Chapter 42: Vehicles Revitalize the Cultivation World (42% complete)
The once-every-five-years Lingzhou Grand Gathering has come to an end. As in previous years, the outstanding names quickly spread throughout the four continents after the event, but in a different way.
Seven days ago, the pre-selected champion, Qi Tian, was unexpectedly eliminated. The taskers with the best chance of winning withdrew from the competition gracefully. Some contestants also chose to withdraw because they were ashamed of the character of the Palace Master of the Holy Prayer Palace. In addition, a large number of spectators were either eager to copy and pass on the recording stone that recorded everything, or busy informing their relatives and friends that the Tianyan Academy was about to open its gates. In the end, not many people remained.
The Lingzhou Grand Gathering, which has been regarded by young people in Lingzhou for thousands of years as an opportunity to strive for success and the most influential event in Lingzhou, ended in a strange atmosphere. The sect leader of Xuantian Sword Sect left in a hurry with a hypocritical face almost frozen.
The Palace Master of the Holy Prayer Palace dragged him, who had always had an excellent reputation, into this mess. Young people who are inexperienced in the ways of the world may be fooled by the hypocritical facade he usually presents, but those old monsters who have lived for hundreds or thousands of years will not; they are all waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
The Xuan Tian Sword Sect Master was furious, but his attitude towards the Heavenly Evolution Dao Ancestor was similar to that of the Holy Prayer Palace Master towards the Golden Decree—a balance of resentment and fear. He knew that since the Heavenly Evolution Dao Ancestor's "disciple" had spared him, and the fortune of the cultivation world was dissipating, he, a powerful figure, was undoubtedly one of the few remaining pillars. The Dao Ancestor wouldn't easily harm him. However, if he took any action that harmed the Dao Ancestor's interests, even the Dao Ancestor, far away in the Immortal Realm, would not let him off the hook.
As the current pinnacle of cultivation, the closer he gets to that line, the clearer he becomes about the gap in strength. Not to mention that this was a ferocious god who emerged ten thousand years ago when spiritual energy was scarce, with Golden Core cultivators everywhere and Nascent Soul cultivators as common as dogs.
Furthermore, the fact that the Heavenly Dao Ancestor has intervened in matters of the cultivation world means that the path to immortality will be reopened. No one will question whether the number one person in history can turn the tide. Rather than fighting against an untouchable being, it would be better to quickly pick up the cultivation that he has long abandoned after years of striving. He considers himself to be firmly in the top three positions in the cultivation world and dreams of one day ascending to the path to immortality.
The Xuan Tian Sword Sect Master comforted himself, at least he wasn't as humiliated as the Holy Prayer Palace Master, and he still retained some dignity. Although it wasn't a pretty scene either, as long as he stubbornly denied it, only saying that he had misplaced his trust, and that even the Heavenly Evolution Dao Ancestor hadn't pursued his oversight, the threat of power would eventually reduce the rumors to nothing more than minor gossip.
So he transferred the resentment he had been suppressing to the Palace Master of the Holy Prayer Palace. Since the other party was now the focus of the cultivation world, he could not do anything out of line. So he quickly drew a line and removed the other party from the list of the Three Clans and Nine Sects. He gave his subordinates some vague hints and then focused on preparing for his next seclusion.
Since learning that the path to immortality was severed, he thought that his current strength was enough to stand firm. He regretted not going into seclusion to break through after reaching a bottleneck many years ago.
He planned to go into seclusion after sending his grandson Qi Tian, on whom he had placed high hopes, into the Tianyan Academy. High-level cultivators faced difficulties in having offspring, and he only had this one grandson; naturally, he wanted to pave a good future for him. Qi Tian had recently been pressing him about the events at the Lingzhou Grand Gathering. He somewhat regretted raising his child to be too upright, but he was also comforted by the child's simplicity, thinking that the Tianyan Dao Ancestor wouldn't hold a grudge against him.
Having arranged the list of Xuantian Sword Sect members to go to Tianyan Academy, the sect leader of Xuantian Sword Sect was very confident that the sect could definitely secure the majority of the admission slots.
The Palace Master of the Holy Prayer Palace, who bore all the blame, was condemned by everyone for his actions. No one was willing to choose him over the opportunity to reopen the path to ascension. He was self-aware; if it weren't for his superior strength, the Holy Prayer Palace would have rebelled long ago.
Even so, he could only reluctantly count the promising young cultivators in the palace and ask them to compete for admission to the Heavenly Evolution Academy. Otherwise, if they missed this opportunity because of their status, the Holy Prayer Palace would really be removed from the list of top powers in the four continents. Anyone with a brain knows that the Heavenly Evolution Ancestor's actions this time are to revitalize the cultivation world, and there are plenty of people who want to take advantage of this opportunity.
