Chapter 323: One Step Further

Chen Fei was utterly stunned.

This situation? It wasn’t just absurd—it was absurdity opening the door for absurdity’s mother and inviting absurdity to dinner!

It was the first time he’d seen a Human Dao Realm cultivator taken down… by a plate of food!

No—he’d never even heard of such a thing!

Yet the brute only chuckled sheepishly, not caring in the slightest that his head was drenched in soup. He even stuck out his tongue and licked some of it.

“Tsk, what a waste! All this just for saying a few bad things about him? Seriously?”

It finally clicked for Chen Fei—this was clearly karma from that earlier trash talk.

As for who had taken revenge, did it even need to be said?

“If you talk about me again, I’ll send you to dig stones in the Black Abyss,” came a cold snort from Wang Situ.

Chen Fei’s pupils shrank.

Wang Situ actually responded!?

This whole situation was beyond absurd. If someone else had described it to him, he would’ve thought they were making it up.

Who would’ve thought a Heaven Dao Realm expert would be so petty?

Turns out—they absolutely would.

Chen Fei felt a wave of relief as he quickly mentally reviewed his earlier interaction with Wang Situ, making sure he hadn’t offended the man.

Meanwhile, the brute looked… unique, to say the least.

Squatting on a chair with a steamed fish atop his head, he looked more like a wild man than a sacred land disciple.

But the guy didn’t care. He just kept eating—quite happily, in fact.

Chen Fei tried his best not to stare at the fish on the brute’s head, but his eyes kept drifting.

“Just laugh if you want to, don’t hold it in. You’ll get used to dealing with that old… ahem, senior eventually,” the brute said, catching himself just in time.

“Stop corrupting him,” Wang Situ’s voice cut in again.

Chen Fei couldn’t help himself.

“Palace Master Wang, how about I have a new dish prepared for you? Would you like to join us?”

No response this time.

But a few moments later, the door opened.

Wang Situ entered, followed by a pale-faced Wang Feng.

At first glance, Wang Feng looked normal, but a closer look revealed unnatural stiffness in his movements.

The brute lit up as if seeing a new toy and jumped down from his seat, circling Wang Feng like a curious child.

Wang Situ didn’t hesitate—he walked straight to the main seat and sat down.

Gong Tianshou, ever perceptive, quickly withdrew to order a fresh set of dishes.

As the brute continued circling Wang Feng, the latter forced a stiff smile.

Then, unable to resist, the brute grabbed Wang Feng’s arm and gave it a hard pull.

To Chen Fei’s amazement, the arm stretched out like rubber.

“Wow! I didn’t expect this to actually work!”

The age-old question of whether spiritual bodies still counted as “people” seemed to have an answer now—the brute clearly didn’t think so.

He kept pulling and prodding Wang Feng’s body like it was made of clay, marveling as he went.

And just when he looked like he was about to reach under Wang Feng’s waist…

Even Wang Feng, awkward as he was, couldn’t take it anymore.

And neither could Wang Situ.

Lifting his wine cup, he gave the brute a cold glare.

“Seems like you’ve had too much free time lately.”

That shut the brute up immediately. He scampered back to his seat like a scolded child.

“No, no, I just got back. Please, have mercy!”

Wang Situ snorted, rose from his seat with his cup in hand.

“I won’t disturb your little gathering any longer. The wine’s good.”

“I’ll send some to the Dark Gate as a gift,” Chen Fei said quickly.

If there was one thing Chen Fei was good at, it was navigating the subtleties of social dynamics.

How else could he have stabilized his position so quickly in Yellow Mist City and helped the Qin family rise to power?

Wang Situ gave him a meaningful look but said nothing, then turned and left.

As soon as he was gone, the brute returned to his casual, carefree self.

Chen Fei turned to Wang Feng.

The man’s expression was stiff and unnatural.

“Senior Brother Wang, I’m just glad you made it back alive. If not for you, I might’ve been destroyed.”

Wang Feng managed a weak smile.

Clearly, he and the brute were already familiar—otherwise, that earlier “inspection” would’ve ended with someone in a coma.

“You should thank me too,” the brute cut in, pointing to himself.

“Do you know where all those materials came from? We dug them up with our own hands! Can’t believe they actually worked! Too bad we didn’t find more. If we had, maybe even more spiritual seniors could’ve returned to life.”

Wang Feng raised an eyebrow and lifted a hand awkwardly.

“The material is special, no doubt. But my spiritual awareness isn’t strong enough yet. Controlling this body is… difficult. I’ll need time.”

“If you fully recover, that’ll be insane,” the brute said with a creepy laugh.

“Hey, Little Fengzi—have you checked your lower parts yet? Any changes? Heh heh…”

Wang Feng’s face turned red.

“You bastard! You really want to die, don’t you?”

“Alright, enough joking. I need to head out,” the brute clapped his hands and stood up.

“You’re going to face some serious trouble soon,” he told Chen Fei.

“If it becomes too much, don’t force yourself to keep going. Many have walked this path—but few make it to the end.”

He grabbed a nearby wine jar and sauntered off.

“Wait—this is for you!” Chen Fei tossed him a storage ring.

The brute raised a brow.

“What’s this?”

“Didn’t I say? The wine’s on me,” Chen Fei grinned.

The brute looked at the ring, then casually stashed it.

“Alright. You two enjoy.”

He hummed a strange little tune as he walked away:

“Wine down Heaven’s street,

Surrounded by songs of defeat.

Madmen laugh with open arms,

Mocking Immortals’ calm retreat~”

Once the brute had left, Wang Feng shifted in his seat.

“Congratulations, Senior Brother Wang,” Chen Fei smiled.

Wang Feng slowly raised his arm.

“There’s still a lot of discomfort. It’ll take time to fully adapt. I can’t leave the Spirit-Linking Tower just yet…”

“No need to explain, Senior Brother,” Chen Fei waved him off.

“That tower’s not much use to me anyway. It’d be wasted in my hands.

But in yours? Maybe you can help even more spiritual seniors reclaim physical form.”

Wang Feng was stunned. Then he sighed.

“Your generosity puts me to shame, Brother Chen.”

But his face turned serious again.

“Still… you may have rushed this. The matter of the Saint Son title is too important. Some people won’t let it slide. Be very careful.”

Chen Fei nodded.

He’d already mentally prepared for it.

“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I know what I’m doing.”