Chapter 544

Has the Venerable already left?

Gazing at the empty peak, the cultivators below were slow to react.

But soon, everyone rushed up the mountain in a frenzy, vying to seize its resources.

Because the fleeing Cultivation of Void cultivators took away most of the spiritual items—they hadn't seen such abundant spiritual energy in ages!

Their bodies, magic power, and spiritual souls all craved nourishment from the spiritual energy!

Though the ordinary people who had not yet entered the Dao didn't understand, seeing the Immortal Masters rush forward, they scrambled after them, rolling and crawling.

At this moment, only a few like Fu Ya, who saw more clearly, remained calm and unhurried.

The Venerable said to take only as needed.

The methods of the Cultivation of Void Venerable are so profound—even if you run fastest, you'll receive only what you're meant to get.

The first cultivator to rush up raised his hand and released a gourd-shaped artifact; the gourd grew with the wind, expanding in moments to dozens of meters.

Hu~

A terrifying suction force twisted the air visibly, attempting to draw away the spiritual spring along the ridge.

Other bolder cultivators activated their techniques across the peak, seeking to claim the mountain's various spiritual items.

This was still restrained—they dared take only a portion.

After all, the Venerable had just annihilated so many in an instant; they still had reservations.

Otherwise, with the Soul Transformation cultivators' power to move mountains and fill seas, it would be effortless to not only take the mountain's spiritual items but to carry off the entire peak.

Yet that powerful suction, which warped the very void, failed to draw even a single drop of the spiritual spring.

Radiant auroras rose from the spiritual spring.

A jade vial, no larger than a palm, emerged from within and floated before the cultivator wielding the gourd artifact; upon it were golden characters.

'Take only as needed; do not compete.'

The cultivator froze; before he could react, another line of blood-red characters appeared.

'Violators die.'

Those three simple words instantly silenced him—he dared not think another thought.

He obediently took the jade vial and shut down his artifact, descending.

So many people and beasts had just been crushed like insects by the Venerable; no one dared doubt the truth of those words.

Thus, the glowing light of all kinds of spells and techniques slowly faded, and cultivators descended from the air to settle across the mountain.

Holding the spiritual items they had obtained, they began to cultivate.

At this moment, Fu Ya arrived at the mountain's base and bowed deeply:

'Thank you, Venerable, for remaking heaven and earth, granting us these spiritual items.'

His words were sincere, not a trace of falsehood.

Around him, other cultivators imitated the gesture, but what they truly thought inside was known only to themselves.

After the bow, Fu Ya received the spiritual item hovering before him and glanced around.

He found that cultivators of every realm, as well as ordinary people who had not entered the Dao, had each received spiritual items perfectly suited to their own level.

'The Venerable's methods are truly mysterious.'

Pleased in his heart, Fu Ya lowered his gaze.

Then he swept his sleeves and sat cross-legged directly at the mountain's base, beginning to cultivate.

……

……

On another side, the vast Chaos Abyss.

The towering sword shadows stood in the four directions, their sword qi churning and refining the Chaos; spiritual threads wove into a net.

Qi Ling appeared out of thin air within the sword array, holding in her hand a massive dark-red hammer taller than her entire body, as if forged from molten lava.

Her bright eyes flickered with threads of Lei Guang; her gaze pierced through the net of spiritual threads toward the churning Chaos energy.

If normally the Chaos energy flowing into the world was pure water,

then now, impurities had mixed into the flow, disrupting its original purity.

【The Returnee Traitor】—

This was the message the World's Will transmitted to her.

'A cultivator who fled this world…'

Qi Ling was filled with caution.

The Chaos Abyss right now was merely suppressed by her Secret Realm preservation artifact, the sword array, and the 'Refine Spirit' module.

If a cultivator from outside acted in concert with the Chaos energy's erosion, this already taut net of spiritual threads might truly break.

She stirred her magic power, preparing to suppress them before the exiled Cultivation of Void cultivators could act.

But…

From the churning Chaos energy emerged several figures, battered and staggering.

The tallest were no higher than Soul Transformation; they wore heavy spiritual armor, bulky and cumbersome, struggling to advance.

Multiple strands of Cultivation of Void magic power wrapped around their armor, preventing them from being swept into unknown places.

They couldn't even maintain their own balance, let alone act.

A distant, detached, weak will descended, brimming with boundless fury, urging Qi Ling to act immediately.

Yet Qi Ling paid no heed; she merely frowned as the Soul Transformation cultivators slowly drew nearer.

