The theft of the treasure threw the entire Jietian Dao Sect into immediate lockdown. All outsiders within the sect, including visitors from the major sects attending the grand assembly, were detained through a mix of force and persuasion.
The Sect Master of Jietian Dao Sect issued a death order—no one was permitted to leave the main sect grounds until the item was found. He then promptly humbled himself and personally visited the other two great immortal sects to apologize and request their cooperation in locating the missing treasure.
When the Sect Master came calling, Shen Muxuan was conversing with two disciples from his sect. The female disciple immediately turned to prepare tea.
Upon hearing the Sect Master’s purpose, Shen Muxuan didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, “I personally have no issue cooperating. However, with the Tianxuan Secret Treasury opening soon, your sect has halted the disciple selection over a private matter—that hardly seems appropriate.”
The Sect Master wore gray robes with yin-yang fish patterns embroidered on the hem. His hair was bound in a high topknot with a wooden hairpin, and his face showed clear distress.
At these words, the worry on the Daoist’s face deepened further as he sighed repeatedly. “We truly had no other choice but to resort to this desperate measure!”
“Oh? What treasure has your sect lost that could be more important than the future prospects of disciples from three thousand sects?”
Crack—
The female disciple holding the tray remained expressionless. The foot that hadn’t stepped on the broken stone pushed off gracefully, her body arcing through the air in a perfect circle before landing steadily beside the stone table, the tea in the cups completely undisturbed.
“Senior, please.”
After serving the tea, the female disciple lowered her eyes submissively and returned to stand behind Shen Muxuan.
The gray-robed Daoist eyed him carefully. This snow-clothed young man appeared calm and composed, raising his tea cup to drink unhurriedly, showing no signs of affectation.
He lowered his eyes imperceptibly.
They all said this Tianji Daojun of Taihua Immortal Sect was open-minded with a pure dao heart, unmoved by worldly desires—but he didn’t believe it.
Cultivators, cultivators…Those who could climb to such heights on this narrow path to heaven built on piles of blood, mud, and bones—how could any of them truly have pure and kind hearts?
The Daoist’s forced smile looked worse than crying. “Why must Daojun make things difficult for me? That reckless disciple’s shout that day was probably heard throughout the entire sect.”
He lowered his voice, his implication heavy. “This matter concerns the ‘Sacred Master’—we absolutely dare not be anything less than thorough.”
Sacred Master was the internal title used within Jietian Dao Sect for Wu Daozhu.
Shen Muxuan gazed at him quietly for a moment, then showed a disappointed expression. “If the Sect Master truly hopes for my cooperation, please don’t try to deceive me with such words.”
“…Why does Daojun say this?”
Shen Muxuan said coldly, “I’m not some ordinary sect elder who knows nothing. If it were truly a treasure that someone of Daozhu’s level cared about, how could it be casually placed together with other ordinary items?”
The Daoist examined his expression carefully and found it seemed genuine—he had completely failed to grasp the implication. Recalling Elder Hu’s words that Shen Muxuan knew nothing about ‘people from other worlds,’ he couldn’t help but click his tongue inwardly.
He had long heard that Feng Jiangcheng was extremely protective of this sole true disciple. Could it be they really raised a lotus that emerged unstained from the mud? Could he truly not know even a shred about those filthy secrets the three great immortal sects kept hidden?
When the Sect Master showed no intention of revealing the truth for a long while, Shen Muxuan’s expression gradually turned cold as he began to show him out. “Since the Sect Master doesn’t trust me, there’s no need to bring out deceptive terms like ‘seeking help’ and ‘cooperation.’ Please see yourself out.”
The Sect Master hadn’t expected this person to be so inflexible, ready to show him the door at the slightest disagreement.
If someone who knew the inside story were here, hearing his emphasis on ‘Sacred Master,’ even without knowing the specific situation, they would have some understanding—but it just had to be this ‘Tianji’ Shen Muxuan who couldn’t tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes!
