The Plot

At the Qionghua Mountain, there is a bustling market street.

The Fallen Immortal Pavilion symbolizes a fairy descending to the mortal world. The courtesans in this pavilion are all cultivators, and the pavilion only receives top-tier guests. Ordinary people cannot enter even if they have money.

Led by the madam, Tianrui, dressed in black, walked expressionlessly among the beautiful women.

final,

The two stopped at the door of a side room on the top floor of the attic.

The voluptuous madam bowed to the young man in black before her.

"Holy Son, Mr. Shen is waiting for you inside."

Tianrui glanced at him, his voice devoid of any emotion, his golden eyes swirling like a god descended to earth:

"I know, go down."

"Yes." The madam bowed slightly, took two steps back, and turned to leave.

After standing at the door for two seconds, a voice came directly from through the door:

"What are you doing standing at the door? When did you become so polite?"

Upon hearing this, Tianrui pushed open the door and entered, where he was greeted by an embroidered screen that exuded the charm of spring.

Passing the screen, the room was furnished in an antique style. A man in a white robe was leaning against the window, pouring himself a drink from a wine pot and gazing at the autumn scenery of the mountains and forests. The autumn wind blew through his long hair, and all was quiet.

Tianrui looked at Shen Weixiu, his voice still devoid of emotion:

"What do you want with me?"

Shen Weixiu still had that squinty-eyed smile, glanced at Tianrui sideways, and grinned:

"Are all the holy sons of your Heavenly Oversight Pavilion like this? They look just like that woman from my Taiqing Dao Palace who cultivated the Supreme Forgetfulness Technique?"

Tianrui looked at him calmly. "If you want to talk nonsense, you can skip this."

Shen Weixiu waved his hand, looking slightly bored:

"I'm looking for you to discuss cooperation, of course."

"What kind of cooperation?" Tianrui asked directly.

"What do you think? It's naturally the Charm God Cherry Tree."

Shen Weixiu walked from the window to the wooden table inside the room, sat down, poured himself a glass of wine, and slowly sipped it. "The disciples of this generation of the Qionghua Sect, apart from Jing He and Tang Jiuqing, are all crooked and deformed."

Tianrui:

"Are you worried they won't keep their bet?"

Shen Weixiu downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, his already narrowed eyes narrowing even further.

"Tianrui, stop pretending with me. You're already planning to make a move against Jing He and Tianyan, aren't you?"

"."

Tianrui didn't speak, but a glint of light flashed in his pale golden eyes.

Shen Weixiu grinned:

"Since our sparring session was interrupted last time, I'd really like to continue experiencing the Yantian Art of your Heavenly Oversight Pavilion, but I advise you not to do so?"

Shen Weixiu tapped the table:

"Little Tianrui, if you want to defeat me, you should first learn all Four Chapters of Yantian before you come looking for me."

Tianrui ignored the other party's childish provocation, remained silent for a moment, and his voice remained calm and composed:

How did you know?

"Never mind that, my Taiqing Dao Palace Taiqing Dao Palace has its own methods." Shen Weixiu.

Tianrui was silent for a moment, then slowly said:

How do you plan to collaborate?

Shen Weixiu grinned:

"Tianyan and Jing He are both third-rank officials, so we'll each take one."

"Okay," Tianrui agreed, "But be more specific."

Shen Weixiu pondered for a moment, then smiled and said:

"I'll take responsibility for Tianyan, and you'll take responsibility for Jing He. Afterwards, our Dao Palace will split the profits 50/50?"

Tianrui looked at Shen Weixiu:

"Tianyan has just broken through to the third rank, Jing He is even stronger. What a clever plan."

"Then I'll take care of Jing He?" Shen Weixiu shrugged.

Tianrui shook his head. "No need, I'll take care of Jing He, but the 64 points, the Charm God Cherry Tree was exchanged by my Heavenly Oversight Pavilion."

Shen Weixiu paused briefly upon hearing this, then finally sighed, his voice lazy and casual:

"Alright, as you say, a 60/40 split. I'll take Tianyan; consider it a bargain for me."

