After Li Yi and the other three left Qilin Mountain, they headed straight for Kunlun Mountain.
On their way back to Kunlun, Li Yi did not help Qi Chen in order to temper his disposition.
The three walked slowly in front, while Qi Chen had to exert all his strength just to keep up.
Qi Chen had been chasing after Li Yi and the other two the entire way. As soon as Qi Chen picked up speed, the three would also speed up, deliberately keeping him at bay.
When Li Yi and the other two saw that Qi Chen was about to exhaust his spiritual energy, they would find a place to rest and let him recover.
During this time, the three would occasionally offer guidance to Qi Chen, and his cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
Qi Chen was only at the early Golden Immortal stage when he was in Qilin Mountain. Just ten years after leaving, he had already reached the early Taiyi Golden Immortal stage.
This was even with Tong Tian instructing him to suppress his cultivation to prevent his foundation from becoming unstable due to rapid breakthroughs, which would be detrimental to his future cultivation.
As the only son of the First Qilin, Qi Chen was exceptionally talented and had consumed countless heavenly treasures since childhood.
However, Qi Chen had not been able to fully absorb these treasures, and they had accumulated within his body.
Li Yi and the other two had noticed this situation, which led them to devise this plan. Otherwise, with their cultivation levels, they would not have wasted time on such a journey.
Qi Chen also felt his cultivation increasing rapidly and understood the intentions of Li Yi and the other two.
Each time, Li Yi and the others would only stop when he was almost completely drained of spiritual energy.
As soon as he had recovered most of his spiritual energy, they would set off again, making Qi Chen's journey incredibly arduous, akin to constantly fighting a great battle.
Fortunately, the rewards were immense. The progress he had made with Li Yi and the other two on this journey would likely have taken him thousands of years of strenuous cultivation.
Li Yi and the other two, seeing that although Qi Chen was the crown prince of the Qilin tribe and accustomed to a life of luxury, he had not complained once despite the immense hardship of the journey, their admiration for him grew.
"Eldest Brother, Second Brother, Chen'er has almost fully absorbed the accumulated heavenly treasures in his body. Should we take him back to Kunlun now?" Tong Tian suddenly said to Li Yi and Primordial on the way.
Li Yi nodded and said, "We will take him back after we rest up ahead! The heavenly treasures in his body have been mostly depleted, and further tempering will yield little effect."
Primordial nodded in agreement with Li Yi's statement.
Seeing a scenic mountain peak ahead, the three decided to rest there.
Shortly after the three arrived on the peak, Qi Chen, drenched in sweat, finally caught up.
"Chen'er, rest first! The heavenly treasures in your body have been mostly consumed. Once you've recovered, we'll take you back to Kunlun," Li Yi said to Qi Chen with a smile.
Li Yi was extremely pleased with this nephew. Despite coming from a prominent family, he was exceptionally diligent and did not rely on his background to be arrogant, which was truly rare.
Upon hearing Li Yi's words, Qi Chen bowed and said, "Thank you, Martial Uncle!"
Li Yi nodded and replied, "Go and rest! We'll set off once you've recovered!"
"Go as your Martial Uncle says!" Tong Tian also said to Qi Chen.
Tong Tian was also very satisfied with this disciple.
As the group was resting, two figures suddenly leaped before them and shouted:
"Halt! I am King Silver Horn, and this is my elder brother, King Golden Horn. Hand over all your spiritual treasures and elixirs. We brothers only rob for wealth, not for lives!"
"If you refuse, you will suffer!"
Both of them had a single horn growing from their foreheads, one golden and one silver, hence their names.
Li Yi and the other two had sensed these two the moment they arrived at the mountain, but since they were only at the Earth Immortal realm, the three had paid them no mind.
They never expected the two brothers to attempt to rob all four of them.
Although Qi Chen was completely depleted of spiritual energy, he still stood up and shouted, "How dare you! Have you eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard to dare rob us!"
"Brother, look, he's even roaring at me. It seems he won't yield unless we give him a taste of suffering," Silver Horn said to Golden Horn with a smile.
Golden Horn chuckled upon hearing this, "Little brat, you'd better comply. My brother and I never fight battles we're not sure of. Look at the four of you, which one of you is our match?"
Golden Horn and Silver Horn, with their low cultivation, could not discern the true strength of the group. Seeing Qi Chen's extreme weakness, they felt confident enough to jump out and rob them.
Qi Chen was furious. If only he hadn't depleted his spiritual energy.
Otherwise, he wouldn't let these two insignificant clowns ruin the good mood of his master and his two Martial Uncles.
Unfortunately, he was willing but powerless. Otherwise, he would have slapped them both to death.
Seeing Qi Chen's weakness and the stillness of the other three, Golden Horn and Silver Horn assumed they were intimidated by their presence.