The Sect Master put on a show of reluctance. “It’s not that I intentionally deceive Daojun, but this matter involves some unspeakable secrets of our sect—it’s truly difficult to speak of to outsiders…”
Shen Muxuan remained completely unmoved.
The Sect Master gritted his teeth. His wandering gaze fixed on a point, as if he had made some kind of determination, and he said, “Daojun’s character is noble and pure, like a green lotus in a pond, a white crane among clouds. I naturally trust you completely. If it’s Daojun, then I suppose I could…”
“Cough, cough cough—“
A sudden violent coughing erupted from the side. The female disciple who had just served tea bent deeply at the waist, both hands pressed tightly over her mouth, coughing so hard tears came to her eyes.
The atmosphere the Sect Master had worked so hard to create was interrupted, and he immediately felt displeased. He couldn’t very well scold someone else’s disciple in front of their elder, so he turned to look at Shen Muxuan instead.
The corners of Yin Lang’s lips quirked up slightly. His amused gaze shifted sideways and happened to meet a guilty look from within the mass of black hair. Ji Chang’an immediately coughed even more violently.
“Take your martial sister and go. Let her rest properly.” The snow-clothed Daojun gently patted the female disciple’s black hair, his concern tinged with reproach. “The injuries you received on stage a few days ago haven’t healed yet, and you’re already running around everywhere. I’d like to see how you explain this to your martial brother when we return.”
The mass of black hair shook frantically up and down.
Qin Xun pressed his lips tightly together, answering quietly in agreement. Supporting Ji Chang’an, he bowed to the two men before quickly fleeing from the courtyard.
Once they were certain they were far enough away, Qin Xun released Ji Chang’an, unable to hold back his own smile.
Ji Chang’an laughed until her stomach hurt, plopping down on the ground, her ten fingers gripping the grass tightly. “Aiyo… sorry, really sorry, senior martial brother… but faced with that wrinkled orange-peel old face, I really couldn’t hold it in…”
Incredible! In all the years since transmigrating here, this was truly the first time she’d witnessed what [Tianji Daojun]’s persona looked like in the eyes of outsiders.
Using ’emerging unstained from the mud’ to praise the great villain—was that even appropriate??
After the two fled, Yin Lang continued to banter with the Sect Master for quite some time, tormenting him until he could barely maintain his benevolent facade before finally showing mercy and presenting tea to see him out.
The Dao Sect Master declined once or twice, greatly relieved inside, and hurriedly took his leave, mentally exhausted and never wanting to deal with Shen Muxuan again in this lifetime.
The courtyard gate closed, separating inside from outside.
Sect Master: “Fool.”
Yin Lang: “Idiot.”
Several days passed with no movement from either of the two great immortal sects, and the medium and small sects affiliated with them immediately grew anxious.
With the Tianxuan Secret Treasury about to open its gates, yet this final selection inexplicably halted—if Jietian Dao Sect still couldn’t find their lost item by then, were they supposed to just watch this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip away?
Quite a few sects smartly maintained silence along with the two great immortal sects, but there were even more fools.
Within a few days, many sects banded together, selecting representatives to protest to Jietian Dao Sect. Others went to the Taihua Immortal Sect and Tiantai Buddhist Sect residences, attempting to convince the leaders of these two great immortal sects.
The Arhat of Tiantai Buddhist Sect directly announced he was in closed-door cultivation and receiving no visitors. The Tianji Daojun of Taihua Immortal Sect welcomed all visitors, but this person had mastered the art of playing dumb to perfection—they gained no information whatsoever before being shown out with tea and smiles.
Beneath the calm surface, undercurrents surged. However, few of the disciples from various sects confined to their residence areas sensed anything amiss. Most had already been eliminated and had no chance at the secret treasury anyway, so they didn’t particularly mind staying a while longer in this spiritually rich Qiong Palace and Jade Pavilion.
(TL: 琼宫玉阙 literally means “Jade Palace and Jade Tower/Imperial Pavilion,” but in English translations of cultivation/fantasy novels, it’s common to render it more elegantly as “Qiong Palace and Jade Pavilion” to convey a mystical, refined palace setting rather than a literal architectural description.)
