Before the fragments of the Stop-Conflict Bell could even hit the ground, the atmosphere on Sword-Drill Peak had already fallen into a dead silence. Among the elders suffering from the backlash, Zhao Zhijie’s fate was particularly miserable.
As the instigator who had stepped forward with sarcastic remarks to force Gu Chengming to abandon his sword for his fists, the spiritual energy he had poured into the Stop-Conflict Bell while manipulating it from the shadows was the most aggressive.
After all, he was the one who had personally put Gu Chengming on the hot seat, so he naturally had to ensure the fire burned hot enough.
The price was that the backlash hit him the hardest.
The moment the Stop-Conflict Bell shattered, Zhao Zhijie’s body felt as if it were being violently torn apart from the inside by a giant hand. Before he could even let out a scream, a series of muffled thuds erupted from his chest—the sound of his ribs snapping one after another within his body.
Blood gushed from his mouth and nose simultaneously, turning his originally composed and dignified face into a shocking mask of crimson.
His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the spectator stands, his hands gripping the edge of the stone bench so hard his fingernails dug into the crevices of the bluestone, his knuckles turning white.
Several disciples nearby cried out and rushed forward to support him, but Zhao Zhijie could no longer care about his dignity. He gasped for air in large gulps, and with every breath, fresh blood bubbled from the corners of his mouth.
His eyes had lost the composure they held while he was talking so eloquently earlier; his pupils were dilated and his face was ashen.
A disciple with trembling hands offered a healing pill. Zhao Zhijie took it with a shudder, his teeth chattering. The pill rolled in his palm and nearly fell to the ground before he managed to shove it into his mouth. His Adam's apple bobbed violently several times before he finally forced it down.
However, his gaze remained glued to the center of the arena. Gu Chengming retracted his fist at that exact moment and cast a casual glance toward the spectator stands. His gaze didn't linger on Zhao Zhijie specifically.
Yet, at that casual, almost perfunctory glance, Zhao Zhijie’s spine stiffened. The metallic taste of blood surging up his throat almost made him vomit on the spot, and a wave of pure terror instantly washed over him.
Just moments ago, he had been leisurely setting a trap from below the stage, fully believing that the laws of the Stop-Conflict Bell would silently dull the opponent’s spiritual energy. He had planned to wait until Gu Chengming showed signs of fatigue in the arena, then have the Yunyue Sect disciples take the win.
In the end, the man hadn't followed his script at all. Not only had he seen through the trickery of the Stop-Conflict Bell, but he had also directly punched that Fifth Realm artifact—an inheritance of thousands of years—into scrap metal. As the person who had secretly poured in the most spiritual energy, Zhao Zhijie had suffered the heaviest backlash.
Zhao Zhijie knelt there, his ashen face filled with regret. His lips moved a few times as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only managed a groan mixed with bloody bubbles.
The disciples supporting him whispered for him to go to the Rejuvenation Hall first to treat his injuries. Zhao Zhijie didn't respond, merely allowing himself to be numbly lifted by his arms as he slowly stood up.
...
Gu Chengming retracted his fist and stood steadily in the center of the arena, the last ripples of white-gold aura around him dissipating as his robes snapped loudly in the mountain breeze.
He looked around and waited for ten full breaths, but no one spoke.
Oh wait, someone did speak.
【Hundred Bones Resonating cheers: Emperor Gu is so handsome! Emperor Gu, give me a kiss!】
Old Bai, aren't you ruining the mood a bit?
Gu Chengming felt somewhat helpless.
It wasn't until a muffled thud echoed from the foot of the mountain—the sound of the Stop-Conflict Bell’s remains landing—that everyone finally seemed to snap out of it.
The first to react was Liu Yezhou at the referee’s table. As the vice sect master, he was a man who had weathered many storms after all.
Even so, his voice carried a hint of hoarseness and disbelief. “...The Holy Son of the Hunyuan Sect wins!”
On the eastern side at the Hunyuan Sect seats, Hua Daiyi was also as stiff as a wooden board. He thought to himself that he had always felt Little Gu had talent as a body cultivator, but it seemed he had still underestimated him.
That punch just now could have killed at least three of me!
However, the old man was mostly relieved and excited. Once he reacted, he downed his wine in one go and turned to the Hunyuan Sect disciples behind him.
“Did you see that? Look closely and learn! That is our Holy Son!”
The disciples behind him were clearly shocked, their eyes full of fanaticism as they nodded like chickens pecking grain. Looking at their expressions, they seemed ready to kowtow to the person on the stage right then and there.
The several elders accompanying the Hunyuan Sect could no longer remain seated either.
