Chapter 114: Cooperation, The real and the fake, the fake and the real…

The sun was high in the sky, and the heat waves surged.

In the vast desert, a series of disordered footprints remained on a rising sand dune. Two groups had collided and were facing each other, yet the atmosphere was not particularly tense.

“Team Leader Ying, have you given it any thought?”

Lu Feishuang raised her chin and said, “In this contest, neither the Crimson Sky Sect nor Azure Profound Sect has the advantage. The only sect with the upper hand is Clear Thought Sect, and they are not worthy opponents for us. That leaves only Returning Immortal Sect.”

“If we cooperate, Crimson Sky Sect will agree not to contest for the rankings and won’t threaten Azure Profound Sect’s position. But you must help us deal with Returning Immortal Sect.”

After she finished speaking, on the other side, the Azure Profound Sect Chief Team remained silent, not offering a response.

Ying You looked up at the sky. One of the suns had already set, and when all four suns had disappeared, night would fall.

He murmured, “The Crimson Sky Sect is no small force. Without Azure Profound Sect, dealing with Returning Immortal Sect should not be difficult.”

“Times have changed. Relying on the Crimson Sky Sect alone, it would be hard to handle many uncertainties. If the two of our sects join forces, we can certainly crush Returning Immortal Sect,” Changsun Li said.

Gu Qingyu glanced at him: “What uncertainties? Are you referring to that Second Seat Sword Cultivator named Lian Mu, or the one who always outshines you, Wen Yun?”

Changsun Li’s face darkened. “What does Wen Yun have to do with it? Gu Qingyu, don’t forget, you’re not first on the Red Lotus Ranking either. You’ve been outdone by him too.”

“I don’t care,” Gu Qingyu replied nonchalantly. “The Gu family doesn’t compete for the title of the First Body Cultivator family.”

Changsun Li sneered. “Of course you don’t care. You’re just a coward who’s afraid of even insects.”

“Are you sick?” Gu Qingyu’s face turned ugly. He turned to Lu Feishuang. “We came out to scout. Crimson Sky Sect blocking our way and wasting our time is one thing, but is this how you ask for help?”

Lu Feishuang ignored him, plunging her Breaking Rainbow Sword into the sand, her gaze fixed on Ying You. “If we don’t cooperate now to suppress them, sooner or later, the people of Returning Immortal Sect will rise up and cause trouble for Azure Profound Sect.”

“…Sorry, but the safety of Azure Profound Sect is not related to this. Our sect’s rules prohibit disciples from interfering in the disputes of other sects. As the team leader, I must set an example,” Ying You said coldly. “Please, Miss Lu, find another way.”

“You’re acting all high and mighty,” Changsun Li couldn’t help but retort. “You say you won’t get involved, but secretly, you’re investigating their Second Seat. Don’t you want to take action against Returning Immortal Sect?”

Ying You frowned slightly and said coldly, “You’re talking too much.”

Changsun Li grinned. “Since we can’t cooperate, let’s fight. I’m curious to see the true strength of Azure Profound Sect’s genius Sword Cultivator.”

He clenched his fists, spiritual power starting to gather in his hands.

Ying You remained calm, showing no intent to draw his sword. “We have other matters to attend to. I’ll have to excuse myself.”

Changsun Li was about to charge forward when Lu Feishuang stopped him. “Forget it, now is not the time. We’ll leave.”

However, just as Ying You took a step forward, a new message came through the Lingyu Order.(Spirit jade token)

“Azure Profound Sect’s Second Seat team, including twenty Artifact Refiners and fifteen Alchemy Cultivators, has been eliminated and will be sent out of the Illusory Realm.”

Gu Qingyu froze for a moment, then received news that Azure Profound Sect had signed a contract with another sect.

Azure Profound Sect was the passive party, and the beneficiary was… Returning Immortal Sect.

Now, it was Lu Feishuang’s turn to smile. “How convenient that so many from Azure Profound Sect were eliminated just now.”

She didn’t know who was responsible, but said it casually, merely out of curiosity.

Ying You also received news about the contract. He pursed his lips and tried to summon the contract to see its contents. However, at the corner of the contract, he saw two red marks.

“Lian Mu… it’s her again.” Jiang Yucheng saw the name at the bottom of the contract. “This is bad. Feng Yunyi and the others are in trouble.”

