Chapter 160: Green Bean Nibbles Flowers
—one scorpion against a swarm of starving locusts…

“What’s wrong?” Bai Li Que asked. “Did you drop something?”

Lian Mu shook her head. “It’s nothing important.”

Her spiritual connection with Green Bean was still intact. When it wanted to come back, it could follow that thread of energy to find her.

Green Bean had always been a glutton. It had to take a bite out of everything it saw. Last time, it drank from the Azure Profound Sect’s Illusory Pool. This time, it had leapt straight into the Profound Water. She was only worried that by the time it came back, the entire river might be drained dry…

If it were any other spirit beast, she wouldn’t believe it could drink an entire river. But this was Green Bean—the repeat offender who once gnawed through all her furniture in a single night. She hadn’t fed it in a while, too busy lately to take care of it. It needed to absorb a lot of spiritual energy, so it was entirely possible…

Out of sight from the others, Lian Mu quietly tapped into their spiritual link, trying to sense Green Bean’s intent. But all she got was a chaotic swirl of impressions: Green Bean was happily swimming in the water, faster than any fish, darting just beneath the surface, neither sinking nor rising. It seemed to be thoroughly enjoying being submerged in the Profound Water.

Lian Mu: “…”

Did it just find itself a place to take a bath?

She couldn’t quite figure out Green Bean’s obsession, but since it didn’t seem to be in a feeding frenzy, she let it play for a while longer. Just in case, she issued a silent command: if it didn’t return before nightfall, she’d turn it into a bracelet and sink it to the bottom of the lake.

“I see the Crimson Sky Sect,” Xu Xianxing said. “Wow, that’s blinding.”

Not far off on Yinghui Island, the Crimson Sky Sect stood at the very center. The most famous body cultivator statue of the sect towered over the island, impossible to miss.

Xu Xianxing glanced at the statue, then at Wen Yun, comparing the two. “It kind of looks like you.”

Lian Mu looked over too and had to admit—it really did. Especially the sharp, determined features.

Wen Yun said, “That’s one of our Wen Clan ancestors. The Crimson Sky Sect is known for its body cultivators, and many of my forebears came from there. That one was the most famous.”

As he spoke, his expression dimmed slightly, as if remembering something painful.

Ji Mingyue quickly shot the group a look, and everyone caught on.

Xu Xianxing recalled Wen Yun’s family situation. His mother had also been part of the Crimson Sky Sect but had passed away early.

Realizing he’d touched a sore spot, Xu Xianxing hurried to change the subject. “I heard the Crimson Sky Sect prepared a grand feast to welcome us. Let’s hurry, or the other sects might beat us to it.”

Wen Yun sighed. “Only you would still be thinking about food at a time like this.”

Xu Xianxing chuckled. “Eating and drinking is the key to happiness. When I was a kid, my biggest dream was to eat my way across the world.”

“Huh?” Lian Mu raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t it to catch giant demonic beasts and become the strongest sword cultivator?”

Mentioning his childhood fantasies made Xu Xianxing blush. “I was young and impulsive, okay? Cut me some slack. Everyone brags when they’re little. Bai Li Que used to say he was number one at everything growing up.”

Guan Shize chimed in, “Wasn’t he? Chief Bai Li always seemed like the steady, reliable type.”

Now it was Bai Li Que’s turn to look awkward. He kicked at Guan Shize. “When did I ever say that?”

Lian Mu grinned. “Don’t deny it. I remember you saying it too.”

Xu Xianxing grinned mischievously. “I never had the heart to call him out, but actually, Bai Li Que has always been second place.”

“Then who’s first?” Lian Mu asked.

“Jiang Yuechen from the Azure Profound Sect,” Xu Xianxing replied. “She’s from a prominent talisman cultivator family too. Naturally, there’s always been competition between them. She and Bai Li Que have gone head-to-head since they were kids. And now, in this year’s Immortal Sect Grand Competition, they’re clashing again. Bai Li Que is still ranked second on the Orchid Ranking.”

No one remembers second place—unless you’re always second. Bai Li Que had become something of a legend in that regard, forever overshadowed by Jiang Yuechen.

Expressionless, Bai Li Que muttered, “…One day, I’ll turn the tables.”

