Chapter 5: This Generation’s Master of Penglai Island Has a Serious Problem Part 1

Here, touch it and feel.

The exit of the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss was in a desolate, uninhabited mountain range. Afraid the Abyss might pull them back, the group didn’t dare rest for a moment. They quickened their pace to leave the barren mountains, finally finding an inn in Jinnan Town at the foot of the mountain to settle down and recuperate.

After escaping the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss, Gu Chuan immediately sent a message to the Primordial Pavilion for help. As soon as they reached the inn, he received a reply from his Master saying someone would be sent to bring them home.

Having narrowly escaped death, the taut bowstring of nerves in everyone finally loosened.

Hou An’s condition had also improved significantly. With the Nine-Tailed Bone Fox’s beast blood nourishing his Spirit Sea, he would surely recover once they returned to the Primordial Pavilion.

“Are you still thinking about that woman?” Gu Chuan asked, seeing Lu Qing’an sitting by the window, staring silently into the distance.

Lu Qing’an withdrew her gaze and said flatly, “I don’t think she’s a Spirit Beast in human form.”

Gu Chuan frowned slightly. “What else could operate so smoothly in a place like the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss besides Spirit Beasts?”

“There aren’t many cultivators in this world who can easily kill a Saint-Rank Earth-Shattering Stage Star Rift Python.”

“Unless she’s a reclusive master. But a place as vicious and perilous as the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss isn’t exactly a good spot for secluded cultivation.”

Seeing Lu Qing’an silent, Gu Chuan raised his hand and patted her shoulder. “Don’t dwell on it. Whatever she is, it has nothing to do with us.”

Lu Qing’an lowered her gaze.

She knew that person must surely be fine, but her heart was just a little unsettled.

Lu Qing’an let out a sigh, but the stifling breath lodged in her chest didn’t ease in the slightest.

This was a feeling she had never experienced before. Had something gone wrong with her cultivation, causing her Spiritual Power to stagnate?

Lu Qing’an immediately inspected her Spirit Sea. It was calm and clear, and channeling her Spiritual Power felt smooth, without any discomfort.

Clearly, there was nothing physically wrong with her. She just didn’t feel the relief and joy of a narrow escape from death.

Her heart was just uneasy, that was all.

—

The person who came from the Primordial Pavilion to bring them back was unexpectedly Sect Master You Luan himself.

You Luan looked anxious. He walked up to Lu Qing’an and scrutinized her carefully. “Are you alright?”

Lu Qing’an bowed respectfully. “Master, your disciple is unharmed. I’ve caused you worry.”

“Good that you’re alright, good that you’re alright.” You Luan looked at the remaining eight Primordial Pavilion disciples and sighed heavily. “Any discussion can wait until we return to the sect. You’ve all suffered greatly during this trial.”

“Yes—”

The group followed You Luan back to the Primordial Pavilion. The others were all taken away by their own Masters. You Luan brought Gu Chuan and Lu Qing’an to the Azure Heavens Hall to discuss the matter of Mo Le Sect ambushing the Primordial Pavilion disciples during their trial, together with the Three Great Elders and the Four Peak Masters.

“Someone in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss helped you escape?” After listening to Gu Chuan’s account, You Luan said in astonishment. “That person killed a Saint-Rank Earth-Shattering Stage Star Rift Python with ease? Is this true?”

Gu Chuan nodded. “Reporting to Pavilion Master, I saw it with my own eyes. That person merely moved a finger and killed the Star Rift Python. Neither Qing’an nor I could detect her realm.”

You Luan looked at Lu Qing’an. “Is everything Xiaochuan said the truth?”

Since entering the Azure Heavens Hall, this disciple of his had not uttered a single word.

You Luan knew Lu Qing’an’s personality was cold and aloof, that she was not talkative and focused only on cultivation.

Therefore, he hadn’t asked her about anything that happened during the trial.

