Chapter 110
The night air was cool, and a gentle breeze drifted through the mountains.
Cangtian Peak stretched for hundreds of miles like a colossal sleeping beast, its vast body shrouded in drifting wisps of mist that wound silently through the darkness, sending an inexplicable chill through the air.
Just as Ling Yunxiao reached the entrance to Lou Yuqing's cave residence and was about to step inside, he abruptly stopped.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
He was certain it wasn't his imagination.
Lou Yuqing turned back in confusion. "Aren't you coming in?"
It felt rather strange. He was the guest, yet he was the one lingering outside the door.
"I'm coming."
Ling Yunxiao had no intention of letting such a rare opportunity slip away. Pushing aside the strange sense of unease, he smiled and followed her into the cave.
The moment the stone door closed behind them, several branches snapped with sharp cracks before crashing heavily onto the ground outside.
Immortal Venerable Zixiao stood silently before the sealed entrance, his expression darkening by the second.
The words a lone man and a lone woman... late at night echoed over and over in his mind.
Infuriating.
His little disciple clearly knew nothing.
This had to be that brat's idea.
He'd already given the boy a warning, yet the stubborn rascal had apparently ignored it completely.
Fine.
Very fine.
Another surge of spiritual energy burst from Immortal Venerable Zixiao's fingertips.
This time, the entire tree split cleanly in two.
Meanwhile, inside the cave, Ling Yunxiao remained blissfully unaware that he'd already received a warning.
After chatting with Lou Yuqing for a while, he didn't overstay his welcome and politely took his leave.
A cool breeze swept past him the moment he stepped outside, instantly clearing the romantic haze clouding his thoughts.
Cangtian Peak...
Isn't this the territory of Immortal Venerable Zixiao?
If he remembered correctly, only Immortal Venerable Zixiao and a single personal disciple lived on the entire peak. There weren't even any registered disciples.
Which meant Lou Yuqing's identity was now obvious.
Ling Yunxiao froze.
He had never paid much attention to where she lived before, but after deliberately finding out today, he couldn't help feeling satisfied with the answer.
The only drawback... was that her overwhelmingly powerful master probably wasn't going to be very pleased with him.
"Boy. Come here."
A sinister voice suddenly rang beside his ear.
Ling Yunxiao: "..."
So he'd been found after all.
"Disciple Ling Yunxiao greets Senior Zixiao."
Refusing to address him as Supreme Elder was the last shred of resistance he could muster.
The girl he liked had a seniority so high it was enough to make a grown man weep.
Before he could dwell on it any further, his collar suddenly tightened.
Immortal Venerable Zixiao casually lifted him by the collar and said, "I see some potential in you and would like to offer a few pointers. I'll suppress my cultivation to your level shortly. I hope you'll exchange a few moves with me and not disappoint my expectations."
Ling Yunxiao: "..."
Wasn't this just bullying the weak?
The next morning dawned bright and clear.
Lou Yuqing met up with Si Nidie at the market to attend another trade fair. This time, it was just the two of them.
For some reason, Ling Yunxiao had gone completely offline. No matter how many messages she sent through the communication jade slip, there wasn't the slightest response.
Since they were still within the safety of the sect, Lou Yuqing didn't think much of it.
Maybe he overslept.
Meanwhile...
Ling Yunxiao, sporting a face covered in bruises, sat in complete silence.
Over the course of a single night, he'd been beaten more than three hundred times.
Every spar had ended within four moves.
Only when dawn broke did Immortal Venerable Zixiao finally let him go.
"You're still too weak, kid. Go back and cultivate properly. I'll test you again another day. If you haven't improved by then, it'll mean you've been slacking off."
His gaze swept coolly over Ling Yunxiao.
"We'll see how I deal with you then."
With those words, Immortal Venerable Zixiao disappeared without a trace.
Ling Yunxiao wanted to stubbornly insist that he was still capable.
Unfortunately, reality refused to cooperate.
At that moment, he couldn't even lift a finger.
He was thoroughly spent.
Enduring the agonizing pain throughout his body, he forced himself to speak before the Immortal Venerable vanished completely.
"I'll earn your approval."
Ling Yunxiao wasn't a fool.
