Chapter 268: Anomaly

Daoist Friend Lin Chuan, fellow Daoist Friends, welcome, welcome.

Before the flying boat touched down, the enthusiastic voice of the Fu Guang Daoist reached his ears.

Fu Guang Daoist, we meet again.

Lin Chuan bowed and said, "I apologize for the presumptuous visit, please forgive me."

"No trouble at all."

The Fu Guang Daoist laughed, "Someone like Daoist Friend Lin, a Heavenly Pride, is welcome everywhere. Many young talents of the Zi Wei Xing Emperor Sect wish to catch a glimpse of your bearing."

"By the way."

"The other contestants are also touring the Zi Wei Xing Emperor Sect. Daoist Friend Lin, would you like to go with them, or shall I, the humble Daoist, guide you alone?"

"Other contestants?" Lin Chuan laughed, "Is Bai Li Ming and the others there?"

The Fu Guang Daoist replied, "Indeed, Senior Brother Bai Li will be the guide. Apart from the three buried Fozhi, the geniuses of the other nine super powers are present."

"I won't go, then."

Lin Chuan had no interest in any 'peer exchange.'

"The humble Daoist also finds it uninteresting."

The Fu Guang Daoist agreed, "Originally Senior Brother Bai Li also disliked this sort of thing, but the super genius Nan Gong Ya from the Biluoyuan repeatedly requested, so we agreed."

"After all, this Heavenly Realm Contention is being held in the Zi Wei Xing Domain."

"The Zi Wei Xing Emperor Sect also wishes to extend proper hospitality."

The Fu Guang Daoist talked incessantly, like a walking manual in human form, able to speak for three days and three nights without stopping.

Under the enthusiastic invitation of the Fu Guang Daoist, Lin Chuan and his wives chose to reside temporarily in the Zi Wei Xing Emperor Sect.

Awaiting the start of the Heavenly Realm Contention.

"Sister should be over there, right?"

Lin Chuan gazed toward the towering peak deep within the Zi Wei Xing Emperor Sect, shrouded in mist, its summit invisible.

Sitting here, Lin Chuan felt his mind considerably calmer.

Ye Xue's gaze stretched far to another spot; her heart fluttered as her daughter Qing Fan's life state approached normalcy, creating a strong bloodline resonance with her.

Waiting for the Genius Battle to end, Qing Fan should also return to her side.

It seemed everything was developing toward the best direction.

……

The third-to-last day before the Heavenly Realm Contention begins.

The artifact spirit of the Sphere of All Beings communicated via the Jade Talisman, announcing the results of the Heavenly Realm Contention to all major forces.

Lin Chuan's opponent came from Biluoyuan.

But it was not the super seed Nan Gong Ya; rather, a woman named Leng Fang.

Lin Chuan paid no mind.

He didn't even care about Nan Gong Ya, let alone a secondary genius.

……

A manor within the Zi Wei Xing Domain.

Three female cultivators of Biluoyuan sat together.

In the second round of the Genius Battle, Nan Gong Ya performed poorly, nearly eliminated by Ye Chen of the Heavenly Autumn Palace and Jing Ying of the Jing Shan Court,

but that did not mean Biluoyuan's strength was weak.

Biluoyuan entered thirteen disciples in this Genius Battle, and ultimately three entered the top hundred, earning qualification for the Heavenly Realm Contention.

That counts as a decent record.

"Senior Sister, who did you draw?"

Two junior sisters sat on either side of Nan Gong Ya, their gazes slightly curious.

"Wu Clan Huo Rong."

Nan Gong Ya looked disdainful, "Too weak. Even the super genius Hou Zuo of this Wu Clan cohort was easily defeated by Bai Li Ming; Huo Rong poses no threat to me at all."

"Who did you all draw?"

"Let me see." The short blue‑white hair woman sitting to Nan Gong Ya's left opened the Jade Talisman communication, revealing a name,

"Qingyun Prefecture freelance cultivator?"

"Lin Chuan!"

"How unlucky!"

