At the first light of dawn, the spacious venue arranged by Jietian Dao Sect was already filled with disciples from various sects wearing different attire.
Taihua Immortal Sect, Tiantai Buddhist Sect, and Jietian Dao Sect, as the three great immortal sects, all had independent rest areas for their participating disciples, without needing to squeeze together with other sects.
“The preliminaries are still ongoing. This time, the righteous sects have over three thousand disciples participating in total. Ultimately, one hundred forty Golden Core cultivators, forty Nascent Soul cultivators, and twenty Out-of-Body cultivators—two hundred people in total—will be selected to qualify for entry into the Tianxuan Secret Treasury.”
Ji Chang’an had been dragged over early in the morning and obediently followed behind Yin Lang, explaining the situation to him.
“Aside from the Out-of-Body stage, where the numbers are relatively small and formal selection hasn’t begun yet, the Golden Core and Nascent Soul matches are nearly finished. Mm… Junior Martial Brother Xu should have no problem securing a spot in the secret treasury.”
Chao Liang, more afraid than anyone of his identity being exposed, hid in his room all day and absolutely could not be dragged out. As for Xu Rong, though reluctant to part, Yin Lang had driven him away early under the pretext of still having matches, out of sight, out of mind.
He asked with interest, “How was I unaware that this disciple of mine possessed such formidable strength?”
Having already discussed the story with Qin Xun, Ji Chang’an figured these master and disciple already knew the truth of this world, so she spoke less reservedly and quietly complained, “Protagonist’s halo… ah, meaning the Heavenly Dao gives him convenient treatment everywhere. Anyone who opposes him or dares to defeat him will meet a bad end, those who try to kill him will definitely fail, and so on. But honestly, with that kind of treatment, even a pig could take first place.”
Protagonist’s halo.
Yin Lang pondered thoughtfully, committing this term to memory.
The crowd somewhere in the distance suddenly became agitated, loudly shouting someone’s name. However, with shouts rising and falling one after another throughout the venue, it was difficult to hear clearly what they were shouting.
Ji Chang’an gathered spiritual power in her eyes to look into the distance, “It’s Buddhist Sect disciples, their opponent is from Jietian Dao Sect.”
“Let’s go take a look.”
Near this platform were mostly Buddhist Sect disciples. The monk who won on the platform likely had high prestige within the sect, as the group below all wore expressions of shared glory.
“Congratulations, Junior Martial Brother Chan Ming.”
The crowd beside them suddenly parted. The two looked back to see a young monk wearing a kasaya walking slowly forward with a smile on his face. Upon seeing the two below the platform, he was slightly startled, then quickly pressed his palms together and bowed respectfully, “This monk greets Senior Shen, Benefactor Ji.”
Ji Chang’an turned to return the courtesy.
Monk Chan Ming on the platform had wanted to approach, but seeing this situation, he pressed his palms together from afar and nodded slightly in their direction before turning to leave directly.
Chan Xin carefully examined them both, revealing a gratified smile, “Senior Shen and Benefactor Ji both have complete and transparent divine souls, peaceful minds and calm spirits. Most excellent.”
Ji Chang’an laughed, “Why is it that wherever you go, the first thing you say is to read people’s fortunes?”
Chan Xin merely smiled without speaking.
The three great immortal sects had close relations, and these young generation leaders were quite familiar with each other.
Yin Lang suddenly reached out toward the back of Chan Xin’s neck. Chan Xin instinctively wanted to avoid it, but quickly controlled his movements and allowed him to proceed, revealing a questioning look, “Senior Shen, this is…?”
Yin Lang pondered slightly, “Have you already attempted to break through to the Spirit Transformation stage?”
Chan Xin’s eyes widened slightly, “Senior is truly formidable.”
He had been stuck at the peak of the Out-of-Body stage for quite some time. The young generation of Taihua Immortal Sect and Jietian Dao Sect had crossed this threshold one after another. No matter how clear Chan Xin’s state of mind was, he inevitably felt he had somewhat failed to live up to the expectations of the sect’s elders.
From when the sect began preparing for the Tianxuan Secret Treasury until now, he had secretly attempted to break through three times, yet each time ended in failure. His divine soul was clearly fully developed, he had passed the inner demon tribulation, and his Buddha body was perfect without flaw, completely consistent with what the Arhats had described, yet he didn’t know where the problem still existed—he was always missing that final push.
Yin Lang lowered his eyes in thought.
