A carefree soldier king in the city

Chapter 293 Invitation

"Gentlemen, if I'm not mistaken, you are from one of the eight great cultivation families of HX, right?"

Upon hearing this seemingly casual remark from Chao Bufan's calm and composed face, both elderly people were startled and looked on in surprise.

Chao Bufan smiled faintly and said, "I wonder why you two are following me?"

He Huacheng smiled and said, "Young brother, don't misunderstand. We mean no harm. I just want to ask you a question."

"You two want to ask me questions? Well, there's no need for you to sneak around and follow me like this!"

Murong Jinshui frowned slightly, a hint of anger flashing across his face, and said, "Young brother, what are you saying? Our eight great cultivation families have always acted openly and honestly, never secretly."

Chao Bufan showed no fear and smiled faintly, "Isn't that right? You two have been following me for so long, what else could it be but sneaking around?"

"you……"

Murong Jinshui couldn't stand it any longer and couldn't stand Chao Bufan's unreasonable attitude. Just as he was about to get angry, He Huacheng quickly stopped Murong Jinshui from continuing, and laughed, "What a sharp tongue you have, young brother. Your name is Chao Bufan, right?"

"probably!"

"..." Murong Jinshui was almost speechless with anger. What do you mean by "should be"? If it is, it is; if it isn't, it isn't.

He Huacheng, on the other hand, appeared very magnanimous and laughed, "Young man, I didn't expect you to be so humorous."

Chao Bufan smiled faintly and said, "It's alright, that's just how I am."

He Huacheng said, "I am He Huacheng, the eldest elder of the He family, one of the eight great cultivation families of HX. This is Murong Jinshui, the eldest elder of the Murong family."

Chao Bufan suddenly remembered the two people he had met last night, He Linfeng and He Linyun. He nodded, feeling relieved. No wonder they knew his name; they were from the He family. He smiled slightly and said, "So you are Elder He. My apologies for not recognizing you!"

He Huacheng laughed and said, "Young brother, can you tell me where your cultivation came from?"

Upon hearing this, Chao Bufan chuckled and said, "Elder He, what a question you ask. My cultivation level is of course something I acquired through cultivation, not something I picked up off the street."

"Young man, that's not what I meant. Can you tell me who your teacher is?"

Chao Bufan smiled again and said, "If I said that my cultivation was taught to me by a senior, would you believe me?"

"I believe you, of course I believe you. Young brother, do you know why our eight great cultivation families choose to live in seclusion among the common people?"

"How would I know?"

"Because our eight great cultivation families naturally bear the heavy responsibility of protecting HX. Little brother, you don't know yet, do you? In less than ten years, HX will cease to exist! Even the Earth we live on will be destroyed."

Upon hearing this, Chao Bufan chuckled again and said, "Elder He, do you take me for a three-year-old?"

He Huacheng had anticipated Chao Bufan's reaction, so he said seriously, "Young brother, I'm not lying to you. Have you heard of the 'Black Spirit Domain'?"

"The Black Spirit Realm?" Chao Bufan thought for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Never heard of it."

He Huacheng asked, "Then, young brother, would you be willing to come with us?"

"Go with you? Where to?"

Murong Jinshui said, "Of course, we should go and see the Black Spirit Domain."

Upon hearing this, Chao Bufan frowned and asked, "Why should I go with you?"

He Huacheng said, "Of course, we're going to find out what the Black Spirit Domain is. If you know what the Black Spirit Domain is, then I believe you'll understand why we've been following you."

Chao Bufan, feigning disinterest, said, "Sorry, I'm not interested in what the Black Spirit Realm is. Besides, I'm very..."

Before he could finish the word "busy," the old man said, "Young man, I think you should learn about what the Black Spirit Realm is."

Chao Bufan asked telepathically, "Why?"

"Didn't this person say that you'll know the reason when you go there?"

Chao Bufan thought for a moment and said, "Alright! Then I'll go with them." After composing himself, he changed his mind and said, "Although I'm very busy, this sounds quite interesting. Considering your sincerity, I can go with you. However, I need to understand that you didn't come to me for no reason. Tell me your purpose!"

He Huacheng nodded and said, "Young brother is indeed straightforward, so I will speak frankly as well. In the entire HX, all cultivators come from our eight great families, and there are no others. From what you just said, young brother, your cultivation was taught by a senior. May I ask who this senior is?"

Chao Bufan smiled slightly and said, "I don't know him."

"Oh? You don't recognize him?"

"Well, he didn't tell me who he was when he was teaching me, and he wouldn't let me know either. After he finished teaching me, he left, and I don't know where he went."

He Huacheng and Murong Jinshui frowned in unison, then exchanged a glance, their eyes clearly filled with suspicion. He Huacheng said, "Young brother, don't misunderstand. We just want to find out more, after all, it concerns the future survival of HX. I wonder if you have any awareness of the strange phenomena that occurred in the southwest recently?"

Chao Bufan understood immediately, feigning deep thought, and then asked, "Southwest direction? Strange phenomenon?"

"Young man, you don't know?"

Chao Bufan shook his head and said, "I don't know, can you tell me?"

He Huacheng frowned again, thinking to himself: "He doesn't seem to be lying. Something's not right. We all sensed it, yet he knows nothing." He glanced at Murong Jinshui and then said, "It's like this, young brother. A while ago, a beam of fire appeared simultaneously in the four directions—east, west, south, and north—and landed in a certain place in the southwest. Less than a minute later, four more beams of fire converged there. Everyone in our eight great families sensed it, but unfortunately, by the time we arrived, the phenomenon had vanished. That day, the heads of our eight families pieced together the Eight Directions Divine Fire Mirror, but they couldn't deduce the true nature of the phenomenon. However, we received news that many cultivators from Western countries are flocking to HX, believing that some treasure has appeared there, so..."

Chao Bufan understood immediately, secretly laughing to himself, but said aloud, "Is that so? How come I didn't know? Elder He, were those four streaks of fire really a sign of a treasure's birth?"

Murong Jinshui said, "We can't be sure about that either, but it's highly likely."

He Huacheng said, "We received instructions from the gods that the gates to the various spirit realms have shown signs of loosening. Although there are no living beings in these spirit realms, if the demonic energy or monster energy leaks out, a devastating disaster will surely break out in the human world. Therefore, our eight great families hope to gather all the forces we can to jointly prevent the leakage of demonic energy and monster energy."