One laughed toward the sky while slapping his thigh; another repeatedly checked to make sure he wasn't dreaming. A normally composed deacon elder even lost his composure and grabbed a fellow disciple’s sleeve, his voice trembling. “Elder Hua, I’m not seeing things, am I? The Third Realm... the Holy Son shattered a Fifth Realm artifact at the Third Realm?”
Hua Daiyi didn't answer. A few young disciples even started whispering about how they would brag to their fellow disciples once they returned to the sect.
“You guys really missed out by not coming. I saw with my own eyes the Holy Son hammer the Yunyue Sect’s guardian artifact with one punch. Those people’s faces turned green.”
In contrast, the atmosphere in the Yunyue Sect camp on the west side was so bleak it was as if they were holding a collective funeral.
Over a thousand spectating disciples on Sword-Drill Peak were silent. Occasionally, someone would steal a glance at the young man composedly retracting his stance in the arena, only to quickly look away, as if fearing that making eye contact would lead to them being liquidated next.
What made it even more embarrassing for the Yunyue Sect was that several messengers from small and medium sects invited to watch were also sitting in the spectator stands.
Previously, out of respect for the hosts, they had sat upright and solemn. Now, they were exchanging looks with various thoughts in their minds, the meaning in their eyes clear as day.
The people of the Yunyue Sect truly didn't know what expression to wear. A junior from an external sect at the Third Realm had swaggered onto their home turf and shattered their thousand-year inheritance with a single punch. The Yunyue Sect should have had the moral high ground...
But the problem was, why did the Stop-Conflict Bell start humming long before the match was over?
At this moment, those elders who had hidden in the shadows to pour in spiritual energy in an attempt to forcibly control the field were bleeding from their seven orifices and lying in various corners. Wasn't it obvious that someone had been rigging the match?
Their own people had been the first to act shamelessly and were caught red-handed. Then, the opponent had simply smashed the whistle along with the referee’s table into pieces.
If this matter spread to the cultivation world, the Yunyue Sect’s already poor reputation would likely worsen.
The few elders who hadn't participated in the rigging felt particularly conflicted. They felt aggrieved, but it was mostly a sense of powerlessness, a feeling of “I told you these old fogies would eventually crash and burn if they kept playing dirty tricks.”
Furthermore, a Third Realm cultivator had dealt Fifth Realm middle-stage damage across two major realms...
This meant that on this Sword-Drill Peak, from Vice Sect Master Liu Yezhou down, no one had the absolute certainty of defeating Gu Chengming, except for the missing Sect Master Qin Ruoxu.
【The Huiyuan Sword Manual, seeing Hundred Bones Resonating cheering so vigorously, knew it couldn't fall behind and also cheered: Chengming is so amazing! All those bad people are completely dumbfounded!】
【Flowing Cloud Following Moon also let out a sigh of relief, feeling quite satisfied.】
【It hummed: It seems sword cultivators can be good or bad. You, who helped me clean up these wicked people, are the most pleasant sword cultivator I’ve ever seen.】
【Flowing Cloud Following Moon Favorability +10】
【Current Favorability: 90/Adoration】
【Flowing Cloud Following Moon Favorability has reached its limit】
Gu Chengming was also quite satisfied.
Exactly. This Yunyue Sect event was clearly a bond quest related to you; it would be improper if the favorability didn't reach the limit.
...
In the shadows on the western side of the spectator stands, several senior Yunyue Sect elders finally regained their senses and began whispering to each other.
“We’ve lost all face. This matter cannot be left like this.”
“Then what do you suggest? A spar? You go, or I go?”
Dead silence.
“Should we ask the vice sect master to decide?”
“Look at his face; he’s more worried than we are.”
Another bout of unbearable silence.
“Go find the sect master?”
The group moved in unison, their gazes shifting toward Liu Yezhou at the referee’s table.
After a long while, one of the oldest elders steeled himself and moved toward Liu Yezhou. “Vice Sect Master Liu, the situation has become like this. Shouldn't we invite the sect master to come out of seclusion? The sect master’s Fifth Realm late-stage cultivation can surely—”
“Can surely what?” Liu Yezhou glanced at him. “Can surely clean up your mess?”
The old elder’s face stiffened. Liu Yezhou ignored him and continued to himself, “The sect master has left the sect many times in recent months without leaving a word. He is likely not here at this moment.”
“This...”
Liu Yezhou put down his teacup. “...After all, we were the ones in the wrong first. An apology and compensation will be necessary.”
The old elder opened his mouth but eventually swallowed his sigh and bowed before returning to his original position.
Liu Yezhou sat alone at the empty referee’s table, watching the young man in the arena composedly sheathing his sword.
After today, no one in the Yunyue Sect would likely dare to court trouble with any action this Holy Son of the Hunyuan Sect took on their territory.
With the match over, Gu Chengming leaped down from the arena and walked straight toward the Hunyuan Sect seats.