This strange yet somewhat familiar aura on Chan Xin’s body—he felt like he had encountered it somewhere before.
Another even stronger wave of commotion rose by his ear, directly interrupting his already tangled train of thought.
Yin Lang lightly pinched the bridge of his nose, controlling his desire to get angry, and looked up.
A group of young people wearing Taihua Immortal Sect inner disciple robes surrounded one person as they approached. The person in the center’s eyes burst with bright light upon seeing him, and he quickly broke away from the crowd to run toward him, “Shizun! I won again! This time my opponent was a Nascent Soul cultivator!”
Xu Rong’s forehead was slightly sweaty, his whole person overflowing with high spirits and joy. He raised his head as if wanting to claim credit, inadvertently revealing the wound stretching across his collarbone.
This wound spanned half his chest and nearly extended to his neck. Just looking at it, one could tell how perilous the battle had been.
Shen Muxuan’s gaze lowered slightly, resting on the bloodstain visible at the collar, his eyes focusing intently.
Xu Rong seemed to only then realize he had been too excited. He hurriedly reached up to close his collar, but the more flustered he became, the more chaotic it got, and instead he pulled his clothes even more open.
He tried to cover it with his hand, futilely explaining, “Actually, actually it just looks scary. They’re all superficial wounds. With some medicine they’ll heal quickly. It’s just a normal match, Shizun need not be angry on this disciple’s behalf and harm your own health…”
Ji Chang’an fanned herself with an expressionless face.
Ah, this rich white lotus scent.
Glimpsing the person beside her repeatedly opening and closing his hand hidden in his sleeve, and his constantly rolling Adam’s apple, Ji Chang’an sighed, forcefully wiped her face, and suddenly pounced forward!
“Heavens! Junior Martial Brother Xu, how did you get injured so badly!”
Xu Rong was still looking up eagerly waiting for Shen Muxuan to feel sorry for him and personally apply medicine, when a figure suddenly shot out from the side without warning at a speed he couldn’t see clearly, plunging into his embrace. The hard body slammed into his chest painfully, his vision went black, and he nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood on the spot.
The woman trembled, ‘unable to control her strength,’ her sword-wielding fingers calloused as they heavily stroked over the mangled wound, nearly sending Xu Rong off right then and there.
She was still crying ‘wuwuwu,’ “How could this heaven-damned person strike so viciously? Don’t they know friendship comes first, competition second! Just for a secret treasury quota, to so brutally harm a fellow disciple—such a ruthless and merciless person can actually become a disciple of our immortal sect? Is there still heavenly justice in this world!”
I’ll teach you to disgust me! Teach you to disgust me! Damn it, if it weren’t for you, you damn stallion, would this old lady have to put up with Jiang Mingyue’s passive-aggressive remarks and groping every day! If I could beat them, I’d string up this scumbag man and bitch woman pair and pound them!
Xu Rong’s eyes were already rolling back. As long as Ji Chang’an didn’t want to let go, how could he break free from a sword cultivator’s strength?
“That… that…”
Someone in the crowd of onlookers weakly reminded, “This martial sister, Junior Martial Brother Xu’s opponent had all four limbs broken, a huge gash opened in his neck, blood spraying everywhere that still hasn’t stopped…”
The woman lying solidly in Xu Rong’s embrace stiffened slightly.
“Wu—” The next instant she cried even louder, her right hand balling into a fist and pounding little punches against Xu Rong’s heart one after another, “How can you slander Junior Martial Brother Xu like this! Junior Martial Brother Xu is so pure and kind, he wouldn’t even bear to step on an ant—how could he possibly strike such a vicious blow against a fellow cultivator!”
“But…” Everyone had seen it with their own eyes.
“There are no buts! Even if it really was Junior Martial Brother Xu who did it, the opponent must have done something to wrong him first! Don’t you see the wounds on his body?” The woman raised her reddened eyes to glare at them, then with a ‘whoosh!‘ generously tore open Xu Rong’s upper garments, pointing at the wound with conviction, “Such a long wound! The flesh is all rolled back! Look at it!”
The onlooking crowd: “…”
Whether he truly suffered serious injuries on the platform, we don’t know, but we do know that at this rate, he’s going to be tormented to death by you first.
Xu Rong’s lips moved.
The woman immediately bent down to listen by his ear. The crowd watched as her expression went from worry to frozen, then tears immediately flowed from her beautiful eyes.
