Chapter 239: The Corresponding Cost

“A divine artifact?!”
Xueye Zixing saw the Snowflake Falling in Chen Xiao’s hands. His pale purple pupils contracted slightly, and a hint of seriousness appeared on his face hidden behind the veil.
Snowflake Falling originally belonged to the Hunters’ Guild. But back then, it was just a staff. Although many knew it to be a divine artifact, none had ever seen its true form. Even Mo Ran Sanye, the head of the Hunters’ Guild, thought it was merely a staff.
Now that Snowflake Falling had returned to its original state—a crystal-clear snowflake—who could recognize it? That’s why Chen Xiao dared to use it openly.
As for the current situation, the Mo Ran family, who held power in the Hunters’ Guild, was likely still searching the world for the traces of Fei Zha. But the real Fei Zha was now inside the Glory Temple, having become a male favorite. Where could they possibly find him?
“Indeed, it’s a divine artifact.”
Chen Xiao’s eyes held a smile as the true form of Snowflake Falling emitted a faint snowlight, enveloping his body. The power of a divine artifact was countless times greater than that of a pseudo-divine artifact. Even if Xueye Zixing wielded a pseudo-divine artifact with the help of Qingluan and Huofeng, it might not be enough to break through Snowflake Falling’s defenses.
“Zixing, stop.”
Suddenly, an aged voice rang out. Immediately afterward, an old man dressed in white robes stepped out of the inner courtyard. Around his body, nine layers of light flickered faintly, hidden in the void. This was clearly a peerless warrior at the ninth level of Domain Mastery, just one step away from becoming a true Void God.
A warrior at the ninth level of Domain Mastery even had the right to speak in front of a true Void God.
“Chen Xiao, right? Coming alone to the Xueye family’s headquarters—truly bold.” The old man in white wore a warm smile, but when his gaze fell on Snowflake Falling in Chen Xiao’s hands, his face twitched violently.
Back then, the Long family had offered three divine artifacts to exchange for the incomplete Tian Map kept by the Xueye family, but Xueye Qingzhu refused outright. Now, it seemed that the power emanating from the divine artifact in Chen Xiao’s hands far exceeded those three artifacts.
An uncontrollable greed arose in the old man’s heart. But the next moment, he suppressed it. In Chen Xiao’s hands was a terrifying pseudo-divine artifact spirit, equivalent to an intermediate Void God. Moreover, during the attack on the Chen family, it was a peak Void God who was in charge. This made the old man hesitant to act rashly.
“Alone? Who said I’m alone?” Chen Xiao shrugged. In his Main God Space, two lolita Void Gods, Gui Gui and Mu Mu, were waiting at any moment. As long as Chen Xiao exerted his mental energy, they would immediately be by his side.
“Someone else?” The old man in white’s pupils contracted as he instantly released his mental energy to detect those who had come with Chen Xiao.
“Elder, no need to search. It’s me,” Yuye Xiaochen said as he came from the outer courtyard. He was only at the fifth level of cultivation and hadn’t dared to approach during the battle earlier. Now that the fight was over, he finally dared to come.

“Rainy Night Xiao Chen?” The old man in white glanced at him and nodded slightly. Chen Xiao had come along with Rainy Night Xiao Chen. Out of respect for the Rainy Night family, the Snowy Night family wouldn’t do anything to him either. Moreover, Chen Xiao had been holding back all along; otherwise, everyone in the courtyard would likely be dead by now.

“Elder, I’ve come to the Snowy Night family with Chen Xiao this time to meet Mr. Xueye Qingzhu, the head of the Snowy Night family, and to retrieve something that Chen Xiao’s grandfather entrusted here back then,” said Rainy Night Xiao Chen with a smile.

Back then, Chen Jianzhou had placed those three fragments of the Sky-Shattering Map in the three night families thanks to his connections with the Snowy Night family. But unexpectedly, problems arose one after another in both the Qingye family and the Snowy Night family. Meanwhile, for some reason, the Rainy Night family readily handed over the Sky-Shattering Map to Chen Xiao.

“Xueye Qingzhu is no longer the head of the Snowy Night family. Even if you meet him, it won’t be of any use to you,” the old man in white continued after a pause. “Due to Xueye Qingzhu’s wrong decisions in the past, our family suffered huge losses. If you, Chen Xiao, want to get that Sky-Shattering Map back, you must pay a corresponding price.”

The old man’s words were utterly blunt.

“A corresponding price?” Chen Xiao was stunned. “I wonder what kind of price that would be?”

“A corresponding price? The Dragon family once tried to exchange three divine artifacts for that Sky-Shattering Map, but our family refused. If you want to get it back, huh huh…” The old man merely glanced at the Snowflake Drift in Chen Xiao’s hand without naming it directly.

“I see,” Chen Xiao realized. That so-called refusal was probably issued by his own grandfather, Xueye Qingzhu. As for what happened later, it was likely some people within the Snowy Night family who opposed his grandfather who started causing trouble, leading to the current situation.

