My Master Disconnected Yet Again Chapter 101-110

Chapter 101: The Black Spirit Blossom

At Invincible Sect.

The Spirit Qi was rich. The once quiet peak was now filled with bright golden lights that shone all the way to the sky. The Spirit Qi appeared like it was dancing in response to the light, gathering at the peak. The golden rays lit up the entire sect, turning it into a patch of gold.

Yi Qing secluded himself for over three months. Suddenly, he opened his eyes. The first thing he sensed was that the Spirit Qi around him differed from before. He immediately reacted by sucking the Qi into his body. The golden spirit Qi flowed into his body until they were all gone. Only then did the Invincible Sect's appearance return to normal.

Yi Qing sensed his own body strength and realised he was already in the late stages of Soul Formation. He rejoiced in his heart and exited the cave, heading for the rear hall. He spotted Shen Ying from afar.

"Master, I'm out…" he stopped himself mid-sentence when he realised that there was a stranger seated next to Shen Ying. He was dressed in white and was standing extremely close to her with a plate in hand. He was handing the fruits on the plate to Shen Ying. His bright eyes were really… annoying.

Yi Qing felt his heart grow cold. How did this little kid appear in just a few short months?

"Hey, Chef," Shen Ying glanced at Yi Qing. She tossed the fruit in her hand and walked toward him, "You're out!"

"Master…" Yi Qing walked toward her, glancing at the person behind her. They locked eyes and the air between them charged with static.

"Who is this outsider?" he emphasised on "outsider", subconsciously putting a distance between him and the two visitors. "Who is this Fellow Daoist?" Little bastard, you better stay away from my master!

凸(艹皿艹) "Oh," Shen Ying began to explain, "this is Director and Furball."

"…" What ball?

"He is the Yi Family Patriarch," Lonemoon explained, gesturing toward Yi Feng. He turned toward Bai Ze, "… and…" he frowned, not knowing how to address Bai Ze.

"Bai Ze," Bai Ze said curtly. He turned to glance at Shen Ying and raised his voice slightly, "My name is Bai Ze." He blushed. She would be the only one who can call him Furball.

Yi Feng: "…"

So Spirit Master was not hiding his identity anymore - he was planning on announcing it to the world?

Yi Qing frowned deeply and studied the two people's cultivations. He suddenly understood something and his heart fell even further as he began to feel nervous. "Fellow Daoist Bai Ze."

"Yes," Bai Ze nodded. He glanced at Yi Feng behind him and a look of contempt flashed past his face.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Shen Ying interrupted the introductions and nudged Yi Qing. "Chef, to celebrate your re- appearance, let's… start cooking now?"

"Yes, Mas…" he habitually nodded his head and scanned the group of people in front of him before he suddenly changed his mind. "Master, it's only ten in the morning; it's not lunchtime yet." He had to keep watch around here to make sure that the little bastard did not try to steal his master.

"Er…" Shen Ying hesitated. This was the first time Chef rejected her. "Let's take it as brunch?" There's seafood!

"Master, didn't you say you want to have meals at fixed timings?" "Er, I mean… We can't have meals late. We can eat snacks!"

"No!"

"…" Was Chef always so professional?

"Shen… Ying," Bai Ze suddenly handed her something white. He stole a glance at her face and lowered his gaze immediately. "This is… for you. You can… eat this."

What?

Shen Ying suddenly realised that the white flower in his hand looked exactly like it was hand-crafted. It smelled incredibly fragrant.

The moment Yi Feng presented Shen Ying the flower, a surge of pure spirit Qi burst forth from the flower to fill the surroundings. All of them perked up. The Spirit Qi around them felt a few times richer. "This is…" Lonemoon could not help but step forward toward the flower. He had never seen a flower emanate Spirit Qi before.

"What is this?" Shen Ying asked.

Bai Ze stared blankly at her as if she asked him something important. He flushed red once more, "It's… it's…" he stuttered for a long while without completing his sentence. He turned around out of habit, but caught himself.

"A Black Spirit Blossom," Yi Feng could not help but complete Bai Ze's sentence. He had a pained expression as he continued, "This is a… monster of the Spirit Master race." Even Yi Feng had only seen it a few times before. He found it hard to believe that Spirit Master was giving it away just like that.

"Oh…" All this fuss over a vegetable.

Shen Ying was just about to turn it down when the Radish suddenly bounded toward them. "Little Big Sister, you said you would water…" Radish did not finish its sentence. It stared blankly at the Black Spirit Blossom in Bai Ze's hands and blew up like a cannon. "This is too much. You've brought wild flowers in here. Take it away, take it away. Do you think my Little Big Sister can be bought over by this wild flower?"

Its eyes filled with tears as it complained to Shen Ying, "Little Big Sister, you said I would be your only plant. If you want flowers, I can give you some!"

It looked as though it wanted to tear open its robes as soon as it finished speaking.

"Stop it!"

Lonemoon, Yi Qing and Yu Hong suddenly recalled some biological knowledge and stopped Radish at the same time. All their expressions were dark.

They glanced at the Black Spirit Blossom and suddenly felt the Spirit Qi around them go still. "Hey! Radish, stop throwing a tantrum. We have two guests," Lonemoon's mouth twitched as he muttered an Immobilizing curse to immobilize Radish.

He hurried and reached out to receive the flower that Bai Ze was holding out, "Thank you, Bai… Fellow Daoist Bai. You have come a long way. Why don't the two of you go to our guest room to rest for a while?"

Yi Feng did not understand why they all suddenly held the green-clothed man back, but he sensed the tense atmosphere and nodded, "Thank you Sect Master Shen and Elders."

"Yu Hong, show our guests to the guest room," Lonemoon gestured toward Yu Hong.

Yu Hong understood and walked ahead of the guests, motioning for them to follow her, "This way, please."

"Please," Yi Feng turned around. Then, he noticed that the person beside him had no intention of moving. "Spirit Master?" "I'm not going."

"Ah! Huh?" Yi Feng hesitated and explained, "Spirit Master… we are only going to take a rest, we're not…" We're not returning to the Yi Family.

Bai Ze glanced at Shen Ying and replied coolly, "I have not finished eating."

"…" What does that mean? What hasn't he finished eating? Fruits? But wasn't Sect Master Shen the one who was eating the fruits?

Before he could ask anything, Yi Qing interrupted with a cold expression, "Not to trouble you, Fellow Daoist. I have always been in charge of Master's meals."

Yi Qing stepped forward and took the plate from Bai Ze's hands, but Bai Ze refused to let go of the plate. Yi Qing kept trying to pull the plate over, but to no avail. They locked eyes and static filled the air between them once again.

"No need."

"You're a guest."

"I'm comfortable holding this."

"I'm Master's only disciple. I am in charge of these things."

"I served her food before."

"That's only because I was in seclusion!"

"You can continue to be in seclusion."

"Sorry to  disappoint  you,  Fellow  Daoist,  I  will  not  go  into seclusion for the next few hundreds of years."

Bai Ze: I hate mortals.

Yi Qing: Master-stealing bastard.

The two of them tugged at the plate, neither willing to give in.

The atmosphere got extremely tense.

A while later…

"Are you guys…" Shen Ying looked at the two of them and chewed hard on a melon, "flirting?"

"…"

"Don't misunderstand, I have nothing against gays," she gestured for them to carry on. The group: "…"

"Master!" Yi Qing regained her composure and turned to Shen Ying, anger flashing in his eyes. He could take it no longer. He retreated and pointed to Bai Ze, "He calls himself Bai Ze, but Bai Ze is a legendary ancient immortal beast. No one has seen it before and nobody knows if it really exists. How can it appear in the mortal world? I think this person has come to Invincible Sect harbouring evil intentions."

"I have no evil intentions," Bai Ze grew increasingly irritated with this mortal, who seemed hell-bent on opposing him. "I am here to play, it is Shen… your Master who invited me here."

"That's impossible," Yi Qing shook his head. Other than eat and sleep, Master never cares about anyone or anything else. She doesn't even have many friends. Why would she invite you…"

"Er…" Shen Ying pursed her lips. "I did invite him."

"Master!" Yi  Qing's  eyes  widened  in  disbelief.  Betrayal  was written all over his face. You're helping this little bastard?

Under Yi Qing's glare, Shen Ying's hair began to stand. She explained, "I said so in passing. I didn't think…" After all, he did look delicious as a beast.

"That… Furball, what did you come here for?" You couldn't have come all this way just to play.

Bai Ze stuttered. His calm and cool expression became one of panic. "I… want to… want to…"

He was unable to complete his sentence, even after a long time. He looked at the Black Spirit Blossom in Lonemoon's hands and thought of something to say, but not before he blushed a deeper shade.

"Want to what?" What are you trying to say?

"Pfft, are you blind?" Lonemoon could take it no longer. He walked up to Shen Ying and waved the flower in front of her face. "He came all this way, can't stop stuttering, and even gave you a flower. What do you think he wants?"

Shen Ying hesitated. Her eyes widened, and she looked straight at Bai Ze.

Holy shit.

"You want to hit on me?"

Lonemoon: "…"

Yi Qing: "…"

Yi Feng:!!!

Bai Ze: o(*////▽////*)q

Chapter 102: Tearing Apart the Realm Gates

In the rear hall of Invincible Sect.

"Master, I don't think Bai Ze is a simple character. It would be better if you minimize contact with him," Yi Qing spoke sternly to Shen Ying for the very first time.

"He's nice," Shen Ying retorted as she chewed on a pastry. He knows how to serve dishes too. The best part about him is he looks delicious.

Yi Qing suddenly stopped stir-frying and turned to Shen Ying, "Master, you have been hidden away from the world for a long time. You don't know how sinister people can be."

"He's not a person."

