Chapter 153: Victory by Lying Down
Absurd, yet strangely fitting in a way no ordinary person could imagine…

Late at night, all was silent.

Lian Mu lay motionless on her bed, clutching her sword. Green Bean sprawled across her chest, its glowing green bean-like eyes fixed on her. The girl and the scorpion stared at each other for a long while.

She rolled over. Still no sound from outside. A flicker of doubt crossed her mind.

“……”

Tonight was supposed to be the Entry Trial. But from afternoon until now, there had been no orders from the Venerable Elders—no summons, no instructions. The disciples from all sects had simply returned to their lodgings as usual.

After Lian Mu got back to her room, she hadn’t stepped out again. She’d stayed close to the Fish-and-Goose Stone, waiting for the Venerable Elders’ command. Two hours passed. She eventually got into bed, and still, the stone remained silent.

Her place was tucked away in a quiet corner, with hardly any neighbors nearby. The only sound was the wind rustling the paper windows.

The spirit stone in her ever-burning lamp had burned out. With a sigh, Lian Mu reluctantly pulled out another one to replace it. She tossed her sword aside, deciding not to wait anymore.

She took out a tower-shaped luminous stone and placed it by her pillow. Tapping it lightly, she asked, “Have my spirit plants sprouted yet?”

She had planted the seeds Master Feng had given her in the space where Xuan Che resided, asking him to look after them. Two days had passed, and she was anxious to know how they were doing.

A moment later, a lazy male voice drifted from the luminous stone, sounding like he’d just woken up. “That fast? You only just buried them.”

“Really? Don’t tell me you didn’t even check,” Lian Mu said.

“This Venerable One sleeps right next to them,” Xuan Che replied. “Your spirit plant seeds are high-grade. Even my demonic beasts wanted a bite. If I hadn’t stopped them, they’d be long gone.”

“…Thanks for the trouble,” Lian Mu muttered.

“So, what about the thing you promised me?” he asked.

“Well… I do have some food, but I’m at White Tiger West right now. You might not be able to stomach the stuff here.”

“White Tiger West? Forget it, that place is notorious for terrible food. Fine, you owe me. Next time.”

“……”

Even a thousand-year-old ancient demon knew how awful White Tiger West’s cuisine was. Clearly, it was a long-standing tradition.

“I’ve still got two steamed buns in my bag. You can make do with those for now,” Lian Mu offered. “But seriously, you’ve cultivated for over a thousand years. Shouldn’t you be past the need for food? Why are you always thinking about eating?”

Xuan Che’s tone was indifferent, but arrogant. “What’s it to you?”

Lian Mu patted the luminous stone. “I’m just trying to understand you. If I knew where you came from, I could fly over and buy you something decent.”

“I used to be from Azure Dragon East,” Xuan Che said. “But that was a long time ago. I’ve been sealed in this tower for nine hundred years. I’ve long forgotten what the outside world looks like. I can’t see the mountains and rivers anymore. The only thing I can still bring into the tower… is food.”

“You want to get out?”

“No.”

“With your cultivation level, even among the demon race, I doubt many could match you. Why were you sealed in a tower?”

“I came here willingly. It’s better than the outside. No constant hunts, no daily battles. The world has no place for the demon race. Only here is there still peace.”

Lian Mu thought about it. If he was telling the truth, and he had once held a high position among the demon race, then he would’ve been a prime target for the Immortal Sects’ purges.

“Xuan Che, have you ever killed anyone?” she asked. “I heard the demon race nourishes their bodies with blood—the more people they kill, the faster they advance.”

But she couldn’t sense any bloodthirst from him. Though his eyes held a deep, unshakable killing aura, his spiritual energy was clean. Even Green Bean, a Spirit Beast highly sensitive to demon energy, didn’t react much to him.

In fact, it seemed like he even knew Green Bean.

“You’re asking if a demon has ever killed someone? What kind of dumb question is that?” Xuan Che didn’t answer directly, but Lian Mu already knew.

“Green Bean loves gnawing on demonic creatures, but it’s never tried to gnaw on you,” she said. “I’m guessing you’ve never killed anyone. There’s no trace of blood on you.”

“You mean that ugly thing? Can’t believe you gave it a name like that. Ever since it got a new master, it won’t listen to me anymore. Still, it’s been fairly well-behaved with you. Spirit Beasts are better off with righteous cultivators anyway.”

“So you were its previous master? No wonder—it used to always lie on the luminous stone.”

The stone went silent. Lian Mu tapped it again, trying to get him to let her in so she could check on the spirit plants and maybe drop off the two buns.

She rolled over, reaching for her spatial pouch, when something caught her eye—a humanoid shadow outside the window.

“?”

She quickly shoved the luminous stone under her pillow, got out of bed, and walked to the window. The shadow didn’t move.

Lian Mu could feel it watching her.

“You came to see me in the middle of the night, but couldn’t knock? Just gonna stand there by the window?”

She tested the waters, but got no reply. Releasing her spiritual sense, she realized the shadow had no human aura.

It wasn’t human at all.

Lian Mu thought for a moment, then poked two holes in the paper window—right at eye level.

