According to the original story, after killing Sun Dazhu, Wang Lin went into seclusion nearby to cultivate, eventually breaking through to the fifteenth layer of Qi Condensation.
This brought him into conflict with Elder Jimo, who sent Teng Li, a disciple of the Teng Clan, to hunt him down. In the end, Wang Mazi attained Extreme Realm Divine Sense.
At the thought, Luo Chuan's face showed little emotion. After all, this world of cultivation was one where the weak were prey to the strong, and people schemed against one another.
If Wang Lin hadn't had the strength to defend himself, all that awaited him would have been death.
True Person Huanglong stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed respectfully to Luo Chuan. "Progenitor, Elder Liu has already begun reorganizing the Mystic Dao Sect. What should our Hengyue Sect do next?"
Luo Chuan raised his head slightly and looked at True Person Huanglong, then nodded. "How much time remains before the Outer Realm Battlefield opens?"
True Person Huanglong thought for a moment before answering, "Less than ten years."
The Outer Realm Battlefield opened once every five hundred years. In the meantime, the disciples of every sect in the Zhao Kingdom competed for tokens, allowing their sects to obtain abundant cultivation resources.
As a thousand-year-old sect, the Hengyue Sect naturally had the right to enter the Outer Realm Battlefield. But now that Luo Chuan was the only Nascent Soul Realm ancestor left in the sect, the powerhouses of the other sects probably wouldn't take them seriously.
Luo Chuan slowly rose to his feet, one hand behind his back, his Jade Flute swaying gently. His voice was calm. "Now that I've returned to the Hengyue Sect, I'll naturally put those Nascent Soul Realm cultivators with ulterior motives in line."
"Notify every Nascent Soul Realm cultivator in the Zhao Kingdom to come to the Hengyue Sect on a chosen day and celebrate my return."
At his words, everyone present exchanged glances, their eyes betraying a hint of excitement.
After all, no one throughout history had ever managed anything like this. And the strongest person in the Zhao Kingdom wasn't a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, but Lin Yi, the Heaven-Reaching Tower envoy, who had reached the Early Spirit Severing Realm.
It seemed that only Lin Yi, the Heaven-Reaching Tower envoy, could summon all the Nascent Soul Realm powerhouses in the Zhao Kingdom. Whether those cultivators would come was anyone's guess.
After giving his instructions, Luo Chuan returned to the Huaishui Bamboo Pavilion behind the Hengyue Sect. He had just settled down when the crisp sound of approaching footsteps reached him.
He glanced to the side. His gaze settled on Liu Mei, dressed in a white Daoist robe, as she walked toward him.
Luo Chuan sat in his chair, swirling the teacup in his hand, his expression unchanged. "Liu Mei, a Mystic Dao Sect disciple born with a Water Spirit Root. What brings you here?"
Liu Mei pressed her lips together slightly and smiled at Progenitor Luo Chuan. "This disciple, Liu Mei, pays her respects to Progenitor Luo Chuan."
"I was once a disciple of the Mystic Dao Sect. Now that the Mystic Dao Sect belongs to the Hengyue Sect, I naturally belong to the Hengyue Sect as well."
"My cultivation has reached a bottleneck, so I've come here to beg the Progenitor to help me break through and advance along the Great Dao."
Hearing her words, Luo Chuan's right hand paused as he raised his teacup. Then he looked at Liu Mei, whose figure was strikingly alluring, and a peculiar glint crossed his eyes.
Liu Mei was only at the twelfth layer of Qi Condensation. She still had to cross three more layers before breaking through to Foundation Establishment, but with her talent, that would naturally be easy.
"You mean you want to take me as your master?"
Luo Chuan wasn't a fool; he could naturally hear the implication in Liu Mei's words. She wanted to become his disciple, learn from him, and advance together along the Great Dao.
Seeing that he had understood, Liu Mei made no attempt to hide her intentions. She knelt before Luo Chuan and bowed deeply.
"If Master is willing to take me in, I'll devote myself to cultivation and will never be like Master."
Looking at Liu Mei's earnest face, Luo Chuan didn't accept immediately. After all, the Liu Mei before him was one of Mu Bingmei's clones.
What's more, she might have approached him to disturb his Dao heart and complete her Thousand Illusions Heartless Path.
It was an extremely unusual cultivation art. Its guiding principle was to cultivate nine hundred clones, each experiencing mortal passions and worldly emotions, yet never becoming entangled in them.
One had to maintain absolute tranquility of mind at all times, thereby elevating one's power and transforming one's state of mind, until severing all love and desire led to the highest realm of cultivation.
In its later stages, the art required the practitioner to devour special insights to perfect herself and reach an even higher level.
Luo Chuan set down his teacup with an easy, refined air and nodded. "Liu Mei... Are you truly sure you want to take me as your master?"
Liu Mei replied with unwavering conviction, "I am."
At this, Luo Chuan raised an eyebrow and began weighing the matter.
Liu Mei's true self was Mu Bingmei, whose cultivation had reached the Sunie Realm. If he accepted her as his disciple, he could one day have a Sunie Realm disciple.
But for that to work, his own strength would have to reach the Sunie Realm so he could truly keep her in check.
Otherwise, he might well become part of her Thousand Illusions Heartless Path.
Luo Chuan slowly rose and walked over. Looking down at Liu Mei kneeling before him, he said evenly,
"Very well. I'll take you as my disciple. But if you harbor any other intentions, I'll personally purge the sect and destroy your inheritance."
Liu Mei did not refuse. She bowed respectfully toward Luo Chuan. "This disciple, Liu Mei, pays her respects to Master."
Luo Chuan was generous. With a wave of his right hand, a Nascent Soul Realm magical treasure appeared before Liu Mei.
"This is a treasure from ancient times. It allows me to sense your location, and it can also speed up your cultivation. Cultivate diligently from now on, and don't give up halfway."
Liu Mei accepted the treasure he handed her, bowed again, and said excitedly, "This disciple will obey Master's command."
The Liu Mei of this time was not the Liu Mei of the Vermilion Bird State. She was merely a clone and had not yet gained access to many of her memories, so for now she was just an ordinary disciple of the Hengyue Sect.
But once she broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, the memories Mu Bingmei had left in her body would awaken. That would let her cultivate higher-level techniques more quickly, acquire other people's insights, and complete her Great Dao.
Luo Chuan propped his chin on one hand and looked at the book in his other. "You'll cultivate here from now on. You'll be promoted to a direct disciple and enjoy all the sect's benefits. In a few years, you'll represent the Hengyue Sect in the Outer Realm Battlefield."
Liu Mei nodded, turned, and left the back mountain of the Hengyue Sect.
The purge in the Outer Realm Battlefield was a rare opportunity for any sect. It came once every five hundred years, and generally no one wanted to miss the chance to make their sect stronger.
But only a handful of cultivators could enter the Outer Realm Battlefield. Whether Liu Mei could earn that opportunity depended on her ability.