“Although I’ve gained quite a lot from the Tianlong Secret Treasures, divine artifacts like that are beyond my reach as a mere ninth-level supernatural being,” Chen Xiao said. He hadn’t revealed that he had survived the thunder tribulation and reached the Origin Realm. Only Liu Yu, Xuanyuan Po, and Mo Changqi knew about his experience in the Tianlong Secret Treasures. But those three had already returned to the Origin Continent, and in their minds, Chen Xiao was already dead.

“Ninth level…” Behind the light veil of Snowy Night Zixing, her delicate face twitched violently. She was at the sixth level of the Domain realm and was considered the world’s greatest genius among supernatural beings. Yet now, holding a virtual divine artifact, she was only on par with this ninth-level supernatural being. What kind of monster was he?

“If you can’t come up with the corresponding price, I’m sorry, but our Snowy Night family cannot hand over that fragment of the Sky-Shattering Map,” the old man in white said, his eyes gleaming.

Seeing his gaze, Chen Xiao understood exactly what he wanted. But the Snowflake Drift had already merged with the ice-blue primordial spirit fire in his dantian and could no longer exist independently.

Moreover, in this world of supernatural powers, although Chen Xiao possessed several quite formidable divine artifacts and virtual divine artifacts, he didn’t want to use them, as that would be giving an advantage to the people of the Xueye Family. Suddenly, Chen Xiao’s eyes lit up; he smiled abruptly and said, “I do have a corresponding price, but I’m not sure if the Xueye Family has the strength to pay it.” “Oh?” The old man in white’s eyes shone. With a flash, a blood-golden light appeared in Chen Xiao’s hand, and the demonic sword Yuanmie appeared in his grasp. In the next moment, Chen Xiao plunged this extraordinary sword into the ground. “This is my price. This virtual divine artifact can unleash the power of a virtual god at the first level, its value far exceeding that of ordinary divine artifacts. This gift is already substantial enough. Please, Elder, keep your promise—let me meet my grandfather and return the Cantian Map to me.” As soon as Chen Xiao finished speaking, the demonic sword Yuanmie emitted a faint, heart-shaking hum. The old man in white’s face twitched violently as he instinctively stepped back. Yuanmie was a semi-sentient being akin to a demonic spirit, equivalent to a mid-level virtual god, extremely powerful. How could such a self-aware divine weapon be given away so easily? But since Chen Xiao had taken it out, it showed his stance—if the Cantian Map wasn’t handed over and Xueye Qingzhu wasn’t released, then battle it out. “Very well…” The old man in white repeated the word three times before saying, “Zixing, you go back first. You’re no longer needed here.” Xueye Zixing was the hope of the Xue family, and nothing could go wrong. Though reluctant, she wasn’t foolish either. She bowed slightly to the old man in white and left. “I wonder what this Elder thinks?” Chen Xiao stepped forward slightly, his entire body covered by the blood-golden light emitted by Yuanmie. “I offer Yuanmie as a price in exchange for my grandfather and the Cantian Map. What does the Xueye Family think?” “If someone from my Xueye Family can take this sword, does it belong to us?” Suddenly, another voice rang out. The space flickered abruptly, as if an invisible shadow stepped forward gently. “A virtual god of the Xueye Family…” Chen Xiao sneered inwardly and casually said, “Of course. But the condition is that you release my grandfather and hand over the Cantian Map. As for Yuanmie, I’ll leave it here. If you’re capable, go get it yourselves.” “Good!” The shadow gradually took shape—it was a man in white robes, with black hair and a faint look of sorrow on his face. “Wuhui greets the ancestor,” the old man in white said, his expression changing drastically the moment he saw the man. He immediately bowed in respect. Though he was an unparalleled warrior at the ninth level of his domain, he dared not show any disrespect toward this virtual god ancestor. This man wasn’t just any virtual god—he was the true founder of the Xueye Family, Xueye Canhua. Yuye Xiaochen was also slightly stunned. He hadn’t expected that such a trivial matter as the Cantian Map could disturb Xueye Canhua.

This Snowy Night with withered flowers had lived for countless years, yet it was from the same era as the ancestor of the Rainy Night family, Yu Ye Xiao — a powerful being at the peak of the Virtual God realm.
“Yu Ye Xiao Chen, is that you? Very good, very good. You and your brother Yu Ye Xiao Yao are both rare talents. Excellent.”
Snowy Night with withered flowers ignored Chen Xiao and spoke directly to Yu Ye Xiao Chen.
“Ancestor, you flatter me,” Yu Ye Xiao Chen replied, bowing to Snowy Night with withered flowers. The families of the Three Nights were closely connected; according to legends, they even shared the same roots. It was entirely appropriate for Yu Ye Xiao Chen to address Snowy Night with withered flowers as his ancestor.
Chen Xiao stood aside, remaining silent. He didn’t understand exactly who this man was, but deep down, he knew he was extremely strong.