Returning with Beauty, Slight Increase in Fortune

Four streaks of escaping light cut across the sky, leaving far behind Qianyuan Mountain, that immortal sanctuary which looked peaceful on the surface but concealed murderous intent within.

The atmosphere on the return journey was utterly different from when they had come. Though tension remained, there was more relief at having survived calamity and more ease after completing their task.

Shiji stayed close at Xuan Chuan's side, occasionally looking at the back of her senior brother in purple. Her eyes were filled with lingering fear, gratitude, and a trace of incredulous shock.

Though she had cultivated in seclusion all year round and knew little of worldly affairs, she still knew Taiyi Golden Immortal's formidable reputation and the power of the Nine Dragons Divine Fire Cover.

Had Senior Brother Xuan Chuan not descended like a divine weapon from heaven just now, using strange sword intent and vast merit to stand against a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal, she would likely already have been reduced to ashes, her true spirit listed on the Investiture of the Gods List.

"Senior Brother Xuan Chuan..." Shiji finally could not help speaking, her voice still somewhat hoarse. "For this kindness, Shiji... Shiji truly does not know how to repay it."

Thinking of Biyun's tragic death, her eyes reddened again. Yet she forcibly held back her tears, burying that grief deep within and turning it into heartfelt gratitude toward Xuan Chuan and bone-deep hatred toward Chanjiao.

Xuan Chuan slowed down and said gently, "Junior Sister Shiji, you overstate it. When a fellow disciple is in danger, how could I stand by without saving her?

"Moreover, Chanjiao plotted this matter first. They wished to use our Jiejiao disciples to fill the tribulation; their hearts deserve condemnation. Saving you was also a matter of defending Jiejiao's dignity and fortune."

Zhao Gongming chimed in from the side, his voice booming like a great bell. "Senior Sister Shiji, there's no need to be polite! Senior Brother Xuan Chuan has always acted fairly and righteously!

"That old fool Taiyi and his murderous disciple went too far in bullying others! Senior Brother did well today—he crushed that arrogant swagger of his! Let's see if he still dares casually slaughter Jiejiao disciples!"

Yunxiao also comforted her softly. "Senior Sister, please restrain your grief. We all feel Biyun's fate as though it were our own. Jiejiao will remember this enmity.

"Now that you have returned safely, that is what matters most. Once we return to Golden Turtle Island, recover properly. There will always come a day to settle accounts."

Warmth surged through Shiji's heart, and she nodded heavily.

By nature, she was gentle and disliked conflict. Yet this ordeal had allowed her to see clearly the hypocrisy and viciousness of certain so-called "orthodox Xuanmen sects," while also letting her feel the unity and warmth of her fellow disciples.

Especially Senior Brother Xuan Chuan—he had not only saved her life, but had argued with reason before Taiyi Golden Immortal, exposed his scheme, and defended Jiejiao's reputation. His sense of responsibility and capability won her wholehearted admiration.

"Senior Brother Xuan Chuan," Shiji suddenly said solemnly, "after this incident, Shiji deeply understands that her strength is inadequate, and that cultivating behind closed doors cannot ward off calamity.

"After returning to Golden Turtle Island, Shiji is willing to follow the new rules issued by Senior Brother: register the karmic ties of her magical treasures, participate in accumulating merit, and drill the great sect-protecting formation! Whatever orders Senior Brother gives, Shiji will not refuse even ten thousand deaths!"

This was a clear declaration of allegiance. For a Taiyi Golden Immortal—especially a fellow disciple with a gentle temperament and a fine reputation—to make such a statement was of great significance to Xuan Chuan.

It meant that his reformist ideals and personal prestige were gaining the recognition of more and more disciples of different kinds.

"Junior Sister, you have my appreciation." Xuan Chuan smiled and nodded. "Jiejiao is the shared home of us all. Naturally, we must join hearts and strength to fend off foreign foes. In the future, I will need Junior Sister to contribute more."

The four conversed as they accelerated. Their hearts flew home like arrows, and they also had to guard against any possible pursuit or interception.

As they drew closer and closer to the East Sea, to Golden Turtle Island, Xuan Chuan keenly sensed that the fluctuations of Jiejiao's fortune within the surrounding heavens and earth seemed to have undergone an exceedingly subtle change.

Originally, after thoroughly purging internal troubles and implementing the new rules, Jiejiao's fortune had already stabilized, its karmic burden thinning.

But now, amid that stable fortune, there seemed to be a new infusion of vitality—weak, yet exceptionally tenacious and upright.

Understanding dawned on him. In the original course of events, Shiji had been an early fallen Jiejiao disciple, whose name had gone onto the Investiture of the Gods List.

