The protagonist stole my spiritual root? Hey, heroine, give birth to me!

The distance between Flamefeather City and Zhou Capital is still quite far.

If Chen Xuan were to recover his previous cultivation level, it would take him a day to travel back. But right now, he hasn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage, so there's no telling how long it would take.

After a long journey alone, he arrived at a small town called Qingshan Town.

Located on the edge of the Monster Mountain Range and relatively close to the capital, this place is quite prosperous. Merchants, travelers, and cultivators from all directions gather here to trade, exchange ideas, and cultivate.

Of course, many more people are cultivators who enter the Monster Beast Mountain Range to train and search for treasures. Or they kill monsters, and the materials and meat from their bodies are also quite valuable.

But the most expensive of them are the cubs of monsters.

Once you obtain a cub, raise it by your side from a young age, and it will become an indispensable right-hand man in the future.

If the monster obtained has great potential, the profits will be even more immeasurable!

However, Chen Xuan didn't have time for that kind of training. Zhou Jingqi from Zhou Du hadn't even made her appearance yet, and he needed to prevent her from meeting Qin Feng in advance.

"Ding! An unknown chosen one of destiny has been discovered within a radius of 1000 li."

"A mission is hereby issued: find the chosen one of destiny. Mission reward: 5 years of cultivation."

Chen Xuan: "..."

"1000 li! What's the difference between that and not saying anything at all!"

"Wait a minute, this is a novel about Qin Feng, how come there's a new Chosen One?! Could this be a multi-world fusion?"

Upon hearing the system's notification, Chen Xuan couldn't help but inwardly complain. The 1000-mile distance was just the radius; if he wanted to complete the entire loop, it would probably take him forever!

"Forget it, with your system, I'm inherently at odds with this group of chosen ones. Since we've discovered his trail, let's give it a try. There's still some time before Zhou Du's matter comes up." Chen Xuan changed his mind.

He thought that as long as he won over Zhou Jingqi and then seized Qin Feng's opportunity, the time would come for him to reach his peak. Unfortunately, there were other chosen ones out there!

Upon entering Qingshan Town, Chen Xuan found a rather upscale inn and checked in.

Gathering information here is usually the fastest way, and if you can find someone who "matches" the plot of the novel, it's an even bigger win.

That evening, Chen Xuan wasn't in a hurry and released Yun, letting her serve him from the side.

The rest are all in secret realms.

Lin Shuiyao is a cultivation fanatic, focused solely on her cultivation. The other three women are heavily pregnant and unable to come out, making Liu Yun the most suitable candidate.

"Master~"

"Stop! Just call me Master outside!" Chen Xuan quickly stopped him.

"Yes, sir," Liu Yun said softly.

"You little vixen, I'll teach you a lesson today!"

"Hehe, it's not certain who'll get the better of whom!"

"How brave!"

……

The next morning, Chen Xuan went downstairs to have breakfast alone, taking Liu Yun into the secret realm. Mainly because her aura was slightly weak, clearly she had been severely punished for her arrogant words the previous night.

"Hmph, let's see if you dare to be so arrogant again! You're just a mere Qi Refining Level 2 cultivator, yet you dare to provoke me!"

"I know, I won't do it again!" Liu Yun pouted, looking like a girl in her early twenties, not at all like an adult.

"There are medicinal dishes made by Yao Yao in the secret realm. Go back and replenish your energy."

"Hmm~"

"Little Second!"

"Yes, sir, please speak!"

"Any interesting news around here lately?" Chen Xuan casually tossed a few spirit stones to the waiter.

The latter accepted the spirit stone with a joyful expression.

"May I ask what information you wish to know, sir?"

"Tell me everything you know!"

"Recently... a beautiful young lady has been introduced to the Yihong Courtyard in Zhoudu..."

"Don't mention that, is there anything else?"

Upon hearing this, the waiter scratched his head and said, "Oh, sir, please wait a moment while I think about it."

Chen Xuan smiled and looked at him, gesturing for him to think it over slowly.

A moment later, Xiao Er's eyes lit up and he said, "Oh, right, there's one more thing. Recently, someone discovered a mysterious ruin deep in the Spirit Beast Mountain Range. It's said that there are countless treasures inside."

"Oh?" Chen Xuan's heart stirred. This was indeed useful information. The chosen one of destiny might very well be going there.

"What is the exact location of the ruins?"

The waiter shook his head. "I don't know about that, but I heard that many cultivators have already gone there."

Chen Xuan nodded thoughtfully and continued, "Besides this, is there anything else?"

"Hmm..." Xiao Er thought for a while, "I remember now. Yesterday morning, a cultivator found a particularly beautiful spirit beast at the entrance of the Monster Mountain Range outside the town. I heard that it had a pair of golden wings and was like a god descending from heaven. However, the cultivator was unable to catch up with it, which is a pity."

"A golden-winged spirit beast?" Chen Xuan's heart skipped a beat. This was a very important companion of Qin Feng in the original story, but it would only appear much later. Why was it here now?

"Is that all?"

"No, no more."

Just as Chen Xuan was feeling regretful, he suddenly heard people in a roadside teahouse talking about a young man named Zhao Tianming.

"Have you heard? Zhao Tianming has become quite famous lately!"

"Are you kidding me? Everyone's heard of Zhao Tianming! The whole of Zhou Kingdom knows him, right?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's really a pity. Zhou, a well-known genius, has become a cripple overnight!"

"Yes, I heard that Zhao Tianming was exceptionally talented and was already a ninth-level Foundation Establishment expert at a young age. His future achievements are limitless!"

"Who says otherwise? I also heard that the boy was engaged to Princess Jingqi before, but that's probably going to fall through now!"

"Hahaha, indeed, how could the royal family marry their daughter to a good-for-nothing!"

"Alas, life is unpredictable, like a large intestine wrapped around a small intestine! I never thought Zhao Tianming would fall to such a state!"

"Who can argue with that? But I've heard that Zhao Tianming has suddenly become more motivated these days and has been working hard to cultivate, hoping to regain his former glory."

"Tch, what's the use? A genius turned into a cripple, how can he recover so easily?"

"That's hard to say, maybe they've had some kind of extraordinary encounter?"

"..."

Chen Xuan: "..."

This is too strong! This smell is way too strong! Do we even need to look for this chosen one? It's definitely Zhao Tianming they've been talking about! But the fact that he's Zhou Jingqi's fiancé is something he never expected.

The original text mentioned casually before that the Zhou family royal family did arrange a fiancé for her, but she later met the promising Qin Feng and broke off the engagement. However, it never mentioned that Zhao Tianming had such an experience!

Why didn't you tell me about this?

“My lord, it’s not that I didn’t want to tell you, but this matter has spread too far, and everyone in the Zhou Kingdom knows about it! I really didn’t expect that you didn’t know.”

"Okay, go ahead."

"Yes."

Then Chen Xuan walked up to the two cultivators who were talking.