Information from the Lingzhou Grand Gathering swept across the four continents like the wind. Rather than looking down on the Palace Master of the Holy Prayer Palace, everyone was more concerned about the opening of the Heavenly Evolution Academy's gates.
The entrance examination threshold is set very low. There are Foundation Establishment stage people under the age of thirty everywhere. In an environment with abundant spiritual energy, even those with useless spiritual roots can reach this standard through diligence. This not only gives opportunities to young people who are eager to make a name for themselves, but also gives hope to many people who thought they would stay at the Foundation Establishment stage for life.
Various speculations arose immediately.
"The Dao Ancestor was once the number one rogue cultivator. She must have known that we rogue cultivators don't have the resources to accumulate cultivation, so she set the entrance examination threshold low!"
Inside the tavern, a burly man with a thick beard slammed his fist on the table in excitement.
The waiter came forward to remind him to watch his step on the table, and only then did he stop.
However, his voice did not diminish: "There are three thousand places available, and you and I might both be among them!"
"Come on, how old are you to still be competing? Do you think the Dao Ancestor can't tell your real age?" A guest wearing a veiled hat mocked.
If Lin Ming were present, he would definitely recognize that this person's attire is strikingly similar to his own.
Since the news of the Lingzhou Grand Gathering's photo stone spread, many people have started imitating the attire of the "disciples" of the Heavenly Evolution Dao Ancestor. No one finds it surprising or funny. After all, someone even spent ten million spirit stones to buy the thousand spirit stones that the Dao Ancestor's disciple had bet from an old Taoist who ran a gambling den. Everyone wants to get closer to the first immortal to descend from the Immortal Realm in history.
The bearded man grumbled, "I just have a long beard. I'm turning thirty next month!"
The veiled guest rolled his eyes, sizing him up and down with disdain: "So what if you're the right age? At this age, with only this much cultivation, you're probably a useless five-elemental root. Those sects and clans don't just throw resources at you. How can a nearly thirty-year-old Foundation Establishment cultivator compete with those prodigies?"
The bearded man, with his neck stiff, replied, "It's because the Dao Ancestor is willing to give me this opportunity! Most geniuses have already established their foundation before the age of twenty, but the Dao Ancestor has set the standard at under thirty, which shows that this assessment is not just about talent!"
"It's so noisy." Another person poured cold water on the situation, "Putting aside talent, cultivation level, and resources, what do you have that can compare to them? Diligence? There are plenty of people in the cultivation world who believe that diligence can make up for lack of talent. You work hard, and so do the geniuses. Vision? They know far more than that."
"Why belittle yourself?" The bearded man took a swig of wine, his earlier agitation gone, but his eyes still gleamed as he sat there. "Others stand tall and have a broad perspective, while I stand low, but I know quite a bit about every plant and tree in the cultivation world. Do the clan disciples know what the best herb for stopping bleeding in the Misty Forest is? They just take pills when they're injured, but I know to use the Flame Ganoderma!"
This time, no one answered. He sat there drinking and laughing to himself, muttering, "Do you think I don't know? You all say you can't win, but you've already come to the dock. You still want to go, you're just being stubborn."
After finishing his drink, he wiped his mouth and shouted loudly to the others in the tavern, "Anyone want to risk it all? I snagged the flying carpet from Jubaozhai. It requires a lot of spirit stones to operate, and I can't afford it all by myself. The flying carpet has six seats."
Upon hearing this question, the previously silent tavern suddenly became lively, and even the two people who had just spoken sarcastically to him came over.
Without a word, the veiled guest handed over a bag of spirit stones: "I have money, this is the deposit, please reserve a seat for me."
The bearded man chuckled, not with any ill intent, but out of normal curiosity. He glanced down at the man's waist and raised an eyebrow: "Aren't you a sword cultivator? You can just fly on a sword."
The veiled guest blushed slightly behind his black veil: "That's the center of the four continents. How can anyone below the Golden Core stage have enough spiritual energy to support it? Besides, you've heard the widely circulated stories told by storytellers, right? Once you get there, you have to cross a storm to reach the island. Getting caught in a storm means certain death. I need to save my strength to get through. How could I be stupid enough to fly there myself?"
The bearded man, disregarding past grievances, readily accepted the deposit, casually remarking, "When I was buying the flying carpet, I was standing at the back and didn't manage to snag that swordsman, so I was about to fly over."
