My Young Master

Chu Zeming led the others into the Immortal Residence.

When everyone came back to their senses, the scene around them had changed abruptly.

The walls were exquisitely beautiful, and the floor was paved with white jade, like the most luxurious palace in the world. Though the Immortal Residence had been ownerless for ages and no one had entered it for over ten thousand years, it remained resplendent and magnificent, without a speck of dust.

"So this is... the Immortal Residence? It's so beautiful."

"I heard its defenses are incredibly strong too. That blond man outside can't break in, right?"

"No wonder everyone in the Joint Grand Tournament wanted to snatch it..."

It was Chu Zeming's first time entering the Immortal Residence as well, and his heart was no calmer than Xuan Mo and the others'—as expected of a defensive artifact that had scorned even He Wuwei's attempt to form a contract with it. It had every right to be proud. Such a beautiful, noble thing—no wonder it feared being stained by something as... unspeakable as manure.

Unfortunately, the Immortal Residence could not move on its own. Otherwise, it would have been perfect. The Spirit Mirror Platform, on the other hand, could move, and while cultivators could not easily come out of it, entering was simple enough. It had no defenses whatsoever.

Chu Zeming felt somewhat regretful.

Sure enough, it was impossible for him to claim every advantage for himself.

Setting aside his greedy thoughts, Chu Zeming stirred his mind. A tiny figure in wide robes and long sleeves, surrounded by nine white doors, appeared before everyone.

Chu Zeming looked toward the center of the Immortal Residence and ordered, "Place it here."

The translucent little white figure obediently curved its eyes into crescents. Then it raised its tiny hands, completely hidden within its sleeves, and the first door floating beside it descended.

Half an incense stick later.

The Purple Nether Spirit Fruit Tree, glowing with a faint chilly light, appeared in the hall. Pale-purple fruits swayed gently beneath its tassels—

Having finished placing it, the Mirror Spirit recalled the door.

Watching the translucent little white figure with nine doors return to Chu Zeming's side and plunge into his body before vanishing, Xuan Mo and Ling Tian were too shocked to recover. "Senior Brother, that thing was..."

Chu Zeming nodded. "The Spirit Mirror Platform. That day, the sect master sent me to the sixth floor of the Spirit Mirror Platform to retrieve raw stones, and its Mirror Spirit followed me out."

He had no intention of concealing it.

Some things could not be hidden simply by trying hard enough.

Besides, the Immortal Residence, which everyone already knew about, was enough to bring him countless life-threatening disasters. Whether or not one possessed secret treasures, those who wanted to kill you would always find all kinds of excuses. Without further explanation, Chu Zeming merely lifted his chin. "There are fifty-four fruits in total. Eighteen each. Pick them yourselves and eat them. Once your realms are stabilized, we'll leave."

Xuan Mo looked at Chu Zeming hesitantly. "Senior Brother... but there are four of us."

At eighteen per person, fifty-four Purple Nether Spirit Fruits were certainly not enough to divide among them.

Chu Zeming glanced at Yue Lian and said calmly, "He doesn't need them."

That was right. Yue Lian did not need them.

As for the real reason, only Chu Zeming and Yue Lian knew it. Chu Zeming had merely stated a fact, but it sounded different to Ling Tian and Xuan Mo—Little Junior Brother was too weak; giving him fruits would be a waste.

Ling Tian was especially delighted, even his steps becoming light and graceful. When he passed Yue Lian with his head held high, he paused and snorted. "A clingy dog plaster nobody loves."

Yue Lian looked at Ling Tian. Somehow, he produced another Illusion Spirit Stone and held it before him. "Xuan Mo begged me to come... Xuan Mo begged me to come... Xuan Mo begged me to come..."

Within the empty Immortal Residence, the sound was especially piercing.

Ling Tian staggered, then viciously snatched the Illusion Spirit Stone from Yue Lian's hand.

He threw it to the ground and smashed it!

Yue Lian stared at the shattered Illusion Spirit Stone on the floor and let out an "Ah-oh." Then he looked up and smiled gloomily at Ling Tian. "It's fine. I have lots more." With that, he brought out a large handful of Illusion Spirit Stones.

He activated them all—

"Xuan Mo begged me to come... Xuan Mo begged me to come... Xuan Mo begged me to come..."

Hearing the voices rise and fall one after another, Ling Tian nearly went mad. "Senior Brother, come beat him up!"

Chu Zeming closed his eyes and said flatly, "Shut up. Come cultivate."

Ling Tian: "...Yes."

At last, the noise by his ears fell silent.

Chu Zeming began absorbing the power of the second, third... Purple Nether Spirit Fruits. His body grew scorching hot, and then tiny dark-blue bolts of lightning began appearing over him. This was Tribulation Lightning that had yet to take shape. When Chu Zeming broke through into the Nascent Soul Realm, he had not drawn down any Tribulation Lightning. It seemed the Heavenly Dao had been holding back a grand move. Now that he was in the Nascent Soul Realm, even breaking through to the Nascent Soul Middle Stage had begun to show signs of drawing lightning.

The seventh, eighth... Chu Zeming continued eating. As his body abruptly took in such immense power, his skin began to crack. Beneath his black robes, mottled fissures emerged alongside threads of blood, only to swiftly be wrapped in wisps of pale-purple spiritual energy and heal...

The seventeenth, eighteenth... Chu Zeming's realm rose at a rate visible to the naked eye. Even the surrounding air seemed to begin stirring restlessly. When the spiritual power within him piled up to a certain point, Chu Zeming seemed to hear an exceedingly faint crack in his mind—

Breakthrough—Nascent Soul Middle Stage!

