Chapter 24 She was of the same generation as the Ancestor, not a junior sister, but a grandmaster grand-uncle...
Everything happened in the blink of an eye.
The simple, unassuming gray pouch expanded rapidly, growing to half the size of a person in the blink of an eye. A strange face painted in thick ink emerged from it. Upon seeing this, Senior Brother Lan and his companion's expressions changed drastically: "What kind of evil thing is this!" The two began to cast a spell, but the pouch suddenly flew up, transforming into a gray shadow that rushed into the hall as fast as lightning.
Ji Mingran felt a gust of wind whistle past her ear. She turned around and saw that the originally sturdy opening of the brocade pouch was open. A large amount of white light struggled out of the pouch and rushed towards the sect leader with lightning speed. Sect Leader Yuan Liu was obviously surprised but did not react.
The white light transformed into a stiff humanoid shape and lunged at the sect leader who was standing still. Behind him, the senior brother in green robes shouted angrily, "How dare you bring evil objects to our sect! What are your intentions?!"
Ji Mingran turned around without looking back to avoid the attack from behind. He then jumped half an arm's length away from his original position, blocking the wooden door that was about to close automatically with one hand. His eyes were fixed on the white humanoid figure, and he was greatly shocked.
That's right!
Ji Mingran called out, "Little Advisor!"
"Master Uncle!" The exclamation came from Sect Leader Yuan Liu, who had been standing still. He raised his hand, and a barrier stopped Qing Lan and the other person who were rushing in.
Gradually, the thin paper effigy standing in front of Master Yuan Liu became thicker. The dark, black eyes painted with thick ink, the two ugly patches of pink blush, and the lips drawn with blood-red ink, the exaggerated colors melted into the pale skin, the stiff limbs softened, and life kept emerging. The paper effigy turned into a living person with a rosy complexion and handsome face.
A pair of clear, dark eyes blinked at the sect leader, and he said in a gentle voice, "It's been a long time."
The usually calm and composed face of Sect Leader Yuan Liu revealed a look of surprise: "You?" He abruptly turned to look at Ji Mingran: "Then she..."
Ji Mingran knew something was wrong even with his toes. He was about to speak up to smooth things over when Xiao Can smiled innocently and pointed to himself, saying, "Let me introduce you. She is Master Jiang's last disciple, Ji Mingran."
"Jiang? That...that legendary person's disciple?" The senior brother in blue outside the barrier exclaimed in disbelief, "Help! Someone come quick!"
"Little sir!" Ji Mingran cried out in pain, his beautiful vision of secretly learning skills while taking advantage of the chaos was completely shattered.
Although he felt regretful, Ji Mingran appeared next to Xiao Can as soon as the shouts fell and grabbed him with lightning speed. The array of light reappeared, and the two of them flashed. However, the array of light suddenly stopped almost imperceptibly for a moment.
An array that is abruptly severed is extremely likely to backfire on the person who set it up, causing serious injury or even death.
Ji Mingran frowned, quickly glancing at Sect Leader Yuan Liu. She stopped what she was doing, her lips moving rapidly, her hand gestures changing intricately, and she quickly reversed the formation.
The array light surrounding the two of them intensified once more, as if it had been reawakened and was ready to teleport the people inside away at any moment.
Using the light as cover, Ji Mingran grabbed Xiaocan again: "Let's go."
She had dispelled the formation in an instant, but the residual spiritual energy of the formation was still present. Taking advantage of the moment when people thought she had used the teleportation array to escape again, she planned to use a feint to rush out the door.
With a thought in mind, Ji Mingran leaped towards the door like a cheetah pouncing on its prey, but her hand was pulled back with great force, causing her to stagger and fall backward. Fortunately, her lower body was stable, and she almost fell to the ground.
Ji Mingran turned around in surprise, but Xiao Can, the one who started it all, patted her head and smiled, "Don't rush."
Just as Ji Mingran was about to speak, the air suddenly froze.
An invisible yet powerful pressure descended from the sky like a raging storm, crashing down on everyone.
Ji Mingran, who was already unsteady on his feet, was thrown to the ground by the force of the pressure.
She rolled to the ground, knelt on one knee, palm down, and struggled against the pressure to get up.
