Tianji Sect.

Chixiao Immortal Lord came out from the Nine Yin Profound Baleful Energy Array, utterly exhausted. Before he even had time to catch his breath, he heard that the sect had actually sent Shu Tiantian ahead of schedule to extract her blood, and had even nearly used the Soul-Seizing Array.

His eyes, already red from exhaustion after presiding over the grand formation, were now completely bloodshot.

He immediately set off to find his senior brother, the sect master. Along the way, his expression was extremely grim.

Chixiao Immortal Lord always wore a cold expression, and the disciples were long used to it.

But today, the moment Chixiao descended the mountain, he noticed something was wrong.

The disciples’ complexions were weak and hollow, their appearances miserable; the bright sect uniforms of Tianji Sect had been replaced with coarse cloth garments. Several swords had been sold off, and they made do by carrying wooden swords on their backs. Everywhere was bleak and desolate—he could not even find a few presentable disciples.

After all, the sect owed twelve million spirit stones. If they did not repay it, the Heavenly Thunder Oath would truly take effect—so the elders had no choice but to comply.

But were they supposed to empty out their own coffins’ savings to repay the disciples’ debts? Of course not—they would hold on to their own savings… whoever owed it would repay it!

Thus, all the disciples of Tianji Sect had no choice but to take out their own spirit stones to fill this gap. Back then, Elder Bu Nanxing had even left records for them all—who owed how much was clearly documented.

But was that a small amount of spirit stones? No—even when divided among everyone, it was still an enormous sum. Once this demand came out, the impoverished sword cultivators of Tianji Sect were nearly reduced to begging on the streets.

The one who owed the most—the senior brother who usually relied on being the sect master’s chief disciple to freely take pills had insufficient assets to repay his debt, and had no choice but to sell himself… no, to auction off his martial strength and work as a bodyguard.

As a result, this group of sword cultivators now walked with unsteady steps, each looking as if they had been completely drained. In such a destitute state, forget being called the number one sword sect—people would believe it if they were called the Beggar Sect.

They had wanted to plead with the elders, but the elders of Tianji Sect refused them extremely bluntly, scolding them viciously, saying they were both disgraceful and useless. Especially when the elders discovered that even with the disciples’ contributions, the amount was still not enough—and that they themselves would have to sell off their possessions and appear at auctions in embarrassment—recently every one of them had darkened expressions.

Chixiao Immortal Lord’s face had originally been extremely gloomy, but upon seeing this overwhelming air of poverty, a trace of suspicion appeared in his expression.

However, he had urgent matters, so he did not stop.

He had prepared a stomachful of questioning words. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his little disciple might…

His chest was filled with grief, indignation, and guilt. When he arrived at Dao Xuzi’s great hall—

He saw the sect master’s disciples bustling about. Some were scraping valuable iron powder off the plaque with their swords; some were carrying redwood tea tables outside. Nearby stood representatives from the renowned cultivation world auction house—the Song family.

Sword cultivators who once looked down on everything with arrogance were now dusty and miserable, being judged and appraised by auction house agents—it was a particularly pitiful sight.

Looking again, the sect master’s hall was completely empty.

Only then did Chixiao belatedly realize—

The sect seemed to have gone bankrupt.

And rather thoroughly at that.

But this did not stop the guilt-filled Chixiao Immortal Lord from preparing to question Dao Xuzi, his eyes red as he went to demand an explanation.

Clearly they could have preserved one strand of her soul, clearly there had still been a sliver of hope…

Yet just as he pushed the door open, the weary-looking Dao Xuzi brightened upon seeing him and hurriedly asked, “Junior brother, I remember you have many spirit stones in your cave dwelling—do you still have spirit stones?”

Chixiao cut him off, saying coldly, “Senior brother, where is my disciple’s body now?”

Dao Xuzi instantly grew furious.

“She is perfectly fine! Our sect being like this today is entirely thanks to her! Have you seen the sect’s current miserable state? Who do you think we’re pawning things for? It’s all because of your sinister and cunning disciple!”

Hearing this, Chixiao Immortal Lord actually let out a breath of relief, frowning as he refuted him, “Senior brother, my disciple is exceedingly weak and gentle. Do not place the blame on her.”

Dao Xuzi nearly choked with rage. He resentfully told Chixiao everything about how Shu Tiantian had caused Tianji Sect to lose all face that day—but saw his junior brother nod in agreement, saying,

“That is only proper. Debts must be repaid. Back then, I already advised senior brother to discipline the disciples, so they would not bear karmic consequences. It’s just that at the time, my disciple was kind-hearted, and seeing that she showed no displeasure, I did not forcefully intervene.”

Kind-hearted?

Showed no displeasure?

Thinking of that bill—which had practically spread across the entire cultivation world and left every member of Tianji Sect too ashamed to show their faces—Dao Xuzi was speechless.

Yes… no matter what he said, his junior brother had always been the sort who pitied the weak since childhood. Because he felt guilty toward his disciple, he would forever think of her as kind and pitiable. No matter how much Dao Xuzi argued, it would be useless.

Dao Xuzi could only continue hinting that Chixiao should contribute some spirit stones. Chixiao refused. His reason for refusing was that he felt he owed his disciple greatly—his fragile disciple had almost died—so he needed to buy things to compensate her.

Dao Xuzi thought, your fragile, helpless disciple is already richer than a nation. Your sect is about to beg on the streets, and you still want to compensate her—compensate what exactly?

But there was something Dao Xuzi absolutely needed Chixiao to do, so he had no choice but to speak to him politely.

Just as Ji Wushu had predicted, the envoy from the Upper Realm and the Eight Great Sects had indeed found no way to remove Ji Wushu’s divine consciousness. Their only hope could be placed on Shu Tiantian, this medium, voluntarily releasing it.