They immediately shouted, "Hand over your treasures quickly, do you truly want us to take action?"
Seeing that Qi Chen was powerless, Tong Tian was about to step forward to deal with the two brothers when Li Yi stopped him.
Although Tong Tian was puzzled as to why his Eldest Brother wouldn't let him deal with these two, he obediently refrained from acting.
After stopping Tong Tian, Li Yi took a step forward and gently waved his hand. Golden Horn spat blood and was sent flying.
Silver Horn's face changed drastically, and he rushed to help Golden Horn. Seeing his brother injured, he roared, "I'll fight you to the death!"
With that, he lunged towards Li Yi. Golden Horn quickly pulled Silver Horn back and whispered, "You're no match for them. Run!"
Li Yi chuckled and said, "Can you run?"
Hearing this, Golden Horn smiled bitterly, realizing that his brother and he had truly kicked a hornet's nest this time.
He immediately knelt before Li Yi and pleaded, "Esteemed Daoist, spare us. Robbing you was my idea, and it has nothing to do with my brother. I beg you to spare his life!"
Upon hearing this, Silver Horn's face changed, and he cried out, "Brother!"
Golden Horn quickly pulled him down and said, "Esteemed Daoist, please calm your anger. My brother is ignorant. I implore you to show mercy and spare my brother's life!"
Silver Horn broke free and quickly said, "Esteemed Daoist, don't listen to my brother's nonsense. It was my idea. My brother couldn't stop me, so he joined me. If you want to kill, kill me! It has nothing to do with my brother!"
The two brothers began to argue, each wanting to protect the other.
"These two brothers are truly affectionate," Primordial said with a smile from the side.
"Alright, alright, stop arguing. I have something to ask you. If you anger me, neither of you will get away!" Li Yi said, feigning anger.
Hearing Li Yi's words, the two brothers quieted down.
Golden Horn quickly said, "Esteemed Daoist, what do you wish to ask? I will tell you everything I know!"
"Who are your brothers?"
"Replying to the Esteemed Daoist, my brothers are two beetles that evolved from heaven and earth, born in this mountain."
"How many people have you robbed? How many living beings have you harmed?"
"Replying to the Esteemed Daoist, this is our second robbery. The first time we robbed a deer demon, but that deer demon was very poor and had nothing on him. My brothers knocked him unconscious and left him at the foot of the mountain. We never harm lives!"
Li Yi had long noticed that their spiritual platforms were clear and they had no aura of malevolence, confirming they had indeed never killed anyone. Su Dan Novel Network.
However, upon hearing their names, Li Yi recalled the two brothers named Golden Horn and Silver Horn from Journey to the West, wondering if these were indeed them.
Thus, he wanted to tease them a bit, which was why he stopped Tong Tian.
"I pity your deep brotherhood. I will spare your lives, but since you dared to rob me, you must be punished!"
"I have a medicinal field in my mountain, and I am short of someone to manage it. I shall punish you two brothers to be my attendants and help me manage the medicinal field. Do you accept?"
The two brothers quickly agreed, "We accept, we accept! Greetings, Master!"
Li Yi nodded and said, "Rise!"
The two brothers then scrambled up from the ground.
"This is my third brother, Daoist Tong Tian. That one is my second brother, Daoist Primordial. And that child is my martial nephew, Qi Chen!" Li Yi said to them.
The two brothers immediately bowed and said, "Greetings, Second Master, Third Master, and Young Master Chen!"
At this moment, Tong Tian suddenly said, "It is your fortune that my Eldest Brother has taken you two to manage the medicinal field. If my Eldest Brother had not stopped me just now, you two would already be dead under my palm!"
Upon hearing Tong Tian's words, the two brothers felt a surge of fear and immediately bowed to Li Yi again, "Thank you, Master, for saving our lives!"
Li Yi smiled and said, "It is also because you brothers have a destined connection with me. Rise!"
The two brothers then got up.
Li Yi then said to Qi Chen, "Chen'er, recover your spiritual energy first!"
Qi Chen replied, "Yes, Martial Uncle!"
"Since you two brothers were born in this mountain, go back and pack your things, and then return. I will take you two back to Kunlun Mountain!"
Upon hearing that Li Yi intended to take them to Kunlun Mountain, a sacred place of cultivation, Golden Horn and Silver Horn were overjoyed. "Master, you don't need to worry about us. My brothers have nothing, so there's nothing to pack!"
Li Yi nodded at the words of the two brothers and said, "Very well, then we will set off once Chen'er has recovered!"
After some time, Li Yi saw that Qi Chen had almost fully recovered and immediately said, "Let's go, time to return to Kunlun!"
With that, Li Yi led Golden Horn and Silver Horn, while Tong Tian led Qi Chen. The six of them set off towards Kunlun Mountain.