At the same time.
In the Bai family mansion, just a street away from the capital's night market.
Bai Lijue lay pale on the bed, his gaze empty and fixed on a point in the air, his mind replaying the words his elders had spoken to him.
"Bai Lijue, oh Bai Lijue, how foolish you’ve been! Think carefully—since you started mingling with that Lu Ying and Yu Xiaoxiao, has anything good ever happened to you?"
"During the trip to Ningyuan Mountain, Lu Ying obtained the Divine Wood Token, while you ended up severely injuring your spiritual bones protecting him! If not for that injury, you would have undoubtedly ranked first in Qingling Mountain’s Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion. Would you have even needed to defect to the Ten Thousand Saints Palace with them?!"
"Because of your decision to join the Ten Thousand Saints Palace, our Bai family had to withdraw from Qingzhou, losing countless refining business opportunities!"
"If only you had achieved a decent ranking in the Sacred Tower competition, it might have been worth it. But instead, Lu Ying stood by and watched as you were attacked by ghosts, leaving your spiritual consciousness wounded! What a waste!"
Bai Lijue let out a bitter laugh.
Yes, what a waste indeed.
Had he never met them, he would still be the Bai family’s most promising young master, the most celebrated senior disciple of Qingling Mountain’s Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion!
In that moment, Bai Lijue finally understood why Xie Ziyin had distanced himself from them after his own severe injury.
So this was the reason!
So this was it!
And here he had foolishly believed they were closer than family!
But looking back, hadn’t Lu Ying and Yu Xiaoxiao always reaped the benefits while he and Xie Ziyin suffered the consequences?
Just then, a servant cautiously announced from outside the door, "Young Master, Lu Ying and Yu Xiaoxiao are here to see you. Shall I let them in?"
Bai Lijue remained silent for a long moment before replying indifferently, "Let them in."
Yu Xiaoxiao rushed in, her voice laced with worry. "Brother Bai, how are you? The elders told me you withdrew from the Profound Heaven Grand Competition. Are you unwell?"
Bai Lijue stared at the girl he had once cherished like a younger sister and smiled strangely. "After Ningyuan Mountain, my spiritual bones were ruined. Now, after Tiansang Town, my spiritual consciousness is wounded. Tell me, Yu Xiaoxiao—where exactly am I 'well'?"
Yu Xiaoxiao flinched under his gaze, suddenly too afraid to speak.
She felt as though the brother she once knew had become a completely different person.
Lu Ying stepped forward, frowning. "Bai, I know you must be resentful right now. But these matters have nothing to do with Xiaoxiao. Why take it out on her?"
Bai Lijue turned his gaze to Lu Ying. "You’re right—she’s hardly to blame. But you, Lu Ying… you’re another story."
"I admit fault for what happened in Tiansang Town," Lu Ying said. "I wasn’t strong enough to protect you. Bai, I never expected Qingling Mountain to resort to such underhanded tactics—using the venom of the Entangling Silk Lotus!"
Bai Lijue almost laughed.
If their roles were reversed, Lu Ying would have been far more ruthless than Qingling Mountain.
After all these years as brothers, Bai Lijue knew him well—Lu Ying never held back against his enemies.
He just never imagined Lu Ying would show the same ruthlessness toward his own allies when it mattered most.
"Bai, I brought a physician from the Lu family. He specializes in healing spiritual consciousness injuries. Let him examine you. There’s still a month before the next round of the competition—you can recover in time." Lu Ying sat on the edge of the bed and patted Bai Lijue’s shoulder. "We need you, brother. Let’s fight side by side and make Qingling Mountain pay."
Bai Lijue felt nothing but disgust, but he chose not to confront Lu Ying outright.
The intricate ties between cultivation clans meant that an open break would only leave him vulnerable without truly harming Lu Ying.
He would wait for the right opportunity.
"My father has forbidden me from participating. I need to focus on recovering. You two go ahead—I’ll wait here…" Bai Lijue forced a smile, "for your triumphant return."
......
"Bai Lijue withdrew from the Profound Heaven Grand Competition?"
Wen Shuangbai repeated Lu Jiayao’s words around a mouthful of roasted rabbit leg.
After claiming their portions, the six of them had slipped into a secluded grove by the riverbank to eat and chat.
Lu Jiayao was recounting the gossip she’d gathered that evening. "Yes, apparently his spiritual consciousness and bones were both injured. The Bai family head ordered him to withdraw from the competition and leave the Ten Thousand Saints Palace, focusing instead on cultivation and taking over the family business."
Wen Shuangbai finished eating and sucked thoughtfully on her fingers.
In the original novel, Bai Lijue’s ending had been favorable.
But ever since she and her "sponsor" transmigrated into this world, everything had diverged from the book’s plot.
The changes had begun with the Taihua Mountain Secret Realm, and now even the Sacred Tower competition bore no resemblance to the original story.
The protagonist group had started crumbling ever since Xie Ziyin left.
Didn’t that mean the original ending could be rewritten too?
In the book, the Purple Flame Realm had taken first place.
But now… Qingling Mountain stood a real chance!
Wen Shuangbai savored the lingering taste of the rabbit leg, thinking about the hefty sum she would receive for coming in first, and smiled contentedly.
She didn’t even notice Xie Ziyin glancing at her several times.
On the way back after the meal, Lu Jiayao asked, "What are you all planning to do for the next five days?"
Elder Cao had given them five days of rest, and he didn’t want to just stay in the courtyard.