'No… malice… Dìyuán Sect… exiled… seeking… a place to settle.'

Their mental projections struggled through the net of spiritual threads, delivering fragmented messages.

「……」

Qi Ling fell silent for two seconds.

「Stop! 」

With her command, the sword array that had been continuously refining the chaotic qi instantly halted.

Her action instantly enraged the World Will, which immediately prepared to act itself and expel this group of 「traitors. 」

「Shut up! 」

Qi Ling's cold command made the World Will feel wronged, yet it still retreated meekly.

Only after it had fully withdrawn did Qi Ling begin questioning those Soul Transformation cultivators clad in bulky spiritual armor.

……

……

「This choice isn't bad. 」

Deep within Task World 4, Xu Xing, who had been observing everything, nodded slightly.

From the task's perspective, returning these exiled human cultivators to the world was the optimal choice.

After all, with artifacts suppressing and the sword array refining, the world's recovery was merely a matter of time.

The difficulty lay in the second and third tasks.

Task World 4 had suffered a failed world ascension; most cultivators had fled, leaving the realm in utter ruin and its people destitute.

Even if it gradually recovered, it was absolutely impossible to forge a cultivation golden age within the task's deadline without using temporal-spatial auxiliary modules.

In this situation, allowing the original cultivators to return to the world.

Not only would it accelerate the repair of the Law Web, but it would also raise the overall cultivation level of humanity to some extent.

It could truly be called 「harmless and wholly beneficial. 」

The World Will was still too weak to react.

Once it realized this, it would surely welcome the returning exiled cultivators on its own.

After all, this was beneficial to the world!

And from another angle—the emotional one…

What a pile of nonsense!

First, Qi Ling herself wasn't even from this world—she was merely here to execute her task.

Moreover, her concern for the entirety of 「humanity」 outweighed her concern for the world itself.

Even ants strive to live; how much more so when the world's collapse, after failed ascension and no external intervention, was irrevocable?

As long as they weren't utterly wicked, malevolent, or perverse…

Let them return.

If they later commit evil, just kill them outright!

「Now, let's see how far you can go. 」

Although Qi Ling's task seemed a smooth path, merely awaiting time…

But the completion criterion for Task One required the world's rift to be fully healed, with no risk of further collapse.

At this pace…

It was impossible to complete it within twenty-one years!

Compared to Qi Ling… Xu Xing gazed at a certain spot and shook his head:

「The youngling from Ling Yin Fang is exactly as predicted. 」

Correct.

Chen Xuanqing, who believed herself the protagonist, had swiftly cut through the chaos and completed the first task.

The three World Sons sent to stop her had all been killed by her.

After the world's rules restored, spiritual energy gradually revived.

But with the disappearance of the 「anomalies, 」 the old system collapsed entirely, and rebellions erupted everywhere.

A chaotic age was about to begin.

Yet before chaos could even break out, Chen Xuanqing loudly announced she would transmit the Method of Immortality to all.

Those who wished for immortality could learn; those who refused would be killed outright.

Thus, under her absolute martial dominance and the lure of immortality, a force named 「Chen Xuanqing Palace」 was quickly established.

The chaotic age ended before it even began.

But, like the vast majority of factions…

「Chen Xuanqing Palace」 was initially decent—everyone had come for the 「Method of Immortality. 」

But soon, because Chen Xuanqing chose 「teach without discrimination, 」 the ranks became a mix of good and evil.

Intrigue, scheming, and covert struggles erupted endlessly, leaving Chen Xuanqing with a splitting headache.

Fortunately, her cultivation was high; she simply killed the first few corrupt ringleaders and temporarily purged the unhealthy trends.

Seeing the timing was right, Chen Xuanqing, unwilling to be entangled in such troubles, abandoned a pile of spiritual items and vanished.

After all, Tasks Two and Three spoke of 「guidance. 」

She certainly couldn't interfere too much!

Believing she had fully understood the true meaning of the task, she prepared to hide in the shadows and act only at critical moments!

In daily life, she quietly scattered spiritual items and artifacts among those betrayed by betrothals, stripped of their cultivation, or oppressed.

「Never despise a poor youth」—that was the most classic protagonist template!

She wasn't one herself, but she could create a few and see!

In any case, after this whole series of operations, it could be considered a happy accident.

The evaluation criteria for Missions Two and Three were indeed exactly as she had imagined.

Now that she'd chosen to switch to working behind the scenes, the ratings for the remaining two missions would definitely be higher than if she had gone on a killing spree inside the mission world.

