Chapter 254 – Wait—How Did You Almost Become… You Little Brat

Central Province, Azure Cloud Sect.

A month had already passed since the conclusion of the True Immortal Trial.

When they had initially journeyed to the True Immortal Trial, the delayed opening had forced them to travel intermittently, taking nearly half a year to reach the Drunken Cloud Sea where the trial was held.

The return trip, however, was far less troublesome.

With the aid of several teleportation arrays, the journey that originally required six months was completed in just about one.

As soon as the Celestial Ark landed at the Azure Cloud Sect, Lu Chen disembarked and headed straight for Danyang Peak.

He had now met all the conditions for a breakthrough to the Golden Core Stage.

Naturally, he had no intention of wasting further time elsewhere and immediately began preparations to advance to the Golden Core Stage.

Moreover, he hadn’t forgotten the threat posed by the Black Lotus Sect in the real world.

Although the real-world Black Lotus Sect wasn’t as formidable as its in-game counterpart, any organization capable of operating under the Immortal Alliance’s nose for so long surely had its own methods.

Even though Lu Chen had enlisted the help of several Nascent Soul Stage experts, the saying held true: relying on others is not as reliable as relying on oneself.

Once his cultivation reached the Golden Core Stage, even if he couldn’t defeat ordinary Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, he would at least be fully capable of ensuring his own safety.

Thus, whether for his personal security or to swiftly enhance his strength before the impending calamity, Lu Chen’s immediate priority was to find a way to break through to the Golden Core Stage.

Outside Jing Gong’s Cave Residence on Danyang Peak.

“Master, your disciple Lu Chen requests an audience.”

As soon as Lu Chen spoke outside the cave, the door to Jing Gong’s residence swung open.

“Come in.”

Lu Chen rose and entered the cave, quickly spotting Jing Gong tinkering with an alchemy furnace.

Jing Gong’s portly frame was half-submerged inside the furnace, leaving only the other half visible.

Witnessing this, Lu Chen was utterly baffled, unable to comprehend what Jing Gong was doing.

Seeing that Lu Chen showed no initiative to help, Jing Gong, still stuck in the furnace, couldn’t hold back: “Don’t—don’t just stand there! Give me a hand!”

Only then did Lu Chen snap out of his daze and step forward, using his strength to “rescue” Jing Gong from the furnace.

Thud!

The moment he was free, Jing Gong plopped heavily onto the ground.

His substantial weight sent a noticeable tremor through the floor.

Looking at his dust-covered master, Lu Chen couldn’t help but ask, “Master, what were you doing?”

Jing Gong stood up, dusted off his robes, and replied with a straight face, “Cleaning the furnace, obviously. Can’t you tell?”

“…”

I could tell you were cleaning the furnace, but I’ve never seen anyone get themselves stuck inside one while doing it. Master, not only is your alchemy skill extraordinary, but your talent for antics is also first-rate.

Of course, Lu Chen kept these thoughts to himself. He understood the principle of not rubbing salt in someone’s wounds.Perhaps Jing Gong also felt that getting himself stuck while cleaning the Alchemy Furnace was rather foolish, so he immediately changed the subject: “By the way, I heard you caused quite a stir during this True Immortal Trial, but these are just rumors. I don’t know how much of it is true. Tell me about it.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen briefly recounted his experiences during the True Immortal Trial.

He also shared his understanding that the True Immortal Trial was merely an Immortal’s dream with Jing Gong.

Jing Gong didn’t seem surprised by this, his expression remaining unchanged.

“So, you gained quite a lot from this True Immortal Trial?”

Lu Chen modestly replied, “Just some small gains, nothing substantial.”

Jing Gong said with mock exasperation, “Enough, enough. Do you think I don’t know your character? Others would exaggerate one achievement into ten, boasting as much as possible.”

“But you’re different – you achieve a hundred but only speak of one, as if afraid others might think highly of you. I really don’t know what you’ve been through to become so cautious.”

Lu Chen simply smiled at Jing Gong’s teasing without responding.

Seeing this, Jing Gong also laughed.

After their laughter subsided, Jing Gong’s expression suddenly turned serious.

He then closed his Cave Residence, appearing as if he had important matters to discuss with Lu Chen.

Though Jing Gong hadn’t spoken yet, Lu Chen immediately guessed what he wanted to talk about.

As expected, Jing Gong was likely going to discuss Sect Leader Gu Liqing’s secret investigation into the Immortal Abominations of the Giant Spirit Gate in Eastern Divine Continent before Lu Chen left for the True Immortal Trial.