"A beast's heart is equally sinister!" Yi Qing hurriedly added, "If he has an ulterior motive… We better send him back as soon as possible." "Don't be so pessimistic. Didn't he say he came to play?" Shen Ying stared longingly at the food in the wok and nudged Yi Qing, "Quick, give it a quick stir, it's going to burn!"

"Master…" Yi Qing frowned and stirred the contents of the wok. "He is obviously spending extra effort to please you; please don't be so easily bought over."

"Er…" Was she that gullible? "Don't worry, Furball doesn't talk much, but he's not a bad person."

"Master!" Yi Qing turned to her in shock. "You… You are not really looking for a Dao partner right?"

"A Dao partner?" Shen Ying stared blankly at Yi Qing and remembered who he was talking about. "I have not thought about it… But I am getting on in years. Even if I do want to date him, it isn't that big of a deal, right?"

"No!" Yi Qing yelped, slamming the spatula down onto the floor. Shen Ying jumped, "Why?"

"Because…" he thought for a long time but was unable to conceive of a good reason. Who knows why?

He just hated the sight of that beast hanging around Master.

He could not care less for the food in the wok anymore. Yi Qing grabbed Shen Ying's hand and said, "Master, trust me. Looking for a Dao partner is a huge thing. You cannot be careless about it. That Bai Ze does not look like a good person…. nor a good beast. What's more, you're a cultivator. You shouldn't partner him."

"…" I didn't say I want to partner Furball. She didn't have that strange a taste.

"I agree with him," Lonemoon suddenly raised his hand before Shen Ying could answer. His expression was sombre, "I don't care if you look for a partner, and you can look for anyone you want except Bai Ze." "Look, Master, even Father Niu says so! Yi Qing nodded furiously. This was the first time he agreed with something Lonemoon said. "Master, you need to reconsider."

Lonemoon: "…" Who's your Father Niu!

"So according to you guys, what kind of partner should I look for?"

"…" Yi Qing stopped short. He kept quiet for a second trying to envision someone pleasing to the eye, but he realised that no one around him was able to match up to his master, who was perfect in his eyes. Just thinking about another person hanging around Master made his heart race with anger.

"In any case… in any case, it cannot be Bai Ze! The divine race has always only existed in stories. No one has seen a true divine being. We can't be sure if he's for real," Yi Qing shook his head. "Oh yes, you cannot choose that Yi Feng either. He is a beast control cultivator, yet he acknowledges a beast as his master. He's definitely not a good man." The so-called bad Yi Feng: "…"

Hey, are you forgetting that I'm right here?

"Sect… Sect Master Shen," he could not help but say something to make his presence known. Had they called him out here to criticize him?

"Please calm down. My Spirit Master is indeed the legendary ancient divine beast Bai Ze."

He glanced at Shen Ying and subconsciously pursed his lips. He was uanble to believe that his Spirit Master had such a strange taste in partners.

"My Spirit Master does not belong to this world. He got injured by accident and fell down here. By pure luck,  he chanced upon my ancestors, who were caught in a stampede at the Mirage Sea. Spirit Master chased those beasts away and saved my ancestors. Then, he handed down the beast control techniques to my Yi FAmily. That was how my family achieved its standing in the Upper Azure World. Besides the divine race, no one else in this world can control tens of thousands of beasts," Yi Feng explained. Thinking of something, he added, "Besides Great Immortal Shen, of course."

"All these years, Spirit Master has been thinking of a way to get back to his world, but the boundary between the Three Azure Realms cannot be easily surpassed, even by those of divine race. The Yi Family has thought of many ways before, but we still are unable to break open the realm gate."

"The Yi Family's ancestors promised Spirit Master that if they achieved Immortal Ascension, they would do all they can to help Spirit Master return to where he came from. But up till now, no one in the Yi Family has achieved Immortal Ascension - no one can even so much as step into the Immortal  Realm, much less the Divine Realm." His expression was one of pure guilt, "So… all these years, he has been stuck with the Yi Family. It is because of his presence that the water beasts in Mirage Sea dare not step up onto the shore to enter the Upper Azure World."

"And that Black Spirit Blossom…" he glanced at Lonemoon, "That is the only thing Spirit Master has with him that is of the divine race. It is said that the flower can connect the three realms. That is Spirit Master's only hope of returning home. He has given such an important item to Sect Master Shen… that proves his sincerity."

"Did you say this flower can break open the realm gate?" Lonemoon took out the Black Spirit Blossom and raised it up between them, not believing his ears.

"That's right!" Yi Feng nodded. "Spirit Master mentioned it before. That's why he personally protects this flower and never lets anyone near it, unless they're trying to help him break open the realm gate"

Lonemoon studied the flower, but no matter how long and hard he stared, he was unable to find anything special about it apart from its emanation of Spirit Qi. Even Radish could not tell it was that special.

He handed the flower over to Shen Ying, "Shen Ying, use your cheater eyes to take a glance."

"…" The corner of Shen Ying's mouth twitched as she received the flower and turned it around in her hands to study it from all angles. She did not find anything special either. "I have never seen this flower…"

Huh?

"Only strong spiritual power can make use of this Black Spirit Blossom to break open the realm gates," Yi Feng explained. "It is said that the spiritual power needed is comparable to the amount used when one ascends to immortality. There is only one such flower on this Earth. If…"

Before he could finish, he heard a crack. Shen Ying had clenched her fist. The pure, white, delicate flower in her hands was crushed into powder.

…

(⊙_⊙)

Yi Feng could almost hear his own heart shattering "Sect Master Shen, you…"

"It's open." Before Yi Feng could finish, Shen Ying interrupted him. She unclenched her fist and revealed a small crack on her palm. It looked like a bolt of flashing white lightning. The bolt floated into the air.

The group: "…"

Σ(°△°|||)

Holy shit, has she really opened it?

So all they had to do was to crush the flower? Has the Yi Family been working so hard for nothing all these years?

"But…" he studied the crack which was about the size of his own eyeball. "This is such a small crack. Can it really take us to the Divine Realm?" "Oh, then open it up," Shen Ying answered callously.  She stuck her finger into the crack, hooked onto its side and pulled her finger outward forcefully.

They heard a series of loud cracking sounds. It appeared as effortless as tearing a piece of paper. In place of the small crack was now an opening, two- to three-feet wide.

She really tore open the realm gate.

"Tell Furball to go home for dinner!"

Yi Feng: "…"

Lonemoon: "…"

Yi Qing: "…"

Chapter 103: Goodbye Furball

The realm gate opened.

Bai Ze could not believe his ears when Yi Feng reported this to him. After all, they had been trying for tens of thousands of years. He only believed it when he saw the floating white opening, which was then as tall as a human being. He sensed the familiar aura - the divine race aura he had unfortunately been separated from all these years.

This really is the realm gate that led to the Divine Realm.

But why now, at this time!

(⊙_⊙)

He… doesn't want to go back?

Bai Ze was not in the least bit happy. Instead, he felt like bursting into tears. He had just given away the Black  Spirit Blossom and decided to stay in this realm. Why did the realm gate open now?

"Spirit Master, is this…" Yi Feng asked excitedly.

Bai Ze stepped toward the opening and nodded, "Yes."

"That's great!" The Yi Family finally fulfilled the promise they had passed down for generations.

"Congratulations, Spirit Master, you can finally go home."

Bai Ze did not respond. Instead, he turned around to look at Shen Ying, who stood beside him. His expression was cool, but his eyes appeared… unwilling. He seemed like he was waiting for Shen Ying to say something.

Shen Ying shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. She waved, "Goodbye, Furball." His eyes dimmed, and he looked even more unwilling. He clenched his fists by his side and stepped forward toward her, his face flushing a deep red. He took in a deep breath and finally found his voice, "Shen… Ying, you are the only one I have ever given the Black Spirit Blossom to."

Shen Ying paused. "Oh." Why was he telling her this?

"Really!" He insisted, thinking she did not believe him. "I will never… never give it to another person. Believe me." That was the most important memento among those in the divine race.

He grasped her hand suddenly. She was the only girl who made him want to give the Black Spirit Blossom to her after all these years.

Yi Qing, who had been standing by the side the entire time, suddenly looked upset. He put himself between the two of them, blocking the passionate gazes from Bai Ze.

"Master has already used the Black Spirit Blossom to help you open the  realm gate."  Stay  away from  my master,  you  little bastard! "The realm gate only stays open for a limited time. Fellow Daoist, you best be going now." Get lost!

Bai Ze hesitated and glared at Yi Qing. The tension between the two of them rose once again. I really hate this mortal!

"Spirit Master, you do need to hurry!" Yi Feng nervously pointed to the realm gate, which started rapidly shrinking.

Bai Ze turned to glance at the realm gate, then turned to look back at Shen Ying. Finally, he took several steps toward the realm gate. He stopped in front of it, scanning the opening, which was flashing as white as snow. He frowned deeply, refusing to step through the gate.

If he went through the gate, he would not be able to come back. He would never get to see…

"Please, Fellow Daoist." Yi Qing said in an impatient manner..

"Spirit Master, the Yi Family has finally fulfilled the promise that its ancestors made tens of thousands of years ago. You… please take care," Yi Feng was a mess of emotions, not bearing to see his spirit master go.

"Quickly enter, the realm gate is closing," Lonemoon added.

Even Shen Ying was waving her hands, "Bye bye, Furball! Go home for a good meal." She paused and added, "Look for a pretty beast." Man and beast have no future together.

"…"

He did not want a beast! Bai Ze felt like he had been stabbed in his chest. A sourness rose at the back of his throat and his entire gut clenched up. He was so unwilling to leave.

