Chapter 64 – Offending Two Sects at Once

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(T/N: Changed 4 Sect Names From

Chixiao Sect – Crimson Sky Sect

Qingxuan Sect – Azure Profound Sect

Wunian Sect – Clear Thought Sect

Gui Xian Sect – Returning Immortal Sect)

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On the fourth day, the Crimson Sky Sect’s first team emerged from the illusion realm.

They had encountered almost no difficulties—after all, they were from the second-ranked sect, and their strength was beyond question. Even though the Azure Profound Sect had already slaughtered most of the magical beasts carrying the Icecore Blossom’s aura, the Crimson Sky Sect still managed to forge a path through the remaining beasts by brute force.

As soon as the Crimson Sky Sect’s First-Seat Sword Cultivator, Lu Feishuang, stepped out of the illusion realm, she spotted a large group of her sectmates.

Seeing that she had returned, the group of disciples swarmed around her.

Lu Feishuang frowned and asked, “What happened? I suddenly heard in the illusion realm that many of you were forced out. Did you run into the Azure Profound Sect?”

“It wasn’t the Azure Profound Sect,” a young Artifact Refiner squeezed through the crowd, blood still drying on the tip of his nose. “It was the Returning Immortal Sect. Their First-Seat Talisman Cultivator used a Speech Talisman to force us to give up information on the rest of our team. Then their First-Seat Body Cultivator and Second-Seat Sword Cultivator specifically targeted our sect members in the illusion realm.”

“A Speech Talisman?” Lu Feishuang’s eyes turned cold. “The Returning Immortal Sect actually dared to…”

They weren’t the only ones present—the Clear Thought Sect’s rest area was right next door. Several of their disciples joined in to stir the pot: “That’s not all. They even humiliated the Crimson Sky Sect out in the snow, stripping off sect robes as a show of provocation.”

Lu Feishuang completely ignored the Clear Thought Sect’s disciples. Sword in hand, she entered the Crimson Sky Sect’s resting area. After reviewing the Shadow Stone recording, she finally understood what had happened.

“This year they suddenly grew so bold, daring to lay hands on Crimson Sky Sect disciples.”

Although the Crimson Sky Sect was second among the four great sects, no one had ever dared to openly humiliate them like this—not even the Azure Profound Sect, who usually extended at least some courtesy.

Zhangsun Li of the first team said, “Team Leader, why don’t we teach them a lesson in the next match?”

Lu Feishuang extinguished the Shadow Stone recording. “No need. The Returning Immortal Sect isn’t worth our personal effort. They’re just a sect on the verge of collapse.”

“But still…”

Lu Feishuang said coldly, “In the upcoming rounds, I’ll send people to deal with their second-seat. This disgrace must be repaid.”

They absolutely couldn’t allow a worthless sect like the Returning Immortal Sect to trample over them.

…

And so, after just the first round of the competition, the Returning Immortal Sect had already offended two sects. Outside the illusion realm, the elders were discussing the situation.

“So the Returning Immortal Sect is trying to rise from the ashes by provoking both our sect and the Clear Thought Sect right off the bat?”

“Or maybe they’ve just seen the writing on the wall and decided to go nuts before getting kicked out of the Four Great Sects.”

Two Crimson Sky Sect elders chatted casually nearby, as if it wasn’t their sect that had been insulted. This was typical of their sect—they never shied away from drama, even their own.

Rather than being indifferent, it was more accurate to say the Crimson Sky Sect elders knew they’d bleed the Returning Immortal Sect dry in retaliation, so they were just poking fun early.

The Clear Thought Sect’s elders had already been subdued by Shang Liu. Once she sat down, they said nothing the entire time.

The Returning Immortal Sect’s elders, however, remained calm. They showed no signs of regret or unease, and never offered a statement.

“Murong, I’ll admit now—your disciples have a bit of skill,” said the Crimson Sky Sect’s elder specializing in body cultivation. “They’re exactly like you were back then.”

—Impulsive. Lacking restraint.

He didn’t say it outright, but everyone knew what he meant.

Murong Yi showed no reaction. He twirled his silver fan, eyes fixed on the image from the Shadow Stone.

The second snowfall had already begun. A new collapse tunnel formed, and the Clear Thought Sect’s first team had bad luck. Just as they regrouped with their second team, they encountered a massive collapse, with most members falling into it—right in the middle of a blizzard zone.

In contrast, the Returning Immortal Sect’s first team remained steady. After Lian Mu and Wen Yun robbed a Crimson Sky Sect scouting team, they fell into a nest of Snow Velvet Butterflies—fifth-rank and above.

