How about... another bite

Su Jiu was clearly tempted by that inheritance.

As a member of the noble Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox bloodline, she held absolute confidence in her ability to defeat peers of the same cultivation realm.

She tilted her head slightly and glanced at Su Ji. "Su Ji, what are you muttering about in your mind?"

Su Ji: ???

Huh?

You could even sense that?

Su Ji turned his head and countered with a question, "Is this inheritance that important to you?"

Su Jiu pondered seriously for a moment.

"Well... it’s important, but not something I must obtain at all costs."

Su Ji’s expression grew solemn.

"Then don’t take it."

Su Jiu froze briefly.

She didn’t press for an explanation, only stared at Su Ji intently. "Are you serious?"

"You’ll die."

Three words, spoken lightly, yet they weighed like a mountain on Su Jiu’s heart.

This guy, Su Ji…

She suddenly recalled that heart-stopping scene not long ago in her courtyard.

Elder Liu had stormed in with murderous intent. If not for Su Ji’s advance warning and that absurd yet effective countermeasure he devised, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Back then, he had spoken in the same tone—unyielding, certain of the impending danger.

So…

What terrifying thing had he "foreseen" this time?

Su Jiu’s heart sank slowly.

A thought surfaced in her mind, shocking even herself.

Had this guy rushed three hundred miles from the Love-Longing Sect to this perilous place not for some so-called opportunity…

but to find her?

As the saying goes:

Divination must not exhaust the heavens, for fear of the Dao’s unpredictability.

Words must not pierce too deep, lest human hearts prove unfathomable.

She had once read in her clan’s ancient texts that those who pry into the workings of fate would inevitably face divine retribution.

The kind of reckless, future-twisting methods he employed surely demanded a price beyond ordinary imagination.

Even that so-called "Colorful Destiny" he spoke of might not suffice.

Destiny was, after all, a gift from the Heavenly Dao.

How could it tolerate a destiny that dared defy its will?

For a moment, Su Jiu gazed at Su Ji’s profile, her emotions in turmoil.

This guy might be shameless, sharp-tongued, and lecherous… but perhaps he wasn’t entirely without merit.

While the two were lost in their thoughts, the atmosphere in the arena had been thoroughly ignited by the woman’s inheritance.

"I’ll go first!"

A rogue cultivator roared and leaped onto the stone platform ahead of the others.

His cultivation at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment wasn’t top-tier among the crowd, but he was now driven by overwhelming ambition.

"I choose… the Mediocre!"

He was clear-headed, not blinded by greed, and opted for the safest option.

As his voice faded, among the five spectral figures opposite the platform, the one representing "the Mediocre" suddenly solidified, transforming into a cultivator with identical cultivation.

The Mediocre cultivator wielded an ordinary longsword, his movements stiff and his spiritual energy circulation noticeably clumsy—clearly the work of an unstable foundation.

The challenger was overjoyed. Summoning his magic treasure, he unleashed a fluid barrage of attacks, forcing the Mediocre specter into retreat.

In barely a dozen breaths, the Mediocre specter was cleaved apart by his blade, dissolving into motes of light.

"Hahaha! I won!" The rogue cultivator laughed wildly.

A gentle radiance descended from above the stone platform, enveloping him.

When the light faded, ten low-grade spirit stones lay on the ground.

No one was surprised.

What kind of reward could one expect for defeating a Mediocre?

To put it bluntly—

If those ten low-grade spirit stones were tossed on the ground,

Su Ji wouldn’t even spare them a second glance.

Because there was too little, it was all picked up at first glance.

Soon after, the rogue cultivator seemed to have gained confidence: "Senior, may I continue my challenge? I wish to challenge a 'Talent'!"

A woman's voice responded, "Theoretically, I shouldn't refuse you..."

"But I never expected so many people to arrive this time the cave abode opened."

"Activating this arena is quite costly for me."

"I'm afraid it would be difficult..."

The rogue cultivator immediately understood.

Opportunities must be seized by oneself.

He pulled out two pouches of spirit stones from his robe, containing no less than a hundred low-grade spirit stones: "Would these suffice to cover the cost of the challenge?"

The woman's voice did not reply.

Instead, the spirit stone pouches in the rogue cultivator's hands vanished into thin air, and a cultivator of extraordinary appearance materialized before him.

Overjoyed, the rogue cultivator raised his weapon and roared, "Kill!"

After a grueling battle, he narrowly defeated the 'Talent' by a single move.

Another flash of white light.

A manual appeared at his feet.

The rogue cultivator hastily bent down to pick it up.

After flipping through a few pages, his entire body trembled with excitement.

"This is... a third-grade cultivation technique! [Mystic Water Art]!"

For rogue cultivators like him, without backing or resources, a third-grade technique was already a treasure beyond their wildest dreams.

This scene completely ignited the crowd.

"Just by defeating a 'Talent,' you can obtain a third-grade technique?"

"And that 'Talent' didn’t even seem that strong—I could do better!"

"I’ll go next!"

"Don’t push!"

The cultivators went wild, scrambling over each other to rush toward the stone platform.

Even Lin Bufan of the Blazing Sun Holy Land flushed with excitement, his eyes burning with desire.

He didn’t rush onto the stage immediately. Instead, his gaze locked onto the highest-tier phantom figure—the 'Prodigy.'

That was his true target.

The woman’s voice could only maintain order: "The arena allows a maximum of three challengers at once."