She covered her chest and stepped back, her form swaying unsteadily, her eyes wide with disbelief, “You… you… at a time like this, you actually… actually called out another woman’s name?”
She just trembled like that, trembled, hesitating to speak and speaking after hesitating for quite some time, finally covering her face and running away in pain.
Yin Lang, who had watched from beginning to end: “…”
So much drama.
I really underestimated you, Martial Niece Ji.
He sighed, directed the nearby Taihua Immortal Sect disciples to first carry the person back to his lodgings, then turned to express his apologies to the executive elder who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, “This child… it is Shen’s failure in teaching. I’ve made you all witness this embarrassing scene. Shen has been away for many years and has indeed been somewhat negligent in disciplining my disciple… sigh…”
The Daojun’s face bore a worried expression. After just a few words, he couldn’t help but sigh heavily. Though he said nothing more, it was as if everything was left unsaid.
The executive elder consoled him, “How could this be blamed on Daojun? Junior Disciple Feng is one of the leaders of the young generation in our cultivation world. Some disciples are just rotten to the core and can’t be straightened out no matter how you try.”
Seeing his displeasure, the elder inwardly sighed that all masters cannot bear to hear others speak ill of their disciples, and immediately changed his tune, “Actually, being fond of women and lustful is just youthful longing for love, not really a major fault. It will pass after this phase…”
Yin Lang barely maintained the persona of a ‘good master,’ exchanged a few more business pleasantries with the other party, turned the page on this matter, then leisurely walked back.
What, you ask about the person lying in the room waiting to be saved?
Tch, having beaten someone else’s child into such a miserable state, shouldn’t the master roll up his sleeves to handle the aftermath? The excellent disciple of Jietian Dao Sect—the matter isn’t so easily smoothed over!
What, you say Tianji Daojun has extensive connections and it’s just a matter of one sentence?
That must be an illusion. Shen Muxuan would never do such things as using power for personal gain.
After leaving the preliminary competition grounds, Ji Chang’an emerged from some nook or cranny, apparently having tidied up her appearance anew. She rolled up her sleeves and came over with a grin.
Yin Lang said, “You just wander around like this every day. Doesn’t Xie Lan care about you?”
Ji Chang’an hesitated briefly. He revealed a trace of doubt, and she immediately explained as if covering something up, “Senior Martial Brother doesn’t like noise and hasn’t gone out since arriving here. Senior Martial Brother Lu seems to be constantly busy coordinating with the Dao Sect’s officials about secret treasury matters. I’m not too clear on the specifics. The Out-of-Body stage matches haven’t started yet, and with nothing else to do, besides wandering around, there doesn’t seem to be anything else I can do.”
Of the three thousand plus disciples, Taihua Immortal Sect brought about three hundred—the vast majority being Golden Core cultivators, twenty-some Nascent Soul cultivators, fewer than ten Out-of-Body cultivators, and a few Spirit Transformation cultivators who had also followed along just in case. Xie Lan and Lu Changfeng were among them.
From the first sentence, her eyes had been drifting everywhere, looking at the sky and ground but resolutely not at Yin Lang. She quickly changed the subject, “Is Senior Martial Brother Feng still not finished? The Out-of-Body stage matches will begin in two days.”
Yin Lang didn’t expose her guilty conscience and followed along, “He’s already reached Spirit Transformation.”
After learning their true identities, Xie Lan had always kept his distance from their master-disciple pair. It was only because of his friendship with Xie Tingxuan that he kept silent. He still had that much self-awareness.
Not everyone was a visitor from another world with a broad mind and open heart. Native-born people found it difficult to abandon their inherent concepts of righteousness and evil and accept the fact of ‘colluding with demonic cultivators.’
Ji Chang’an was somewhat surprised.
She quickly realized that not only would the real world differ from the novel, but the fake identity would deliberately create differences from the true identity to reduce the possibility of suspicion.
She couldn’t help but privately lament: Truly worthy of being the secondary villain second only to the final boss in the original work. His talent is undeniable. Everyone is about the same age—she’s still struggling at Out-of-Body Great Circle, while he’s already skipped ahead like riding a rocket.
Ji Chang’an sighed, “In the past hundred years, the cultivation world feels like it’s entered a period of genius eruption—meaning in the same time period there are especially many cultivators with good spiritual roots and good talent. Just in our sect alone, there are nearly ten people around a hundred years old at the Spirit Transformation bottleneck. Jietian Dao Sect has Li Shuihe, Zhao Qingluan, Xu Yangze, Ning Mu, and others. Tiantai Buddhist Sect has even produced a natural Buddha Child with a Glazed Buddha Heart. And also…”
She suddenly got stuck.
