“Brat, how dare you be so unreasonable!”
Elder Li’s mouth twitched, the fury in his eyes nearly burning Dongfang Xiaotian to ashes. How could he be scolded, nose-pointed at no less, by a mere Qi Refining Realm youth!
As an elder of the Xiao Sect’s branch sect, even the three Golden Core stage experts in Lingtian City had to show him some respect.
When had he ever been treated like this by someone with such a low cultivation?
Yet, despite him unleashing the unique pressure of a Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator, that disciple acted as if he hadn’t seen a ghost, growing even more arrogant.
“Reason? My miss is reason itself!”
Dongfang Xiaotian puffed out his chest, his expression full of disdain as he continued, “Smart ones, get lost! Or else my lady will immediately report this to the sect, and her master will teach you what reason really means!”
“Y-You!”
The middle-aged man had just wanted to teach this brat a lesson but glanced at the serene, approving young woman watching nearby from behind Dongfang Xiaotian.
As an elder of one of the Saint Hua Four Great Sects’ branch sects, he naturally recognized her attire.
The silk garment made from Bai Nian Ice Silkworm Silk was undeniably the dress of an inner disciple of the Ice Ling Immortal Palace!
Coupled with Bei Chen Yue’s fresh and refined temperament, and her calm, still eyes carrying a hint of “detachment,” the man was even more certain this cold beauty belonged to Ice Ling Immortal Palace.
Suppressing his anger, Xiao Sect Elder Li Shihua gritted his teeth and bowed slightly: “But there’s been some change within the ruins, and your young lady is still too young, besides…”
“None of your damn business.”
Dongfang Xiaotian cut him off, “When my lady handles things, an old man like you doesn’t get to interfere.”
Chun’er watched Dongfang Xiaotian’s shameless bullying with a twitching expression, even more skilled than she was.
Were it not for her own smarts and the tacit approval of her lady, she might have rushed over to confront Dongfang Xiaotian.
Dongfang Xiaotian signaled to the two of them, urging Bei Chen Yue to step forward quickly. She bent slightly, extending her hand respectfully: “Miss, please watch your step on the stones.”
This whole charade made it seem like Dongfang Xiaotian was Bei Chen Yue’s personal attendant rather than Chun’er.
Bei Chen Yue nodded slightly to Dongfang Xiaotian and, together with a strangely emotional Chun’er, followed him inside. “Clever,” she thought.
Disguising oneself as a servant, even remembering to let one’s master go first, and maintaining such humility—there was none of the usual “Azure Dragon Sword Immortal” arrogance.
Bei Chen Yue had seen many geniuses like Dongfang Xiaotian who suddenly lost their ability to cultivate.
Unlike Dongfang Xiaotian, they often wallowed in the past, boasting about “how great they once were” and clinging stubbornly to the title of ‘genius.’
But Dongfang Xiaotian had none of that aura. He even bowed and scraped to save his junior brothers and sisters faster, earning Bei Chen Yue’s admiration.
Chun’er curled her lips, muttering softly, “I bet he’s just as arrogant as ever. Otherwise, how would he be so practiced at this?”
For some reason, Chun’er, as her lady’s personal maid, felt as if she had somehow lost in loyalty to Dongfang Xiaotian.
Trailing behind Bei Chen Yue by two steps, Chun’er suddenly heard Dongfang Xiaotian shout sharply.
“Today, this matter will be borne by my lady alone! If anyone dares to object, go find my lady Bei Chen Yue yourselves!”
“I—”
Chun’er didn’t even have time to curse in the usual capital city style before Dongfang Xiaotian shoved her into the ruins.
Passing through the light barrier, the three entered a completely new realm. The sun still shone warmly, but the bustling marketplace had been replaced by mountains, rivers, and dense groves.
“This is the interior of the Shen Dai Ruins?”
Chun’er looked around at the picturesque scenery, now an entirely different world.
This was the Shen Dai Ruins.
Although it was only a Second-Rank Ruins, producing yields mostly useful to Foundation Establishment cultivators, the divine techniques and independent world of the Shen Dai era always amazed Chun’er no matter how many times she saw them.
For a moment, she even forgot how Dongfang Xiaotian had used her lady as a human shield earlier.
Bei Chen Yue was much calmer, her expression unchanged, seemingly indifferent to Dongfang Xiaotian’s reckless use of her prestige to pressure others.
Her cold, beautiful eyes looked at Dongfang Xiaotian and asked, “What’s next? How do you plan to find your junior brothers and sisters?”
Dongfang Xiaotian scanned the surroundings. This should have been a marketplace, but it was now empty due to Xiao Sect’s blockade, leaving only large flat ground.