"Arrange yourselves accordingly."

Su Ji watched all this coldly, as if observing moths drawn to a flame.

He saw with his own eyes that a few rogue cultivators had the self-awareness to challenge only the 'Talent.'

After a hard-fought battle, they safely retreated from the arena with their desired treasures.

But most cultivators, emboldened by their initial success and the rewards in hand, felt they still had strength to spare and couldn’t resist challenging the next tier.

In the end, after paying exorbitant 'challenge fees,' they were left severely injured and empty-handed.

Su Ji did a quick calculation.

From this entire operation, the female cultivator had collected far more in 'challenge fees' than she had paid out in 'rewards.'

"Damn, isn’t this just a disguised pig-butchering scam..."

Give them a little taste of profit at first, then bleed them dry in the end.

Truly a fellow transmigrator.

Ruthless to the core.

Better take notes.

Might come in handy someday.

He gently tugged at Su Jiu’s sleeve.

"Let’s go."

"Go?" Su Jiu snapped out of her daze. "The exit is already gone."

Su Ji pointed toward an empty corner.

...

Meanwhile, Wang San also snapped out of his shock, his mind clouded by the allure of the generous rewards.

His identity as a transmigrator had given him ambitions far beyond ordinary people. He believed himself exceptional, and the Blue Ice Grass was his greatest trump card.

"Fortune favors the bold!"

Gritting his teeth, Wang San pushed through the crowd and charged toward the stone platform.

As a transmigrator, he refused to settle for mediocrity.

"I choose... a 'Genius'!"

With his selection, a phantom figure of a 'Genius,' also at the fifth level of Qi Refining, took shape before him.

The phantom figure wielded a cyan longsword, its movements graceful yet its swordplay fierce—far from the "mediocrity" displayed earlier.

Wang San didn’t dare underestimate it. He channeled his spiritual energy, summoning Blue Ice Grass to coil around him, its chilling aura spreading through the air.

A fierce battle erupted.

……

All eyes were drawn to the duel on the arena.

Even those who had already lost quickly shook off their frustration and turned their attention to the fight, curious to see if anyone could emerge victorious.

No one noticed whether the crowd had grown or shrunk by a few spectators.

At that moment, behind a stone pillar in a secluded corner—

Su Jiu frowned slightly. "What scheme are you plotting now?"

Su Ji hadn’t planned on revealing his hand.

But upon further thought, the doors to the ancient cave abode had already sealed shut.

To break the deadlock, he needed the "Encyclopedia" to come up with a solution.

"That woman is no saint. She set this trap to find the most perfect 'vessel.'"

Su Jiu caught on immediately, her pupils contracting sharply. "Soul possession?"

She mentally reviewed the details of this so-called "opportunity."

Now that she thought about it… it made sense.

In the end, someone had emerged with the Nascent Soul inheritance… but rumors claimed their personality had changed entirely afterward.

Yet few had paid it much mind.

Such was the way of the cultivation world.

Losing oneself after gaining power was hardly unusual.

When weak, they’d call you "brother."

When equal, they’d address you by name.

And once they surpassed you? "Don’t act so familiar—do you even deserve to?"

Su Ji pressed Su Jiu for a way to turn the tables.

Unconsciously biting her finger, she stared at the distant arena, where blades clashed and sword glares flashed.

Her voice was soft, almost resigned. "She’s not strong."

"Or rather, that wisp of her remnant soul is already at its limit."

"That’s why the cave abode opened so abruptly—to catch Golden Core cultivators off guard."

"But…"

Su Jiu sighed. "I’m only at the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment."

"Even with all my tricks, against an old monster at the Nascent Soul stage? She could crush me with sheer experience. There’s no winning this."

Su Ji didn’t mince words. "The Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox’s legacy is that weak? Struggling against a mere Nascent Soul?"

Su Jiu: "…"

She turned her head, her eyes brimming with an indescribable mix of resentment and exasperation.

Her gaze bore into him, unblinking.

Su Ji instantly understood. "I spoke out of turn again?"

"What else?"

Su Jiu’s voice was tight with frustration.

"By the Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox’s growth cycle, I’m still a juvenile. And our lineage has been in decline for ages. I’ve clawed my way this far through trial and error in the dark—it’s not like I have an arsenal of techniques at my disposal."

With another sigh, she offered the only solution she could think of.

"The best plan… is to let her possess someone else. We play mediocre, then slip away when the chance comes."

Su Ji immediately countered. "If it were me? I’d just kill everyone. No loose ends."

The words drained the color from Su Jiu’s face.

She realized Su Ji had a knack for pinpointing the worst-case scenario.

Suddenly, Su Ji seemed to remember something.

"Junior Sister, you said you’re at the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment? Last I saw you…"

He cut himself off mid-sentence.

It dawned on him—the memory of Su Jiu displaying her strength was from [Peering into Fate].

Quickly, he backtracked, mumbling, "Weren’t you around the fifth layer?"

Su Jiu didn’t answer.

Her gaze grew even more reproachful. "Thanks to you."

Su Ji’s reaction was swift.

After all, Su Jiu had broken through only after kicking him out.

But with just that "little glance"...

Su Ji could roughly guess what was going on with a mere thought.

So, he proposed a solution to break the deadlock: "What about Foundation Establishment Perfection? Any chance?"

"Or... how about another sip?"