Isn't This a Game? Why Are You All Cultivating for Real!

Qing Guo followed Lin Pan Yan and Xie Xiping into the Xingshui Sect.

She was also beginning to understand how she had entered someone else’s territory without even realizing it.

It turned out the Xingshui Sect wasn’t a city out in the open.

A Protective Array had been laid out here, completely concealing the Xingshui Sect’s presence.

Though the path seemed right before them, Xie Xiping and Lin Pan Yan took Qing Guo aboard a Flying Sword.

It zipped around in several wide arcs right where they stood. The speed was so extreme that even with her excellent memory, Qing Guo couldn’t possibly keep track of a Golden Core cultivator’s movements.

Suddenly, a city-state floating on the water’s surface appeared.

Looking at such an Array, Qing Guo thought to herself, ’If only the Feique Sect had an array like this.’

’Then the Longevity Sect would be able to hide itself better.’

Unlike the cold, austere style of other sects, the Xingshui Sect was like a Dragon Palace trapped inside a giant crystal ball.

This was because on its outermost layer, the Xingshui Sect was truly half-embraced by a colossal, dragon-shaped creature.

Qing Guo’s gaze was immediately drawn to this dragon-shaped creature.

Seeing her expression, Lin Pan Yan smiled and casually explained, "Those are the remains of an Ancient Flood Dragon. Our ancestor brought them back from a Secret Realm years ago. With these remains guarding this place, we can fend off an attack from a Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator for several days without issue."

And in the Cultivation World, a few days was more than enough time to call for reinforcements.

Qing Guo stared, her mouth falling open in astonishment.

She looked just like someone who had never left home before, shocked by the sight of a new world.

Her reaction further convinced Lin Pan Yan that Qing Guo came from a small sect. "Have you never traveled far from home before?" she asked.

Qing Guo shook her head and replied, playing along, "My parents wouldn’t let me out."

At the mention of her parents, a flicker of emotion crossed Qing Guo’s eyes. For a moment, a genuine trace of sadness seemed to surface.

On this point, she wasn’t lying.

Her parents in the real world had passed away long ago.

Lin Pan Yan observed her, but she wasn’t moved by Qing Guo’s story about her parents. Instead, she seemed to have guessed something and grew thoughtful.

After entering the city, they landed and began to walk.

Lin Pan Yan and Xie Xiping led Qing Guo into the inner grounds of the Xingshui Sect.

As Qing Guo walked through the city, many cultivators along the way couldn’t help but stare at her.

They were clearly stunned by her beautiful face.

Xie Xiping glanced at the onlookers, raised her hand, and a veil flew over.

"Your cultivation is low. You should wear a veil."

For a female cultivator, being too beautiful with low cultivation while traveling alone was like having every possible debuff stacked against her.

Qing Guo lowered her head, stroking the veil that felt as thin as a cicada’s wing. "Thank you, Senior," she said softly.

Once she put on the veil, her features would appear blurry to others.

Only those at the Golden Core Stage or higher could see through it to her true face.

Lin Pan Yan watched Xie Xiping give the veil to Qing Guo, shooting Xie Xiping a surprised glance. But Xie Xiping just turned away with a neutral expression, as if it were merely a casual gesture.

In the very center of the city stood a colossal, towering tree.

This great tree had numerous thick roots that grew in the water, entirely submerged.

The three of them looked minuscule standing beneath it.

Xie Xiping walked over, and with a lift of her hand, a Token emitted an arc of light.

After the light faded, the giant tree stirred, and a wooden platform formed of several roots extended from the water.

It stretched all the way to their feet.

Xie Xiping stepped onto it. Lin Pan Yan grabbed Qing Guo’s arm. "Come on, let’s go inside."

Qing Guo nodded and followed Lin Pan Yan onto the platform.

The wooden platform instantly sank beneath the water.

Anyone experiencing this for the first time would surely panic, and Qing Guo had prepared for this before coming.

But she knew that appearing calm at a moment like this would be suspicious, so she put on a timely display of panic as they went underwater.

Lin Pan Yan, beside her, immediately reassured her. "It’s alright."

After she spoke, the scene before them spun dizzily.

It was as if everything had turned upside down.

The wooden platform that had just sunk now rose again, revealing a landscape completely different from the Star Water City they had just left.

Lively spiritual beasts ran about everywhere in the city.

The city’s buildings all shimmered, as if a soft-focus filter had been applied to them.

Wisps of Water Element energy drifted past them from time to time, making it feel as if they were truly at the bottom of the water.

Recalling the previous scene, a phrase came to Qing Guo’s mind.

Inverted city.

The real Xingshui Sect was hidden underwater.

Several young women came running over, laughing. "Senior Sister Pan Yan, Senior Sister Xiping, you’re back?"

Xie Xiping’s expression softened as she looked at them, and she nodded.

Qing Guo glanced around and only then realized that the Xingshui Sect was composed entirely of women.

There wasn’t a single man in sight.

The information she had read before had briefly mentioned this. It said the Xingshui Sect only accepted women because their Cultivation Technique was unique and could not be practiced by male cultivators.

Now, seeing it for herself, she knew it was true.

Seeing that Xie Xiping and the others had brought back a female cultivator at the Qi Refining Middle Stage, the women all stared curiously.

However, Xie Xiping had no intention of explaining.

Lin Pan Yan smiled and took hold of Qing Guo. "Come with me. We’re going to see the White Phoenix Ancestor."

Qing Guo soon found out just what kind of spiritual beast the White Phoenix Ancestor was.

The higher a spiritual beast’s Rank, the larger its body, but High-level Spirit Beasts could control their size.

Lin Pan Yan and the others led Qing Guo to a mountain range. There, she saw a fat, blue swan soaking and dozing in a hot spring on a back mountain. The only thing that distinguished it from an ordinary swan was the three crest feathers on its head, which shimmered with a starlike light.

But otherwise, it showed not a single trace of the aura of a High-level Spirit Beast.

Until she heard Lin Pan Yan and the others call out cautiously, "White Phoenix Ancestor?"

Qing Guo: "..."

’Who?’

’That fat swan?’

’The one getting its back scrubbed by a duck holding a cloth in its beak?’

And sure enough, the fat swan opened its eyes!

Beady little eyes!

It glanced lazily at Lin Pan Yan and the others, as if asking what they wanted.

Qing Guo’s eyes widened as she did her best to express her respect for the fat swan.

Xie Xiping stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "White Phoenix Ancestor, we’ve brought back a Loose Cultivator we found outside. She claims to be from the Ten Thousand Immortals Sect and says she accidentally stumbled into a cave while chasing a demon beast, which is how she appeared in our Xingshui Sect. We would like to ask you to verify her story."

The fat swan gave a lazy nod. Suddenly, the System’s voice spoke up in her mind: "Prepare yourself."

The next second, an invisible force surged toward Qing Guo.

It didn’t cause any direct harm, but it subjected Qing Guo to immense pressure.

She immediately calmed herself, adopting the same mindset she used when on missions. She began to replay everything in her mind.

She even seemed to construct a completely fabricated backstory and memories.

But the fat swan’s inspection wasn’t like the Fifth Elder’s memory-searching; it seemed to be merely discerning whether Qing Guo was lying.

And in the Cultivation World, spiritual beasts like these, which possessed all sorts of heaven-defying abilities, were deeply trusted by cultivators.

A moment later, the force receded, and she saw the fat swan give another lazy nod.

Lin Pan Yan looked at Xie Xiping and let out a sigh of relief.

’The beautiful girl is fine. That’s wonderful.’

Meanwhile, Qing Guo impassively lowered her eyes.

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