Hua Daiyi met him from a distance, the old man’s face full of wrinkles as he laughed and slapped Gu Chengming hard on the shoulder.
“Good lad!”
Hua Daiyi lowered his voice, his eyes filled with unrestrained pride. “Your master always said I made a huge profit by taking you as half a disciple. I used to argue with him, but now I see he was right! If I hadn't acted early to block some trouble for you before you grew up, I would be the one calling you master now!”
Gu Chengming felt a subtle shift in his mind, thinking that Martial Uncle Hua’s statement was quite shocking. However, on the surface, he merely bowed slightly and laughed helplessly. “I have troubled you, Martial Uncle Hua.”
This Martial Uncle Hua had indeed likely blocked many troubles for him. Back when he was living peacefully in the capital, he had wondered why his enemies almost never came knocking. Now it seemed it was because this Martial Uncle Hua and his own master had been working hard.
“What trouble? You gave me face today!” Hua Daiyi laughed and waved his hand at the disciples behind him. “What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and pour some tea for the Holy Son!”
Several young disciples scrambled forward, talking all at once.
“Holy Son, how much strength did you use in that last punch?”
“Holy Son, can I touch your fist? Just once!”
【Hundred Bones Resonating is furious: These body cultivators from external sects have no manners! Is Emperor Gu’s hand something you can just touch?!】
Gu Chengming was becoming a bit overwhelmed by these overly enthusiastic fellow disciples. Fortunately, Hua Daiyi stepped in to shoo them away.
“Alright, alright, move along. Let the Holy Son rest. You’ll have plenty of time to ask for advice after we return. Give him some peace for now.”
Though the disciples were reluctant, they obediently returned to their seats, though their gazes toward Gu Chengming were filled with adoration.
Hua Daiyi handed over a pot of spirit tea and whispered, “The Yunyue Sect will likely come to apologize in the next few days. Just stay steady and don't give them any leverage. But then again—” The old man suddenly squinted his eyes with a smile. “The ones who should be having a headache now are the Yunyue Sect.”
...
The news could not be hidden.
Over a thousand cultivators on Sword-Drill Peak had witnessed the entire match, including messengers from several external sects. On the night the match ended, various sword-transmissions flew out from the Cuiping Mountains in all directions like snowflakes.
In less than three days, the news of Gu Chengming shattering the Yunyue Sect’s guardian artifact with a single punch spread like wildfire through the cultivation world for thousands of miles around, with the versions becoming increasingly exaggerated.
The most widely circulated version was that the Third Realm Gu Chengming had not only shattered the Stop-Conflict Bell with one punch but had also terrified dozens of Yunyue Sect elders into spitting blood and kneeling on the spot. Finally, the Yunyue Sect’s vice sect master had personally knelt to beg for peace before the matter was settled.
The reactions from various factions were different. Several rogue cultivator alliances that had long-standing grudges with the Yunyue Sect repeatedly chewed over the story as a snack with their wine. Someone even composed a jingle that became widely popular in market teahouses.
As it turned out, Hua Daiyi’s judgment was spot on.
After the Stop-Conflict Bell incident, Gu Chengming’s treatment in the Yunyue Sect was that of a living ancestor.
The Deacon Hall worked overtime through the night to clear out a private villa in the best area on the eastern side of Suyue Peak. The meditation mats inside were expensive artifacts woven from ice silkworm silk, and even the daily tea supply was replaced with the Yunyue Sect’s highest-grade guest tea, “Moonlight Dew.”
It was rumored that Sect Master Qin Ruoxu would usually only stingily bring out a pot of this stuff when entertaining big shots at the Fifth Realm or above.
In the morning, there was spirit tea service; in the afternoon, the incense was changed; and at night, someone would specifically come to pay their respects. They were more attentive than if they were serving their own fathers.
Gu Chengming saw through this clearly.
The Yunyue Sect had been psychologically scarred by that punch. They feared his dissatisfaction and feared he would wander around and do something new that would embarrass the sect. Thus, they chose the most dignified method: putting him on a pedestal to keep him quiet for a while.
Unfortunately, the higher-ups of the Yunyue Sect had miscalculated one thing: Gu Chengming didn't need to personally go out and explore the map.
Because for some reason, the development of the All Wonders Same Source Method was going exceptionally smoothly. In just two days, he had gained control over the intelligence of almost the entire Yunyue Sect.
And Gu Chengming soon figured out the reason.
During the demon resistance at Falling Snow Pass, disciples from all major sects had participated, and the Myriad Wonders Gathering had already become completely popular among them.
When these disciples returned to their sects, they quickly recommended the Myriad Wonders Gathering to their fellow brothers and sisters using a pyramid scheme model of “Senior brother has a treasure to show you.”
Cultivation was boring to begin with. Who could refuse a forum that was completely anonymous, ignored location, and where elders couldn't check browsing history?
