After volunteering at Lord Tian Temple for a month, Tian Fuqu returned to Qingling Mountain to continue her cultivation.
One morning, Tian Fuqu rushed into the Talisman Hall with a paper bag of meat buns bought from the dining hall and plopped down by her window seat, eagerly asking, "Has it started yet? Has it started yet?"
A fellow disciple replied, "Almost, just wait a bit!"
Tian Fuqu casually tossed the buns aside and activated the Mystic Heaven Mirror to watch the competition from the Sacred Tower. Just in time, the screen lit up with the view of Qingling Mountain.
Tian Fuqu squealed:
[I'm here, I'm here!]
[Right on time!]
[One month apart feels like three lifetimes!]
[Qingling Mountain, go go go!]
Excited, she reached for her buns—only to feel something furry instead.
Something... furry?
"What in the world?!" Tian Fuqu shrieked, dropping the Mystic Heaven Mirror onto the table and scrambling away.
The other disciples in the Talisman Hall turned to see a golden-furred monkey standing by the window, happily munching on the buns.
The crowd erupted: "That damn monkey’s stealing food again!"
The monkey glared back: "Who you callin’ monkey?! Me—Handsome Monkey King Qian!"
Silence.
Someone muttered, "Last time it just called itself the Handsome Monkey King. Now it even has a surname?"
"Tch, and it’s the same as Elder Qian’s."
"Can Elder Qian please stop letting this monkey run loose?"
"Yeah, it stole my pancake yesterday!"
"..."
Monkey King Qian, armed with a silver tongue, fired back insults at each of them.
Then, mid-rant, it paused—spotting the Mystic Heaven Mirror Tian Fuqu had dropped. It leaned in for a closer look and suddenly cheered, slapping the table: "It’s them! My good buddies!"
The crowd: "..."
And just like that, the monkey snatched the mirror and bolted.
Tian Fuqu finally snapped out of her shock and leaped out the window in pursuit: "Ahhhh! You stupid monkey! You can steal my buns, but not my Mystic Heaven Mirror! What am I supposed to watch now? Waaah—!"
The monkey perched on the highest tree in the woods, scratching its head as it watched the mirror.
On the screen, the six major sects had been transported into a void-like space.
Around them, the surroundings were pixelated nothingness—except for a single glowing white light ahead.
As they approached, they realized it was a city.
A little fox from Jade Rhinoceros Valley tilted its head, reading the inscription on the gate: "Zhuo... Guang... City?"
Beside it, Wen Shuangbai and her five companions exchanged subtle glances.
It really was Zhuoguang City!
Wen Shuangbai remembered clearly what Senior Tian Sang had told her—that Qingrong, five hundred years ago, had brought the method of crafting Spirit Mountain Veil paper to Zhuoguang City.
Now, on the Xuantian Continent, Spirit Mountain Veil talisman paper was priceless.
If she could find the crafting method, would she ever worry about money again?
Wen Shuangbai’s gaze burned with ambition.
Xie Ziyin shook his head—this woman was hopeless.
The six of them stood quietly to the side, letting the other sects enter first. They were being unusually humble—for good reason.
Earlier, while waiting outside the Sacred Tower, Shen Hefeng had divined the outcome of this round.
The hexagram showed a dog and a bird.
Since such cryptic omens required interpretation, Shen Hefeng had gathered the team for brainstorming.
At the time, four had crouched, one sat, and one stood—huddled in a corner, heads pressed together.
Lu Jiayao: "Are we supposed to feed a dog and raise a bird? I’m terrible with birds!"
Yin Xuan, in her gentlest tone, offered the cruelest solution: "Then eat them."
Li Zhuohua studied the hexagram and suddenly had an epiphany: "A henpecked mess!"
Shen Hefeng was baffled: "Zhuohua-jie! That’s a bird, not a chicken!"
Li Zhuohua: "Aren’t chickens birds?"
Xie Ziyin: "..."
