In the Tianque Sect Forbidden Ground, clouds and mist swirled through the night. Low growls of wild beasts occasionally echoed through the mountain forests, only to turn into whimpering whimpers of submission as two presences drew near.
Fairy Sanqing led a Spiritual Beast Cat that had just entered the Foundation Establishment Stage, letting it lead the way.
“Fairy, are you sure it’s really safe?” Lu Zhiyun asked, dressed in a night-walking suit and following sneakily behind Fairy Sanqing.
“Don’t worry! Back in my day, conditions were tough, and we did this kind of hook—ahem, we did this kind of thing all the time!”
During the primordial era, every tribe was poor, and cultivation resources were rarely distributed equally among practitioners. To avoid starving, most practitioners often sought other means. Rather than wasting away in a tribe, it was better to head out and strike it rich on one’s own.
Thus, many specialized professions emerged at that time, such as scavengers, grave robbers, and the like, who specialized in picking up what others left behind.
Back then, Fairy Sanqing had teamed up with several like-minded friends to explore tombs and rob graves, solving her cultivation resource problems in the process.
Unfortunately, the good times did not last. As some tribes grew larger, the concept of “clans” became increasingly popular. The natural consequence was the centralized management of cemeteries and tightened security.
In an instant, grave robbing became a high-risk profession.
Previously, one only had to guard against traps, formations, and tomb-guarding puppets inside the tomb. Now, one faced a group of guards before even entering. Escaping without being beaten to death was considered a success.
Fairy Sanqing and her group were at their wits’ end until a clever little rascal suggested a change of pace. They decided to pivot into designing the very tomb-guarding formations and traps for the tribes instead.
After that, Fairy Sanqing and the others shifted their thinking and began providing security services for tribal burial grounds. Thus, the group managed to survive quite comfortably.
Therefore, Fairy Sanqing had extensive experience in the grave-robbing and exploration industry. Formation design and puppet-cracking methods were all things she had mastered long ago.
She decided to show off a little tonight to Lu Zhiyun, proving that her status as an immortal was genuine.
However, half an hour passed, and by the time the two reached the tomb, they still hadn’t encountered a single formation.
‘Huh? That’s strange. Why is there no reaction at all?’ Fairy Sanqing scratched her head. Her divine sense swept the area, yet she still felt no fluctuation of spiritual energy.
‘Could it be that practitioners of later generations have already designed formations that cannot be detected by spiritual energy?’
Truly terrifying!
Fairy Sanqing felt as if she were facing a great enemy and leaned down to inspect the area even more closely.
Seeing this, Lu Zhiyun quickly reminded her, “Fairy, the Tianque Sect Forbidden Ground abolished its formations many years ago!”
Since the Tianque Sect had only been promoted to a Super-Grade Immortal Sect in recent years, the predecessors before that were almost all low in combat power. Although they were prominent figures in the outside world, they weren’t much to look at compared to the standards of a Super-Grade Immortal Sect. There wasn’t much need to guard their graves heavily.
Thus, the Tianque Sect abolished the formations to let things remain natural, only sending disciples to patrol the mountains periodically.
Taoist Sanqing, with his high combat power, was an exception, but it was said that he was no longer in human form when he fell. There was no value left to be stolen, so he was simply buried in the Tianque Sect Forbidden Ground along with the others.
“Is your Tianque Sect crazy? It’s called a ‘Forbidden Ground,’ so why aren’t there any formations?” Fairy Sanqing asked indignantly.
Strolling through a forbidden ground was as easy as walking into a brothel. What kind of nonsense was this?
“Uh, Senior Brother said this was changed later. He said a Super-Grade Immortal Sect should have the style of a Super-Grade Immortal Sect, so they renamed it the Forbidden Ground,” Lu Zhiyun explained.
“By the way, this place used to be called ‘Tianque Sect Ascension to Earth Village.'”
“Ascension? There really are talents in the Tianque Sect!” Fairy Sanqing laughed.
“Oh, no. They failed the ascension, so they went into the earth!”
“…”
The atmosphere became a bit awkward, so Fairy Sanqing decided to change the subject.
“Ahem! I’m just being careful. After all, I’m bringing a little rookie like you along. If I were alone, I would have been out of here by now!”
“Fairy…” Lu Zhiyun said, moved.
Before long, the two had reached the tomb of Taoist Sanqing. A massive coffin lay across the room, filling the small burial chamber.
The coffin was crafted from spiritual stones, but after the passage of time, much of the spiritual energy had dissipated, leaving it dull and lusterless.
“Well then, I’m getting ready to open it!” Fairy Sanqing said to Lu Zhiyun.
“Okay!” Lu Zhiyun nodded.
Lin Shu, who was already lying inside the coffin, also nodded inwardly and closed his eyes.
Since he hadn’t received the reward from the system yet, it meant the mission wasn’t over. He had to continue maintaining his [Sleeping] state.
To better replicate the state of [Sleeping], Lin Shu utilized the special attribute skill [Camouflage].
He would study these special attributes during his free time. [Camouflage] could not only disguise one as part of another cultivation system but also mimic specific states.
The effect was simply too good. Right now, rather than saying Lin Shu was in a [Sleeping] state, it was more accurate to say he was in a [Death] state.
It was no wonder Fairy Sanqing’s divine sense couldn’t detect him.
As the coffin lid was slid aside, Lu Zhiyun brought her candle closer, prepared to witness the true form of the clone alongside Fairy Sanqing.
She saw “Taoist Sanqing” inside the coffin, looking as gentle as jade and as elegant as a tree in the wind. His peach blossom eyes were tightly shut. Even though he had “died” long ago, one could still see the calm and composure he possessed in life from the bridge of his nose.
