Chapter 397: Encounters Are Risky, Cultivation Demands Caution 【4k】

After cursing a few more times, Leng Rou's inner vexation finally eased somewhat.

She was actually quite carefree, so even failing to merge with the Dao and becoming a lingering soul didn't faze her—but this time was truly different!

Gu Wangjun, having been scolded a few times, didn't get angry; years of stagnant cultivation had made him a boy, yet his temper was well-honed.

But he was utterly baffled, unable to fathom why she had suddenly exploded like this.

Could the elder he'd met really be that formidable?

"You… know this elder?"

"Of course I know," Leng Rou replied listlessly.

No matter how she thought about it, she still felt vexed!

Does this idiot even realize what he just missed?

"The progenitor of the Sword Dao, founder of the Xiang Jianzong, the supreme ancestor of the human race," she didn't drag it out, "the elder you met was none other than the legendary Xiang Jianzong, famed for bestowing opportunities upon disciples."

Better to spell it out plainly, so this fool of a boy understands exactly what he lost.

Xiang Jianzong… Ancestor?!

Gu Wangjun sat stunned for a long while, his mind a swirling mess of sludge.

Holy shit!

He'd actually encountered such a towering figure—and he'd refused the Xiang Jianzong's transmission?!

He suddenly snapped back to awareness.

"But he, he…"

He stammered "he" for ages, unable to finish the sentence.

"What 'he he he'? Show some respect to the Ancestor—you little brat is utterly disrespectful."

"Oh…" he replied dully.

He glanced at Leng Rou before him, then at the painting in his hand, recalling the two choices the Xiang Jianzong had given him.

The Xiang Jianzong's transmission…

To be honest, after calming down, he felt his regret wasn't as sharp as before.

After all, both the Profound Void realm and the Xiang Jianzong were far beyond his current reach…

So after thinking it over, he set the paper down.

"Now do you know what you missed?" Leng Rou sighed, shaking her head, exasperated.

What a perfect opportunity!

"If I gain it, it's fortune; if I lose it, it's fate," Gu Wangjun said, his expression calm, his tone carefree, "I've already made my choice. Lingering in regret is useless—better to focus on the present."

His voice echoed through the bedroom, its calm tone carrying the boy's quiet resolve…

In a clichéd script, Leng Rou would now gaze at him with complex emotion, praise his character, and ramble on about how years of hardship had shaped him, blah blah blah.

But things didn't go that way—she merely sneered.

"Hah! Are you faking it?"

Even I, with my Profound Void peak, wouldn't dare say that!

You're at Qi Condensation Fourth Layer and you're acting like this?!

Gu Wangjun: "..."

"Wait till your realm rises a bit—you'll regret this," Leng Rou raised her thumb, then flipped it downward, "but you'll definitely be this."

You're the frog who can't comprehend the sea, the summer insect who can't fathom ice—that's exactly what you are.

Even if you truly are a prodigy, the Xiang Jianzong's transmission is an opportunity you absolutely cannot ignore.

Sigh~

Forget it, forget it.

If one day you somehow reach my current level and face the nine-to-one death trap of merging with the Dao, you'll finally understand what you lost.

With her spirit drained, she no longer cared to speak further, raising her hand to press a spark of spiritual light against his third eye.

Gu Wangjun startled, instinctively trying to dodge—but the light came too fast, striking his brow and splitting into two scriptures that unfolded within him—

"Leng Rou's Notes on Talisman Crafting"

"The Scripture of Yin-Eating Soul-Slicing Sword"

She'd say what she said, but she still intended to fulfill her role as an "external aid."

After all, it was thanks to this boy that she'd recovered—and even had the fortune of being seen by the Xiang Jianzong.

"I see you already have some talent in talisman crafting—don't change it. Practice more in your spare time; use this skill to earn resources."

Though talisman masters aren't easy to thrive these days, that's only relative to other high-profit cultivation trades—among the hundred arts of cultivation, there's always some spirit coin to be made.

"Once you reach Qi Condensation Seventh Layer, switch to the 'Yin-Eating Soul-Slicing Sword Scripture.' Until then, just practice the sword techniques listed within."

"First, lay a solid foundation—ideally forge a Heaven-Born Dao Base."

"Only then will you have a chance to score well on the Imperial Exam and enter the Xiang Jianzong."

Gu Wangjun, still reeling from the flood of information, nodded anyway.

After regaining some clarity: "What's a Heaven-Born Dao Base?"

