Originally, just an errand disciple, someone he, as a sect elder, wouldn't even glance at under normal circumstances.
However, this errand disciple was different from the ordinary ones.
He didn't bow and scrape to everyone he met.
On the contrary, he carried a unique aura about him.
It was this distinctive aura that made him casually glance at the errand disciple.
As the saying goes, in this mortal world—without coincidence, there is no story.
That one glance left Wang Yue rooted to the spot as if struck by lightning.
Because the errand disciple's slightly immature face was far too familiar to him.
Even just a moment ago, it was still lingering in his mind.
He could never have imagined that the senior who had saved his elder brother from a dire situation would appear here.
And he was dressed in the clothing of a lowly errand disciple of their sect.
"Wang Yue pays his respects to the senior."
Wang Yue practically sprang toward the other man in one step.
Clearly, this disciple was Su Bai, who had just come out of Yi Feng's courtyard.
Seeing Wang Yue rushing over suddenly, Su Bai looked up.
"Oh, it's you. What a coincidence."
"Yes, yes, what a coincidence." Wang Yue replied excitedly, all the while asking the question on his mind, "But why are you here, senior?"
"And... "
At this point, Wang Yue glanced up and down at Su Bai cautiously and said, "Why are you wearing the clothing of our Tianyun Sect's errand disciples?"
"Is there anything wrong with that?"
Su Bai looked at him and said, "I'm originally just an errand disciple of Tianyun Sect. Isn't it normal for me to wear the clothing of an errand disciple?"
This one statement left Wang Yue completely speechless.
He stared wide-eyed at Su Bai, "Err... Errand disciple?"
Wang Yue was utterly thrown off.
Did their Tianyun Sect have such a powerful errand disciple?
"By the way, why are you here?" Su Bai asked.
"Ah, I, I'm a sect elder here. But I've been in closed-door cultivation for the past one or two years," Wang Yue quickly replied.
Su Bai nodded, understanding.
"Alright then, you go about your business, I have to go sweep the yard."
With that, Su Bai fetched a broom and walked towards the woods ahead.
Because the respected figure often took walks here, Su Bai knew this and made sure to clean the area every day.
"Is... is he really just an errand disciple?"
Wang Yue rubbed his eyes, utterly incredulous.
"Oh, by the way, your Seven-Colored Treasure Baby was pretty tasty."
As he was sweeping, Su Bai suddenly turned back and complimented.
After saying that, he continued sweeping diligently.
??
Wang Yue was left with a confused expression.
The Seven-Colored Treasure Baby wasn't a combat-oriented beast, nor was it a particularly good one. It was difficult to control, prone to betrayal, cunning, and sly by nature.
But it had a unique ability that made it even more valuable than most True Immortal-level beasts, despite its flaws.
That was its ability to partially resist formations.
He had this Seven-Colored Treasure Baby because, back then, he didn't know what kind of formation his elder brother was trapped in. To rescue him, he had spent nearly all his fortune to procure it.
However, when facing formations that could only be broken by absolute power, this Seven-Colored Treasure Baby didn't prove very useful.
Yet, this Su Bai had devoured it in a single night?
How utterly wasteful!
Wang Yue was left reeling, unable to regain his composure for a long time.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally snapped out of it. He quickly made his way to the sect's records office, where every disciple's background and admission information was recorded.
He wanted to figure out what was going on.
A terrifying powerhouse above the True Immortal stage 10 serving as an errand disciple in their sect? If this got out, it would be an earth-shattering bombshell.
Of course, before clarifying the situation, he didn't spread the news.
While Wang Yue rushed to check Su Bai's records, deep in the Tianlan Mountain Range...
Chen Xian and Huang Zhen were still sitting by the thatched hut and the latrine, waiting for Yi Feng's return.
But after waiting for so many days, there was still no news.
Just when they didn't know what to do, they were astonished to find that the black qi that had accumulated in their bodies due to prolonged guarding at the edge of the boundary, and which they couldn't eliminate before, had disappeared by more than half.
You should know that this black qi is extremely terrifying, like a vise that can't be shaken off, only accumulating more and more.
If it accumulates too much, it not only affects one's cultivation but also their sanity, driving them insane or turning them into a demon.
And countless guards have died because of this black qi.
It can be said that this black qi is like a sharp sword hanging over everyone's heart!
It's also the reason why they all know that in the long run, everyone will end up in that kind of predicament, yet they still choose to guard the border.
Because once the black mist engulfs the immortal world and the eight realms, this area will gradually become a purgatory.
Everyone will become mindless zombies.
Therefore, the two of them, after discovering that the black qi in their bodies had disappeared by more than half, couldn't have been more excited.
"What's going on?"
"What exactly is happening here?"
Even as powerful as they were, they couldn't maintain their usual calm demeanor at this moment and raised their voices in surprise.
"Could it be because we left the border and weren't affected by the black mist, so it gradually disappeared?" Huang Zhen speculated.
"Do you think that's possible?" Chen Xian shot him a glance.
If it were that simple, then their pressure as border guards wouldn't be so great.
They could take turns, leaving the border for a while, waiting for the black qi in their bodies to dissipate before returning.
In this way, they wouldn't suffer any casualties, nor would anyone go mad and turn into a demon.
Huang Zhen realized he had uttered a stupid remark and pulled a wry face in embarrassment.
"Perhaps, something nearby is affecting us!" Chen Xian said solemnly, his eyes gleaming.
Because he thought, if there really was some treasure here that could cause the black qi in their bodies to disappear, wouldn't that mean other border guards severely affected by the black qi in the future could also use it to free themselves?
"Hurry up and search around." Chen Xian urged.
Huang Zhen nodded.
The two looked around.
Almost at the same time, their gaze fell on the thatched hut.
Because among the surroundings, only this thatched hut seemed somewhat possible.
However, since the owner wasn't there, and they themselves were here with requests from others, to avoid offending the owner, they had never entered the thatched hut in all this time.
But now, to clarify the facts, they had no choice but to take a look.
"We humbly ask for forgiveness."
At the door, Chen Xian bowed and said, then gently pushed open the thatched hut door.
Due to being uninhabited for a few days and recent rainy weather, as the door opened, a musty smell filled the air.
The two took in everything inside at a glance.
—Absolutely nothing.
The two exchanged glances, it seemed there was no connection with this thatched hut.
"In that case, with a ten-mile radius, let's split up and search," Chen Xian instructed.
"Alright!"
Huang Zhen also understood the importance of clarifying this truth.
After making their decision, the two set off in different directions.
With their strength, a ten-mile radius was something they could sweep through, even a mosquito wouldn't escape their notice.
But out of caution, they still searched thoroughly.
Half an hour later, the two regrouped at the thatched hut.
"Any findings?" Chen Xian asked.
"Yes!"
Huang Zhen took a deep breath and said, "Although this finding isn't the key to why the black qi in our bodies disappeared, it's enough to prove that there must be something we don't know hidden in this mountain."
"So, you know what I saw?"
"What?"
Chen Xian held his breath, staring intently at Huang Zhen as he asked.
Under Chen Xian's expectant gaze, Huang Zhen said word by word, "I saw a True Immortal-level dung beetle!"
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