Suddenly, he remembered the words of rejection Shen Ying had spoken to him the day before: Different species cannot fall in love! She was clearly fond of him the first day that they met. He even touched… touched… why is she rejecting him? o(╥_╥)o

If he went back now, they would not just be of different species; they would be of completely different realms. They might never meet again, then he…

In a moment, he filled with resentment toward the divine realm. He peered into the realm gate once more. Then, he clenched his jaw and took a deep breath, as if he had made up his mind. He started to turn to face Shen Ying as he announced, "I have decided not to…"

Before he could finish, he felt a pain in his butt. He lost his balance and fell headfirst through the realm gate.  The  next second, he was gone. The realm gate sealed up after he went through it. Bai Ze and the gate disappeared  before  their  very eyes.

Yi Qing and Lonemoon calmly brushed their legs.

"Patriarch Yi, Bai Ze has gone back to the Divine Realm. The Yi Family must have a lot of matters to settle now he's gone," Lonemoon said sombrely. He did not seem at all guilty about kicking Bai Ze through the gate.

"Patriarch Yi, you must be busy. My Invincible Sect will not keep you any longer," Yi Qing added, his expression remaining neutral.

"If you are free, please come and visit us again. Have a safe trip home, Patriarch Yi."

"Yu Hong, send our guest out!"

Yi Feng went into shock. By the time he regained his composure, he had already descended the hill.

"…"

Had he been… chased out? And before Spirit Master got kicked through the realm gate, was he about to say he did not want to go home anymore?

(๑ŐдŐ)b

… He thought it would be best if he pretended he had not heard it.

——————

"Master, what would you like to eat today?" Yi Qing was much more relieved now that Bai Ze and Yi Feng were gone. He felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his chest. Now, he appeared ready to play the chef again. "Earlier, you brought home a lot of seafood. Would you like to have it deep fried, roasted, steamed or boiled?"

"Er.. let's have a bit of everything?" Shen Ying was very satisfied with the way Yi Qing acted now. There were plenty of ingredients for him. "All right, Master. No problem, Master!" Yi Qing had a skip in his step as he walked into the kitchen.

Lonemoon saw that the two of them had returned to their normal retarded ways. He rolled his eyes and just as he wanted to walk out of the main door, he stopped himself. Instead, he sat down at the table. Hmm, I wonder how the seafood would taste.

"Father Niu."

"What?" Was she going to chase him away so she could have everything?

"Who is Bai Ze?"

"Huh?" What does she mean?

"Is he in the plot of the book that you read?" "…" Lonemoon paused and finally understood what she was asking. He frowned and poured himself a cup of tea. "When did you find out?" He had never mentioned it before.

"The day I returned," Shen Ying answered honestly.

"Shit!" He almost choked on his tea. Wasn't the day she came back the same day he heard of Bai Ze's name? "How did you freaking guess he was a character in the plot?" She guessed it right from the start. How exactly does she do it? She was a retard when she didn't use her brain, but when she did, she was always accurate.

"I know from your responses," Father Niu did not care much for the people in Invincible Sect, but he has always only shown his ugly side to people from the sect. To outsiders, he appeared polite and easy-going because he cared so much about his image. He would only talk about them behind their backs. Yet, he treated Bai Ze differently. Right from the beginning, he did not appear fond of Bai Ze. When Yi Qing strongly opposed to him being in the sect, Lonemoon insisted on taking Yi Qing's side. Lonemoon even kicked Bai Ze through the realm gate earlier.

It looked as if Lonemoon did everything he could to avoid having to come into contact with Bai Ze.

"What kind of troublesome character is Bai Ze in the book you read?"

"…" Lonemoon did not answer her; he only frowned more deeply. If he had not seen Bai Ze, he would have forgotten that this is a world that belonged in the book.

"He's not a villain, is he?"

"He's not a villain," he sighed and played with the teacup in his hands. "I've said it before - I don't remember much of that story because it's meant for little girls. What's more, the story develops in the Immortal Realm. Bai Ze is of the Divine Realm. He is naturally much stronger and more capable than immortals. I think you can say he's… the main lead's cheat."

"So it has something to do with Chef?"

Chapter 104: Strong Powderball

"What has it got to do with him?" Lonemoon  asked. "He's  not the main lead. Anyway, as  you  know,  the  characters  in  that novel have catastrophic body types - the geniuses that seemed Conan[1]-possessed. No good will come out of being associated with them, especially the novel's…  Ah,  it's  difficult  to  explain. But that's why I don't like that Bai Ze. Most of the trouble that the main lead got into was caused by him. The female lead was also a-"

"Oh." Good that it was nothing. Shen Ying lost interest in the novel and turned toward the kitchen, "Chef, is the food ready?"

"Yes, Master. It'll be out in a second," Yi Qing responded. He carried two plates of seafood and walked out of the kitchen.

Shen Ying immediately picked up her chopsticks, ready to dig in.

"Hey… Let me finish," Lonemoon pursed his lips. Why did she always stop listening halfway? "Didn't you bring it up?" "It smells so good…" Shen Ying gave Yi Qing a thumbs up. The appetite that seemed to have disappeared over the last  few months was whetted. Steak rice, steak rice, steak  rice!  "Father Niu, let's eat!"

"Eat my foot!" Is this the way you hold a conversation? He had not finished, who would want to…

Hey, that looks really yummy.

Why not…

He was just about to pick up his chopsticks, but Shen Ying reached out and grabbed a big piece of meat for herself. All that was left behind was a bowl of gravy.

"Hey, leave some for me!" There was an entire slab of meat; can't she leave him a slice? He moved his utensils towards the slab of meat, but Shen Ying suddenly let go of it. The slab of meat dropped back into the bowl and the gravy splattered all over Lonemoon. "Holy shit, Shen Ying, do you have…" Before he could finish, he raised his head to glance at Shen Ying and found that she was frowning and staring into the sky. "What's up?"

She hardly ever looked this serious. He subconsciously followed her gaze and saw the blue skies above. "What do you see?"

Shen Ying's face was blank. After a few seconds, she muttered, "A gate… seems to have opened up there?"

"A gate? What gate?" He looked closely and used his divine perception to scan the sky. "There's nothing there. Where's the gate?"

"It's gone. Forget it. I think I saw something else," Shen Ying looked back at the table and wiped it out of her mind. She reached for the slab of meat once again and finished it off in two mouthfuls.

Lonemoon was too late. "…" Motherf*cker! This b*tch did it on purpose! She must have! ——————

After what happened with the Immortal Ascension Pagoda, the Invincible Sect's reputation became on par with the three other aristocratic families. There were countless of cultivators who fought to join the Invincible Sect. The sects were now getting ready for their annual recruitment drive.

Given the Invincible Sect's current prowess, they no longer had to mobilize all the members to move out to recruit disciples into the sect. Even Lonemoon had no intentions of leaving the sect's grounds. He outsourced everything to Yu Hong. Yu Hong was the oldest of the nine female cultivators, and she was the most reliable one. When he recruited the female cultivators, she was of the highest cultivation level. Naturally, she was the Senior Sister of the group. Although Si Yu had overtaken her in terms of cultivation after two years, Yu Hong remained the leader of the group.

If Lonemoon was the manager of the Invincible Sect, Yu Hong can be considered his secretary. Whatever Lonemoon had no time to handle would be managed by Yu Hong. Therefore, it was only right to put Yu Hong in charge of the recruitment. Lonemoon's mind would be set at ease this way. Yu Hong was responsible. She brought the other eight female cultivators out of the Demon Realm and instructed them  to head to different immortal towns. They were to recruit worthy disciples from these different towns - Invincible Sect was not limiting themselves to the Upper Azure Town. Within less than six months, the group proudly returned with new disciples.

There were a lot of them - the group of new disciples contained hundreds of people. They were dressed in a multitude of colors and their cultivation levels ranged from the Qi Refinement realm to the Nascent Soul realm. Each of them were of different body types but all of them looked equally strong - one can practically see the outline of their muscles which threatened to burst their sleeves.

Lonemoon: "…"

These are… the new… disciples?

-_-|||

Flips table! Why do I suddenly feel like I'm in a market? Why are all of them iron barbies? They're all females! He had already said he only wanted them to look at people's spirit roots so he could pick those whom he wanted to recruit later on. How was he going to lead people to become quality sword cultivators now? None of them looked like sword cultivators!

Do you all have a misunderstanding about the way our sect is run?

"Yu… Hong," he frowned as he pulled a red-clothed girl aside. "Are these… the best of the people you've met?"

"That's right!" Yu Hong nodded excitedly, "Don't worry, Elder, Si Yu has tested each of them and they're all talented."

Talented my foot! All he sees are muscles!

"What about sword cultivators?" You let Si Yu pick out all the barbie cultivators. If her way of testing picks out the sword cultivators, then she wins! "Sword…" Yu Hong's face fell.

"…" You forgot right? You definitely forgot.

凸(艹皿艹)

"But… Elder, aren't we a sect of body cultivators?"

"Who said we're a sect of body cultivators!" You chose to turn into body cultivators yourselves, right?

"But everyone is already here…" Yu Hong looked like she was being put in a spot. She explained herself, but her gaze landed on someone and brightened, "Sect Master!"

She left Lonemoon behind and ran toward the group, announcing, "My fellow sisters, this is the Sect Master of Invincible Sect whom I have been telling you about. She is the strongest cultivator of the Upper Azure World." The crowd seemed to explode. Hundreds of pairs of eyes fixed on Shen Ying. Together, they greeted her, "Greetings, Sect Master!"

Their united voices resonated within the hall.

The person carrying a pail of water, prepared to water Radish: "…"

Why are there so many people here all of a sudden?

"Hi… everybody," Shen Ying waved apprehensively.

Everybody's eyes brightened, and they responded together, "How are you, Sect Master?"

"Er, you've all been working hard," she said in reply.

