Chapter 77: The First Clan of Body Cultivators – Your Mouth Is Even More Vicious Than Mine

By the misty valley stream, a pair of black boots stepped through the underbrush, crushing a rotting leaf beneath them.

A small humanoid talisman paper fluttered ahead, scouting left and right, before finally stopping beneath a tree.

Wen Yun plucked the talisman from the air and swept his gaze around. Sword marks could be seen etched into the tree’s trunk.

He looked beneath the tree and used his foot to clear away a pile of fallen leaves, uncovering freshly turned soil. Digging into it, he found a spatial pouch buried underneath.

It had been left behind by Lian Mu.

The spiritual connection to the tracking talisman had ended here—she had likely gone off to find Qu Ruotian.

Wen Yun stored the pouch and immediately contacted the others.

“Did you find Lian Mu?” came Xu Xianxing’s voice from the other end. “Senior Sister Luo has joined up with us, and the other teams have arrived. Only Senior Brother Qu and Lian Mu from the second-seat team are still missing.”

Wen Yun held the communication talisman between two fingers, alert to his surroundings as he spoke. “I found something she left behind, but she’s not here. She might’ve already contacted Senior Brother Qu.”

“As long as there’s news. Senior Brother Guan wants us to regroup as soon as possible. The situation’s not looking good—there’s still no trace of the Wood Core Flower’s spiritual aura along our route. Seems like we drew the short straw this time. Let’s gather our people and minimize casualties,” Xu Xianxing said. “The miasma here grows stronger by the day. We must find them soon.”

Wen Yun gave a soft “mm” and extinguished the talisman.

He was about to take a step when he heard rustling behind him.

A figure stepped out from the undergrowth and walked toward him.

Wen Yun turned around and saw a familiar face. He raised an eyebrow. “You.”

Changsun Li stopped a short distance away, amber eyes locked on him. “Fancy running into you. I thought it’d be someone impressive—turns out it’s just you. What a waste of anticipation.”

His tone was laced with amusement, as if seeing Wen Yun was nothing worth mentioning.

Wen Yun caught sight of two more people hidden in the shrubs. One was a member of the Shen family—Shen Wusang, younger and more composed. The other he didn’t recognize, though they looked like an alchemy cultivator.

Wen Yun chuckled. “If you came just to find me, just say so. No one’s going to laugh at you. Getting a chance to face me is your good fortune.”

“Heh.” Changsun Li’s smile faded, his gaze cold. “I thought you’d rein it in a little after the Wen family lost its clan head. Turns out you’re just as arrogant as ever. No wonder Ji Xiuyuan kicked you out of the house.”

Wen Yun’s expression cooled, his voice calm. “You care that much about the Wen family? Why don’t you go be the Wen heir, then?”

“As if I’d want anything to do with your clan of soon-to-scatter monkeys,” Changsun Li sneered. “Your Returning Immortal Sect dared to go after Crimson Sky Sect disciples—don’t blame me for showing no mercy.”

“I’ll start with you.”

As soon as he spoke, Changsun Li shot forward with lightning speed.

Wen Yun’s brows furrowed, annoyance flashing across his face. “What a pain.”

He stepped back, gathering spiritual power in his arm, and blocked Changsun Li’s strike with a sideways punch.

Body cultivator duels were straightforward—no tricks, no weapons, just fists and force. They valued raw strength above all.

Changsun Li was fast. Coming from a body-cultivator clan and now a disciple of the Crimson Sky Sect, he moved decisively.

But he wasn’t a typical body cultivator. He liked to mix in stealth tactics from talisman users—even when unarmed, he relied on speed to mislead the eye.

Wen Yun didn’t move from his spot, blocking a few strikes as he remarked, “This is boring. Even a talisman user from the Clear Thought Sect fights better than you.”

He didn’t like to move around during fights unless someone truly forced him to. The last people who had were Lian Mu and Bai Lingque from the Star-Plucking Tower.

Changsun Li vanished mid-move and suddenly appeared above, striking down from the air.

Wen Yun raised his arm to block. At the moment of impact, a spiritual barrier flared where they clashed, ringing with a crisp snap.

Changsun Li didn’t land but stayed aloft, diving again for another attack.

“You’re using qi to control your body?” Wen Yun’s eyes locked onto him. His fists never slowed. “Or…”

He took two steps back and spotted a talisman paper affixed to Changsun Li’s waist.

Wen Yun clicked his tongue. “And here I thought you’d ascended a few realms. Turns out someone’s helping you from behind. Needing outside help for a body cultivator duel—Changsun Li, aren’t you ashamed?”

With the talisman’s support, Changsun Li dominated the aerial advantage, gradually gaining the upper hand. “People like you who have no friends always say crap like that.”

He dived from above, aiming a punch at Wen Yun’s head. Just as Wen Yun braced to counter, he switched tactics and vanished.

A moment later, Changsun Li appeared behind Wen Yun, slamming a spiritual energy-infused palm into his back.

Wen Yun took the hit cleanly. Instead of reacting, he reached for his waist.

Changsun Li seized the opening and grabbed him by the neck, slamming him to the ground. A talisman ignited in his hand, amplifying his power.

Wen Yun’s pale face was smeared with dirt. He didn’t resist—just smiled faintly. “So that’s all you’ve got. Can’t win a fair fight, so you have to get others to help.”

