Xu Zhen Crosses the Pass

The Fuyao Immortal Sect still handed over their tribute to Hu Jiao, a Zhun Di of the Divine Realm, in full, not a single bit missing, with Great Sage Chen Xi personally delivering it to Hu Jiao.

Hu Jiao spread out the tribute and casually dumped it on the ground, then began to sort through it with his foot, a process that dragged on much longer than necessary, clearly intended to humiliate.

Great Sage Chen Xi stood quietly to the side, her eyes hiding a deep resentment, yet she dared not show it, forcing herself to endure, fearing that any outburst would bring retribution from the Divine Realm's cultivators upon the entire Fuyao Immortal Sect.

"Tsk tsk, not a single bit missing, but also not a single bit more. Such limited vision from the Fuyao Immortal Sect, no wonder they've fallen to this state. Truly pathetic," Hu Jiao said, shaking his head with disdain, showing no respect for the Fuyao Immortal Sect.

Great Sage Chen Xi kept her head low, simply replying, "We followed your instructions precisely. If there are no issues, our sect will now close its doors for meditation."

Hu Jiao flicked his fingers, and the tribute items on the ground were all retrieved. He looked at Great Sage Chen Xi and shook his head contemptuously again.

"Closing the sect again? Do all Immortal Realm sects like to hide away to avoid trouble? But hiding away doesn't seem to work, does it? All these years, the Fuyao Immortal Sect has only managed to produce one Great Sage..."

"Oh, right..." Hu Jiao suddenly seemed to remember something, tapping his head lightly and then stroking his horned dragon headgear, sneering, "I heard your Fuyao Immortal Sect once had a Zhun Di as its sect leader. Where is he now? Did he run away at the mere mention of the Divine Realm's might? Tsk tsk, I can't blame her, the Divine Realm's reputation is indeed terrifying, so running away..."

“Don't spew nonsense! The sect leader is merely in *bi guan* (meditation), and when she returns, she will be a Da Di!” Great Sage Chen Xi suddenly raised her head, glaring fiercely at Hu Jiao.

"A Da Di? Da Di?" Hu Jiao repeated twice, then burst into laughter as if hearing something utterly ridiculous, bending over and slapping his knees hard.

The laughter abruptly stopped, and Hu Jiao straightened up, his eyes full of contempt as he taunted Great Sage Chen Xi, "Don't talk about 'when she returns.' That sect leader has long fled to another state to hide, while you poor unknowing fools still wait foolishly. How laughable."

And even if she didn't run and actually became a Da Di, so what? In the Treasure Ring Scale State today, a Da Di can't do much. The Divine Realm has plenty of Da Dis, and there are even true ultimate beings presiding. Even the great ancestor who founded a sect in the East Jia State was severely wounded by our ultimate being. Do you really think a common Da Di sect leader from the Fuyao Immortal Sect could make a difference?

"If she dared to cause trouble in the Treasure Ring Scale State, she would be instantly obliterated!" Hu Jiao coldly threatened.

Great Sage Chen Xi's face turned pale. She realized that the outcomes Hu Jiao described were indeed likely. The anger in her eyes faded, replaced by a deep, inescapable helplessness.

The worst thing in life is not suffering, but seeing no hope.

Hu Jiao adjusted his hair at the temple and casually added, "Today, I'll consider the Fuyao Immortal Sect cleared. Next time I come for the tribute, if it's still not a single bit missing, then it's your sect being ignorant. I can't guarantee what troubles the Fuyao Immortal Sect might face then, understand?"

Great Sage Chen Xi wearily nodded, her voice stiff and mechanical, devoid of emotion, "Yes."

Hu Jiao left with an air of arrogance, his presence weighing heavily on the Fuyao Immortal Sect.

Above Hu Jiao, the entire Divine Realm pressed down, making it hard for the Fuyao Immortal Sect to breathe.

The Fuyao Immortal Sect did not choose to close its doors to the outside world; in this chaotic era, they needed to survive, needed treasures and spirit stones to pay the tribute, and needed to maintain good relations with other sects and curry favor with Divine Realm cultivators.

Reaching the current level of cultivation was no longer about spiritual cultivation, but about navigating the complexities of human interactions.

It seemed to have strayed far from the essence of being a cultivator, but what could they do?

The myriad worldly affairs are beyond one's control.

Great Sage Chen Xi had also learned to greet the Divine Realm's Da Dis with a smile, even when she was humiliated, she remained composed, just relentlessly offering smiles. Each tribute was given a bit extra.

Her eyes no longer showed resentment or anger; all that remained was deep helplessness and numbness.

Sometimes Hu Jiao would bring a Divine Realm Da Di to the Fuyao Immortal Sect for inspection, which was essentially a form of intimidation.

Whenever this happened, Great Sage Chen Xi would stand smiling to the side, but never spoke a single sycophantic word.

The Da Di would point at her and make blunt, dismissive remarks.

"Can't even say a proper word, just keeps smiling. So stiff, no wonder you're just a Great Sage. Such a shallow intellect is only worthy of being a Great Sage, humph."

Great Sage Chen Xi just lowered her head, maintaining her wooden smile, as if completely unaffected—or perhaps already numb.

In the territory of the Divine Realm, Immortal Realm sects naturally struggled to survive.

Hu Jiao chimed in with a laugh, "You're absolutely right, Master. The entire Fuyao Immortal Sect seems so wooden, lacking any spirit. I can't fathom how such a sect has managed to survive this long without perishing. If placed in the Divine Realm, they would have long turned to dust."

Great Sage Chen Xi never refuted, only lowering her head and slightly curling her mouth as if smiling.

She wasn't even sure if that expression could still be considered a smile.

Perhaps sensing no reply and not seeing any change in Great Sage Chen Xi's expression, Hu Jiao and the Da Di found it boring and waved their hands dismissively.

"Your Fuyao Immortal Sect is destined to achieve nothing more than this. Pathetic. The next time you meet a bigwig from the Divine Realm, remember to be humble and speak pleasantly, or your Fuyao Immortal Sect won't last long."

"Good, good," Great Sage Chen Xi mechanically nodded.

Hu Jiao and the Da Di left, their figures disappearing.

Great Sage Chen Xi remained with her mouth curled in a smile.

"Deputy Sect Leader, they're gone... really gone," one of the elders finally couldn't help but remind her.

Great Sage Chen Xi seemed to come to her senses, using her fingers to pull down the stiff smile from her lips. Then she lowered her head, nodding woodenly, "Gone, yes... gone is good."

She was called Great Sage Chen Xi, but it seemed dawn no longer shone for her. No matter how hard she tried to see, no matter when she looked, all that greeted her was an endless, dark void.

Devoid of boundaries, only filled with dread.

Years passed.

Until one day, the ninth peak of the Immortal Realm stirred. A woman emerged from the ninth peak, claiming to have become a Da Di, descending the mountain atop resplendent white lotuses.

Xu Zhen emerged from her seclusion.