‘Wait! Isn’t this my Big—Big Senior Brother?’
Lu Zhiyun’s legs immediately went weak with fright. Her face turned pale, and the candle nearly fell from her hand, almost dripping wax onto Lin Shu.
“Calm down, Little Lu!” Fairy Sanqing supported her, her expression serious.
“Fairy, this is—”
“I know! But he definitely has no breath!” Fairy Sanqing placed her hand on Lin Shu’s pulse and sighed.
The person lying here was definitely Lin Shu. Taoist Sanqing was Lin Shu?
But then another question arose.
Who was that Tianque Sect Senior Brother they interacted with daily?
And more strangely, why was this specifically Taoist Sanqing’s tomb?
Lu Zhiyun thought carefully, recalling Lin Shu’s identity as an “Evil Cultivator.”
‘Could there have been a real “Lin Shu” once, who just happened to encounter an evil cultivator and was murdered? Then the evil cultivator took on the identity of “Lin Shu” to continue living?’
That seemed to explain everything!
Lu Zhiyun intended to reveal the truth and tell Fairy Sanqing, “Fairy, Senior Brother might be an e—”
Fairy Sanqing didn’t pay any attention to Lu Zhiyun. Instead, she focused on… stripping off Lin Shu’s upper garment.
Soon, the perfect, toned physique usually hidden by his wide Taoist robes was revealed.
“Fairy, what are you doing!!!” Lu Zhiyun’s face flushed bright red. she covered her eyes with her small hands, yet left a gap to peek through.
“Watch if you want to!” Fairy Sanqing patted his firm abdominal muscles twice and laughed. “I’m first confirming if this is my clone. What if a special camouflage technique was used?”
Compared to Lu Zhiyun’s wild guesses, Fairy Sanqing had witnessed the powerful force behind Lin Shu.
If her clone had been disguised as “Lin Shu” by Lin Shu himself just to play a prank on them, that was entirely possible.
Fairy Sanqing began feeling around—up and down, left and right…
“Fairy…” Lu Zhiyun watched the bold Fairy Sanqing, feeling lost.
“Hmm—there seems to be no reaction. Where did it go wrong?” Fairy Sanqing muttered in confusion.
She was a female immortal, so her clone should naturally be female as well.
But right now, this “clone” was clearly a male body. Was it impossible to sense or absorb because there were some different parts added?
“Little Lu, give me a hand!” Fairy Sanqing called out.
“How… how do I help?” The tips of Lu Zhiyun’s ears were burning red.
Did she have to… touch him too?
“Take off his pants!” Fairy Sanqing said calmly, her tone as casual as if she were killing a chicken.
“Huh? This—”
“I suspect that there are extra parts on this clone, which is why I can’t sense it.”
As for what was extra! What else could a man have that a woman didn’t?!
Fairy Sanqing stamped her foot in anger. How could someone have such a sick sense of humor as to add external bone attachments to her clone?
Seeing that Lu Zhiyun wasn’t moving, Fairy Sanqing decided to do it herself.
“If you won’t do it, I will. Today, I’m pulling this thing off of you!”
Flying Dragon Cloud-Searching Hand!
She moved with speed, precision, and ruthlessness, reaching toward Lin Shu.
When she was only two or three centimeters away, a hand accurately grabbed Fairy Sanqing’s fair wrist.
“You!” Fairy Sanqing looked at Lin Shu in shock.
Lin Shu looked at the delicate hand so close to him, cold sweat already drenching his back.
Although he hadn’t received the system reward yet, he could still tell the difference between **[Special Attribute +1]** and **[Dignity Reset to Zero]**!
‘Cursed system, you’re actually trying to screw me over!’
“I—”
Before he could even speak, Lin Shu heard the most piercing scream he had ever heard in his life.
“Ghost!” Fairy Sanqing squeezed her eyes shut and blasted out a palm strike.
An immortal’s spiritual energy entwined around her fingertips, compressing the air in front of Lin Shu until that palm swung before his eyes…
A cold notification echoed in his ear: **[Extreme Bone +1]**.
Then, Lin Shu fainted.
***
Several days later, when he opened his eyes again, Lin Shu was lying on a bed in his room.
Every bone in his body ached as if they had been pulled out and beaten. Even turning over made him grimace in pain.
“Senior Brother! You’re awake?”
Lu Zhiyun’s voice sounded beside him. For some reason, she was even more well-behaved than usual.
“Yeah! Junior Sister, what happened to me?” Lin Shu’s head was a bit dizzy.
“Uh… that… well, I’m going to go cultivate now! Elder Xie is looking for you!”
After saying that, Lu Zhiyun ran away in a panic, leaving Lin Shu completely bewildered.
Elder Xie was the elder responsible for the sect’s financial management and mission assignments. He was fair and just, meticulous in his management of the Tianque Sect’s finances. He had personally led teams multiple times to send Elder Chen Xin to the Cliff of Reflection and confiscated his illegal gains.
If Lu Zhiyun hadn’t mentioned it, Lin Shu wouldn’t have even noticed there was someone else in the room.
Seeing that Lin Shu was awake, Elder Xie stepped forward. “You’re awake?”
“Yes! Thank you for your concern, Elder Xie!”
“You’re welcome, but let’s not talk about that for now!” Elder Xie helped Lin Shu sit up and pulled out a piece of paper covered in dense writing.
“Let’s talk about the compensation for you crashing through one main peak, three minor peaks, and five alchemy rooms a few days ago, shall we?”