Xie Ziyin glanced down at the only one seriously pondering the omen—Wen Shuangbai, who crouched and murmured: "The loudest bird gets shot. Stay low!"
Remembering this, Xie Ziyin suppressed a smile as he turned away from Wen Shuangbai.
Ahead, the Purple Flame Realm, Heavenly Net Witch Sect, and Ten Thousand Saints Palace pushed open Zhuoguang City’s gates.
The moment the doors creaked open, the lifeless, skeletal-strewn streets burst into activity.
"Welcome, cultivators and fellow Daoists, to Zhuoguang City! Premium fasting pills for sale! Thirty Sacred Stones each! Three for a hundred! Don’t miss out!"
Wen Shuangbai nearly tripped.
Xie Ziyin steadied her.
"Thanks." She straightened, gaping at the vendor.
Were they insane? Thirty Sacred Stones—converted, that was thirty thousand spirit stones!
What kind of fasting pill cost that much? Were they trying to bankrupt people?
Lu Jiayao, equally shocked, approached the vendor: "Brother, if you price it like this, people will only buy one at a time."
The man, with a mole on his chin, looked every bit the swindler: "Why?"
"One’s thirty, but three cost a hundred!"
The vendor scowled: "So? Buy or scram!"
Lu Jiayao slunk back: "Unbelievable!"
He turned to Xie Ziyin: "Good thing you can make fasting pills."
Xie Ziyin reminded him: "We don’t have the ingredients."
The first round had allowed them to bring their own pills.
But starting from the second round, disciples were forbidden from carrying anything except their artifacts, storage rings, and items obtained in the Sacred Tower.
No ingredients meant no pills.
Zhuoguang City was vast. Once inside, the sects scattered.
The Heavenly Net Witch Sect and Divine Evolution Temple each chose a street, while Lu Ying and Yu Xiaoxiao led the Ten Thousand Saints Palace alongside the Purple Flame Realm.
The Jade Rhinoceros Valley group bid farewell to Wen Shuangbai’s team and followed their turtle senior down another path.
Shen Hefeng fiddled with his turtle shell divination tools when a familiar chill crept up his spine.
He knew this feeling all too well. During his year in the Endless House, aside from honing his divination, he’d been forced by Pavilion Master Xu to study curses.
Shen Hefeng excelled in divination but was mediocre at talismans, formations, and curses—a highly specialized disciple. Hence his perpetual second-place finishes.
Xu Jingshu eventually gave up on teaching him curses and instead trained him to sense and dispel them.
Of the remaining six sects, the Heavenly Net Witch Sect specialized in curses, and Lu Ying—before joining the Ten Thousand Saints Palace—had been a prodigy in divination, formations, and curses at Inquiry Heaven Pavilion.
Xu Jingshu’s teaching method was simple: bombard Shen Hefeng with curses mimicking Lu Ying and the Heavenly Net Witch Sect’s techniques.
Shen Hefeng was successfully cursed into psychological trauma. His hand moved faster than his mind, reflexively gripping the Soul-Devouring Banner. With a flick of the divination flag, an invisible force of hexes erupted, shattering the malicious curse energy.
Ahead, Lu Ying, who had been walking with Yu Xiaoxiao, narrowed his eyes darkly.
Shen Hefeng’s cultivation had actually advanced an entire realm! And he had seen through the curse so quickly—almost as if he were intimately familiar with Lu Ying’s techniques.
Rumor had it that Pavilion Master Xu was overseeing Qingling Academy in Dizhou this time. Was this Xu Jingshu’s doing?
If he had known it would come to this, back on Qingling Mountain, he never would have sought guidance from Xu Jingshu and let her teach him!
Moreover, Qingling Mountain must have given them access to the Endless House.
What a waste of treasures.
Wen Shuangbai immediately noticed Shen Hefeng’s reaction.
The only underhanded trick that could force Shen Hefeng to counter was a curse.
As for who was behind it, she didn’t even need to guess—she locked onto Lu Ying instantly. The hidden Thousand-Leaf Blades within her Fire-Plume Whip lashed out toward him.
