Chapter 2

[You must all be extra careful. A schemer has already joined forces with your martial uncle and will lure the Devil Race here to attack. Then he'll sit back like a fisherman watching the snipe and clam fight, hoping to seize our sect's divine artifact, the Seven-Colored Heaven-Mending Stone.]

"Who is this schemer?" Ye Ruheng asked curiously. "We should be on our guard."

[Don't worry, Daddy.]

[Why don't we turn his scheme against him and invite him into the trap?]

[He'll show his true colors soon enough.]

"Lightning flashed and thunder roared; peace was nowhere to be found. A hundred rivers boiled, and mountains crumbled." — "The Turn of the Tenth Month," Minor Odes, Book of Songs

"The peach tree bloomed in splendor, its leaves lush and green." — "The Peach Tree," Airs of Zhou and the South, Book of Songs

Chapter 2

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Peach blossoms flourished across the mountains, but after barely a month, their season was already drawing to a close.

As petals began to fall in a riot of color, Ye Zhenzhen's one-month celebration arrived. Though called a banquet, it was really a small gathering within the sect. No one from other sects had been invited.

Yet uninvited guests still appeared on Cloudsky Mountain, arriving in two separate waves.

The Barrier around the Back Mountain suddenly broke, and Taowu, an ancient ferocious beast, burst free of its seal. One of the four great ferocious beasts of antiquity, Taowu was known as "the husky of the ferocious-beast world" for its fearsome talent for destruction. Its body was as huge as a mountain, shaped like a tiger but covered in dog fur. Its tusks resembled a wild boar's, and its tail stretched eighteen feet long. It swept that tail from side to side, rampaging everywhere as it let out deafening roars.

The earth shook, the mountains trembled, and rocks went flying.

Ye Ruheng leaped into the air, tracing a swift, magnificent arc before bringing his bonded sword, the Yinglong Spirit Sword, down toward Taowu's enormous head.

Taowu showed no fear. It met the attack head-on, ramming the Spirit Sword with its iron-hard skull and sending Ye Ruheng flying, sword and all.

Once he steadied himself, Ye Ruheng stopped fighting it head-on. He darted around like a swimming dragon, now flashing to its side to strike, now slipping behind it to land a fierce blow on its fat rump.

Taowu's hide was thick, and none of the blows struck a vital spot, but the itching all over its body drove it into a rage. It lashed its tail at Ye Ruheng. Unable to dodge in time, he took a grievous hit. Blood covered him, and he gradually lost ground.

Before long, a great horde of the Devil Race invaded the forbidden grounds on the Back Mountain, overwhelming in number and fierce in their advance.

Outnumbered, the Cloudsky Sect disciples were on the verge of losing their defensive line. Once it fell, the invaders would storm deeper into the Back Mountain and seize the divine artifact.

At that critical moment, a massive Flying Boat descended steadily like a luxurious palace. A golden dragon's head rose from its bow, majestic and splendid.

The current Immortal Venerable and leader of the Kongtong School, Shen Zishan, stepped gracefully off the Flying Boat with his son, Shen Xingyan, and a host of Kongtong School disciples. Immortal Venerable Shen wore a white robe embroidered with golden dragons and took his place at the front of the group.

"Sect Leader Ye, the Devil Race has coveted our cultivation world's divine artifact for a long time. We tracked them here and have come to aid the Cloudsky Sect." With a sweep of his right hand, he ordered the Kongtong School disciples into battle against the Devil Race.

"Immortal Venerable Shen, you've come at just the right time." Blood stained Ye Ruheng's white robes, and he looked close to collapse.

The right time?

Immortal Venerable Shen sneered inwardly. I waited until you and Taowu had worn each other down and the Devil Race had you trapped. Only then could I help you and demand repayment for the favor. The Seven-Colored Heaven-Mending Stone will soon be mine.

He stepped forward to support Ye Ruheng, sent several sharp, dazzling sword strikes at Taowu, then tossed out the Superior Beast-Binding Rope to restrain it.

Seeing Taowu unable to move inside the Beast-Binding Rope, he couldn't help feeling smug. The Superior Beast-Binding Rope had cost tens of thousands of superior spirit stones. The Cloudsky Sect was so poor that it could never afford one.

"Sect Leader Ye, you seem to have suffered internal injuries. With Taowu no longer guarding it and you so badly wounded, I fear the Cloudsky Sect's Seven-Colored Heaven-Mending Stone may fall into the Devil Race's hands. I think... perhaps..."

"Perhaps what?"

"Perhaps the Kongtong School should safeguard it for the time being." At last, he voiced what he wanted.

"Immortal Venerable Shen, you've worked so hard for the Cloudsky Sect. Thank you for all your efforts." Ye Ruheng gave him a meaningful look. The next instant, Taowu let out a sky-shaking howl, its eyes bulging as it put all its brute strength into snapping the Beast-Binding Rope.

"My Superior Beast-Binding Rope!" Immortal Venerable Shen watched helplessly as Taowu tore the rope to shreds with its sharp foreclaws. A treasure worth tens of thousands of superior spirit stones had been destroyed just like that.

"You wretched beast! I'll beat you to death!"

Before he could make a move, Taowu charged at him in a fury, intent on tearing the rope's owner to pieces too.

Ye Ruheng flew overhead on his sword, his hands forming seals so quickly they blurred. In an instant, he laid down a simple Phantom Formation. Its illusions could disorient Taowu and draw it into a hallucination.

Like a husky gone mad, Taowu hurled itself again and again at illusions of Immortal Venerable Shen. In reality, it was charging into empty air, running circles around the real Immortal Venerable Shen at the formation's center.

Immortal Venerable Shen: ...

"How did I become the target?"

Taowu wasn't very bright, but it was stubborn. It kept charging and charging, determined to smash Immortal Venerable Shen to pieces... After hundreds of laps, stars swam before its eyes, and it panted for breath.

Boom! Its enormous body collapsed to the ground.

"You insolent beast! Get back where you belong," Ye Ruheng scolded.

The hulking monster that had looked so vicious a moment ago first rolled over to show its belly. Then it lowered its head like a dog, wagged its tail without stopping, and obediently returned to the forbidden grounds. It even let out a few doglike barks.

Was this really the legendary ancient ferocious beast? Immortal Venerable Shen was baffled.

Ye Ruheng drew the Yinglong Spirit Sword again. Moving faster than lightning, he cut through the Devil Race invaders one after another, swift and precise, as easily as chopping radishes and slicing watermelons.

The display seemed divinely aided. Immortal Venerable Shen stared, dumbstruck.

"Sect Leader Ye, you've actually reached Mahayana. Your cultivation is remarkable. You have my admiration." He put away his sword, suddenly realizing that bringing so many people here had been rather unnecessary.

Should I leave, then?

"Immortal Venerable Shen, wait. You really did arrive at just the right time: today is my daughter Ye Zhenzhen's one-month celebration. Why not join us and share in my joy?"

Rankings

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Transmigration into a book

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