Chapter 54: Returning to the Sect

The Free Sparring Days lasted for an entire month. By the time Xu Xianxing returned, the participants for the Grand Sect Tournament were mostly decided, with only a few final matches remaining.

Lian Mu was undoubtedly selected, as was Guan Shize. Although he had received another brutal beating after being dragged back by Senior Xuanji, his combat skills were still on par with the other disciples.

After a month of sparring, Autumn Peak had also finalized its participants. The last few matches required mixed sparring between talisman cultivators and sword cultivators to determine the three second-seat representatives.

Gui Xian Sect prioritized volunteers when selecting second-seat representatives—those who wanted the position could sign up. However, Lian Mu was an exception—Murong Yi had personally pressed her into signing up.

There were only three second-seat positions, usually given to strong combatants. It was rare to see artifact refiners or alchemy cultivators in these roles, and since Gui Xian Sect had almost no body cultivators, the choices were generally limited to talisman cultivators and sword cultivators.

Baili Que, who was from Autumn Peak, was well aware of the top talisman cultivators from his peak. So, during his free time, he shared insights about Autumn Peak with Lian Mu.

Wen Yun was a battle-hardened cultivator who loved sparring. However, since he had already challenged almost every strong opponent in the sect, he had run out of people to fight. His fighting style was violent and relentless—one punch from him could make someone cough up three mouthfuls of blood. His attacks were too brutal, so very few were willing to spar with him.

As a result, he had no choice but to settle for watching matches, roaming between Cold Arrival Peak and Autumn Peak. Even during meals, he followed the others around.

For the past month, Lian Mu spent her days sparring and her nights at Fragrance-Attracting Peak, studying alchemy with Ji Mingyue. Her life was fulfilling, leaving her with no time to worry about anything else.

On this day, as usual, the disciples from Cold Arrival Peak were brought to Autumn Peak for sparring against talisman cultivators.

There were many skilled talisman cultivators, but due to their weapon limitations, they were generally a step below sword cultivators in direct combat. Some talisman cultivators couldn’t even activate their talismans in time before a sword cultivator struck them down.

A few sharp-tongued sword cultivators mocked the talisman cultivators from Autumn Peak, saying they were only good at drawing talismans and setting up barriers, but when it came to real combat, they were nothing more than paper tigers—strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

This enraged the talisman cultivators, and tensions between the two groups escalated. From that day on, the entire Autumn Peak became a chaotic battleground. Everywhere one looked, people were fighting, and the matches grew more intense by the day.

However, this was exactly what those sharp-tongued sword cultivators wanted. They enjoyed every moment of the fighting, growing more and more excited with each battle.

Lian Mu was not spared either—she was dragged into the conflict. From the moment she set foot on Autumn Peak, her challengers were no longer sword cultivators but groups of talisman cultivators attacking her at once.

She didn’t have any strong feelings about it—just found it annoying. Talisman cultivators were experts at teleportation, slippery like eels, constantly testing her patience.

For the first time, Lian Mu sympathized with Murong Yi. Whenever they sparred, Murong Yi had to deal with her evasive movements. Now, she realized how merciful Murong Yi had been for not breaking her legs.

At least for her, every time she fought a talisman cultivator, she had the urge to directly break their arms and legs so they would stop buzzing around like flies.

After dealing with yet another talisman cultivator, Lian Mu sat down to rest, swallowing a few spirit-replenishing pills. As she glanced around the sparring grounds, her gaze lifted to the sky, where several silver kites were flying toward them.

Wen Yun, who had been watching the match, sat down beside her. “Xu Xianxing is back.”

Lian Mu took a closer look and saw a figure in long-sleeved dark blue robes standing on the silver kite, accompanied by several artifact refiners. Upon landing, he immediately began coordinating with other assisting artifact refiners.

It was indeed Xu Xianxing.

His presence was too striking, drawing immediate attention. A sword cultivator quickly rushed over and stuck close to him.

Wen Yun absentmindedly plucked a blade of grass and held it between his lips. After watching for a while, he asked, “Why does he always have someone following him?”

Before, it was Baili Que. Now that Baili Que wasn’t around, another sword cultivator had taken his place.