Ying You retracted his fingers, and the contract gradually dissipated. His brow furrowed, his knuckles turning white. After a moment’s pause, he said, “We need to return immediately.”

Gu Qingyu asked, “Returning Immortal Sect is so bold, they’re really causing trouble for us?”

“She shouldn’t have gone far,” Ying You said after a brief silence. “…Let’s chase. If we can’t catch up, we’ll go find Returning Immortal Sect’s Chief Team and take them back.”

The group immediately set off, retracing their steps, leaving the Crimson Sky Sect group behind.

Lu Feishuang smiled faintly. “As expected, it’s the people from Returning Immortal Sect.”

“Team Leader, what do we do now?”

Lu Feishuang raised a hand and said, “Don’t rush. We’ll keep moving. Azure Profound Sect will come to us sooner or later.”

Lian Mu had flown for two hours, finally spotting some traces of human activity.

On the sand dune below, a row of fresh footprints remained, the sand and wind hadn’t had time to cover them. This group had only passed by not long ago.

After she grabbed Azure Profound Sect’s belongings, she immediately ran in the opposite direction. She couldn’t stay where she was and wait for the Chief Team to return, or she’d end up being surrounded.

It had to be said, Azure Profound Sect’s people had some nice items. Just the Spatial Pouch of a Chief Artifact Refiner was enough for her to fly for a day and night in this desert.

Lian Mu stopped in mid-air and began checking the Spatial Pouch she had taken from Feng Yunyi. She reached inside and her face showed a hint of confusion.

She pulled out the contents. In addition to bundles of top-tier spiritual plants, there were also many scraps of useless paper.

Lian Mu unfolded one and saw it was a simple drawing. The strokes were childish, and there were five people in the drawing, but it was obvious who they were.

She looked again at the Spatial Pouch—it seemed old, probably used for many years.

“…”

As expected, these five people should be from Azure Profound Sect’s Chief Team.

Lian Mu kept looking at the drawings, which started from when they were young. They seemed to be daily life scenes. It appeared that Azure Profound Sect’s Chief Team had known each other since childhood and grew up together, with a close bond.

Having found no secret pill formulas, Lian Mu lost interest and stuffed the papers into the pouch, not bothering to look further.

She searched for other things and found an Alchemy Furnace in another Alchemy Cultivator’s Spatial Pouch. It could be freely stored and taken out, so she decided to keep it.

Lian Mu also grabbed a few communication talismans. She tried to use Returning Immortal Sect’s contact spell to ignite one, and the talisman emitted a noisy sound.

“I’m Lian Mu. Where are you?”

After a short while, a voice came from the talisman—Guan Shize’s voice: “Lian Mu? I’m with the Chief Team. We’re in the Second Heaven. We ran into some trouble… ah!”

“Junior Brother, be careful!” Guan Huilin’s voice also came through.

It was chaotic on the other end—voices mixed with various crashing sounds, Demonic Beast roars, and screams.

The talisman remained silent for a while, and Lian Mu said, “Senior Brother Guan?”

This time, the voice replying was Bai Li Que, sounding very anxious: “It’s very dangerous here, but we can’t get out. The Four Symbols Mirror in the First Heaven is not activated, and the connecting passage on both sides is sealed.”

“Lian Mu, are you close to the Four Symbols Mirror to the north?”

Lian Mu looked up at the sky. “I don’t know where I am. There are several suns in the sky, and I can’t tell which direction is which.”

“How many are left now?”

“Only two,” Lian Mu said. “One just set, and it’s starting to get cold.”

“When the third sun begins to set, head in that direction and keep walking. The Four Symbols Mirror is at the edge of the Illusory Realm and needs an unsealing spell,” Bai Li Que spoke quickly. “I’ll teach you…”

But before he could finish, the talisman had burned out, and his voice suddenly stopped.

Lian Mu lit another talisman, but this time, she couldn’t contact them anymore.

Frowning, she could only do as Bai Li Que had said. When the third sun began to set, she flew in that direction on her broomstick.

This path had also been traveled before. Halfway through, she saw a group below. From the color of their uniforms, it seemed to be people from Clear Thought Sect.

The leader, Lian Mu recognized immediately—it was Shen Wuxie.

She stopped her broomstick and used a communication talisman to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Damn it, Tang Wuxun, that little scoundrel, actually tricked me into thinking there was a Metamorphosis-stage Magical Beast here.” Shen Wuxie kicked the sand beneath his feet. “I think he just wants to kick me out of the Chief Team and let that Bai Li Yu take my place.”