"After reaching Qi Condensation Ninth Layer, you practice the Gathering and Cai Lian Fa: absorb the sun's essence, condense the moon's radiance, refine the starlight, cleanse your bones and spiritual power, then extract the divine essence from rare treasures of heaven and earth. Once completed, your Dao Base becomes flawless—that's the Heaven-Born Dao Base."

School teachers don't mention it, fearing students will reach too high.

But with me as your 'external aid,' and you having already received blessings from the Xiang Jianzong himself…

Aren't you at least 'blessed by fate'?

"That's the gist. Other details I'll tell you once your realm advances."

The Gathering and Cai Lian Fa is excruciating—whether you can endure it is still uncertain; you might even lose control of your bowels from the pain…

If he truly succeeds, Leng Rou plans to buy him a one-time Shen Yun pill for Foundation Establishment.

Although much of her resources were spent on Harmonizing with the Dao, her account still holds plenty of Spirit Coins, more than enough to support a Qi Condensation cultivator.

"Thank you, Elder."

"Enough, enough." Leng Rou waved her hand. "If you have questions, ask me between five and nine in the afternoon."

"Yes." Gu Wangjun nodded.

Immediately, a surge of grand ambition rose in his heart.

After years of wasting time, his cheat life is finally about to begin!

Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—those who once bullied me will surely…

Uh…

But it seems no one actually bullied me; my popularity in class is actually quite good.

A few top students are burning themselves out, busy with cultivation; the ones who slack off are at roughly the same realm as me and won't randomly pick fights.

Hmm…

Oh!

Planetary Warden!

It was him—he tricked me into swallowing the Fa-Ming Pill, leaving my body depleted and nearly sucking me dry!

Perfect!

I'll make toppling the Planetary Warden my goal and cultivate hard!

Gu Wangjun silently set a goal in his heart that he considered "grand."

…………

Yuyao No. 1 High School, playground.

The moonlight was lonely; a cold wind blew gently.

Due to the bio-weapon attack, the school was unnaturally silent, not a single person in sight.

Without warning, a figure appeared out of thin air, materializing on the track.

It was Xu Xing.

"Three… should be enough."

During the bio-weapon attack, besides protecting the affected humans, he casually visited various shelters across this planet.

Including Gu Wangjun, he gave three junior cultivators with decent temperaments small gifts. One received a Blood Jade forged from Cang blood, which enhances comprehension, relieves fatigue, and replenishes vitality, along with a combat sword art requiring vast Qi.

Another received a cultivation method suited to him; one of its side effects resembled the "Dao Yan Da Qian Lu" that He Yunqi obtained in the previous Tongxuan Energy Level world, though less specific—only capable of judging fortune or misfortune.

Hmm…

By the time all three take the college entrance exam, it'll certainly be interesting.

"Auntie!"

Before the person arrived, her voice reached ahead.

A blade of light plunged downward.

With Chi Jiuyu came a faint, luminous, holy and ethereal silhouette, as if condensed from micro-light.

The blade of light landed lightly; even before the figure within fully revealed itself, she eagerly asked: "How was our performance this time?!"

"Fine."

Not a single mistake in content, delivery, or execution!

"Hehe!"

She single-handedly held off five Soul Transformation-level bio-weapons and killed one; if the System Warden hadn't arrived quickly, the rest would've died too!

At twenty-three, achieving this at early Soul Transformation—besides Jiuyu Laozu, who else could do it!

After Chi Jiuyu finished speaking, the micro-light silhouette stepped forward to bow: "Disciple Yu Ling bows before the Xiang Jianzong. Unable to come in person, I beg your forgiveness, Ancestor."

"No matter. The System Warden's duty is paramount; prioritize it."

Yu Ling Zhenjun bowed again, then opened her hand, and a pure white orb floated down.

It landed on the ground, revealing a fainting figure—You Hao.

"This man attempted to flee, so I captured him."

He was a Planetary Warden under the Xiang Jianzong's jurisdiction; she couldn't directly punish him without going through the Sect, especially with the Xiang Jianzong present.

"Thank you."

"Disciple is humbled by your kindness, Ancestor."

Chi Jiuyu watched for a moment, then scratched her head and looked toward the horizon.

Hmm…

Why hasn't Xiao Yunlu arrived yet?!

Just then, a sliver of sword light arrived from the night sky; when it reached above the playground, its biting chill receded, and it descended.

"Auntie, Sister." After greeting them, Zhang Yunlu turned to Yu Ling Zhenjun: "Who is this…?"

"Call me Yu Ling."

"So you're the Yu Ling Warden."

Sister had said: at times like this, use official titles—it avoids awkwardness.

"Auntie, what should we do now?" Chi Jiuyu asked.

