Chapter 474: First Contact: The Clown Fisherman

Before Lin Changsheng could speak.

"Fine, fine, if you're willing to give me more, of course I have no objections." Sheng Qingqing muttered, then tucked the little notebook back into her embrace, "Can you still walk on your own?"

"I can, just take a pill and meditate for a bit and…"

Lin Changsheng hadn't finished speaking before he was interrupted again by Sheng Qingqing.

"How about we forget it, I'll take you somewhere more secluded to heal up. The person chasing you is too strong, I just happened to run faster than him."

"No use." Lin Changsheng took a pill from his storage ring and swallowed it, sitting up properly, "No matter how secluded the place, he can still find me."

Hearing this, something stirred in Sheng Qingqing's heart, then she put on a look of pretended suspicion: "That powerful?"

"Well… it's not really his own ability."

After answering with just that one line, Lin Changsheng directly closed his eyes and began meditating, giving Sheng Qingqing no chance to continue asking questions.

Seeing this, Sheng Qingqing just pouted, then walked straight toward the river.

She sat on a fairly flat large rock by the river, removed her shoes and socks, and dipped her fair, jade-like bare feet into the water.

The stream babbled, her pale little legs swayed, and a few small fish hiding among the rocks at the riverbed were startled, scattering in all directions.

Bright sunshine fell on the girl's shoulders, plating her with a thin layer of Jin Guang.

Behind her, Lin Changsheng, who should have been meditating with closed eyes, opened his at some unknown point.

Gazing at her back, a hint of something inexplicable flashed through his eyes.

'Could it be… I'm really overthinking this?'

In a world like this, being rescued at a life-and-death moment by someone both beautiful and highly cultivated is itself a rather strange thing.

Even though he spent most of his time on cultivation, he was after all a sword cultivator born in the new era of the information explosion.

He had carried out many dangerous missions before; the necessary vigilance was still there.

To believe someone completely just because they said a few nice words?

How stupid would that be?

He should attend more anti-fraud lectures.

Of course, she had saved him from Old Chang's hands after all, that was indisputable.

Without basis, the necessary courtesy still had to be maintained…

After observing for several seconds like this and finding nothing amiss, Lin Changsheng finally closed his eyes and truly began meditating.

The medicinal power flowed with the circulation of magic power through every corner of his body, continuously repairing his injuries.

Soon, several minutes had passed.

Hoo~

He let out a light breath, his tightly shut eyes slowly opened, and a flash of brilliance swept through his clear black-and-white pupils.

Of course, he was still far from full recovery, but after simple recuperation, his mobility had indeed returned.

He pushed off with both hands and stood up from the ground.

"Sheng… Miss." He used the form of address most fitting for the era.

"Mm?"

Sheng Qingqing's swaying little legs paused, and she turned her head to look back.

"Eh? You've recovered that quickly?"

"Not even close." Lin Changsheng smiled, "I've only just regained some mobility."

"Then you are…?"

Lin Changsheng didn't waste words; with a casual wave, several spirit plants shimmering with spiritual light, along with a few pieces of vividly red spirit iron, were immediately produced.

"These spirit materials should be enough to cover those twelve first-grade spiritual opportunities. Please accept them."

"…"

Yet a hint of conflict appeared on Sheng Qingqing's face.

Just as Lin Changsheng grew more wary, he saw her sigh, in a tone of utter regret.

"If I'd known you had this many spirit materials, I would've killed you and taken the treasure!"

Hm?

That line was rather unexpected for Lin Changsheng.

Steadying himself, he said, as if joking: "Then it's not too late for you to act now."

"emm…" But Sheng Qingqing seemed to seriously consider it for a while, then nodded, "Seems like there's some logic to that."

Having said that, she rose from the riverbank and walked straight toward Lin Changsheng.

No way…

Seeing the spiritual light glowing at her fingertip, Lin Changsheng was thoroughly dumbfounded.

He'd only just recovered a tiny bit of mobility; even those watered-down Nascent Soul cultivators in this world could hang him up and beat him!

He clearly knew exactly what kind of screwed-up world this was, so why ask for death?!

He saw her fair, crystal-clear bare foot tap lightly, and Lin Changsheng felt as if a pool of moonlight had lit up before his eyes.

The moment his focus wavered, Sheng Qingqing was already right in front of him.

The spiritual light glowing at her fingertip was nearly pressed against his brow, and the incomparably sharp aura made his hair stand on end.

'Fine, dying at her hands is still better than giving the points to that bastard Old Chang!'

