Tu Jiaojiao’s face went pale with horror. She instinctively took a step back, even her voice trembling slightly. “W-when we first came in, it wasn’t looking at me, was it?”
Ye Chenyan nodded with certainty. “No.”
Girl in the Bamboo was even calmer. “It moved.”
Yu Qingtang comforted her. “It’s fine. It’s not a ghost.”
“Don’t say that word!” Tu Jiaojiao’s scalp prickled instantly, though she did feel considerably better. “Thank goodness it isn’t...”
She quickly regained her composure and looked toward the courtyard where the two cultivators had just flown up from.
Several more people lay sprawled on the ground there, their lives or deaths uncertain. Considering the blood covering the man from earlier, the situation was probably grim.
But Tu Jiaojiao hadn’t forgotten their own predicament. She only glanced over there from a distance before immediately turning her attention back to the obviously abnormal giant statues before them.
“These are usually sect guardians.” Tu Jiaojiao frowned. “There’s a fire phoenix statue and a fire dragon statue in front of the Heavenly Fire Cult too. They only come alive when the sect-protecting grand array is activated.”
“Could these be part of this sect’s defenses as well?”
Ye Chenyan swept his gaze around. “If this immortal sect vanished in the middle of a war, perhaps its sect-protecting grand array has remained active all this time. Better to be careful.”
“While they still haven’t attacked us...” Tu Jiaojiao cautiously backed away. “Let’s go around.”
She swiftly flew across the courtyard where the disturbance had occurred, confirmed that there were no signs of any survivors, then returned to the others without looking back.
There was suppressed anger in her voice. “He was ruthless enough to leave no one alive!”
The leader of Golden Craft Hall frowned deeply. “But why would he...”
“Why else?” Tu Jiaojiao snorted. “We’re inside an immortal abode. Killing people for their treasures is hardly unusual.”
“I just didn’t expect him to be greedy enough to wipe out even his own companions. I’d like to see whether he can make it out of here alive all by himself!”
Yu Qingtang, meanwhile, was sorting through the original novel’s plot in his head.
They had arrived much earlier than in the original story.
By the time Ye Chenyan reached the immortal abode in the novel, the Heavenly Fire Cult and numerous sects large and small throughout Rongzhou had already sent plenty of people inside—and quite a few had died.
Once word spread that this place was connected to immortals, the winds and clouds converged. Major sects from all over sent people here, everyone desperate to pursue traces of the immortals.
Even knowing that countless people had died inside did nothing to stop them. More continued throwing themselves in for half a month, until the Esoteric Sect finally intervened and put an end to the madness.
By then, the place had already become an infamous death zone.
Ye Chenyan hadn’t entered because he wanted to, either.
At the time, he had offended an immortal cultivation clan, and three of that clan’s peak Out-of-Body elders chased him for thousands of li. With no other choice, he took the risk of fleeing into the immortal abode.
He used the pressure of those three peak Out-of-Body elders pursuing him to lure away the Esoteric Sect cultivators guarding the entrance, then seized the opening to slip inside.
Ji Ruxue, the holy maiden of the Esoteric Sect, had also been at the entrance then. She had instinctively followed him inside because she wanted to save him.
And after that...
Yu Qingtang glanced at Ye Chenyan.
Ye Chenyan caught the look immediately and looked back. “What?”
“Do I need a reason just to look at you?” Yu Qingtang grabbed onto him. “Let me hang off you while you fly for a while. I need to sort—no, wait, I need to divine something.”
The leader of Golden Craft Hall immediately looked over with vigilance.
By now, he believed in Yu Qingtang’s fortune-telling abilities more than anyone else and was staring at him expectantly.
This immortal abode really had once been connected to immortals. Supposedly, it was a ruin left behind after the great war of antiquity, and there had even been traces of otherworldly evil demons.
But...
Dog Xiaosa had always loved digging plot holes and then never filling them.
The later story had barely revealed the slightest trace of the otherworldly evil demons before Venerable Burning Gold rushed over and told the young couple, Hua Shimiao and Ji Ruxue, to get out of there immediately.
What Ye Chenyan gained here hadn’t really come from the immortal abode itself, either.
His real gain had been Ji Ruxue, the holy maiden of the Esoteric Sect.
