Watching the Mountain

Chapter 45: Chapter 39: How Can There Be Such a Lucky Person

The Evergreen Sword Saint, Zhang Zhentian, a scorching sun on the rise, shocked the world with a single battle on the Evil Demon Battlefield.

While only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, he manifested the True Will of Life and Death Reincarnation. Hunted by numerous masters from the Evil and Demon Domains, he achieved a battlefield breakthrough in a life-or-death struggle, stepping into the Purple Mansion Stage.

Having reached the Purple Mansion Stage before the age of fifty, he had further grasped the True Will of Life and Death Reincarnation, shaping it into the nascent form of a Dao. Even against ordinary Core Formation Stage Cultivators who had yet to master a Mental Realm, he could remain undefeated.

Wielding his sword alone, he turned the tables, slaughtering his enemies in a relentless thousand-mile pursuit. Upon his return to the Sect’s camp, he stood with his back to his brethren, his Sword Qi humming softly as he declared:

”From today onward, forget Ye Shan. My sword is sharper than his.”

Before heading to the Evil Demon Battlefield, Zhang Zhentian had declared he would replace Ye Shan and become the Sect’s new pillar of faith. Now, he had succeeded, and his performance was even more stunning than Ye Shan’s had ever been.

As long as he did not fall, he was destined to become a Sword Immortal who would define an era. This had already become the consensus in the Cultivation Realm.

The entire Cultivation Realm was now sighing with emotion. The Profound Pure Sect’s fortune was truly enviable; one Ye Shan had fallen, only for a Zhang Zhentian to rise in his place.

Other Sects would have to burn incense and thank the heavens if a prodigy like that appeared even once in several generations. But the Profound Pure Sect? They produced them one after another.

What made others even more jealous was that the Profound Pure Sect didn’t just have Zhang Zhentian. They also had the White-clothed Fairy, Yue Qingyu.

This fairy was not as domineering as Zhang Zhentian, yet her elegance was in no way inferior. She faced every enemy with an air of casual indifference, making it impossible for anyone to gauge her true strength. Clad in white, she roamed the Evil and Demon Domains as she pleased.

Then there was Chen Chang’an, the Deceitful Blade. His strikes were uncanny and unpredictable. While his combat record wasn’t unblemished like Zhang Zhentian’s or Yue Qingyu’s, he had a terrifying reputation: he survived every battle he lost, whereas not a single opponent survived any battle he won.

In addition, there was a woman named Ye Qingxue. She claimed to be Ye Shan’s junior sister and told anyone who would listen that Ye Shan had once held her in his arms. A Golden Core Stage cultivator, her performance was equally brilliant. She specialized in digging out her enemies’ Golden Cores, earning her the moniker ”Pill-Digging Witch.”

Unfortunately, when pressed for details about being held by Ye Shan, she would refuse to elaborate, much to the disappointment of the many eager gossips.

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Seeing the previously noisy crowd fall silent at the mere mention of Zhang Zhentian’s name, the Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator leading the group couldn’t help but smile in satisfaction.

Of course, he wasn’t about to tell them that the Evergreen Sword Saint, Zhang Zhentian, was only twelve years old and had just begun his cultivation journey when he lost to that Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator named Xu Ran.

His goal was to inspire them, so he naturally had to conceal that fact.

Still, he was intensely curious about this Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator named Xu Ran. It wasn’t the fact that Xu Ran headed the Instructor Hall despite his low Cultivation, but the other deeds mentioned in the intelligence reports.

After reading Xu Ran’s file, he was left utterly speechless. Only a single thought remained in his mind: ’How can anyone in this world be so damn lucky?’

According to the reports, this Xu Ran had met the White-clothed Fairy, Yue Qingyu, when he was just a boy. He had wanted to join an Immortal Sect, but Yue Qingyu had rejected him, claiming his innate talent and Comprehension were too poor. The two of them then made a pact.

And as a result, a century later, the man had used that pact to join the Profound Pure Sect. The nerve of him! Over a hundred years old and still shameless enough to have the White-clothed Fairy, Yue Qingyu, pull strings to get him into the Sect.