The chaotic spiritual power in his body settled completely, and his sea of consciousness seemed to have expanded by more than double.

Feeling the changes in his body, Chu Zeming slowly opened his eyes. His deep black gaze was colder and sharper than before. But... there was likely still a slight gap between him and the Nascent Soul Peak man outside.

Yue Lian was examining the tassels of the now-bald Purple Nether Spirit Tree, while Xuan Mo and Ling Tian had eaten all their spirit fruits and were still struggling to hold on.

The two of them were advancing from Golden Core Peak into the Nascent Soul Realm, so their breakthrough was far more difficult than Chu Zeming's.

Looking at Xuan Mo and Ling Tian, brows tightly furrowed as they fought to break through, inspiration suddenly struck Chu Zeming, and an excellent plan formed in his heart—

"Yue Lian, help watch the two of them. I'm going out to take a look!"

After saying that, Chu Zeming vanished from the Immortal Residence in the blink of an eye without waiting for Yue Lian's reaction.

****

Outside the Immortal Residence, the Ji Household's people were still guarding the same spot.

Ji Liangyi led the others with a cold expression, tightly encircling the place where Chu Zeming and the others had disappeared.

He was extremely unwilling to accept that the Purple Nether Spirit Fruits, already within his grasp, had been taken away. Defensive artifacts could not move, so that man in black robes... had to still be here.

"Even if they took the Purple Nether Spirit Fruits, we must reclaim the tree!" Ji Liangyi said coldly.

The others shouted in low voices, "Yes, Young Master."

The instant their words fell, a young man in black robes abruptly appeared at the center of the heavy encirclement—

He was out!

Ji Liangyi stared ahead, his gaze icy. "Nascent Soul Middle Stage. You ate quite a few fruits. But you still cannot defeat me. Hand over the tree, and I won't kill you."

Chu Zeming lifted his eyes in surprise. "Why are you so confident?"

Ji Liangyi sneered. "Great strength is the foundation of my confidence."

Chu Zeming neither agreed nor disagreed. He merely raised his head and glanced at the sky.

As though he had confirmed something, Chu Zeming withdrew his gaze. The Luminous Glaze Sword suddenly appeared in his hand. His black hair fluttered without wind, and his black robes snapped in the air. Chu Zeming raised his eyes and fixed them on Ji Liangyi, saying slowly, "Then... let's fight. I'll allow all of you to come at me together."

"Hahaha! What outrageous arrogance. Do you know how ridiculous you sound?" A cultivator in blue robes laughed mockingly.

Ji Liangyi wore a similarly mocking expression.

Yet in the very next moment, they could no longer laugh.

Because as soon as their words fell, dense and terrifying tribulation clouds instantly filled the entire sky. Everything within a hundred li plunged into darkness. Spiritual energy churned violently, while frighteningly thick Tribulation Lightning roiled through the pitch-black clouds. Lightning flashed abruptly, ripping apart the dark canopy of heaven.

At the heart of the furious Tribulation Lightning, the black-robed man holding a long sword shining with blood-red light smiled at them like a ghostly asura, his black hair flying wildly—

"Because my helper is the Heavenly Dao."

With those words, Chu Zeming became a streak of black shadow and flew toward Ji Liangyi and the others.

As he moved, the tribulation clouds above abruptly shifted as well, following Chu Zeming. Thick bolts of Tribulation Lightning carrying the terrifying power of the Heavenly Dao crashed down one after another, densely striking the blue-robed cultivators.

"Tribulation clouds!"

"Tribulation clouds for two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators!"

"Young Master, dodge!"

Ji Liangyi's expression turned cold at once. "Everyone, spread out and evade!"

The Tribulation Lightning of two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators superimposed together... was no joke.

If they took it head-on, they would certainly be seriously injured.

Ji Liangyi retreated at high speed, trying to get farther from Chu Zeming, but Chu Zeming clung to him like maggots on a bone. He had only one goal—to make the Tribulation Lightning strike him!

Seeing that there was nowhere left to evade and the terrifying Tribulation Lightning was about to descend, Ji Liangyi abruptly stopped. He turned, reached out, and grabbed Chu Zeming by the collar. "Since we're getting struck, then we'll take it together! We'll both be injured, and we'll see who has the last laugh!"

Before he could finish, Ji Liangyi suddenly felt a sharp pain in the web between his thumb and forefinger.

He looked down and saw that at the place he had grabbed—on the black-robed youth's collar—hung an inconspicuous, pitch-black four-headed snake. At that moment, all four heads had bitten into his hand.

Ji Liangyi's pupils constricted sharply.

"...You... poisoned... despicable..."

With that, he fainted.

In that flash of lightning and flint, the Tribulation Lightning crashed down viciously—

No sooner said than done—just as the lightning was about to strike him, Chu Zeming directly raised Ji Liangyi over his head. The terrifying bolt struck the unconscious Ji Liangyi, instantly frying him until he was charred outside and tender within. His two beautiful strands of golden hair turned scorched black, and his clothes shattered all over. Even while unconscious, Ji Liangyi could not help twitching his limbs.

"Rumble—"

"Rumble—"

Another bolt after another descended. Chu Zeming hid beneath Ji Liangyi's body like a mushroom. Tribulation Lightning would only enter one person's body; once struck, it was impossible to evade.

Chu Zeming swung his body around like a windmill to draw the Tribulation Lightning, keeping himself completely hidden beneath him. "Does anyone else want to come over? Hurry up, come get struck by lightning."

Watching Ji Liangyi's body twitch nonstop from the lightning, every blue-robed cultivator's eyes turned red, their canthi splitting with rage—

"My Young Master!!!!!"

"Damn it! You bastard!"