At that time, although Lu Chen had used the matter of the Great Yan Dynasty’s Immortal Fiends to make Sect Leader Gu Liqing pay attention to the Immortal Fiends issue, since those creatures hadn’t shown any significant danger and were well hidden, Gu Liqing wouldn’t consider the Immortal Fiends too important based solely on Lu Chen’s words.

After all, with an organization as large as the Azure Cloud Sect, there were too many things to consider.

For some small rats suddenly emerging from the gutters, the fact that Gu Liqing personally arranged the investigation already showed how much he valued Lu Chen.

The reasons Gu Liqing was willing to investigate the Immortal Fiends at that time were, besides his suspicion that they might be connected to the sudden extermination of those small schools in Central Province, his assumption that Lu Chen might have some irreconcilable hatred with the Immortal Fiends.

Unlike other schools, the Azure Cloud Sect valued not only disciples’ cultivation Aptitude but also their Heart-Nature.

Lu Chen had fully demonstrated that he possessed not only astonishing cultivation Aptitude but also superior Heart-Nature.

Therefore, Gu Liqing didn’t want Lu Chen to develop some obsession over this matter that might affect his mental state, which was why he decided to personally intervene in the Immortal Fiends affair.

Calculating the time, about half a year had passed since he returned from the True Immortal Trial.

There should be some results by now after these six months.

“Master, what you want to discuss must be related to the Sect Leader, right?”

Jing Gong nodded, then said seriously, “Regarding the Giant Spirit Gate you mentioned earlier, Senior Brother Sect Leader has personally gone there with several high-level cultivators from our sect.””I initially thought that with Sect Leader and several high-level Cultivators taking action, subduing a mere Sky Demon from beyond our realm shouldn’t be difficult.”

“But the outcome was unexpected. At the critical moment, the Sect Leader of Giant Spirit Gate used some unknown secret technique, allowing him to narrowly escape rescue. Only some insignificant underlings remained behind.”

“It seems we underestimated their methods.”

After a moment of silence, Lu Chen responded: “But through this incident, the Sect Leader must have realized the danger of the Immortal Fiends, right?”

“Indeed. To escape from Sect Leader and several of our Sect’s high-level Cultivators, that fellow truly possesses some capability.”

“If that were all, it wouldn’t be too concerning – a single Nascent Soul Stage cultivator can’t cause major waves.”

“The real problem is that he’s clearly not acting alone. If his Sect has multiple experts of similar caliber, or even existences beyond the Nascent Soul Stage, this poses a genuine threat that demands our serious attention.”

At this point, Jing Gong seemed to recall something and said with frustration: “Actually, after witnessing the escape, Sect Leader considered directly investigating all Sects across the Eastern Divine Continent to eradicate all hidden rats root and stem.”

“Initially, things proceeded smoothly. Sect Leader successively uncovered several Sects, like Giant Spirit Gate, that had been taken over by these infiltrators.”

“But just as Sect Leader began dealing with these minor Sects, high-level Cultivators from other Schools approached us, demanding we cease our actions.”

“Among them… were several whose strength rivals Sect Leader’s. Xiao Lu, you understand what this means.”

Though he had known eliminating the Immortal Fiends wouldn’t be easy, Lu Chen hadn’t expected mediators from Central Province to emerge so early in their efforts.

The depth of this matter exceeded his expectations.

Lu Chen looked at Jing Gong and asked: “Master, are you suggesting these Immortal Fiends might have backing from certain Central Province Sects, enabling their development to this scale?”

“Exactly my meaning.”

Jing Gong continued indignantly: “These people actually used the principle of Yin and Yang interdependence to persuade us, claiming Central Province’s stability exists precisely because these Demonic Heresy factions occupy the ‘Yin’ position, allowing us righteous cultivators to maintain the ‘Yang’ without internal conflict.”

“They argued that if we completely eliminate these Demonic Heresy factions representing ‘Yin,’ we’d inevitably turn against formerly righteous Schools that would become the new ‘Yin.'”

“This would not only shatter Central Province’s current stability but plunge us into endless conflict.”

“Therefore, maintaining the present balance – even allowing these Demonic Heresy factions to display some threat – benefits us righteous Sects rather than harms us.”

“Because only when facing common enemies do we righteous Schools avoid turning against each other.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen fell silent.