The empty magic power within him, and his body riddled with holes, left him unable to muster any will to resist.

Lin Changsheng was nearly resigned to his fate.

Yet the incomparably sharp aura at his brow vanished without warning, followed by a sigh.

"Forget it, forget it, it took so much effort to save you."

He opened his eyes and saw Sheng Qingqing looking deeply annoyed.

"Enough, enough—these spiritual items are fine; their total value exceeds that of twelve first-grade spiritual essences."

She waved her hand and collected the spiritual plants and spiritual iron.

"Then let's part ways now—I'm afraid I'll be unable to resist killing you for your treasures."

As soon as she spoke, as if truly worried she'd change her mind, her figure drifted away instantly, leaving only her words echoing in the air.

"Hey! Don't you dare die after this—you'd waste my effort saving you!"

"…"

Lin Changsheng remained in a dazed state.

She's just gone?

So I'm actually alive now?

After a long while, he finally snapped out of it and couldn't help but shake his head with a bitter smile.

It really was an accident—his earlier speculations had all been overthinking.

He couldn't help but recall the words she'd left behind before departing.

"How could I possibly die…?"

This was just a trial.

…

…

Not long after, Lin Changsheng dragged his battered body away, gradually disappearing into the distance.

Above the clouds, Sheng Qingqing watched him and nodded slightly.

Just as expected, the initial contact went smoothly; though the impression she left might not be especially positive, it was certainly unforgettable!

This level of impact is enough!

Lin Changsheng… though not particularly clever, he's no fool, highly cautious, and ordinary methods won't work on him—he must be handled slowly, step by step.

Now, it's time to think about how to set up their second meeting.

After all, opportunities like this one are unlikely to come again.

As she pondered, she analyzed the information she'd gleaned from him.

First, his statement that "hiding is useless" might indicate that these extraterrestrial Soul Transformation cultivators can locate each other through special means.

Second, his final reply: "How could I possibly die?"

It seems the old Monk was right—even those extraterrestrial Soul Transformation cultivators who have vanished are very likely still alive…

They target each other, strike to kill, yet none of them die…

Based on the available information, perhaps these extraterrestrial Soul Transformation cultivators descended here because this is, in fact, a "trial"?

Sheng Qingqing's eyes flickered as she gazed into the distance.

…………

Meanwhile, beyond the Xuanxiang Realm.

In the arena where the Jian Sect's Inner Sect was hosting the Xian Sect Grand Competition.

On the spectator seats, the eliminated contestants wore complex expressions.

Especially in the Soul Transformation division—seeing the footage playing on the projection screen, they felt as if they'd swallowed several lemons.

So sour!

Just then, the scene of Lin Changsheng and Sheng Qingqing was playing; since it wasn't a god's-eye view, the spectators had no idea of the hidden planning behind it.

So what they saw… carried a very different meaning.

Is this reasonable?

Is there any fairness left?!

Why are we eliminated while Lin Changsheng is saved at the brink of death?!

And the one who saved him? A stunning beauty who had fallen from the Void Return realm!

The craziest part? She'd clearly intended to kill him the moment she learned he had spiritual items—yet at the last moment, she gave up!

Fuck!

Why?!

Why don't I have this kind of luck?!

Are Jian cultivators just better-looking?!

Lin Changsheng really deserves to die!

In the Jian Sect's eliminated contestants' area, Chi Jiuyu, already eliminated, was equally furious.

Originally, when she first emerged, seeing Xiao Ye and Dog Brother both eliminated had given her some comfort…

But now, with Lin Changsheng's "miraculous encounter," she instantly felt it was unfair!

Wow!

Lin Changsheng's luck is too good!

Why doesn't my Hehuan Laozu have this kind of luck?!

Unfair!

I want a rematch!

Just as she was silently screaming inside her mind…

"Sister, how many points did you score in this competition?" The one who spoke was Zhang Yunlu, sitting beside her.

Chi Jiuyu instinctively prepared to answer: "I scored…"

But it stopped at the critical moment.

Rolling her eyes, she countered directly: "Little Yunlu, how many points did you get?"

"……" Zhang Yunlu paused, first putting up a defense: "Compared to the other contestants, my foundation is lacking, so I didn't get many points."

Not many?

Two or fewer than two?

"It's fine, after all it's your first time participating in the Xian Sect Grand Competition, just treat it as tempering yourself." Chi Jiuyu consoled her, "How many exactly?"

"Five."

So she got five points…

Huh?!

Five?!

Little Yunlu, you're so fierce, you're going to make this senior sister feel pressured!

