Chapter 2: Beasts Paying Homage.

The woman who had suddenly appeared possessed an otherworldly visage, her elegance unparalleled. Bi Lan stared, entranced. In a daze, she seemed to understand what it meant to be as beautiful as a celestial.

This Eldest Senior Sister was the Peak Lord of Tianzhu Peak — Immortal Venerable Yuanqing’s head disciple, Ren Qingyue.

Ren Qingyue had been Immortal Venerable Yuanqing’s disciple for over a thousand years. She was the first immortal disciple in Fuyun Sect to achieve Soul Formation before the age of eight hundred, a true pride of heaven.

However, this Senior Sister often spent years training in the mortal world, appearing and vanishing like a divine dragon. Appearing so suddenly before everyone, many Inner Disciples did not recognize her on sight, but they were still awed by her extraordinary bearing and dared not act rashly.

Her long sword slid back into its sheath. Ren Qingyue didn’t spare a glance at the carnage around her. She cast a sidelong look at Luo Qi, who had the highest cultivation base among them. “What happened?”

The constricting force on her neck suddenly released. Yan Zhao dropped down, landing hard on her rear, nearly splitting it into eight pieces.

She clutched her collar, coughing violently for a long while before finally catching her breath. The blood-red in her eyes silently receded. She looked up, her field of vision capturing Ren Qingyue’s slender, upright silhouette.

Ren Qingyue had taken out a silk handkerchief, wiping away the remaining water stains from her fingers.

Luo Qi forced an awkward smile and braced himself to answer. “I-I don’t know either!”

The Inner Disciple who had previously suggested the idea had a sudden flash of inspiration and rushed to speak.

“Just now, we brothers were gathered here to cultivate when we chanced to see Junior Sister Yan floating downstream. At first, we thought she was tempering her body in the water, but upon closer inspection, something seemed wrong. Senior Brother Luo was just about to rescue her when, for some reason, this Evil Beast burst out from underwater! Fortunately, Senior Sister arrived in time, so no one was injured!”

Luo Qi nodded like a chick pecking at grain. “Yes, yes, yes! Before Senior Sister arrived, I was about to save her too!”

Ren Qingyue said nothing. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings. She turned to look at Bi Lan instead.

Bi Lan was still in shock. Flustered, her heart racing as she met Ren Qingyue’s gaze, her heart skipped several beats. Out of the corner of her eye, she secretly glanced at Luo Qi.

The latter was frantically winking at her, hoping she would help him smooth the matter over.

A strand of Voice Transmission reached her ear. “Vouch for me, and I’ll recommend you to Master, get you the best cultivation resources.”

Bi Lan avoided his gaze. Tensing her fist, she said in a deep voice, “They are lying!”

Luo Qi’s face paled dramatically. “You!”

Before he could utter another word, Bi Lan knelt down with a thud. She performed a formal, respectful bow to Ren Qingyue and recounted the events truthfully.

“Being new here, I dared not defy the Senior Brothers’ orders.” Bi Lan steeled her resolve and bowed again. “It was I who pushed Junior Sister Yan into the water. I know my fault. Please, Senior Sister, punish me!”

Luo Qi’s eyes bulged in fury. He refused to admit it. “You’re slandering me! Everyone here saw it! You argued with Yan Zhao by the river and cruelly pushed her in. I pitied you, new to the sect and ignorant of the rules, and wanted to cover for you. I never imagined you’d bite the hand that feeds you!”

The few Inner Disciples, all in the same boat, echoed Luo Qi’s words.

Bi Lan hadn’t expected Luo Qi to be so shameless. In her desperation, she wanted to find someone to bear witness for her, but as her gaze swept the area, the Senior Brothers all had varied expressions and uniformly avoided her eyes.

Moreover, the way they looked at her was rather strange, with a hint of subtle mockery mixed in their disdain.

Isolated and helpless, Bi Lan scanned around one more time and saw Yan Zhao behind Ren Qingyue.

“Junior Sister Yan!” Bi Lan raised her voice, as if grasping at a lifeline. “You know the whole sequence of events! Quickly, tell Senior Sister that Senior Brother Luo ordered me to push you!”

Several gazes converged directly on Yan Zhao.

Yan Zhao was bent over, tidying her clothes on her own, wringing the water out of her sleeves.

