Chapter 620: Mockery Aura

Two more days passed.

Because the mission deadline had arrived, many second-wave Ascension Envoys who hadn't yet settled their missions were forcibly settled by the Taixuan Immortal Network and recalled from their mission worlds.

Without any surprise, the vast majority were from the Taishang Dao Sect, and their mission completion rates weren't particularly impressive…

There was nothing to be done about it.

Normal cultivators plan three steps ahead for every step they take, but those Taishang Dao Sect "Gou Dao" practitioners…

They must build a road before taking a single step!

Only because this Ascension Mission was special did they take on such tasks, which normally require completing set objectives within a strict deadline.

At noon, the sunlight was just right.

Inside the Xiang Jianzong's inner court, the Xiang Jianzong Hall.

A figure slowly emerged from within the hall, walking all the way to the outer steps, where she finally halted.

A mountain breeze brushed from afar, gently stirring a few strands of hair hanging before her forehead.

She wore a simple, fitted black cultivation robe radiating ancient elegance, her long hair tied into a high ponytail.

Her skin was pale and luminous, her neck slender, her features refined, appearing efficient and sharp.

It was Zhang Yunlu!

Years of relentless trials at the edge of life and death had stripped away some of her youthful naivety, replacing it with calm composure.

Gazing into the distance, she felt a sense of having lived through lifetimes.

Though only three months had passed in the Taixuan Realm, for her it had been three full years in that alien world!

After a long while, she finally calmed her thoughts.

After carefully noting the direction of Chi Jiuyu's dwelling, she withdrew her gaze, took out her phone from her storage ring, and began walking downhill while scrolling through it.

She had settled her mission this morning.

After leaving the Ascension Hall, she returned to wash up, tidy herself, steady her mindset, then changed into the third-generation Xiang Jianzong uniform she had worn when she first became a disciple, preparing to visit her master and explain the situation.

This was always how it was after returning from missions.

But this time was different—she had barely stepped out the door when she found herself directly in the Xiang Jianzong Hall.

At first she didn't understand, but after her uncle explained, she learned her master had entered seclusion recently and no one knew when he would emerge…

Still, her uncle said this time her master's seclusion wouldn't last long.

But…

For an Immortal like her uncle, what exactly did he mean by "not long"?

That remained unknown.

As her phone screen gradually lit up, a succession of ding-dong notification chimes rang out.

Most were pop-up ads promoting products; next came messages from her older brother Zhang Xiu, her friend Lin Xuanxuan, Nangong Ruo, and others.

Even the principal of the Third Middle School of Xuanjian City had messaged, asking if she had time to return for the school anniversary.

The message had been sent over a month ago.

Zhang Yunlu tapped in to check and discovered the so-called "school anniversary" was still over a month away.

Calculating the time, there was a three-month gap in between!

"…"

Three months early?

This message was sent far too early.

Staring at the message, Zhang Yunlu didn't know how to reply—after all, a lot could happen in a month…

So she simply decided not to reply for now and turned to other messages.

First was Zhang Xiu.

Lucky Xiao Zhang: "Don't worry, big brother, I'm fine."

Lucky Xiao Zhang: "I was just on a mission and couldn't receive messages."

After sending those two messages, Zhang Yunlu waited a while, but received no reply.

She didn't think much of it.

After all, she was a cultivator—perhaps he was in cultivation or on a mission.

Not being able to contact someone for months was perfectly normal.

She then turned to other messages.

First were Lin Xuanxuan and Nangong Ruo—their messages were from long ago, and neither had sent anything since.

If her guess was right, they were probably on missions as third-wave Ascension Envoys.

Among them, several of Lin Xuanxuan's messages made her pause and reread.

Just Want to Eat and Not Die: "Xiao Zhang, I've got a secret to tell you."

Just Want to Eat and Not Die: "When you get back, check out the top scorer of this year's 'Xian Sect Special Recruitment.'"

Just Want to Eat and Not Die: "She's the younger sister of Jiuyu's good friend, named Ye Zhiwei."

Just Want to Eat and Not Die: "Jiuyu even vouched that she learned the 'Heavenly Net Sword Scripture.'"

Just Want to Eat and Not Die: "By the way, the Qingling Yanqi Pills you asked me to refine are done—come pick them up…"

After that came a pile of other messages, mostly complaints about the first-wave Ascension Envoys after reviewing their mission progress reports.

The younger sister of Jiuyu's good friend?

Zhang Yunlu frowned slightly.

She remembered Jiuyu had a good friend named Ye Zhiwei, who seemed connected to that guy who got beaten to tears by Jiuyu in the 'Xian Sect Grand Competition.'

Hmm…

Speaking of which, if it weren't for the old chat history still being there and the avatar unchanged,

she really wouldn't recognize who this "Just Wants to Slack and Not Wait to Die" was.

Why did Xuanxuan suddenly change her nickname?

Besides, this new nickname doesn't suit her at all.

She spends every day not only researching the Dao of alchemy, but also has to set aside time to cultivate and practice divine techniques…

If even this counts as "slacking and waiting to death"…

then there wouldn't be many cultivators who AREN'T slacking and waiting to death!

But the person wasn't here right now, so she could only press this curiosity to the bottom of her heart, exit the chat interface, and continue walking down the mountain.

Ye Zhiwei…

Since Xuanxuan mentioned her, and she even learned the "Heavenly Net Sword Latitude" under Ye Shijie's guarantee, she might as well go take a look.

Anyway, she had nothing to do right now.

……

……

Some time later, outside the Xiang Jianzong's outer gate.

Zhang Yunlu looked up at the seven Divine Radiance lists hanging down from the inner gate's great continent.

She saw that on the list representing Foundation Establishment, a name had suddenly appeared at the very front—

Name: Ye Zhiwei

Realm: Early Foundation Establishment

Ranking: Two

At this point in time in the Xiang Jianzong, there were only two who had achieved Creation Foundation Establishment, so Ye Zhiwei, right after entering the sect, was directly ranked second.

In the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages,

whether one comprehended the Principle or achieved Creation Foundation Establishment made too, too great a difference.

Zhang Yunlu herself had a deep understanding of this.

Then she looked at the other lists.

After the "Xian Sect Grand Competition," she had reached Perfect Jin Dan, and her ranking had leapt to fourth on the Jin Dan list.

If she "settled" for another period of time, it wasn't impossible she could contend for first.

But the Ascension Mission had come suddenly, and once she left it was three years; after returning, naturally there couldn't be her name on the Jin Dan list anymore.

She saw that at this moment, on the back end of the Nascent Soul list, her name was赫然 there.

Name: Zhang Yunlu

Realm: Mid Nascent Soul

Ranking: Ninety-one

Not bad!

Although these three years she had been carrying out missions in mission worlds, she had not slackened in her own cultivation because of it.

On the contrary, during this mission she had absorbed the characteristics of that world's transcendent system, further perfecting her own cultivation system.

In the end, she successfully broke through the Nascent Soul barrier and achieved the most superior grade of Nascent Soul.

For a Xian Sect prodigy of her caliber, Foundation Establishment to Soul Transformation was precisely the period of rapid advancement; only upon reaching Soul Transformation would it slow down somewhat.

It was true that was a world where the transcendent was fading,

and precisely because of that world's special conditions, the cultivators there were actually quite inventive in their subtle control and application of power.