Xu Xianxing and Bai Li Que were close and often teased each other like this. The others were used to it by now.

After a round of banter, the group relaxed. Upon arriving at Crimson Sky Sect, they all dismounted from their silver kites.

Just as the rumors said, half of Crimson Sky Sect was on land, the other half on the sea. Some mysterious formation kept several pavilions suspended above the water.

Among the Four Great Sects, Crimson Sky Sect was known for being the most extravagant. You could tell just by looking at their layout. The main palace sat atop the highest point of Yinghui Island, its pale blue glazed tiles shimmering under the sunlight. The grand entrance was draped with pearl bead curtains, and the doors were inlaid with intricately carved seashells, giving the whole place a dreamlike, oceanic charm.

Disciples from all sects landed on the beach. It was wind season, and the crashing waves and howling gusts made it hard to keep one’s eyes open.

“So this is Crimson Sky Sect? It’s like a celestial palace—way more impressive than the other three sects.”

“All show and no substance. Looks fancy, but that’s about it.”

The disciples chattered among themselves. The Crimson Sky Sect members just smiled, unfazed by either praise or criticism.

Xu Xianxing looked around. “Didn’t they say there’d be food as soon as we arrived?”

An elder from Crimson Sky Sect came forward, smiling warmly. “You’ve all had a long journey. By order of the Sect Master, please rest and refresh yourselves first. Once you’ve eaten and had your fill, we’ll discuss the Grand Competition.”

White Tiger West and Azure Dragon East were at opposite ends of the realm, and the journey had been long. Many disciples were indeed exhausted.

“The food is right before you. The Endless Sea holds countless delicacies—I hope you all enjoy,” said the Venerable Elder, and with that, he turned and left.

The disciples: “?”

While the others were still stunned, the Crimson Sky Sect disciples had already scattered. Some headed toward the rocky shore, others flew out over the sea.

Lian Mu walked up to a reef and, seeing what was attached to it, immediately understood. She pulled out her demonic crystal blade, sliced off a piece, pried open the shell, and revealed the tender flesh inside.

She turned to Xu Xianxing. “Wanna try?”

Xu Xianxing hesitated. “Raw?”

“Crimson Sky Sect doesn’t have a dining hall. This sea is our banquet table,” Wen Yun said, snatching the piece before Xu Xianxing could respond. “In a way, I guess it *is* a feast—just eat whatever you can catch.”

Ji Mingyue muttered, “So… calling it a banquet sounds nice, but really, we’re just foraging for our own food.”

Bai Li Que glanced over at the Crimson Sky Sect side. One of their disciples had used a formation to lure in a school of fish, then grabbed one, sliced it open, and started eating it raw.

Bai Li Que twitched at the corner of his mouth, clearly struggling to accept it. “…How is this any different from savages?”

Lian Mu pulled out a pot she carried with her, set it up on the sand, and said, “Some things you can eat raw, others you can’t. If you really can’t stomach it, just boil it.”

Xu Xianxing looked around. The other sects’ disciples had already started moving, so without another word, he rolled up his sleeves and went off to catch fish.

“Bai Li Que, set up a formation to draw the fish over,” Xu Xianxing called. “We Lightning Spirit Root cultivators are top-tier when it comes to fishing.”

Bai Li Que: “…”

Is *that* how formations are supposed to be used?

Guan Shize looked toward the shallows. “I’ll go gather some crabs.”

Ji Mingyue: “I’ll come too.”

Lian Mu finished setting up her pot, thought for a moment, and decided she’d rather stay by the reef and pry open more shellfish.

Just as she was about to get to work, a commotion came from the Azure Profound Sect’s direction.

“What the hell is this? There are scorpions in the sea?” said one Azure Profound Sect disciple who was fishing.

“The Endless Sea’s full of weird stuff. Could be a sea scorpion. I heard from the Crimson Sky Sect that there’s this black, spiky thing you can eat once you cut it open. Want to try?”

“Spikes? Eh… I guess the tail kinda counts.”

Lian Mu looked toward the source of the voices—and saw that the thing in the Azure Profound Sect disciple’s hand was none other than Green Bean. It had floated over on the Profound Water current, looking noticeably plumper, clearly having drunk its fill. But now it had ended up in someone else’s hands.

