…
Wei Mingyi’s overheard words were not entirely clear, fragmented and scattered, but the cruelty within them chilled her to the bone.
She finally understood the meaning of “prey.” Members of the master-disciple lineage, or rootless rogue cultivators who came here, wanting to leave alive was harder than reaching the heavens.
Outside, the aristocratic families might still hold some concern for public opinion. But within the Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm, life or death was not accounted for—it was the best opportunity to eliminate opponents.
Every past Head Champion hailed from the Four Great Clans, with the very occasional exception from the Three Sects. The Prosperous Clans could never seize the champion’s seat. These people, perhaps, were even more dangerous than the Four Great Clans, who set their sights on the championship.
Wei Mingyi had already determined there was no Penglai Purple Qi here; instead, it was a refining hell for slaughtering the master-disciple lineage. She should leave directly. But as she turned, her brows tightly furrowed. Finally, she turned back.
Every Daoist participating in the Paragon Debate carried a Reception Talisman. Activating it was all it took to leave. On this matter, the Heavenly Dao Alliance wouldn’t secretly tamper. Though activating the talisman required time, in situations where the power disparity wasn’t extreme, Daoists still had a chance to escape. Yet, judging by the tone of that clan scion earlier, he was absolutely certain he could claim their lives. Could it be they had some method to temporarily disable the talismans? Or to lengthen their activation time?
They couldn’t bring artifacts in. Either someone practiced a sinister Dao technique to achieve this, or there was an artifact refiner or talisman master secretly casting techniques. Expelling all the Prosperous Clan scions alone was impossible. But if she could find the person disrupting the Reception Talismans, there might be a glimmer of a chance.
It was still only a guess, though.
Even if her guess was right, how to find that special person was a whole other problem.
As Wei Mingyi was silently strategizing, she suddenly sensed an “obstacle” speeding toward her hiding spot. Her expression instantly changed. Thinking it was one of the Prosperous Clan scions from the mountainside who had found her, she immediately transformed into a flight-light and fled far away. But to her shock, that “obstacle” kept locking onto her, as if it knew exactly where she was.
Now, it was unavoidable.
But at least she was far from the Prosperous Clan’s main camp.
After moving far from the barren mountain and confirming it was still only one “obstacle” tailing her, Wei Mingyi stopped.
She stared expressionlessly ahead. A swirl of cloud and mist surrounded her, her sleeves fluttering in the wind, giving her an aura of transcendent elegance.
A few breaths later, a sigh echoed out. “Fellow Daoist, I mean no harm.” As the words fell, a vigorous Daoist with a high ponytail leaped out from a flight-light.
“Why is the Fellow Daoist chasing me?” Wei Mingyi hadn’t lowered her guard, replying coldly. This Daoist’s face wasn’t unfamiliar; she’d glimpsed it once at Supreme Peak. Back then, she’d been standing with the Jade Emperor Sect and Pure Clean Sect Daoists. She was from the master-disciple lineage, but Wei Mingyi didn’t know which sect.
The Daoist said warmly, “Just wanted to warn you, Fellow Daoist: Don’t enter that barren mountain. There’s no real Penglai Purple Qi inside.” Seeing Wei Mingyi still silent, she took the initiative, “True Disciple of Crow Spirit Peak, Heavenly Origin Sect, Wu Weibai. How should I address you, Fellow Daoist?”
Wei Mingyi’s eyelid twitched. The Heavenly Origin Sect was one of the Three Sects of the master-disciple lineage, but it had been established with the backing of aristocratic families—a unique case within the lineage, its situation likely quite difficult. This person called herself Wu Weibai; she was probably sent to the Heavenly Origin Sect by the Wu Clan. Was such a person considered an aristocrat? Or part of the master-disciple lineage?
Seeing Wu Weibai hadn’t shown any malice, Wei Mingyi finally said coolly, “Wei Wuwang.”
