Chapter Thirty-Two: The Eldest Senior Brother

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Hearing the angry shout from inside the cave, Su Tan’s composure vanished instantly. Pouting, he said, “Senior Brother, please don’t be angry. It’s Master who sent me.”

No sooner had the words fallen than a fiery red figure shot out of the cave in a flash and appeared right before Su Tan.

Tong Jin observed with curiosity. The man was burly, with thick eyebrows and large eyes. Though only in his twenties, he exuded an unspoken aura of authority. What struck Tong Jin as amusing was that the man was dressed entirely in blazing red—from head to toe—making him stand out conspicuously no matter where he was.

Chen Lie emerged from the cave, no longer looking furious. Instead, he stretched out his hands and, to Tong Jin’s astonishment, grabbed Su Tan’s cheeks, kneading them hard. Su Tan struggled and begged, “Senior Brother, I won’t disturb you again next time. Please spare my face… ow…”

But Chen Lie didn’t relent at all. Laughing heartily, he asked, “Speak. What did Master say? Didn’t you get into trouble again, and now you want me to clean up your mess?”

The more Su Tan struggled, the more his cheeks burned with pain. Resigned, he obediently recounted everything in detail. Only then did Chen Lie release his grip, rubbing his own reddened face, tears nearly spilling out.

It was only then that Zhao Lie glanced over at Tong Jin in the distance and grinned broadly.

Tong Jin stared in amazement at these two senior brothers before him. Surprised yet secretly entertained, he was about to greet Zhao Lie when suddenly his vision blurred and the man vanished without a trace. Shaking his head helplessly, Tong Jin thought to himself, “This guy really is hot-headed.”

Seeing Su Tan’s innocent face, cheeks swollen and red, Tong Jin chuckled. “So this is your hot-tempered senior brother?”

Su Tan replied with a sour expression, “That’s him. Every time I come to the cave looking for him, he scolds me. Such bullying.”

Tong Jin laughed and shook his head. “I actually think your senior brother treats you well, like a true sibling. So, where to now?”

Su Tan pulled a small bottle from his bosom, uncapped it, and applied some ointment to his cheeks. Then he smiled and said, “Come, I’ll take you to my cave.”

Tong Jin followed Su Tan, wandering around the vast Divine Rest Palace for quite a while before arriving at a cliff’s edge.

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“There’s no cave here. You really live here?” Tong Jin asked, puzzled.

Su Tan rolled his eyes. “I’m the direct disciple, after all. No way I’d be living rough outdoors. Follow me.” Saying that, he flashed down the cliff in a leap.

Tong Jin panicked. Jumping like that would surely lead to injury or worse. He rushed to the cliff’s edge but then saw the truth and relaxed.

Beneath the cliff was a natural stone platform extending several yards out—small but large enough to fit ten or so people comfortably. Su Tan grinned broadly, beckoning to Tong Jin.

Tong Jin jumped down onto the platform and finally saw the small cave carved into the cliff face.

The cave was rather simple, but the scenery here was incomparable to anywhere else. The stone walls and floor were finely polished and smooth; a large, sturdy wooden bed—mysteriously transported through the much smaller cave entrance—stood inside; a noble rosewood table and several intricately carved rosewood chairs added a touch of elegance.

Other scattered items were Su Tan’s daily necessities, neatly arranged in the corners. What caught Tong Jin’s eye, however, was a protruding stone box embedded in the smooth wall.

Su Tan plopped down and said, “That’s the little nest of the Thunder Sound Golden Cicadas. Not bad, right?”

Seeing the stone box, Tong Jin recalled the insect nest he had seen in a cave with the Ghost Doctor, feeling a pang of nostalgia and wondering how that old ghost was faring now.

Su Tan didn’t notice these thoughts and asked, “By the way, Brother Tong, how old are you?”

Tong Jin composed himself and gave his birthdate. Unexpectedly, Su Tan immediately stood and bowed, “Brother Tong Jin, please accept this humble bow from your junior disciple Su Tan.”

Tong Jin saw the smile on his lips and thought, “If you like to play this game, I’ll play along. I’ve even been a senior myself; what’s to fear about being an elder brother?” So he bowed back earnestly, “Please rise, Junior Brother Su Tan. I’m honored beyond words.”

Only then did they both rise and laugh heartily at each other.

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In the following days, Tong Jin stayed temporarily at Divine Rest Palace. Through conversations with Su Tan, he learned that the palace master, Shen Nongzi, was a master alchemist. No wonder he had gifted Tong Jin the rare Earth Spirit Pill at their first meeting. Tong Jin also discovered that Shen Nongzi was over a hundred years old, having reached the peak of the Qi Transformation stage decades ago. He was only one step away from breaking through to the Spirit Transformation stage but had been stuck without the right opportunity.

As for what that opportunity might be, neither Su Tan nor Tong Jin knew. Su Tan mentioned that training the Thunder Sound Golden Cicadas was a secret technique taught by Shen Nongzi, which made Tong Jin itch to beg Su Tan to take him to seek Shen Nongzi’s guidance immediately.

Decades ago, Shen Nongzi had traveled extensively, delving deeply into various arcane arts and secret techniques. Raising exotic insects was one such secret method he had studied early on. Throughout his life, he took four disciples: the eldest Chen Lie, the second Sun Qiao, the third Tang Fu, and the last, Su Tan, who was taken in at the age of ten as his final disciple.

Chen Lie, Sun Qiao, and Tang Fu showed no interest in insect cultivation, but the youngest junior brother often followed Shen Nongzi, asking about the mysteries of insect rearing.

Initially, Su Tan only raised common bugs and ants, observing their habits. Gradually, Shen Nongzi entrusted him with some rarer poisonous insects to tame. Though Su Tan suffered many hardships, Shen Nongzi, as a seasoned alchemist, watched over him, ensuring no grave danger befell him.

Then, a year ago, Shen Nongzi mysteriously acquired three Thunder Sound Golden Cicadas and gave them to Su Tan.

The Thunder Sound Golden Cicada was almost the only exotic insect that used sound to threaten enemies. Su Tan heard from Shen Nongzi that the most terrifying specimen he had encountered emitted vibrations and illusions so potent that it trapped him in a hallucination for three whole days, only breaking free with external help. Remarkably, at that time, Shen Nongzi had already reached the perfect Qi Transformation stage.

For such an insect to ensnare a master at the pinnacle of Qi Transformation for three days was why the Thunder Sound Golden Cicada ranked among the top ten exotic insects. Of course, not every cicada had such power—the one Shen Nongzi met had likely evolved to a terrifying degree.

Tong Jin now looked at the Poisonous Corpse Ant in his hand with even greater anticipation, thinking, “This ant ranks even higher than the Thunder Sound Golden Cicada. I wonder how far its power can reach.”

Unable to resist, he finally begged Su Tan to take him to seek Shen Nongzi’s instruction.