Chapter 448: A 'Presence Halo' for the Cautious Cultivator

Following the location coordinates Zhao Ruohan had given, Chi Jiuyu quickly arrived at the destination.

She saw the stone wall covered in a kind of unnamed climbing plant, lush and green, its leaves oval-shaped with slightly purple edges, sparsely dotted with some pale pink little flowers.

Nearby grew some shrubs and trees, with deep purple fruits hanging from the branches on both sides, looking as if they were poisonous.

On the whole, there didn't seem to be anything remarkable about it...

A faint golden light shone in Chi Jiuyu's eyes as she looked left and right, then lightly leapt up and nimbly plucked a fruit from a branch.

Poisonous or not, a fruit with no spiritual energy inside—how could it possibly poison her, Old Ancestor Jiuyu?

"Little Zhao, the place you picked isn't bad at all. If you don't look carefully, you really wouldn't notice anything off."

As she spoke, she casually cast a Cleaning Art to wipe the fruit clean, then was about to take a bite to taste how salty or bland it was...

"Aaaah—!"

Accompanied by a piercing shriek, she suddenly felt something struggling in her hand.

Huh?!

She looked down and saw that the fruit had somehow grown a face at some point, staring at her in utter terror.

"Holy crap!"

Chi Jiuyu's hand trembled, and she flung the fruit right out of her grip.

The fruit hit the ground and rolled a few times.

Then, under Chi Jiuyu's somewhat dumbfounded gaze, the fruit actually grew a pair of hands and feet, scrambled up, and ran off into the distance while shrieking.

The remaining fruits on the tree also grew faces, staring fixedly at her.

"Holy crap! What the hell is this thing!"

Can this even still be eaten?!

"Just a few puppets I made on the fly." Zhao Ruohan's voice rang out.

This time, the voice no longer came from the blade of grass in her hand, but from deep within the stone wall.

She saw the stone wall beneath those climbing plants slowly fading and vanishing, revealing a deep, dark cave within, and a figure walking out from it.

As she approached the cave entrance, those climbing plants hanging down like curtains actively parted to both sides.

"No killing power, but they're pretty good for scouting the surroundings."

The person walking out of the cave was none other than Zhao Ruohan.

The stone wall from earlier had merely been a concealment she had set up.

Puppets, huh...

Wait!

Whose puppets look like this?!

Chi Jiuyu grumbled inwardly, glanced at the blade of grass still in her hand, saw that the eyes and mouth on it had vanished, and casually tossed it aside.

She looked at the tree, and the faces on the fruits had also disappeared.

She saw Zhao Ruohan pluck a fruit and hand it over: "You can eat it now. It's poisonous, but the taste is actually pretty good."

"..." Chi Jiuyu was silent for two seconds. "Pass."

She had just seen a face grow on it, and then it even grew hands and feet and ran away...

Eating something this bizarre really gave her the creeps.

"Let's talk about why you're here instead."

"Mm."

Zhao Ruohan pressed her lips together, then went on to explain how she had attacked a 'Longevity Fruit Domain' because she couldn't stand by and watch, and after killing a Soul Transformation cultivator inside, she had been sneak-attacked by a Return-to-Void cultivator from the Tianling Sect.

The cultivators in this world really had no shame—a Return-to-Void cultivator sneak-attacking a Soul Transformation cultivator!

She wondered how this world would handle things afterward.

If she could still get in, she would definitely bring the protective jade talisman her mother had given her...

Emm...

For a Return-to-Void cultivator, she probably wouldn't need something that fancy—just the protective jade talisman her second brother had given her would have been enough to easily wipe out those Return-to-Void cultivators from the Tianling Sect!

Chi Jiuyu had no idea what Zhao Ruohan was thinking.

After hearing her out, she also explained the matter of her cooperating with Ye Zhiwei.

And she especially emphasized the fact that Dog Brother's online dating partner was Little Ye's younger sister, and that the girl had just turned sixteen this year.

"..." Zhao Ruohan didn't say anything for quite a while after hearing this, and only came back to her senses after a few seconds. "Sixteen?"

Then a year and a half ago, this...

"What about the tea?"

"Little Ye's grandfather did indeed serve as a Planetary System Guardian before. Later, he was injured because he failed in his closed-door cultivation attempt to advance to Dao Merging."

At first, Little Ye was unwilling to talk about any of this, but she couldn't resist the overwhelming charm of her Old Ancestor Jiuyu!

"As for roasting tea, that was just a hobby of Little Ye's grandfather during his recuperation."

"Oh..."

It did sound quite reasonable.

So it turned out that the whole 'tea-selling girl' business had just been her own overthinking, and the real problem was her own brother...

"By the way, didn't you investigate any of this before?"

"It's none of my business, why would I investigate that?" Zhao Ruohan blurted out.