Looking at Zhang Yunlu's expectant gaze, Chi Jiuyu felt a tingling scalp.

Oh no, oh no, today I'm going to become Clown Yu.

Just as Chi Jiuyu was still thinking about how to defend herself.

Not far away, in the eliminated contestants' area of the Salvation Valley.

Ye Zhiwei was also looking at the projection screen with a strange expression.

But in the eliminated contestants' area of the Supreme Dao Sect, Zhao Ruoming stared fixedly at Chi Jiuyu, his eyes full of unwillingness.

Unwilling!

Truly unwilling!

The Xian Sect Grand Competition that only comes once in many years, the hard-won chance to salvage his image and regain his face, was missed just like that!

Ding-dong!

Suddenly, a special-follow notification sound rang out.

Zhao Ruoming paused, looked at the voice message that popped up on his phone, and his eyes went clear.

It's Zhiwei!

He hurriedly asked the team leader for his personal belongings back, took out his earphones and put them on, then tapped open the message.

"Brother Ruoming, I saw you come online, did the Grand Competition end?"

A familiar, crisp voice rang in his ears, and a faint smile appeared on Zhao Ruoming's face.

Just as he was about to reply with something, he suddenly recalled the words Zhiwei's sister had said during the Grand Competition…

What should he do?

A question he had to face was placed right before him.

……

……

Inside the Xuanxiang Realm.

As the new round of precise coordinates display began again, Chang Xiao started hunting down Lin Changsheng, who was still in a heavily wounded state, determined to take him down in one go!

It was during this chase that Lin Changsheng once again ran into Sheng Qingqing.

But just when Lin Changsheng thought she would once again step in to save him.

Sheng Qingqing saw Chang Xiao and looked as if she'd seen a ghost, immediately turning and running, even running faster than him.

And while running, she complained, blaming him for biting the hand that fed him, actually leading the enemy to her…

This time, it really made Lin Changsheng feel a bit guilty.

Just like that, under Sheng Qingqing's careful arrangement, their second meeting also went in the direction she had anticipated.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Not far past the border between the Tianji Palace and the Tianling Sect.

Boom! Boom!

Accompanied by a series of huge roars, the earth kept trembling.

A heavy shadow fell over the land, blotting out the sky.

A massive mountain grew limbs, with cyan-green roots threading through the mud and stone like muscles and blood vessels.

Most of the mountain body was hidden in the clouds and mist; each step kicked up gales on the flat ground, and the Lin Mu in its path actively parted, opening up a passage it could pass through.

Using spirit plants as bones and blood, refining a mountain into a puppet!

And at the very top of the mountain puppet stood a slender, elegant woman in billowing Daoist robes.

Closer to her side, guarding her, stood spirit-plant puppets with powerful auras and varied appearances.

The spirit-plant puppets a bit farther from the mountaintop were mostly identical, with much weaker auras, but they were densely packed, almost covering the entire mountain body.

It was Zhao Ruohan.

Time had come to the final round, and she had finally fully "farmed up."

All the spirit-plant seeds she had brought in were used up, but she had successfully created this army of spirit-plant puppets!

With the help of this spirit-plant puppet army, she harvested another point, and her points had now reached two.

But…

"Chi Jiuyu…"

She had originally wanted to compete with Chi Jiuyu once more in this Grand Competition.

Unfortunately, she had already been eliminated, so there was no chance…

Thinking this, Zhao Ruohan looked at the real-time map in the upper right corner of her vision.

A small red dot was speeding toward him, looking like it was coming for him!

"Come on."

Zhao Ruohan gazed into the distance.

Several minutes later, the cloud layer suddenly churned violently, then was torn apart without mercy.

Buzz buzz buzz~!

Amid the deep, powerful roar of engines, a mecha construct nearly a hundred meters tall appeared in a flash.

Dark-Iron Heavy Spine extended three pairs of folded wing panels; the surface of the not-yet-fully-deployed wing bones shimmered with lava-like patterns, scorching the air into warped ripples that smelled of sulfur.

Lingnan particles drifted off like quicksand, vanishing into the void.

Yet compared to the mountain puppet several hundred zhang tall, the mecha construct of nearly a hundred meters looked especially tiny.

Inside the cockpit, the contestant from the Divine Mechanism Treasure Pavilion wore a stunned expression.

The densely packed puppets on the mountainside all looked over at once, instantly pinned beneath tens of thousands of gazes.

Even though her mental fortitude was excellent, at this moment she felt her scalp prickle and go numb.

What the hell… is this thing?! (End of chapter)