Just grin and bear it, survival is all that matters.

Chu Xingchen's gaze remained calm, his Nascent Soul avatar still holding a sword at the ready behind him.

[Target: Lin Wei]

[Cultivation: Early-stage Divine Transformation]

[Purple Trait: Gifted Intelligence]

[Blue Trait: Social Savvy]

[White Trait: Steadiness]

[Black Trait: On Death's Door]

[Black Trait: Afflicted by a Rare Poison]

[Black Trait: Gravely Wounded]

[Black Trait: Mortally Weakened]

Before coming here, Chu Xingchen had naturally gathered detailed intelligence about the Heavenly Rosy Sect.

Blindly charging in wouldn’t just be picking a fight—it’d be practically courting death.

The Heavenly Rosy Sect had managed to hold its ground at the edge of the Central Continent solely because of its one Divine Transformation cultivator.

When gathering information, every source confirmed the same thing:

Several years ago, after participating in a secret realm, this Divine Transformation cultivator had fled back severely wounded and summoned numerous healing specialists.

Such a conspicuous move naturally spread the news quickly.

The specifics soon followed—incurable, with less than three years left.

For the first two years, the Heavenly Rosy Sect continuously sought physicians, but after that, they stopped entirely.

From then on, despite numerous provocations, this Divine Transformation cultivator never showed himself again.

Everyone assumed he had already met his end.

Since the news broke, the Heavenly Rosy Sect had been teetering on the edge. The Central Continent was no easy place to establish roots.

Without a Divine Transformation cultivator, they lacked a foundation.

After collecting the intel, Chu Xingchen deduced that the Divine Transformation expert was likely dead, which was why he chose such a bold approach to confront them.

Of course, nothing was absolute, so he still prepared a contingency plan—just in case.

But… it probably wouldn’t be needed.

With more negative traits than positive ones, how much strength could this Divine Transformation cultivator even muster in a fight?

Staring at the [Mortally Weakened] trait, Chu Xingchen decided to waste a few words first.

Whether or not to talk depended on the situation.

If he held the advantage, he wouldn’t bother—just strike.

But if delay meant victory, then he’d drag it out as long as possible.

Maintaining this long-distance exchange across the sky must be draining a considerable amount of spiritual energy.

With traits like these, Lin Wei might not last long.

A few more words, and the fight later might require less effort.

“Hmph… Has your Heavenly Rosy Sect already forgotten the commotion you caused not long ago?” Chu Xingchen sneered, his Nascent Soul phantom raising a flowing water sword, its oppressive aura on full display. “Or do you think only you can throw your weight around?”

“I’ve come to demand an explanation!”

The elderly man’s gaze calmly shifted to the Heavenly Rosy Sect’s sect master below.

He was practically one foot in the grave—how could he possibly manage affairs? He had no idea what had happened recently.

Facing the elder’s look, the sect master—who had personally been involved in the incident, even designing the ambush—remained expressionless.

Normally, a mere secret realm wouldn’t have driven the Heavenly Rosy Sect to such shameless actions.

But that rogue cultivator had claimed the realm contained a pill capable of curing any poison.

At first, the sect hadn’t taken it seriously.

But then the rogue cultivator mentioned that the realm was the final resting place of the True Venom Dragon Lord—a being who had once slain a Divine Transformation cultivator with poison alone.

That was enough to make them reconsider.

The Heavenly Rosy Sect split into two groups: one pursued Li Xingtian to prevent him from obtaining the antidote pill, while the other continued scouring the secret realm for anything missed.

After all, a Central Continent sect without a Divine Transformation cultivator was far too precarious.

Though it damaged their reputation, survival took precedence.

The sect master met Chu Xingchen’s gaze evenly.

Even if Chu Xingchen seemed overwhelmingly dominant at the moment, in an actual fight, he’d be the one forced to flee—this was the Heavenly Rosy Sect’s territory.

But the real problem was this: a genius capable of cultivating a Karmic Nascent Soul could never be a mere rogue cultivator.

A flawless Golden Core? The sect master could accept that. But a legendary Karmic Nascent Soul? That required not only unparalleled talent but also an ocean of resources.

No rogue cultivator could achieve it. They’d kicked an iron plate this time.

The sect master spoke softly, “There was such an incident, but our Heavenly Rosy Sect merely wished to negotiate…”

“An ambush counts as negotiation?” Chu Xingchen cut him off with a cold laugh. “If that’s negotiation, then today, I’ll negotiate with the Heavenly Rosy Sect too!”

Lin Wei’s gaunt face twisted into a bitter smile as he sighed helplessly.

“This matter… was indeed mishandled by our Heavenly Rosy Sect. How does the esteemed Daoist propose we resolve it?”

Chu Xingchen didn’t hesitate to make outrageous demands.

“First, compensate me with tens of thousands of spirit stones for emotional distress.”

Lin Wei showed slight hesitation but replied, “That can be discussed…”

Chu Xingchen was taken aback. This was negotiable?

But since he’d come for vengeance, he pressed on.

“Those who participated in the ambush must pay the price!”

The sect master couldn’t hold back. “Elder Si and his direct disciples were already killed by you. Must you dig up their corpses for further humiliation?”

“What about the others involved? That rogue cultivator?”

Lin Wei interjected, “As for the rogue cultivator, the esteemed Daoist may decide his fate. As for the rest… your disciple’s life was spared, while Elder Si and his disciples paid with theirs. Can we not call it even?”

“Who’s calling it even with you?!”

Chu Xingchen scoffed, his Nascent Soul’s water sword already shifting into the form of a coiling dragon.

A surge of spiritual pressure crashed toward the Divine Transformation cultivator.

Another push to weaken him—in a fight, he might drop dead after a few moves.

“Esteemed Daoist, wait… this can still be discussed.” Seeing Chu Xingchen ready to strike, Lin Wei suppressed his frustration and spoke again.

“Why not lay out your terms? Surely you don’t expect our entire sect to commit suicide to appease your disciple?”

Chu Xingchen studied the old man. How could he endure this?

Was his condition truly so dire?

“My disciple suffered several sword wounds. Each of your sect masters and elders will repay me in kind!”

“Fine! That can be discussed too!”

The sect master and elders instinctively glanced up at Lin Wei in the sky…

“You must publicly apologize!”

“No problem.”

“And you’ll also—”

“Agreed! We accept!”

Chu Xingchen stared at Lin Wei, speechless. The man was practically surrendering territory and paying reparations.

Whatever demand Chu Xingchen made, Lin Wei agreed without hesitation.

This… this was way too accommodating.

A fight was impossible. Absolutely impossible.

Clutching several spatial rings, Chu Xingchen stood at the sect’s entrance, watching Lin Wei wave farewell with a warm smile…

As if he were a disciple of the Heavenly Rosy Sect, and the elders were seeing him off.

He should’ve just attacked without a word.

The moment he opened his mouth, Lin Wei had thrown all dignity aside, prioritizing survival above all else.

Even when Chu Xingchen personally stabbed the sect master and elders, Lin Wei had asked:

“How’s this angle? This force? Does the wound match?”

It was… utterly absurd.

This man was even more spineless than Zheng Xiaofeng.

However, it wasn’t just Chu Xingchen who was left speechless—the sect leader and the Nascent Soul elder were also staring gloomily at the floor. After all, it was the Grand Elder, someone who had watched them grow up, who had caused this mess. There was nothing they could do but accept it.

If word of this got out, the reputation of the Heavenly Rosy Sect would be thoroughly ruined.