"Immortal Heitu, please go ahead first. Hmm? There’s a rock up ahead—let me kick it aside. What kind of audacity does it have to block our Immortal’s path?"
"His Eminence the Celestial Venerable doesn’t take disciples, but might you, Immortal, consider it?"
"No disciples? Then how about a mount?"
In the afternoon, our very own Immortal Li Heitu was escorted out with utmost reverence by Luo Yexian and his group of Demon Summoning Cultists. One could guess they hadn’t even shown this much care when escorting their own fathers.
They were desperate to climb the ladder.
"The Southern Frontier is a fine place, the birthplace of the Great Shang Dynasty..."
Li Mo walked at a leisurely pace, speaking as if it were of little consequence.
"The people there are truly blessed to receive the teachings of the Celestial Venerable!"
Luo Yexian declared firmly, his gaze as resolute as a man taking an oath.
Now, guess what they saw when they passed by a massive courtyard just after leaving the Immortal Sect?
A mountain of rare spiritual treasures!
Countless exotic artifacts!
And what looked like a rockery—except it stretched into a mountain range... made entirely of gold!
At first, they thought they’d stumbled into the Vast Illusion Immortal Sect’s secret treasury. But then it struck them—what kind of sect would leave their treasures out in the open, scattered around like trash?
And guess what our Immortal Heitu said?
"This is the sect’s storage room."
Storage room... room... room...
To this day, they couldn’t forget how effortlessly, how utterly indifferent Immortal Heitu had been when he said those words.
Then what must the real treasury look like?
At that moment, the last shred of doubt in Luo Yexian’s heart was utterly shattered by the sheer, overwhelming extravagance.
Now, their only fear was that the Vast Illusion Immortal Sect might look down on their Demon Summoning Cult as "poor relatives."
Whoosh—
A biting cold wind swept through, freezing the group in place.
Li Mo glanced up and spotted a lone figure by the peach blossom stream, her expression dazed.
Though the "Ice Block" wore her usual impassive face, her lips were slightly pursed, and her furrowed brows had relaxed.
To outsiders, she seemed aloof and cold.
But to Li Mo, she looked just a tiny bit... silly?
Well, it was understandable that the Ice Block hadn’t expected this.
Even he hadn’t anticipated such success—not only had he preserved the original Faith Power, but even these demonic cultivators had begun believing in the Celestial Venerable, contributing their own Faith Power. And these were high-level martial artists—each one worth six times the average!
"Senior Sister, you’re back."
Playing his role to the end, Li Mo stepped forward to stand beside Ying Bing.
Best not to say too much—today’s goal had already been achieved.
With a smile, he turned to the Demon Summoning Cultists:
"I promised Senior Sister the Saintess we’d tour the mountains, so I’m afraid I can’t see you off."
"As for the matter of mutual exchange I mentioned earlier, you may discuss it further with your superiors upon returning."
Luo Yexian glanced at their matching "training robes" and smirked knowingly.
This Immortal Heitu was quite the character.
And clearly, he understood that Luo Yexian wasn’t the decision-maker—this was a hint for him to relay the message.
"Then we shall take our leave."
"Safe travels."
...
Luo Yexian departed with a heart full of excitement, his face glowing. He was certain he’d just secured a monumental achievement for the cult.
"Elder, but... we didn’t retrieve any of the Faith Power. Won’t the Young Master be displeased?"
The bucktoothed priest who’d been waiting outside earlier asked hesitantly.
"Displeased? Pah! What’s a bit of Faith Power? That’s called human relations—do you even understand human relations?"
Luo Yexian looked at him like he was a frog at the bottom of a well, his lips curling.
"Immortal Heitu asking for ‘human relations’ is him giving us a chance to advance. It’s about testing our attitude."
"It’s like deliberately losing at mahjong to your superior. You clueless fool."
The bucktoothed priest’s brain overheated.
But... if you had a pure sequence and seven pairs, who could resist winning?
After walking further, they found a secluded spot to contact the Demon Summoning Young Master.
Once the connection was made, Luo Yexian’s first words were brimming with mystery:
"Young Master, an immense opportunity has come to our Divine Cult!"
"Do you wish to advance?"
"?"
......
Under the azure sky, above the white clouds.
The Somersault Cloud frolicked along the homeward-bound winds, perhaps because the young man riding it was in high spirits.
Li Mo’s white robes fluttered as he admired the scorching Vast Illusion Pagoda in his palm, watching the Faith Power accumulate bit by bit before tucking it away with satisfaction.
Not only had the collection rate not suffered—it had actually sped up.
Well, he hadn’t even gotten past "Senior Brother Golden Crow" yet. Even if he gathered enough Faith Power to manifest his divine form, he still couldn’t win...
"Junior Brother Heitu?"
Ying Bing, clutching her oversized doll, tilted her head slightly at the sight of Li Mo’s smug grin.
"...Actually, my father originally named me Li Heitu because a fortune-teller said I lacked earth in my elemental balance."
Li Mo fidgeted under her gaze.
Ying Bing’s lips twitched. After a pause, she asked:
"And then?"
"Then my mother said the name was too rustic, so she combined the characters and settled on ‘Mo.’"
A hint of softness touched Ying Bing’s serene features, as if she could picture the scene.
In her past life, few people had left an impression on her—aside from the mighty figures towering over the heavens, ordinary folk were even rarer. Yet Li Mo’s parents were among the handful she remembered vividly.
If Uncle and Aunt ever have a grandson, we mustn’t let Uncle Dalong name him...
The thought froze her.
Grandson?
Whose child would that be?
Crack—
The oversized doll’s head creaked under her grip.
"Ice Block, your neck’s all red."
Li Mo noted the blush creeping up her neck and reached out, pressing the back of his hand to her cheek with feigned seriousness.
But the moment his skin met her soft warmth, Ying Bing turned away.
"It’s nothing."
"Your face is burning too..."
The young genius was utterly baffled.
The wind tousled her hair as the early winter breeze brushed past, cooling the Ice Block’s overheated state.
Yet just as her heart settled, another wave rose.
A voice chimed in her ear:
[Congratulations, Host. Not only have you secured the top spot on the Heavenly Pride Rankings, but you’ve also completed your punishment—indicating your high satisfaction with its contents.]
[This proves this system’s upgrade direction is absolutely correct.]
"..."
Ying Bing’s eyes flickered at the system’s words.
"I haven’t even checked the rankings yet. Why are you here?"
[The rankings may not be open, but you can draw in advance... for your next punishment!]
"?"