NOVEL WEB Ch. 22
Chapter 22: Sun-Eating True Scripture
This wasn’t Chen Beiwu trying to be alarmist—there was precedent.
A few years ago, a sensational romantic scandal erupted in the cultivation world of Yuan‑Kong County.
A certain Qi Refining stage genius was caught romancing the direct daughters of two Golden Core Families at the same time. His rival exposed solid proof of his identity as a “Time Management Master.”
Before long, this man vanished from the cultivation world without a trace.
When the incident spread, many cultivators believed it was a mere rumor. How could the daughters of Golden Core Families—darlings of heaven—fall for a mere Qi Refining cultivator? But Chen Beiwu could confirm the story was real.
He knew this Qi Refining genius and had met him several times.
That man was named Chen Xiuran. Exceptionally handsome, he was renowned in Pingchen Township as a local heartthrob, and also happened to be Chen Beiwu’s distant cousin.
Chen Xiuran’s handsomeness defied description. Every time he walked down the street, a flock of women trailed him, all asking for his contact information.
Yet he remained firm in his pursuit of the Dao, rejecting every beauty who came his way—except he couldn’t reject the cultivation resources they brought. In the end, he chose to feast on two bowls of fragrant “soft rice,” offending two Golden Core Families known for strict family traditions.
Now, the grass on his grave was probably three feet high.
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" Xu Lingling waved her hand in front of Chen Beiwu’s face, her eyes fixed on the jade slip in his palm.
"What do you think? Obviously admiring beauties." Chen Beiwu gave her a glance and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Xu Lingling suddenly jogged after him.
Chen Beiwu halted, brow slightly furrowed. "What is it?"
"Here, a gift to congratulate you on advancing to the Seventh Level of Qi Refining. Don’t get the wrong idea."
As soon as she finished speaking, Chen Beiwu felt a great force strike his right palm. He nearly fell over, while Xu Lingling ran off with reddened ears.
Perhaps too shy for her first gift-giving, she hadn’t even watched where she was going. Her right elbow slammed into an old roadside tree without her even realizing.
“Creak!” The ancient tree snapped and crashed to the ground, kicking up a large cloud of dust and causing the corner of Chen Beiwu’s mouth to twitch.
‘This girl gets so shy just giving a gift. If it were a hug, would she break her boyfriend’s bones out of embarrassment?’
That hellish image made Chen Beiwu shake his head.
Stop that!
She gave the gift with good intentions. He shouldn’t overthink it.
Chen Beiwu lowered his head and looked at the jade bottle in his palm. Three large characters were clearly inscribed on it: “Frost-Purifying Pill.”
“This…”
Seeing the pill’s name, Chen Beiwu froze in place, his expression complicated.
On the other side, Xu Ziqing grabbed Xu Lingling in a hug and teased deliberately, "Lingling, are you really that rich?"
She had witnessed everything just now and knew her best friend had feelings for Chen Beiwu. She usually pretended not to know, fearing it would harm their friendship.
She believed that as long as she openly expressed affection for Chen Beiwu, Xu Lingling’s timid nature would keep her from competing.
But now, it seemed even a rabbit would bite when cornered.
Giving Chen Beiwu a gift might have pushed Xu Lingling too far, backfiring in the process.
Upon hearing that, Xu Lingling’s cheeks turned red. She murmured, "It’s not expensive. Teacher Li sold me one pill for just four hundred spirit stones. That’s half the market price. I got a discount for buying three together—only cost a thousand spirit stones."
"And besides, I did it to save someone. It’s not about money." she added.
Xu Ziqing gave a meaningful smile. "Plenty of heavily injured cultivators fall every year in Yuan‑Kong County. Funny how you never had the heart to save them?"
Xu Lingling was immediately at a loss for words.
"Chen Beiwu is the dream guy of many girls in Shouhe No. 2 High School. It’s normal if you’ve fallen for him too," Xu Ziqing said, turning to gaze at the sky.
"I actually..." Xu Lingling wanted to explain but couldn’t find the words.
Then she saw her best friend extend a right hand toward her, as if issuing a duel challenge. "Lingling, how about this—we compete fairly from now on?"
Bathed in sunlight like a goddess, Xu Ziqing made Xu Lingling dazed.
What a joke. She herself was nothing like a lady in private—always breaking things. How could she possibly win against her graceful and gentle best friend?
...
Cultivation Room.
"This is tricky!" Chen Beiwu sighed, eyes shifting between the Spell Jade Slip and the Frost-Purifying Pill.
Too many admirers could also be a tribulation.
One gift was fine. But two—together worth over a thousand lower-grade spirit stones—felt excessive.
If either girl’s parents took issue with him, they could easily use the gifts as leverage to get him shackled and sent off to mine.
‘Thinking so much is pointless. Bottom line is, I’m not strong enough. If I had the strength, I could do whatever I wanted.’ Chen Beiwu glanced at his phone.
As expected, both Xu Ziqing and Xu Lingling had messaged him saying the gifts, once given, were like water spilled—impossible to take back. He should just accept them peacefully.
‘No helping it. I’ll have to pick a time to return the favor to Xu Ziqing, Xu Lingling, and Teacher Li Jiacheng to show my gratitude.’ Chen Beiwu picked up the Spell Jade Slip and looked at Iron Egg.
“Woof?”
Iron Egg tilted his head in confusion.
"Do you want to get stronger?" Chen Beiwu asked seriously.
Iron Egg’s eyes lit up. He barked excitedly, "Woof woof woof!"
"Good. I have here a scripture passed down from ancient times—Sun-Eating True Scripture. Look at the markings on this jade slip. See that golden streak? That means it contains the embryonic form of a top-tier fire-element Divine Power."
Iron Egg’s dog eyes grew wide. He bit down on the jade slip.
"Gently, don’t bite it apart."
Chen Beiwu patted the dog’s head. "Listen, the embryonic form of this Divine Power is called Blazing Flame Convergence. It can harness fire-element spiritual energy to form a Fire Python, usable for both offense and defense. The Fire Python has seven forms. The strongest form can instantly shatter the defenses of a Second-Tier Lesser Beast."
Upon hearing that, Iron Egg dug at the floor in excitement, his tail spinning like a wind-and-fire wheel.
He knew what a Second-Tier Lesser Beast was.
That intimidating Cang Thunder Tiger he saw from afar yesterday—that was a Second-Tier Lesser Beast. It looked crazy powerful!
"So, want to learn it?" Chen Beiwu asked.
Iron Egg nodded madly.
"Then do you want to renegotiate the Verdant Scale Serpent’s share?"
"Woof!"
"Excellent." Chen Beiwu nodded slightly. "Seeing as your heart is firmly set on the Dao, I’ll entrust this embryonic Divine Power to you. Remember, wrap your tongue in demonic aura and lick the jade slip to activate the teaching."
As soon as he finished speaking, Iron Egg began furiously licking the jade slip.
Having successfully ignited Iron Egg’s passion for learning, Chen Beiwu chuckled inwardly.
He hadn’t lied. The dragon-form of the Fire Python in Blazing Flame Convergence could indeed shatter a Second-Tier Lesser Beast’s defenses instantly—but with two conditions: the caster had to reach Foundation Establishment, and also comprehend the Second-Tier top-grade Spiritual Art Blazing Dragon Shatter.