The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

Chen Dong spoke calmly, ”You fled here heavily injured and you hate Feng Fu with such a passion. The Wangyou Sect must have suffered a great defeat. I also have a grudge against Feng Fu. Keeping you alive to deal with him—why would I lie about that?”

A look of contempt appeared in Li Zhixuan’s eyes. ”Why would I believe a word you say!”

Chen Dong said helplessly, ”Xiaoqing, you’ll have to prove it.”

Xiaoqing? Li Zhixuan was confused at first, but then he heard a voice transmission.

”Senior Brother Li, it’s me, Mu Qingzhu. I know you’re doubtful, but I was the one who stole the Yuqing Immortal Technique, and what Chen Dong said is also the truth.”

Hearing this voice transmission, Li Zhixuan was first startled. He knew of Mu Qingzhu—she was a prodigy from the Wangyou Sect whose talent was no less than his own, a junior sister who had been made a true disciple before even reaching the Golden Core stage. But he was no greenhorn cultivator; he wouldn’t be fooled by a mere voice transmission.

Then, he laughed mockingly. ”There are plenty of ways to fake a voice transmission. You think you can fool me with that? And even if Mu Qingzhu did steal the Yuqing Immortal Technique, she’s your accomplice. Why would I believe anything either of you say!”

Chen Dong cursed inwardly. ’If only I knew a Soul Searching Secret Method, I wouldn’t have to go through all this trouble.’ He casually retracted two Silver Needles—one from between Li Zhixuan’s brows and one from the crown of his head—and removed the Divine Sense restriction he had placed on him.

”See for yourself!”

A phantom figure then materialized beside Chen Dong, bearing the exact likeness of Mu Qingzhu.

Mu Qingzhu said, ”Feng Fu used Chen Dong’s Saint’s Body to trap him inside the Dharma Vehicle. He wanted to use the Sect Leader’s own hand to kill Chen Dong, which would have caused the Sect Leader to be consumed by Karmic Fire. Although we escaped at the critical moment, the enmity between Chen Dong and Feng Fu is very real.”

Upon hearing this, Li Zhixuan recalled Feng Fu’s strange behavior at the beginning of his battle with the Sect Leader. Thinking back on how extraordinary Chen Dong was for someone at the Foundation Establishment Stage, he was instantly more than halfway convinced.

Mu Qingzhu continued, ”What Chen Dong wants to ask you about are the Realm Passages. He’s not actually from this realm and just wants to return to his own. If Senior Brother Li is willing to cooperate, and if you swear a Celestial Dao Oath to never concern yourself with the Yuqing Immortal Technique again or reveal anything about it, Chen Dong will let you go.”

In truth, Li Zhixuan already believed Mu Qingzhu. Moreover, he had used his Divine Sense to see the Jade Embryo and the Yuqing Immortal Technique within Chen Dong’s body.

This was possible because he cultivated the Daoist Scripture of Void Forgetfulness, which made him sensitive to the Yuqing Immortal Technique, and because Chen Dong was willing to reveal them to him. Otherwise, the Jade Embryo and the Yuqing Immortal Technique were normally hidden deep within his Dantian; if Chen Dong was unwilling, Li Zhixuan would only be able to sense their presence, not see them clearly. Even a Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like Feng Fu couldn’t detect them if Chen Dong didn’t allow it.

With this corroborating evidence, Li Zhixuan fell into deep thought. On one hand, he could live to avenge his blood feud; on the other, there was the sect’s ultimate treasure, the Yuqing Immortal Technique.

Mu Qingzhu’s words had been perfectly clear. If he wanted to live, he would have to help conceal the existence of the Yuqing Immortal Technique.

After a moment, Li Zhixuan nodded. ”I am willing to swear the Celestial Dao Oath!”

Seeing this, Chen Dong smiled faintly. This proved that Li Zhixuan did, in fact, know about the Realm Passages.

After the oath was sworn, a runic inscription was seared into Li Zhixuan’s very soul. A Cultivator’s Celestial Dao Oath was not like an ordinary person’s promise, which could be made lightly. For those who broke it, the consequence was the utter annihilation of their soul.

As long as one’s cultivation level had not surpassed the Celestial Dao, the higher their cultivation, the more binding the restriction. That was why most Cultivators would never casually swear a Celestial Dao Oath. After all, how many in all of history had ever managed to transcend the Celestial Dao?

Once this was done, Chen Dong also retracted the Restricted Silver Needles from Li Zhixuan. Only then did Li Zhixuan begin to speak, slowly. ”Very few people in this realm know about the Realm Passages. Only the Sect Leaders and Supreme Elders of the five great sects, and perhaps a few Daoists, know anything about them.”

Chen Dong shot him a cold glance. ”Get to the point!”

Li Zhixuan paused, a look of displeasure on his face, before continuing, ”There are five Realm Passages in this realm!”

”Five?” Chen Dong couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise.

Li Zhixuan shot Chen Dong another cold glance. ”If you want to find out, then stop interrupting!”

’So arrogant for a captive,’ Chen Dong thought with contempt.

Li Zhixuan snorted coldly and continued, ”The five great sects are the five great sects not only because of the Five-Sect Alliance, but also because each sect controls a Realm Passage. I only know the location of the Wangyou Sect’s passage. If you want to use it to return to your own realm, we have no choice but to go back to the Wangyou Sect!”

Chen Dong’s eyes narrowed slightly. He didn’t press for details about the passage, asking instead, ”What exactly is this Five-Sect Alliance?”

Li Zhixuan felt a pang of regret seeing that Chen Dong hadn’t taken the bait. ’The two Supreme Elders must have escaped. As long as we return to the Wangyou Sect, I won’t even have to say anything before the Yuqing Immortal Technique inside Chen Dong is discovered.’

Since Chen Dong had asked, Li Zhixuan answered frankly, ”On the surface, the Five-Sect Alliance is about peaceful coexistence, prohibiting warfare among the sects and promoting the sharing of some cultivation resources. The real Five-Sect Alliance is a pact to regulate this realm’s Spiritual Qi and Realm Passages. The Spiritual Qi in this realm is already declining and shrinking, unable to support the cultivation of more High-Tier Cultivators. Therefore, each sect is stipulated to have no more than three Nascent Soul Stage cultivators in this realm at any time.

”Whenever a new cultivator advances to the Nascent Soul Stage, someone must leave through a passage. This is to ensure that the realm’s Spiritual Qi doesn’t deplete too quickly. It also forbids anyone from the Upper Realm from entering through the passages.”

Chen Dong immediately asked, ”The Upper Realm?”

”Correct, the Upper Realm. The passages of the five sects each lead to a different realm. We refer to them collectively as the Upper Realm.”