Working? Absolutely not working. Qinghe still vividly remembered the incident in Chizhou last time.
It was clearly Chu Xingchen who let the fortune slip away back then.
Yet Grandma Bai, without distinguishing right from wrong, took it out solely on Qinghe, saying things like, "You can't even hold onto meat that's right in front of you. Are you even a flood dragon? Even a chicken pecking at it might have gotten it back."
Grandma Bai's words! The one who's worse than a chicken isn't Qinghe—it should be that black-hearted brat Chu Xingchen.
What made it even more infuriating was that Grandma Bai only vented her anger on Qinghe!
And when they went to Yuzhou City last time, Grandma Bai didn’t even question Chu Xingchen about the matter!
This was blatant favoritism, utterly unfair.
Sure, Qinghe might have slacked off a bit in the beginning, but when things got serious, it really stepped up.
It even got stabbed clean through—it hurt like hell!
That should at least count as an occupational injury, right? Yet Grandma Bai didn’t even offer a single word of concern!
Not to mention, working for Grandma Bai was basically unpaid labor. On this point alone, Grandma Bai wasn’t even as good as Li Xingtian.
At least Li Xingtian knew to treat Qinghe to a meal. Grandma Bai just bossed it around with empty words.
Who knew which unlucky fool would be next to suffer under Grandma Bai’s orders?
Tianyan Sect’s reception hall.
Though called a reception hall, it wasn’t actually inside the Tianyan Sect yet, still outside the sect’s protective mountain array.
Chu Xingchen gazed around with envy—truly befitting one of the Eighteen Immortal Sects of Zhongzhou, so extravagant!
When would his own sect ever reach such heights of opulence?
Thinking this way, had he been slacking off a bit too much lately?
Chen Baiqing, on the other hand, merely glanced around briefly before losing interest. To her, no matter how dazzlingly golden, it was still just a building.
Lin Luoyu was much the same.
Only Cui Hao acted like a country bumpkin visiting the city, his eyes darting left and right as if he’d never seen anything like it before.
But this wasn’t entirely Cui Hao’s fault. After all, he had an eye for aesthetics. Normally, such obscenely lavish architecture lacked substance.
Yet Tianyan Sect, as one of the Eighteen Immortal Sects, managed to be both extravagant and refined.
The intricate carvings and their symbolic meanings were executed with meticulous precision.
For Cui Hao, it was truly an eye-opener.
In the resplendent hall, a male disciple of Tianyan Sect paid no mind to the somewhat rustic behavior of the visitors. With a polite smile, he said,
"Peak Master Bai informed us of your arrival some time ago, but there are still some necessary procedures to follow. We appreciate your understanding."
Chu Xingchen nodded lightly. "Of course."
The disciple gestured warmly. "Please enjoy some tea while you wait. A reply will arrive shortly."
Just as Chu Xingchen was about to lift his teacup, a streak of rainbow light flashed through the door.
Everyone in the hall looked up to see Qinghe striding in with a displeased expression.
The disciple was slightly surprised to see Qinghe, as it was quite well-known within Tianyan Sect—or rather, anything related to Bai Xuanling carried weight.
Though that reputation wasn’t always positive.
While Qinghe might act lazy in front of Bai Xuanling and Xie Lingyu, it never embarrassed Bai Xuanling in public.
After all, the consequences of tarnishing Bai Xuanling’s reputation were severe.
The disciple quickly rose and cupped his hands in greeting.
"Elder Qing, you’ve come in person?"
Qinghe’s seniority was low only in comparison to Bai Xuanling and Xie Lingyu. To others, some even addressed it as "Grand Elder."
Why had it come? Obviously because it had been ordered to.
Ignoring the disciple, Qinghe first scanned the room for the unlucky souls it was supposed to fetch—and there they were: Chu Xingchen and his group.
Qinghe’s expression instantly cleared. No wonder Grandma Bai had suddenly become so polite, insisting it personally escort them. So the black-hearted brat was here.
"Wow! It’s little Baiqing!"
Qinghe’s face brightened as it spread its arms and rushed toward Chen Baiqing for a hug.
But a large hand clamped onto Qinghe’s face and shoved it back.
The Tianyan Sect disciple’s heart skipped a beat at the sight.
Though Chu Xingchen held the "Respect My Authority" token issued by Bai Xuanling, that didn’t mean he could manhandle Bai Xuanling’s flood dragon so casually.
Bai Xuanling was infamous for being fiercely protective of her own.
"What?" Qinghe glared at Chu Xingchen. "I wasn’t trying to hug you."
Chu Xingchen cut straight to the point. "Enough nonsense. Is Sister Bai in Tianyan Sect?"
