Chapter 25: The Illusionary World of Cultivation
The fact that a disciple of the Hehuan Sect who was in the late foundation-building stage was the leader of the Dharma Cultivation Competition was no secret among the sects participating in the Dharma Cultivation Competition, and it was certainly no secret to Qi An who knew who she was.
"The first disciple of the Sword Palace. Qi is familiar with the Luoshui Sword." A young swordsman in tight clothes stepped forward and saluted Chu Sheng. His tall and slender figure intentionally or unintentionally blocked countless gazes with different thoughts.
"Junior Sister Chu Sheng, I'm one of the witnesses invited by Yuan Qi to this competition. Fei Luan from Liangyi Valley wrote back saying that you saved Junior Brother Ling. I want to express my gratitude to you on behalf of the Sword Palace. If you have anything to say, please feel free to ask. No matter how difficult it is, Qi An will be happy to help you."
"Hello Luoshui Sword, I have long heard of your great name." Chu Sheng saluted this kind-hearted senior swordsman without finding any fault with him.
She looked into those eyes that were faintly tinged with deep blue, and smiled slightly.
"Regarding Ling Fengzhi's matter, it's just a piece of cake for me. Senior Brother Qi An, there's no need to be so polite."
If others can take someone directly to the Liangyi Valley in Futuzhou for treatment, which countless people dream of, with just a little effort, then there are probably not many people in this world who can truly do that with just a little effort.
Moreover, judging from the traces found at that time, this child actually fought side by side with Ling Fengzhi even when he was injured, and even repelled three fellow practitioners who were enemies!
This was a remarkable achievement for Fa Xiu, but she never took credit for it or even publicized it from beginning to end... Junior Sister Chu Sheng is truly a kind-hearted person!
Qi An was well aware of the serious implications of this, and naturally knew that this was Chu Sheng's intention not to publicize it. Therefore, the considerate Sword Palace's first disciple naturally stopped talking about it, simply gazing at her with great admiration, silently increasing his feelings of closeness in his heart.
Feeling the sudden and obvious acceleration of his mental method, Chu Sheng looked at Qi An in surprise, and couldn't help but feel moved.
...Ling Fengzhi's senior brother is such a good person!
After Qi An stepped forward and made a clear statement, countless gazes with different thoughts dispersed tactfully, and the leaders of each sect consciously turned their attention to the disciples below who were preparing to start the competition.
"So there's actually this reason behind this. No wonder you're so uncharacteristically positive when you meet people, Qi An."
Yuan Qi chuckled and joined the conversation between the two. His amber eyes looked at Chu Sheng, giving people the illusion of tenderness and affection. He seemed to be stroking the umbrella in his arms unintentionally, and for the first time in his life, he had nothing in mind.
A few years ago, rumors seemed to have circulated that the disciple of Venerable Yunmeng was a worthless person, incapable of cultivating and entering the Dao. However, the Hehuan Sect was too far away from the Zhongnan Dao Sect, and Yuan Qi, as a sect leader, had many things to attend to, so it didn't attract his special attention.
If Ye Ziqing hadn't been chattering to him every day and showing off in front of everyone that he had a cute, violent and interesting junior sister, Yuan Qi wouldn't have been interested in Chu Sheng in the first place.
There is no need to elaborate on the little incidents that occurred between the Hehuan Sect and other sects when he joined the sect. Now, after hearing the story of a new Chu Sheng who saved the disciples of the Sword Palace from Qi An, regardless of what the other people present thought, Yuan Qi, who listened to Ye Ziqing's chatter every day, believed it to some extent.
Putting aside the opportunity that led her to successfully enter the Dao and reach the late stage of foundation building in just a few years, the Hehuan Sect's female cultivator who could make Ye Ziqing, a reckless and violent junior sister, beat someone up and then cry out for help from Tian Yan to scare them... could she be the one who appeared so well-behaved and gentle?
He had a plan in mind and said with a smile on his face.
"When Sect Master Si Chun of the He Huan Sect wrote to say he would send Junior Sister Chu Sheng over, I was hesitant to believe the news... Now it seems I want to congratulate Junior Sister. Now that the past has been left behind, I believe her future will be bright."
Chu Sheng had never met this sect leader in person before. In the past, Ye Ziqing was the one who came to socialize with the young leaders of the various sects. Now, it was suddenly Chu Sheng who had to do this herself, which made her a little uncomfortable.
"Brother Yuan Qi, you are too kind."
But after all, she had experienced being a social animal for quite a long time, so she quickly put on a polite smile and exchanged polite greetings with Yuan Qi.
"Senior Brother Ziqing is not here, so it's really a bit unreasonable for me to take on this important task. I hope I don't get laughed at by others—"
"Junior Sister Chu Sheng, you don't have to worry too much." Qi An naturally moved his knuckles to push out a piece of the spiritual sword, and glanced at the people around him who had already lowered their heads without any meaning.
"This is Yuan Qi's place. He won't allow such a thing to happen, right, Yuan Qi!"
"...Yes, everything in this Dharma Cultivation Competition is conducted according to clearly written rules. Zhongnan Dao Sect will not allow anyone to break the rules or disrupt order." Yuan Qi, whose conversation was interrupted, glanced at Qi An with a half-smile, and spoke a little later. "So, Junior Sister Chu Sheng, you can rest assured."
"Yuan Qi is always like this. He speaks in an official tone and doesn't sound very pleasant. Junior sister, don't take it to heart." Qi An seemed unaware of Yuan Qi's mysterious gaze. He just put his arm around Chu Sheng's shoulders with interest and walked forward.
"Come, come, come, the stage Yuan Qi had them build is a bit too big. Let me take you to find a better viewpoint..."
