Qingshan Town.
Above the altar of the Flower Festival, layer upon layer of black clouds coiled, thunder rumbled, as terrifying as a heavenly tribulation.
The immense pressure nearly suffocated Lin Shu; behind him, Lu Zhiyun and Tong Yao had already fainted from the force, their delicate forms clinging tightly together, brows furrowed.
“Damn it! Even if you call this the Immortal’s Secret Realm, you can’t really resurrect an Immortal, can you?” Lin Shu was operating all the spiritual energy within his body.
This was the first time since he began cultivating immortality that he fought with all his might, but it was all spent on defense.
Due to the special cultivation method of a Qi Refiner, he had no way to judge what level of enemy he could take on, so all he could do now was defend with everything he had.
Fortunately, the attribute points consumed to resist an Immortal’s pressure seemed to be [Spiritual Sense] and [Spirit]. Lin Shu had invested quite a bit in both.
So, the system was still somewhat useful after all!
As these stray thoughts flitted by, the air around him gradually grew dense, and a figure slowly condensed in front of Lin Shu.
“Young one! Where is this place? Who are you? What day is it? Who now reigns supreme in this world?”
The voice was melodious and clear, as lovely as pear blossoms pressing down on crabapple branches. Catching a glimpse of the two girls behind Lin Shu, the figure flicked her sleeve and eased the pressure. Only then did Lu Zhiyun and Tong Yao’s brows slowly relax.
A woman?
Lin Shu was rather surprised. The aura was unmistakably that of an Immortal—yet the other party was a female Immortal?
His mind began to churn as he searched his memories for any female Immortals.
The history of the cultivation world began three hundred thousand years ago; every hundred thousand years marked a dynastic change: Grand Xia, Grand Shang, Grand Qian, and before that, the Primeval Era.
Each dynasty produced two Immortals. Apart from some Grand Virtue Immortal Emperors, the rest were the founders of several transcendent Immortal sects—Scroll Immortal of Myriad Volumes of the Myriad Law Immortal Sect, Meditation Buddha Patriarch of Qiyun Temple, and Bai Qin Immortal of Demon Severing Mountain.
As for the Treading Cloud Immortal Sect, their founder could be traced back to the Primeval Era, one of the Three Ancient Immortals who comprehended the power of time—the Immortal of Time.
At that point, the question arose: was there any transcendent sect without its own Immortal?
Sect Master of Tianque Sect: I refuse to answer! I refuse!
In the blink of an eye, Lin Shu had reviewed his memories and reached the conclusion—apart from the Scroll Immortal of Myriad Volumes, there were no other female Immortals!
So who exactly was this person?
Lin Shu recalled that the Scroll Immortal of Myriad Volumes hadn’t yet perished! He remembered that last time, during an Academic Symposium at the Myriad Law Immortal Sect, he had glimpsed her from afar.
Wait! There did seem to be a bizarrely made-up Immortal!
“Senior, are you the One Qi Immortal?” Lin Shu asked.
As soon as he spoke, the other party seemed somewhat angered, pressing a heavier force on Lin Shu, almost forcing him to one knee.
“Young one! You still haven’t answered my questions!”
“This should be the secret realm set up by you, Senior. I am Lin Shu of Tianque Sect. As for the present era, it is the time of Grand Qian, with Feng Qingli ruling the world!”
Once he’d finished, the oppressive pressure dissipated.
Lin Shu looked up at the figure, but could never see her face clearly. At this moment, she was scratching her head, pondering something.
“Secret realm? Set by me? That does sound a little familiar… It must have been a clone who created it, I suppose?”
“Tianque Sect… That’s vaguely familiar as well. How odd! Let me think!”
“Grand Qian… Feng Qingli? Sounds like a girl’s name? Women can be emperors now?”
Looking at this fairy, Lin Shu felt she wasn’t especially bright; the other party also noticed his gaze, immediately straightening her posture and coughing lightly to regain her composure.
“Then, young one, do you know who summoned me?”
How would I know?!
Lin Shu still respectfully answered, “Fairy Senior, this junior does not know!”
After confirming that the three Stone Pillars and their sacrificial inscriptions were related to the One Qi Sect, Lin Shu had begun altering the ritual texts. Yet somehow, the person behind the scenes had activated the ritual early, summoning this fairy.
He just didn’t know what the new sacrifice had become.
Lin Shu craned his neck to look behind the fairy, and suddenly understood what had happened—the three Stone Pillars had vanished, leaving behind only three deep pits.
The Stone Pillars themselves had become the sacrifice???
But what would the consequences be? The other party was connected to the One Qi Sect, so she probably wasn’t a good person.
Sure enough, the figure looked at Lin Shu, letting out a “heh heh heh” giggle that was both creepy and girlish.
“A mixed spiritual root and you still dare walk the path of a Qi Refiner? Not lacking in courage, junior!”
Lin Shu had a bad premonition, and in the next instant, the figure spoke again: “But to cultivate to this point and still withstand my Immortal pressure! You’re not entirely without merit!”
