The Plot Resumed

Ling Yunzi's expression immediately turned somewhat unsightly.

His pride was strong. Taking the initiative to ask Chang Wei whether he wanted to become his disciple had already been his greatest concession, yet Chang Wei had snapped at him so rudely that he could no longer save face.

Casting a cold glare at Chu Zeming, who was covering his smile with a clenched fist, Ling Yunzi swept his sleeve and left with an iron-gray face.

Chang Wei stood where he was, watching Ling Yunzi's furious retreating back. Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "Brother Chu, I was the one who scolded him. Why did he glare at you?"

Chu Zeming lowered his fist and smiled. "Because he's sick."

Ling Yunzi returned to the hall where sect affairs were handled. Looking at the jade slips and scrolls on the desk before him, and now with no one else around, he recalled Chu Zeming's smile and Chang Wei's words from earlier. The rage in his mind could no longer be suppressed, and he viciously smashed everything on the desk to the floor.

More than a hundred years.

For more than a hundred years, he had never been this furious.

Ling Yunzi's hands trembled. His originally handsome face had twisted somewhat with rage.

He sat upon the high seat, his chest heaving continuously. Only after calming down somewhat did he rise again and pick up the jade slips and scrolls from the floor one by one—these were all sect affairs, major matters Qin Elder had filtered through but had yet to resolve, requiring his decision.

All of a sudden, one blood-red jade slip caught Ling Yunzi's attention.

Only for extremely dangerous and urgent sect matters would Qin Elder submit a red jade slip. Ling Yunzi picked up the glaring slip, and with a thought, extended his divine sense to inspect its contents.

Thus, the next day.

Chu Zeming was still practicing his swordsmanship in the bamboo grove when he saw a disciple who had come in haste to deliver a summons.

"Senior Brother, the sect master requests your presence in the main hall."

Chu Zeming had a headache.

This was what he hated hearing most now. Whenever Ling Yunzi summoned him, nothing good came of it.

Stopping his sword practice, Chu Zeming followed the disciple to the sect's main hall. The moment he entered, he saw Chang Wei standing there as well—still wrapped up from head to toe, terrified that even a sliver of sunlight or a wisp of wind might cause his skin to age.

Chu Zeming walked to Chang Wei's side and stood there expressionlessly.

Chang Wei asked in an extremely quiet voice, "Brother Chu, you came too?"

Chu Zeming said, "Mm."

Suddenly catching a faint, elegant fragrance, Chu Zeming turned to Chang Wei with an odd expression. "What's that smell on you?"

Chang Wei said gloomily, "Naturally, it's body fragrance I deliberately prepared to meet Lian'er."

He had dressed up splendidly today, planning to go to Lian'er's residence and give him a surprise. Yet Ling Yunzi had summoned him to this hall halfway there, leaving Chang Wei thoroughly unhappy.

Raising his head to look at Ling Yunzi, who sat on the high seat with an icy expression, Chang Wei continued, "Could he have called us here today because he bears a grudge over my refusal to become his disciple yesterday and wants to make things difficult for us? Surely not. The master of an entire sect can't be that petty, can he?"

Chu Zeming coughed and said quietly, "Chang Wei, it's fine to think such things in your heart. Don't say them aloud. He can hear you."

Chang Wei said, "...Oh."

Upon the high seat, Ling Yunzi looked calm and unruffled on the surface, while beneath it, he was nearly crushing the armrest in his grip.

Letting go, Ling Yunzi slowly said, "Silence! Stop whispering. I have an important task to assign to you two. Two disciples of our sect who went out to gain experience accidentally entered Torch Dragon Valley and became trapped inside. I am assigning the two of you to rescue them."

The moment he heard the words "Torch Dragon Valley."

Chu Zeming knew that the plot, which had been offline for so long, had returned.

Torch Dragon Valley lay in the southwest of the Blackfeather Continent, hidden deep within the Ten Thousand Mountains. It was Demon Race territory, where demon beasts ran rampant. It was exceedingly dangerous, and few cultivators dared set foot there. In the original novel, Chu Zeming had also gone to Torch Dragon Valley. Of course, he had not been assigned there because Ling Yunzi was making things difficult for him, but had shouldered the responsibility of senior brother and led a group of junior brothers inside to rescue the sect disciples.

Now, he was no longer the senior brother, yet he still could not escape this plot.

At the thought, Chu Zeming could not help feeling boundless emotion in his heart.

Before he could finish feeling emotional, Ling Yunzi ordered, "Set out immediately. Do not delay!"

Yet just as his words fell, a clear voice sounded from outside the hall—"Wait."

Following the voice, they saw Qin Elder leading Xuan Mo, Ling Tian, and a group of sect disciples inside.

Qin Elder stepped forward, bowed to Ling Yunzi, and said, "Sect Master, Torch Dragon Valley is dangerous. More people should be sent. Otherwise, not only might we fail to rescue our sect disciples, we may instead trap two more people inside. That would truly be more loss than gain."

Hearing this, Ling Yunzi felt slightly displeased.