Thump! The two senior brothers, Qinglan and Shishi, could no longer withstand the silent pressure and knelt down on the ground. They looked at each other in shock and exclaimed, "This is...this is!"
The oppressive aura emanating from a top-tier power.
Hot sweat rolled down his forehead, and the taste of blood was strong in his throat.
Ji Mingran looked up and saw that Sect Leader Yuan Liu looked preoccupied but otherwise unchanged. Xiao Can, on the other hand, seemed unaffected and found a chair to sit down.
Sitting down always results in being forced to kneel and crawl.
The pressure intensified, her internal organs felt as if they were being squeezed together, her whole body trembled violently, and her hands and feet seemed to be out of her control. But she held her breath and moved her violently trembling body little by little until she found a chair nearby and slumped down on it.
The moment his bottom touched the chair, Ji Mingran heard a hoarse voice: "Is...is that Senior Brother?"
Ji Mingran turned his head and saw that a gray-robed man had silently appeared beside Senior Brother Lan Qing, who was kneeling trembling at the door.
The old, drab robes and the unremarkable, unremarkable, and easily forgotten faces that matched the drab robes.
As soon as I looked away, my memory of this person's appearance became hazy and indistinct; I felt that among all living beings, everyone was him, and he was everyone.
Unlike the excited visitors, Xiaocan greeted them cheerfully, "You've arrived." Her cheerful voice paused for a moment, then she asked with a hint of concern, "Why have you lost so much weight?"
"..." Ji Mingran hesitated, wondering how Xiao Can could possibly judge whether someone with such an unrecognizable appearance had lost or gained weight.
I overheard Xiaocan ask again, "Is it because of your hair?"
Ji Mingran looked up and noticed the newcomer's bald head.
Finally! Ji Mingran breathed a sigh of relief. With the shiny bald head as a point of reference, she finally had some impression of the person who came.
Ji Mingran's sleeve was tugged, and he turned around to see Xiao Can smiling brightly: "This is Li Sanyang, your senior brother."
"Oh." Ji Mingran nodded blankly, then belatedly realized and said, "Huh?"
Xiao Can then turned to Li Sanyang and said, "This is your junior sister, Ji Mingran."
Li Sanyang remained standing at the doorway, not stepping over the threshold, his gaze fixed intently on Xiaocan. A hint of confusion appeared on his kind and honest face as he murmured, "Junior sister... junior sister..." He suddenly looked up as if waking from a dream, his expression complex: "Junior sister."
Xiao Can seemed to have anticipated Li Sanyang's reaction, and smiled gently, reassuringly saying, "Yes, Master is well."
As he was speaking, his gaze almost imperceptibly fell on the fingertips that were tugging at Ji Mingran's sleeve.
That place was already faintly visible.
Xiao Can's smile faded almost imperceptibly, and she turned her gaze calmly to Yuan Liu, saying softly, "As you can see, they've all returned. Don't panic."
After he finished speaking, he vanished like a wisp of smoke, disappearing completely in an instant.
Li Sanyang shouted urgently, "Senior Brother!" Then he disappeared as well, and the intimidating sense of oppression vanished instantly.
Ji Mingran relaxed, immediately closed his eyes and concentrated until he sensed that Senior Brother Li Sanyang's spiritual power had completely disappeared with every wisp of spiritual energy scattered by the small ginseng. Only then did the breath he had been holding in his heart ease.
The rest.
Ji Mingran opened his eyes, his gaze calmly passing over the two people outside the door and landing on the silent night sky.
His past has been completely exposed, the culprit Xiaocan has vanished without a trace, and his inexplicably appearing senior brother Li Sanyang has mysteriously left. So, what is he now...?
Ji Mingran's fingers slid idly across the back of the chair, and he was trapped like a turtle in a jar.
Outside the door, Qing and Lan remained kneeling in the same spot, still shaken, not daring to utter a sound.
It was Sect Leader Yuan Liu who broke the silence.
He swept away his previous worries, his expression became extremely excited, and his interest was very high: "Let's not draw the formation for now."
Ji Mingran paused his fingertips, silently withdrew his gaze, and looked up at Sect Leader Yuan Liu.