Sister Bai?!
The disciple’s eyes widened. That term could only refer to Bai Xuanling. Was this man Peak Master Bai’s brother?
By that logic, shouldn’t he address him as… Great-Grand Elder?
And that wide-eyed, freshly-ascended-to-Foundation-Establishment bumpkin—wouldn’t that make him a Grand Elder?!
"Of course she is. Otherwise, why would I be here?"
Qinghe didn’t dwell on Chu Xingchen’s rough handling. After all, the moment Chu Xingchen stepped into Tianyan Sect, he had unwittingly become the next victim.
"Follow me. I’ll take you inside." Qinghe lifted its chin proudly. "I’ll show you what real luxury looks like. Once we’re in, don’t embarrass yourselves by gasping like country folk."
Chu Xingchen nodded faintly. He understood—it was about the density of spiritual energy.
He still remembered his eldest disciple’s awestruck expression when first sensing it.
Too bad he himself wasn’t very sensitive to spiritual energy.
But judging by Qinghe’s words, this little flood dragon had probably been just as uncouth when it first arrived, inhaling deeply like there was no tomorrow.
Qinghe led the way, guiding Chu Xingchen and the others toward Tianyan Sect’s protective mountain array.
Cui Hao was the most excited, his eyes sparkling. The architecture inside Tianyan Sect was bound to be even more breathtaking.
Before leaving, however, Cui Hao politely clasped his hands toward the disciple who had received them.
The disciple, faced with a greeting from a Grand Elder, immediately bent into a deep bow, nearly prostrating himself.
Cui Hao was stunned.
Are… all Tianyan Sect disciples this courteous?!
Just as he wondered if he should return the gesture, Qinghe’s voice called out:
"Hurry up! What’s the hold-up?"
Cui Hao could only smile and bow again before quickly catching up.
Qinghe’s promise of a spectacle was no exaggeration.
Tianyan Sect’s protective array had two layers. The outer layer primarily relied on illusions for concealment, with defense as a secondary function.
Though secondary, its defensive capabilities were still formidable.
From the outside, the illusions made Tianyan Sect appear as merely a wealthy, extravagant sect—impressive, but not unimaginably so.
Only after Qinghe led them through the outer array did the true grandeur of Tianyan Sect reveal itself.
At the very least, they could now see the real protective array.
Tianyan Sect’s protective array differed from those of other sects—or rather, all Eighteen Immortal Sects of Zhongzhou stood apart.
Other sects’ arrays required staggering amounts of spirit stones and spiritual energy to activate.
Most of the time, the protective formations were maintained at their lowest activation level—seeing even a faint shimmer of spiritual energy was considered a generous expenditure.
However, the Tianyan Sect’s mountain-protecting grand formation operated at full power at all times.
Like a celestial canopy, the intricate arrays enveloped and sealed the entire Tianyan Sect.
Streams of luminous runes continuously flowed across the formation.
Among the Eighteen Immortal Sects of Zhongzhou, every single one kept their mountain-protecting formations fully active around the clock.
Because these so-called mountain-protecting formations were, in truth, grand arrays designed to intercept and harness spiritual veins—only by operating at full capacity could they siphon the spiritual veins.
No matter who witnessed such a monumental formation for the first time, they would be struck with boundless awe.
After all, the sheer, overwhelming fluctuations of spiritual energy emanating from the formation were enough to inspire reverence.
Seeing this spectacle, Chu Xingchen finally grasped just how colossal the Eighteen Immortal Sects of Zhongzhou truly were.
"As expected of the Tianyan Sect… they even have two sets of mountain-protecting formations," Cui Hao muttered, his expression one of stunned disbelief.
Qinghe pointed at the formation and explained, "Strictly speaking, it’s only one set. According to Grandma Bai, the outer formation is mostly just for show—to make the Tianyan Sect appear less extravagant."
"Grandma Bai had another saying… something about not flaunting good fortune when you’ve already gained an advantage."
Chu Xingchen nodded faintly at this. At this level, mere effort alone could never achieve such a feat.
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.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
lities. One day, Qi Yuan was buying groceries when he unfortunately came face-to-face with a monster. Just when he thought he was going to die on the spot, he suddenly heard the monster's thoughts... "This aura, he's definitely not an ordinary master!" "So terrifying, so terrifying." "A fight with my back against the wall, I can't take it anymore." Qi Yuan: Ah, no one told me that my awakened ability isn't telepathy, but rather the stronger my enemies imagine me to be, the stronger I truly become. PS: Zhou Hai in the first chapter is not the protagonist.
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