This had originally been a task deliberately meant to make things harder for those two, yet Qin Elder had appeared again. Still, his words made sense, so Ling Yunzi could not say anything further. He could only give a hum in agreement, though he remained unwilling to compromise so easily. After thinking for a moment, he added, "However, villains have recently infiltrated the sect, and manpower is already scarce. Taking too many people to Torch Dragon Valley would be wasteful. Select four more to accompany them."

Qin Elder praised, "The Sect Master is wise. Come, Zeming, choose four junior brothers to accompany you." With that, he stepped aside.

Immediately, all the disciples straightened their posture and looked at Chu Zeming expectantly.

They were not afraid of danger. It was said that the senior and junior brothers who had been trained by Senior Brother, entered secret realms alongside Senior Brother, or participated in the Joint Grand Tournament with Senior Brother had all received his guidance. Quite a few junior brothers stuck at minor bottlenecks had even broken through.

They wanted such an opportunity too.

Chu Zeming stepped forward. Looking at the rows of junior brothers standing there with shining eyes and expectant faces, he could not help feeling somewhat strange.

Why did this feel like he was choosing consorts?

Torch Dragon Valley was dangerous, after all, so Chu Zeming did not stand on ceremony with Ling Yunzi. He directly chose Ling Tian, Xuan Mo, and Wu Qi, Junior Brother Wu, who had previously gone with him to the Divine Wood Secret Realm. With one final spot remaining, everyone became somewhat excited, almost wishing they could step forward and shout, choose me, choose me.

Suddenly, someone tugged at his sleeve. Chu Zeming turned his head and saw Chang Wei pointing at Yue Lian among the disciples, who was gazing longingly in anticipation. Chang Wei said quietly, "Brother Chu, bring Lian'er along. I'll protect him well. I definitely won't let him hold anyone back."

Chu Zeming said, "..."

After thinking about it.

That would work too.

Thus, he pointed at Yue Lian. "This one, then."

Qin Elder fell silent for a moment, then sincerely suggested, "Zeming, should you choose another? Lian'er's cultivation is low..."

Chu Zeming shook his head. Looking at Yue Lian, he said to Qin Elder in a complicated tone, "Elder, there is no need to worry. Junior Brother Yue will be fine. He... is very strong."

Yes, very strong.

Whether as a treasure-hunting dog or a search-and-rescue dog, he was extremely strong.

As the original novel's protagonist shou, he possessed a powerful aura that could turn danger into safety. Torch Dragon Valley was difficult to find, and the trapped disciples needed to be rescued as quickly as possible to prevent anything from happening. If they brought Yue Lian along, their efficiency should increase greatly.

After entering the depths of the Ten Thousand Mountains and weaving around the habitats of fierce demon beasts, the group once again stood before a fork in the road blanketed in mist and thick with trees.

Chu Zeming hesitated somewhat.

This time, which road should they take?

"Senior Brother, my feet hurt. Can you carry me for a while?"

Yue Lian's voice sounded beside him. Chu Zeming could not be bothered to think for himself, so he grabbed Yue Lian and asked kindly, "Come, Junior Brother. Tell me again—which road do you want to take?"

Yue Lian said, "..."

He casually pointed toward the road on the right.

Having received his guidance, Chu Zeming once again tossed the tool person aside without hesitation. "Mm, good. Everyone, be careful not to separate. We'll take the right path together. Be cautious, so we don't encounter danger."

Yue Lian: ...

Even tossing me aside looked so good.

So thrilling.

Yue Lian happily got to his feet. Before he could catch up with Chu Zeming, however, he saw a massive figure blocking his path.

Chang Wei said shyly, "Lian'er, do your feet hurt? I'll carry you."

Yue Lian's face instantly went blank. "Get lost. My feet are perfectly fine."

With that, he jogged off at remarkable speed to catch up with Chu Zeming.

Chang Wei turned to stone on the spot once more.

Lian'er... ran so quickly even with aching feet, just to avoid him.

All of a sudden, Chang Wei felt a little sad.

Chu Zeming had no idea what had happened between Yue Lian and Chang Wei. He had always been the one walking at the front to scout for danger, and after entering this path, he instinctively sensed that something was slightly off in their surroundings.

Chu Zeming said, "Wait. Don't move."

Everyone held their breath.

They remained where they were, each summoning their magical artifacts and staring intently at their surroundings.

Suddenly, a strange, low sound came from the distance, like the sound of something cracking. It came closer and closer, and in the next instant, the entire earth began to shake and tremble without cease. The ground split apart, mountains and rocks collapsed... The forests, grass, stones—everything around them changed and rearranged itself.

Then, the scene before them abruptly changed.

Before them appeared an astonishingly vast canyon, filled with countless enormous stones in bizarre and grotesque shapes. Blood-red maple trees grew from cracks in the rocks. Looking forward from the entrance, the canyon walls spread farther and farther apart, making the entire canyon increasingly vast, its boundaries impossible to see. It was like a gigantic funnel. As for where the end of that funnel lay, no one in the entire cultivation world knew.

This place was a world unto itself.

Yue Lian truly was useful.

This—was the hidden Torch Dragon Valley, the dwelling place of the Demon Race.

The trapped disciples had accidentally entered this place while training in the Ten Thousand Mountains. Before Chu Zeming could rejoice, however, a sense of danger suddenly descended upon his heart.