“I am now only a wisp of Immortal Soul. If I were to perform Possession on you, wouldn’t that be splendid?”
Possession???
Lin Shu stared deathly at the Immortal, and in a flash, she appeared right in front of him.
At this distance, Lin Shu finally saw her appearance clearly.
She wasn’t tall, only reaching his chest at best, her eyes bright, teeth gleaming, as beautiful as a lotus freshly awakened. Her side locks brushed his nose, leaving only a faint fragrance.
How could such a stunning young maiden be a villain? Lin Shu couldn’t believe it! He dared not believe it!
She smiled slyly, “Your body and cultivation are mine now!”
“Fairy! Wait!” Lin Shu hurriedly tried to stop her.
“Too late!”
With that, she followed the flow of spiritual energy directly into his mental space, heading for his Primordial Spirit.
Lin Shu was full of regret, yet strangely unpanicked.
“How did you even come up with this idea? My memory is already stuffed full by that thing!”
That thing… naturally referred to the system…
Who would win, the system or the fairy? Lin Shu didn’t know either…
But… surely he wouldn’t lose, right?
The hidden place was actually deep within the altar.
Shi Yan stared in shock at the little Shi Tou, who hadn’t been sacrificed, and at the three missing Stone Pillars.
“This isn’t right! How did it end up sacrificing the stones?”
The original plan required three sacrifices upon the pillars to summon their One Qi Sect’s Immortal.
They’d planned to sacrifice disciples from the transcendent sects, but after that failed, Shi Yan changed his approach.
He knocked out his own men to offer them himself; for the other two Stone Pillars, he’d used a secret art to summon tiger demons from the secret realm as sacrifices—in exchange, the tiger demon carcasses in the hands of the Immortal Sect disciples also vanished.
As for the last offering, it had always been there from the start—a Qi Refiner native to Qingshan Town: Mayor Shi.
Since the very creation of the secret realm, that pillar’s sacrifice had been set.
Yes, as Qingshan Town’s only surviving Qi Refiner, Mayor Shi had become a sacrifice ten thousand years ago. The Mayor seen today was merely a construct of the secret realm.
After all these preparations, Shi Yan formally activated the ritual to resurrect their One Qi Sect’s Immortal.
But why were the Stone Pillars gone, and the sacrifices still here?
As he pondered, little Shi Tou slowly woke up, realized he wasn’t dead, saw Shi Yan, and immediately began to cry, “Boss! How could you be so cruel! After all these years with you, and you still used me as a sacrifice!”
“Oh! You mean that!” Shi Yan grinned sheepishly, “We’re a demonic sect, aren’t we? It’s normal for demonic sects to kill each other for profit!”
Little Shi Tou: “…”
That does sound about right? But he still felt something wasn’t quite right!
“As a member of a demonic sect, you must always be ready to be killed by your own comrades! How do you not have that awareness?” Shi Yan shook his head.
“So that’s how it is?” Little Shi Tou was suddenly enlightened.
After so long in the sect, he hadn’t yet learned the true essence. Luckily, he survived this time and had the chance to grasp it.
Wait a minute! He wasn’t dead?
Little Shi Tou asked curiously, “Boss! Did the ritual fail?”
“It should’ve succeeded!” Shi Yan mused for a moment, “If nothing went wrong, the One Qi Immortal should already have descended!”
Shi Yan untied the ropes from little Shi Tou and signaled him to get ready to leave.
Along the way, little Shi Tou stumbled and muttered, “Boss, where are we going?”
“To greet the Immortal!” Shi Yan replied simply.
“B-but…aren’t you afraid the Immortal will…kill us?” Little Shi Tou was nervous.
After all, that was a demonic sect’s Immortal; surely ruthless in methods.
“No fear! Since we’re on the same side, the Immortal will help us. All we need to do now is take them to see the sect master!”
At this, Shi Yan gave a sinister smile, “As for now, those Orthodox Sect disciples have probably all been slaughtered!”
That’s an Immortal, after all! Couldn’t they handle a few mere Qi Refiners? Even with a Qi Refiner protector, so what? Cultivators below the level of Immortal were just ants in the eyes of an Immortal!
The hidden spot wasn’t far from the altar; with Earth Escape, they could reach it within half a quarter of an hour.
As soon as they emerged from the earth, Shi Yan saw the unconscious Lu Zhiyun and Tong Yao lying on the ground, and smirked—just as he’d expected, they’d already been dealt with!
As for Lin Shu, the so-called protector…
He looked up, toward the center of the altar.
There was Lin Shu, sitting idly on a broken log, and before him knelt a woman in luxurious robes—who knew which noble family’s daughter she was.
As for her face…Shi Yan didn’t get a clear look. Just glancing at her left profile made him wince. The entire left side of her face was badly swollen, as if she’d been struck.
At that moment, the woman’s shoulders were trembling as she clutched her cheek, letting out the fakest sobs imaginable.
Upon seeing Shi Yan and his companions, Lin Shu raised his brows.
“Oh! You’re here. So she’s the one you summoned?”
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