"What? Does the famous Zongzi also have a moment when he is at a loss for words?" Seeing Yuan Qi frowning slightly as he looked at Qi An holding Chu Sheng's back, Gui Xuan, who had been watching from the side for a long time, said with a bit of gloating.
As early as the moment he stepped onto the jade steps, Gui Xuan felt Yuan Qi's gaze locked on him from afar. The Young Master of Liangyi Valley, who had no intention of hiding it from this clan leader, began to reveal his true nature very frankly.
"Since you've appeared at the Dharma Cultivation Competition in this state, I won't ask what Liangyi Valley's intentions are." Yuan Qi, unfazed by Gui Xuan's sarcastic tone, spoke calmly. "Junior Sister Chu Sheng is young, after all. Since you're by her side, please pay more attention to her and take good care of her, so that Venerable Yunmeng can rest assured."
"You speak so intimately, as if you two have a very close relationship. How hypocritical." Gui Xuan immediately spat at him.
"Ziqing and I are like brothers and sisters. Ziqing's junior sister is my junior sister..." Yuan Qi said with an unchanged expression. Gui Xuan only listened to the beginning and waved her hand impatiently.
"I'm not someone else, so stop pretending. Anyway, remember I'm Zhuo Qing now, so just do your own thing, Master Zongzi!"
Gui Xuan left Yuan Qi and quickly walked to the side of the two men. Then, she gently bumped Chu Sheng's arm, who was chatting happily with Qi An about kendo. "Chu Sheng, don't be distracted. It's about to start."
"Hmm?" Chu Sheng's attention was immediately drawn. She looked down and saw that the scene below had quietly changed.
After all the team leaders stepped onto the platform, the black dragon plunged back into the deep pool. The jade steps formed by countless water droplets once again turned into water and fell into the pool.
At the same time, a hazy, faint white mist gradually rose from the water's surface. None of the disciples from various sects, whose attention had been drawn to the black dragon, noticed this subtle change. They all entered into the dream they were most worried about, most afraid of, or most eager to see.
Yuan Qi clapped his hands, and several spiritual mirrors emerged from the edge of the platform, reflecting the illusions in the disciples' minds one by one.
This kind of interesting scene is really rare to see, so except for a few team leaders who have experienced it once and closed their eyes to rest without any interest, most of the disciples leading the teams from the sects gathered around with some curiosity.
At this moment, a festive scene with the sound of firecrackers and gongs and drums slowly emerged on the spiritual mirror of position number one. In the lively wedding procession, a smug young face suddenly appeared in the center of the spiritual mirror.
"My little ones! Let's go and marry the bride with me!"
Looking at the exquisite makeup of the "bride" who was abducted after the picture turned over, and then looking at the identical face of one of the people next to her, the leaders on the platform were silent for a while.
Whose foolish disciple with a wandering mind is this? Ah, so it’s from your family!!
"I'm really sorry for the misfortune that has befallen our sect... I'm sorry for embarrassing you all." Hua Meng of the Hua Sect was a heroic female cultivator, but at this moment she could only cover her face in embarrassment.
"It's really because of the poor discipline of my sect that he did such a shameful thing. After the competition, I will punish him according to the sect rules!"
"It's okay, it's okay, Hua Meng, calm down..." "It's normal for young children to be ignorant. Just go back and teach them more. Don't get angry..." "Hey, let's move on to the next one!"
Everyone nodded hurriedly, tacitly ignoring the unfortunate child grinning foolishly on the first spirit mirror, and looked at the second spirit mirror.
The young disciple in the second spiritual mirror was sitting cross-legged in the room, practicing a spell seriously.
"Being quick-witted and eager to learn is a virtue," someone praised. "Even in this illusion, he has such a resolute will. This child will surely achieve great things in the future."
"I wonder if Zhongnan Dao Sect's magic mirror can clearly see what is in his book?" Gui Xuan changed her mind and deliberately used Zhuo Qing's appearance to speak to Chu Sheng in a very coquettish tone.
"Even in this situation, he is still eager to learn. This shows that this technique must be very important to him!"
"My fellow Daoist, you don't know that even in an illusion, if what the disciple saw was the sect's secret method, it must not be seen by us." Others did not know Gui Xuan's identity, but only recognized her as a medical practitioner from Liangyi Valley by her clothes, so they explained in a very good manner.
"The Zhongnan Dao Sect's spiritual mirror isn't a magical tool, but a spiritual tool. It has its own consciousness and can distinguish the authenticity of its contents... Hey? Why does this image seem to be really magnified?"
Gui Xuan stared at the magnified handwriting and clearly read out the full name of the secret technique that the disciple was so fascinated by, word by word: "Legendary Fire Control Sect Defies Heaven and Changes Destiny - The Unruly and Cool Third Disciple: Dear Senior Brother, Don't Be Afraid of Me?"
"Yanhuo, that little bastard!!!" Yan Hu, the Fire Control Sect's leading disciple, crushed the folding fan he was using to fan himself, and flames suddenly shot up several feet into the air. "I'm going to make sure he doesn't see the sun tomorrow!"
"It's on fire... um!" Chu Sheng decisively covered Gui Xuan's mouth and spoke.
"...Let's go check out Mirror Number Three!"
Whether others recognized it or not, could she not recognize it? The cover of the book was clearly the handwriting of one of the vests her senior brother Ziqing used when he was doing a side job outside!
Ye Ziqing, the legendary disciple of the Hehuan Sect, truly lived up to his reputation. Even though he did not personally attend the Dharma Cultivation Competition, his legend still spread throughout this place without anyone being prepared!
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