Golden Ao Island.
It was once again the Interception Sect's once-in-a-century resource distribution day.
Three streaks of light shot across the sky and arrived at Golden Ao Island.
They were the Sanxiao, coming from Three Immortal Island.
"Wow, Big Sister, Second Sister, why are there so many people here this time?"
Bixiao looked around, astonished.
It was the same resource distribution as always, yet this time was livelier than ever before.
Golden Ao Island was packed with people, more than anyone could count.
In the past, around sixty percent of the Interception Sect's disciples had come to collect resources.
This time, though, as many as eighty percent had come.
The line of disciples collecting resources even stretched out over the sea beyond Golden Ao Island.
Qiongxiao smiled.
"That's only natural. Don't forget what Master said last time."
Bixiao paused, then remembered at once.
"You mean twice the cultivation resources for those below the Golden Immortal realm, guidance from Master for those who made rapid progress, and the Jie Chan Discuss Dao?"
Qiongxiao nodded.
When the news spread through the Interception Sect, it caused a huge stir.
This was a consequence of the way the Interception Sect accepted disciples.
The sect's willingness to accept anyone had both benefits and drawbacks.
The benefit was that anyone who was devoted to the Interception Sect could become one of its disciples.
But there were plenty of drawbacks, too.
The Interception Sect had too many disciples, which meant that, despite being a Saint's lineage like the Chan Sect, its disciples were far less renowned.
And for those who had joined later, it was truly difficult to make a name for themselves.
The Interception Sect might boast that Myriad Immortals Paid Homage, but apart from early disciples like Duobao, Wuyunxian, Jinling Shengmu, the Sanxiao, and Zhao Gongming, how many other disciples were known throughout Honghuang?
Even the Suishi Qixian ranked above the vast majority of the Interception Sect's disciples.
But those announcements had given many disciples hope that they might finally rise above their circumstances.
They could take advantage of the increased cultivation resources to improve themselves. Who knew? Perhaps the Sect Leader would notice them.
A word of guidance from a Saint was worth more than countless years of hard cultivation.
And if they could represent the Interception Sect in the Jie Chan Discuss Dao, then their future would truly be bright.
But Bixiao soon noticed something.
"I understand why those below the Golden Immortal realm came to collect cultivation resources."
"But why are Golden Immortals like Qiu Shou Xian here?"
Qiongxiao glanced at Bixiao.
"They're here for the same reason you are."
"You mean to watch Lu Changsheng fight Dingguang Xian?"
Bixiao asked instinctively.
"Exactly. Little Sister, don't underestimate this battle. It's not just an ordinary contest between Interception Sect disciples."
Although Lu Changsheng's cultivation was low, he represented the majority of the Interception Sect's disciples.
Dingguang Xian, meanwhile, was one of the Suishi Qixian and served at the Sect Leader's side.
Ever since Dingguang Xian had taken charge of distributing resources, he had withheld countless cultivation resources.
Many disciples had suffered at his hands.
Those with lower cultivation than him couldn't beat him, while those stronger than him hesitated because of his position among the Suishi Qixian.
So most of those who had been wronged had swallowed their anger.
Now that they had heard Lu Changsheng would fight Dingguang Xian, naturally they wanted to see it for themselves.
This wasn't just a contest between Lu Changsheng and Dingguang Xian. It was a struggle between ordinary Interception Sect disciples and the Suishi Qixian.
Lu Changsheng might not be as powerful as Dingguang Xian.
But Yunxiao was standing behind him.
What if Lu Changsheng won?
Many Interception Sect disciples stayed after collecting their resources instead of leaving, waiting to watch the battle.
"Big Sister, do you think Lu Changsheng can win?"
Bixiao turned to Yunxiao.
Yunxiao was scanning the surroundings, trying to find a familiar figure. She hadn't even heard what Bixiao had said.
When Yunxiao didn't respond, Bixiao stepped in front of her, put her hands on her hips, and cried out indignantly.
"Big Sister, are you even listening to me?!"
Before Yunxiao could answer, a black tiger came riding the clouds down from the heavens.
A figure leaped off its back and walked toward the Sanxiao.
It was Zhao Gongming.
"Brother, you're here!"
