Senior Brother Returns, Cleansing the Sect

Half a month had passed in the blink of an eye.

During these fifteen days, Chen Changsheng had not stepped a single foot outside his door, taking the principle of "lying low" to its absolute extreme.

Every day, he sat in meditation within his cave dwelling, consolidating his cultivation at the Heavenly Immortal Realm while diligently studying the marvelous "Innate Stealth Technique."

This Divine Ability seemed tailor-made for him. Once activated, it not only perfectly concealed his aura but also diminished his very presence, making him blend seamlessly into his surroundings. Unless a great power far beyond his realm deliberately probed, no one could see through his true state.

"A sudden surge in cultivation, plus perfect concealment—this is the ultimate skill for playing the fool to catch the tiger!" Chen Changsheng thought smugly.

Aside from cultivation, the system would occasionally chime in with notifications due to his "cowardly" behavior.

[You have secluded yourself in your cave dwelling for one day, free from disaster and tribulation. Minor achievement in the path of cowardice. Reward: Cowardice Points +10.]

[You have rejected Outer Sect Disciple Li Si's sparring invitation, successfully avoiding karmic entanglement. Reward: Cowardice Points +20.]

Though the rewards were meager, small gains added up, filling him with hope for the future.

One day, while Chen Changsheng was meditating in his cave, he suddenly heard a commotion outside, mingled with mournful cries.

His heart stirred, and he quietly extended a sliver of divine sense.

At the dock of Golden Ao Island, a few battered clouds wobbled down, carrying over a dozen Jie Sect disciples drenched in blood, their auras feeble.

Leading them was none other than the steward senior brother, Zhang Feng!

But now, Zhang Feng had none of the vigor he'd shown half a month ago.

His face was as pale as paper, his left arm severed at the shoulder, black Qi coiling around the wound—clearly the result of a vicious Witch Curse.

Behind him, the once-mighty hundred-man team had been reduced to these meager survivors, every single one wounded and bedraggled.

"They're back..." Chen Changsheng withdrew his divine sense, a flicker of understanding in his eyes.

Just as he'd expected.

The Flowing Fire Meteor Abyss was rife with great demons, and for cannon fodder like them at the Earth Immortal and Heavenly Immortal Realms, it was a meat grinder.

Soon, the news spread throughout the entire outer sect... Those disciples who had previously regretted not being chosen now felt nothing but relief at having dodged a bullet.

"Did you hear? Senior Brother Zhang Feng and the others are back. A hundred went out, only thirteen returned!"

"That's not all! I heard Senior Brother Zhang lost an arm, and his Dao foundation was nearly destroyed!"

"It's all because Zhang Feng and the others were too greedy! Word has it a Ruins emerged in the Flowing Fire Meteor Abyss, and they thought they could scavenge some leftovers—look where that got them!"

"Hmph, with Sha Qi rampant and the heavenly mechanism obscured, charging down the mountain recklessly is just asking for death!"

For a time, the entire outer sect was in turmoil. Those who had been upset about not being chosen now counted themselves lucky to have escaped disaster.

And Chen Changsheng, the one who had "suddenly suffered Qi deviation," was remembered once more.

"Come to think of it, Chen Changsheng sure is lucky. He didn't have Qi deviation early or late—it happened right when it mattered. It's almost... miraculous!"

"Who says otherwise? What do you call that? Deep karmic fortune! He was born to survive!"

"You think he sensed something in advance?"

Inside his cave dwelling, Chen Changsheng listened to these discussions without a ripple in his heart.

Luck? Premonition?

No, I'm just more afraid of death than you, and I've got a cheat.

Just then, the restrictions on his cave dwelling were rudely triggered.

"Chen Changsheng! Get the hell out here!"

A roar filled with boundless fury exploded outside the cave.

It was Zhang Feng!

Chen Changsheng raised an eyebrow and slowly rose to his feet.

What must come, would come.

He dispelled the restrictions, opened the stone door, and immediately saw Zhang Feng standing there, face twisted with rage, one arm missing.

"Senior Brother Zhang, your injuries aren't healed yet. Why stir up such anger?" Chen Changsheng said with a look of "concern," his tone calm.

"Save the crap!" Zhang Feng's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at him, as if he wanted to devour him alive.

"Chen Changsheng, did you already know this mission to the Flowing Fire Meteor Abyss was dangerous? That's why you faked illness to escape?!"

He wasn't stupid.

After returning in defeat, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt. Chen Changsheng's "Qi deviation" was far too convenient—so convenient it seemed meticulously planned!

He blamed his severed arm and the deaths of his junior brothers entirely on Chen Changsheng's "refusal to help"!

"Senior Brother jokes," Chen Changsheng said, spreading his hands with an innocent expression. "That day, I truly had a mishap in my cultivation. An Inner Demon invaded, and I nearly faced Death of Dao. Barely clinging to life was already a stroke of luck. If you don't believe me, you're welcome to invite an inner sect uncle to investigate."

His expression was utterly candid, and with the boost from the "Innate Stealth Technique," he appeared as nothing more than an ordinary, even somewhat weak, Earth Immortal.

"You!" Zhang Feng trembled with rage at his unflappable demeanor, black blood oozing from the wound on his severed arm.

