Chapter 31

Wen Xu:!!!!!!

Not human? Then what was he? A demon? A spirit monster?

"I heard you came from the Mortal Realm? Your master did not believe it at first, but now I do." Divine Venerable Cheng Wei had an exceptionally fine appearance. Back when he had stirred the winds and clouds of the cultivation world, the storybooks written about him could have been stacked into a towering building. Though everyone knew he could peer into people's hearts, and that no cultivator weaker than him could escape his scrutiny, people were still bewitched by his looks and believed him to be a good person.

Unfortunately, Divine Venerable Cheng Wei was not human at all. He was the descendant of a Black Dragon and a cultivator. Later, for the sake of cultivation, he cast aside his human bloodline and became a true dragon soaring through the heavens.

"Your master was actually quite famous in the cultivation world back then. Later... ah, none of them wanted to play with me anymore, so I could only remain here on Springless Peak and become a lonely old dragon."

For a moment, Wen Xu did not know what he ought to think, nor what he ought to say. In the end, the steady scholar could not help speaking. "Master, is this the secret of the sect that must not be passed on?"

He even seriously reflected on it. Wen Xu, did you really have to take this master? Learning from Lü Bu and becoming the servant of three surnames does not seem all that bad. At worst, Yonglu Mountain will strike you from its rolls.

Taking a dragon as his master was certainly immensely impressive, but Wen Xu could understand the words left unsaid. His formidable dragon master had clearly survived until now only because he was powerful enough!

Well, this was great. The Supreme Elder of the neighboring great sect might not come beat up his master, but all those mighty figures his master had offended would probably send their disciples to beat him up instead!

Wen Xu savored the matter carefully and became absolutely, utterly certain that Yonglu Mountain had set him up.

"Ah, well, of course not."

Divine Venerable Cheng Wei raised an index finger and wagged it. "You possess a mutated Spiritual Root, so your Destiny Pattern must be unusual. Some Destiny Patterns hinder cultivation, while others are harmless. For example... Mei Xi Sword of the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect. He possesses the Born Sword Physique; the sword is his Destiny Pattern, so he cultivates the sword a hundred times faster than ordinary people."

Destiny Pattern? This was another thing Wen Xu had never encountered before.

"Let your master take a look. What is your Destiny Pattern like? Do you need—?!" For the first time, Divine Venerable Cheng Wei revealed a stunned expression. Unfortunately, Wen Xu could not see it. He only felt a powerful current of spiritual energy brush lightly over him, and then felt nothing at all.

"You... little disciple, you come from quite a background."

Wen Xu did not understand what that meant. "This disciple was an abandoned child. Since childhood..."

"That is impossible. You clearly possess an Imperial Destiny. Hm? Your Destiny Pattern has been suppressed severely. Are you really not descended from a mortal imperial clan? Could it be that you are the... leader of rebel soldiers about to found a new dynasty? No, that is not right. Since you are already in the cultivation world, your Imperial Destiny ought indeed to be suppressed. But you say you were an abandoned child, and that makes no sense at all."

Divine Venerable Cheng Wei eyed his new disciple with curiosity. Shamefully, he was already over a thousand years old, yet this was his first time taking a disciple. And the first disciple he took was the most unusual one. Still, that was hardly surprising. If Wen Xu had not been unusual enough, he could not possibly have been sent to Springless Peak.

"Disciple, strive to reach the Golden Core Realm quickly, then return to the Mortal Realm and resolve your master's doubts."

Divine Venerable Cheng Wei clicked his tongue, then took out a storage ring and tossed it over. "Here, your entry gift and a basic cultivation technique. Since you have an Imperial Destiny, you cannot become the emperor of the mortal world—but you can become the emperor who commands the winds of the world!"

"Disciple, let us set a small goal. How about surpassing Jun Zhaoying in a hundred years?"

Wen Xu finally spoke in indignation. "Master, you might as well tell this disciple to die. That would be faster!"

Aha, he had teased him too hard. Divine Venerable Cheng Wei had never coaxed a hatchling before. Fortunately, he had plenty of wealth. He stuffed another pouch of spirit stones into his disciple's hands as an apology, then announced that he was going into seclusion and Wen Xu could go down the mountain to play for two days.

Wen Xu:...

"Oh, right. If you are pretending to be blind, you should make it convincing. This ribbon has been imbued with your master's spiritual energy. Unless someone possesses spiritual energy greater than mine, no one will be able to examine the condition of your eyes again."

By now, Wen Xu was completely certain that his newly minted master was someone—or rather, a dragon—who loved watching trouble unfold and feared nothing but a lack of excitement.

Yet even with that realization, after giving it some thought, Wen Xu still covered his eyes with the ribbon. Since he had started the act, he ought to see it through to the end. In any case, even if a cultivator went blind, it would not affect cultivation.

The sky had already gone completely dark. No news was the best news, Gu Wufang thought as he stood at the foot of the mountain.

"Whoa, when did you appear?!" The one bad thing about Springless Peak was that even he, the sect master, had to restrain his spiritual energy. Only then had this junior disciple managed to approach him unnoticed.

"Sect Master, I have been standing here all along," Wen Xu said faintly.

"You... the little grand-uncle was willing to accept you?" Seeing the storage ring on Wen Xu's hand, Gu Wufang knew the matter had succeeded. But then... "Your eyes—was even the little grand-uncle unable to do anything about them?"

In a sense, that was indeed true. Wen Xu nodded and even put what he had learned into immediate use. "Master said it is related to my Destiny Pattern."

A Destiny Pattern—no wonder. Gu Wufang had been wondering how a cultivator who had already entered the Dao could still be blind.

Gu Wufang did not doubt him in the slightest, but he quickly became conflicted again. He had sent such a fine seedling up the mountain to take a master with a heart full of lone courage. Now the master had indeed been taken, but... strictly speaking, had he found himself a little grand-uncle?

Or rather, had he found every disciple of Yonglu Mountain below him a little grand-uncle?

Ah, putting it that way, he immediately felt much better.

Gu Wufang happily accepted this new arrangement. "Good. Since the little grand-uncle is willing to accept you, cultivate well. If there is anything you do not understand, simply ask your master."

Wen Xu:... I thought you meant I could simply ask you, Sect Master.

"Too slow! Why has Wen Xu not come yet? My stomach is about to shrivel flat! I deliberately did not take a Grain-Repelling Pill. If we wait any longer, the hotpot broth will boil dry." Bian Chunchou rubbed his stomach, which promptly let out a rumbling growl.

Chen Zui paid him no mind. If he had not wanted so badly to know which elder Wen Xu had taken as his master, he would have returned to his peak to cultivate long ago. The master he had taken was a Spirit Transformation Venerable from Blade Peak. That master already had two senior brothers under him, both of whom had accepted sect missions and were currently away from the mountain. Naturally, Chen Zui had to seize this chance to learn more from his master.