Sword Sect

"I have matters to attend to and cannot escort you there."

"I'll give you this Spirit Turtle Talisman for protection."

Zhao Yuanhai tossed him a talisman and added a warning:

"If you encounter cultivators from the Sword Sect or Buddhist cultivators, remember not to go near them."

Over the past two months, although he had not learned why the Sword Sect and the Buddhist cultivators had appeared in Linhai Commandery,

he had figured out one thing: the two forces had the same goal and were looking for something.

It seemed to have something to do with newborns.

Could it be a reincarnated True Person?

"Many thanks, senior. I'll remember your warning."

Only after putting away the Moonlight Vast Cold Scripture did Xu Fan cup his hands in farewell, turn, and leave.

He pondered the old bastard's warning and his intentions.

"Does he only want me to join the Zhao Clan?"

"I really am a cultivation prodigy, but this lousy place doesn't seem like a proper cultivation world. Are there really cultivators who look after their juniors?"

He certainly didn't believe anyone would be kind to him for no reason.

Last time, he had been killed with an Incantation simply for refusing to join the Luo Clan.

"This is bad."

Watching Ning Caichen's figure disappear, Zhao Yuanhai counted on his fingers, and his expression suddenly changed.

He vanished in an instant and chased him out of the city.

After leaving Yishan City,

Xu Fan opened the Jade Slip and recorded the Moonlight Vast Cold Scripture, considering how he could "disappear" without arousing suspicion.

The old bastard's cultivation was profound. He might be watching from the shadows, so Xu Fan couldn't just return like this.

He would have to use the Taiji Dao Evolution Diagram to refresh his identity.

As long as he died one more time, anyone who divined information about him on his next visit would only find his new identity, not his current one as "Ning Caichen."

"Wait, wasn't I going to Nanyue Commandery? Why am I walking in the opposite direction?"

Coming back to his senses, Xu Fan suddenly realized he had gone the wrong way. For a cultivator, that was utterly terrifying.

Before he could react, he ran straight into a man and a woman.

Their presence was as sharp as a sword, making it hard to look directly at them.

The moment the two noticed Xu Fan, their gazes turned toward him.

In just a few steps, they reached Xu Fan. One on either side, they grabbed his shoulders, and Law Power instantly enveloped him.

A few breaths later, the white-robed young man leading them withdrew his hand. A satisfied smile appeared on his face, and he nodded and said with a laugh:

"Junior sister, I never expected to meet our future junior brother here. With such a natural-born sword seed, I'm sure Master will be delighted."

The girl with a sword on her back wore her hair in a striking high ponytail and was a peerless beauty. A faint smile appeared on her cool, aloof face, and she nodded.

"That's right. This junior brother's aptitude is exceptional. He condensed six cycles with the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction in such a short time. He belongs in our Sword Sect."

Listening to their conversation, Xu Fan felt goosebumps rise all over his body.

Everyone said there was something wrong with the Sword Sect. Only after meeting its members did he realize they were a bunch of lunatics.

Future junior brother, my ass.

Weren't they just sending a genius with good aptitude and an excellent fate into the cycle of reincarnation as soon as they found one,

then waiting until he reincarnated before bringing him back to the Sword Sect to work like an ox or a horse and lay bricks and tiles for the sect?

Before he could speak, a voice came from the sky, and a force descended at the same time.

"You two, this boy is a member of my Nanyue Zhao Clan. He has no intention of joining the Sword Sect."

In the sky, Zhao Yuanhai had returned to his original appearance. His robe fluttered in the wind as he tried to seize Xu Fan and take him away.

"Haha, Zhao Yuanhai, you want to use this boy for Joint Cultivation. Did you ask whether I'd allow it?"

Another force swept in, blocking him from the three below.

With their appearance, the sky changed, and wind and rain descended.

"Luo Chongyun, so it really was you."

Zhao Yuanhai stared at his old rival, his expression turning cold.

It seemed his whereabouts had long been exposed, allowing Luo Chongyun to cloud Ning Caichen's senses and send him straight into the two Sword Sect members.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming to Linhai Commandery? We could have sat knee to knee and had a long chat."

Luo Chongyun glanced at the three below and smiled faintly.

This old bastard also wanted to use Joint Cultivation to master a second Divine Ability. How could it be that easy?

