Chapter 41 Part 1

Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm.

The cheat item was indeed capable of reclaiming the secret realm, but with so many Daoists inside whose cultivation surpassed Wei Mingyi’s own, it soon encountered resistance.

Wei Mingyi frowned, staring at the panel. There were cultivators in every direction—truly an “ambush on all sides.” Luckily, they weren’t too close.

“Scan for Penglai Purple Qi,” Wei Mingyi issued an arbitrary command.

But the System ignored her.

Wei Mingyi clicked her tongue; her hope of using the cheat item for treasure hunting fell through.

Before coming, her master had only told her a few things about Penglai Purple Qi. She mentioned that it was stored in pots, that there were genuine and fake ones, and that their locations would periodically change. Those clan scions had methods to sense the Purple Qi. The great families took the Paragon Debate extremely seriously. Anyone hoping for a high rank would select suitable members from their clan to cultivate only the “Qi Sensing” technique. During the competition, they would enter alongside the clan’s chosen prodigies. As for other methods… there originally were some, but the current Paragon Debate forbade bringing anything other than one’s bonded magical artifact. This path was now cut off.

In short, whether she encountered Penglai Purple Qi depended entirely on her luck.

This was a grand stage for the aristocratic families to compete for prodigies; it was exceedingly difficult for the master-disciple lineage or rogue cultivators to stand out.

Of course, there was another, more sinister method. If you couldn’t find the Purple Qi, you could just find the right target and steal it. After all, life or death wasn’t accounted for within the Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm. Unfortunately, Wei Mingyi’s cultivation hadn’t reached the point where she could act so recklessly.

She believed in her own luck, but she wasn’t so inflated as to actively seek death.

The Heavenly Dao’s Paragon Debate had a three-month limit; the situation would only grow more intense toward the end.

After thinking for a moment, Wei Mingyi decided to familiarize herself with the environment first and try her luck everywhere she went.

This place was, after all, built from the Taiyi Ruins. The original spirit vein that could sustain a Grotto-Heaven master had been moved away, but to facilitate the debate, the aristocratic families had poured no small amount of spiritual energy into it. It was equivalent to an existing Heaven-Tier “False Vein.”

Out in the world, one might not even get to breathe a single breath of such expensive spiritual energy, even if they bankrupted themselves.

Wei Mingyi avoided the more dangerous areas. Passing through the dense forest, the landscape before her suddenly changed. Glancing ahead, a distant area revealed a completely barren mountain, while immediately before her lay a grassland without even a single place to hide. Wei Mingyi’s eyelid twitched; she vaguely sensed someone spying on her from the shadows. But when the System scanned, it didn’t mark them as an obstacle, meaning it was someone she could easily handle.

With that thought, Wei Mingyi relaxed a little. She walked forward as if nothing was wrong. After about a quarter of an hour, amidst the whistling wind, a resounding eagle’s cry rang out. Looking up, Wei Mingyi saw a giant eagle circling overhead. Carrying a powerful gust, the eagle swooped down from above. Less than ten feet from the ground, an unfamiliar Daoist leaped off the eagle’s back. First, he looked Wei Mingyi over with an extremely rude gaze, then asked, “Master-disciple lineage?”

Wei Mingyi frowned. Those from major aristocratic families all wore their clan insignia, but the person before her had a token hanging at his waist symbolizing a “Prosperous Clan.” Wei Mingyi ignored him, merely heightening her vigilance.

Seeing Wei Mingyi silent, the Daoist’s face showed a flicker of anger, but for some reason, he quickly suppressed it. With forced patience, he said, “The Heavenly Dao’s Paragon Debate was never a place for the master-disciple lineage. A mere 1st Layer cultivation—forget obtaining anything, you can’t even preserve your own life. I am a son of the Fang Clan, a Prosperous Clan under the Shifang Celestial Palace. If you follow me, you might still have a chance at survival.”