Xu Xing pulled out a token and handed it over: "I will restore the depleted vitality of all those harmed by the Shuoshu Dan. Then return and submit your mission—the Silutang will handle the rest."

"Oh." Chi Jiuyu nodded, taking the token from his hand.

The token, palm-sized, was surprisingly heavy, bearing no complex inscriptions—only a single character carved at its center: "Ancestor."

The Xiang Jianzong's token?

Chi Jiuyu's heart stirred.

"This is for you to turn in missions with. If you dare use it to make things difficult for the Sect Master, I'll have your senior sister break your legs."

Chi Jiuyu: "..."

Uncle-Master, honestly—am I really that underhanded? The position of Sect Master, I'll claim it fair and square!

But from the way Uncle-Master put it just now...

"Uncle-Master, aren't you going back to the Xiang Jianzong?"

"I still need to go somewhere, to see a friend."

See a friend?

Please don't let it be the same type as Senior Lingzu, Chi Jiuyu muttered to himself.

The next day, the sky was bright.

Not a single cloud in sight.

A great snow, no one knew from where, came falling thick and fast, blanketing every habitable region of Yuyao Star.

The sun blazed high, yet the wind and snow would not stop, swirling and drifting.

Such a bizarre, inexplicable sight left the residents of Yuyao's Fourth Planet—who had just suffered an attack by biological weapons—uneasy and anxious, until a piece of news appeared.

"Former Yuyao Fourth Planet Garrison Commander You Hao abused his position to embezzle the planet's construction resources."

"He swapped pills originally carrying ten measures of medicinal efficacy for dregs with only one measure."

"And to keep up the cultivators' standards, he even recruited people to disguise demonic pills called Life-Cutting Pills as fortuitous encounters, luring young cultivators from modest backgrounds or those whose realm was advancing slowly."

"According to his confession, sixty percent of the students on Yuyao Star have swallowed Life-Cutting Pills."

"The Xiang Jianzong's Silutang will dispatch relevant personnel in the coming days to thoroughly investigate the case of the Fourth Planet Garrison Commander's embezzlement of resources."

Life-Cutting Pills—overdrawing one's potential and foundation, draining the body?

Looking at the image of the Life-Cutting Pill released in the news, many people's hearts turned cold and their whole bodies stiffened.

"Additionally, the Xiang Jianzong's Xiang Jianzong Founder passed by Yuyao's Fourth Planet last night. Unable to bear it, he sent down great snow to aid the young cultivators harmed by the Life-Cutting Pills."

Hmm?!

So this strange great snow was actually the handiwork of the Xiang Jianzong Founder?!

"Yuyao Morning News hereby solemnly reminds you."

"Fortuitous encounters carry risk; cultivation requires caution."

"Strengthen your awareness of anti-fraud; do not let a moment of greed ruin your entire life."

Not many people heard those last three sentences.

Everyone, upon hearing the news that the great snow could remedy the body's depletion, ran outside and immediately started rolling around in the snow.

Whether they had taken Life-Cutting Pills or not.

Some went even further, casting spells and divine abilities to draw the wind and snow, even coming to blows over the wind and snow.

Even though a global announcement had been issued stating the great snow was only a surface phenomenon, the fighting over it still did not stop.

In the end, it took some Nascent Soul cultivators stepping out to maintain order before things truly did not descend into chaos.

In front of a small building.

Gu Wangjun stood quietly, his body covered in snowflakes.

He reached out and caught a few, watching them melt in his palm, and could not help sighing: "The Xiang Jianzong Founder's divine ability is truly boundless in power."

For him, such a divine ability was already inconceivable.

Then, he looked to his side, where a translucent phantom only he could see floated quietly in midair.

She, who should have been asleep and resting, had specifically come out upon hearing that the Xiang Jianzong Founder had manifested a divine ability.

Snowflakes rustled down, setting off that tall, heroic figure all the more radiant.

Though receiving the dharma from the Xiang Jianzong Founder was good, this sort of thing didn't seem bad either...

As if sensing someone watching her, Leng Rou suddenly turned her head toward him and smiled lightly.

In an instant, the world itself seemed to brighten by several shades, and Gu Wangjun's breath caught.

"Young man, you wouldn't have already started fantasizing about those 'beautiful master falls for me' novel plotlines, would you?" Leng Rou's smile was full of mischief,

"If you really think that way, I can only advise you to watch fewer movies and read fewer novels."

"Or you could prop your pillow up a little higher when you sleep—anything you want is in a dream."

Gu Wangjun froze, then an irrepressible wave of embarrassment surged up, feeling his entire face burn hot.

Commonly known as: social death!

And you still say you're not a body cultivator! (End of Chapter)