"That boy is progressing so quickly, and he's cultivating the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction. You still dare make him your Joint Cultivation partner? Aren't you afraid of chipping your teeth?"

Although he very much hoped Zhao Yuanhai would come to grief because of it, it was better to stop him, just to be safe.

He could use the Sword Sect to eliminate this hidden threat while he was at it.

The Sword Sect was now like the sun at high noon.

The Supreme Yin Dao Lineage had only two or three big and little cats at most, and it was unclear whether any True Lord had awakened. It was nowhere near a match for the Sword Sect.

"Hmph."

Zhao Yuanhai cast a glance below, snorted coldly, and swept his sleeve as he left, vanishing into the great void in the blink of an eye.

With Luo Chongyun holding him back, he couldn't save Xu Fan. More words would be useless.

"Joint Cultivation?"

Xu Fan's heart jolted when he heard that, and he nearly burst into curses.

Corresponding to the five Divine Abilities of the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction, different Supreme Yin Cultivation Methods could produce five corresponding Immortal Foundations.

For example, the Immortal Foundation of the Plain Luminary Supreme Yin Wondrous Instruction was the Youying Luminary.

Joint Cultivation meant using an Immortal Foundation to refine a pill, greatly shortening the time needed to cultivate the corresponding Divine Ability.

But it could only be used once.

It was raising a human-shaped great medicine and waiting to harvest it once it had formed an Immortal Foundation-a way for people to eat people.

Fuck!

I knew that old bastard was up to no good!

He had even used this man-eating method on him.

No, perhaps this was a method commonly used by the True Persons of the Land of Wu?

"Don't worry, junior brother. You have an affinity with the Sword Sect and are fated to be our junior brother. You won't become someone's Joint Cultivation partner."

"This will hurt a little, so bear with it. We promise you may join the Sword Sect in your next life."

The cool, aloof girl chuckled and placed her magical sword against Xu Fan's neck.

"Junior brother, your *!"

Xu Fan knew he could no longer get away safely, so he simply burst into curses.

Before the two could react, he exploded.

A blood mist filled the sky and enveloped the pair, but their Law Power blocked it all.

Seeing this, Luo Chongyun's expression changed drastically, and he could scarcely believe it.

A lower cultivator at six cycles of Fetal Breathing had actually managed to self-destruct right under his nose?

And he had done it while in the hands of two Foundation Establishment cultivators?

At that thought, a chill spread through his heart, and he immediately fled into the great void.

"Did the Supreme Yin Dao Lineage intervene?"

The young man frowned. He had failed to capture the soul just now.

How was that possible?

That left only one explanation: a being whose cultivation was far above theirs had intervened and taken the soul away.

"Let's return and report this to Master first."

Above Peach Blossom Spring Lake.

Xu Fan's body coalesced once more, and he leaped out of the water.

"Why does everyone in that lousy place like using their strength to bully the weak?"

Foundation Establishment cultivators were bad enough, but now even True Persons had shown up.

He was only a Fetal Breathing cultivator!

Was this how a cultivation prodigy without backing was treated there?

Last time he had been killed with an Incantation, and this time he had run into someone who wanted to raise him as a great medicine.

That Joint Cultivation method was nothing but a way for people to eat people.

It used another person's Immortal Foundation to shorten the time needed to cultivate one's own Divine Ability.

"Just you wait! Your grandpa Xu has plenty of lives. The day will come when I settle these scores!"

Dying was unpleasant, but being unable to control his own fate felt even worse.

The methods of higher cultivators in the Land of Wu were far too mysterious and treacherous; lower cultivators could scarcely keep any secrets.

Fortunately, the Taiji Dao Evolution Diagram had long since become one with him. They could neither divine its existence nor anything about it.

"I need to refine Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and become a major Qi Refinement cultivator as soon as possible."

"That way, I won't have to worry about a Great Grandmaster disregarding martial virtue."

Forced to return once again, he had no way to finish charging it in the near future. Only by increasing his strength could he ensure his own safety.

In the Land of Wu, he could do as he pleased because he wouldn't die, and others couldn't divine it.

It was different here. If he died, he would really die.

He glanced at the Moonlight Vast Cold Scripture and finally found some comfort.

"At least I didn't come away empty-handed."