“That’s something only high-level cultivators would do,” said the veiled guest.
“No.” The bearded man shook his head. “He’s only at the Foundation Establishment stage.”
"Is he out of his mind?" the veiled guest exclaimed in surprise.
"There's nothing we can do. Vehicles are in short supply right now. We independent cultivators usually walk to save time and occasionally use teleportation arrays. Most of us don't have the habit of buying vehicles. It's already quite good that Jubaozhai isn't taking this opportunity to raise prices," he said.
The veiled guest sighed, "Why bother?"
The bearded man changed the subject and laughed, "But perhaps this is also a trial set up by the Dao Ancestor. The path of cultivation is inherently fraught with danger. There is no free lunch in the world. You and I are rogue cultivators, and we know this better than anyone else. Don't you think the entrance exam is like the secret realms we usually go to? It's just bigger and more exciting than any secret realm I've ever been to, and the rewards are much richer. I would be willing to die in this secret realm."
The veiled guest was unknowingly persuaded and nodded in agreement: "When opportunity knocks, no one wants to miss it."
The bearded man quickly gathered enough people, and after everyone paid their deposits, he said, "When are we leaving? There are still eight days until the mountain gate opens. The mountain gate will only be open for one day. Once you arrive on the island, you've registered. We have plenty of time to leave now, and we can also leave later if we want."
"Let's just go, and have more time to deal with the storm." The veiled guest spoke with self-deprecation, but when it came to actually taking action, he was more eager than anyone else.
"OK."
After the bearded group left, new guests came in. There were just too many people like them; the tavern at the dock had never served so many guests before.
People came and went, and the waiter was so busy that he barely had time to breathe. But no matter how hard he tried to attend to everyone, he always overlooked the two tables of people in the corner by the window.
In the corner by the window, Helian Yi fiddled with the magical artifact in his hand, trying to minimize his presence, while taking in all the sounds of the wind around him.
"Shui Fan is almost here," Shen Suqi said, glancing at the forum.
Others also saw the post numbered 10086 on the tasker exchange forum.
There was nothing else written on it, just the words "arriving in half an hour".
Scrolling down, she found countless posts like this, all cryptic and suggestive. She couldn't help but sigh, "They're only just starting to look for teammates. We were so clever to have gathered together so early."
She didn't use a subject, but everyone present understood what she meant.
As fellow task takers selected by the system, and rivals chasing each other on the leaderboard, they naturally felt a sense of superiority seeing others only start recognizing and finding teammates right before the entrance exam, while they themselves had partners by their side long ago.
The system originally forbade those bound to it from revealing system-related information. The task participants knew that revealing it would bring them trouble, and they were also worried about being coveted by others if their identities were exposed, so they wisely kept the secret.
However, whether it was because they were about to enter the absolutely safe zone on the island, or because the 108 mission takers had stabilized after three years of assessment, or because the mission takers were about to gather, intelligent people could judge from the details who had their own system just by observing the details. After an announcement recalling all systems, they suddenly found that language restrictions and forum censorship had been relaxed quite a bit.
On the first day of the binding system, those who tried to recklessly jump the boundaries of the rules certainly did not miss this opportunity. After the virtual game went online, everyone communicated with each other a lot more. Regular dungeons often saw people spontaneously forming teams, and many people formed game buddies online, similar to Su Xiaoyao's trio, only lacking an opportunity to meet in real life.
Now, those who already had teammates, and those who didn't but wanted to find partners, all started to take action, doing whatever they wanted while skirting the lowered approval lines.
The eyes behind them turned a blind eye, allowing their behavior to go unchecked.
However, the semi-public period was too short for the task participants to get to know all of them offline. So, Helian Yi and others who were not in a hurry to set off gathered at a street tavern on the way to the dock and searched for people who looked like task participants among the pedestrians.
They actually found some.
“Look at that person standing in front of the piano stall, frowning and staring at the lower left, raising her left hand every now and then.” Su Xiaoyao pouted. “I bet she’s in the lottery pool. The artificial intelligence is not very intelligent, you have to click manually. Her impatient expression is exactly the same as when I tried to draw a single ticket last time. Ever since my baby left me, my hand has been numb from clicking so many lottery tickets.”
After several attempts, she avoided mentioning the words "system" or "task," cleverly skirting the edge of the silence rule.
“It’s been pretty much the same since my… left.” Helian Yi couldn’t bring himself to use such a cheesy word as “baby,” so he simply omitted it. Anyway, they would all understand. He squinted at the distance and said with certainty, “She’s drawing from the high-level prize pool. I’m very familiar with that left swipe gesture for selecting blind boxes.”