Viewed dispassionately from a purely objective perspective, preserving some Demonic Heresy presence in Central Province indeed offered more advantages than disadvantages for the broader situation.Once these demonic heresies were no longer the clear ‘Demonic Path,’ the vast majority of righteous sects would lose their target and find it difficult to unite against a common enemy.

Without ‘righteous principles’ as a constraint and without the ‘Demonic Path’ as a benchmark for enemies,

the various sects in the Central Province would revert to their original state.

That is, they would fight among themselves for resources, territory, and rare opportunities—a reality both genuine and brutal.

Even Lu Chen had to admit that these words held some logic.

But that was as far as it went.

Because he understood that the Immortal Fiends were no minor players they could control.

Instead, they were a beast lurking in the shadows, with immense ambitions.

Their appetite was so vast that they could even devour the entire Azure Cloud World.

Cooperating with them was like making a pact with a tiger—it could ultimately lead to playing with fire and getting burned.

Yet Lu Chen also knew that it was only through his experiences in several instances that he had come to understand the danger of the Immortal Fiends.

Others did not have the little game “True Immortal Cultivation.”

They couldn’t possibly fathom what the Immortal Fiends, and the Gu Xian behind them, represented.

Therefore, even though Lu Chen had already guessed what Jing Gong was about to say next,

he still asked, “In that case, what has the Sect Leader decided to do about this matter?”

Jing Gong studied Lu Chen seriously for a moment before replying, “The Sect Leader says he won’t back down on his end, but out of consideration for the attitudes of other sects, the investigation must proceed in secret.”

“And because it’s shifting from overt to covert, both the intensity and progress of the investigation will undoubtedly fall short of what was originally envisioned.”

“Hence, Senior Brother the Sect Leader asked me to convey to you that the situation is currently very complex. He knows you have some kind of obsession with these fellows, but for your safety, he advises you not to get involved for the time being. Once his investigation is nearly complete, he will naturally let you settle your Karma with them personally. What do you think, little Lu?”

Upon hearing this, Lu Chen fell silent for a moment before saying, “Then let it be as the Sect Leader says.”

Receiving this answer, Jing Gong visibly sighed in relief.

“Good, good. I was truly worried you’d stubbornly cling to this.”

“Before, we didn’t know those guys had the strength of the Nascent Soul Stage, so it was one thing. But now that we do, I personally hope you won’t take any risks. It’s a relief you didn’t disappoint me.”

Lu Chen said calmly, “Master, although my cultivation is still shallow, I never act without certainty and naturally wouldn’t take unnecessary risks.”

Jing Gong laughed in response, “That’s true. Among all the younger generation disciples, if we’re talking purely about caution, you’d claim first place, and no one else could claim second.”

“Alright, enough of that. You sought me out as soon as you returned—you must have something on your mind, right?”

“Don’t say you just came to see me. You’re the type who never visits the temple without a purpose; every time you show up, there’s something you need.”

“Go on, what do you want me to help you with?”

Looking at Jing Gong’s pained expression, as if bracing to be drained of coins,

even someone like Lu Chen, with his flexible moral boundaries, couldn’t help but feel somewhat awkward.

Thinking back, it was true that every time he had sought out Jing Gong before, it had been to ask for a favor.

He had practically treated Jing Gong like a piggy bank.

However, Lu Chen’s embarrassment lasted only a moment.

Then, without any attempt to conceal it, he revealed his current cultivation level.

As his vast cultivation aura spread out, Jing Gong, who had been sitting, immediately could no longer remain seated.He stared at Lu Chen in shock, looking him up and down before exclaiming incredulously: “No way, what’s going on with you, kid? How did you reach this level of cultivation without anyone noticing?”

“Don’t tell me you came here to attempt a Golden Core Stage breakthrough – how long have you even been cultivating?!”

“Even if you were the reincarnation of our Azure Cloud Sect’s Ancestral Master, his cultivation speed wouldn’t be this absurd.”

Facing Jing Gong’s astonishment, Lu Chen replied: “Master misunderstands. The main reason for this disciple’s current cultivation level is merely some minor gains from the recent True Immortal Trial.”

Jing Gong narrowed his eyes and spoke in a strange tone: “You’re sure they’re just minor gains?”

“Certain.”

Good, good, what wonderful ‘minor gains’ indeed!

Some ‘minor gains’ that propelled you from Qi Condensation Stage to Foundation Establishment Perfection in less than ten years.

If you were to make major gains, would you directly ascend to immortality on the spot, you brat!

(End of Chapter)