Everybody hesitated. A voice sounded out from the crowd, "For Invincible Sect!" Everyone echoed, "For Invincible Sect!"

Their voices were loud - some of them even used their Spirit Qi to shout. The walls of the hall seemed to vibrate.

Lonemoon: "…" Motherf*cker! Is this an army?

This wasn't a recruitment drive. They are forming a freaking cult! They've brought a bunch of retards back!

His heart felt exhausted.

————

Lonemoon did not like the new disciples; he detested them. His heart was incredibly troubled over the future of the sect. He did not want them to become a sect of body cultivators. But If he accepted these disciples into the sect, there would be no hope for Invincible Sect to change its path. He scanned each of their qualifications. Other than one or two of them who did not have good spirit roots, the rest of their spirit roots were… not bad. The sisters picked carefully. They just went off-tangent in their selection process.

Lonemoon had no choice but to accept them into the sect. In the end, he only sent a few Nascent Soul cultivators home. It was not that they had poor qualifications, but Nascent Soul cultivators can already be guest elders in the sect. There was no need for them to join as disciples. Invincible Sect had only been established awhile ago - they really did not need to recruit guest elders just yet.

He looked around at the new disciples of Invincible Sect. Looking at each of their excited expressions made Lonemoon worry for the future of the sect. Quickly, he set aside his worries and found that he had a breakthrough in his cultivation level. He was now a perfected Soul Formation cultivator. He had an irrepressible force about him.

He had a chance… to achieve Immortal Ascension!

[1] The main detective in a Japanese detective manga

Chapter 105: Facing the Lightning Tribulation of Immortal Ascension

"Lightning Tribulation?" Taken aback, Shen Ying almost dropped her pastry. "Are you for real?"

"Don't you believe me?" Lonemoon's mouth twitched. "Why can't I ascend? During the previous two days, I've achieved a breakthrough— I'm now past the Soul Formation stage and have perfected my cultivation. Immortal Ascension is only a matter of course."

In fact, he had not thought it would be so fast. Ever since his epiphany, he found that his cultivation had been slowly rising. He had Bai Ze's Black Spirit Blossom with him for a while and its special aura seemed to have been beneficial to his cultivation, resulting in him finally attaining the Perfected State.

Shen Ying pursed her lips. "Does it mean that you won't be able to come down after your Immortal Ascension?"

"In the initial stage, yes." He nodded. "Once I ascend to become an Immortal, naturally I'll be in the Immortal Realm. There are boundaries between the three realms. You can't transmigrate between the realms at your whim. Same case for Bai Ze. He had been in the lower realm for tens of thousands of years. If we did not have the Black Spirit Blossom, even you would not be able to open the realm gate."

"Oh…" Furrowing her brows, Shen Ying asked, "You're really going?"

"This is the law of heaven and earth. If I succeed in overcoming the tribulation, I'll naturally not stay in the lower realm," explained Lonemoon. Then seeing Shen  Ying's conflicted expression, his heart immediately softened, and he tried to comfort her by saying, "We will have to face the Tribulation Transcendence sooner or later. Like me, Yi Qing will also face it soon."

"We'll still have to undergo Tribulation Transcendence? Why don't we just forget it." This place was pretty good.

"Pui!" He glared at her. "You think this is a leisure tour where you can make your own decisions on when to depart. What have I been practicing so many years for if not to achieve Immortal Ascension?" "In that case…"

"I know that you can't bear to leave a fellow compatriot." He patted her on the shoulder and smiled. "The Lightning Tribulation is so dangerous that I won't activate the tribulation unless there is no other recourse. I'm not sure whether I can make it through the transcendence successfully."

"Er…"

"Relax, I'm confident I can endure the divine lightning, don't worry."

"No, I mean…" Shen Ying said earnestly, "Father Niu, Before you ascend, can you leave sufficient spirit stones for your children?" We won't have money for food.

…

"Scram!" I don't have such an unfilial daughter like you. Lonemoon was so disgusted that he wanted to spit at her. His pent up anger accumulated at his chest, causing his entire body's Spirit Qi to surge. He felt as if his Qi would erupt any minute.

Wait a moment!

His Spirit Qi…

"You…" Yi Qing looked at him in sudden realization and exclaimed, "Your Heavenly Tribulation is coming!"

True enough, the surrounding area became dark all of a sudden. Gusts of winds blew and dark clouds, tinged with a faint purple streak of lightning, gathered in the upper atmosphere of the Invincible Sect.

Holy shit, it's really here!

Lonemoon was so shocked that he forgot his anger. He turned and rushed out of the front hall. Looking at the lightning tribulation in the sky, he felt the Spirit Qi in his whole body surge.

Quickly conjuring a hand seal, he set up many layers of array formations and also activated an array to protect their mountain.

After checking that all measures had been taken to protect the Invincible Sect from the Lightning Tribulation, Lonemoon walked towards the eye of the array and sat down cross-legged to await the Tribulation Transcendence. However, he could not help turning around to issue a warning, "Shen Ying, the Lightning Tribulation of the Immortal Ascension is truly formidable, everyone don't come near…"

Before completing his sentence, he saw that everyone had already retreated by a hundred meters. They also carried out tables and chairs. Spread on the tables were food like peanuts, seeds, fruits. Everyone then sat down to look at him while munching on their tidbits.

Lonemoon: "…" Son of a b*tch! He must have been crazy to worry that they would be injured by the Lightning Tribulation. Let the Lightning Tribulation strike them!

Taking a deep breath, Lonemoon suppressed his violent urges and sat down cross-legged.

Eliminating all distracting thoughts, he concentrated on preparing for the tribulation. The sky had turned dark; the only light that could be seen in heavens and earth was the purple streak between the clouds.

At last, the first streak of Lightning  Tribulation  struck directly at Lonemoon. The array formation around him were all shattered, and the surrounding ground sank by a few feet. The suppression aura of heaven and earth started spreading outwards. If it were not for the Protective Mountain Array, the palace would have been burned to ashes.

"Wow." Shen Ying looked up at the sky. This lightning was completely different from the ones she had seen before. "Is the lightning tribulation of the Immortal Ascension so powerful?" "Yes, Master." Yi Qing explained in a sombre tone, "The lightning that descended from the Immortal Ascension is the Violet Nightfall Heavenly Lightning. It is the most powerful lightning tribulation in the world. It can directly create immortal bones. This is only the first strike — the Mental Demon Tribulation — the others that follow will be far worse."

"Oh…" Shen Ying nodded and looked carefully at the Father Niu. He had closed his eyes and seemed to be caught up with his mental demons. In less than five minutes he opened his eyes again. Obviously he had overcome his mental demons.

The next Lightning Tribulation struck. True enough, this one struck with double the force of the previous one, setting Lonemoon's dharmic clothes on fire and splitting his skin apart. However, his body emitted a special kind of Spirit Qi that slowly started mending his torn body.

Then came the third strike, the fourth…

Unlike the first strike, this time the lightning struck down one after another without a break. It was as if it wanted to split Lonemoon's body apart to reorganize it. Each strike was more devastating than the last. "How long will it take?" asked Shen Ying, munching on her melon seeds.

"This is the Nine Nine Lightning Tribulation, forming a total of eighty-two bolts of divine lightning.

There are more than half to go?"

"Doesn't nine nine makes eighty-one?" Shen Ying was confused, why was it eighty-two?

"This… I'm not sure," replied Yi Qing, looking perplexed. "Although it is called the Nine Nine Lightning Tribulation, according to the traveling immortals who have undergone the tribulation, there are indeed eighty-two strikes. And the last one is the key to the test. Many traveling immortals failed at this last strike."

"Oh…" said Shen Ying frowning. Leaving her thoughts aside, she grabbed another bunch of melon seeds as another bolt of lightning struck and continued munching. In less than an hour, Lonemoon had withstood eighty bolts of lightning tribulation. His entire body was so battered that he was almost unrecognizable as a human being. Although the immortal Qi that followed each strike would mend his body, the rate of healing could not keep up with the frequency of the strikes; he was totally covered in blood.

There were two more. Lonemoon tried desperately to stay conscious as he was struck by the next bolt of lightning. Then, all of a sudden, the Lightning Tribulation ceased and clouds began to swirl. A purplish black lightning flashed through the clouds. Finally, there was a loud boom and an earth-shattering bolt struck down from the sky.

His senses jolted, Lonemoon was mentally focused. In an instant, he released his entire store of Immortal Qi that he had secretly converged within his body. Under the stimulation of this Immortal Qi, his damaged body was quickly restored and his immortal bones were formed. He was ready to face the last bolt of Lightning Tribulation.

Boom! His body, regenerated with the newly created immortal bones, withstood the last bolt. He had succeeded! Lonemoon was overjoyed. His entire body slackened, and he toppled forwards. Although he did not have a shred of energy left, he felt like a whole new person, as if he had just been reborn. The Spirit Qi which had seemed dense previously, now curiously felt pitifully thin to him. Even Yi Qing's cultivation, which he had highly regarded, now seemed weak to him.

Except for Shen Ying… She was still the same old chicken-like cheat.

The thunder clouds dispersed. While restoring his body, Lonemoon prepared himself to receive the Heavenly Beam from the sky.

Suddenly, a loud boom came from the sky and an even more terrifying bolt of lightning descended, heading straight for Lonemoon, who had no more power of resistance left.

"The eighty-third strike!" Everybody was shocked, how could this be! They had all seen the thunder clouds dispersing.

Lonemoon's Immortal Qi had dissipated. There was no way he would be able to withstand another strike of the divine lightning.

That bolt of lightning was about to strike at Lonemoon's body.

Releasing the melon seeds from her hand, Shen Ying was at the scene in an instant. She reached out her hand and at the last moment and caught hold of the streak of purplish black lightning's tail as if it were a rope, stopping it within a foot from Lonemoon's head.