It's been discovered.
At the same time, Sect Leader Yuan Liu also took a second look at the pale and frail girl in front of him.
His eyes revealed composure and calmness; his scheme was exposed on the spot, yet he showed no panic.
Headmaster Yuanliu was pleased and said, "Being able to set up and break formations shows that the formation master is indeed compatible with Luanfeng. Since Venerable Qinghong has already acknowledged him, Junior Uncle, you should go to Luanfeng quickly." He sighed, "That place also needs some repairs."
Ji Mingran blinked. What did that mean?
Sect Leader Yuanliu said to Lan Qing and the other person, "You two take her there."
The sect leader said... he meant "junior uncle"?!
If we round it up, wouldn't they have to be replaced by Grandmaster Uncle?
How did this ordinary junior sister from the outer sect suddenly transform into their grandmaster?
Before the three could react, Sect Leader Yuanliu waved his hand forcefully, shooing them away like flies: "Go on, go on, we'll be welcoming guests here again soon."
Ji Mingran was thrown out of the door by the force of the slap from the sect leader Yuan Liu. As soon as his foot stepped over the threshold, the wooden door slammed shut behind him.
Ji Mingran was still completely bewildered: "Huh? What do you mean? Can I leave now? Do I need to report to the outer sect?"
Lan and Qing had already stood up. Lan Yi reacted very quickly: "Grandmaster Uncle is an inner disciple. Please come with me, and I will take you to Luan Peak."
Ji Mingran's eyes widened, so she wasn't mistaken; she had become an inner disciple?
Could there really be such a good thing in the world? A golden coffin fell from the sky?
Ji Mingran looked up for a long time to make sure that no gold was falling from the sky.
The woman in blue, who had her back to them, slowly turned around and said reluctantly, "I'll go too."
Ji Mingran grinned, revealing a row of gleaming teeth: "Hehe, thanks for your help."
Although it was inexplicable, such a huge benefit was something one would naturally rush to take.
Just like when they came, Ji Mingran followed behind the two of them, walked across the bridge, passed through the waterfall curtain, leaped over the floating rocks, and arrived at the location of the teleportation array.
However, this time the two walked at a much slower pace, constantly adjusting to the pace of their grandmaster behind them.
Along the way, the man in blue explained the basic situation of the Dingsheng Sect to her very well.
The spiritual cultivation world is divided into six continents and four seas. The only central continent connecting these continents and seas is the Extreme Continent, which is located in the center and is the only region connecting the six continents and four seas. As a major sect, the Dingsheng Sect has a vast territory, occupying almost two-thirds of the Extreme Continent.
The Dingsheng Sect comprises five major peaks: Quan, Kuang, Yao, Lin, and Luan. Quan Peak is the center, Kuang Peak is located in the southeast, Yao Peak is in the north, and the area outside the five peaks belongs to Lin Peak. Outer disciples can only cultivate within their respective peaks, while inner disciples can enter the main peak for cultivation. The five peaks accept inner disciples based on two criteria: talent and affinity. The former requires passing a trial, while the latter is accepted either way, with disciples staying together if they agree and leaving if not. However, over the centuries, disciples from each peak have gradually begun to cluster together. Yao Peak is dominated by military cultivators, Kuang and Quan Peaks are almost entirely populated by sorcerers, and Lin Peak is predominantly populated by alchemists and herbalists.
Because the Dingsheng Sect occupies a vast territory and only began recruiting disciples in the last hundred years, disciples usually cultivate within the main peaks. Unless there is a gathering or a large class, the probability of encountering other disciples on the road is extremely low.
"The peak master of Quanfeng is Ancestor Liu Zhiqing, the peak master of Yaofeng is Ancestor Zhu Huo, and the peak master of Kuangfeng is Ancestor Qi Qingling. The peak master of Linfeng is not an ancestor, but a grand-uncle of the Eastern Continent. The three ancestors have not accepted disciples for many years. The disciples of the inner peaks enter the various peaks to cultivate under the grand-disciples of the ancestors."
The man in blue explained in detail, but intentionally or unintentionally omitted Luanfeng. Even after stepping into the teleportation array, Ji Mingran still only had a vague understanding of Luanfeng: "So what is Luanfeng?"
