-plus years, Senior Sister Qingchan is still as beautiful as when we first met. I remember the first time we met..."

His words suddenly stopped there, for he saw Li Qingchan's gaze, filled with annoyance and embarrassment, directed at him. Her beautiful face, as fair as jade, was completely flushed.

Zhou Yuan was stunned. Memories quickly flickered through his mind, and he finally understood the problem: the first time he directly encountered Li Qingchan was apparently during the Source Pool Festival...

In that scene, Li Qingchan, wearing thin gauze that concealed her graceful body, was bathing in a hot spring, and his head suddenly emerged from the steaming waters, their eyes meeting in a dazed stare.

The memory stopped there, and Zhou Yuan's expression also grew somewhat strange. The atmosphere between them became silent and awkward.

Zhou Yuan almost wished he could slap himself. It was precisely because of this incident that Li Qingchan had chased him for a long time back then, and it was only Yaoyao's intervention that ultimately saved him.

The awkward atmosphere lasted for a while. Finally, Li Qingchan quietly took a deep breath, suppressing her blush, and said, "I came here to tell you that Chu Qing and the others heard you'd returned, so they're hosting a banquet for you at Hundred Fragrance Tower. You still know where Hundred Fragrance Tower is, right?"

"If Alliance Leader Zhou Yuan can still be persuaded, then we will await you at Hundred Fragrance Tower."

As her words fell, her figure transformed into a streak of light, cutting through the night sky and disappearing. That cool, ethereal figure seemed almost to be fleeing.

Zhou Yuan awkwardly scratched his head. Then he looked towards the Cangxuan Sect, his eyes filled with recollection: "Hundred Fragrance Tower..."

In the eyes of new disciples like Zhou Yuan back then, Hundred Fragrance Tower was the most luxurious place. Its delicious delicacies made even Zhou Yuan, a prince from the Great Zhou Dynasty, drool with desire. At that time, being able to invite a few friends to eat there after a mission or cultivation retreat was the ultimate enjoyment.

Zhou Yuan smiled. Once the Cangxuan Alliance was formally established, the entire Cangxuan Heaven would be drawn into a grand situation. At that time, it would likely be impossible to have such leisure.

Therefore, with this leisure, he should take the opportunity to catch up with these old friends.

Hundred Fragrance Tower.

Tonight, Hundred Fragrance Tower was uncharacteristically closed. Inside, it was brightly lit but not receiving guests, which made many Cangxuan Sect disciples observe with curiosity.

"Hundred Fragrance Tower has been booked? Who has such deep pockets?!"

"Didn't the sect previously issue a new rule prohibiting the private booking of Hundred Fragrance Tower? Who dares to violate the prohibition here?"

"You're really slow with the news. The ones who booked Hundred Fragrance Tower tonight are Elder Chu Qing, Li Qingchan, and others... And do you know who they're hosting? It's none other than Senior Brother Zhou Yuan, who left our Cangxuan Sect and whose name now resounds throughout the heavens!"

"Senior Brother Zhou Yuan?! Is it that legendary Senior Brother?!"

"I also heard today that Senior Brother Zhou Yuan has returned and brokered the formation of the Cangxuan Alliance by the four great Sacred Sects to jointly resist the Sacred Palace. And Senior Brother Zhou Yuan is the Alliance Leader of the Cangxuan Alliance!"

"What courage and prestige... Senior Brother Zhou Yuan truly lives up to his reputation as the most outstanding disciple in the history of our Cangxuan Sect."

On the top floor of the pavilion, a lavish banquet was set.

A bald head was always the most eye-catching among the crowd, yet it did not detract from Senior Brother Chu Qing's handsome and dashing appearance.

"Junior Brother Zhou Yuan," Senior Brother Chu Qing said with a grateful expression to Zhou Yuan beside him, "thanks to you for overshadowing my brilliance. Otherwise, the title of the most outstanding disciple in the history of Cangxuan Sect would fall upon me, and that would truly make me miserable."

Li Qingchan, Ye Ge, and the others beside them could only roll their eyes. This guy's shamelessness was truly boundless, yet they also understood that this might genuinely be Chu Qing's heartfelt sentiment. With his level of laziness, he truly wished he could hide himself as the most ordinary disciple so that no one would assign him various tasks.

"Senior Brother Chu Qing, no need to thank me. My brilliance truly cannot be concealed. I've tried my best to be low-key, but there's just no way; my strength doesn't allow it," Zhou Yuan said with a sigh, clinking his wine glass with Chu Qing's.

Chu Qing nodded, "Understood, understood."

Li Qingchan couldn't bear it any longer and interrupted impatiently, "You two, that's enough. Don't ruin our appetite."

However, when their gazes met, everyone held a nostalgic smile. This was Zhou Yuan's first return to Cangxuan Sect after the changes of those years. Those present, such as Kong Sheng, had many conflicts and disputes with Zhou Yuan in the past, but looking back after more than a decade, they could only attribute it to youthful impetuousness. With a cup of wine, all past events were contained within.

As he was immersed in the youthful exuberance with everyone, Zhou Yuan suddenly sensed something. He slightly tilted his head and saw a portly figure in the stairwell, casting a furtive gaze filled with curiosity, respect, and nostalgia.

When that figure saw Zhou Yuan's gaze turn towards him, he clearly panicked. He hastily pulled back his head, intending to turn and flee.

However, as soon as he moved, he found himself strangely standing in front of the lavish banquet table, and for a moment, cold sweat poured down his face.

At the banquet table, silence immediately fell.

Zhou Yuan looked at the somewhat corpulent figure before him. The man's face was exceptionally ugly, covered in centipede-like scars. He was wearing a chef's outer robe, and his presence here made him so nervous that he constantly rubbed his hands, sweating profusely.

Furthermore, there were no Genesis Qi fluctuations on his body. This was not because he had concealed them, but because he genuinely had none.

Zhou Yuan's calm gaze rested on the corpulent man's ugly, distorted face. The latter kept his head down, seemingly not daring to look at him, his eyes holding complex emotions, a mixture of anticipation and timidity.

Zhou Yuan's gaze eventually slowly moved away, and the corpulent man sighed in relief, hastily turning to flee.

However, Zhou Yuan's voice made his steps freeze.

"Shen Wanjin..."

"Why have you become like this?"

Zhou Yuan looked at this man, whose appearance was completely disfigured, yet he recalled the little chubby boy from when he first entered Cangxuan Sect, who always followed closely, calling him "Brother Yuan" on one side and "Sister Yaoyao" on the other.