At this very moment, the atmosphere in the Tianji Sect was cold and tense; the entire sect stood on high alert.

Although the disciples did not know what had happened, with Junior Sister Shu Tiantian missing and Ling Ruoshui sent away, they had already sensed the changes within the sect, as though some great event was about to occur. Not to mention that the forbidden grounds had been opened—ordinary disciples were not permitted to enter, and they only knew that people from the Upper Realm had arrived.

Such a grave atmosphere was naturally because the Tianji Sect was making full preparations for the millennial calamity.

The Nine Yin Profound Baleful Energy Formation had already begun to rotate. Once activated by nine Deity Transformation stage cultivators, it could gather the boundless killing aura of the Void Abyss and torment Ji Wushu without pause.

Several thousand years ago, after the combined forces of the cultivation world successfully suppressed Ji Wushu, every time the full thousand-year cycle arrived, it would be Ji Wushu’s weakest moment.

A thousand years ago, the founding ancestor of the Tianji Sect seized that moment, intending to form a contract with the sinful dragon, yet in the end died without even a complete corpse remaining.

Thus, for this millennial calamity, the cultivation world no longer dared to be careless. The Tianji Sect’s lesson had been too tragic—no one thought of contracting the sinful dragon anymore. They only wished to take this opportunity to uproot the problem entirely and completely eliminate the sinful dragon.

For this purpose, the Upper Realm, the Lower Realm, and the Mortal Realm would join forces. When the millennial calamity opened a month later, they would mobilize the strength of the entire world and annihilate it in one decisive strike!

And the Tianji Sect’s exclusive Nine Yin Profound Baleful Energy Formation was the only method capable of weakening Ji Wushu. Therefore, the Upper Realm had sent Deity Transformation-stage cultivators to assist the Tianji Sect in taking the lead in this battle.

Once the Nine Yin Profound Baleful Energy Formation was fully formed, it required a full nineteen days before anyone could leave.

The one presiding over it, Immortal Lord Chixiao, possessed the deepest cultivation and absolutely could not step away. Thus, before entering the great formation, he entrusted Dao Xuzi to take good care of Shu Tiantian in the Void Abyss, ensuring that she must remain alive and well until he himself went to the Void Abyss.

Of course, even without Chixiao saying it, Dao Xuzi, as sect master, would naturally do so.

Chixiao had assumed that before the millennial calamity arrived, the sect would not act against his little disciple. Yet he had not expected that after he left, the sect would already have other plans.

Ever since learning that Shu Tiantian was in the Void Abyss, the many Tianji Sect scouts within it had searched everywhere for traces of her, yet found nothing. If not for Shu Tiantian’s soul lamp still burning steadily, they would have believed she had truly met with misfortune.

Only a few days after Immortal Lord Chixiao entered the formation, news from the Void Abyss was delivered.

When the news arrived, the elders of the Tianji Sect were gathered together, discussing how to mobilize manpower and resources for a month later and how to arrange accommodations for those arriving from the Upper Realm.

As the foremost sect of the Lower Realm, it was naturally the Tianji Sect that would receive visitors from the Upper Realm. When cultivators from both the Upper and Lower Realms gathered to slay the dragon, the expenses would naturally be enormous. Although the Tianji Sect only needed to cover the reception costs for the Upper Realm visitors, it was still a massive sum.

The elder of the Medicine Hall was expressionlessly reporting that the Medicine Hall had spent several hundred thousand spirit stones this month. Even though the sect master had been mentally prepared, hearing that a single month’s expenditure was already so immense made everyone’s expressions change.

The other elders were no better—each of their faces twisted.

If one month cost this much, would not a year consume over a million spirit stones? Sword cultivation sects were famously poor.

The old man who was the Medicine Hall elder spoke in his usual sarcastic tone:

“Naturally, it’s because no one is refining pills in the Medicine Hall anymore. The sect’s young disciples were used to being extravagant before; suddenly not having anyone refining pills for them, they can only purchase from outside, so of course it’s more expensive.”

The Medicine Hall elder was called Bu Nanxing, an old man with an extremely eccentric temperament. While everyone else carried the immortal, refined bearing of celestial lords—even Dao Xuzi, the eldest among them, appeared only about thirty years old—he insisted on keeping the appearance of a hunched old man.

Although Shu Tiantian nominally called Chixiao her master, the one who truly taught her medical arts was him. Normally he did not care to speak with others; only Shu Tiantian, that little fool, could exchange a few words with him.

Bu Nanxing’s words were far from polite. In his view, ten years ago, Medicine Hall expenditures of over a hundred thousand spirit stones were commonplace, and Sect Master Dao Xuzi would not have even changed expression.