Besides, she got to drink free spiritual tea...

Chi Jiuyu scratched her head, unsure how to comment on the paper-thin sibling bond between Little Zhao and Dog Brother.

"Oh right, how are her divine abilities?"

Compared to her brother's petty affairs, she was more concerned about Ye Zhiwei's spiritual cultivation and abilities.

"Little Ye… is still very impressive; she feels just as strong as you!"

They're all just a hair behind her, the number one prodigy of the Ten Thousand Worlds.

"Just as strong…?" Zhao Ruohan paused. "How old is she this year?"

"We don't know."

I asked Little Ye last night, but she tried to take advantage of me and said age is a woman's greatest secret…

Laughable!

Our Hehuan Laozu is twenty-three this year; she broke through to Soul Transformation at twenty-two—what's so secret about that?!

Zhao Ruohan fell into thought.

Even Chi Jiuyu doesn't know?

Then she must be twenty-five or older…

"But Little Ye's alchemy is also very powerful."

Alchemy?

Right, she's from Jishi Valley—she must be an alchemist!

Her spiritual techniques are on par with mine, and she's also skilled in alchemy…

Zhao Ruohan felt the pressure again.

…

…

On the other side, a person now stood before Ye Zhiwei, who had remained in place.

He looked somewhat worn out, yet his expression brimmed with excitement; his features bore a resemblance to Zhao Ruohan.

It was Zhao Ruoming, who had come with the Zhitui Xiancheng cultivator team, planning to infiltrate Wu Jue Xiancheng!

He had discovered Ye Zhiwei only because, out of caution, he had deployed micro reconnaissance drones without spiritual energy structures along his route.

Primarily to guard against other competitors.

Although Ye Zhiwei eventually detected his micro drones, he had still seen her hiding in the shadows.

So he rushed over without delay.

"Zhiwei, I—"

He had barely spoken half the sentence when Zhao Ruoming sharply sensed something was off—the excitement vanished from his face.

It turned solemn instead.

"You're not Zhiwei!"

Zhiwei would never look at me with that 'pile of trash' expression!

Ye Zhiwei: "…"

This creep's reaction is surprisingly fast.

In an instant, Ye Zhiwei had an idea.

"Didn't you ever attend anti-scam lectures in school?"

Zhao Ruoming froze, then declared firmly: "Impossible—I've calculated the bond between me and Zhiwei!"

So you actually know my sister is only sixteen?!

Ye Zhiwei clenched her fist: "So you know who you've been chatting with online?"

"Of course not—we agreed not to investigate each other's identities through other means."

Of course, he hadn't hidden his own identity—Zhiwei had already guessed it…

Wait.

Why am I telling this person so much?!

"Why do you seem to know so much about me and Zhiwei?"

"The person you've been chatting with online…" Ye Zhiwei's voice suddenly changed, "—is it this voice?"

The voice was beautiful—less gentle than before, now crisp and decisive.

It evoked the image of a swift woman in red, hair bound, standing in snow.

Huh?!

"Y-you how could you…?" Zhao Ruoming gasped, clutching his chest as he staggered back two steps.

He knew this voice too well—it was the very voice he dreamed of day and night.

"Have you never heard of anti-calculation, anti-causality techniques?" Ye Zhiwei looked at him with pity. "Did you ever consult a Reversal Void expert specializing in divination?"

Still her sister's voice—hard to believe it came from a girl barely sixteen.

"No! It can't be! Don't you dare speak in that voice!!!"

Zhao Ruoming's mind was crumbling!

He had never consulted a Reversal Void diviner—even at first, he'd secretly hidden it from everyone…

He simply couldn't believe that the one who had comforted him in his lowest moment, who had helped him rebuild his confidence and take back control of his life, could be a fraud—how could he…

Wait.

"You're lying—Zhiwei gave me spiritual tea of exceptional quality; it couldn't possibly…"

"Lure the big fish with a long line—haven't you heard that saying?"

"…"

Zhao Ruoming's mind was in chaos.

His hopes shattered, and now he'd heard the voice he longed for coming from another's lips—he could barely calm down enough to notice the key inconsistencies…

"Oh! Dog Brother, what are you doing here too?" A voice came from behind. "Why don't we team up and eliminate him?"

"Fine."

"Huh? You agreed so easily—he's your brother!"

"That's not important."

Two figures appeared around the corner.

Seeing Zhao Ruoming's expression of heartbreak so severe it seemed to rob him of breath, Chi Jiuyu and Zhao Ruohan both wore strange expressions.

Her gaze shifted between the two, then she scratched her head.

But before she could stir up trouble, Zhao Ruoming—who had just been acting as if he were dying—suddenly seemed to realize something, pointing at Chi Jiuyu and shouting loudly.