Her long black hair hung down, hiding her face. No matter how much Bi Lan called, she remained detached and unmoved, completely silent.

Ren Qingyue’s gaze withdrew from her. Her expression was cold. Seeing Yan Zhao’s drawn-out unresponsiveness, ignoring everything happening around her, a trace of displeasure appeared between her brows.

Bi Lan’s heart sank like a stone into death.

Luo Qi couldn’t help but show a hint of smugness in his eyes.

Yan Zhao finished straightening her clothes. Only then did she stand up slowly, tossing out a remark. “You’re all the same.”

The smugness in Luo Qi’s eyes vanished. Bi Lan pursed her lips, her eyes reddening. The Inner Senior Brothers looked at each other, but no one dared to speak again.

“Enough.” Ren Qingyue’s voice cut off the farce of mutual recrimination. “All of you return to your quarters for closed-door reflection. Copy the sect rules ten thousand times as punishment.”

Luo Qi outwardly accepted the punishment respectfully before Ren Qingyue. But as he left, he shot Bi Lan a vicious glare, as if saying: Just you wait!

The Senior Brothers took their leave from Ren Qingyue one by one. In a short while, only Yan Zhao, Ren Qingyue, and Bi Lan remained by the riverbank.

Bi Lan expressed her thanks to the Senior Sister.

Ren Qingyue gave her a cool glance. “Rise. You and I are of the same generation. No need for the kneeling obeisance ritual.”

Bi Lan nodded and carefully stood up.

Ren Qingyue then looked at Yan Zhao, frowning.

This child could be considered an oddity within the entire Fuyun Sect.

The inability to cultivate was secondary. It wasn’t as if Fuyun Sect couldn’t afford to support such an idle person. But for a young woman, she was always unkempt, her hair a mess. After falling into the water, she cared not a whit about her disheveled state. Anyone who passed by could trample on her.

It was said her mortal mother died in a Devil calamity three hundred years ago. She had been afflicted from the womb, all her meridians blocked and accumulating filth, unable to cultivate.

Taking pity on her tragic background, Immortal Venerable Yuanqing brought her back to Fuyun Sect to raise her, giving her the name Yan Zhao, and bestowing upon her the Heaven-rank Magic Treasure, the Soul-Condensing Bead, for protection.

But not long after, Immortal Venerable Yuanqing was also murdered by Fiends. Her Soul Tablet in the Ancestral Hall shattered, and her immortal body’s whereabouts remain unknown to this day.

Rumors spread from somewhere that the child’s fate was ill-fated. Not only had she brought death upon her parents, but she was also the reason Immortal Venerable Yuanqing perished at the hands of the Devils. After that, no one in the sect cared whether she lived or died, leaving her to fend for herself.

And yet, three hundred years later, she was still alive.

“You are, after all, still a disciple of Tianzhu Peak.” Ren Qingyue’s tone was cold and detached. “Stop constantly bringing shame upon the Peak Lord.”

With that, she flicked her sleeve. A Dust-Cleansing Spell fell upon Yan Zhao, instantly making her soaking wet clothes look brand new.

Yan Zhao looked down at herself. The standard gray Inner Disciple robe only accentuated the pallor of her skin. Because she was too thin, the garment hung loose and ill-fitting on her shoulders.

Ren Qingyue didn’t linger a moment longer. Taking a graceful step, her body transformed into a wisp of blue smoke and, in an instant, dispersed with the wind.

After the Eldest Senior Sister left, the banks of the Tianzhu River returned to quiet.

In a few days, a heavy rain would wash the Flood Dragon’s blood from the ground, vanishing it completely. All that had happened today would leave no trace.

Bi Lan looked uneasy, her mind unsettled.

Her Cave Abode was not yet arranged, yet she had already offended Luo Qi. She was sure to face difficulties in the future.

Yan Zhao glanced left and right. Acting as if no one was there, she approached a section of the Flood Dragon’s corpse. She rolled up her sleeves, plunged her hand into the flesh, and rummaged around.

A moment later, she extracted a golden, fist-sized Inner Core from the Fierce Beast’s body.

Steadying herself, Bi Lan quickly walked over to Yan Zhao. “Junior Sister Yan, regarding today’s events… I’m very sorry.”

As if she hadn’t heard, Yan Zhao didn’t spare a thought for her freshly cleaned clothes. She used her sleeve to wipe the Flood Dragon Pearl clean and held it up to the sunlight for a look.