After confirming his teleportation location, he said, “Of course, first we’ll head to our Four Sages Academy camp to gather information.”
Isn’t that how these search missions usually go?
Someone goes missing, then you seek out knowledgeable NPCs to ask for directions, exposing yourself, getting chased, then turning the tables to discover the enemy’s lair and finally rescuing the hostages.
As for finding the little junior brother, as long as he’s on the main quest line, he’d be easy to find.
***
Outside the ruins.
On a rather luxurious immortal ship, sounds of commotion rang out.
“Dongfang Xiaotian!!!”
Xiao Sect branch elder Li Shihua slammed down porcelain bottles and tableware in fury. “Brat! Useless! If it weren’t for that Ice Ling Immortal Palace, I’d crush you to death right now, you spoiled little brat!”
Li Yuze pressed an ice pack to his swollen face, cautiously approaching only after Elder Li Shihua had vented his rage.
“Third Uncle, what do we do now? We can’t just swallow this loss.”
Li Yuze, recently knocked flat by Dongfang Xiaotian’s punch, had regained consciousness, though his face was still swollen and he spoke with a slight lisp.
That one punch had rendered this Qi Refining Realm Nine Layers practitioner unconscious, and even after taking medicine, he hadn’t recovered immediately.
Li Shihua glanced at his nephew, knocked out by Dongfang Xiaotian’s punch, and his anger grew even stronger.
It was all because this useless brat failed to deal with Dongfang Xiaotian, a mere waste himself.
Despite having two cultivation levels higher, he was knocked out by a single punch. The resources wasted on him over the years might as well have been fed to pigs!
Those pigs might even have advanced to Foundation Establishment by now! They were even more useless than Dongfang Xiaotian, who couldn’t cultivate at all!
Taking a deep breath, Li Shihua slowly calmed his anger, refraining from voicing those words out loud.
No matter how useless Li Yuze was, he was still his brother’s son, his nephew.
“That’s true,” Li Shihua said after regaining composure, hands clasped behind his back, speaking with the air of an experienced elder, “The Li family cannot afford to swallow this loss. And that Ice Ling Immortal Palace girl is a problem after all… To avoid affecting the grand plans of our Xiao Sect, it’s best to get rid of her.”
“As expected of Third Uncle. When the time comes, make sure they bring me Dongfang Xiaotian’s head! Then I can finally give up on Xiang’er’s nonsense.”
Li Yuze recalled the graceful figure of Bei Chen Yue and her enticingly cold, beautiful face. Thinking of the lovely view beneath her pale blue silk dress made his face hurt less, and he began to grin lecherously.
“Third Uncle, just cripple Bei Chen Yue and her maid. Bring them to me later, and I’ll help you avenge today’s humiliation.”
“Ugh~”
Li Shihua helplessly rubbed his forehead upon hearing his nephew’s words, silently telling himself that even if this idiot was a waste, he was still family—the only son of his elder brother.
That thought dissipated most of his anger.
“If they survive, deal with them as you wish. But remember, they must be killed and thrown into the ruins within three days. No trace must remain, and no one must find out that this has anything to do with our Xiao Sect.”
“Also, you must spread word of the Ice Ling Immortal Palace’s disciple forcefully breaking into the ruins today. The farther the news spreads, the better.”
Li Yuze was puzzled. “Why? Wouldn’t that unjustly tarnish your reputation?”
Knowing how much Third Uncle valued his dignity and reputation, Li Yuze was confused why he’d do this.
Li Shihua suppressed the urge to call Li Yuze an idiot and explained:
“We must tell Ice Ling Immortal Palace that we tried our best to stop Bei Chen Yue from entering the ruins.”
“It was their arrogance and refusal to listen that led them to die at the hands of the evil cultivators inside the ruins. This is our way of giving them an explanation.”
“There have been many such incidents before. A genius disciple from a big family ventures out for experience, only to die in the territory of a weaker family.”
“It turns out that the weaker family’s daughter incited the genius disciple to enter the ruins, leading to his demise. Enraged, his master destroyed that weak family entirely.”
“Such things are common in the cultivation world. Naturally, I’m worried. Otherwise, why would I tolerate a Qi Refining Realm waste like Dongfang Xiaotian jumping around in front of me?”
“I’d have crushed him publicly long ago!”
“Although Xiao Sect and Ice Ling Immortal Palace are both among the Saint Hua Four Great Sects, the Xiao Sect’s branch here in Lingtian City is just a remote outpost.”
“Even if Ice Ling Immortal Palace won’t directly exterminate us out of respect for the sect, the fury of a Nascent Soul or Divine Spirit stage elder is not something a branch sect like ours can afford to provoke.”