Entry into the Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm was random. This Daoist had been separated from his clansmen and needed to find them quickly. But his own cultivation wasn’t high, and fearing he’d run into enemies on the road, he decided to recruit some non-aristocratic cultivators along the way. In the past, there might have been those seeking to raise the prestige of the master-disciple lineage, but after those prodigies highly regarded by others had fallen one by one, the master-disciple lineage had also recognized reality. Aside from the Three Sects, who merely served as foils, anyone else coming here was merely trying to gain a good reputation.

The Fang clan was a 2nd-Rate Prosperous Clan, their status in the Heavenly Dao Alliance second only to the Four Great Clans. He believed the promises he offered could attract many followers. Of course, what would happen to these people after the debate ended… was another matter entirely.

He didn’t even offer any tangible benefits—how straightforward and crude the aristocratic families’ methods were. Wei Mingyi was amused by this Daoist’s attitude. Carelessly, she said, “Isn’t the esteemed one also at Foundation Establishment 1st Layer?” Here, unless one specialized in artifact crafting and could make things on the spot, no one had protective artifacts. Whether one could fight or not was immediately apparent.

The Daoist’s anger deepened. He stared at Wei Mingyi contemptuously, raising his voice: “Can a son of my Prosperous Clan be the same as the likes of you?” Both at Foundation Establishment, but someone from some gods-forsaken corner had probably only cultivated some Yellow-Tier scripture. He, on the other hand, though not from the direct line, had been valued by the clan and granted an Earth-Tier text to cultivate. Staring at the silent Wei Mingyi, he threatened: “The Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm is a graveyard for the master-disciple lineage. I advise you to think carefully.”

Wei Mingyi: “…”

The methods the aristocratic families used against the master-disciple lineage had always been brutal and cruel.

Since he was already harboring killing intent, then he couldn’t blame her.

Wei Mingyi’s eyes flickered. She didn’t know exactly what technique the Daoist cultivated, but seeing the eagle, she guessed it was related to beast taming. Even if she couldn’t kill him with a single strike, she couldn’t give him a chance to escape and call for reinforcements. Her thoughts churning, Wei Mingyi’s face remained impassive. After a moment’s feigned hesitation, she asked, “Would it be joining the Prosperous Clan, or merely a subordinate 3rd-Rate clan?”

The Daoist said impatiently, “That depends on your performance.” The giant eagle circling low overhead grew restless with his mood, spreading its wings. The fanning of its wings kicked up flying sand and stones, whipping up a cloud of blinding dust.

Wei Mingyi raised an eyebrow.

Had this clan Daoist been so flattered his whole life that he thought every member of the master-disciple lineage was spineless and would follow his whims? With the opportunity right in front of her, Wei Mingyi would not refuse. As the swirling dust nearly blinded her, Wei Mingyi gave the Daoist his answer with a rapidly invoked Dao Seal.

Daoist True Words was a supreme technique. Initially, Wei Mingyi’s execution had been rigidly forceful, her magical power spilling out like floodgates thrown open. But after tempering it time and again, she had finally achieved a balance of strength and flexibility, able to control it effortlessly. She wasn’t afraid of the giant eagle’s ferocity. The flashing golden light spread like a brilliant sheet of fiery cloud, slamming down toward the giant eagle with the speed of thunder! A fierce gale surged, and her robes billowed in the wind. A miserable cry rang out; the giant eagle struck by the Dao Seal drooped its wings powerlessly.

The Daoist, not expecting Wei Mingyi to strike so suddenly, turned pale. The word “You—” left his mouth, but before he could finish, he was forced backward by the piercing golden light. Watching the eagle crumple on the ground, his magical power surged, and a sharp whistle rang out. A faint white light enveloped the eagle as it rose to its feet once more.

It glared with fierce, murderous eyes. Its talons, like steel hooks, dug deep pits into the ground with each step. Its feathers bristled with fury, making it look truly ferocious.