The two worked together with perfect coordination. After finishing off the butterflies, their first team located the Icecore Blossoms. The top and side blossoms had already been picked, but the third blossom was in full bloom.

The rankings for the first round were now determined.

The first to exit the illusion realm were the four members of the Returning Immortal Sect’s first team, along with Luo Qianxue. The moment the five of them stepped out, countless knife-like glares flew their way.

Guan Huailin: “…”

He’d never been stared at like this before.

Thanks to their actions in the illusion realm, neither the Clear Thought Sect nor the Crimson Sky Sect were pleased with them. The Crimson Sky Sect disciples were subtle about it, merely glaring sidelong, but the Clear Thought Sect disciples immediately started speaking in sarcastic tones.

Thus, the moment Lian Mu and Wen Yun appeared, they were met with biting comments from the Clear Thought Sect.

But those two had thicker skin than city walls, completely unbothered. Lian Mu had lived two lives and wasn’t rattled by a few words. Wen Yun had made enemies since childhood and was long used to insults.

“Tsk, they’re all talking so weirdly,” Wen Yun remarked. “I hate that kind of person the most—if you want to insult someone, just say it. All this passive-aggressive nonsense is so annoying.”

Honestly, Lian Mu didn’t like it either. Everyone from the Clear Thought Sect talked like that.

Still, given the situation, they didn’t want to retaliate directly—they’d just finished off a group of magical beasts and were a little tired.

Seeing that neither Lian Mu nor Wen Yun responded, and no one else from Returning Immortal Sect reacted to Clear Thought Sect either, they all passed by with blank expressions, as if they hadn’t seen them at all.

Xu Xianxing didn’t quite understand what was going on, but he didn’t want to disrupt the team’s harmony, so he pretended to be deep and solemn too.

Clear Thought Sect’s insults hit empty air. Being ignored only made them angrier, and the Crimson Sky Sect standing off to the side was also glaring furiously.

Under the sharp gazes of the crowd, Returning Immortal Sect left. This was their territory. They didn’t have to stay in the rest area; they could return straight to their respective peaks.

Clear Thought Sect’s chief team hadn’t emerged yet—they still needed some time.

Although the rankings after the trials were widely known, tradition dictated that the elders still rank the cultivators of the four major sects across the five cultivation paths.

Sword cultivators were ranked on the Yulan Board, talisman cultivators on the Youlan Board, alchemists on the Baimai Board, artifact refiners on the Yetan Board, and body cultivators on the Honglian Board.

After all seven illusion trials concluded, the top cultivator in each path would be determined. Regardless of whether they were chief or second-seat, even the five-path cultivators in the Grand Formation team would be included in the rankings. Sect affiliation didn’t matter—everything was based on individual strength.

Waiting for Clear Thought Sect to come out and the rankings to be finalized gave them time to rest.

Lian Mu wasn’t the least bit interested in the other sects. The Azure Profound Sect was fully intact and had stayed in the rest area the whole time, so there was no way she could find a chance to approach Feng Yunyi right now. So, she snuck back to Elegant Seasons Peak.

As usual, she ordered a large plate of food and sat down in the dining hall, ready to eat.

Ji Mingyue followed her, though she came alone.

Lian Mu bit into a piece of chilled cake. A medicinal flavor spread in her mouth. “Where’s the rest of them?”

“Collapsed back at the peak. No sleep for days.”

Ji Mingyue was still awake, and she got straight to the point. “While I was in the illusion realm, I picked a few types of spiritual plants that seemed pretty good. They’d work well in a replenishing pill formula. But I need them for the upcoming trials, so I can’t use them now. I was thinking, maybe we could visit the Third Domain sometime—we might find identical ones there.”

Lian Mu had already guessed what she was about to say. “The spirit herb bounties from Star-Plucking Tower aren’t easy to exploit.”

“Who said anything about exploiting? If I find them, I’ll just buy them outright.”

Lian Mu: “…”

She forgot. Everyone else here was rich—except her.

Lian Mu asked, “But the roads down the mountain are sealed. How do we get out?”

“No need to climb over walls. I have a pass that lets me come and go freely.” Ji Mingyue pulled out a jade token carved with a plum blossom.

Lian Mu whistled. “Impressive. You need a personal issue from an elder to get that, right? Your connections run deep.”

Ji Mingyue replied, “My family’s different from the others. I need to go back home from time to time. When are you free? I’ll take you with me down the mountain.”

“Tomorrow,” Lian Mu said after thinking for a moment. Since it had to do with her, she couldn’t put it off. “I’m going to catch up on sleep today. Come find me early tomorrow morning.”

“Alright. Once we get to the Third Domain, you handle the magical beasts, and I’ll look for the spiritual plants.”