Su Xiaoyao's teeth ached, and her almond-shaped eyes widened into dead fish eyes: "You've never even tried the low-level or mid-level prize pools, so how can you be so sure this is a high-level prize pool?"
Helian Yi said calmly, "I see you guys smoke all the time."
The poor wretch has been insulted!
Su Xiaoyao's almond-shaped eyes widened, wishing she could jump up and challenge him to a one-on-one fight.
But she suppressed the impulse, calmed her chest, and told herself she had to stay calm. There would be plenty of opportunities to mess with him during the entrance exam, but she absolutely couldn't afford to be under someone else's roof right now.
Because she was waiting for Helian Yi to take them on the "official vehicle".
Her jade pendant eventually sold, but in a sense, it didn't actually go through with the sale.
Because a certain semi-real-name whale, Helian 1818, who is richer than a country and values showing off above all else, spent a huge sum of money to buy all the Pixiu jade pendants that were willing to be sold and resold in the tasker trading market.
While others earn money and points to exchange for resources, diligently completing tasks only to buy sacred-grade spiritual artifacts and talismans, he does the opposite, giving treasures to the system out of his own pocket. Not only does he maximize his contribution value for daily tasks, but he also submits all sorts of tricky small achievements and high-difficulty tasks with one click, using resources to fill spiritual artifacts just to exchange for points, and then spending lavishly in the trading mall.
He bought the jade pendant because Young Master Helian believed that rarity made things valuable, and he wanted to board the vehicle provided by Tianyan Academy in a grand manner, not wanting to see the other 107 people competing with him for attention.
The alluring offer of money and points was hard for a rogue cultivator like Su Xiaoyao, who lived a life of hardship, to refuse. Not to mention that Helian Yi was not only willing to spend money to gain prestige, but also willing to take them on his vehicles. With money to be made and a boat to ride on, it was a win-win situation.
Therefore, apart from a few who were not short of points or money, and those who did not get along with him and did not want to become stepping stones for showing off, he bought all the other jade pendants.
Even if this made it an open secret that "Helian Yi is Mission Taker 1818", even if Su Xiaoyao knew that the person in front of her was the opponent she usually sniped at on the leaderboard, she still couldn't resist this huge temptation.
He gave so much!
Adhering to the spirit of "a gentleman takes revenge even after ten years," Su Xiaoyao decided to let him off the hook for now.
Shen Suqi, who couldn't accumulate enough points and was stuck in the low and mid-level prize pools for years, remained calm and patted her shoulder reassuringly: "Calm down, that's just how he is. Don't expect someone who's at the maximum level in the game and still has the title of 'Newcomer to the Martial World' to have any nice words."
"Hiss—" Su Xiaoyao said, indicating that she had been scolded.
She turned off the fire and slumped back into her chair, looking dejected.
"Have you known each other for a long time? You seem to have a very good relationship." Xu Lingyou, who was sitting at the next table, smiled and looked over, speaking in a gentle tone.
If it weren't for the genuine sincerity in the clear sunlight in his eyes, they would almost have thought he was being sarcastic.
"Hehe, it's pretty good." Su Xiaoyao gave a fake smile.
Huangfu Mian winked at Dai Kui and whispered, "Xiao Kui, Xiao Wu, you can go talk to them if you want. Don't worry about us. I happen to have a question about sword intent that I'd like to ask Senior Brother Xu."
Dai Kui and Wu Ji were both taken aback upon hearing this.
My usually carefree friend actually noticed.
Huangfu Mian knew her too well; he could tell what she was thinking from just one expression. He pouted and said, "You don't really think that all I think about is cultivation and following Brother Lin, do you?"
Dai Kui lowered her head in shame.
She really thought so.
Huangfu Mian chuckled and pinched the soft flesh on her waist: "Oh, so you actually missed me that much, I'll tickle you to death!"
"Oh dear, I was wrong! My dear Mianmian! I was wrong!" Dai Kui quickly begged for forgiveness.
Huangfu Mian and Xu Lingyou exchanged a glance and said in unison:
"Go if you want to."
Wu Ji smiled wryly: "I know I can't hide it from you, but it's not that we don't want to talk about it, it's just that there's a taboo against it."
“We had our suspicions from the fact that you often take out all sorts of treasures.” Xu Lingyou felt embarrassed instead. “Junior Sister Huangfu said that you must have some kind of constraint to be both secretive and bold.”