"I've already broken through to the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm. Impressive, right?"
Bixiao immediately turned to Zhao Gongming, proudly showing off.
But Zhao Gongming merely glanced at her and said flatly,
"With your innate gifts, you should have reached the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm long ago."
"If you hadn't been so inattentive, you wouldn't have been the last of us to break through."
Bixiao's little face fell. She'd thought he would praise her, but instead, she got this.
Zhao Gongming turned to Yunxiao, then suddenly noticed something.
"That Golden Hairpin of yours?"
Yunxiao's previous Golden Hairpin had remained unchanged for thousands of years.
Besides, the Golden Flood Dragon Hairpin was a Houtian Lingbao, so it was bound to attract attention.
"I know, I know! Big Sister changed her hairpin, and it's a Houtian Lingbao, too."
"Big Sister treasures it so much. Last time, she wouldn't even let me look at it."
Bixiao jumped in with an answer.
"If you stopped talking, no one would mistake you for mute."
Yunxiao scolded her.
"I'd worn that old hairpin for too long, so I decided to change it."
Qiongxiao, standing nearby, was full of questions.
She spent most of her time with Yunxiao. How had she never heard about this hairpin?
Zhao Gongming didn't say anything more about it. Instead, he asked,
"I heard you vouched for Lu Changsheng in his battle against Dingguang Xian."
"You did well. Changer Dingguangxian's many actions have indeed been improper."
"Have you given Lu Changsheng any means to help him?"
Bixiao jumped in again.
"I know!"
"When Lu Changsheng came to Three Immortal Island, Big Sister taught him the Shangqing Divine Thunder."
Qiongxiao froze.
So Lu Changsheng had been to Three Immortal Island. She must have been in closed-door cultivation at the time and hadn't noticed.
Zhao Gongming pressed on.
"Anything else?"
Surely she hadn't given him only one Shangqing Divine Thunder.
"Nothing else."
Yunxiao's answer was simple.
Zhao Gongming's mouth twitched.
By "means," he meant something that could genuinely improve Lu Changsheng's strength and help him defeat Dingguang Xian.
What good was Shangqing Divine Thunder?
For one thing, it wasn't even a particularly advanced technique in the Interception Sect.
And Lu Changsheng had only a hundred years at most. Even if he mastered Shangqing Divine Thunder, how far could he get?
"Then do you think Lu Changsheng can win?"
Zhao Gongming asked the same question.
If Lu Changsheng won, that would be good.
But if he lost, Yunxiao would be affected to some extent as well.
"He can."
Yunxiao considered it briefly.
Normally, a Mysterious Immortal couldn't beat a Golden Immortal.
But for some reason, she simply believed in Lu Changsheng.
"Beat me?"
"Who knows where Lu Changsheng even is?"
Dingguang Xian walked over from a distance, his face full of mockery.
"Yunxiao, I've finished distributing the cultivation resources, and Lu Changsheng still hasn't shown up."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dingguang Xian felt a chill coming from the side.
He turned and met the black tiger's icy gaze.
Zhao Gongming spoke coldly.
"Dingguang Xian, you'd better watch your attitude."
"Otherwise, I won't mind using my Iron Whip to teach you some manners."
He didn't care whether Dingguang Xian was one of the Suishi Qixian or not.
All he saw was a Golden Immortal showing no respect to Yunxiao.
Who did Dingguang Xian think he was?
"You..."
Dingguang Xian was displeased, but he didn't dare say anything more.
In a real fight, he wouldn't be able to beat Zhao Gongming.
Dingguang Xian could only turn to Yunxiao and say sternly,
"Lu Changsheng is late. Is he afraid to come because he doesn't want to lose?"
Yunxiao replied coldly,
"The day isn't over yet. What's the rush?"
Dingguang Xian smiled.
"The day isn't over, but there isn't much time left. You can't expect me to wait around all day."
"How about this? I'll wait one more hour. If Lu Changsheng still hasn't arrived by then, he loses."
This time, before Yunxiao could reply, a hearty voice rang out from beyond Golden Ao Island.
"What, Dingguang Xian? Are you so afraid to fight me?"
Countless gazes turned toward the voice.
Lu Changsheng had arrived!
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