Thus, without Gu Chengming needing to work hard, nearly seventy percent of the Yunyue Sect disciples were already members of the Myriad Wonders Gathering. He only needed to take over the back end.
The Yunyue Sect disciples’ unrestrained anonymous complaints in the Myriad Wonders Gathering were the most authentic intelligence network. Who was dissatisfied with the elders’ resource allocation, where the spiritual energy of a ley line was abnormal, and even what time the Deacon Hall changed shifts—all of it was clear at a glance in the Myriad Wonders Gathering.
Spending two full days, he gained a deep understanding of the Yunyue Sect’s situation.
The grievances and feuds of the elders of each peak, the disciples’ private complaints about Sect Master Qin Ruoxu, their awe of Vice Sect Master Liu Yezhou... all the scattered pieces of information came together to let him know the specific situation within the Yunyue Sect.
However, what truly allowed Gu Chengming to pin down his search coordinates was not the noisy gossip posts in the Myriad Wonders Gathering, but a blind spot that no one had ever mentioned.
The Alchemist Manager.
Based on common sense, this should be a lucrative position in charge of the entire sect’s logistical lifeline. From elders ordering high-level pills to outer sect disciples collecting their monthly stipends, everything had to go through this manager. Yet, almost no one in the Myriad Wonders Gathering talked about him.
No one cursed him for pocketing money, nor did anyone praise him for being fair. It was as if no one in the entire Yunyue Sect cared about this person at all.
Gu Chengming’s brow furrowed as a familiar feeling emerged in his heart.
That’s right, the Red Dust Immortal! Cognitive Barrier!
To verify his suspicion, Gu Chengming skillfully posted a thread on the anonymous board of the Myriad Wonders Gathering:
【Daily Help: Does anyone remember what the Alchemist Manager looks like? I saw him once yesterday when I went to collect my stipend, but I can’t recall his face for the life of me today. It’s like I’ve seen a ghost.】
Before long, replies started popping up one after another.
【Now that you mention it, I forgot too. He seems like a very ordinary old man?】
【What was the manager’s name again... oh well, he’s probably just an insignificant, marginal elder.】
And then no one cared anymore.
Gu Chengming thought to himself that as expected, these poor kids had been so influenced that they could even say the Alchemist Manager was insignificant.
Regardless, the target was confirmed. This person indeed had a problem.
After confirming the abnormality of the Alchemist Manager, Gu Chengming didn't rush into action.
He first retrieved all posts related to the alchemy room from the Myriad Wonders Gathering back end and scrolled through them one by one. The results were as expected: there were many posts mentioning the alchemy room—complaints about the declining quality of pills, grumbles about the long queues—but only the content involving the manager himself was presented in a bizarrely understated manner, as if everyone was subconsciously avoiding the man.
Gu Chengming spent half a day sorting out the Alchemist Manager’s daily routine.
Although no one in the Myriad Wonders Gathering actively talked about him, the scattered fragments of information were enough to sketch a rough outline. This person opened the doors every day at the Hour of the Rabbit and closed them at the Hour of the Rooster. He never attended sect gatherings, nor did he associate with other elders. All three meals were delivered to his side room by deacons.
After nightfall, Gu Chengming stood up and went out. He took a deep breath and activated the Zhou Rites Heavenly Rectifying Art in advance.
Although he had the Peace Legacy, it was better to act steadily.
...
The night was as still as water, and Suyue Peak was bathed in cold moonlight.
Looking toward the mountainside, the alchemy area was shrouded in thick mist, with only a few sparks of lamplight barely hanging on.
The side room was cramped, and the decor was mainly characterized by four bare walls.
There was a dilapidated low table, a pilled meditation mat, and an iron teapot with a patina so thick it could be sent directly to a museum. The heavy layer of verdigris on the spout was particularly eye-catching.
In the corner, a few stacks of jade slips and account books were piled haphazardly, with the top one having a large brown stain from tea, giving it a real sense of age.
A white-haired old man sat cross-legged on the meditation mat, holding the iron pot and taking a blissful sip, letting out a satisfied hiss.
This old fellow was as thin as a piece of old firewood, and his features were unremarkable; he would instantly blend into the background of a mortal market. His eyelids were perpetually drooping, and the sleeve of his Yunyue Sect grey robe was frayed all over, with the collar stained with old herb residue.
If the Myriad Thief Immortal knew from the afterlife that his own sect’s successor was now cowering in someone else’s backyard pretending to be a nobody, he would surely kick off his coffin lid and jump out to clean house.
This unremarkable-looking old fellow was precisely Nuo Tao’s master and the current leader of the Myriad Thief Sect.
Daoist Don't Know.
“Mmm.”