Wu Weibai froze upon hearing this. The name “Wuwang” inevitably reminded her of the famously renowned Perfected Person Wuwang of Yangchun Terrace in the Wild Domain. But the person before her bore no resemblance to that one, and if she were from that Chongyuan Sect, they wouldn’t have let her enter the Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm alone. Probably just a shared name. The Nine Provinces were vast; forget identical names, even people with the same surname, given name, and birthdate could exist. Thinking this, Wu Weibai relaxed. She smiled at Wei Wuwang and continued, “The Prosperous Clans from the Cloud Realm sphere—Blood Sun Sun Clan and Hongya Lei Clan—are surrounding the mountain. The talk of Penglai Purple Qi is just false news, meant to lure Daoists into the mountain so they can catch them all at once.”
After a pause, Wu Weibai added, “I’ve tried to warn many people. But unfortunately—”
Very few were willing to listen to her.
Wei Mingyi asked, “Hunting the master-disciple lineage?”
Wu Weibai’s expression darkened. “Yes.”
“Aren’t the Three Sects supposed to represent the master-disciple lineage? Why am I only seeing you? Where are the others?” Wei Mingyi asked again.
At that, Wu Weibai’s face grew even more unsightly. She pursed her lips. “I was separated from my fellow sect members. I don’t know where they are now. As for the Jade Emperor Sect and the Pure Clean Sect, they both said they lacked the power to intervene.”
The Jade Emperor Sect and the Pure Clean Sect’s choice was also within Wei Mingyi’s expectations. She raised an eyebrow, her smile turning slightly mocking.
Wu Weibai felt humiliated. After a moment’s thought, she tried to argue, “Among the master-disciple lineage, only the Three Sects have the strength to compete for the head champion title. But year after year, let alone champion, even the top ten are all from the aristocratic families. Before entering the Heavenly Realm this time, our elders gave us instructions: we must show our abilities and raise the prestige of the master-disciple lineage within the Heavenly Realm!”
Wei Mingyi asked expressionlessly, “Raise it for whom to see?”
Wu Weibai choked. Her voice lowered, tinged with dejection, she confessed, “I don’t agree with this measure either. That’s why I came. But good advice is hard to give to those determined to die. Those people always think they can just grab some Penglai Purple Qi and then immediately activate their Reception Talisman to leave. But is the Purple Qi so easy to obtain? If the talismans truly could save lives, why do so many die every year within the Eternal Cosmos Heavenly Realm? Life and death happen in an instant; there’s simply no time to activate the talisman.”
Wei Mingyi stared at Wu Weibai with a dark, inscrutable gaze, feigning surprise. “Could it be the Reception Talismans given by the Heavenly Dao Alliance are defective?”
“That’s not it, but they aren’t high-quality items either,” Wu Weibai said. The talismans were only meant for transporting Foundation Establishment cultivators; they were basically casually drawn by Golden Core cultivators specializing in talismans, using cheap materials. They worked, but were easily disrupted by other forces. Seeing Wei Mingyi’s indifferent expression, she continued, “Within the Sun Clan, someone cultivated a ‘Sky-Severing Physique.’ Wherever this physique is present, spiritual energy is disrupted, and artifacts and talismans suffer a degree of malfunction.”
Wei Mingyi: “…” These bizarre Daoist physiques—was this some kind of sinister black technology developed through illegal research by the great aristocratic families of the Nine Provinces? “Fellow Daoist, if you want to save those people, why not just go and kill the one with the Sky-Severing Physique?”
Wu Weibai replied, “I cultivate the Sword Dao, but haven’t yet reached the stage of being without a sword. My current sword is still at the stage of a mere ‘tool,’ not yet united with me, so its full power is difficult to unleash.”
“Fellow Daoist, you’ve told me all this—do you actually want me to act together with you?” Wei Mingyi asked again.
“No,” Wu Weibai admitted frankly. “I told everyone the same thing. There’s an iron wall ahead; no need to smash into it. Pity—”
Wei Mingyi nodded.
Pity some people had ambitions higher than the sky but were just seeking their own deaths.
Pity the Heavenly Origin Sect’s position was awkward and was always called a two-faced fence-sitter.
Wei Mingyi clasped her hands toward Wu Weibai. “Many thanks, Fellow Daoist.”
Wu Weibai smiled. “You’re the first to ask me so many questions, Fellow Daoist.” Her eyes gleamed as she asked seriously, “Do you also want to rescue those people?”