But ever since Shu Tiantian arrived, everyone only needed to purchase high-grade pills. Treating injuries and illnesses no longer required spending money. Their formerly strained circumstances gradually improved, and they slowly forgot what life had been like before Junior Sister existed.

But after these days passed and Shu Tiantian was no longer in the sect, no one refined pills for them for free, no one treated them for free. What they had once taken for granted now required a heavy price outside—and those lofty medical cultivators might not even care to treat them.

Before, not paying had become a habit. But now that they had to pay, their habits of using pills had not changed. Thus, large sums quietly flowed away, and only at the end of the month, upon seeing the account books, did they realize how shocking it was.

At other times, these hundreds of thousands of spirit stones might have been manageable—but now they had to receive visitors from the Upper Realm. When thousands of cultivators arrived at the Tianji Sect, if the sect lacked funds and could not host them properly, it would be utterly disgraceful.

Seeing their grim expressions, and hearing some question the matter aloud, Bu Nanxing sneered coldly.

“You all think everyone is like my disciple—treating people without taking payment? Over these years, who knows how many spirit stones my disciple has saved for the sect.”

Several of the elders looked somewhat embarrassed and murmured to one another in low voices,

“Those low-grade pills aren’t worth much anyway, and Chixiao dotes on his disciple. The sect has never treated her poorly.”

“Yes, yes, we’re fellow disciples—just helping to treat illnesses… Besides, all these years, the sect has given her the best resources.”

“Although Chixiao’s disciple has great talent, her cultivation is low, and she doesn’t train seriously. In the future, the number of pills she can refine will be very limited.”

Bu Nanxing did not even lift his eyelids, merely letting out a cold laugh.

That single laugh made them all fall silent in embarrassment. Amid the wordless awkwardness, someone brought in a letter from the Void Abyss scouts, finally saving the atmosphere.

Dao Xuzi came back to his senses, read the letter carefully, and a trace of joy appeared on his face. The elders passed it around one by one, and all of them let out a sigh of relief.

The news from the Void Abyss was extremely favorable.

According to the report, Shu Tiantian had escaped death twice. One had to know that Ji Wushu was so ruthless, and not even of the human race, regarding human lives as nothing more than ants—how could he possibly give anyone two chances to escape death?

Moreover, Shu Tiantian’s whereabouts had never been discovered. The only two times any information surfaced were precisely when Ji Wushu appeared. When something unusual happens, there must be a reason!

Since Shu Tiantian could escape from Ji Wushu twice, it was clear she was somewhat different after all.

None of the elders had expected that before they even made a move, progress had already been made. Their faces immediately lit with delight.

Dao Xuzi stroked his beard. “Things are proceeding even more smoothly than we imagined. Since that is the case, let us act ahead of time.”

“That child has lost one of her souls, she will likely be difficult to control. If so, I will send a strand of divine sense over.”

More than difficult to control—she simply could not understand human speech. Thinking back to the suffocating frustration of trying to train Shu Tiantian back then, like chickens talking to ducks, all the elders nodded together.

One elder raised an objection. “If we control her directly, the contract formation left by the grand ancestor recognizes only divine sense, not the physical body. I’m afraid that will not work.”

“If the sect master directly controls her body, and at the final moment releases her divine sense to contract the sinful dragon…”

“Her cultivation is low, and she is timid. Just seeing that dragon would probably make her faint from fright.”

Indeed. Back then, to train her not to fear the sinful dragon, the elders had deliberately taken eight-year-old Shu Tiantian to shoot a giant python. But the moment she saw the python open its blood-filled maw, she cried in terror for three days. Ever since then, she would jump in fright at the mere sight of a snake.

Later, the child refined insect-repelling powder, and from then on, the entire Tianji Sect could not find a second snake for her to train her courage with.

It was the reliable Sect Master Dao Xuzi who spoke. “In that case, I will use my divine sense to stimulate her heart demon. When the time comes, I will use the heart demon to lure her into taking the sinful dragon’s heart’s blood.”

A heart demon could not only raise her cultivation for a short time, but as long as her obsession was to obtain the blood, there would be no need to worry about her doing anything beyond their expectations.

The Nine Yin Profound Baleful Energy Formation could not drag Ji Wushu to death, but it gave them the opportunity to strike.

After discussion, Dao Xuzi decided to send a letter into the Void Abyss for Shu Tiantian. The letter contained not a single word—only a strand of Dao Xuzi’s divine sense.