Daoist Don't Know took another sip of coarse tea, his gaze leisurely falling on the jade slips spread out on the low table. They were densely marked in red with the abnormalities of the Yunyue Sect over the past six months: ley line issues, the elders’ bizarreness, and the decaying aura that occasionally wafted from the depths of the Cuiping Mountains.
His purpose in coming to the Yunyue Sect was the same as Gu Chengming’s—the Dao Plague.
Years ago, this master of the thief cultivators had sensed that the karma lines of the Cuiping Mountains had tied themselves into a dead knot. As a big shot who practiced “Stealing Heavenly Secrets and Filching Karma,” the movement of karma lines naturally couldn't be hidden from him.
Following the clues, the old man had traced his way to the Yunyue Sect. He spent three months falsifying household records and silently replaced the original manager. Relying on his consummate Cognitive Barrier, he successfully obtained an official position in the Yunyue Sect.
Daoist Don't Know looked away and leaned back, finding a comfortable angle against the mottled wall.
He had originally intended to take his time and solve the matter of the Dao Plague slowly.
However, some people who had arrived recently and some things that had happened made him change his mind.
Gu Chengming.
He silently repeated the name in his mind.
A cultivation of the eighth level of the Third Realm, yet he smashed a Fifth Realm guardian artifact with one punch and rubbed the prestigious Yunyue Sect into the ground, with no one even daring to make a peep... The old man took another sip of tea, making a tsking sound of admiration.
Not bad. As expected of the one the patriarch took a fancy to; he’s indeed wild enough.
Back in the Northern Border secret realm, the patriarch had passed over his own direct descendant and shoved the inheritance to an outsider. As the sect leader, he naturally understood why.
At first, he had felt somewhat aggrieved, but as Gu Chengming’s subsequent series of heaven-defying achievements were reported back, that bit of dissatisfaction had long since transformed into an acknowledgment that this kid had something special.
Furthermore, on top of this official acknowledgment, there was also a personal filter of an elder looking at a junior.
His thoughts took a turn and landed on his own disciple.
Ever since that girl Nuo Tao came back from the Falling Snow Pass dungeon, her state had been off. That was over half a year ago.
After Nuo Tao returned to the sect, she appeared to be the same heartless wild girl on the surface, but he had lived many years; what secret could escape his old eyes?
He had personally seen his disciple start looking at that Dragon-Seeking Token against the sun every few days, wiping it until it was shiny, then quickly shoving it into her clothes like a thief after a few glances. She often spaced out while practicing and meditating. Sometimes when the girl took a nap, he could hear her rolling around on the bed wrapped in her quilt, mumbling things like “Brother Gu,” “Big Blockhead,” and “Wait until this lady develops, I’ll definitely show you what’s what.”
Nuo Tao probably thought to her dying day that her secret crush was the best-kept secret in the world, but in her master’s eyes, the girl’s thoughts were far too obvious.
The old man shook his head repeatedly. She was completely giving herself away for nothing...
Every generation of the Myriad Thief Sect patriarchs were ruthless characters at shoplifting; how did it come to this generation that they became so foolish when encountering the trial of love?
Teasing aside, the old man’s overall rating of Gu Chengming was indeed quite high.
From gaining reputation at Falling Snow Pass, to getting the MVP in the Sect Disciple Grand Examination, to clearing the Tianque Secret Realm, and now the title of Holy Son of the Hunyuan Sect—
This resume would be enough to go on a killing spree even in the Central Province.
To be honest, if this kid weren't bound to the sword cultivator profession, and if the Myriad Thief Sect weren't a single-line inheritance, he would have long since carried a sack to kidnap the person back to the Myriad Thief Sect as a successor.
But although this kid was very impressive, he was actually just fifty-fifty compared to when he was young.
Back then, when he was young... he even dared to go up and pluck a few tufts of wool from the Yaoguang Dao Throne.
Relying on his Myriad Thief Spiritual Eye, he went to the nine heavens to pluck the moon and down to the four seas to touch gold. Which house hadn't he left a shadow in?
His memories continued to accelerate.
In a certain year and month, he had slipped into the private residence of a certain Sixth Realm expert and made off with the person’s dharma treasure. That expert was so angry he hunted him for three full years.
How did it end? That old fellow sent a message through a middleman, begging him to return the item.
He showed great mercy and only then let it go.
The highlight reel of his memories finished in his mind. The old man stroked his beard with satisfaction, his entire body radiating the vicarious aura of a retired war king reminiscing about his peak years.
Unfortunately, his disciple Nuo Tao was not present.
If she were, she would surely dismantle his stage on the spot: “Master, last month the version you bragged about was a five-year hunt. Why is it on sale this month? And last-last time you said you stole a natal dharma treasure, and the time before that you said it was someone’s thousand-year aged wine. What exactly did you swipe?”