“Who stole the items from Tianbao Pavilion?” Yin Lang repeated the question, his smile somewhat subtle.
Hmm… did he look like someone who could divine the future? This kind of thing would be more reliable to ask Xie Tingxuan about.
Ji Chang’an, who routinely came along with Qin Xun to curry favor, waited eagerly for an answer, her large eyes full of trust.
Well, you’re going to be disappointed then.
Yin Lang decisively shook his head. “How would I know? Why are you curious about this?”
He was actually quite surprised that Wu Daozhu had really placed the Primordial Jade fragment so openly together with other treasures in the sect’s Tianbao Pavilion.
Although the old saying goes: The most dangerous place is the safest place.
But to actually make that decision and implement it—Wu Daozhu’s boldness truly exceeded his expectations. Though it had indeed been effective. Just look—it hadn’t been stolen by anyone with ulterior motives for hundreds of years, only showing a flaw when the [protagonist] appeared in this world.
Combining what she knew from the original novel, Ji Chang’an could roughly guess where the item was now. She hinted frantically through her words. “Most people who need this treasure covet that wish, or plan to use it as a favor. But for some people, if they can’t obtain this item, their path forward is completely cut off.”
This statement was practically explicit.
The snow-clothed young man holding the tea cup paused slightly in his movements. Ji Chang’an looked at him expectantly.
Suddenly, pain struck her forehead. She cried out and covered her forehead, glaring tearfully: What was that for!
Yin Lang stirred the tea leaves, saying flatly, “Always worrying about this and that, your mind too cluttered—no wonder you still haven’t achieved Spirit Transformation stage. You’re just a young girl—manage yourself properly and that’s enough.”
Ji Chang’an clutched the Xiehong sword, looking utterly pitiful as she was thrown out of the courtyard.
Yin Lang instructed him further, “Watch over her more these days. When you have free time, practice with her, so the little girl doesn’t get wild ideas and run around outside, pointlessly losing her life.”
Qin Xun acknowledged the order.
He thought for a moment and added, “From Junior Martial Sister Chang’an’s words, she should know where [that item] is now. Does this disciple need to go and…”
He made a slashing gesture across his neck, his eyes fierce.
Immediately, he also received a flick to the head and obediently shut his mouth, not daring to speak further.
Yin Lang said coolly, “This is Jietian Dao Sect. A mere Spirit Transformation stage cultivator like you—if you’re looking for death, there are less painful ways.”
Qin Xun shrank his neck, quiet as a chicken.
After waiting a while with no follow-up reaction, he carefully changed his phrasing. “What do you think… who stole [that item]?”
Yin Lang glanced at him. Something smooth, round, and slightly familiar materialized in his palm, which he casually tossed and caught.
Qin Xun was stunned speechless. “This… You… I…”
“It doesn’t matter who stole it—in the end, it will all be [given] to [him].” Yin Lang laughed lightly and said leisurely, “As long as I coax [him] properly, won’t all these things become mine?”
Yin Lang only briefly took out this jade fragment, considering they were still on Jietian Dao Sect’s territory.
It took Qin Xun quite a while to recover. He immediately asked nervously, “You didn’t let him take advantage of you somehow, did you?”
The words came out before he could think. As soon as they left his mouth, Qin Xun immediately realized something was wrong. Meeting his master’s increasingly dangerous gaze, with strong survival instincts he quickly corrected himself, “I mean… who could be so formidable as to steal treasures from the heavily guarded Tianbao Pavilion as easily as reaching into a pocket?”
Yin Lang ‘lovingly’ patted his confused disciple’s head and asked, “Is Lin Xinqiao very strong?”
Qin Xun shook his head.
“Would crushing her be just a thought for your master?”
Qin Xun nodded.
“Then how did she take the [Heaven-Concealing Stone] from your master’s hands?”
Qin Xun suddenly understood.
Yin Lang’s eyes held a cold glint. “When the Heavenly Dao wants someone to obtain something, does it need to reason with you?”