Although Tianji Sect was not entirely certain, Shu Tiantian was currently their only breakthrough point. Even if she now likely knew the truth and hated the sect deeply, if there remained even the slightest trace of attachment to the sect, then it would certainly be toward Elder Bu Nanxing and Chixiao Immortal Lord.

In the past, they could have simply captured her and brought her back. But now her soul lamp burned brightly—it was clear that Shu Tiantian was not only beside Ji Wushu, she had not suffered torment. On the contrary… she was living quite comfortably—far more easily than Tianji Sect, which was selling everything it owned.

And with the thousand-year calamity drawing so near, there was no way they could allow Ji Wushu’s divine consciousness to remain in their sea of consciousness. Coincidentally, tomorrow’s auction would require Sect Master Dao Xuzi to bring the people of Tianji Sect along. If Chixiao spoke up, their chances would be much higher.

Chixiao had been listening expressionlessly—until he heard something and paused. “You say Tiantian is currently staying with Ji Wushu?”

He then heard the sect master sigh,

“Most likely so. Otherwise, how could that dragon have spared her? That sinful dragon is violent by nature, yet possesses a fine appearance. If she is momentarily bewitched, it may cause a great disaster and send her plunging into eternal ruin.”

Sure enough, Chixiao’s brows furrowed.

The death of the sect’s founding ancestor was Chixiao’s heart-knot; and a hundred years ago, he had witnessed the ferocity of that sinful dragon—no one understood that dragon’s nature better than he did.

They said those not of one’s kind must harbor different hearts. That dragon was cruel and bloodthirsty, utterly without compassion for the human race. If his little disciple, after learning the truth, truly chose to side with him, it would be no different from seeking a tiger’s skin.

At last, Chixiao relented. “Tomorrow, I will depart with you.”

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

Song Shao respectfully led a group of people, waiting near the flower fields, and successfully received his benefactor—the ghost-masked medical cultivator.

Only this time, there was not one figure in black, but two. Identical black cloaks and black veiled hats—one tall, one short—both looking extremely mysterious.

Seeing two black-clad figures dressed exactly the same, Song Shao was slightly stunned. Then without hesitation, he cupped his hands toward the shorter one. “Venerable one, this person is…?”

Shu Tiantian thought for a moment, then subconsciously looked at the old ancestor. The old ancestor lowered his head to look at her as well.

Through the gap in the veil, phoenix eyes met round eyes.

Then the phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, shifted away, wearing an expression that said—such a trivial matter, figure it out yourself.

Yes, although it was difficult to understand the old ancestor’s train of thought, Shu Tiantian still honestly brought him along. For the sake of a safe journey, she thought for a moment, pulled the older cousin aside, and quietly told him—

This was the founding ancestor of her sect. He spoke little (and when he did, the questions were lethal), his cultivation was high but his temper not very good. Because of the technique he cultivated, he disliked noise the most (if the volume got too loud, he would even kill people). So they should please remain quiet the entire way and maintain as respectful an attitude as possible.

Song Shao was only at the late Golden Core stage and could not see through the ancestor’s cultivation level. Hearing this, he immediately became solemn with respect and lowered his voice as well to ask, “Is your sect’s ancestor also a medical cultivator?”

Shu Tiantian thought about it—when a person died, didn’t that mean all illnesses disappeared? So she nodded firmly. “His medical skills are extremely superb, and his Buddhist cultivation is also profound.”

Physical deliverance is first-class!

Song Shao became even more respectful. After all, a figure as formidable as the ghost-masked medical cultivator was merely a disciple under this founding ancestor—clearly, this sect possessed deep foundations. He probed, “May I ask the name of your honored sect?”

“Our sect is called Gouming Sect. It’s a hidden sect.”

This name carried her simple wish. She wanted to live a little longer herself, and also hoped the old ancestor would live for ten thousand more years—definitely not choose to destroy the world and kill himself three thousand years later.

Though Song Shao had never heard of it, he hurriedly said, “So it is Gouming Sect—my respects, my respects.”

Amid this completely mismatched conversation, Gouming Sect—the mysterious sect destined to become incomparably fierce in the future—gained its very first witness at this moment.

Though Song Shao’s carriage was called a carriage, it did not require horses to pull it. One only needed to place four spirit stones at the four corners, and it would travel very steadily. When the spiritual energy within the stones was completely exhausted, they simply had to be replaced.

To preserve other people’s lives, Shu Tiantian politely declined Song Shao’s invitation and took the initiative to sit in the same carriage as the founding ancestor.

Two black veiled hats faced each other. The tall young man’s presence made the carriage which had been fairly spacious feel somewhat cramped.

The old ancestor was leisurely drinking tea. Strangely, Shu Tiantian no longer felt the fear she had when first meeting him. She even poured him a cup of tea and asked, “Old ancestor, do you know about the Medicine God?”

The Void Abyss Old Ancestor had lived three thousand years longer than she had. A great figure so experienced and knowledgeable would certainly know more about the Medicine God than ordinary people.

Across from her, the Void Abyss Old Ancestor’s expression could not be seen. He merely gathered his cloak around him, as if pondering—or perhaps weighing whether to tell her. Shu Tiantian found the old ancestor particularly unfathomable, and she subconsciously straightened her posture.

Void Abyss Old Ancestor: …..

The dragon-bone sword in his sleeve: …..

Dragon and sword—when their divine senses touched—good heavens, neither recognized the name.

He had stayed in Void Abyss for two thousand years, and most of that time had been spent sleeping…

But that was fine.

The eyes beneath the long-haired young man’s veiled hat narrowed slightly. His vast divine sense surged outward like a tidal wave, countless voices rushing toward him. He immediately captured the one he wanted.