“When they were selecting the Chief Talisman Cultivator, if I hadn’t pressured him to pick me, he would have chosen Bai Li Yu.”

The disciples from Clear Thought Sect behind him stayed silent: “…”

Shen Wuxie continued to talk to himself. “So what if he’s from the Bai family? Our Shen family is the number one family of Talisman Cultivators. What’s so great about Bai Li Yu? He’s always trailing behind his cousin, copying everything his cousin does and says. Heh, just like Dong Shi trying to imitate Xishi.”

“Unlike me, even though everyone says my younger brother is better than me, I’ll always just be myself.”

“…”

“Why aren’t you speaking?” Shen Wuxie got angry. “Are you all mute now?”

Shen Wuxie kicked the sand again. “Heh, even you guys look down on me.”

After saying that, he furrowed his brow, muttering to himself: “I’m also a Heavenly Spirit Root. What’s so bad about me? Why does no one believe in me? If I were the young master of the Shen family, would you dare treat me like this?”

High above, Lian Mu: “…”

So it turns out he was kicked out by his teammates.

Lian Mu sighed as she listened. This year’s Clear Thought Sect truly had a hellish start—godlike opponents, pig-like teammates.

Lian Mu considered whether to swoop down and steal Shen Wuxie’s team, but upon further thought, since he was kicked out, Tang Wuxun would definitely not let him walk away with anything valuable. So she decided to go down and try to deceive him.

“Shen Wuxie, are you alone here?”

Lian Mu flew down on her broomstick, hovering in mid-air, speaking to him.

The Clear Thought Sect disciples below grew wary upon seeing her.

Shen Wuxie raised an eyebrow when he saw her. “Lian Mu? Hmph, what a coincidence to run into you here. Are you here to die?”

“You can’t touch me.” Lian Mu smiled and said, “I’m just passing by, saw an old acquaintance, and came to say hello.”

“Such a big mouth. Do you think I’m like those weak and cowardly people from the Hidden Heart faction?” Shen Wuxie sneered.

It was the first time Lian Mu realized that Shen Wuxie was from the Bright Heart faction—a Talisman Cultivator who could actually fight. Suddenly, she understood why Shen Wuxie was kicked out.

Bright Heart faction’s Talisman Cultivators played a very awkward role in the Chief Team. The Chief Talisman Cultivators from other sects were from the Hidden Heart faction, who mostly helped with scouting and setting up barriers, rarely fighting directly.

Lian Mu started speaking recklessly: “Azure Profound Sect has already agreed to cooperate with Returning Immortal Sect. If you mess with Returning Immortal Sect’s people, Azure Profound Sect won’t let you off.”

Shen Wuxie scoffed: “Do you think I’m an idiot? Does Azure Profound Sect care about you guys?”

Lian Mu immediately pulled out a Spatial Pouch from an Azure Profound Sect member. “What do you think? They even kindly let us keep half of their spiritual plants. Did you fall out with the Chief Team? You must really dislike them, right? Let me give you some good news. Azure Profound Sect’s Chief Team has already locked onto them and is preparing to surround and attack.”

Shen Wuxie took a closer look and recognized the Spatial Pouch. He had seen Feng Yunyi wear it seven or eight years ago. The design was plain and simple, fitting Feng Yunyi’s style, and it had the unique markings of the Feng family. It was definitely his.

Feng Yunyi was Azure Profound Sect’s Chief Alchemy Cultivator, and Ying You had been guarding him for years. With Returning Immortal Sect’s abilities, it would be impossible to get his Spatial Pouch without Ying You’s approval.

Unless it was given to them voluntarily…

Shen Wuxie immediately became cautious. “How did you convince Azure Profound Sect?”

“That’s none of your business.” Lian Mu smiled cheerfully and flew off. “Anyway, you’d better watch out for your Chief Team.”

Shen Wuxie watched Lian Mu fly away and, for the first time, calmed down. He didn’t chase after her but instead thought for a moment.

After a long while, he spoke in a deep voice to the Clear Thought Sect disciples behind him: “Inform Tang Wuxun and tell them to keep an eye on Azure Profound Sect’s Chief Team.”
—————
Changed names for Factions of Talisman Cultivators

Mingxin Sect – Bright Heart Faction (specialized in offense)
Huixin Sect – Hidden Heart Faction (specialized in defense)