Although the participants had already been chosen, the verbal battle Qionghua Hall continued, much like the parliament of a certain country in my previous life.

If it weren't for the two outsiders currently in the sect, Xu Yuan even thought that the verbal battle among the powerful "cabinet ministers" of the Qionghua Sect would directly turn into a physical fight.

Wherever there are people, internal strife is inevitable.

Regardless of past lives or this life.

In his previous life, the old man parachuted Xu Yuan into a small department, which consisted of less than twenty people including the minister, deputy minister, and various group leaders. Even so, there were still people engaging in office politics. How much more so now that the Qionghua Sect is like a country.

Although it is a single entity, it is actually surrounded by numerous smaller hills.

The central point of the verbal battle between the two sides has always been clear: the sapling of the Charm God Cherry Tree.

The Charm God Tree Sapling was brought back by Senior Brother Li; the sect leader's faction didn't want to share it with the Second Elder's faction.

The matter with the Second Elder is even simpler.

You only tell me about this after they come to us; what do you mean by that?

Either handle it yourself, or hand over the lion's share.

The sect leader's faction is stubborn and won't admit defeat until they're faced with a desperate situation; they're only willing to hand over a small portion of their wealth.

Both sides were stuck there, and then they just kept hurling insults at each other, showing none of the composure or dignified bearing of true masters.

Listening to the heated debates among the elders in the Qionghua Hall, Xu Yuan felt waves of absurdity washing over him.

Looking at these unreliable executives, Xu Yuan felt a faint urge to get rid of them.

He thought they were called in to discuss the details of tomorrow's battle against the enemy, but they just kept babbling on and on.

With a formidable enemy at hand, why fight amongst ourselves?

So, the saying goes, "To repel external threats, one must first pacify internal strife," right?

Could he defeat the chief disciple of the Dao Palace?

The only two people in the hall who remained silent were probably Xu Yuan and another core disciple Xiao Jianqing.

Xu Yuan knew this person; he was from the same faction as the Second Elder.

He is quite famous among the core disciples because he has no Aristocratic Clan background.

He rose from humble beginnings, working his way up from a menial disciple to a ruthless figure at the core.

With his talent and ability, he could have become True Disciple ten years ago according to the rules, but unfortunately, the spots for True Disciple have always been monopolized by the Aristocratic Clan families.

Even worse off than Jing He.

Seemingly noticing Xu Yuan's gaze, Xiao Jianqing turned his head to look at him, his resolute face cold and stern.

Xu Yuan nodded slightly to him.

Xiao Jianqing hum and continued to lower his eyes in silence.

Xu Yuan was speechless.

It's obvious that this guy's mentality has also been ruined by these higher-ups.

The high-ranking officials inside the hall argued from 9:45 AM until noon, but ultimately failed to reach any detailed agreement, and were preparing to take a break to continue in the afternoon.

"Sect Master (Second Elder), Jing He (Jian Qing) has a request."

Xu Yuan and Xiao Jianqing, who had been silent until now, spoke up almost simultaneously.

Upon hearing this, the senior executives of Qionghua reacted with varying expressions.

Some were surprised, but most were impatient.

But since these two young men still needed to risk their lives, they ultimately suppressed their dissatisfaction.

The Second Elder spoke first, asking with a smile:

"What do you want, Jian Qing? As long as you defeat Shen Weixiu, I can make the decision to promote you to True Disciple."

Xiao Jianqing face remained unmoved; he simply said softly:

"Second Elder, while I need True Disciple, to prepare for the battle against the Dao Palace's chief disciple, I also need a sword forged from Amethyst Black Iron, three Barrier-Breaking Thousand-Heart Pill, a Glazed Heart-Protecting Soft Armor, and a Sumeru Ring."

Xu Yuan's eyes twitched slightly as he listened to these words.

Xiao Jianqing is quite something.

The Second Elder's eyes flashed with displeasure:

"As long as you defeat Shen Weixiu, this elder can give you whatever you want."