Lonemoon was overwhelmed with shock. He had never expected there would an eighty-third bolt of divine lightning. "Shen… Ying?!" What the hell was going on?

Shen Ying did not reply him but her expression hardened and she frowned deeply. Tugging forcefully at the bolt of lightning, she commanded, "Come down!"

Suddenly, a black figure plummeted from the sky and crashed to the ground, his lower torso entirely embedded within the earth. Shen Ying raised her leg and stamped hard till his whole body was buried in the ground. Enunciating each word, she asked, "Tell me. Those two extra bolts, were they from you?"

The crowd: "…"

Chapter 106: A Forced Confession

"What… what is going on?" Lonemoon had not recovered from the initial shock. He moved to stand up but found that his leg felt like it weighed a thousand kilograms. There was no way he would be able to move.

"Master!" Yi Qing quickly moved toward them and looked at the person on the floor. "Who… is this?" Why did he fall down from what seemed to be the Lightning Tribulation?

"I don't know, but…" Shen Ying frowned, "the last two bolts of lightning were from him."

"Him? But those were bolts of Violet Nightfall Heavenly Lightning from the Heavenly Dao. How can someone… He trailed off, as if having suddenly thought of something. He studied the stranger's aura and his expression darkened, "You are an Immortal of the Upper World."

Everybody was stunned. They looked closely and found that his body is indeed surrounded by Immortal Qi. "Pfft, you know I am from the Upper World and you're not going to back off?" The person was clearly furious. He glared at each person around him as if they were dirt underneath the sole of his shoes. "You wretched woman, what spells did you cast on me?" He could not shake it off.

Shen Ying didn't move. She stood atop him, one foot on his shoulder. Lonemoon tried to pull together his battered body and asked, "If you're an immortal, why are you trying to stop me from ascending?"

"Pfft!" The man scoffed. He glanced at the group even more condescendingly, "There is no such thing as Immortal Ascension in this world."

No such thing as Immortal Ascension!

"What do you mean?" Lonemoon had already successfully completed the Lightning Tribulation.

"It means none of you can ascend," the man mocked. He did not seem worried about his own situation at all. "You're just part of a small world, yet you dream of achieving immortality? What a joke! Let's not talk about going through 83 bolts of divine lightning - you won't even be fit to become an immortal even if you go through double of that. There is simply no such thing as a Heavenly Gate in this realm."

"No Heavenly Gate?"

"That's right. I wanted to use the Lightning Tribulation to destroy your immortal bones and save your life. If you form immortal bones, this world will reject you immediately. Even if a cultivator like you achieves immortality, you would not be able to withstand the pressures of Heaven and Earth."

"That's impossible." He had just survived 81 bolts of divine lightning and felt the Heavenly Beam. He didn't know why the beam hadn't shone down onto him.

"Believe it or not, it's your choice!" He laughed coldly, "Why don't you think about whether there has been one single cultivator from this realm that has achieved Immortal Ascension?" "…" Lonemoon fell silent. After all these years, the  only person whom he heard had achieved immortality was the ancestor of the Yu Family. After what happened with the Immortal Ascension Pagoda, he knew that ancestor had not actually succeeded - he had turned into a demon. That means nobody ascended into immortality. At that moment, he felt completely confused. Was there really no Heavenly Gate in this realm?

"Then which gate did you come from?" Shen Ying asked.

The man in the pit suddenly paused and turned pale.

The crowd began to react. That's right, if an immortal could come down to the Lower Realm, how can there be no Heavenly Gate? This man was lying!

"I'll ask you one more time," Shen Ying's expression darkened. "Why did you add extra bolts of lightning to the Nine Nine Lightning Tribulation?"

It is  called  the  Nine  Nine  Lightning  Tribulation,  yet  there were 82 bolts of lightning - 83 for Father Niu. It was obvious he was trying to stop people from ascending into immortality.

Panic flashed in the person's eyes, but he did not respond. He looked extremely suspicious, as if he hiding something. Then, he threatened them, "You… All of you, I don't care what kind of methods you used to capture me, but I advise you to release me immediately or you would not be able to bear the wrath of the immortals from the Upper Realm."

"Oh really?" Shen Ying narrowed her eyes. She raised the leg which was on the man's shoulder and stepped on his face instead. She pushed his head down into the ground. All they heard were muffled sounds coming from under her foot. She imitated his tone, "Then try me, see if I can handle your wrath?"

"Ri- ridiculous!" He was furious now. A white light shone onto his body as a surge of Immortal Qi burst forth, cutting the air, heading straight for Shen Ying. The sinister immortal suppression forced everybody around to crumble and fall to their knees.

Not good! "Master!" Yi Qing exclaimed, alarmed.

Yet…

Nothing happened.

╮(╯_╰)╭

Shen Ying continued stepping on his face, even more forcefully than before.

The crowd: "…"

"What's wrong?" Shen Ying looked confused.

"No… nothing." Sect Master is magnificent.

"Hof fan fith be (How can this be)!" The man's expression was one of pure shock. He was not even speaking clearly. He had used all of his powers, yet it did not affect her in the least. What kind of person is she?

Just as he tried to figure this out, Shen Ying removed her foot from his face and grabbed his collar. As if she was plucking radishes, she lifted him off the ground and angrily warned, "You better tell the truth or I will dig another pit in the ground with your body."

"You…" He was really panicking now. Several expressions flickered past his face. Suddenly looking as if he thought of something, he scoffed, "Pfft, you are just a bunch of mortals who do not know their own strength! So what if you catch me? Today is "Day of Re-Harvest". When the time comes, I will come back to settle the score with you. Then, you can only dream of escaping."

"

What 'Day of Re-Harvest'?" He did not answer her, but laughed maniacally. His eyes were once again filled with disdain as he imagined them lying dead on the ground.

"You're not going to talk?" Shen Ying sighed. People had to be beaten to learn their lesson. She released her grip on his collar and kicked him hard in the back. There was a loud cracking sound, and the man flew a couple of metres.

His immortal bones were broken. He spit out blood, but still refused to speak.

"Little Green, you handle this!" Shen Ying waved. "Hit him until he talks!"

"Yes, Sect Master!" Si Yu nodded and began punching him.

He looked at Si Yu with disdain and said, "Pfft! A mere mortal

- what damage can you…"

Before he could finish, he saw a flurry of muscle before his eyes and found himself flying through the air. Her fist had hit him straight in his core.

Pu…

The blood spurted out from his body, three feet into the air.

"You… you're a body cultivator!" How could this be!

(⊙『⊙)

The cultivators in the mortal world all trained using the Spirit Qi. No matter what sword techniques they used, they needed Spirit Qi to sustain their training. He had Immortal  Qi  to protect his body, so Spirit Qi would not be able to harm his body. But… body cultivators did not need Spirit Qi to  train. They relied purely on their strength. What's more, his immortal bones had been broken and there was no immortal spell or technique he could use to defend himself against their attack.

Within minutes, the immortal who had been so cocky before got beaten beyond recognition. He spat blood out of his mouth so that his mouth looked like a blood fountain.

Si Yu followed her Sect Master's instructions strictly. She punched him continuously for a half hour before she finally stopped and stomped her leg down on his face as Shen Ying had done earlier. She nudged the person next to her.

"Senior Sister Yu Hong, can you substitute me for a moment?

I need a break."

"Alright!" Yu Hong clenched her fist and stepped forward.

The Immortal: "…"

Do you have to go to this extent - that you would find a substitute to punch someone?

Shit! She's also a body cultivator. What kind of shithole is this? "I'nn sveak (I'll speak)… I'nn sveak!" Can't he choose to speak now?

Wait a moment!

He already said he would speak; why were they still hitting him? What's wrong with these people? Help!

All the body cultivators: "…"

It had been long before they trained on a punching bag with such great resistance. Line up, everyone, no shoving!

Chapter 107: Danger of World Annihilation

"Father Niu, are you alright?" Shen Ying asked.

"Yeah," Lonemoon nodded. "I won't die." His immortal bones had formed, but he exhausted all his Immortal Qi to defend himself against that 82nd divine lightning bolt. Now that things have settled down, he was a spent force. All he feared was his newly formed immortal bones would break. Yet, this realm did not have a single bit of Immortal Qi. He could not heal his bones even if he wanted to.

"Chef, do you have any idea?" Shen Ying turned to  ask  Yi Qing, who was standing behind her. She took one glance at Lonemoon and knew he was putting on a strong front.

Yi Qing nodded, "Let me heal his meridians first."

He sat down behind Lonemoon and activated his Spirit Qi. Golden light emanated from Lonemoon. After  a few minutes, the colour returned to Lonemoon's face. He was indeed looking much better. The wounds that formed from the lightning tribulation slowly healed.

No matter what, however, Spirit Qi could not compare to Immortal Qi. Lonemoon's wounds weer recovering extremely slowly. Shen Ying sat next to him for three full hours before Yi Qing finally opened his eyes. Lonemoon kept still and regulated his breathing.

"He's alright now?"

Yi Qing shook his head, "I only managed to recover his superficial wounds. His internal wounds…" Spirit Qi was simply too weak to heal immortal bones. "He has to ascend quickly, otherwise…"

Yi Qing could not finish his sentence. It was obvious: If Lonemoon did not ascend, he would become a traveling immortal.

Shen Ying frowned and turned to open the door,  "Little Green, bring that jerk who produced the lightning bolts over here." "Yes, Sect Master," Si Yu responded. The loud punching noises outside finally stopped. Si Yu dragged a swollen immortal to the doorway and threw him into the room.

The immortal rolled two full rounds on the floor before he finally stopped.

Shen Ying picked up a fruit from the table and took a bite. A few seconds later, she said, "Begin."