Though she was not among the strongest fighters, she was kind by nature and had a solid foundation. Her survival itself meant that Jiejiao had avoided an unnecessary loss and retained a pure source of strength and fate.

It was like a small spoonful of water that had originally been destined to leak away, but whose breach had now been successfully plugged. Though it was merely an insignificant spoonful compared to Jiejiao's vast sea of fortune—

Drops of water could fill a river. More importantly—this proved that change was possible!

He had successfully changed a "small trend"! And the alteration of this "small trend" was truly feeding back into the fortune of Jiejiao's greater trend!

This filled him with even greater confidence in using his foreknowledge to change more tragedies and reverse Jiejiao's fate.

At the same time, he could feel that his connection to Jiejiao's fortune had grown closer.

It was as though, in the unseen, more fellow disciples' trust and aspirations were gathering upon him, making his position as chief disciple more secure and strengthening the authority by which his words became law.

His personal prestige had undoubtedly risen another step with this successful rescue and his "victory" over Taiyi Golden Immortal.

When the familiar outline of Golden Turtle Island, shrouded in misty immortal qi and vast formations, appeared at the meeting of sea and sky, the island seemed to have sensed their arrival long ago.

Quite a few disciples rode clouds out to greet them from afar.

Many among them were outer disciples. Their news was well-informed, and they seemed already to have learned through some channel what had happened at Qianyuan Mountain. Their gazes toward Xuan Chuan brimmed with reverence and fervor.

There were also some inner disciples whose expressions were complicated, though the awe in their eyes had clearly increased.

Though core disciples such as Duobao Daoist and Golden Spirit Holy Mother did not personally come to greet them, their divine senses quietly swept over as well, pausing briefly on Xuan Chuan with scrutiny and approval.

Xuan Chuan's party descended from the clouds, where steward disciples were already waiting to make arrangements.

Xuan Chuan gave a few simple instructions, telling Zhao Gongming and Yunxiao to first take Shiji away to settle down and recover from her injuries. He himself prepared to return to his cave dwelling to adjust his breathing for a while and consider his next move.

However, at the instant he was about to step into the bounds of his cave dwelling—

His! Heart! Pounded! Wildly!

An indescribable, icy, boundless, supreme terror of pressure—seemingly encompassing all heavens and worlds, judging the fates of all living beings—

It seemed to cross endless time and space, faintly emanating from the southwest—from the direction of Yuxu Palace in the Kunlun Mountains!

This pressure was not directed at him personally, nor was it even deliberately released. It was simply the Saint's aura naturally leaking out when that being's thoughts stirred slightly—

When he took notice of certain matters, making even the laws of heaven and earth tremble!

Primordial Heavenly Venerable!

Merely a single "glance" across an unknown distance of countless miles made Xuan Chuan feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, his soul trembling.

His mana stagnated. Even The One That Escaped frantically warned him, spinning at an unprecedented limit as violet light flashed chaotically!

This was absolute suppression at the level of life itself! It was completely different from facing Zhunti's incarnation! Zhunti had deliberately restrained himself then, and that had only been an incarnation.

Yet now, even this faint natural attention from Primordial Heavenly Venerable, the inherent "loftiness" and "indifference" of his essence, was enough to make every living being below the Daluo Realm feel instinctive terror and insignificance!

Xuan Chuan abruptly halted, spun around, and stared fixedly toward the Kunlun Mountains. Fine cold sweat had already seeped across his forehead, while his fists beneath his violet robes clenched until his knuckles turned white.

He knew that Taiyi Golden Immortal's message had already reached Yuxu Palace.

This "variable" of his had officially entered the sight of that Chanjiao Saint—and perhaps one of the chess players guiding the greater trend of the Heavenly Dao!

Was it killing intent? Scrutiny? Or merely an insignificant trace of notice?

Xuan Chuan had no way to tell. But he knew that from this moment onward, he would truly stand at the crest of the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, directly facing threats and schemes from a Saint—perhaps formless, yet all the more terrifying for it.

The sense of achievement and growth in fortune brought by saving Shiji and changing one small trend were certainly cause for joy.

But what followed was a darkness and storm deeper and more deadly still.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, forcibly suppressing the palpitations and chill in his heart. His gaze became firm and sharp once more.

What was meant to come would come eventually.

Since he could not avoid it, then... he would meet it head-on!

He cast one final glance toward the Kunlun Mountains, as though engraving that Saint's palace hidden above the ninth heaven into his heart. Then he turned resolutely and entered his cave dwelling.

Layer upon layer of restrictions closed, sealing off inside from outside.

Yet above Golden Turtle Island, the cloud of fortune that had only just stabilized and grown by a trace seemed to sense the cold gaze cast from afar. It churned slightly, revealing a measure of solemn gravity.

When mountain rain is about to come, the wind fills the tower.