But a Mysterious Person appearing in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss, who proactively saved people without asking for any reward, was truly bizarre. You Luan feared there might be some inaccuracy and wanted to ask Lu Qing’an: was everything Gu Chuan said true?

Lu Qing’an nodded. “Everything Gu Chuan says is the truth.”

Everyone was shaken. The Alchemy Elder guessed, “Could this Mysterious Person be a Spirit Beast from the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss who has taken human form? Since she could help you find the exit, she must be very familiar with everything in the Abyss.”

“Besides the native Spirit Beasts of the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss, I’m afraid no master cultivator in this world could traverse the treacherous Abyss as if walking on level ground.”

Lu Qing’an frowned slightly at these words but said nothing.

The Artifact Forging Elder guessed, “Could it be a cultivator whose realm is above the Body Integration Realm, training in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss, who happened upon our Primordial Pavilion disciples and lent a hand?”

“Cultivators whose realm is above Body Integration Realm can be counted on one hand,” the Guest Elder pondered, disagreeing. “Apart from myself, Taicang Shan of the Immeasurable Tower is still in closed-door cultivation, and I just met Gongsun Shanghe of the Eight Divinities Palace a few days ago. If there were another cultivator in the Profound Nether Continent who had reached the Body Integration Realm, it’s impossible they could have transcended the tribulation without any sign.”

After Golden Core, every time a cultivator broke through a major realm, they had to transcend the Heaven-Shaking Lightning Tribulation and pass the Heavenly Dao’s test before they could advance.

Lightning Tribulations were grand and tumultuous spectacles. A tribulation could not be transcended without a trace or a sound.

Presently, only three people in the Profound Nether Continent had cultivation realms at or above the Body Integration stage.

They were: Primordial Pavilion’s Guest Elder Guan Zhengping, Immeasurable Tower’s Supreme Elder Taicang Shan, and Eight Divinities Palace’s Sect Master Gongsun Shanghe.

As for Primordial Pavilion’s Sect Master You Luan, his cultivation had reached the Late Soul Projection Stage. As long as he could break through the Heaven-Shaking Lightning Tribulation, he could ascend to the Body Integration Realm.

Elder Guan looked at You Luan. “Perhaps it is as the Alchemy Elder said. Maybe it was a Spirit Beast from the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss taking human form.”

No one refuted this; they couldn’t find a single clue either.

Gu Chuan glanced at the silent Lu Qing’an. Among their trial group, only Lu Qing’an had gotten close to that Mysterious Person. But she wasn’t saying a word. It seemed she intended to keep this matter hidden.

Gu Chuan pursed his lips and said nothing more.

You Luan looked at Gu Chuan and Lu Qing’an, waved his sleeve, and let out a long breath. “Alright, regarding the matter of the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss, do not speak of it to outsiders.”

“Right now, the Oracle Mystic Realm is about to appear. It seems Mo Le Sect ambushed our sect’s disciples precisely for the treasures and inheritances within the Mystic Realm, and the 100,000 Demon Cultists suppressed there,” You Luan’s gaze was sharp and solemn. “This Seat has learned that disciples from other sects on their trials have also suffered ambushes and attacks from Mo Le Sect. When the Oracle Mystic Realm opens, the Primordial Pavilion will cooperate with the four great sects and ensure that all the Demon Cultists of Mo Le Sect are utterly annihilated.”

“Yes—”

After the discussion concluded, everyone left the Azure Heavens Hall one after another. You Luan kept Lu Qing’an for a while longer, checking her body’s condition, fearing her foundation might have been damaged in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss.

By the time Lu Qing’an walked out of the Azure Heavens Hall, the sky was as dark as ink.

She looked at the curved moon, so different from the blood-red one in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss. Above the Primordial Pavilion’s night sky, there was only a single, cold, bright full moon. Its light spilled onto the world, icy cold.

On the road from the Life Palace back to her residence, the ever-burning lamps along the roadside shone continuously, illuminating the cobblestone path beneath her feet.