Lian Mu didn’t know whether to praise it for returning on time, or scold it for being so dumb it got lost—even with the spiritual link, it still managed to find the wrong person.

Just as she was about to go retrieve Green Bean, it suddenly wriggled out of the disciple’s grasp and made a break for it.

“Ahh—it bites!”

“I’m eating it today, no matter what. After it!”

The two Azure Profound Sect disciples took off running, but Green Bean scurried across the sand like lightning. It was clearly in its element here, and in the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight.

The two disciples ran straight into Ying You and were forced to stop.

Ying You asked, “What are you chasing?”

The two immediately lowered their heads. “Senior Brother Ying… we weren’t chasing anything. Just out for a walk.”

Anyone with eyes could tell Ying You was in a bad mood today. Though he was usually easy to talk to, people naturally held a certain awe toward those stronger than themselves. The two disciples didn’t dare say more and gave up on the runaway scorpion, turning to leave.

Lian Mu stayed silent. Ying You didn’t seem to notice her. Once he was gone, she followed the spiritual thread to track down Green Bean.

She left the beach and headed toward the greener parts of the island.

After weaving past a few bends, she came upon a high rocky ledge connecting two small stone hills. A waterfall cascaded down from the ledge like a curtain of water.

She stepped through the waterfall, but her clothes remained dry. Before her was a field of pale blue flowers, low to the ground, just brushing against her ankles.

Lian Mu crouched down and found Green Bean nestled in the flowerbed, all six eyes wide open as it munched away on the blue blossoms.

In just a short time, it had already cleared a patch around itself.

“You like these?” Lian Mu asked.

Green Bean chirped excitedly. It was the first time it had ever made noise for food—normally, it only squeaked when Lian Mu squeezed it.

“If you like them, I’ll bring some back to plant. But don’t eat all of them—this isn’t our island.”

She used the Spirit Extraction and Seed Transformation Art that Feng Tianche had taught her to draw out a portion of the blue flowers’ spiritual energy and transformed it into a large handful of seeds.

“Come on, let’s go back.” Lian Mu grabbed Green Bean and tried to pull it up. But the stubborn little thing clung to two blue flowers and refused to let go, yanking them out by the roots.

Lian Mu: “…”

Fine. Whatever.

She carried Green Bean off, and on the way back, she ran into Fengyun Yi.

He paused when he saw her, then asked, “Why did you say that earlier today?”

He clearly didn’t understand.

Lian Mu instinctively stuffed Green Bean into her sleeve. It lost its grip, and the little blue flower it was holding fell out. She caught it just in time.

She replied, “Do I need a reason to want to get to know you?”

Fengyun Yi frowned, about to ask more, but Lian Mu cut him off. “I’ve got something to do. I’m leaving.”

As she brushed past him, she casually handed him the little blue flower. “Here, this is for you.”

Fengyun Yi’s eyes widened. He tried to return it. “I can’t accept your gift.”

Lian Mu had no intention of taking it back. With a few quick steps, she put distance between them. “If you don’t want it, give it to your Team Leader.”

She tossed off the remark and walked away without giving him a chance to respond, leaving Fengyun Yi standing there, stunned.

This scene happened to be witnessed by the Clear Thought Sect’s Chief Team.

From a distance, Tang Wuxun stared at the two figures, deep in thought. “Could it be that Shen Wuxie was right… Lian Mu really *does* like Fengyun Yi?”

“She literally just gave him a flower. How much more obvious can it get?” Shen Wuxie rolled his eyes. “And you hit me last time when I said it—turns out I was right all along!”

Yuan Wuxu hesitated before saying, “Lian Mu’s judgment can’t be that bad, can it? Aside from being a disciple of the Azure Profound Sect, Fengyun Yi doesn’t really stand out. Among the four Chief Alchemists, he’s pretty average.”

Though Yuan Wuxu usually appeared refined, quiet, and reserved, when it came to evaluating others, he was surprisingly blunt.

Gong Rumei, who didn’t like Lian Mu, kept silent. Feng Huanyin also said nothing.

Tang Wuxun pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and called Shen Wuxie over. “Come here. I have a task for you. If you can pull it off, I’ll let go of all the stupid things you’ve done in the past.”