Huh?
Wang He?!
Chen Yu froze at the sight of that familiar face.
After the assessment ended last night and the elders left one after another, two Outer Sect disciples had approached him of their own accord to introduce themselves. One was Xu Yunnian, the other Wang He, disciples of Purple Bamboo Peak and Emerald Cloud Peak respectively.
Although their attitudes had taken a sharp turn for the worse after learning that he had a false spirit embryo, it had only happened last night, so Chen Yu remembered them both quite clearly.
But...
They had only gone one night without seeing each other.
Why had Wang He suddenly gone mad?
"Dead... dead... no, wrong, alive... alive, yes, alive... right? Is it alive? No, wrong, dead... it should be dead, yes, it should be dead! No, no..."
He was still babbling nonsense.
Completely ignoring Chen Yu beside him, he kept running forward, his face twisted with horror and fear.
Soon,
he vanished from sight.
"Could it be because of the Mass Burial Grounds?"
Chen Yu recalled how, when he cultivated in the Mass Burial Grounds, he could feel yin qi gathering every night, and an overwhelming sense of danger would shroud his heart.
Then he remembered that Elder Sun had ordered Xu Yunnian and Wang He yesterday to throw all the skeletal remains atop Jadewood Peak into the Mass Burial Grounds before dawn... had Wang He encountered something there?
And there had been two people tasked with disposing of the remains on Jadewood Peak.
Now Wang He had gone mad.
What about Xu Yunnian?
"Brother Wang He, what's wrong?"
"Someone, come quickly!"
"Brother Wang?"
Just then, a clamor suddenly rose up ahead.
He immediately walked toward it.
Several white-robed Dao Sect Outer Disciples had surrounded the disheveled Wang He. They questioned him in bewilderment, but Wang He seemed to have lost his mind. He merely kept muttering things like "dead" and "alive," giving no response at all to their questions.
Then the Outer Sect disciple standing in front of Wang He suddenly noticed Chen Yu. Glancing at Chen Yu's blue-green robe, he approached with a hostile expression.
"A Registered Disciple?"
He stared at Chen Yu. Seeing his tall, straight figure and handsome features, a flicker of displeasure immediately crossed his own ordinary-looking face.
"Wasn't the Outer Sect disciple assessment yesterday? Why are you here?"
"And did you have anything to do with Brother Wang He's condition?"
He demanded.
His tone was that of someone interrogating a mortal.
"Elder Sun told me to come to Emerald Cloud Peak today between seven and nine in the morning." A head taller than the other man, Chen Yu looked him straight in the eye and spoke calmly. "Wang He's condition has nothing to do with me."
"How dare you!" the ordinary-looking Outer Sect disciple snapped. "You're a mere Registered Disciple, yet you dare address me without an honorific?!"
"Kneel and take your punishment!"
As he spoke, he drew a whip from somewhere.
Chen Yu ignored him and simply said, "I passed the assessment yesterday. I'm already an Outer Sect disciple."
"Huh?"
Passed the assessment?
That was something people almost never heard.
Whip in hand, the Outer Sect disciple probed Chen Yu's strength in confusion. He was at the peak of the third layer of qi refining, so there was indeed a slim chance he could have passed the assessment. But... could a Registered Disciple really advance to the Outer Sect?
The other Outer Sect disciples behind him also heard Chen Yu's words.
For a moment,
the crazed Wang He became the lesser concern.
Everyone stared at Chen Yu with intense curiosity, as though looking at some freak of nature.
"Someone actually advanced from a Registered Disciple to the Outer Sect?"
"Seriously?"
"I've cultivated in the Dao Sect for over ten years, and I've never encountered anything this strange."
"Never mind your ten-odd years. I've been in the Dao Sect for nearly thirty years, and I've never encountered it either."
"..."
After hearing Chen Yu's words, the Outer Sect disciple before him hesitantly lowered his whip and pointed at him. "You'd better not be lying to me."
He turned to glance at the disheveled Wang He.
"Let's take Wang He to Elder Sun, along with this Registered Disciple who claims to have passed the assessment."
"All right."
The others answered.
Next, Chen Yu followed the Outer Sect disciples up the jade-paved steps. Emerald Cloud Peak was different from Jadewood Peak. Every so often, they came upon a terrace with houses or larger buildings on it. Many white-robed Outer Sect disciples were about, and whenever Chen Yu passed in his blue-green robe, he invariably drew everyone's attention.
The group continued up the steps without stopping. Just as the summit was about to come into view, the person leading them suddenly turned right.
Chen Yu followed and saw a thatched hut.
Outside the hut, several bamboo poles supported a clothesline, with clothes hanging from it.
An elderly man sat cross-legged in front of the hut.
"Elder Sun."
The Outer Sect disciple leading them bowed. "While patrolling today, we encountered Wang He at the foot of the mountain, looking disheveled. We questioned him several times, but found that he kept repeating the same words. We suspect he has lost his mind."
"We also encountered someone who claims to have passed the Registered Disciple assessment."
"We've brought both of them here."
Once he finished speaking,
Elder Sun opened his eyes and looked over.
He glanced at Chen Yu first, then shifted his gaze to Wang He.
Wang He's robes were torn, and many parts of the white fabric had been stained black. With his filthy face and tangled hair, he looked as though he had spent years wandering outside.
"Lost his mind?"
Elder Sun was surprised.
Wang He had been perfectly fine yesterday. Why had he suddenly...
He rose and walked over to Wang He, studying him with furrowed brows for a long time. Then he circulated the spiritual power within his body and suddenly shouted, "Wang He!"
His voice rang like a bell, with tremendous penetrating force.
Standing nearby, Chen Yu felt his heart race at the sound, as though even his soul had trembled. This had to be some special secret art.
Yet Wang He showed no reaction whatsoever to Elder Sun's voice.
He trembled all over, his expression terrified, and kept muttering, "Dead... dead... no, wrong, alive... alive..."
"He's beyond saving." Elder Sun frowned and waved a hand.
Then, a moment later,
Elder Sun said flatly,
"Wang He hasn't paid off his debt yet. Take him to Jade Yao Peak first and hand him over to Elder Zheng."
"Yes."
The Outer Sect disciples nodded.
Meanwhile, Chen Yu was somewhat stunned by those words.
Debt...
Cultivators had debts too?
Besides, Wang He had suddenly lost his mind. Shouldn't their first concern be what had driven him mad?
The other Outer Sect disciples left with Wang He, leaving only Chen Yu and Elder Sun.
Seeing Chen Yu's stunned expression, Elder Sun said with a smile, "Cultivators need vast amounts of resources to improve their cultivation. Having some debt is perfectly normal. Just look at the Dao Sect's Outer Sect disciples, and even some of its Inner Sect disciples. Which of them doesn't have debts hanging over their head?"
After that, Elder Sun continued,
"You advanced to the Outer Sect by taking Zhou Yun's place, and Zhou Yun was a disciple of my Emerald Cloud Peak, so naturally, you should join my Emerald Cloud Peak. I'll take you to have your name entered in the register first..."