The shimmering light rises and falls, the scenery shifts, the spring recedes, leaving only barren mountains.
The man in green, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke, his words tinged with schadenfreude. He stretched out his arm and pointed towards the rugged, solitary peak: "Look, that's Luan Peak."
Under the night sky, the rugged, solitary peak rises thousands of feet high. The only way to reach the cliff is a dilapidated old wooden bridge. Many of the planks on the bridge are missing, and in several places, there are no planks at all, leaving only a rope swaying precariously in the air.
It was another bottomless abyss.
A voice in green robes reached his ears: "When the Dingsheng Sect was first established, it only had four peaks. Later, a mountain in the northeast corner of the Yaofeng Peak area was carved out and became the present-day Luanfeng Peak. The founding ancestor of Luanfeng Peak placed a restriction on Luanfeng Peak, prohibiting the use of any talismans, arrays, artifacts, or spells to cross the bridge. If you want to cross the bridge, you can only walk across. However, this bridge has probably not been repaired for hundreds of years, so you must be careful when you cross it."
"What's down there?" Ji Mingran stood on tiptoe and looked down, but even with the bright moon in the sky, there were dark clouds obscuring the view. She tried hard to see, but she couldn't make out what the gloomy shadows under the clouds were.
Seeing that Ji Mingran was hanging halfway over the edge of the cliff, his slender body swaying in the wind as if he might fall at any moment, Lan Yi felt a chill run down his spine. He thought to himself that this grandmaster was far too daring, and couldn't help but remind him again, "Please be careful."
Ji Mingran seemed not to hear him, craning his neck and asking again, "What's down there? I can't see it clearly."
"This forest range is under the jurisdiction of Linfeng." A nonchalant male voice suddenly rang out: "Hey, with your posture, do you want me to give you another kick?"
The voice sounded familiar. Ji Mingran immediately turned his head and leaned back, and sure enough, it was a red-haired man.
Ji Mingran asked suspiciously, "What are you doing here?"
The disciple in green then spoke up, "Uncle-Master Wangzhen, now that you've arrived, I'll return to Kuang Peak first."
Ji Mingran looked at the man in blue, whose previous impatience had vanished and who was now extremely respectful and polite. Recalling the man's earlier gesture of turning his back to him, he suddenly realized, "It's you."
The disciple in blue admitted it as readily as he had slipped away: "Yes. Since my grandmaster has come to stand up for me, I'll take my leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, a faint light appeared, and he was gone.
"Grandmaster Uncle?" Ji Mingran looked at the red-haired boy with suspicion and asked the man in blue, "Who is he?"
Wang Zhen crossed his arms, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips, and mimicked Ji Mingran's question: "Who is she?"
The man in blue, sandwiched between the two, remained expressionless.
You two clearly know each other.
Still asking.
You're messing with me.
Even so, the man in blue had no choice but to give in and continue working diligently as a commentator.
"Grandmaster Guan Wangzhen was a participant in this year's sect entrance competition, just like you. He performed outstandingly in the competition and was accepted as a personal disciple by Grandmaster Qi of Kuangfeng."
"Grandmaster Ji Mingran is a fellow participant in this year's sect entry competition with you. His performance in this sect entry competition..." The man in blue coughed and said, "Anyway, she is the junior sister of the two Grandmasters Luanfeng."
“Luanfeng’s grandmaster uncle…” Guan Wangzhen’s lips curled up, a playful smile on his face: “No wonder the old man kept nagging that he didn’t get to see the excitement. Ha, I imagine Yaofeng’s grandmother must be very annoyed, and the old drunkard must be going crazy. Quanfeng is going to have a good time tonight.”
“The affairs of Quanfeng are indeed busy.” The man in blue rationally ignored Guan Wangzhen’s disrespectful words and said quickly, “This disciple still needs to return to the peak to assist in the handling. Luanfeng is just across the bridge. Since I have already delivered it, I will take my leave first. Please continue your conversation.”
He quickly bowed and disappeared in a flash.
Both of them left. Ji Mingran silently watched Guan Wangzhen, who was about two zhang away.
Guan Wangzhen: "Why are you looking at me like that? Like I'm your enemy."