Xiao Jianqing knelt quietly on the prayer mat, calmly meeting the Second Elder's gaze:

"If these items cannot be complete, I fear Jian Qing will be unable to fulfill the task. Please, Second Elder, choose someone else."

"."

Quiet.

The main hall was completely silent.

The sect leader and other high-ranking members all looked on with amusement, watching the show.

After a long pause, the Second Elder continued with a chuckle:

"These resources are precious and need to be prepared; tomorrow at noon..."

Xiao Jianqing's thinking was clear, "If we cannot prepare before the battle, I fear I will be unable to deal with the chief of the Dao Palace."

"."

A moment of silence,

The Second Elder chuckled softly, then took a deep breath. "Hehehe. Alright, I agree."

"Thank you for your consideration, Second Elder."

After saying that, Xiao Jianqing turned and left.

As Xu Yuan watched Xiao Jianqing figure, he heard the voice of the Qionghua Sect coming from the main seat:

"Jing He, just tell me what you want."

Xu Yuan composed himself slightly, his nostrils twitching, his expression becoming complex, filled with resentment and killing intent as he stared directly into the sect leader's eyes:

"Sect Master, in the nearly twenty years since the World Honored One passed away, Senior Brother Li and Bai Fan have treated me like brothers. Now that they have both Shen Weixiu, Jing He should naturally avenge them. This time, I implore you not for anything else, but only to see the Charm God Cherry Tree."

Upon hearing this,

The Qionghua Sect's gaze towards Xu Yuan softened slightly, but he immediately asked again:

"Jing He, may I ask why you want to see the Charm God Cherry Tree?"

Xu Yuan already had a prepared answer in mind, and said casually:

"After returning to the palace, Senior Brother Li secretly gave me a Secret Method, which is related to the Charm God Cherry Tree."

The Qionghua Sect looked slightly surprised, glanced at the group of elders, and then nodded:

"You may stay after the meeting."

Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and bowed in thanks.

"Jing He thanks the Sect Master."

Fifteen minutes later,

Two figures, one old and one young, stood atop the mountain behind the Dome Palace.

Xu Yuan stared at the sapling in front of him, which was less than half a meter tall, and his pupils swayed.

Not the source

The Charm God Tree Sapling that he and Tianyan had gone to great lengths to see was not the source of this illusion.

The source is the center of the entire illusion. It emits a special kind of Will Soul fluctuation that spreads outward. People simulated in the illusion cannot sense it, but outsiders who have "awakened" can clearly sense it.

Xu Yuan was now standing in front of the Charm God Cherry Tree, but his Will Soul did not detect anything unusual.

Xu Yuan paused for a moment, glanced sideways at the Qionghua Sect, and said in a low voice:

"Sect Master, is this the Charm God Tree Sapling?"

The Qionghua Sect nodded:

"Of course, you should contemplate this here first."

After receiving an affirmative answer,

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, sat down cross-legged, and sent out his Will Soul senses to perceive the surroundings.

About half an hour later, Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

The Qionghua Sect, who had been standing to the side, glanced at him and asked, "Jing He, what's wrong?"

Xu Yuan slowly stood up and shook his head:

"This cherry tree sapling is not yet mature; even if one were to comprehend its secrets, the gains would be minimal."

Upon hearing this, the Qionghua Sect sighed slightly and asked in a low voice:

"Jing He, do you have any other requests?"

Xu Yuan shook his head:

I have no other requests.

As he spoke,

Xu Yuan stared intently at the old man before him:

"Uncle Bai, the day after tomorrow, I will kill Shen Weixiu to avenge Bai Fan."

"."

The autumn wind was biting.

A flicker of sadness crossed the old man's eyes, but he quickly smiled and patted Xu Yuan on the shoulder.

The Qionghua Sect ultimately gave Xu Yuan two Sumeru Ring as a reward and promised that he and Tianyan would be promoted to Qionghua True Disciple after this matter.

After his son's death, the old man was trying to win him over to Tianyan.

After leaving the main hall, Xu Yuan let out a long sigh and, without any hesitation, rushed towards his own residence.

The Charm God Cherry Tree has been switched.

There will be another update tonight.