The immortal stiffened. Begin what? He raised his head and saw Shen Ying's body trembling uncontrollably. Suddenly, the wounds all around his body hurt ten times more. He lost whatever backbone he had left, "I'll talk… I'll talk."

He was an immortal after all. He rested for a while after Shen Ying stopped hurting him, and his wounds slowly healed. He took a deep breath and said, "I… I'm just an immortal door guard of the Qing Tong Immortal Abode. I… I never intended to break anyone's immortal bones. I'm just following orders. I have no other option." "Following orders?" Yi Qing's expression darkened. "We have never offended immortals from the Upper World. Whose orders are you on? Why did you do this?"

"I… I am following the orders of the abode master." He barely raised his head to glance at Yi Qing and Shen Ying and fell silent. A few moments later, he continued, "My master is Stygian Immortal Xun Li. His orders were for me to stop people in this realm from ascending into immortality. I am just a lowly Earth Immortal - I cannot refuse his orders."

"Why is he doing this?" Yi Qing asked.

The immortal hesitated and a look of panic flashed across his face. Immediately, he said, "I.. I don't know either. This small world is all that my master has. I don't know why he wants it to go to waste like this."

"What do you mean this world is all he has?" Yi Qing raised his eyebrows. "What exactly does that mean?"

"My master created this world." He glanced fearfully at the three of them once again and said, "You are probably unaware of this because you're living in this world, but compared to the 3000 other planets, the Azure World is really small. Back then, the immortal god Ge You gave my master a meridian.  My master used this meridian to create a realm and summoned hundreds of thousands of spirits into it. That was how the Azure World formed. This world thus originally… belonged to my master."

All of them remained extremely still, in shock upon hearing this.

Never had they imagined that the Azure World was created by an immortal from the upper world.

"I think… you had better let me go," the immortal tried his luck. "I'm a mere Earth Immortal, but my master is a Stygian immortal. He holds all the Azure World in the palm of his hand. If you anger him…"

"…" None of them said a word. They trained so hard to ascend to immortality. Now, this immortal was telling them that no matter how hard they tried, they would never ascend to immortality. Further, this entire world was randomly created by an immortal somewhere out there. How could they accept this?

"What is a 'Day of Re-Harvest'?" Shen Ying suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

The colour drained out from the immortal's face. He had not expected her to ask this question. His eyes reflected pure panic. "This… Heavy…" he stuttered for a long time but did not complete his sentence.

Shen Ying shot him a death glare. She put down the half-eaten fruit and said, "If your master is so incredible, why doesn't he let everyone ascend to immortality? Why does he need you to guard the Heavenly Gate? What exactly is he afraid of?"

"Nonsense!" He appeared like he had just been slapped. "Why would Master need to be afraid of this small little world?"

"If he's not afraid, why are you panicking?" Shen Ying tilted her head and continued, "Let me guess. Your master ascended into immortality a long time ago, right? He's worried that if these people ascended to immortality, at least one or two immortals would be as strong as - if not stronger than - him. He's afraid that these people would then begin to question their origins and challenge his authority, and that he would have nothing to say when that time comes.So he's doing everything he can to prevent people in this world from ascending into immortality, so that this world would belong to him forever. Is that right?"

"You… you…" the immortal's eyes widened, and he looked even more flustered than before. He had no idea how to respond to Shen Ying. A few moments later, he said, "Don't spout nonsense. My master is not that intolerant."

"He's tolerant… that's worse," Shen Ying's eyes narrowed. "If it's not that, what is his motive?"

"…"

"Talk! What is 'Day of Re-Harvest'?" she stood up.

The immortal was now completely pale. His eyes were filled with guilt, yet he had no answer for her. He looked as if he was fearing something.

Shen Ying frowned. She did not want to continue with this back and forth any further. "Little Green, continue."

"Yes, Sect Master!" Si Yu immediately stepped forward and grabbed the immortal by his collar.

"What… what do you want?" The immortal's eyes widened, as he frantically scanned the room for a place to hide. Suddenly, he realised he was surrounded by over ten girls. "I'm warning you, I'm… I'm an immortal… No… Stop!"

Si Yu just dragged the immortal out when a bright golden light flashed in the sky, illuminating all the Upper Azure World. A voice sounded from the heavens. It was not loud, but it rang in every single person's ears.

A huge, overwhelming aura was headed straight for them. Everyone in the house was on their toes. Their breathing quickened. "They're here!" The immortal's expression of fear was gone. He broke into a grin, "Hahaha… The 'Day of Re-Harvest' is beginning. That's great! It's finally beginning."

Shen Ying frowned and led the group out of the house. The entire sky seemed to be filled with a golden sunshine. It was no longer blue as before. Everything on the ground seemed to reflect a multitude of colours. As the light continued to shine upon them, the plants grew at a rapid speed, as if something suddenly nourished them. Even the spirit herbs in Invincible Sect sprouted fresh, red flowers.

"Little Big Sister…" Radish suddenly came bounding up the hill, holding a huge bouquet of dandelions in his hand. "This light is so strange. Radish feels like the Spirit Qi filling  my body."

Shen Ying did not respond. She looked up toward the sky and saw over ten figures flying out from the light. They were headed for different parts of the Azure World.

"Hahaha… the immortals who have been waiting to clean this place have finally arrived. Meet your death!" announced the immortal who was still caught in Su Yu's grip. He had a smug expression on his face.

"Clean?" Yi Qing's expression darkened. "Clean what? Those were immortals too?"

"That's right, they have come to send you to Samsara," he laughed coldly. "This world is going to be purged completely."

All of their eyes widened in shock. They want to… destroy the world?

The immortal laughed maniacally and scanned the crowd, appearing delighted with himself. "You are all a mere bunch of mortals. Don't even think about escaping. You all will…"

Before he could finish, Shen Ying kicked him unconscious. "I hate it when people blind me…"

Chapter 108: To Yin Skycity

In less than ten minutes, the afterglow from the sky had become dimmer and the surrounding Spirit Qi had grown denser. It was as if someone had poured large amounts of Spirit Qi into the Upper Azure World. There were even faint wisps of Spirit Qi lingering in the horizon.

Could what the immortal said be true? Everyone felt a shiver of fear. That glow they saw earlier must have been the sign that the Heavenly Gate was open. Were those beams of light really… the immortals who were coming to annihilate the world?!

Why did the immortals from the upper realm want to attack those in the lower realm?

"Sect Master, what should we do now?" asked Yu Hong sombrely, trying to suppress her apprehension.

Shen Ying pondered for a while before replying, "Which sect has the most people now?" For a moment, there was silence as everyone was baffled by her question. It was Yi Qing who stepped forward and answered, "Master, as the date for the recruitment of sect disciples has just passed, the various sects are now probably in the process of conducting the qualifying tests. The place with the most people should be… the three great aristocratic families!"

Nodding her head, Shen Ying was about to say something when a disciple carrying two pieces of jade tablets rushed in to report, "Sect Master, we've just received a message from the Yin and Xuan Yuan Families. They have met with strong adversaries and request our help."

Everyone sucked in their breaths at the news. They now understood that if the immortals intended on annihilating the world, the first thing they would do was to head for the place with the most people.

Shen Ying hurriedly gave out orders to her sect members.

"Chef, go to the Vegetable Family. If you meet the immortals there don't pit yourself against them, get away if you can. If that's not possible, delay them, I'm going to the Yin Family, but I'll join you as soon as I can."

"OK, Master," replied Yi Qing with a nod. As time was short, he summoned his sword and was about to leave when he suddenly turned around, having thought of something. "Master, bring Radish along with you."

"… Got it."

Reassured, Yi Qing flew off.

Shen Ying's mouth twitched. Turning to Yu Hong, she continued, "Little Hong, take Father Niu and the other disciples to the Rabbit's place immediately. Don't leave the Demon Realm until I come back."

"Yes, Sect Master," Yu Hong paused in thought for a moment before adding. "What about the Yi Family?"

"The Director has the long worm to back him up, they should be all right for the moment." Long… worm. What the hell was that?

"Radish, let's go!" Shen Ying called out.

"Ji!" Whirling his body, Radish immediately transformed back into a radish and held onto her leg.

Shen Ying pondered for a while, then she turned and stamped her leg on the lifeless body on the ground  to  check  if  he  was truly dead. Only after that did she turn to leave. In a flash, she was gone.

This looks like it will be a big project. What a bother.

——————

Five minutes later.

A girl and a radish looked in perplexity at the dense forest in front of them.

"Radish… I thought you said you knew the route?" Where the heck is this place?

"Ji…" He did know the route, but the afterglow in the sky had caused the surrounding scenery to change, what could he do? "Ji ji ji ji ji…"

"Speak the human language."

"Maybe I should ask… the spirit herbs? They should know this place?" Radish immediately hopped down from her leg and jumped into the grass patch by the side. Before long he returned and reported, "They told me to get lost." The spirit herbs outside are so unfriendly.

Shen Ying's mouth twitched, feeling suddenly agitated. If she had known this radish was so unreliable, she would not have arranged for Chef and herself to go on separate missions. Now what to do? This was not like the other time where she had met with a kind little… Huh?

Shen Ying could not believe her eyes for a moment. Elated, she dashed forwards, waving her hands forcefully, "Little Brother!"

The person she was calling out to continued on his way as if he had not heard her. Shen Ying had no choice but to raise her voice, "Little Brother, the one dressed in green and white like a radish!"

The "white radish" in the sky braked suddenly, almost falling from his sword.

"…" What the hell?

It was only now that the man realized that he was the one being called. Looking puzzled, he scanned his surroundings for a while before he finally spotted a familiar-looking figure waving at him. He reflexively descended to take a closer look. "You… Aren't you the one who lost her way the other time. Shen…?" Shen something or other.