If one were to ask which cultivator she most dreaded encountering in this match, it would surely be Lin Chuan, whose unfathomable strength is even more terrifying to her than Bai Li Ming.

"Heh."

Nan Gong Ya let out a cold laugh, "What? You're scared of meeting a Lin Chuan? Have you forgotten what you said?"

Leng Fang's expression turned sour.

Can one not be afraid?

If you think you can, then go ahead.

But her words could only stay bottled inside, unspoken.

Nan Gong Ya sneered, "Just a mere Lin Chuan, borrowing some momentum to make a name for himself, truly thinking he's invincible?"

"Such a filthy man, as long as I'm present, he will never secure a spot."

"Junior Sister Leng Fang, your conviction is still far from firm!"

"Scared by such a filthy man? If you later meet a powerful man, will you flatter and submit, willingly becoming a subordinate of a strong man?"

"Do you want to be a man's lapdog? To be humiliated? To be ridden?"

Nangong Ya's words were like sharp thorns stabbing into Leng Fang's heart.

Leng Fang fell to the ground, staring in disbelief at her own senior sister, eyes brimming with tears.

"Senior sister, what's wrong today?"

Usually the senior sister is strict with them in cultivation matters, but is gentle in private, and would never utter such humiliating words.

What a dog beneath the hips! What a humiliating subjugation!

Is this still the senior sister we know?

Staring at her senior sister's face, Leng Fang felt the face contort, becoming snarling and terrifying, like a demon of the Forbidden Zone.

"Senior... senior sister, I'm not afraid."

Leng Fang felt her heart being eroded bit by bit, shaking her head vigorously, "I have never thought that way before."

"Really?"

Nangong Ya asked.

"Hmm."

Leng Fang nodded heavily.

Nangong Ya asked again, "Then have you ever thought of defeating him, stepping on him? Making a man our dog? Being dominated by us?"

With those words, Leng Fang felt as if she fell into an ice cellar.

This! Absolutely not the senior sister!

The senior sister usually treats those with three wives and four concubines, making male cultivators who treat women as dependents detest them, yet would never have such thoughts.

Changed! The senior sister has changed!

Since the end of the second round of the Genius War, the senior sister seems to have become a completely different person.

At first she did not think deeply, but now, upon careful thought, it is terrifying.

"I must report this to the master."

"We must not let the senior sister go astray; perhaps she was secretly wounded by the demonic Dao, or cursed by some force."

Leng Fang thought in her heart, striving to suppress the surging fear, and forced out a faint smile.

"Senior sister, I will definitely defeat Lin Chuan, no matter how strong he is; I will strive and never show weakness to him!"

Saying so, Leng Fang shifted her body backward and gradually stood up.

Nangong Ya's face again displayed a gentle smile, "Junior sister, having such resolve is good; this is what a disciple of my Azure Abyss should be."

"What do you think? Mo Mo."

She turned her head again toward another woman.

The junior sister with a bun wildly nodded, "Senior sister is right; we will not fear a Lin Chuan."

She and Leng Fang exchanged a glance, both seeing something abnormal in each other's eyes.

"That..."

Leng Fang forced composure, smiling, "Senior sister, it's getting late; Mo Mo junior sister and I still need to return to cultivate, so we won't disturb you further."

"May senior sister achieve victory at the flag‑raising in the third round of the Celestial Realm Power Struggle."

"Junior sister, taking leave."

Having said that, the two hurried to leave.

Nangong Ya sat there, still keeping a smile, no longer the earlier frenzy, but that smile made Leng Fang and Mo Mo feel increasingly eerie and nauseating.

Their steps quickened involuntarily, the inner panic becoming harder to conceal.

"Junior sisters."

Behind them, Nangong Ya's voice sounded again.

Leng Fang dared not turn, pretended not to hear, and grabbed Mo Mo junior sister's hand, rushing outward.

In the next instant, a head suddenly hung upside down before the two.

"Junior sister, your fear wasn't hidden; be careful in the next life."