Chapter 87

Shen Qingli immediately turned her head!

Only to see that Elder Liu already stood before Liu Meng and her two companions.

"Liu Meng, Li Yidao, Zhan Yuefeng, I am a disciple of the Primordial Origin Sect; please follow this elder."

Although the Heavenly Star Ancestor had said they would split from the Primordial Origin Sect, so far there has been no formal announcement.

But Shen Qingli couldn't let them follow Elder Liu; she had already spoken up to stop them, "Wait a moment."

Elder Liu turned sideways, "Young Master Shen?"

"Junior Sister." Liu Meng and the two others said in unison.

Shen Qingli came before the three, but she had not yet spoken.

Liu Meng then said to Elder Liu, "Elder Liu, please wait a moment; I will catch up with Junior Sister, then come to you."

"Very well." Elder Liu did not insist, then glanced at the only remaining Liu Xiaoxiao beside him, and the two took a step forward.

Liu Xiaoxiao was also clever; she clearly knew this trip was to wade through muddy waters, after entering the Ten Directions Forest and bringing Mo Buyi before Zhao Fengyun, she then sought an opportunity to avoid them, found a secluded inheritance site on her own, and entered closed-door cultivation until the trial ended.

Shen Qingli didn't pay attention to her; she focused on Liu Meng, "Are you going to the Primordial Origin Sect?"

"Yes, the sect master sent us a message, telling us to return to the Primordial Origin Sect first; they are all there."

"All there?" Shen Qingli puzzled.

"Master Huayuan mentioned before he left that it was for the Heavenly Star lineage to split from the Primordial Origin Sect."

Shen Kuo finished speaking outwardly, then sent a mental transmission to Shen Qingli, "It will be settled before my Shen family's great army arrives."

So that's it, Shen Qingli felt somewhat relieved, "Then I'll go with you."

"No." Liu Meng refused.

Zhan Yuefeng explained, "Your engagement to the Azure Cloud Realm still stands; going back with us would be improper. Junior Sister, rest assured, this matter has long been planned by the ancestral master, sect master, and our teachers; there will be no problem. Your coming might instead complicate things."

"Alright." Shen Qingli did not insist, "Then you be careful."

Anyway, she would also go to the Primordial Origin Sect; if the Heavenly Star Sect could smoothly split from the Primordial Origin Sect, she would be pleased.

If the Primordial Origin Sect causes trouble, hum! She will surely make the Primordial Origin Sect suffer.

"Don't worry." Liu Meng clenched her fist, "Then we'll go ahead first."

Shen Qingli nodded; Liu Meng and the two others then bowed farewell to Shen Yuan, Shen Duo, and Shen Kuo before leaving.

"These three kids are not bad either; they all made it into the top twenty of this trial." Shen Yuan actually felt a bit surprised.

Although the disciples of the Primordial Origin Sect, Demon Sect, and Su Nv Sect have nearly been wiped out, there are still fourteen disciples from the major powers competing.

"Uncle, we've lost face." Shen Qingtong and the seven others did not make it into the top twenty.

Shen Qingli immediately said, "You all went off to do things, so you had no time for the trial."

"A Li doesn't need to make excuses for them; just roll back and accept punishment." Shen Yuan said bluntly.

Shen Duo also did not plead for them, although they all clearly knew this trial had unexpected events, yet any mishap is not an excuse for poor trial performance.

Of course, if they only cared about trial scores, failing to protect Shen Qingli or other family members would result in even harsher punishment.

"Then perhaps we should turn back and go together?" Shen Qingli said.

"Little sister," Shen Qici said, words failing him, "I thought you would again plead our case for us."

Shen Qingli wondered, "Isn't it useless?"

Shen Yuan chuckled, "It's useless; let's go, first to collect the reward."

"Collect the reward?" Shen Qingli wondered even more.

"You didn't tell A Li that the top eighteen in the trial receive rewards?"

"Forgot."

"None..."

Shen Qici and the others stared at each other.

Only then did Shen Qingli learn that the trial also had rankings and rewards.

And as first place, she actually received an egg!

"I didn't do anything in there; how did I become first?"

Shen Qingli holding the egg was utterly bewildered; she hadn't done anything at all!

"We're also curious, and your ranking has consistently been first."