"Fine! What a fine coincidence!" Zhang Feng laughed in fury.

"You wretched creature!" His voice was low, yet it carried an icy fury. "You knew full well this mission was fraught with peril, yet you played the fool and stood by coldly as your fellow disciples marched to their deaths! Do you have even a shred of brotherly loyalty in your eyes? Is there any sense of sect duty left in your heart?"

He pressed forward step by step, unleashing his full pressure to envelop the protagonist.

"Because of your selfishness, over a dozen senior and junior brothers have met their end in death of Dao! For such heartless, vile conduct, what use is keeping a scoundrel like you? Today, I'll cleanse the sect and console the spirits of our brothers in heaven!"

Before his words faded, his remaining right hand shot up, gathering a foul black qi into a ferocious ghost claw that tore through the air with a piercing screech, aimed straight at Chen Changsheng's crown of the head!

This strike came from the depths of his hatred, with no restraint at all!

Chen Changsheng's pupils contracted slightly, but his body didn't budge an inch.

Just as the ghost claw was about to touch the top of his head—

"Stop!"

A crisp, cold shout descended from above, accompanied by a streak of peerlessly sharp sword light.

The sword light, like lightning, struck the ghost claw in an instant, shattering the venomous blow—condensed from Zhang Feng's full power—as if it were made of paper.

Zhang Feng let out a muffled grunt, staggered back several steps from the terrifying force within the sword light, and his face twisted in shock.

A figure drifted down, landing in front of Chen Changsheng.

The newcomer wore the robes of a Jie Sect law enforcement disciple, with a stern countenance and a green edge longsword in hand, his cultivation clearly at the true immortal realm.

"The Law Enforcement Hall is conducting business; no one is to interfere!" The enforcement disciple cast a cold glance at Zhang Feng.

"Senior Brother Liu, what is the meaning of this?" Zhang Feng was both shocked and enraged. "This man is a coward who fled the battlefield. I'm cleansing the sect for the sake of our school—what's wrong with that?"

"Cleansing the sect?" The enforcement disciple, called Senior Brother Liu, sneered. "Zhang Feng, do you know your crimes?"

Zhang Feng froze. "What crime have I committed?"

"What crime?" Senior Brother Liu's eyes flickered with disgust. "You rashly led many disciples down the mountain this time, secretly accepted bribes, and listed all those who had a grudge against you to settle personal scores! On the battlefield, you were a coward, abandoned your fellow disciples, and fled alone! Do you think no one knows about every single one of these deeds?"

"You... you're slandering me!" Zhang Feng's face changed drastically, a flash of panic in his eyes.

"Slandering you?" Senior Brother Liu produced an imprint jade talisman. "The surviving junior brothers have reported everything you did! The evidence is solid! Come with me to the Law Enforcement Hall!"

Zhang Feng was utterly dumbfounded. He never imagined that the surviving junior brothers would sell him out!

He shot a venomous glare at the unscathed Chen Changsheng, then at the frost-faced enforcement disciple, and knew his fate was sealed.

"No... I'm not wrong! They deserved to die! Chen Changsheng ruined me!" He roared like a madman, but Senior Brother Liu struck him on the back with the scabbard, sealing his cultivation, and dragged him away like a dead dog.

The storm had settled once more.

The disciples watching from the sidelines looked at Chen Changsheng with completely changed eyes.

If before they thought he was just lucky, now, with Zhang Feng's crimes exposed, Chen Changsheng's "qi deviation" seemed like a prescient, godlike move!

This wasn't luck—it was clearly seeing through Zhang Feng's scheme and protecting himself in a way no one could fault!

A master! This Senior Brother Chen was definitely a hidden master!

At the entrance of his cave dwelling, Chen Changsheng casually cupped his hands toward the direction the enforcement disciple had left, as if none of it concerned him.

He turned and went back inside; the stone door closed.

Ding! Detected that the host successfully used the 'Dao of Survival' wisdom to defuse a crisis and leverage force to eliminate an enemy, in line with advanced Dao of Survival behavior!

Reward issued: Five hundred years of cultivation! Artifact 'Turtle Breath Formation Disk' (Houtian Spiritual Treasure)!

Another surge of vast cultivation poured into his body, and Chen Changsheng's realm skyrocketed again, directly reaching the peak of late-stage Celestial Immortal, just a step away from Golden Immortal!

"Awesome!"

Chen Changsheng clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within.

He took out the Turtle Breath Formation Disk. Once activated, it could completely seal off the aura of the entire cave dwelling, so that even a Golden Immortal in person couldn't spy a thing.

With this, his safety factor had greatly improved!

Just as he was about to set up the formation disk and continue his ten-thousand-year plan, a flicker of alertness rose in his heart.

An overwhelming pressure, so strong it nearly suffocated him, descended without warning outside his cave dwelling.

This pressure was grand and righteous, far beyond what someone like Zhang Feng could match.

The visitor was a true heavyweight!

"Outer sect disciple Chen Changsheng, come out and meet me."

A gentle yet authoritative voice pierced straight through the stone door of the cave, ringing clearly in his ears.

Chen Changsheng's heart tightened.

He had heard that voice before.

The chief outer disciple of the Jie Sect, the Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal Zhao Gongming!

Why would he come looking for him?!