During the nights in the Ghost Flood Dragon Abyss, they hadn’t dared to use campfires for fear of attracting ferocious Spirit Beasts, letting the darkness swallow them instead.

The trial team Lu Qing’an had led consisted of thirty members including herself. Now, only eight had returned alive.

As the Pavilion Master said, this was already considered a blessing amidst great misfortune.

Lu Qing’an mourned the deaths of her fellow sect members but would not wallow in excessive grief. The only thing she could do was go to the Life Palace, light incense for them, and pay her respects.

She had just stepped into her courtyard when she sensed someone was there. At that very moment, the bell of the Primordial Pavilion rang out.

The bell tolled twelve times, signifying the arrival of midnight.

A flicker passed through Lu Qing’an’s eyes. She didn’t summon her Cloud-Cutting Sword and walked into the courtyard with a calm expression.

Under the apricot tree in the yard, she saw that familiar, graceful figure. Dressed in a spotless white robe, her sleeves fluttering gently, as if she was about to ride the wind away.

Hearing movement, Cheng Huan turned around and asked, “Your apricot tree has blossomed.”

A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of Lu Qing’an’s lips. She replied, “Mm.”

In Cheng Huan’s hand was an apricot blossom, just blown down by the evening breeze. Its stamen was pink, petals pure white, carrying a faint, subtle fragrance.

She toyed with it between her fingertips. “Your dwelling is rather simple and plain. It doesn’t look at all like the treatment a direct disciple of the Primordial Pavilion’s Sect Master should receive.”

Before midnight, Cheng Huan had arrived early at the Primordial Pavilion to wait. The Primordial Pavilion was situated on Mount Xiang, which contained a vast and mighty Spirit Vein.

Thus, the Primordial Pavilion was an excellent cultivation treasure ground on the Profound Nether Continent.

The Xiang Mountain Spirit Vein was at the mountainside. The Primordial Pavilion’s sacred training ground, Ningge Pagoda, the Life Palace, and the Treasure Pavilion were all situated atop this Spirit Vein.

Around the Spirit Vein were the cultivation peaks where the Pavilion Master and the Elders lived.

As the direct disciple of the Primordial Pavilion’s Sect Master, Lu Qing’an’s residence should also be on a cultivation peak near the Spirit Vein. But after searching around, Cheng Huan finally asked an inner sect disciple and learned that Lu Qing’an was actually on Jing’an Peak, a relatively remote and quiet area of the Primordial Pavilion.

Lu Qing’an walked over, looking Cheng Huan up and down. Seeing her still dressed in snowy white, without a single wound on her body, the oppressive feeling in her heart miraculously vanished.

“I don’t care about the location of my dwelling.”

To Lu Qing’an, whether her residence was closer to or farther from the Spirit Vein was utterly irrelevant.

After all, she could cultivate anywhere. She preferred a quiet place to cultivate alone. Therefore, she had declined the dwelling her Master had arranged and came to live and train on Jing’an Peak alone.

Cheng Huan was just making idle conversation, not really seeking a deep answer.

What she was more concerned about right now was whether the Persona Card’s effect worked on the Female Lead.

“Is the Beast Core still there?”

Lu Qing’an took the Beast Core out of her Storage Bag, along with the strand of sinew that was still very “lively.” “They are both still here.”

She handed them over. “Senior can inspect them.”

Seeing the items perfectly intact, with no sign of disappearing, Cheng Huan figured this Persona Card only affected herself.

As for whether things she gave to other people would disappear, Cheng Huan couldn’t be bothered to test one by one. Since the Persona Card didn’t affect the Female Lead, Cheng Huan could totally use the Female Lead as a “storage space.”

Little Hedgehog popped up and said, puzzled: [Host, items from the Three Thousand Worlds cannot be taken out. If you leave this world, everything you possess will remain behind in this world.]

“Yeah, I know.” Having done tasks for so many years, Cheng Huan naturally knew the rule Little Hedgehog was talking about.

Little Hedgehog was even more confused. [Then why does Host still pursue these worldly possessions?]