To this, Daoist Don't Know always had only one set of words:
“This old man has handled too many artifacts; it’s normal to get the stories mixed up.”
It was just that there were no trendy terms at this time; otherwise, Nuo Tao’s evaluation of her master would definitely be “legendary show-off.”
However, it was undeniable that Daoist Don't Know was definitely among the top tier of the late-stage Fifth Realm.
Aside from not finding a “Dao Throne,” all his standards were equivalent to a half-step Sixth Realm.
No one could say for sure how much true gold was mixed into those boastful lies.
His thoughts returned to the present. Daoist Don't Know opened his eyes, his gaze fixed on the drafty wooden door of the side room, his eyes full of interest.
He had originally thought this trip to the Yunyue Sect would be quite boring, but who would have thought he could meet the successor acknowledged even by the patriarch?
He wondered what kind of commotion this kid would eventually cause in the Yunyue Sect.
He pinched his fingers to calculate, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
“He can actually find me through the Cognitive Barrier?”
“Not bad... not bad.”
He laughed, then stood up and opened the door wide, preparing to welcome this guest.
Outside the door, the night mist surged like a tide.
The lights of Suyue Peak in the distance were faintly visible, while the nearby alchemy area seemed to be isolated by an invisible boundary, with even the chirping of insects swallowed by the thick fog.
Daoist Don't Know casually rested the iron teapot behind his waist, putting on the air of a host welcoming a guest, yet he didn't seem to be welcoming any distinguished guest; instead, he looked more like an old man at the village entrance hearing a knock and shuffling out in his slippers to see the commotion.
Footsteps came from the mist, neither fast nor slow.
The old man raised an eyebrow, thinking that this kid’s aura concealment was well done. If he hadn't calculated in advance, it truly wouldn't be easy to discover him by perception alone.
...
The moment Gu Chengming stepped over the threshold of the alchemy side room, his previous suspicion was completely confirmed.
A Cognitive Barrier—the genuine article.
Even though a person was standing just two yards away on a broken meditation mat, holding an iron teapot and making a slurping sound, what Gu Chengming saw was a dark bizarreness of seeing nothing.
If Gu Chengming hadn't suffered at the hands of this craft back in Floating Islet City and prepared himself in advance, he might truly have been guided away by this perception.
He stood at the threshold, his gaze piercing through the dim lamplight and crashing directly into the white-haired old man.
Daoist Don't Know finished the last sip of coarse tea in his mouth, swallowed it, and let out a comfortable “hiss—”.
Then he smiled, and it was a very kind and amiable smile, just like a helpful old man cooling off under a big tree at the village entrance.
“Yo.”
The old man spoke first, completely ignoring the prodigy who could shatter a Fifth Realm guardian artifact with one punch.
“Here for pills? We’re closed for the day. Come back early tomorrow to queue.”
Gu Chengming didn't take the bait.
Between the two of them lay three yards of air. Gu Chengming wasn't certain of this person’s identity, so he had to test him first.
“Senior has impressive methods.”
Gu Chengming did not enter the room as he spoke. “A single Cognitive Barrier has fooled the entire Yunyue Sect. This junior is impressed.”
Daoist Don't Know blinked a few times, a genuine sense of admiration appearing in his squinted eyes.
“To be able to walk in front of this old man without being interfered with... Little friend, you have something special.”
【Red Dust Phantom Step warns: It is unknown if this person is friend or foe. Do not let your guard down.】
Gu Chengming naturally wouldn't let his guard down. The more the other party acted like nothing was wrong, the more alarm bells rang in his mind.
“Senior is lurking here. What are you after?”
Daoist Don't Know tilted his head. “Guess?”
Gu Chengming remained silent.
“Alright, alright, I won’t tease you anymore.”
The old man waved his hand, placed the iron teapot on the low table, and slowly stood up with his hands on his knees.
He wasn't tall; when he stood straight, he only reached Gu Chengming’s shoulder.
He was thin, and his grey robe hung loosely on him; no matter how one looked at him, he seemed like an empty-nester who would fall over with a puff of wind.
However, the moment he stood up, the air pressure in the side room suddenly became several times heavier.
—At least the Fifth Realm or above.
Gu Chengming narrowed his eyes and made such a judgment.
Daoist Don't Know stretched, his joints popping, then he clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely strolled to a stop two yards in front of Gu Chengming.
His gaze scanned up and down, eventually landing on the storage pouch at Gu Chengming’s waist—it was the Myriad Thief Spiritual Eye.
With just that brief glance, this old fellow had already inventoried Gu Chengming’s storage pouch perfectly, and at this moment, his gaze was firmly fixed on one artifact.
The Unborn Lotus.
The old man’s expression changed, a flash of excitement passing through his eyes. He thought to himself that it truly was a case of finding something by luck after a long, fruitless search!