“Don’t rack your brain.”
Yin Lang stopped Ji Chang’an from wracking her brain thinking.
He finally remembered where that familiar feeling about the aura on Chan Xin’s body came from.
It was nearly ninety percent similar to the aura mixed in with his spiritual energy during the seven days after that old bastard from Taihua Immortal Sect took his blood each time.
This strange smell would completely dissipate after seven days. The difference from normal spiritual energy wasn’t actually that great. Except for someone like him who revisited it periodically, normal people would find it very difficult to notice anything amiss.
Based on their years of seclusion, the three Sect Masters of the immortal sects should have suffered similar injuries in the jade-seizing battle a thousand years ago. Yuan Daozhu chose to use his blood to refine artifacts to resist the increasingly frequent Heavenly Punishment. Chan Daozhu very likely also went down a wrong path.
However, Chan Xin showed no symptoms of blood loss or other abnormalities. His words regarding Chan Daozhu were all respectful and admiring, so he shouldn’t have encountered something of the same nature as what he experienced.
Combining the abnormality that Ji Chang’an had inadvertently pointed out, Yin Lang blindly guessed that what Chan Xin—or rather, what the entire Tiantai Buddhist Sect—had taken from them was very likely—
Fortune.
****
On the day the Out-of-Body stage matches officially began, Qin Xun arrived just in the nick of time before the sun completely jumped above the horizon.
Although his true cultivation was Spirit Transformation, on the surface he was still late Out-of-Body stage. It wouldn’t be very possible to suddenly jump to Great Perfection and break through in just a few days without being seen. Better to have as few flaws as possible.
The competition venue had been replanned overnight. The number of platforms had been reduced by more than half and were neatly arranged by different sizes. A high platform for viewing had been erected in front, with seats of different specifications set up according to the number of third-rank and above sects.
As for those below third-rank, find a place to squat and watch on your own. The cultivation world is just this cruel.
The leaders of each major sect took their seats in turn. Shen Muxuan had wanted to go see who was leading Taihua Immortal Sect’s team, to see if he could leverage connections to get a seat, but instead he saw his Martial Nephew Lu with a face full of resentment.
Shen Muxuan looked at the empty seat with great surprise, “The elder from our sect hasn’t arrived yet? Why are you here alone?”
Lu Changfeng stared at him quietly, “Martial Uncle Tianji, our sect’s leading elder—isn’t that you?”
Shen Muxuan, “?”
Lu Changfeng used a calm tone to accuse, “Didn’t you give a guarantee before leaving, saying you would definitely arrive before the Immortal Sect Grand Assembly to back us up?”
Shen Muxuan, “…”
Lu Changfeng suddenly smiled and waved his hand, “Just joking with you.”
He explained via voice transmission, “You also know the significance of all the righteous sects uniting to hold this assembly. The leading person’s cultivation can’t be too weak, but also can’t be too strong. The level of the Seven Swords’ Sword Masters is just right—their combat strength is generally higher than their true cultivation.”
“Master is the Sect Master. Martial Uncle Gu’s physical condition isn’t convenient for traveling far. Elder Zhu excels in the pill refining path, his combat strength… barely better than nothing. You were promoted not long ago and your prestige is high—you’re currently the most suitable person.”
Shen Muxuan never expected to be calculated by the Sect Master in this way.
He wanted to draw his sword and beat someone up, letting this little brat take his master’s punishment. But then thinking of how he knew he had arrived but didn’t come to disturb him, silently dealing with a bunch of old foxes alone, he mentally pushed the sword back into its sheath.
After taking his seat, he looked left and right.
The old tangerine on the left smiled like a blooming flower, “Haven’t seen Daojun in a long time. Daojun’s demeanor is even better than before, hahaha…”
The triangular eyes on the right radiating with gleaming light were filled with scheming thoughts, “I heard Daojun recently broke through to Tribulation stage. Truly worthy of being the peerless prodigy publicly recognized in Lantian Realm five hundred years ago. Congratulations, congratulations. Our sect has a sword cultivator disciple with Heavenly Fire Spiritual Root. During the spiritual root test, the light pillar shot straight to the top. You…”
“…”
Still really want to hit someone.