Shen Qingli's eyes were blank as she pondered whether it was because she had truly obtained her first inheritance from the Ten Directions Forest.

Speaking of which, there's also something strange: Pei Jianshu said the Emperor's clan ruins have vanished.

If I'm not mistaken, the Emperor's clan ruins should be the place where she obtained the Immortal-Demon Transformation inheritance in her previous life.

She obtained it in her previous life, but now it's gone?

I've heard the young master of the Longwater Shen clan is an alchemist?

A hoarse, ancient voice slowly spoke up, impossible to ignore.

Shen Qingli was startled awake from her thoughts by this.

She instinctively looked over, meeting a pair of aged, cloudy eyes that were shocking to behold.

"Cave Heaven Ancestor, what do you mean by this?" Shen Yuan inquired.

The Cave Heaven Ancestor, the eldest among the high-level attendees at this gathering, is even older than the Heavenly Star Ancestor.

For hundreds of years, the Cave Heaven Realm has been under his stewardship, making him the longest-serving lord of the Cave Heaven Realm.

Unlike the other five realms, the Cave Heaven Realm is not governed by a single great family controlling a secret realm; for example, within the Azure Cloud Realm there are many powerful families, but they all look to the Pei clan as their leader, so the head of the Pei clan is the ruler of the Azure Cloud Realm.

The Cave Heaven Realm is different: it possesses only a small territory, the Cave Heaven Mansion, located atop Mount Kunlun, abstaining from mortal food and rarely interacting with other forces; yet its disciples are numerous, and they are all alchemy prodigies!

Thus, although the Cave Heaven Mansion lies secluded in a corner, it remains an indispensable force among the Sheng Long Tian's eighteen powers.

It can be said that the other seventeen powers each year need to purchase medicinal ingredients, pills, and other cultivation and healing supplies from the Cave Heaven Mansion.

The once-every-ten-years youth alchemist competition of the Sheng Long Tian in our realm will be held at the Primordial Chaos Sect one month later.

As soon as the Cave Heaven Old Ancestor said this, the crowd erupted in an uproar! Because it was too sudden—how could it just be decided to be held at the Primordial Chaos Sect?

"Cave Heaven Old Ancestor, are you sure?" Huang Lao Gou questioned, "The sect leader Li just fell, and you already decided to entrust such an important competition of the Cave Heaven Realm to the Primordial Chaos Sect to handle?"

"Is the Huang Family Head questioning our sect's strength?" Elder Liu sneered, "Although the sect leader met with sudden misfortune, which was unexpected, our sect has endured for hundreds of thousands of years—what great storms have we not weathered? It will not affect our sect's ability to host such a holy gathering."

Many leaders of the forces nodded in agreement.

After all, the Primordial Chaos Sect is the foremost of the three sects; losing only a sect leader, its foundation remains intact.

But the Cave Heaven Old Ancestor's sudden announcement of this news still took them by surprise.

But the Cave Heaven Old Ancestor had no intention of explaining, saying, "I invite Young Master Shen to take the test."

As soon as he finished speaking, an invitation letter appeared before Shen Qingli.

Furthermore, the Cave Heaven Old Ancestor also said, "At that time, my disciple Yao Yuan Ying will seek advice from Young Master Shen."

"Yao Yuan Ying?" Shen Qingli's heart stirred slightly, "A disciple of the Medicine God Valley?"

The Cave Heaven Old Ancestor didn't answer; he had already closed his wrinkled eyelids, as if asleep.

Shen Kuo frowned, "A Li,"

"Very well, I, the junior, accept the challenge." Shen Qingli accepted the invitation letter, which was also a challenge notice.

"A Li." Shen Kuo looked disapproving; he guessed that Yao Yuan Ying was likely coming to challenge Shen Qingli for losing face to the Medicine God Valley during the sect's grand competition, and he didn't look friendly at all.

Shen Qingli, however, didn't care; the Cave Heaven Realm suddenly set the grand competition at the Primordial Chaos Sect, which was to her and the Shen clan's advantage! She could take the opportunity to scout the Primordial Chaos Sect's strengths and weaknesses, and also provide closer support to Liu Meng and the others.

Marching into the Primordial Chaos Summit is not something you can win by just rushing in.

Therefore, regardless of the intention behind this maneuver by the Cave Heaven Manor, she accepted it.