He understood perfectly well that Senior Zixiao had been guiding him all night.
Although he'd been beaten from beginning to end, the improvement was undeniable.
At first, he couldn't withstand even a single move.
By the end... he could survive three.
"Got some ambition, does he?"
Just before leaving, Immortal Venerable Zixiao heard those words and found himself smiling faintly.
An idea suddenly came to mind.
He returned to his cave residence, resumed Gu Buqi's appearance, and prepared to visit his precious little disciple.
Unfortunately, his plan was doomed before it even began.
"Senior Zixiao, Chengfeng has come to seek your guidance. I hope Senior will not hesitate to teach me."
Sword Venerable Chengfeng stood directly in his path, respectfully cupping his fists.
His face was still blackened by burns.
Gu Buqi fell silent for a moment before asking, "Haven't you had enough of being struck by lightning?"
Even someone as powerful as Sword Venerable Chengfeng had received exactly the same treatment as Ling Yunxiao under Gu Buqi's hands.
He'd been beaten from start to finish.
He'd even enjoyed a full lightning "massage," leaving his entire body charred black.
Chengfeng remained as solemn as ever.
"As long as Senior is willing to instruct me, this junior is confident that today I can withstand more than five moves."
Gu Buqi looked at him, then couldn't help thinking of Ling Yunxiao.
Just as stubborn as that kid.
"Very well."
He nodded once.
"Come."
Meanwhile, in the marketplace, Su Zhile was busy scouting for customers. The moment Lou Yuqing and the others emerged from the trading fair, he hurried over to intercept them.
"Fellow Daoists! Interested in buying a magical artifact? It's a masterpiece crafted by Master Du!"
Unlike Du Fengyao's secretive trade fair, this one wasn't particularly discreet. Everyone entered and left through the same route, so all Su Zhile had to do was find the venue and wait outside for customers to appear.
"Master Du?" Lou Yuqing echoed, blinking in confusion.
Seeing her interest, Su Zhile quickly explained, "If you're interested, come to this address this afternoon and join the bidding. Don't worry about authenticity, every artifact bears Master Du's unique rune imprint. It's something no one else can imitate."
As he spoke, he slipped a paper into Lou Yuqing's hand before hurrying off to the next group, handing out invitations as fast as he could.
Si Nidie glanced at the note.
Tianshu Peak, Cave Residence No. 36.
A hint of surprise crossed her face.
"Tianshu Peak isn't far from the peak where I live." She turned to Lou Yuqing with a smile. "What do you think, Junior Sister? Want to attend another trading fair, or go bid on some magical artifacts?"
Lou Yuqing smiled sheepishly. "I don't really need any magical artifacts."
Si Nidie fell silent for a moment before sighing inwardly.
Right.
Junior Sister had an absurdly overpowered master. It would've been stranger if she did lack magical artifacts.
Elsewhere, Su Zhile had successfully used Master Du's reputation to attract a sizable crowd. Back at his cave residence, he held a small auction and sold a bowl-shaped defensive artifact for 4,500 spirit stones, earning a tidy profit.
The buyer, a young cultivator, gently ran a hand over the artifact before carefully storing it away.
Master Du was a renowned artifact refiner—giving this to Shuangya couldn't possibly be the wrong choice.
Two days later, the small world trial officially came to an end.
All participating disciples were teleported back to the plaza, where the newly released rankings for the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core divisions quickly became the center of attention.
Among the seven great sects, the Wendao Sect emerged as the biggest winner.
Nearly one-fifth of all successful participants belonged to them, with Song Li and Wei Houming claiming the top spots in the Golden Core rankings after slaughtering countless demonic beasts and demonic cultivators throughout the trial.
Looking at the young woman whose body radiated intense fire-attributed spiritual energy, Minghan Zhenren sighed in admiration.
"As expected of someone born with a Fire Poison Physique. Hongyan, you've accepted an excellent disciple."
The two of them had once shared the same concern. Both had feared they would never find disciples capable of truly inheriting their legacies. Yet, against all expectations, they had each discovered a worthy successor.
Before Madam Hongyan could respond, Sect Leader Qingxuzi stroked his beard and interjected with unconcealed pride.
