Chapter 220: Chapter 214: The Empty Guixi Sect
Ye Longtao was pinned to the ground by that ghostly hand, unable to move.
His prized dual Spirit Root and a cultivation just a hair’s breadth from late-stage Foundation Establishment were utterly feeble before her.
He hadn’t stood a chance.
Shock, humiliation, rage, fear...
Countless emotions churned within his chest, finally coalescing into a telepathic message shot toward Su Ling’er, who looked like a living demon.
[Ye Longtao]: Let me go! Su Ling’er! You lunatic! Aren’t you afraid I’ll expose you as an undercover disciple?! We’ll both die then!
[Su Ling’er]: With my Pseudo Spirit Root, I never had much of a future anyway. But if I get to take you down with me, and you think that’s a good trade, then by all means, try it.
Su Ling’er leaned down, her crimson eyes staring at Ye Longtao beneath her.
She pressed one hand on his head and slowly lifted it.
"BAM!"
She viciously slammed Ye Longtao’s head into the arena floor!
"BAM! BAM! BAM!"
Every impact made the entire arena tremble and sent his very soul into a wail of agony.
He... had lost.
It was a total, crushing defeat.
He couldn’t understand how he, a proud prodigy with a dual Spirit Root, could lose to a piece of trash with a Pseudo Spirit Root.
’And with her Pseudo Spirit Root... how far could she possibly go in the end...?’
After a series of violent impacts, Ye Longtao’s consciousness plunged into endless darkness, and he passed out completely.
...
When Ye Longtao regained consciousness, he felt as if his entire body had been shattered. Every breath sent waves of excruciating pain through him.
He opened his eyes. Through his blurry vision, he could just make out "Mr. Qian" on the high platform, announcing something.
"...In this grand competition, the top four are: Su Ling’er, Wang Xiedi, Li Chunfeng, and Dong Changsheng."
"...Immediately... enter... the [Guixi Secret Realm]... seek... opportunity..."
"...[Guixi Secret Realm]... opening..."
The fragmented sounds filled his ears. Ye Longtao tried to struggle to his feet, but his body felt unnaturally heavy, and he passed out once more.
He and the ten other defeated undercover disciples were simply left where they lay.
...
When Ye Longtao’s consciousness surfaced again, he was greeted by the same nauseating, musty smell of straw.
The ten other undercover disciples who had also failed to qualify were gathered around him.
Their expressions were complicated, and they deliberately kept their distance, unwilling to get close.
If Dong Changsheng hadn’t given them instructions before he left, they would have been tempted to just abandon him and walk away.
No one wanted to be the first to approach the inner sect prodigy who had always suppressed them.
"Cough... cough..."
"Good, you’re awake."
"If Mr. Dong hadn’t specifically instructed us... sigh."
Just then, one of the disciples walked over, but still maintained a distance of about three paces.
He took an object from his robes, and with a flick of his finger, it flew through the air in an arc and landed in Ye Longtao’s hand.
It was the jade slip for the *Nine Revolutions Profound Origin Skill*—the same one that had been shattered when Dong Changsheng was repeatedly beaten by Lin Qingfeng, leaving only a small fragment. Dong Changsheng had left it behind.
"Mr. Ye, Mr. Dong asked us to tell you something,"
"This fragment records a Cultivation Technique. You are to report it to the Sect Leader as quickly as possible. This item is enough to move the Sect Leader. Once this is done, Mr. Dong will have repaid the Sect Leader’s immense kindness in reshaping his life."
Ye Longtao looked at the jade slip fragment, his heart filled with disdain.
’Someone like Dong Changsheng is only at the ninth level of Qi Refining. He’s not even as good as that Evil Cultivator, Su Ling’er.’
’What kind of heaven-shattering Cultivation Technique could he possibly have obtained?’
’He’d sooner believe that Su Ling’er, the one who defeated him, could get one, but not a mere Qi Refining cultivator like Dong Changsheng.’
’This is probably some third-rate trash from the Transmission Hall. But for outer sect disciples like these, it would indeed be considered a supreme treasure.’
Despite his utter contempt, he decided to take a look anyway.
He sighed and sent a sliver of his Divine Sense into the jade slip fragment.
The next second, the expression on Ye Longtao’s face froze.
He was completely rigid.
’This...’
’What is this?!’
’This seems to be a cultivation system I’ve never seen before.’
’Although it’s just scattered fragments, I can vaguely tell that its foundation isn’t based on the grand framework of the *Primordial Dao Scripture*. There isn’t even any mention of "Origin Dust." ’
’It... it’s something completely and utterly different!’
’It seems to be a completely different path—a path that might just be able to break through our current limitations!’
[Dong Changsheng]: ...Mr. Ye, this item is of grave importance. I implore you to send this information back to the sect as soon as possible! I, Changsheng, am trapped, but I will surely repay this great favor from you, Mr. Ye, in the future!
And with that, the message Dong Changsheng had left inside came to an end.
Ye Longtao looked at the jade slip, recalled Dong Changsheng’s promise to repay him generously, and shook his head with a smile.
’Dong Changsheng may be full of bluster, but he knows how to adapt to the situation. I can put in a good word for him with the Sect Leader later.’
Ye Longtao put the jade slip away, his mind already calculating.
He needed to repay the Sect Leader for saving his life, but it seemed a waste to send the news back right now. He wanted to investigate further.
He wanted to see just how many more secrets this bizarre sect was hiding.
And so, he led the ten outer sect undercover disciples out of the straw hut and began to survey their surroundings.
The scene before them, however, was chilling.
The entire Guixi Sect seemed to be deserted!
Just yesterday, while he was still struggling with that endless, repetitive labor, the sect had been filled with disciples milling about outside.
They had been flitting across the flying eaves of the grand halls or arguing endlessly over trivial matters in the plaza.
He had looked upon that noise and chaos with contempt, but it had at least been proof that the place was alive.
Now, all of it was gone.
Whether in the plaza, the grand halls, or on the mountain paths he had walked countless times, not a single living soul could be seen.
A light breeze swept a few leaves across the ground, the sound piercing the dead silence...
’What happened to the Guixi Sect...?’
’The disciples here... why have they all vanished?!’
’Where did they go?’
...
「Meanwhile, at Qingxu Temple.」
Above the mountain gate, auspicious clouds hung low, yet the atmosphere was suffocating.
The usual sight of disciples coming and going was gone. All disciples within the temple had been ordered to remain in their residences and were forbidden from going out.
This cast a similar dead silence over the Daoist temple.
The Sect Leader of Qingxu Temple, the Daoist Xuanyuan, was a far cry from his usual majestic self.
Dressed in his simplest Daoist robes, he led the temple’s few remaining elders, standing with hands clasped at the foot of the mountain gate.
A fine sheen of cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and the cuffs of his robes trembled slightly in the mountain wind, but he forced his back straight, striving to appear calm and respectful.
He was waiting for someone.
Someone he least wanted to see right now, yet had no choice but to greet with humble deference.
Finally, the clouds in the sky were torn asunder by a piercing streak of sword light.
The light was a dark gold, as if forged from countless battles and the passage of untold years, all smelted into its very essence...
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