But seeing her style of doing things and her brain circuits that differed from the norm...

Xu Xing was somewhat curious about what would happen if she and Jiu Yu ever met.

"If there's a chance later on, I could arrange it."

Tai Xuan Realm, Sword Sect.

Inner Gate, Alchemy Cauldron Pavilion.

"Little Martial Uncle-Grandmaster, your total expenditure this time is 2564.2 contribution points. I'll round it down for you—just pay 2564 contribution points."

A woman in a cyan uniform said with a smile.

She had just finished tallying all of Chi Jiu Yu's expenses this time.

"How's that rounding? Make it twenty-five hundred contribution points." Chi Jiu Yu said eagerly.

"You must be joking." She still smiled.

"Twenty-five hundred sixty would work too."

"You must be joking."

"Fine, fine, I'll pay it."

Chi Jiu Yu took out her identity jade tablet and handed it over.

That person was just about to take it, preparing to deduct the corresponding contribution points from her account.

But Chi Jiu Yu didn't let go.

She pulled slightly, but still couldn't budge it.

"Little Martial Uncle-Grandmaster?"

"Wait! I'll pay with this!" Chi Jiu Yu took out a storage ring with her other hand and said solemnly, "Almost forgot—this trip is being reimbursed by my Martial Uncle!"

Little Martial Uncle-Grandmaster's Martial Uncle?

Isn't that the Master Jianzu Founder?!

Gulping!

The disciple in the cyan uniform got a little nervous, immediately released Chi Jiu Yu's identity jade tablet, and respectfully took the storage ring with both hands.

A wisp of divine sense probed inside, and after seeing the spirit stones stacked up neatly...

"Please wait a moment."

Saying so, she also took out a storage ring and transferred the corresponding number of spirit stones from Chi Jiu Yu's storage ring.

"All done, please keep it safe."

However, just as Chi Jiu Yu was about to put away the storage ring, she noticed that person looking at her as if wanting to say something but holding back.

She blinked: "What? Planning to round down a bit more for me?"

"No, no!" That person waved her hands repeatedly, and finally hesitantly spoke up, "Could you... exchange a few spirit stones for me? I can give you extra spirit coins."

"Huh?"

Chi Jiu Yu's face was blank with confusion.

"I want to use the Master Jianzu Founder's spirit stones to make a few protective talismans."

"Uh..." Chi Jiu Yu scratched her head.

The spirit stones Martial Uncle gave probably don't have that effect, right?

After all, she always ran into accidents when going on missions...

"Sure, but let me be clear first—the spirit stones Martial Uncle gave probably don't have any special effects."

She was an honest fisher.

This kind of thing still needed to be made clear.

Several minutes later.

Chi Jiu Yu, who had exchanged ten spirit stones at full price with that person, hummed an unknown little tune.

After walking out of the small courtyard she had previously lived in, she arrived at the neighboring courtyard's gate.

"Senior Brother! We're heading back, take your time recuperating!"

Saying this, she didn't wait for Cheng Ding inside the courtyard to reply, and continued humming the unknown little tune as she walked outward along the small path paved with bluestone.

Every now and then she'd pick up a leaf from the roadside, reach out and tug at the tip of a spirit tree's branch, things like that.

"Not bad, not bad."

Although it was a bit expensive, after experiencing it for this period, she was still quite satisfied.

Once her realm was higher in the future, she earned more money, and evolved into a financially free fisher, she would definitely stay here every day...

No, wait!

This was the Alchemy Cauldron Pavilion.

Saying it like that didn't seem very auspicious.

Then...

She must remodel her own cave dwelling to look like this!

Emm...

Speaking of which, Martial Uncle and Master wouldn't just 'whoosh' and summon her over again, right?

The instant this thought appeared in her mind.

Her vision suddenly blurred.

Huh?!

When her vision cleared again, what met her eyes was a path flickering with firelight…

No!

That's right—this time, it was no longer the training ground she knew too well.

Xu Xing sat on a white chair, the computer screen before him still glowing, displaying the hottest multiplayer game at the moment.

Does Master Uncle play video games too?

Come to think of it, Master Yan actually did exactly as he said!

Chi Jiuyu's heart stirred, but she subtly averted her gaze.

"Master Uncle, why did you suddenly call me here? Is there something you need me to do?"

Xu Xing put down the controller and turned to look at her.

"I called you here to talk about the Hundred Arts of Cultivation."

Oh?

"Besides, there's still some time left." (End of Chapter)