Yu Xiaoxiao turned swiftly, her sword sweeping out a wave of energy to shield Lu Ying. She glared at Wen Shuangbai and asked softly, "Senior Sister Wen, isn’t it unfair to ambush Brother Lu like this?"
Li Zhuohua, seeing this, stepped forward with her Glowing Rainbow Sword raised. Lifting her chin, she declared firmly, "Ambush? We’re fighting fair and square!"
She pointed her sword at Lu Ying. "Come out. I challenge you to a duel to the death!"
Yu Xiaoxiao frowned, biting her lip as she looked at Li Zhuohua. "Senior Sister Zhuohua, I may not be your match yet, but if you insist on a duel, I’ll fight you!"
Li Zhuohua considered this, then nodded seriously. "Fine. You two can come at me together."
Watching Lu Ying and Yu Xiaoxiao turn pale with rage, Wen Shuangbai burst into laughter, egging them on. "What’s wrong? Too scared to take her on?"
Shen Hefeng, whose second-greatest talent after divination was hurling insults, chimed in, "Oho~ Too afraid to fight two against one? A rat like Lu Ying, skulking in the shadows, and a delicate lotus like Yu Xiaoxiao shielding him—no wonder you’re trembling before our Senior Sister Zhuohua."
[What’s wrong with Qingling Mountain’s people? Suddenly attacking our Ten Thousand Saints Palace?]
[Exactly! Wen Shuangbai ambushed Senior Brother Lu with those Thousand-Leaf Blades without any provocation!]
[There must be bad blood between the two sects, but personal grudges should be settled later. The Holy Tower trials are the priority—otherwise, other factions will just reap the benefits.]
[Ten Thousand Saints Palace sure knows how to twist the truth! It was Shen Hefeng who acted first, breaking the curse with the Soul-Devouring Banner. Only then did Wen Shuangbai strike! Lu Ying cursed Qingling Mountain to begin with!]
[Oh, so just because you say Ten Thousand Saints Palace cursed you, it must be true? Did you see it with your own eyes? Plenty of factions use curses—Celestial Net Sect is even more skilled at it. Why isn’t Qingling Mountain suspecting them? Picking on the weak, are we?]
[What does this have to do with Celestial Net Sect? We left ages ago!]
The Mystic Heaven Mirror was flooded with arguments.
Back in Zhuoguang City, Yu Xiaoxiao clenched her teeth, gripping her sword as she prepared to fight.
She had endured Qingling Mountain’s provocations out of respect for their past teachings.
But this was too much! She couldn’t take it anymore!
Lu Ying reached out to stop her. "Xiaoxiao—"
But someone else was faster.
He turned and saw Di Qi.
Di Qi pulled Yu Xiaoxiao back, gesturing toward a nearby notice board. "Everyone, Zhuoguang City forbids cultivator duels."
Wen Shuangbai shot Di Qi an annoyed glance.
She knew. She had seen the rule. Her and Shen Hefeng’s plan had been to provoke Ten Thousand Saints Palace into striking first and violating city law.
Yu Xiaoxiao sheathed her sword, meeting Li Zhuohua’s gaze with unwavering determination. "Li Zhuohua, once we leave the Holy Tower, I will fight you."
Li Zhuohua smirked. "Fine by me. Just don’t chicken out."
Di Qi, still soothing the fuming Yu Xiaoxiao, turned to Lu Ying. "However, Brother Lu should apologize to Qingling Mountain’s disciples."
Lu Ying stiffened.
Yu Xiaoxiao was stunned. "Brother Di Qi…"
Di Qi continued, "If Brother Lu hadn’t tried to curse Qingling Mountain with Resentment Misfortune, they wouldn’t have retaliated so fiercely. Don’t you agree, Brother Lu?"
Wen Shuangbai raised a brow.
Oh?
A showdown between the male lead and his rival?
Shen Hefeng adjusted his Taoist hat and dusted off his robes. "Well? Let’s hear it, Rat Lu. Apologize to this master."