"My daughter is naturally extraordinary."
A faint smile softened Song Li's usually rigid expression.
Her feelings toward Qingxuzi were complicated, but she knew one thing for certain—she didn't dislike him.
Whenever the night fell silent, she would inevitably remember the man who had stood before her when she was hovering on the brink of death.
The sight of her smile filled Qingxuzi with both joy and heartache.
He couldn't help wondering...
When would he finally hear his daughter call him Father?
Song Li instinctively lowered her gaze, avoiding Qingxuzi's eyes.
Thanks to the Healer's treatment, she could now control the fire poison with ease.
Once, it had seeped into her very bones, leaving amputation as her only hope of survival. Now, however, that same poison had become her greatest weapon.
It was with that power that she had slaughtered countless demonic cultivators.
They were the ones who had murdered her mother.
They were her lifelong enemies.
That hatred was etched into her very bones, and she would never show mercy to any demonic cultivator she encountered.
Qingxuzi let out a quiet sigh.
His daughter's obsession was no less profound than his own. The loss of Wenniang remained an unhealed wound in his heart, one that time had never managed to dull.
As congratulations echoed from every direction, he simply fell silent.
Meanwhile, Wei Houming, the other top performer, had also become the center of attention.
Cultivators from the other six sects praised him as a rare genius while secretly grinding their teeth in envy.
The jealousy hanging in the air was so thick it was almost tangible.
Just then, someone suddenly remarked, "Where's Sword Venerable Chengfeng? Even if the results weren't ideal, he shouldn't have run away."
The implication was unmistakable.
They were openly calling Sword Venerable Chengfeng a coward.
The Cloud Soaring Sect disciples immediately flew into a rage.
What nonsense!
The Sword Venerable hadn't shown himself for the past two days.
One disciple fixed the speaker with a cold stare and replied, "When the Sword Venerable returns, we'll be sure to relay your exact words."
The man's expression stiffened, and he wisely fell silent.
After all, he had no confidence whatsoever in surviving the Seven Emotions Sword.
Not long afterward, the first round of written examinations officially came to an end, and the arena battles began.
Lingzhu Zhenren tossed bamboo lots into the air, each marked with a different number.
Lou Yuqing casually caught one.
Number thirty-six.
She turned to look at Ling Yunxiao.
Number one.
Between the two of them, they had somehow drawn both the opening match and the very last.
The Wendao Sect's overwhelming number of participants was both a blessing and a curse.
The more disciples they had, the greater the chance of facing one another in the arena, and regardless of who won, the sect would lose a contender.
Fortunately, the two of them had avoided that outcome.
"Good luck!"
Lou Yuqing called out with a smile as Ling Yunxiao stepped onto the arena.
He met her gaze with a solemn nod before striding forward confidently. His opponent was a sword cultivator from the Cloud Soaring Sect whose swordsmanship was renowned for its precision.
"Fellow Daoist, please enlighten me."
After exchanging the customary greetings, the two exploded into motion the instant the referee gave the signal.
Their swords collided in rapid succession as they traded more than ten blows in the blink of an eye.
Ling Yunxiao remained perfectly composed. Six shadow clones appeared around him simultaneously, attacking from every direction as they probed for flaws in his opponent's defense.
At the same time, Wei Houming and the other competitors also began their matches. Each arena had been expanded to five hundred feet across to ensure the spectators remained safely out of harm's way.
"Shuangya, watch carefully."
Meng Zonghan caught his daughter just as she was trying to sneak away.
Meng Shuangya immediately flashed him an innocent smile.
"Father, I have my own matches later. Where could I possibly run off to? Just let me stretch my legs for a bit."
Knowing full well she was incapable of sitting still, Meng Zonghan finally gave in with a helpless sigh.
"Fine."
The moment she heard his answer, Meng Shuangya looked as though she'd been granted a royal pardon. She shot off in a streak of light—but instead of heading for the plaza, she flew straight toward the marketplace.
Before long, she spotted a familiar young cultivator.
"Wenjing!" she called brightly.
He Wenjing smiled as he walked over.
"Shuangya, I have something for you."
As he spoke, he took out the bowl-shaped magical artifact he had purchased from Su Zhile.