Lu Changfeng very perceptively stood behind the seat, serving tea and pouring water, absolutely not making a sound.
Qin Xun arrived too late. After exchanging just a few words, he straightened his attire and headed with Ji Chang’an to the Out-of-Body stage competition grounds.
With his true Spirit Transformation, fake Out-of-Body cultivation on display, anyone who came up was chopped like vegetables. He still had to control his spiritual energy output based on his opponent’s strength, afraid of accidentally going overboard in his performance. Even so, among all the true Out-of-Body cultivators, he still stood out exceptionally, easily securing a finals spot.
Using half the time of the cultivator next to him to dominate the rankings, Qin Xun finally approached his master’s side, only to hear a full stereo surround of flowery praises.
Ugh, a bit shameful.
The eldest disciple obediently let his master ruffle his hair, then with red ears went to stand on the other side of the seat.
“I heard that both of Daojun’s two outstanding disciples are competing this time. That younger disciple, with only Golden Core cultivation, has repeatedly won across stages. He’s no less impressive than the elder disciple!”
Shen Muxuan smiled politely. That flatterer became even more energized, eyes rolling as he pointed into the distance and exclaimed, “Heavens! Your disciple is actually facing a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator with mid-Golden Core cultivation. That’s a full three minor stages gap! Even if defeated, this courage alone deserves praise!”
Yes, mid-Golden Core. After Ji Chang’an’s series of fierce operations, this protagonist, after recovering from his injuries, actually had an on-the-spot epiphany.
Protagonist’s halo—terrifying indeed.
Shen Muxuan politely cast a glance over and was completely unsurprised to see this scene:
Early stage: Nascent Soul cultivator pressing down on Xu Rong; Middle stage: Nascent Soul cultivator pressing down on Xu Rong; Late stage: Nascent Soul cultivator pressing down on Xu Rong; Finally: When the Nascent Soul cultivator was about to deliver the fatal blow, Xu Rong reversed the desperate situation and successfully counter-killed.
The person who had been casually flattering nearly had his eyeballs shocked out. Shen Muxuan continued to smile politely, “My young disciple is young and impetuous. How embarrassing.”
The ’embarrassing,’ ‘young and impetuous’ young disciple replicated his senior martial brother’s path to victory all the way, completing countless desperate reversals. Covered in wounds and blood, he followed the path his senior martial brother had walked, likewise step by step approaching his master.
The wounds on his body hurt densely, yet he felt nothing, or rather completely didn’t care.
His mind was full of thoughts: when I walk to Shizun’s side, I must raise my head and smile at him, then let him pat my head and praise me.
He stepped over bloodstains covering the ground, walking step by step to his master’s side. The smile on his face had just begun to rise when it froze.
The snow-robed Daojun ruffled his disciple’s black hair, “You’re already perfect. There’s no need to push yourself like this. You will always be the disciple your master is most proud of.”
The person who already looked like a young adult blushed and turned his head to let the hand on his head slide to his shoulder, saying quietly, “Master, I’m not a child anymore. Don’t always do this.”
The soft hand he had anticipated fell on another person’s head; All the gentle encouraging praise he had anticipated was crowned with another person’s name. Everything he had worked so hard to fight for was personally offered up by the person he cared about most to another person! And that person didn’t even know how to cherish it!
Xu Rong’s eyes gradually became tinged with crimson.
Why? Just because he was born a few decades earlier than me? Just because he’s the child you personally picked up and brought back?
If it’s a gap in cultivation, I can desperately chase after it; if it’s an unlikable personality, I can learn how to make you happy; but if it’s time that cannot be made up…
He lowered his head, and on his face covered in blood and filth, a neurotic smile emerged. He looked at those eyes full of malice reflected in the smooth floor, didn’t find them scary at all, and his mouth corners spread even wider.
—Then let him die.
The Tianxuan Secret Treasury about to manifest in the world, the place left behind after a Dao Integration stage cultivator’s fall—what a suitable place for murder and destruction of evidence.
After he dies, I’ll always stay by your side, whether you’re sad or happy. Eventually time will wash away his position in your heart, and I will replace him, becoming your most beloved disciple through long companionship.
A figure flashed through his crazed brain. Biting his finger, he muttered to himself, “An accomplice. Right, I still need an accomplice.”
As he spoke, he laughed again, malice flowing undisguised from his eyes, “Let me see—among Taihua Immortal Sect’s geniuses, who would be the disciple who most detests Feng Lan?”