The cultivation method she practiced was an incomplete Heaven-Mending Formula. It couldn’t actually mend Heaven, but through dual cultivation, it could help repair another person’s meridians.
At the time, Ye Chenyan had suffered some injuries during an earlier battle. After several previous encounters, the two of them had already developed feelings for each other.
Before Venerable Burning Gold arrived, the pair had spent their time evading the other cultivators inside the immortal abode—who had become violently deranged under the influence of the otherworldly evil demons—while dual cultivating along the way.
Not only had their cultivation advanced rapidly, so had their relationship.
Yu Qingtang looked at Ye Chenyan with a complicated expression.
Ye Chenyan wanted to ask what was wrong and stared eagerly at him. “Done divining?”
“More or less,” Yu Qingtang muttered.
Then he looked at Tu Jiaojiao.
“That cultivator just now might not actually have been trying to kill people for their treasures. There’s a good chance something here influenced him.”
He quietly glanced up to check the sky, terrified that the Heavenly Dao might strike him with lightning for spoiling the plot.
Carefully choosing his words, he began, “There are other—”
Ye Chenyan reacted instantly and clapped a hand over his mouth.
“How many characters?”
Yu Qingtang held up four fingers.
Ye Chenyan’s expression shifted.
He immediately made the connection. “Otherworldly evil demons?”
Yu Qingtang nodded furiously, looking shocked. “How did you guess that immediately?”
Then he looked up again.
“And why isn’t the Heavenly Dao striking you?”
The moment he said it, he understood.
Setting aside the fact that this native overpowered protagonist was practically the Heavenly Dao’s biological son, Ye Chenyan didn’t know the plot. Anything he said was only speculation, not a spoiler.
“Makes sense,” Yu Qingtang muttered.
He turned toward the others, worried they might not even know what an otherworldly evil demon was.
Instead, Tu Jiaojiao’s expression instantly turned grave.
“You divined that too?”
She couldn’t help giving Yu Qingtang another look, but managed to suppress her questions. For now, dealing with the situation in front of them mattered more.
“No wonder a super-sect like this still fell, while its sect-protecting grand array remains active...”
“Could they have destroyed each other along with the otherworldly evil demons?”
“Whether the otherworldly evil demons were wiped out is hard to say,” Ye Chenyan said, folding his arms, “but after all these years, this immortal sect certainly looks pretty wiped out—”
Yu Qingtang elbowed him.
“Hiss.”
Ye Chenyan sucked in a breath and looked at him innocently.
Yu Qingtang pressed his palms together and bowed toward the empty ruins.
“Please don’t take offense, Seniors. The kid’s young and says stupid things.”
Then he gave Ye Chenyan a complicated look.
“You’re standing on their territory. Have a little respect when you talk.”
Ye Chenyan obediently lowered his head and copied him, pressing his palms together.
“Sorry.”
Tu Jiaojiao looked nervous. “W-who are you two talking to? Stop scaring people!”
“Which way now?” Girl in the Bamboo asked calmly. “There are giant statues over there. This side is where the sphere was destroyed. And that direction is where the suspected otherworldly evil demon fled.”
Yu Qingtang scratched his head.
“When you put it like that, nowhere sounds particularly safe. Feels like we’re surrounded on all sides.”
“Think of it another way.” Ye Chenyan’s eyes curved in a smile. “That means every direction is equally bad.”
“In that case, why don’t we pick the biggest problem and follow the cultivator who may have been affected by an otherworldly evil demon?”
He glanced back toward the entrance.
“An otherworldly evil demon, or someone under its influence, should be trying to escape an immortal abode full of lethal dangers. Instead, he ran deeper inside. That’s suspicious no matter how you look at it.”
“Let’s follow and see.”
Yu Qingtang regarded him with newfound respect.
As expected of an overpowered protagonist. He had effortlessly chosen the exact path Yu Qingtang wouldn’t have dared take.
No, wait.
If an overpowered protagonist hadn’t been dragging him along, Yu Qingtang definitely wouldn’t have entered this immortal abode in the first place.
Ye Chenyan noticed his stare and immediately reined in his cocky expression, looking up at him obediently.
“Is that okay? Or do you want to divine it first?”
Yu Qingtang: “...”
Tu Jiaojiao hesitated.