Wei Mingyi remained calm. That one strike had let her gauge the eagle’s cultivation—roughly equal to its master’s. Her Dao Seals could completely shatter its astral qi and tough feathers. The reason it stood again was purely its master’s doing. She formed a spell, and her Dao Seals, brilliant like brocade clouds, circled above her head. With a forward palm strike, they swept toward the giant eagle and its master with the might of a sweeping army. The seals of the Daoist Door could be as indomitable as breaking all laws, yet as flexible as clouds of brocade, infinitely mutable.

That Daoist, clinging to his ingrained beliefs, assumed a wild Daoist of unknown origin could never learn any superior technique. He hadn’t expected Wei Mingyi’s Dao Seals to hold such immense power. His panicked reaction came too late. He retreated backward on his flight-light, while the giant eagle summoned a howling hurricane around itself.

Ride the wind—

Wind?

Wei Mingyi’s eyes sharpened. She suddenly recalled—within the Earth-Tier text, the Six Classics Unrolled, the very first scripture was Wind.

Wind rises at the edge of the sky; wind travels through the four directions.

Within every hollow and crevice is the roar of the wind.

The shimmering Dao Seals spun around her, and as her spell was invoked, a field of wind erupted around Wei Mingyi, rapidly sweeping across the area. The hurricane the giant eagle had summoned was instantly erased. Forget riding the wind into the air—it couldn’t even spread its wings. Wind blades were like frost swords; this was not a wind it could borrow!

The wind field was quite draining on her magical power, but fortunately, Wei Mingyi had opened thirty-six Qi Meridians, widening her Qi Sea to its maximum. Though the Qi Sea needed to be rebuilt after Foundation Establishment, for now, it was still far larger than anyone at her level. Without hesitation, seeing the giant eagle and its master unable to move an inch in the gale, she raised a hand and slammed out a Dao Seal. Though the seal was only the size of a palm, it contained immense power. It struck the giant eagle, punching straight through. The residual force didn’t dissipate, finally imprinting on the Daoist’s chest with a sound of shattering bone.

Wei Mingyi couldn’t be bothered to listen to the Daoist’s dying threats. She destroyed his Reception Talisman and, with a single Dao Seal, flattened him into a meat patty. She raised her hand to retrieve his Qiankun Pouch. Inside were only some Pill Jade and a few pills; nothing good. This Daoist hadn’t even had the luck to stumble upon any Penglai Purple Qi.

“What rotten luck,” Wei Mingyi muttered, flicking her sleeve and turning to leave.

Over the next few days, Wei Mingyi encountered no more clan Daoists, nor found any clues about the Penglai Purple Qi. Without a “sniffer dog,” she could only search blindly. However, from the feedback her cheat item provided, she could deduce some things—for instance, in a place about twenty miles away, the resistance was strongest, and had been lingering there for days without dissipating.

Perhaps there was Penglai Purple Qi there.

After pondering briefly, Wei Mingyi decided to go investigate.

The next day.

Wei Mingyi arrived at the outer perimeter of the barren mountain.

Though the peak was high, it showed no remarkable features. Based on her own perception alone, she couldn’t detect anything special.

Wei Mingyi hid in the shadows. Occasionally, she saw a few people circling around, wearing different attire but all bearing insignias—all from the aristocratic families.

“There’s no real Penglai Purple Qi in this mountain; why surround it?”

“The deadline hasn’t arrived yet; no need to rush finding the Purple Qi. First, we surround the mountain and hunt. Last time, during the Paragon Debate, someone trapped and killed a full hundred prodigies of the master-disciple lineage in one go. Our Blood Sun Sun Clan can’t fall behind the Lei Clan, can we?”

“Why not just kill them directly? Why go to the trouble of luring them into the mountain? So boring.”

“Ah, you don’t get it. Doing it ourselves versus watching them fight to the death—of course, the latter is far more entertaining. If we attack, what if they immediately activate their Reception Talismans and leave? If these people walk out of the Heavenly Realm and get noticed by some clan, they’ll be competing for our cultivation resources.”

“And inside this mountain, it blocks the talismans—”