The corners of Gu Chengyin's mouth curled up into a minuscule arc.
The arc was so small that absolutely no one noticed it.
But Lin Qingyan, who was closest to him, saw it.
Looking at the slight curl of Gu Chengyin's lips and the fleeting gleam deep in his eyes, she suddenly understood.
This was all part of Gu Chengyin's plan.
From taking out the Qingyun Token, to the accidental manifestation of the Dao patterns, to his feigned confusion about the unclear inheritance.
Every single step had been calculated by him.
Lin Qingyan's eyelashes fluttered gently.
She didn't speak, just quietly watched Gu Chengyin as the Dao patterns on his body slowly faded away.
She watched the azure light on him dissipate bit by bit, watched him return to normal, and watched him resume that calm and collected expression.
The corners of Lin Qingyan's mouth also curled up slightly.
The arc was similarly small, so small that again, no one noticed.
But Lin Qingyan knew why she was smiling.
Because she liked this side of Gu Chengyin.
Strategizing within a command tent.
Calculating without missing a single detail.
Possessing a spirit that could swallow mountains and rivers.
Playing everyone in the palm of his hand.
These Golden Core consecrators from the Heavenly Master Mansion, which of them wasn't an old fox who had cultivated for decades?
Which of them wasn't a shrewd individual accustomed to weathering storms?
Yet in front of Gu Chengyin, they were like marionettes on strings, walking step by step into the trap he had laid out, completely oblivious.
They thought they were scrutinizing Gu Chengyin, speculating on Gu Chengyin, evaluating Gu Chengyin.
Little did they know, from the moment they arrived at the Qingjian Sect, they had already fallen into his snare.
The Dao patterns faded completely, and the azure light on Gu Chengyin entirely vanished. He reverted to being an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Standing there with a calm expression, he showed no abnormalities whatsoever.
But everyone present knew.
Gu Chengyin was no longer ordinary.
From this day forward, he was the only person in the entire cultivation world to possess a complete Immortal Dao.
The gazes of the several Golden Core consecrators were extremely complex.
There was shock, envy, jealousy, longing, and...
Greed.
Of course, they wanted a complete Immortal Dao.
They wanted even more to split open Gu Chengyin's brain and extract the complete Qingyun Art.
Having cultivated for decades, who wouldn't want to take a step further?
Who wouldn't want to touch that threshold? Who wouldn't want to step into the Nascent Soul realm and see that legendary scenery?
But they could do nothing, and they were allowed to do nothing.
Because they were cultivators of the Heavenly Master Mansion.
Because standing beside Gu Chengyin was Lin Qingyan.
Ever since the Dao patterns were revealed just now, faint golden lightning had been flashing around Fairy Jingzhe.
This was a declaration, and also a warning.
Telling everyone present.
Gu Chengyin was under her protection.
The gazes of the Golden Core consecrators lingered on Lin Qingyan for a moment before silently shifting away.
Elder Qiu took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, and looked at Gu Chengyin.
As the person in charge of the Luodu Heavenly Master Mansion, after learning that Gu Chengyin might have obtained the inheritance of the Qingyun Art.
He knew that they wouldn't be able to leave anytime soon.
In truth, Elder Qiu wasn't particularly surprised.
Even when he was still in Luodu and had to set off for the Qingjian Sect to act as a Dharma Protector, he had already prepared himself mentally for this.
"Junior Preceptor Gu, it seems we need to have a good talk."
Gu Chengyin looked at Elder Qiu and nodded with a serious expression:
"This junior has the exact same intention."
The other Golden Core consecrators did not speak further, implicitly deferring to Elder Qiu's lead.
This was very normal.
Although the Shendu Heavenly Master Mansion and the Luodu Heavenly Master Mansion each had their own affairs and responsibilities.
In major matters like this, they naturally had to follow Elder Qiu, the leader of the Luodu Heavenly Master Mansion.
And after the pleasant surprise, what the Heavenly Master Mansion had to consider now.
Was what kind of storm this matter would trigger once it spread.
That was why Elder Qiu said he needed to have a good talk with Gu Chengyin.
No matter how big the storm it stirred up, it had to remain within the Heavenly Master Mansion's control.
This was the Heavenly Master Mansion's bottom line.
It was also the Heavenly Master Mansion's duty.
Gu Chengyin showed a cooperative attitude.
He didn't make excuses, didn't hesitate, and didn't even try to bargain.
This attitude left Elder Qiu very satisfied, and then his gaze swept over everyone present.
Himself, Gu Chengyin, Lin Qingyan, Jiang Qingshan, and the four Golden Core consecrators of the Heavenly Master Mansion.