Her original intention had been to focus purely on reconnaissance and avoid anything unsafe whenever possible.
But at this point, avoiding danger didn’t seem particularly realistic.
In the end, she also turned toward Yu Qingtang.
“Should we go?”
“Huh?” Yu Qingtang pointed at himself in disbelief. “You’re asking me too?”
She doesn’t seriously think I can divine things, does she?
Seeing everyone’s eyes focused on him, Yu Qingtang rubbed his nose and glanced up guiltily.
“Then... maybe we go?”
“Let’s go!” Tu Jiaojiao didn’t hesitate for an instant. She immediately led the group deeper into the immortal abode.
Yu Qingtang sighed mournfully.
This was bad.
Ye Chenyan was reckless enough already, and now Yu Qingtang had somehow become his accomplice.
...
Outside the immortal abode.
Kong Shanyu stared fixedly at the entrance as though he wanted to burn a hole straight through it with his gaze.
Sifeng and Siyu exchanged a look, then quietly advised, “Young Master, why don’t you rest for a while?”
“Haven’t I been resting this whole time?” Kong Shanyu shifted positions and sat cross-legged. “There’s nothing I can do in my current state anyway.”
Sifeng was about to continue persuading him. “Perhaps...”
Her expression suddenly shifted, and she looked skyward.
“Someone’s coming, Young Master!”
Kong Shanyu immediately perked up.
He flew into the air, signaled the two women beside him to assume their positions, then settled back onto his rain cloud and called out in a deep voice,
“Who goes there?”
His voice boomed with impressive majesty, and the spectacle really did resemble the methods of an immortal.
This was also how he displayed his identity.
Cloudmarsh Sect might not wield as much influence in Rongzhou as the Heavenly Fire Cult, but it was still well known. Any local cultivator would show at least some restraint upon recognizing them.
Sure enough, the newcomers stopped and announced themselves.
“So it’s Cloudmarsh Sect.”
“An immortal abode has emerged here, and it’s extraordinarily dangerous.” Kong Shanyu puffed out his chest. “Cloudmarsh Sect and the Heavenly Fire Cult are currently investigating it together. I advise you not to enter.”
“But if you refuse to listen, suit yourselves.”
He put on such an imposing front that the other side actually began hesitating.
The cultivators exchanged looks and murmured among themselves. Eventually, they reached a decision and cupped their fists.
“In that case, we’ll remain here as well and wait for the outcome.”
Kong Shanyu secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He showed none of it on his face, merely lifting his chin and giving a slight nod.
He was just about to speak when Siyu looked up, her fine brows knitting.
“More people are coming.”
“Why is this so annoying? One group after another.” Kong Shanyu expertly shouted toward the sky again. “Who goes there?”
A graceful figure drifted down.
Behind her followed a white-haired old man. Anyone who had attended the Qingzhou Golden Core Competition would have recognized him as that unfathomable Esoteric Sect old man.
The young woman wore a veiled hat.
She raised her head slightly. A gentle breeze stirred the light gauze, briefly revealing the elegant curve of half her chin.
She spoke softly.
“Esoteric Sect. Ji Ruxue.”
Her voice was cool and clear, like jade ringing through an empty mountain.
Kong Shanyu froze.
“The Esoteric Sect?!”
Ji Ruxue gazed toward the immortal abode, her expression shifting slightly.
“Seventh Uncle, remain at the entrance. Don’t let anyone else go inside. Otherwise, they’ll only shed blood for nothing.”
Seventh Uncle frowned sharply. “No! It’s far too dangerous in there. You can’t rush inside recklessly—”
“He’s in there too.” Ji Ruxue’s expression turned solemn. “It’s too dangerous. I can’t leave him in there alone.”
“That man may have been born supreme, but he has no strength of character and no ambition to improve himself. He’s long since wasted his potential!” Seventh Uncle snapped indignantly. “Why risk your life alone for him?”
Ji Ruxue shook her head slightly.
“I’ve made up my mind.”
Ignoring the old man’s attempt to stop her, she flew straight through the entrance.
The moment she moved, several people outside began entertaining ideas of following her.
But the old man sighed, swept his gaze over them, and sat down in front of the immortal abode.
His voice was calm.
“No one else goes in.”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter