Submissive Above, Unrestrained Below

**Chapter 7: Unable to Return**

Unnamed High Peak.

Qing’er rested in the cave for several hours and finally relaxed.

“Young Master is too fierce, hehe.”

Qing’er recalled the fierce battles over the past seven days, a shy smile unconsciously appearing on her lips.

She put on a light gauze dress and with a flick of her finger, the spring water in the cave coalesced into a mirror.

Looking at her beautiful face and graceful figure in the mirror, Qing’er felt a mix of joy and worry.

“When the day comes that Young Master grows tired of me, will he chase me away?”

Sigh.

After all, she was merely the Young Master’s servant.

Forget it, why think so much? One happy day at a time.

Qing’er adjusted her dress and gracefully walked towards the cave entrance, unable to take larger steps because it hurt too much.

“Where’s Young Master?”

Qing’er craned her neck to look around but saw no sign of Chen Ansheng.

“Perhaps he’s gone about his business.”

After waiting two days, Chen Ansheng still did not return.

She stood at the cliff’s edge, lost in thought as she gazed at the white clouds rolling like waves.

When the wind blew, she instinctively tightened her dress.

She sat down, resting her chin on her knees.

Her long, black hair swayed in the wind, and the world was enveloped in silence.

“I used to be alone too, but why do I suddenly feel so lonely and uncomfortable?”

A few more days passed.

Qing’er realized that he had probably truly left and would never return.

So frustrating.

But, it didn’t really matter.

Just consider it a dream—what’s there to cry about?

“Amitabha.”

While she was in a daze, someone behind her chanted a Buddha’s name.

Qing’er turned around abruptly and found seven solemn monks standing behind her.

Compared to the Zhi Zhang monk who used to pursue her, these monks exuded a more menacing aura.

“Masters, my grievances with your Brahma Sound Sect have been resolved. I wonder what business you have with me?” Qing’er spoke calmly.

“Bold demoness, do not speak nonsense here.”

One of the chubby-headed monks shouted fiercely, pointing his finger, and a bloody hole appeared in Qing’er’s shoulder.

“Core Integration Stage!”

Fear struck Qing’er’s heart, and her face turned pale.

“Bald donkey! How can you be so unreasonable? My Young Master exchanged a celestial crystal for that so-called Linglong fruit, worth over a thousand times more. How dare you trouble me further!”

The chubby-headed monk sneered, saying, “You insolent demoness, you used demonic arts to confuse Zhi Zhang’s disciple, deceiving him with a mere ordinary stone. How could you hide this from me!”

Qing’er was stunned.

Ordinary stone?

Is the great monk spouting nonsense, or was she also deceived…

“My Young Master’s celestial power is profound; he is definitely not a petty trickster!” Qing’er murmured inwardly and then shouted, “Where is the Zhi Zhang monk? Call him out to confront me!”

“Demoness, do not think to resort to any schemes. To put it bluntly, we are the orthodox Buddhism, and your kind cannot coexist with us. Even without this incident, eliminating you would be our duty as righteous cultivators.” The monk proclaimed solemnly.

“How dare you, monk! I, like all living beings, was born and nurtured by heaven and earth. Why should we not coexist?” Qing’er retorted angrily, her chest heaving.

What a statement about being born of heaven and earth.

The seven monks were left speechless.

“Junior Brothers, do not listen to the demoness’s sophistry. When are we going to act?”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

Clang, clang, clang…

In an instant, several monks drew their magical treasures, the entire high peak trembled, and the sound of clashing metal echoed through the heavens.

—

In the Celestial Realm.

Inside a wild cave in the mountains.

Chen Ansheng let out a long sigh of relief.

It turned out that it was not the Cross-Boundary Stone trying to swallow him, but rather it had transported him back to the Celestial Realm.

Through his mental connection, Chen Ansheng fully understood that the Cross-Boundary Stone had a time limit for its effects.

He had been in the lower realm for seven days, but upon returning, he found that only seven hours had passed.