Eight people in total.
These eight people were all the personnel who knew about this matter.
Elder Qiu's tone was calm as he spoke slowly:
"Swear a blood oath."
Every word was clear, carrying an unquestionable majesty.
The four Golden Core consecrators of the Heavenly Master Mansion, whether from Luodu or Shendu.
Upon hearing these words, they did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately began to swear a blood oath.
Voices rang out one after another, carrying the solemnity of the Great Dao's witness.
Every word and sentence was carved into their Dao hearts.
Jiang Qingshan stood to the side, watching these four Golden Core consecrators swear their oaths one by one.
A trace of hesitation flashed through his eyes, but ultimately, he also chose to swear the blood oath.
When the brand on his Dao heart settled, Jiang Qingshan felt the ethereal restraint and smiled bitterly in his heart.
Now they were truly tied together.
Lin Qingyan slightly parted her lips, and just as she was also about to swear the oath.
A hand reached over from the side and stopped her.
Lin Qingyan was startled and turned her head to look at Gu Chengyin.
Gu Chengyin's gaze was incredibly gentle and full of trust.
"Auntie, you don't need to. I trust you."
A simple sentence.
A simple four words.
I trust you.
Lin Qingyan froze completely.
She just stood there blankly, staring unblinkingly at Gu Chengyin.
She couldn't look away for even a moment.
After Gu Chengyin finished speaking, he turned back to look at Elder Qiu:
"Elder Qiu, this junior shouldn't need to, right?"
"After all, this life is my own."
Elder Qiu remained silent for a breath, and then he looked at Lin Qingyan.
Lin Qingyan was still standing there blankly, still staring unblinkingly at Gu Chengyin.
Elder Qiu suddenly understood something. He looked back at Gu Chengyin and nodded:
"Mm, this old man still believes in Junior Preceptor Gu's sense of the bigger picture."
These words were true. Although Elder Qiu found Gu Chengyin a bit annoying, he still approved of his view of the overall situation.
He acted with a sense of propriety, advanced and retreated with measure, and knew what should be done and what shouldn't.
He was not the kind of person who couldn't distinguish the severity of matters, much less someone who ignored the greater good.
Gu Chengyin might scheme, and he might play tricks.
But he was clear-headed when it came to the big picture, and that was enough.
Elder Qiu's gaze swept over everyone present.
Except for Gu Chengyin and Lin Qingyan, except for himself.
Including Jiang Qingshan, everyone else who knew about the inheritance had sworn a blood oath, which was equivalent to a gag order.
The news was temporarily sealed, which was exactly what Gu Chengyin wanted.
The Heavenly Master Mansion couldn't touch him, so they had to protect him.
But while protecting him, they couldn't let the news leak, so naturally, all relevant personnel had to swear a blood oath.
As for Elder Qiu himself, as the leader of the Luodu Heavenly Master Mansion, he had to go and report to the Shendu Heavenly Master Mansion.
Therefore, he couldn't swear the oath right now, because he still had to report this matter upwards.
After confirming everything once more, Elder Qiu said in a deep voice:
"Everyone, disperse."
Without a word, the several Golden Core consecrators turned and left, their footsteps brisk.
Jiang Qingshan did not turn around. Instead, he took a step forward, cupped his hands in a salute to Gu Chengyin, and said:
"Sect Master Gu, this sect master will take his leave."
This title made Gu Chengyin freeze for a moment, but he quickly realized that Jiang Qingshan was quite tactful after all.
He immediately nodded and said, "I will leave the Azure Sword Sect in your care."
Jiang Qingshan, however, shook his head slightly. With an earnest expression, he replied,
"Sect Leader Gu, what are you saying?"
"Managing the Azure Sword Sect is my duty as the Vice Sect Leader to begin with."
A knowing smile appeared on Gu Chengyin's face:
"Then I will have to trouble Vice Sect Leader Jiang."
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
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!
ap a wealthy young lady? Or else I'll be eliminated by the system? Ye Feng, who awakened the Kidnapper System, originally wanted to live a peaceful life but never imagined he would become a kidnapper of young women. However, after some time, he discovered that all the girls the system ordered him to kidnap were far from ordinary. "Big brother Ye Feng~ You've kidnapped my heart, and now you're not allowed to leave me ever again~" "Ye Feng~ You kidnapped me back then, now it's my turn to capture you♡" "Little Feng, you're mine! You can only be mine!" "Ye Feng, none of them deserve you. Only I love you the most♡" ... This is madness, they've all gone mad! Wait, what? Why are all the girls I kidnapped yanderes?!
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