"Shen Ying," Shen Ying introduced herself. She stepped forward happily and said, "Little Brother, long time no see."

"Not long, just a few months. Miss Shen, are you…" As he looked at her, a thought crossed his mind. "You haven't… lost your way again?"

"You're right!" replied Shen Ying, nodding her head vigorously.

"Hmm…." His mouth twitched. "Lost your way twice in the same forest?"

"Huh? Is this the same forest?" She really had no idea.

"Yeah, this is Cang Nan Forest, it's a forest right outside the Yin Skycity," the man explained. "Didn't I tell you I'm a disciple of the Scarlet Sun Sect? My sect happens to be located at the Yin Skycity border, so I have to pass by here often."

"Oh." Nodding her head, Shen Ying asked, "Then can I trouble Little Brother to lead me again? This time to Yin Skycity."

"I'm afraid I can't this time!" Frowning, he apologized, "I've received an urgent directive from my sect, all disciples are to head back to the Scarlet Sun Sect immediately, so I've no time to take you there."

"Oh…" Shen Ying's face fell.

Feeling sorry for her, the Little Brother added, "Why don't you follow me out of this Cang Nan Forest first. It's close to Yin Skycity, anyway."

"OK, thanks Little Brother," Shen Ying nodded. "Which direction?" "Just keep north." He pointed to his right and was about to mount his sword to lead the way.

Suddenly, he felt a tug on his hand. Grabbing his arm, Shen Ying said, "I'm rushing for time, let me take you there  this time."

Everything seemed to whizz past him in a blur. Within moments, they had left the forest and were standing on a wide stretch of road.

They… were out of the forest!

(⊙_⊙)

That was incredibly fast!

He looked in wonder at the person beside him. Did she possess some high level transposition technique? He viewed her with a sudden respect. No wonder he was unable to tell her cultivation level. Hurriedly saluting her, he said, "Thanks Senior, follow this road and head south. You'll soon reach Yin Skycity."

"OK." Nodding her head, Shen Yin patted the radish on her leg, hoping that it would remember the directions. "Thank you, Little Brother."

"No problem, Senior." He smiled, then remembering his sect's directive, he hurriedly added, "My sect's transportation array is in front. I'll take my leave."

"Bye!" replied Shen Ying, waving her hands.

The Little Brother saluted once again. Then he turned and headed towards the transportation array nearby. Turning his head again, he saw that the girl had disappeared. His respect for her grew. She must be an elder from some sect who had come out on a tour. It was incredible that he had met her twice. Moreover, he cannot tell the depth of her cultivation at all. She must either be a Soul Formation cultivator or a traveling immortal senior.

Abandoning his thoughts, he immediately activated the transportation array, in the blink of an eye he was transported to the Scarlet Sun Sect's mountain summit. The next moment, he froze in horror at the sight before him.

How could this be?

Chapter 109: Destroying the Xuan Yuan Family

Blood. The ground was covered in blood so vibrantly red it hurt his eyes. It dyed the entire area on the mountain summit red. The corpses of his fellow sect members lay scattered on the ground. Some of them were new disciples, some were his Nascent Soul uncle-masters, some were even Soul Formation elders. Everyone of them lay on the ground with their eyes wide opened as if they had seen something shocking before they died.

His whole sect had been massacred.

His entire body turned ice cold, his mind a total blank as he looked disbelievingly at this scene from hell.

"Huh? There's another one." Suddenly, a spine chilling voice rang out above him.

A huge irresistible pressure instantly descended on him. His legs gave way and his whole body was pressed against the blood- stained ground. His internal organs and meridians ruptured instantly. His Golden Core was also completely shattered. Blood spurted out from his mouth, he could not move at all. He could only watch as his cultivation flowed out like blood from his body.

"Hmmph, he's just an ant." He heard the sound of that arrogant voice again before it gradually faded into the distance.

Using his entire remaining strength, Little Brother managed to raise his head to look in the direction of the voice. However, all he could see was a white figure covered in a glowing halo, flying towards the horizon. It was like a scene from a dream.

That was… Immortal Qi!

He was actually an immortal! Why? Why did the immortal destroy his entire sect!

He would no longer have a chance to find the answers to his questions. His life was ebbing away as his eyes grew dim.

Suddenly a familiar figure appeared in his field of vision. "Little Brother? Little Brother, are you all right?"

This voice was…

"Shen…" Miss Shen. Why had she returned?! Before he could react, he felt something being stuffed into his mouth. His whole body grew warm and blood stopped flowing out of his body. He began to regain some of his strength back.

"What happened?"

Recovering his senses, he struggled hard to push her away. "Go! Quick, leave this place! That man… is not from this realm."

"They came here?" Shen Ying's face darkened. Standing up immediately, she asked, "When did they leave, which direction were they heading?"

"I think he's heading towards Yin Skycity." Seeing she was about to pursue him, he wanted to stop her immediately. "Miss Shen, you… are no match for him, leave quickly…" But the person in front of him had vanished.

"Don't go after him, escape quickly!" He called out desperately, "He's an immortal…"

Before he could complete his sentence, something white flashed before his eyes. Crash! A body landed in front of him. Clad in snow-white robes, his body still covered with Immortal Qi, he was that immortal who had just flown off; only now he was like the other bodies lying on the ground… lifeless.

"Little Brother, how are you feeling? Are you still alive?" Shen Ying, who was once again at his side, asked.

"…"

After some thought, she detached a white-colored vegetable from her leg and plucked out a big bunch of white flowers from it.

"Ji ji ji ji…" That vegetable cried pitifully. "Any more noise from you and I'll stew you."

The vegetable stopped crying.

Stuffing the flowers into his hands, Shen Ying instructed, "Eat these, you will feel better. I'm in a rush so I'll leave first."

"Ah… Oh."

Shen Ying turned and was about to head in the direction of Yin Skycity.

Filled with gratitude, Little Brother could not help asking, "Senior, may I know which sect you are from?"

Shen Ying paused a moment before turning her head to reply, "Oh, I'm from Invincible Sect."

Then she added as an afterthought, "If you have time, alert the other sects and get them to seek refuge in the Demon Realm."

Then in a flash she was gone.

Only then did Little Brother turn to look at the flowers covered in Spirit Qi. She said she was from the Invincible Sect. Then she must be that number one sword cultivator?!

(⊙ o ⊙)

So her real name was — Yi Qing!

Meanwhile, Shen Ying, who was not far off:

Ah choo…

Why did she suddenly feel shortchanged? ——————

Xuan Yuan Family.

The whole city was in a bleak and desperate situation. The array formation protecting the city had been breached. All that was left of the city were broken tiles and walls. The previously clean streets were now dyed red with blood from slain cultivators, whose bodies lay strewn all over the ground. The bodies in better condition had parts missing; most of the others had disintegrated into ashes.

Once the most prosperous immortal city, it had now become a dead city. The only place that still had signs of life was at the Xuan Yuan Family estate. Xuan Yuanyu was leading a group of traveling immortals to defend their array formation against their attackers. Inside the formation were a few hundred disciples and city residents who had managed to escape the massacre.

Yi Qing stood outside the formation with his sword, his whole body covered in blood. However, he still stood erect and unyielding, his head raised towards the sky. Six men, all clad in white, stood suspended in the sky, their bodies surrounded by the glow of immortal Qi. They looked down with contempt at the group of people below as though looking at a bunch of dead animals. All except for the foremost immortal.

This immortal was holding onto his arm with his other hand. Blood dripped from his fingers. Clearly he was injured. Frowning, he looked angrily down at Yi Qing.

"I never expected to find such a formidable sword cultivator in this realm. You actually broke through my protective Immortal Qi." Another immortal commented tauntingly, "Yan Yu, you have failed miserably this time."

The injured immortal's expression darkened, and he looked with increasing anger at Yi Qing. He said with a sneer, "Hmmph, he merely broke through my Immortal Qi. How can a weak cultivator like him defeat me?"

With that, he directed all his suppressing aura towards the cultivators below. Yi Qing's expression darkened as he used his sword to support his swaying body. He could taste the blood in his mouth. Xuan Yuanyu and his group of men behind defending the array were even more badly affected— blood spewed from their mouths. The array formation showed signs of collapsing.

Yi Qing sensed the immense power of these immortals. Even those traveling immortals at the pagoda were insignificant compared to these men. He had used all his energy but managed only to break through the Immortal Qi of his opponent, and that was a one-on-one fight. The other immortals had not even showed their hand.

"I think you're all taking far too long to deal with this group of ants." An impatient immortal on the far right urged, "Stop this nonsense. Kill them all. We still have other places to clean up."

He raised his hand to conjure a hand seal. Immediately, the Immortal Qi around his body surged towards the cultivators below.

On seeing this, the expression of an immortal at the back of the group changed. Rushing forwards, he grabbed the immortal who was conjuring the hand seal. "Hold it!" "Luan Xu, why are you getting in my way?" The immortal turned and glared at him angrily.

Luan Xu hesitated for a moment. Some unknown emotion briefly flickered across his eyes.

Smiling, he answered, "Fellow Immortal, we rarely descend to this realm, surely we can take our time to deal with them?"

"Take our time?" The immortal snorted, "Our orders from His Excellency were to clean up this realm within six hours. Are you trying to defy orders?"

"No… Of course not." Luan Xu paused as he tried to think of a suitable reply. Glancing at the group of mortals below from the corner of his eye he answered, "I just think that as a Mystic Immortal, you don't need to deal with these insignificant mortals personally. Such small matters can be handed over to us Golden Immortals."

"You lot?" The Mystic Immortal snorted in derision. "A quarter of an hour has passed but Yan Yu hasn't even managed to take down this ant from the lower realm. Letting you useless bunch handle this matter is a pure waste of time. Golden Immortals are indeed useless."