Ji Mingran said slowly, "You kicked me."
The complete shoe print on the back of her clothes and the bloodstains seeping from the torn wound are evidence.
"You heartless bastard! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have made it to the competition." Guan Wangzhen walked closer to Ji Mingran and said righteously, "I've been waiting for you for a whole month."
Ji Mingran didn't believe his nonsense and looked at Guan Wangzhen warily, saying, "Why are you waiting for me?"
I don't know you well.
Guan Wangzhen clearly didn't think so. As they walked, he said, "You're someone I brought. It's already embarrassing enough that you can't even get into the inner sect. If you can't even get into the outer sect, I'll be even more embarrassed. Old Qi will definitely nag me for a whole year if he catches this. You're so slow and dawdling. Even a snail is faster than you."
"Really?" Ji Mingran turned his back and sniffed himself. "I've been walking for a month and haven't been able to wash up on the road." As he said this, the fatigue that he had been suppressing gradually surfaced.
Yue Zhen was still recovering from his injuries and had been walking almost nonstop for a month. Just now, he had to dodge attacks from behind and use formations continuously, and his body was about to reach its limit.
Ji Mingran simply sat down to rest on the edge of the cliff and said, "Is it really that smelly? Neither the sect leader nor those two mentioned it."
“The Purification Technique isn’t anything special,” Guan Wangzhen said. “I just don’t like using it.” He had already walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down at the person sitting leisurely, swinging his legs.
The range of motion of one leg is smaller than that of the other.
Guan Wangzhen paused for a moment, then sat down with his knees drawn up to hers at the edge of the cliff: "I didn't realize that such a small chick could reach the sect's realm."
Wait a minute, Wang Zhen looked at the night sky and suddenly remembered that when he first met Ji Mingran, it was clearly daytime, but when they met again, it was as dark as it was now. He wasn't far from that group of annoying sorcerers; he could reach them with a teleportation spell. But when Ji Mingran came back to find him, it was late at night.
"That time in Guancang Forest, did you also come back to find me on foot?" But he clearly saw her leave using an array.
"The transmission distance I can make the transmission array is extremely limited," Ji Mingran said frankly. "It's just a short walk. I used to have to go to the shop to work every day. The shop was far from home, and it was at least 20 miles round trip. I'm used to it."
"Working? Twenty miles?" Wang Zhen was surprised. She looked so small now, and she must have been even smaller before. How could she walk so much?
Ji Mingran: "Is this really something to be surprised about?"
Wang Zhen said, "Even ordinary people in the spiritual cultivation world can buy and use arrays, talismans, and spiritual artifacts. At the very least, they can always travel by carriage and rarely have to go far."
"The spiritual cultivation world is truly prosperous; everyone has money to buy spiritual artifacts," Ji Mingran exclaimed.
“The last person as down on their luck as you, who had to climb from the foot of the mountain to the sect level, let me think…” Wang Zhen scratched his head, his red hair sticking up like a cat with its fur standing on end, “probably tens of thousands of years ago.”
He turned his head to look in the direction of the teleportation array: "But it seems he was tricked. I heard that he suffered once and never wanted to fall for it again, so he covered the entire Dingsheng Sect with teleportation arrays. However, he deliberately set up a restriction at his own door, so that no magic can be used to get there. This old man is probably just bored."
Ji Mingran followed the gaze and saw that the teleportation array's afterglow had completely dissipated. On the barren, muddy ground with a few wild grasses, only faint array patterns, barely visible to the naked eye, remained.
The formation on the ground was left by the Luanfeng Ancestor.
What kind of powerful person would it take to set up an array that spans multiple domains?
Guan Wangzhen added, "The two who just left, the one in blue is a disciple of my Kuangfeng Peak, I'm too lazy to say anything. The one in blue is a disciple of Quanfeng Peak, a direct descendant of Sect Leader Yuanliu, I can't say anything about him either."
Ji Mingran's gaze fell on Guan Wangzhen's face; he intentionally brought up the matter of Luanfeng's ancestor.
His beautiful, narrow phoenix eyes glanced at her, and a wicked smile played on Guan Wangzhen's lips.
"Do you want to know about Luanfeng?"
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