This meant that time flowed differently between the Celestial Realm and the realm of cultivation—one hour in the Celestial Realm equaled one day in the lower realm.

Chen Ansheng felt this was rather good, as it meant he had more time to live in the lower realm.

The only downside was that each time he went to the lower realm, he could only stay for seven days.

This was related to his own cultivation level; if he broke through to the True Immortal Realm, he could stay longer, though he did not yet know how long.

In summary, the higher the cultivation level, the longer the stay in the lower realm.

Moreover, each time he returned, the Cross-Boundary Stone would seal itself for twelve hours, meaning he would have to wait until the next day to go back to the lower realm.

“Hu.”

Chen Ansheng meditated within the cave for several hours, consuming three celestial crystals, and finally fully recovered.

Since he couldn’t immediately return to the lower realm, Chen Ansheng decided to take a trip to the market.

First, since he intended to establish a sect in the lower realm, he needed to prepare some good supplies.

Second, he planned to inquire about the price of the Tian Tan black wood Buddha beads, as well as other scarce materials from the Celestial Realm.

—

The market was located far from the mining area, and as a common person in the Celestial Realm, Chen Ansheng still couldn’t fly.

He could only spend half a celestial crystal to take a bird to get there.

The market was bustling with activity; most of the miners were off-duty and purchasing necessary supplies.

In the market, there was a Celestial Treasure Pavilion, with branches spread throughout the Celestial Realm. It was rumored to be owned by the brother-in-law of the Wei Yang Celestial Emperor, though whether this was true or not was uncertain.

What was certain was that the Celestial Treasure Pavilion had an excellent reputation for business. Regardless of one’s background or status, they welcomed guests equally.

The magnificent, thousand-acre ancient building complex was where the Celestial Treasure Pavilion was located.

After some inquiries, Chen Ansheng arrived at one of the trading areas.

This was a wide street with stores on both sides, as well as small vendors.

The merchandise was plentiful, from farming tools, weapons, and magical treasures, to elixirs, celestial talismans, and clothing.

Chen Ansheng paused in front of a weapons stall.

Though these items seemed ordinary in the Celestial Realm, if they were to fall into the lower realm, even one of them could be called a top-grade celestial weapon.

After all, these things could only be forged by at least a True Immortal-level weapon master.

“Boss, how much for this dagger?”

Chen Ansheng casually picked up one.

“Good eye, customer! This is a top-quality treasure blade, three hundred celestial crystals, no bargaining.”

“That’s too expensive.”

Chen Ansheng set the dagger down.

He only earned sixty a month; three hundred for a dagger was too much for him.

Moreover, for use in the lower realm, he didn’t need such high quality.

After browsing for a while, Chen Ansheng finally bought two sickles, a rake, and a hammer.

He spent a total of two hundred sixty celestial crystals—farming tools were much cheaper than genuine weapons.

Additionally, Chen Ansheng purchased several celestial talismans. Although they were all of the lowest grade and some were defective, they were still expensive, costing over seven hundred celestial crystals.

He had only saved more than six thousand five hundred celestial crystals, and spending so much all at once was truly painful.

“Forget it, forget it, you have to spend to earn.”

Chen Ansheng comforted himself.

Then, he bought some ordinary herbs and wild fruits from various stalls before entering a shop owned by the Celestial Treasure Pavilion.

“Shopkeeper, do you buy Tian Tan black wood?”

Chen Ansheng got straight to the point.

“Yes, yes, yes! Please have a seat, customer.”

The elderly shopkeeper at the counter greeted him with a smile and had someone prepare celestial tea for him.

“Tian Tan black wood is a rare item. How much do you have? We are willing to take as much as you offer,” the shopkeeper said.

Knowing that the Celestial Treasure Pavilion had an excellent reputation for business, Chen Ansheng was not cautious and directly took out the string of Buddha beads.

“Wow.”

The shopkeeper’s eyes lit up, unable to help but exclaim in admiration!

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