"It must've been her who told you, that's why you know!"

Ah, this…

What did I even say?

Hearing this, Zhao Ruohan frowned. She still didn't understand what had happened between her brother and this tea-seller from Jishi Valley.

But recalling her brother's earlier behavior: "She isn't your online love interest."

"Zhiwei wouldn't lie to me!"

Huh?

Are we even on the same wavelength?

She turned to Ye Zhiwei: "You said something."

"I just reminded him to attend more anti-fraud lectures."

"..."

She could guess now.

"Oh!" Chi Jiuyu exclaimed in faux epiphany. "So Dog Brother realized he was scammed."

Zhao Ruohan elbowed her.

"Stop messing around."

At a time like this, still adding fuel to the fire.

"I'm sorry, but please stop deceiving my brother—he's not smart to begin with."

What do you mean "not smart to begin with"!

Zhao Ruoming's emotions were interrupted.

Am I not even your real brother?!

But this made him snap out of it—he turned angrily toward Ye Zhiwei.

"Fine, I'll let it slide—for now."

Let it slide for now, you damn—

"You've probably heard from my sister about what's going on between him and me."

Ye Zhiwei glanced at Chi Jiuyu, who looked away guiltily.

"Mm, thank you."

Hearing this, Zhao Ruoming finally understood.

So this person was Zhiwei's sister…

Then Zhiwei's full name must be "Ye Zhiwei."

How beautiful!

Wait—no!

"Even if you're Zhiwei's sister, you still shouldn't—"

But Ye Zhiwei didn't even look at him: "Though cultivators don't usually care about such things, my sister is only sixteen this year..."

Boom!

His mind felt like it exploded in that instant—he froze, ears ringing, not hearing a single word after that.

Sixteen… years old?

Then over a year and a half ago—that would mean…

Holy shit!

No wonder Zhiwei's sister hated me so much!

…

…

At the highest point of the world, floating in the void: the Xuanxiang Celestial Track.

Nine six-layer bronze armillary spheres stood in a circle, with three figures standing in the center.

Strange threads, invisible to ordinary cultivators, existing between reality and illusion, hung down densely, filling the entire void with flickering light, like the internal wiring of a colossal machine.

"Eighty-three people remain," Xiang Yuanjun murmured.

The rate of elimination had clearly accelerated greatly.

"It'll get even faster," Xu Xing gazed down over the entire world.

The Soul Transformation cohort originally had one hundred five people; now only eighty-three remain.

Among them, the Huanhuan Sect had the most eliminations.

Seven charm cultivators remain only one; the remaining Lang Mietian and three "True Self" Supreme Inheritors are unharmed.

This is all because they tried to replicate their behavior from previous trial worlds—to harvest emotional and lustful essence.

They painstakingly built spiritual energy base stations, only to find no one would buy in.

Aside from ordinary people with no cultivation, anyone with cultivation had their emotional and sexual essence strictly controlled.

In short, it was simply a case of "business conflict."

Thus, the two groundbreaking technologies—spirit energy base stations and remote extraction of emotional and sexual essence—attracted the greed of both orthodox and demonic factions in the Xuanxiang Realm, who believed this might optimize or bypass the Tian Gui Spirit Absorption System.

So they arbitrarily assigned dozens of charges, and three Return-to-Space cultivators struck at once.

It could be said they weren't just badly hurt…

After that came the Sword Sect and the Long Xiang Qing Tian Sect, both suffering heavy losses.

Then came the Ling Yin Fang and the Ji Shi Valley.

As for the Taishang Dao Sect and the Shenji Lianbao Pavilion, no losses have occurred so far.

Ning Ruo released a thin thread from her grip: "Unless something unexpected happens, this time the Taishang Dao Sect's junior will win the championship in the Soul Transformation category."

It's not just the Soul Transformation category—same goes for the Nascent Soul and Jin Dan categories.

In this survival rule with heavy external threats, being able to "survive by hiding" is indeed useful.

"No problem. At that time, let them serve as the first batch of Ascension Messengers."

A cautious approach is better; it lets us slowly identify where the Immortal Network needs improvement.

"They might deliberately fail missions to avoid being selected again," Ning Ruo said.

"No problem. Those Ascension Messengers who deliberately delay and cause mission failure," Xiang Yuanjun's fingertip glowed with a ring of light, "can be punished by enhancing their presence."

When a cultivator carries this "Presence Ring," whenever a living being approaches and the cultivator has a "cautious" thought, the ring activates.

The effect is like standing in a crowd and shouting, "Everyone, look at me—I'm an idiot."

You'll be "radiant as the sun," and there's no way to hide.

If stacked again, it can even upgrade from the "Presence Ring" to the "Taunt Ring."

Xu Xing: "..."

This ring is brutal. (End of Chapter)