"You…" Yan Yu's face flushed in anger. He was about to confront his senior but then a thought crossed his mind and he held back.

The Mystic Immortal snorted and once again raised his hand to conjure a seal but Luan Xu once again blocked him, saying, "Wait a moment!"

"Luan Xu, what's wrong with you today?" The Mystic Immortal's face darkened in anger. A thought crossed his mind and he looked at Luan Xu with suspicion. "You were also the one who suggested that Yan Yu handle it alone. Are you thinking of letting these mortals go because they are core cultivators like you?"

"Definitely not!" Luan Xu refuted him immediately.

The Mystic Immortal swept his gaze over him, then snorted coldly, "You better not! Don't defy His Excellency's orders just because of your background. No one can leave this realm alive."

"Of course I won't." Pursing his lips, Luan Xu looked down at the people below. "I just feel that this sword cultivator is really annoying. He dares to stand up to us and even injured Immortal Yan Yu. I want to see what stuff he's made of. Why don't you leave this person to me?"

Then, without waiting for a reply, Luan Xu rushed forwards with his sword, as if he could not wait to show his loyalty.

Yi Qing once again felt the suppressing aura of Immortal Qi. Gripping his sword tightly, he activated the Spirit Qi in his entire body. Just as he was about to gear up for battle, his ear picked up the low voice of someone speaking to him through voice transmission.

"Attack my right hip, then escape using the transportation talisman!"

"…"

Chapter 110: The Other Party’s Team Member

Yi Qing paused. He considered the voice he had heard, but said nothing in reply.

The other party became much more aggressive - he looked positively ready to kill. Yet, he always reduced his Immortal Qi by half just before he hit Yi Qing each time. Without the help of his Immortal Qi, the immortal could only count on his sword techniques. In this regard, Yi Qing was comparable to him. Luan Xu became increasingly anxious, "Hurry up, what are you waiting for? Attack my right hip."

Yi Qing frowned and transmitted a response, "Why are you helping me?"

"I have no time to explain…" the other party's voice became more and more panicked. "I cannot let you die here. Leave this place and you will find out in the future."

"No!" Yi Qing rejected. He did not pursue any further why the other party wanted to help him, "If I leave, the hundreds of cultivators behind me will surely die."

"You can't help them even if you remain here," Luan Xu's voice was trembling. "Among the five people behind me, four are Mystic Immortals. You are no match for them. Leave this place and find your master."

"You know my master?" Yi Qing was surprised.

"Of course!" Luan Xu exclaimed. "Let me tell you the truth: actually, I'm…"

"Luan Xu, what are you doing?" Before Luan Xu could finish, one of the Mystic Immortals interrupted him as if he could tell that Luan Xu was up to something. "You're taking far too long to cleanse this sword cultivator from the Lower Realm. You're a Golden Immortal indeed. I have no time to waste - I cannot afford to look at you struggle any further." He waved his hand and a golden beam shot toward the group of people.

Yi Qing reacted immediately. He turned toward the immortals and summoned all his Spirit Qi to form a dragon which flew toward the golden beam. With a loud crash, the golden beam stopped right in front of the defensive array. Yi Qing gathered what was left of his Spirit Qi and tried to destroy the golden beam.

"Hmph, you think too much of yourself," the immortal tutted. With another wave of his hand, he produced another golden beam which was headed for Yi Qing alone.

Yi Qing had no time to run, and the defensive array could not move to protect him either. He watched as the golden beam headed straight for his body.

"Be careful!" Luan Xu panicked and ran forward, summoning a defensive array to block the second golden beam.

The Mystic Immortal's expression fell. Then, he broke into a sinister grin, "Luan Xu, are you betraying His Excellency?"

"I…" He paled instantly and began to tremble. "No…  I'm not…" "Don't forget that the reason you are still alive today is that His Excellency showed mercy on you. Otherwise, you would be suffering the same fate as them. Yet, you're ungrateful and showing pity for these ants." The immortal's expression turned cold as he sneered, "Forget it, ants will always be ants. You will never become a true immortal. Since you want to court death, I will grant your wish and cleanse this place while I'm at it."

"No!" Luan Xu's eyes widened in panic.

It was too late. The Mystic Immortal gestured toward the others behind him, "Let's clean this place quickly and leave nothing behind."

The five of them invoked their powers and give golden beams merged into a huge one. The huge golden beam carried a strong destructive suppressive force which headed straight for the group of people. Even the Golden Immortal Luan Xu was forced to take several steps back.

The defensive array that Xuan Yuanyu and the others had used all of their strength to form began to crack under the suppressive force. They indeed felt like ants under such a formidable force - they fell to their knees, their cultivation unable to withstand the pressure. Immediately, they began to bleed profusely as their cultivation began to seep out of their bodies. They felt their bodies begin to break down under the immense pressure.

Even Yi Qing could not stand under such a force. The spirit sword in his hand split into two. He watched as the golden beam continued to head toward them, ready to turn them into ash.

Suddenly, everything went dark. A figure appeared in front of Yi Qing. She used her hand to block off the golden beam which seemed to shatter and fall to pieces in front of Shen Ying. The crowd felt the strong immortal suppression begin to dissipate.

"Master!" Yi Qing raised his head in surprise. Thank God she made it.

"Hey, Chef!" She stretched out a hand and patted his head, commending him, "You did well. Good job. You can leave the rest to me."

"Yes, Master!" His nerves slowly relaxed along with the tense muscles in his body. Thoroughly exhausted, he fell to the floor and sat.

Behind him, Luan Xu and the Xuan Yuan family heaved a sigh of relief. They were so touched that they wanted to burst into tears. She's finally here!

"Who are you?" The Mystic Immortal who was floating in the air, suddenly asked. He was evidently shocked as he sized up the woman standing in front of him. She could block off his golden beam that the five of them had formed with just one hand.

He was a Mystic Immortal, yet he could not at all perceive how and when she got to this place.

Shen Ying finally raised her head to address the five immortals floating in the air. She did not answer his question, but narrowed her eyes slightly and spoke slowly, "Who said… not to leave anything behind?"

She paused. Without waiting for a response, she continued. "Alright. I'll grant your wish."

The five of them paused and suddenly felt her earth- shattering murderous intent directed right at them. It was as if they had been thrown into a sea in winter - their hearts began to freeze up. Inside, they felt their instincts shouting at them to run away.

The Mystic Immortals suppressed their panic. One of them laughed humorlessly, "Pfft, a mere cultivator from the Lower Realm who possesses a wee bit of talent thinks that she is might enough to threaten us. Today, you…"

Dong!

Before he could finish speaking, he heard a loud noise. Another Mystic Immortal beside him suddenly fell down to the ground, obviously lifeless.

!!!∑(゚Д゚ノ)ノ "Junior Brother Hao!" The Mystic Immortal shouted. He turned to face the woman standing opposite him, who was still looking calm and steady. "What exactly is this…"

Dong!

With another loud sound, another immortal beside him fell to the ground.

"Yan Yu! What exactly is happen-"

Dong!

A third.

"You…" he could not contain the panic any longer. He turned to Shen Ying once again and shouted, "What have you done?"

Dong! A fourth.

In just seconds, only one was left floating in the air. Yet, he had no idea what happened or who was responsible. An unspeakable fear began to rise up to his throat as he stared wide-eyed at the woman on the ground, who was still standing perfectly still.

Is she really just another cultivator from the Lower Realm?

"Who exactly are-"

Before he could ask his question, he felt a gust of wind blow past his ear. A voice spoke in a soft and gentle tone, yet the message seemed to come straight from hell. "It's your turn."

The next moment, there was an excruciating pain shooting throughout his body. His immortal bones shattered and he heard a loud bang just beside his ears. He collapsed down on the floor, only understanding what had happened as the life left his body. The woman was not in fact standing perfectly still. It was just that she had moved so fast that she managed to kill them in a blink of an eye, so that they did not even notice it was her.

This frightening power… was unbelievable!

Within a mere 30 seconds, the immortals from the Upper Realm who forced the entire Xuan Yuan family into a corner were dead. It happened so quickly that the crowd could not even wrap their heads around what was happening. Xuan Yuanyu felt like he was in a trance. Suddenly, he thought, when Great Immortal Shen attacked the Xuan Yuan Family the last time, how much power did she hold back?

"I'm so tired!" Shen Ying dusted her hands and bent over like a shrimp. She was a lazy sloth once again - the embodiment of laziness. She turned around wanting to make orders to her chef when she caught side of Luan Xu, who was standing beside her. "Hey, there's one more."

She stood upright once again and got ready to walk over. "Wait, Exalted Immortal!" Luan Xu exclaimed. Finally, he regained his composure after watching this Great Immortal destroy the others. Panicking, he explained, "I'm on your side! I'm a good person!"

She stopped and glanced at Yi Qing, "Chef?" What's going on?

"Master, he did indeed help us buy time," Yi Qing nodded. He paused to ponder something, then continued, "But he came together with the five immortals. I don't know him."

"Oh…" Shen Ying narrowed her eyes.

"How can you not know me? It's me! It's me!" Luan Xu pointed at his own nose, anxiously looking at Shen Ying. "Exalted Immortal, we have met before. Have you forgotten?  Think about it carefully. I came down here specially to look for you."

"Er… Chef, do you remember?"

"No, I do not remember." "Oh, then let's just destroy him!"

Luan Xu's mouth twitched, his expression one of bitterness. "No, Exalted Immortal. I'm really one of your own. I… I…" He suddenly thought about something and summoned an invisibility seal which hid the lower half of his body. Very seriously, he said, "It's me! I'm Floaty!"

The two of them: "…"

And I'm Snowy!

̄へ̄