Changsun Li raised his fist and punched hard. “So what? I still beat you.”

He slammed down another punch, mercilessly. “I told you—I would surpass you someday. Your Wen clan is nothing. Without your mother, you’re nothing.”

“Wenya gave birth to a disgrace like you and doomed the Wen line. Too bad she died too early to see you ruin the clan. Today, I’ll let everyone know—the true number-one body cultivator clan is the Changsun Clan!”

His hand around Wen Yun’s throat tightened, eyes flashing cold.

—

Outside the Illusion Realm

Xin Wanbai rose to her feet and turned to the Crimson Sky Sect elders. “So this is the behavior of your disciples? Revealing someone’s old wounds in public, just to win a match?”

Murong Yi’s face was dark. Yet the elders of the Crimson Sky Sect remained silent, pretending nothing had happened.

Cheng Ling looked up at her. “Wanbai, this isn’t a conflict between the Crimson Sky Sect and Returning Immortal Sect. This is a private feud between the Wen and Changsun families—something you and I can’t interfere with.”

“There are many noble heirs in the Immortal Tournament. It’s normal to run into rival clans and exchange sharp words. As long as a victor emerges, that’s all that matters,” added an elder from the Clear Thought Sect with a mocking tone. “Seems like Returning Immortal Sect’s chief is a bit outmatched.”

Cheng Ling sighed. “I told Wen Yun’s father long ago—send him to our Crimson Sky Sect and we’d nurture him well. But he was too stubborn. Now look—such a humiliating loss…”

Anyone with half a brain could hear the veiled jab—he was blaming the Returning Immortal Sect for squandering a promising seedling.

Murong Yi’s hand clenched under her sleeve, but her expression remained calm. “The outcome of one match doesn’t define everything.”

While everyone focused on the duel between the two chief body cultivators, only Shang Liu kept her eyes fixed on the image stone showing Azure Profound Sect’s chief team.

The sect’s alchemy elder frowned. “They’ve strayed—getting farther and farther from the Wood Core Flower.”

Shang Liu said quietly, “They don’t know someone else has it. A little confusion is to be expected.”

Azure Profound Sect’s chief team had taken a wrong turn, the Crimson Sky and Returning Immortal Sect body cultivators were at each other’s throats, and neither the Clear Thought Sect nor Crimson Sky Sect’s chief teams had found the path…

Shang Liu closed her eyes briefly. After a pause, she spoke: “All of this started because the second-seat sword cultivator from Returning Immortal Sect dug up the Wood Core Flower—disrupting the balance of everything.”

Everyone fell silent and looked toward Shang Liu.

Xin Wanbai had a vague sense of foreboding. Then she heard him say, “In a quarter of an hour, I will send someone to place another Wood-Core Flower into the illusion realm.”

The Clear Thought Sect elder stood up. “And what about the original one?”

Shang Liu added, “The second-seat sword cultivator of the Returning Immortal Sect obtained it by legitimate means. That flower still counts.”

In other words, there would now be two Wood-Core Flowers in the illusion realm. Picking either one would count toward ranking.

Shang Liu turned his gaze to the image stones showing the two chief body cultivators and said, “As for those two, their conflict involves their respective families. It’s not appropriate to interfere for now. Let them resolve it themselves. Once they come out, we’ll send someone to mediate.”

…

“Wen Yun, I overestimated you. I thought you’d made great progress over the years, but this is all you’ve got?”

Changsun Li sneered. “No wonder you hang around with that Three-Spirit-Root trash all day. I bet none of the Heaven-Spirit-Roots in your chief team even respect you.”

He was ready to go for the kill and eliminate Wen Yun on the spot. But just as he was about to tighten his grip, Wen Yun suddenly unsealed the spatial pouch at his waist.

The next moment, a broomstick pierced through Changsun Li’s abdomen.

“You…” Changsun Li froze, stunned that he’d pulled something out—a broomstick, of all things.

Wen Yun had sharpened the broomstick and used it to stab through him. While Changsun Li was still stunned, he grabbed his collar and flipped him over with ease.

“Who says I have no friends?” Wen Yun pinned him to the ground and spat bloody foam in his face. “This was a gift from a friend.”

“Changsun Li, your mouth is even filthier than mine.” Wen Yun didn’t give him a chance to fight back—he snapped both his arms on the spot.

“I used to go easy on you because we knew each other when we were kids. I thought a little fight was no big deal. Turns out you’ve been holding this grudge all along. No wonder your Changsun Clan breeds nothing but sour chickens—what a fine bloodline legacy.”

“You’ve had your fun. Now it’s my turn.”

Wen Yun was even more ruthless—every blow landed with full force, as if he intended to beat the man half to death.

Hidden in the bushes, Shen Wusang tried to step in to help. Wen Yun gathered his spiritual power and punched from afar—obliterating that entire patch of undergrowth in one blow.

He didn’t even look back, his voice calm: “I’ve never been one to hit talisman cultivators first. Go back and tell your team leader: the chief body cultivator you picked for Crimson Sky Sect isn’t even as good as a dog.”

Wen Yun grabbed Changsun Li by the hair and slammed his head into a tree trunk. The tree came crashing down.

His gaze was chilling:

“Remember this—as long as I’m still alive, the number one body cultivator clan will always be the Wen Clan.”