Lian Mu replied, “Because artifact refiners are delicate and need constant protection. Baili Que was assigned by a senior to guard him at all times while in the sect.”

There was another reason—Young Master Xu had been spoiled since childhood and couldn’t handle any grievances. If someone bullied him, he always needed someone by his side to stand up for him.

“Must be nice to be an artifact refiner,” Wen Yun sighed. “So many people caring about you.”

Lian Mu gave him a sidelong glance. “And you think no one cares about you?”

Wen Yun suddenly fell silent. After a long pause, he finally spoke. “I don’t need that kind of useless concern. Instead of waiting for others to protect me, I’d rather grow strong myself. My mother always taught me that strength is the only way to silence others and make them submit.”

Lian Mu wholeheartedly agreed. That was exactly how her family had raised her in her past life. She patted Wen Yun on the shoulder. “That’s why you’re my friend.”

“Lian Mu!”

Xu Xianxing had spotted them and was now walking over.

“I’m exhausted. I just got back to the sect and they already put me to work assisting the artifact refiners. Let me sit down for a bit,” he grumbled, wrapping his fox-fur cloak tightly around himself as he plopped down beside her.

Lian Mu caught the lotus fragrance on his robes and asked, “Why did you come back so late?”

The other artifact refiners had returned half a month ago. Xu Xianxing was probably the only one who had dragged it out for so long.

The tension between Wen Yun and Xu Xianxing had eased somewhat, so Wen Yun remarked, “We thought you were planning to stay in Qingxuan Sect.”

“Mm… I was forced to stay,” Xu Xianxing admitted. “The day I was supposed to return, Qingxuan Sect was suddenly attacked by second-rank magical beasts. They suspected someone was causing trouble on purpose, so they detained everyone.”

In reality, everyone knew the truth—Qingxuan Sect, a place teeming with geniuses, would never experience a random magical beast attack. Even a first-rank magical beast wouldn’t be able to break through Qingxuan Sect’s barriers.

They had simply wanted to keep Gui Xian Sect’s chief artifact refiner there, hoping to extract some information.

Xu Xianxing ended up being detained for an entire month, but the people of Qingxuan Sect couldn’t pry anything out of him. Left with no choice, they had to release him at the last possible moment.

However, Qingxuan Sect had been careless. Not only did they fail to obtain any information about Gui Xian Sect, but they also ended up revealing some things to Xu Xianxing instead.

“I found out about their chief sword cultivator’s background.” Xu Xianxing grinned. “I didn’t expect Qingxuan Sect to be hiding so much. They claim that their chief sword cultivator is a relative of the Second Elder, but that’s not true at all.”

Lian Mu: “…You spent a whole month just to find out about that?”

What use was knowing someone’s background? Wouldn’t it make more sense to figure out their weaknesses first?

Wen Yun was interested in this kind of gossip. “Qingxuan Sect’s chief sword cultivator… Is his name Ying You? I’ve heard of him.”

Lian Mu wasn’t interested. She moved to the side and continued taking her spirit pills, but their voices were so loud that she couldn’t help but overhear snippets of the conversation.

“So it turns out their chief sword cultivator isn’t a descendant of an immortal sect at all. He was actually picked up by Qingxuan Sect’s Second Elder. His background is similar to that sword cultivator from the Lu family—both of them were born to mortals.”

“They just happened to pick up someone with a Heavenly Spiritual Root? Qingxuan Sect’s luck is ridiculous.”

“They have a Spirit-Seeking Instrument, so finding someone with a Heavenly Spiritual Root isn’t that hard. But the most crucial thing is…”

Xu Xianxing and Wen Yun, setting aside any past grudges, dove into a full-on gossip session.

Meanwhile, Lian Mu finished her break and stood up to stretch her limbs.

Just as she raised her head, a strange flash of pain flickered through her mind—similar to the sensation she had when she established a spiritual link with Green bean.

The pain disappeared in an instant, leaving no trace.

Lian Mu slowly spread her hands, releasing her spiritual energy in an attempt to sense Green bean.

No response.

“…”

It seemed like it was just her imagination. Ever since green bean had jumped into the Molten Fire Cavern, there was no way it could have returned.