He had been lurking for over half a year and hadn't found a steady tool to deal with the bug deep within the Dao Plague seal. Who would have thought this kid happened to have the very object that could solve the matter?
Come to think of it, this Gu Chengming was also a junior personally acknowledged by the patriarch and shared karma with the Myriad Thief Sect. Plus, his own girl Nuo Tao felt... cough, anyway, he wasn't an outsider.
Since they were family, borrowing a family member’s equipment for a bit and then returning it—could that even be called stealing?
From the moment the thought arose to the moment it was acted upon, Daoist Don't Know’s action was faster than his movement, and Gu Chengming sensed the abnormality almost simultaneously.
—The Unborn Lotus was gone.
Gu Chengming glanced down at his waist, then looked back up at the old man across from him.
In Daoist Don't Know’s right hand, a pale gold lotus pendant had appeared at some point. He was turning it over in his fingers, admiring it, and making clicking sounds with his tongue.
“Good stuff, truly good stuff.”
He weighed the Unborn Lotus and nodded with great satisfaction. “Little friend, rest easy. This old man is just taking it for an emergency. I’ll return it once the job is done.”
His tone was sincere, and he truly treated it as “borrowing a junior’s artifact,” but Gu Chengming didn't even know who he was yet.
In Gu Chengming’s perspective, a mysterious red-named monster with an unfathomable level was lurking inside the sect and had just swiped his core artifact right in front of him.
The verdict needed no words.
Hostile unit. Initiate combat.
Daoist Don't Know was still blissfully examining the Unborn Lotus, marveling at “which master’s handiwork this karmic circuit was,” looking perfectly peaceful.
In the next second.
Clang!
Ten flying swords unsheathed in unison!
The moment the sword light flared, the dim lamplight in the side room was instantly shredded by the violent edge. In the darkness, ten silver-white arcs frantically darted and interlaced, forming a dense, airtight strangling net.
Gu Chengming didn't waste a single word. He activated the Tenfold Sword Array at full power, firmly locking the old man in the center.
At the same time—
His right hand quickly formed a seal, and his spiritual energy flowed in reverse.
Red Dust Technique, activate.
The Yin Yang Creation Strategy roared into operation within his sea of consciousness. The law of karma forcibly reversed; the outcome of the Unborn Lotus disappearing from his hand was forcibly turned back into the cause.
A pale gold lotus pendant lay steadily back in Gu Chengming’s palm.
From drawing his sword to reclaiming his equipment, it took less than two breaths—clean and decisive.
Daoist Don't Know froze in place, looking down at his empty right hand.
Then he looked up at the perfectly intact Unborn Lotus in Gu Chengming’s palm.
Finally, he looked at the ten flying swords circling rapidly and eagerly around him.
The old man blinked several times, a hint of astonishment appearing in his tone for the first time. “Red Dust Technique?”
Gu Chengming turned a deaf ear. The Tenfold Sword Array had already closed in, and sword qi hammered down like a torrential rain.
Daoist Don't Know’s movement was also godlike. His figure flickered slightly, and with his hands behind his back, he strolled through the dense sword net as if walking in his own backyard. The ten flying swords chased him, yet they always missed by a hair’s breadth.
With his late-stage Fifth Realm stats, it was indeed difficult for a Third Realm basic attack to break through his defense.
“Red Dust Technique... reversing cause and effect.” He dodged a slash and made a tsking sound of admiration. “This old man’s Myriad Thief Spiritual Eye bypassed three of your restrictions with no karmic fluctuation throughout, yet you could actually forcibly reload and take the item back?”
Another sword brushed past.
“It counters the Path of Thievery. Reversing cause and effect happens to be the mechanism our Myriad Thief Sect hates the most.”
Thievery emphasized erasing traces, while the Red Dust Technique specialized in digging up old accounts.
Another flying sword grazed the corner of his robe, slicing off half an inch of cloth. The old man glanced at it and shook his head repeatedly, thinking that the person the Myriad Thief Immortal chose had actually practiced a technique that countered the Myriad Thief Sect so well—Nuo Tao hadn't mentioned this either.
As he thought this, his brow suddenly twitched because he suddenly realized that every sword light that landed carried a sluggish, thread-like viscosity that silently adhered to his body...
It was the Entanglement Sword Intent!
“Ho, interesting.”
Daoist Don't Know casually deflected a flying sword and appraised the strand of sword intent on his arm. His spiritual energy circulation speed had indeed been slowed, though only by a tiny, negligible amount—equivalent to nothing for a late-stage Fifth Realm.
“This sword intent is quite interesting. The idea is brilliant, but unfortunately for this old man, this thing’s effect is negligi—”
His words were cut short again. The ten flying swords did not pause for a second, slashing down with even higher attack speed, each strike stacking a new layer of Entanglement Sword Intent.