Wei Mingyi pondered a moment. “It is the duty of our generation.” This Daoist before her—if she wasn’t putting on an act, she was just an honest fool.
Wu Weibai’s spirit was greatly lifted. “Good!” She had been utterly disappointed with the Jade Emperor Sect and the Pure Clean Sect; to think an ordinary traveling rogue cultivator she met by chance would be so full of spirit! She added, “But I can see you’re not a sword cultivator, and without an artifact, it’s probably…”
Before Wu Weibai could finish, Wei Mingyi interrupted, “What makes you say that?”
Wu Weibai paused, not expecting the question. She admitted, “If you were a sword cultivator, I might not have caught up.”
Wei Mingyi reminded her, “You have a higher cultivation than me.”
Wu Weibai scratched her head. “But my Sword Escape is terrible, not like my junior sister who’s mastered divine abilities like ‘Time Flies Like a White Pony’ or ‘A Thousand Miles Felt at Hand.’”
Wei Mingyi gave Wu Weibai a cold stare and pressed, “Do you have any good ideas?”
Matters of thinking were best left to the wise.
Wu Weibai hesitated a moment, then said uncertainly, “Fight our way in?”
Wei Mingyi: “.”
Forget it.
“Where is the one with the Sky-Severing Physique?”
“Inside the barren mountain.” As she spoke, Wu Weibai drew a map of the mountain for Wei Mingyi. While trying to persuade others, she had also infiltrated deep into the mountain to investigate. The host of the Sky-Severing Physique was entirely pushed to Foundation Establishment 1st Layer using drugs. Wherever he was, spiritual energy surged toward him, only to then leak back out. And the leaked energy was full of impurities. She had no idea what method the Sun Clan had used to create this Sky-Severing Physique.
Wei Mingyi examined Wu Weibai’s route map, combined it with the resistance she’d encountered during her own reclamation attempts, and quickly mapped out a route with the fewest enemies.
Wu Weibai was stunned. “Isn’t this just fighting our way in?”
Wei Mingyi replied calmly, “This path has the fewest opponents.”
Wu Weibai looked half-convinced. “Does Fellow Daoist study the Divination and Calculation path? Did you come from Heavenly Evolution Mountain? What scripture did you cultivate?”
How was Wei Mingyi supposed to know what scripture divination and calculation scholars studied? There was a Guizang Scripture in the Chongyuan Sect. But just as she was about to speak, a thought suddenly struck her—those Dao scriptures were all things the Founding Ancestor had looted from various places; it wasn’t good to mention them. So, channeling Wu Chongyun’s cool demeanor, she said, “Don’t ask.”
Wu Weibai: “…” Her faith began to waver. Yet finally, gritting her teeth, she said, “Fine. Rescuing people might be tough, but escaping is still possible. Fellow Daoist, when shall we set out?”
Wei Mingyi: “First, swear a Dao Oath. How do I know you’re not colluding with the Prosperous Clans to trick me?” Wu Weibai was indeed from the master-disciple lineage, but if the Jade Emperor Sect and the Pure Clean Sect were untrustworthy, what about the Heavenly Origin Sect, backed by the aristocratic families?
Wu Weibai’s face stiffened. She glared at Wei Mingyi and said, “I’m at the 3rd Layer; you’re at the 1st. I could just directly beat you to death.” Still, she raised her finger to the sky and swore a Dao Oath.
Only then was Wei Mingyi satisfied. Unhurriedly, she replied to Wu Weibai, “Fellow Daoist, feel free to try.”
Though the System showed she was an “obstacle” requiring attention, that only meant she wasn’t just a speck of dust that could be casually brushed away. Right now, she was certain that everyone in the Heavenly Realm was a Foundation Establishment cultivator. She might just have the strength to fight.
The Nine Characters Seal of the Daoist True Words possessed immense power. Besides that, she had also learned the Wind Scripture and the Rain Scripture from the Six Classics Unrolled.
Though she didn’t know why the Six Canons was classified as an Earth-Tier scripture, her instincts told her this technique was in no way inferior to a Heaven-Tier one.
Perhaps Heaven-Tier and Earth-Tier also depended on how easy they were to cultivate; only Profound-Tier and Yellow-Tier were truly worthless, not even a dog would bother with them.