“So we must at least handle the surface work well, pin the blame on the evil cultivators inside the ruins, and even spin it so that the Four Sages Academy takes the fall for Dongfang Xiaotian… thus removing a competitor for the Xiao Sect.”
“Third Uncle is truly wise!”
Li Yuze immediately applauded, “I’ll spread the word that Dongfang Xiaotian was the one who incited those two girls to enter! We tried our best to stop them, but they insulted us instead!!”
“What are you two talking about?”
Just as Li Yuze was about to rush out of the immortal ship, ordering his men to carry out the plan, a refined, gentle voice suddenly sounded, freezing him in place.
With the voice appeared a young man dressed in the same elegant blue robe as Li Yuze. His delicate, gentle face was calm, unlike Dongfang Xiaotian’s obvious laziness, resembling a graceful scholar.
The scholarly youth asked, “I just heard that Dongfang Xiaotian entered the ruins?”
“Xiao Yuanqing! What are you doing here?”
Li Shihua suddenly shouted, his spiritual power surging. “You shouldn’t have come!”
“Nothing much, I just heard Dongfang Xiaotian’s name. My sister thinks about him every day, so naturally, I want to see him.”
This Xiao Yuanqing was the elder brother of Xiang’er mentioned by Li Yuze and the Young Sect Master of Xiao Sect, the current Sect Master’s son.
“Hmph, Xiao Yuanqing, this is none of your business!”
Li Yuze pointed to the immortal ship’s entrance. “Be smart and go back to Water Splash Peak! Wait quietly for me to marry…”
Before he could finish, an indescribable pressure immediately descended, forcing Li Yuze into silence. Even a fool could see the killing intent burning in Xiao Yuanqing’s eyes!
“Li Yuze,” Xiao Yuanqing’s cold gaze landed on the gluttonous man, slowly uttering icy words, “Have I been giving you face?”
“Brat! What do you want to do!”
Sensing the murderous intent, Li Shihua acted swiftly, unleashing the full power of the Qingyun Sword Technique in a palm strike aimed at Xiao Yuanqing.
However, the strike passed through empty air as if hitting smoke. Without even turning his head, a hand landed on Li Shihua’s shoulder. Who else could it be but Xiao Yuanqing?
Li Shihua’s heart raced; he hadn’t expected Xiao Yuanqing’s speed to be so ridiculously fast!
Before he could react further, Xiao Yuanqing’s hand pressed down on his shoulder, and a tremendous force bore down on him, bending his knees until he knelt heavily on the ground.
An elder at Foundation Establishment Ninth Layer was subdued like this by a junior!
This cultivation was undoubtedly Foundation Establishment Tenth Layer! Half-Step Golden Core!
Li Shihua’s legs trembled, but he gritted his teeth and shouted angrily, “Brat! Do you want to go against us? Have you forgotten—”
Suddenly, the pressure on his shoulder vanished. Xiao Yuanqing reined in his killing intent, his tone returning to that of a refined scholar.
“Third Elder, nonsense. I just want to visit an old friend inside the ruins.”
He patted Li Shihua’s shoulder again. “So, the farther you go, the better. That Dongfang Xiaotian belongs to me!”
With that, Xiao Yuanqing turned into a breeze and vanished.
Seeing the unexpected visitor leave, Li Yuze finally exhaled in relief and hurried to help his Third Uncle up.
“Third Uncle, what do you think Xiao Yuanqing wants with Dongfang Xiaotian? Could it be… because Xiang’er keeps talking about that waste, he’s grown resentful? Planning to deal with Dongfang Xiaotian?”
“Possible.”
Li Shihua let out a long breath, thinking that if Xiao Yuanqing hadn’t even taken care of this idiot betrothed of his sister, how could he just be going after Dongfang Xiaotian?
He had just wanted to pour himself some tea to calm his mood but found the tea set smashed on the ground, so he could only turn and clasp his hands behind his back.
Suddenly, Li Yuze looked worried. “Third Uncle, what if Xiao Yuanqing doesn’t listen and ruins our grand plan?”
“Don’t worry.”
Li Shihua said thoughtfully, “As long as Xiao Yuan Xiang is still in the Xiao Sect, he won’t dare act recklessly.”
“That’s perfect, then. We just need someone to take the fall!”
If Bei Chen Yue is killed in advance, the blame can be pinned on Xiao Yuanqing…
“The Young Sect Master’s head—this is a fine excuse. Ice Ling Immortal Palace won’t dare get angry anymore.”
A sinister smile curled the corner of Li Shihua’s mouth as he pulled out a talisman, eyes gleaming with both regret and mockery.
“This Third-Rank Transmission Talisman has been my treasured keepsake for years—consider it a parting gift to the Young Sect Master.”