Under normal circumstances, they would not dare take such a risk. But these past few days, with the Nine Yin Profound Baleful Energy Formation activated, Ji Wushu might very well fall into unconsciousness. Unfortunately, the Scarlet Flame Flower Fields lay in between, and only Shu Tiantian could approach smoothly.

When the time came—while Ji Wushu was unconscious and unable to kill Shu Tiantian—Dao Xuzi’s strand of divine sense would control Shu Tiantian, cause her heart demon to arise, and thus approach Ji Wushu to take his blood.

Back then, the ancestor had left them the formation for contracting the sinful dragon, but had not left the method, and no one knew where the formation’s core lay.

However, throughout the cultivation world it was well known—so long as one obtained a drop of heart’s blood, one could contract a spirit beast. When the millennial calamity arrived, using her as a sacrifice would severely wound Ji Wushu. And it was also well known that a person had only three drops of heart’s blood, and the process of extracting it was extremely brutal. Taking his heart’s blood while he was unconscious would surely worsen his injuries, undoubtedly increasing their chances of victory.

No one spoke this final calculation aloud. After the elders finished their discussion, Bu Nanxing remained silent. Only after a long while did he speak to Dao Xuzi.

“You’re not afraid that when that boy Chixiao comes out of seclusion and returns, he’ll discover that his little disciple is dead?”

Dao Xuzi sighed. “The sect will protect her and try its best to let her withdraw with her life intact.”

Bu Nanxing let out a derisive laugh. “That kind of talk might fool outsiders. If the Tianji Sect truly had the ability to protect people, would you need to invite over a thousand cultivators from the Upper Realm to slay the dragon?”

Everyone else: …..

Wasn’t it simply because they feared that if Chixiao, a Deity Transformation stage cultivator, insisted on protecting someone, they would be in great trouble? It would be better to take advantage of the fact that he was now presiding over the formation and could not leave. By the time things were set in stone, Chixiao would no longer be able to intervene.

Bu Nanxing, the old man with the eccentric temperament, stood up with his dead-fish eyes and said, “Considering she’s saved the sect millions of spirit stones over the past ten years, at least leave her a slim chance of survival. You may not care about your reputations, but I still do.”

The elders, who had been continuing their discussion, froze.

What did he mean by not caring about their reputations? They…

Just as they were about to refute him, they remembered that moments ago they had been worrying about how, after Shu Tiantian left, the Medicine Hall’s monthly expenses had reached hundreds of thousands. When Bu Nanxing spoke of millions of spirit stones, he was already being polite.

A group of grown men in a sect, having taken and taken for free for so many years—though they had grown used to it and felt nothing was wrong—now that the veil had been torn away, they felt somewhat ashamed.

“She spent ten years in the Medicine Hall. Since the age of eight, she has treated the sect’s brothers and sisters. From the elders above to the sweeping servants below, who among you has not received my disciple’s kindness?”

“She treated illnesses without taking a single coin. You all relied on the fact that she had lost one of her souls—even when she refined pills, you did not provide her with materials. So much so that no matter how many spirit herbs or spirit stones her master Chixiao gave her, she still returned hungry, surviving only on fasting pills.”

“As for the so-called great righteousness of the world, this old man doesn’t care. I only know that if you still have any shame left, you’ll leave her a way to live.”

Bu Nanxing’s dead-fish eyes swept across the faces of each elder, leaving them all flushed with embarrassment. Even Dao Xuzi turned his face away. Only then did he snort coldly and turn to leave.

This old man usually found that foolish disciple Shu Tiantian endlessly irritating, yet he truly could not bear to part with her.

Back then, eight elders working together had failed to teach that blockhead disciple how to be a proper tool. Instead, they had talked past each other like chickens and ducks for years. Only he, this old man, had been able to communicate with that blockhead at all.

Ten years had failed to grind her into a usable blade, yet now they expected that by stimulating her with Dao Xuzi’s divine sense, they could turn that little blockhead into a fine blade? Truly wishful thinking.

But still, he had taught her, after all.

After stepping outside, Bu Nanxing pinched his fingers and calculated, wanting to know whether this foolish disciple could survive the blood extraction this time.

Though he was a medical cultivator, the medical arts he had taught Shu Tiantian were merely the basics. What he truly excelled in was divination.

He had expected to see signs of a bloody calamity and the dissipation of body and soul. At best, perhaps a faint thread of survival. Yet after calculating carefully—

Mm, it was indeed extremely ominous, but… why was it a peach blossom calamity¹Peach blossom calamity: A romantic entanglement that brings trouble.??

Footnotes

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  Peach blossom calamity: A romantic entanglement that brings trouble.