The system's creations were rather abrupt. They were aware of their companion's secret, but out of trust, they didn't ask. Moreover, they both understood the situation perfectly well. Their life-or-death bond was there for all to see, and they knew Wu Ji and Dai Kui's character. They were focused on their own goals and cultivation, and didn't care about things that wouldn't harm them.
The people at the other table didn't try to hide their conversation from them. They didn't understand and didn't ask any questions, but Wu Ji and Dai Kui's attention kept drifting towards that table, clearly indicating that they knew something.
Taking advantage of the system's absence, Huangfu Mian confessed half of his story and genuinely wanted to ask Xu Lingyou a question related to sword intent. The other two naturally gave up a quiet corner for them and sat at another table to join the riddle-solving team.
Another incense stick's time passed, and Shui Fan, weary from his journey, arrived.
He was still dressed in a black robe as usual. He entered the tavern and looked around. Helian Yi remained silent, and none of the others were kind enough to say anything.
But Shui Fan only hesitated for two breaths before walking straight toward them.
The merman crown prince approached and bluntly exposed their thoughts, his tone smug: "Don't try to make a fool of me. I am a merman, and my ear fins are not for nothing. If I unleash my hearing, I can hear the sounds at the bottom of the Demon Well even lying in my palace. I've used your magic artifact to conceal your aura once before. If I can't tell the difference, then all my cultivation has been for nothing."
"No way, I'm a decent person, I wouldn't do something like laughing at you." Su Xiaoyao quickly distanced herself from the situation.
"Heh, a respectable person who snipes the leaderboard at the last minute." Shui Fan, one of the victims who had been sniped, sneered.
Su Xiaoyao's eyes darted around.
The downside of revealing your ID number is that it turns anonymity into real-name authentication, making it easier for enemies to find you.
"The sniping ranking can't be considered frivolous... The sniping ranking! How can something involving mission take place frivolous?" She stammered, her voice growing softer and softer, thinking to herself that it would be great if an anonymous forum could be reopened, and she would definitely keep her alias safe this time when she caused trouble.
Shui Fan, let's see how she argues so illogically.
Those who also harbored their own thoughts remained silent, except for Xiao Tingyuan, who believed he hadn't colluded with them, who asked, "Has the matter at the bottom of the sea been resolved?"
"Of course, they don't care who I am." Shui Fan said with a clear mind, "I arranged for patrol teams to take turns patrolling every day within a 300-mile radius of the Demon Well. Not even a shrimp can get in."
After the Lingzhou Grand Gathering, they had a meal at Quanjulou Restaurant. Shui Fan, the primary contributor to discovering the demonic energy, said that he needed to return to his old home in the sea before heading to Tianyan Academy. Yang Ming had to go back and inform his clansmen to strengthen patrols and vigilance near the Demon Well, so that those with ill intentions would not succeed.
Although the emergence of demonic energy did not cause a major disaster, the Merfolk were indeed negligent in guarding the seabed. Even though no one pursued the matter and everyone praised him as a beautiful and good fish, he felt unworthy of such praise, especially since he was about to go to the island to face the disciples of the Heavenly Evolution Dao Ancestor.
The Merfolk now live in a territory chosen by the Heavenly Dao Ancestor ten thousand years ago, the most suitable place for their clan to thrive. As a trade, the Dao Ancestor placed a dangerous but harmless well next to their home. However, they have been living in comfort for too long and have not even taken good care of a well or a wisp of gas, truly failing to live up to this trust.
So he took the shortcut by water, rushing home without stopping to rearrange the patrols and guards, while Helian Yi and his group took the land route to the port. The two sides had agreed in advance to meet there, using a loophole in the forum to inform each other of their arrival time, saving them the trouble of using communication stones and talismans.
The thrifty and hardworking merman crown prince had just finished a major task and returned in high spirits, only to be tricked by these wicked fellows. He secretly thought that there were no good people among the mission takers.
Helian Yi got up nonchalantly, took out a fur cloak from his storage space and put it on. His fair face, hidden in the fur collar, was no less beautiful than that of a mermaid.
He immediately changed the subject: "Now that everyone's here, I'm curious what kind of vehicle we can get for a hundred jade pendants."
He stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, exuding an air of nobility with his eyes lowered, looking every bit the aloof and refined young nobleman.
But everyone present knew that he was not at all like the word "aloof".
The truly aloof and refined young master Jiang Yun slowly stood up, the summoning banner behind him swaying gently with his rise. His cold eyes held a faint emotion: "Let's go, let's go to the island."
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Author's Note: I thought it was just a minor cold but it turned out to be a fever. After recovering, I had too much work piled up, so I'm sorry to have kept you all waiting. Daily updates are back!
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