But being unfamiliar with Dizhou, Lu Jiayao wasn’t sure where to go for fun.
Of course, the main reason was that he didn’t want to go out alone.
With six people together, they could order the most dishes for the least amount of spirit stones when eating!
This was the power of numbers!
Wen Shuangbai said, "I want to visit Tiansang Town."
She wanted to light an incense stick for Senior Tiansang.
Lu Jiayao immediately chimed in, "I’ll go too!"
Yin Xuan was puzzled. "Tiansang Town?"
"Mm." Wen Shuangbai briefly explained what she had seen about Tiansang Town on the Profound Heaven Mirror to her senior brother.
Yin Xuan nodded. "We should pay a visit."
Li Zhuohua asked, "What time?"
Wen Shuangbai replied, "At mao hour."
Shen Hefeng exclaimed, "So early?!"
Wen Shuangbai said, "The earlier we leave, the sooner we’ll return."
After the five of them settled their plans, Wen Shuangbai paused and glanced at the silent benefactor walking half a step behind her. Considerately, she asked, "What about you? Do you want to come along?"
Xie Ziyin gave her a sidelong glance, visibly pleased, and responded with an indifferent "Hmm."
---
Tiansang Town was located northeast of Qingzhou, bordering Dizhou.
They were currently in the capital of Dizhou, which didn’t seem far on the map, but the Profound Heaven Continent was vast, and the journey would still take a long, long time.
They would have to take a teleportation array.
The next day, at mao hour, just as the sky began to lighten, outside the capital of Dizhou—
Wen Shuangbai stood frozen in the teleportation hall. "How much did you say?!"
The attendant in charge of ticket sales smiled and repeated, "Five thousand spirit stones per person."
Lu Jiayao clicked his tongue. "That expensive? I’ve taken teleportation arrays in Qingzhou before—it was only a few hundred spirit stones at most. Is Dizhou always this pricey?"
The attendant replied politely, "Since Tiansang Town is within Qingzhou, cross-region teleportation arrays are more expensive."
Wen Shuangbai: "?"
What, does the Profound Heaven Continent also have international flights?
The group exchanged glances and had no choice but to slink aside.
Li Zhuohua was the first to speak. "I… only have three thousand left."
The others all turned to her in disbelief. "?" Hadn’t they just received 220,000 spirit stones yesterday?
Even Yin Xuan, drowsy-eyed, managed to pry his lids halfway open. "?"
Li Zhuohua pulled out her Flowing Rainbow Sword, torn between pain and joy. "I spent it all on this."
Wen Shuangbai wasn’t surprised.
Last night, after returning, Zhuohua had asked her to help fuse a high-quality fire-attribute sword crystal into the Flowing Rainbow Sword.
That thing was expensive—sword cultivators in the Profound Heaven Continent really burned through money.
Yin Xuan sighed and guiltily stroked his own plain, unadorned narrow sword. He asked his junior sister, "Are we still going?"
Wen Shuangbai glanced in a certain direction and said, "Wait."
Yin Xuan followed her gaze—his brother-in-law was standing there, looking around.
A moment later, the plainly dressed man finished his survey and sauntered over.
Xie Ziyin smiled faintly, exuding confidence. "We can take the teleportation array to Western Dizhou first, then from there to Yanping Town in Dizhou. From Yanping, we can fly over ourselves. That way, it’s only 630 spirit stones per person, round trip in four and a half days."
Wen Shuangbai shot him an appreciative look.
As expected of her fellow transmigrator—a master of layovers!
---
Two days later, the group arrived in Tiansang Town, dusty and weary.
Upon entering, they found the town crowded.
Every Lord Tian Temple along the road was filled with visiting cultivators offering incense. The scent of burning incense drifted lightly through the air, and though the cultivators were noisy, the atmosphere remained serene and peaceful.
Tian Fuqu had also returned, standing at the entrance of the largest Lord Tian Temple in town, handing out free incense sticks to the cultivators who had come to pay respects to Lord Tiansang.
Suddenly, she heard a commotion—people whispering excitedly.
"Is that the Qingling Mountain disciples?!"
"Yes, it’s Junior Sister Wen and the others! I never thought they’d come here to pay respects to Lord Tiansang too!"
"Ahhh, it’s really them! I can’t believe I’d see them here—my life is complete!"
"Should we go say hello?"
"Nah, let’s not bother them."
"..."
Tian Fuqu froze, then quickly looked over. Sure enough, she spotted the group of young men and women slowly making their way through the crowd.
Their striking appearances drew attention, but what stood out more was their aura—vibrant, burning, like flames ready to ignite.
As they approached, Wen Shuangbai smiled at Tian Fuqu, the lively and sweet-looking girl in the crowd, and asked, "May we have a few sticks?"
"Of course!" Tian Fuqu hurriedly handed out the incense, her hands trembling with excitement as she internally screamed.
After thanking her, the six entered the Lord Tian Temple.
Wen Shuangbai looked up and saw the statue of Lord Tian standing at the center of the hall, surrounded by figures of the village elders and townsfolk.
The group stood there, gazing benevolently at the worshippers, as if watching over and protecting the people of this land.
Wen Shuangbai closed her eyes and reverently lit a stick of incense.
She was greedy for wealth, always prioritizing profit, and believed herself incapable of selflessness like these ancestors.
That was why, in the presence of such noble sages, she could only feel deep admiration.