One layer, two layers, five layers, ten layers.
The old man remained composed, but he discovered a serious problem... Why was there no limit to the stacking of this Entanglement Sword Intent?
His movements began to show a visible stutter.
He frowned slightly, attempting to circulate his technique to purify the negative status, only to find it useless. This sword intent didn't care about the strength of spiritual energy; it directly modified the underlying rules of motion.
No matter how high your stats were, as long as you were hit, a slow was forcibly applied.
“Wait.” A hint of gravity finally appeared in the old man’s tone. “How can this sword intent bypass this old man’s resistance check—”
Before he finished speaking, Gu Chengming’s left hand had already gripped the Unborn Lotus. This was a combo he had long since researched.
To be honest, after entering the Third Realm, the combo of the Tenfold Sword Array plus the Entanglement Sword Intent had become somewhat “insufficient.” After all, enemies in the Fourth and Fifth Realms wouldn't just stand there and let you stack layers.
But the existence of the Unborn Lotus made up for this flaw... Since stacking was too slow, why not just fast-forward to the scene after the stacking?
Since the outcome was decided—
Then skip the stacking phase and fast-forward to the settlement screen!
The Unborn Lotus flared with golden light.
In the next instant, Daoist Don't Know’s entire body stiffened. The Entanglement Sword Intent on his body instantly exploded from dozens of layers to hundreds, his karma directly jumping to the final state.
“—!”
The composure on the old man’s face completely vanished, his expression becoming somewhat stiff. His right hand, halfway through being raised, froze in mid-air, and his left foot, about to step out, was also firmly glued to the spot. His spiritual energy circulation felt as if it had fallen into a thick swamp, with every movement consuming a massive amount of mana.
Although his late-stage Fifth Realm foundation was thick enough that he wasn't completely immobilized, his movements were sluggish for a short period. The light of the Unborn Lotus also dimmed, clearly consuming a lot of mana.
And the old man’s mood finally shifted from watching a show to facing a formidable enemy.
—What the hell is this thing?!
How the hell is this sword intent a percentage reduction?!
Gu Chengming naturally didn't know what the other party was thinking. The old man would soon rely on his cultivation to forcibly endure the debuff; the damage window was fleeting.
At this moment—
The 《Unfettered Freedom Art》 activated on its own. Gu Chengming’s aura changed, becoming precisely that of the Myriad Thief Immortal.
Although it was just a high-fidelity simulated version, the charm of that “Sky-Connecting Branch” Dao Throne was replicated perfectly.
The moment Daoist Don't Know, who was struggling against the sword intent suppression, felt this aura, his body reacted faster than his brain.
He was completely stunned.
The familiarity carved into his bones, the pressure of the patriarch, the Myriad Thief Immortal—
“You—”
That one word contained shock, doubt, confusion, and many other complex emotions.
But he was the Myriad Thief Sect leader after all; he reacted immediately after two breaths of being dazed. No! The patriarch only has a lingering obsession left; how could he come back to life? This is definitely a disguise this kid made with a technique!
“Good lad, using the patriarch’s aura to trick this old man’s dodge—”
Before he finished his sentence, a fist was already plastered to his face.
White-gold light illuminated the side room. 《Hundred Bones Resonating of Love》, full power output!
The terrifying Fifth Realm middle-stage damage exploded instantly. The violent shockwave overturned the low table, and the iron teapot and alchemy books danced wildly in the air as plaster fell from the walls.
Daoist Don't Know, who was suppressed by hundreds of layers of slow and dazed by the patriarch’s aura, truly couldn't dodge this time.
Fortunately, he was tough. He steeled himself and crossed his arms to block. The force of the punch slammed into his forearms, making the side room shake as if the earth were moving. The old man forcibly plowed two deep furrows into the ground as he slid back a full yard.
He had caught it, but just as the old man shook his numbed arms and wanted to put on the air of an elder to give a critique, his vision changed.
It didn't turn black; instead, it suddenly became bright.
A dim secret room directly overlaid his vision. In the center of the room sat a long wooden table, and behind the table sat two women.
The girl in green on the left sat upright with jade slips at her waist, her expression more solemn than a judge’s. The lazy woman on the right held a wine flask, and she was boredly fiddling with a copper-headed belt that flickered with a faint glow.
On the open space in front of the wooden table, a long row of brand-new hats was neatly and properly arranged.
The girl in green picked up the first hat, opened the jade slips, and cleared her throat, preparing to call names.
The woman on the right tilted her head back to gulp down a mouthful of strong wine, and the belt in her hand lashed through the air with a crisp crack.
Snap!
Daoist Don't Know’s brain went numb.
What kind of wicked method is this again?!
Rate on N.U.