The color was clear, containing a few faint, thread-like red strands within.

A Mid Golden Core Stage Heavenly Pearl Flood Dragon.

Without a word, Yan Zhao pocketed the Flood Dragon Pearl and turned to leave.

Bi Lan called out to her. “Junior Sister Yan!”

Yan Zhao’s steps didn’t stop, gradually receding into the distance like a lonely ghost wandering the mountain.

Watching her silhouette disappear, Bi Lan felt utterly lost.

Since entering the Back Mountain, each person she met was stranger than the last. She couldn’t afford to offend any of them.

Suddenly, a wind blew across the bank. The empty air rippled, and a human figure appeared out of nowhere.

The newcomer wore a dark blue Daoist robe, his hair neatly tied up. He had a man’s build and a woman’s features—handsome and feminine.

At first glance, the riverbank was a scene of fierce battle. Only one unfamiliar young disciple stood in a pool of blood, staring at him dumbly, seemingly scared stiff.

Yuan Yi thought to himself: Juniors these days are increasingly ignorant of the rules. They see a senior and don’t even offer a greeting.

He raised his Whisk and swept it gently before Bi Lan’s eyes to bring her back to her senses. “What happened here just now?”

Belatedly, Bi Lan realized and started to bow, but a gentle breeze lifted her arm.

The Senior’s Dharma Power was profound. She couldn’t bend down. So, once again, she respectfully explained the events that had transpired.

Yuan Yi understood. “So you’re a newly promoted Inner Disciple. No wonder you don’t recognize me.”

With a casual wave of his hand, the Flood Dragon corpses on the ground vanished.

“Do not worry about your Cave Abode. I will arrange it. Come find me at Yingxian Residence before nightfall.” Yuan Yi took Bi Lan’s Talisman Token, then asked, “But tell me, where has that child, Zhao’er, gone?”

Zhao’er?

Bi Lan remembered Yan Zhao’s cold, pale face and still felt a lingering fear. She rubbed the goosebumps on her arm and pointed in a direction. “North, into the forest.”

Alone, Yan Zhao wandered through the woods, finding a Cave shielded from wind and rain to rest in.

She took out the Flood Dragon Pearl she’d obtained earlier, warmed it in her palm, then opened her mouth and stuffed the whole thing inside. With a gulp, she swallowed it without a shred of hesitation.

Had anyone witnessed this, their jaw would surely drop in shock.

While a Fierce Beast’s Inner Core could help increase one’s cultivation base, the Demonic Power within was violently difficult to tame. An ordinary cultivator wanting to refine an Inner Core needed to first gather hundreds of precious medicinal herbs, then place them all together in a Pill Furnace to simmer for forty-nine days before it was fit for consumption.

Even a Mighty Figure at the Nascent Soul Realm wouldn’t dare swallow a Golden Core Stage Demon Beast’s Inner Core raw, for fear of being affected by the Demonic Power and succumbing to Qi Deviation.

Swallowing the Inner Core, Yan Zhao felt no discomfort at all. Instead, she felt a comfortable warmth soothing her meridians and bones, very agreeable.

Having rarely eaten a full meal, drowsiness quickly set in.

Yan Zhao yawned lazily, leaned against the wall, and dozed off.

As she slept, a faint layer of clear qi emanated from her body. The Soul-Condensing Bead around her neck suddenly flickered, then blazed with brilliant light. It gathered the clear qi and gently channeled it into the top of Yan Zhao’s head.

Fierce Beasts roaming the forest detected the footprints of a Human. This particular Human carried a fragrance that made them salivate.

The Fierce Beasts couldn’t resist the temptation. They followed the footprints and scent to the Cave. Just as they were about to sneak inside, a strange wave suddenly burst from within.

It was as if ten thousand knives were simultaneously scraping at their souls. A slight deviation in the blade’s edge, and their very souls would shatter into pieces, erased from existence.

The Fierce Beasts howled pitifully and lay down, heads pressed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. They dared not advance, nor did they dare to sneak away.

This was the scene that met Yuan Yi when he arrived.

Over a dozen Fierce Beasts of varying ranks were gathered outside the Cave. Those with higher cultivation bases were closer, while those with lower cultivation were pushed to the periphery. All lay perfectly prostrate, without a single exception.