Does It Feel Like the Plot Has Already Been Arranged?

At the gates of Cangyuan Palace.

Several late-stage Qi Refinement outer disciples stood guard, while an elderly man leisurely sipped his tea.

His gaze continuously inspected the outer disciples leaving Cangyuan Palace before warily sweeping over the many independent cultivators kneeling in line outside the sect gates.

Several old men among them were already swaying on the verge of collapse, looking like they would croak with a single gust of wind.

These independent cultivators were still too young. They did not understand the ways of the world at all and actually thought they could join Cangyuan Palace just by kneeling here.

How laughable.

"I am willing to join Cangyuan Palace! In life, I shall be a person of Cangyuan Palace; in death, a ghost of Cangyuan Palace!"

"Please show mercy, Sect, and allow me to join Cangyuan Palace's outer sect!"

"I am willing to be a menial!"

"I am willing to be a slave!"

"Stop trying to outdo each other! As long as I can join Cangyuan Palace, I'll gladly be a beast of burden!"

"If I can join Cangyuan Palace, I can die the very next day!"

"I'll die immediately after joining!"

These people really were ruthless.

Unfortunately, no one cared about what they said.

Everyone knew that only one person could successfully join Cangyuan Palace using the same method.

The truly clever people had already begun looking into other methods.

Chu Tian stood at the sect gates, looking at those people. His foot, which had just been about to step forward, paused slightly.

He had long heard that many people outside wanted to exploit loopholes to join Cangyuan Palace, but he had not expected them to be this insane.

However, he had no mind to consider such matters now.

The mission was what mattered most.

He had gone back and studied it. The more he studied it, the more something about the entire matter felt wrong.

It was as if everything had already been arranged for him.

According to the original timeline, none of this should have happened.

Could something have gone wrong somewhere?

Sensing the energy within him that was nearing late-stage Qi Refinement, Chu Tian still did not feel at ease.

There was far too great a gap between Qi Refinement and Nascent Soul. If his father truly made a move... he would probably have no ability to fight back.

But it still did not make sense. He had not had much contact with Fu Chengqin yet, so there was no reason for the other party to bring his father out.

All kinds of scattered information tangled in Chu Tian's mind, making him feel as though he was about to go bald.

It was better to be cautious.

Gu Yuan watched Chu Tian from afar as the other party's basic information appeared before him.

[Name: Chu Tian]

[Realm: Mid-stage Qi Refinement]

[Identity: Outer disciple of Cangyuan Palace]

[Status: Being guided...]

The earlier information was fine, but that final status was worth pondering over.

Being guided?

The implications behind those words were not so simple.

After thinking briefly, Gu Yuan looked at Fu Chengqin again.

[Name: Fu Chengqin]

[Realm: Early-stage Qi Refinement]

[Identity: Outer disciple of Cangyuan Palace, son of Cangyuan Palace's Third Elder]

[Status: Being guided, being led...]

Being guided again?

The latter status should have been something he had bestowed upon the other party, so what was the former?

Gu Yuan shifted his attention to Fu Tianming.

[Status: Being guided...]

Still being guided!

All three of them had the status of being guided. No one would believe there was no connection between them.

But what could guide a late-stage Nascent Soul expert?

A Deity Transformation cultivator?

Or someone even stronger?

Or perhaps the Heavenly Dao?

At that moment, Gu Yuan felt as if an invisible hand was manipulating everything.

Thinking of Fu Chengqin's rebirth, perhaps it was related to that hand as well.

Once those matters were connected, the twists and turns behind them became even more terrifying.

How had he, a mere simple Qi Refinement Art, gotten mixed up in all this?

"Qin'er, rest assured. Your father will surely kill him in one strike and grind his bones to dust."

Seeing that his son's gaze remained fixed on the sect gates, Fu Tianming chuckled softly and tried to reassure Fu Chengqin.

Rest assured?

Fu Chengqin was reassured.

How am I supposed to be reassured by this?

Gu Yuan was worrying himself sick over Fu Chengqin.

Since Chu Tian was being guided, Gu Yuan did not even need to think about it—Chu Tian definitely could not be killed. What if the guy then betrayed the sect, fell into some secret realm, made rapid breakthroughs in cultivation, and swept through Cangyuan Palace a few years later? It could not get any more fantastical than that.

This kind of plot really was classic fantasy.

It felt as though the plot had already been arranged.

It was a little cliché, but... watchable.

Chu Tian's paused foot shifted slightly as he observed the surroundings. He had already made up his mind—he had to leave quickly.

Fortunately, he had obtained another opportunity in advance that could conceal his appearance and aura. With so many people around, otherwise it would have been difficult to vanish out of thin air.

He took a step forward, and in an instant, a powerful aura crashed into him, pinning him in place.

Nascent Soul!

A Nascent Soul expert had definitely made a move!

Fear filled Chu Tian's eyes. Though he had anticipated it, he still found it unbelievable.

Before and now, he had clearly never had a conflict with anyone!

As the Nascent Soul aura spilled out, the independent cultivators kneeling on the ground suffered an undeserved disaster.

A single strike killed them all!

A Nascent Soul cultivator against Qi Refinement cultivators, and it was a full-force strike. The outcome was beyond question.

Bloody mist burst forth in layers, leaving only bloodstains on the ground.

Crack!

Something unexpected happened.

No, more accurately, something unexpected for Fu Chengqin and Fu Tianming.

It was perfectly reasonable for Chu Tian to have a life-saving artifact, right?

With a crisp shattering sound from a jade pendant, Chu Tian remained completely unscathed. Even the aura pinning him down vanished.

Damn, this was the treatment a protagonist was supposed to get!

The more Fu Chengqin looked, the more he resembled a villain.

"A protective treasure?"

Fu Tianming narrowed his eyes and condensed another stream of sword qi. Locking onto Chu Tian's aura, he slashed at him.

He wanted to see how many treasures the other party had.

Crack!

Crack!

As Fu Tianming attacked again and again, shattering sounds rang out one after another.

Even the old man guarding the gate had become bloody mist, yet Chu Tian was still fine. It was utterly absurd!

However, Chu Tian was not doing much better.

Sweat involuntarily streamed down his forehead. Fortunately, he had collected many opportunities before leaving. Otherwise, he would have been finished by the very first strike.

Fu Tianming!

It really was Fu Tianming!

Only after taking several attacks did Chu Tian finally see the attacker's face clearly.

It was Fu Chengqin's father!

But the timing was still wrong!

Clearly, he had not provoked the other party yet!

The other party definitely should not know him.

But he had no time to think about that now. Before his last protective treasure was used up, he had to escape.

Gu Yuan watched the scene before him with bored indifference, then leisurely wandered over to Chu Tian.

Those so-called Nascent Soul powers had no effect on him whatsoever.

Through an invisible hand, Gu Yuan sent a strand of energy through the other party's head.

This kid had extraordinary bones. Judging by the current course of events, he probably would not die.

It just so happened that Gu Yuan had saved up some energy. He did not know whether it would be enough.

He expended part of that energy to imprint the method of cultivating himself into the other party's mind. The entire process was simple and crude.

He used the most primitive method of manipulating energy. Gu Yuan had figured out the entire technique himself.

Still, it probably would not be a problem.