She saw a pair of red eyes. No pupils, but clearly staring at her. She couldn’t make out the face; it was too dark, the figure had blended into the night.

She didn’t move. Neither did the shadow.

Lian Mu hesitated, wondering if she should draw her sword to test it, when suddenly a scream rang out, followed by the clash of blades.

So she wasn’t the only one who’d encountered the shadow. Others were already fighting.

“……”

If she had to guess, this was probably the Entry Trial.

Lian Mu thought for a moment, then sheathed her sword and stood still, waiting for the shadow to make the first move.

……

……

“Cheng Yu, this is the Low-Tier Demon Race Member you mentioned? Quite interesting.”

In the main hall of the Clear Thought Sect, the leading Venerable Elders of the Four Great Sects were all gathered.

“These demon race creatures are masters of mimicry. You make a move, and it mirrors it exactly,” Mei Chengyu leaned against the wall, cradling a wine jug. “Even though it’s low-tier, it can match its opponent’s strength—spiritual root, cultivation level, everything. It’s like a mirror. However strong you are, that’s how strong it becomes.”

“It’s easy to defeat others, but hard to defeat yourself,” Mei Chengyu continued. “The first time I encountered one of these demon race beings, I couldn’t suppress it right away either.”

Qin Yuan said, “The demon race truly breeds monsters. If a creature like this low-tier demon were to fall into the hands of someone with malicious intent, the consequences would be unimaginable. But… this is the first time these juniors have faced something like this. I doubt many will make it through.”

“I never expected them to kill it,” Mei Chengyu replied. “If they can hold out for two hours, they pass.”

Qin Yuan frowned. “That may be so, but is stalling for time really the only way?”

Mei Chengyu smiled. “Of course not. There’s another method to break through. It just depends on the strength of this generation’s disciples.”

“Stalling won’t work,” Shen Minglu said slowly. “These demon race creatures mimic people. If you fight them on the Shifang Nether Soil, the longer the battle drags on, the more likely you are to die.”

On the image-recording stone, Gong Rumei, the Clear Thought Sect’s top sword cultivator, was the first to engage the demon race creature. But now he was clearly struggling. The more techniques he used, the more the demon learned—and now it was pressing him down.

Shen Minglu moved her fingertip lightly to another image-recording stone. This one showed Ying You of the Azure Profound Sect.

Ying You was seated at a desk, still holding a book. When he noticed a shadow outside the window, he unsheathed his sword with his left hand and struck in a single, decisive slash—splitting the entire house in two.

The shadow outside had just raised its hand, not yet able to mimic, when it was enveloped by the water-element spiritual power carried in the sword strike. In the blink of an eye, it melted into a puddle of sludge.

“Winning in one move—that’s the best strategy,” Shen Minglu said. “Young cultivators tend to be cautious. When they meet an opponent, they like to test the waters first before using their real skills. That works in competitions among peers, but true experts settle things in a single strike. The more you test, the more chances you give your enemy.”

“The best way to deal with this kind of low-tier demon race creature is to kill it with the first move—don’t give it a chance to mimic.”

Mei Chengyu nodded. “As expected of Sect Master Shen. Just from the recordings, you’ve already found the key to breaking the trial. This Azure Profound Sect chief disciple is far more capable than I expected. In fact, he was the first to pass. Shang Liu, your worries were unnecessary.”

Shang Liu remained calm. “He’s never let the Azure Profound Sect down.”

Mei Chengyu turned to Shen Minglu. “Sect Master Shen, I assume this Azure Profound Sect chief disciple is the top performer in this trial? Passing in a single move—nothing could top that.”

Shen Minglu didn’t respond directly. Instead, she pulled out another image-recording stone from the pile and placed it in the center.

Everyone turned to look. The person on the stone was Lian Mu of the Returning Immortal Sect.

Shang Liu recognized her too. “The Returning Immortal Sect’s second-seat sword cultivator? Her again…”

The group watched as Lian Mu, upon noticing the shadow outside, stood completely still. She even poked a hole through the paper window, locking eyes with the demon race creature.

Mei Chengyu blinked. “Why isn’t she drawing her sword?”

After all, this was just a low-tier demon race creature. It had no intelligence. It wouldn’t make a move unless its opponent did first.

On the screen, Lian Mu held her sword but showed no intention of using it.

Moments later, she yawned, tossed her sword aside, lay back down on the bed, closed her eyes, and went to sleep—completely ignoring the demon race creature still staring at her from outside.

Qin Yuan explained, “She’s always like this. She never takes these external trials seriously. I’ll have Murong speak to her tomorrow.”

Shen Minglu chuckled. “Looks like there’s yet another way to pass—by not making a single move.”

The gathered Venerable Elders: “…”

All they could say was—classic Lian Mu. Her solutions were always unconventional, absurd even, yet somehow they worked in a way no one else could anticipate.

Even Mei Chengyu was momentarily stunned, then laughed. “That sword cultivator is clever. She found a third path. Not making a move at all—yes, that works. But how did she know about this demon race creature’s habits? I never told anyone beforehand.”

“No idea,” Shen Minglu said.

“Maybe just luck. Then again, sometimes luck is part of strength too.”