Even more outrageously, after joining the Sect, the man had some dog-shit luck and managed some minor achievement as a Spirit Plant Master, which prompted the White-clothed Fairy Yue Qingyu to personally extend his life by three hundred years.

Three hundred years! Even he, a mighty Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator, only had a lifespan of five hundred years. Yet this Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator, what with this life extension and the Longevity Fruit he’d stumbled upon by sheer luck before, now had a lifespan that could rival his own.

And to think Yue Qingyu had actually been willing to do it! As everyone knew, extending the life of a Low Realm Cultivator wasn’t actually that difficult in the Cultivation Realm—as long as one was willing to pay an exorbitant price.

Extending a person’s life came down to two critical factors: first, possessing such a Spiritual Object, and second, the Cultivator’s ability to withstand the medicinal power of the life-extending item.

To extend a Qi Cultivation cultivator’s life by three hundred years, one would need a Spiritual Object several grades higher. One would have to accept a significant loss of medicinal potency and use superior Alchemy techniques to refine an Elixir with gentle enough properties.

This method of extending life far beyond a Realm’s natural limit could typically only be used on Low Realm Cultivators. In theory, it was also possible for High Realm Cultivators, but only if the necessary conditions were met. For someone at the Nascent Soul Stage, for instance, it would require at a minimum a Tier Ten or higher Spiritual Object and a Tenth Grade or higher Alchemy Master. It was possible, but only if such things even existed in the world.

It was for this very reason that many who read Xu Ran’s file gritted their teeth in envy. How could anyone be so incredibly fortunate? It was a good thing he was in the Profound Pure Sect. If he were a Loose Cultivator, even if the Lifespan Extension Pill couldn’t be extracted from his body after consumption, his sheer luck alone would have been enough to get him ganged up on and killed.

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Before their departure for the Grand Tournament between the sects, the Spirit Stream Peak Master repeatedly assured Xu Ran that there would be no danger on the journey, nor at the tournament itself. He insisted that the Grand Tournament was the most peaceful and secure event in the Cultivation Realm.

No person or power would dare to attack a team on their way to the tournament. To do so wouldn’t just be offending a single Sect; it would be striking at the very foundation of the Cultivation Realm, an intolerable act for all powers in the world. It would spark a war to the death. No one was foolish enough to make a move at a time like this.

Yet, after listening to the Peak Master, Xu Ran still felt uneasy. He hadn’t taken a single step outside the Sect gates since the day he joined. ’Now that I’m going on a long trip, I’d better make thorough preparations,’ he thought.

And so, before setting off, he made a special trip to the Sect Treasure Vault. He exchanged a huge sum of Contribution Points for a large number of Spirit Talismans, Talisman Treasures, and other defensive items.

This time, ten people from Spirit Stream Peak’s Instructor Hall were participating, and Shen Wuchen was among them.

With a cold, expressionless face, he followed beside Xu Ran and boarded the Flying Ship, not sparing a single glance for the other disciples around him.

Seeing his cold demeanor, the other participants from the Profound Pure Sect instinctively kept their distance. No one dared to approach and disturb him.

After all, his Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer was the highest among all the participants. In the eyes of many, it was only natural for him to act a little arrogant.

But only Shen Wuchen himself knew that his cold expression wasn’t born of arrogance, but of pure nervousness.

A thought kept replaying in his mind: ’What if I get on the tournament stage and lose to a cultivator who’s only at the Qi Cultivation Fifth or Sixth Layer? What am I supposed to do then? It’s inevitable that people will laugh at me.’

’What truly worries me is, will the Sect think I’ve disgraced them? Will they expel me?’

Master Xu had told him that he would be the weakest among those in the same Realm, and at the time, he had mentally prepared himself for it.

But after actually reaching the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer using the method Master Xu had taught him, he had tested his own strength and was still shocked by the result.

’Am I really this weak? I’m about to step into the arena. What am I going to do? I’m so nervous.’

Upon arriving at the tournament venue, Xu Ran noticed that people from the other teams all seemed to be looking at him. He wasn’t nervous, though. ’My Cultivation is what it is,’ he thought. ’Let them look all they want.’

But then he realized something was off. It seemed that each of the opposing Sects was led by someone who only gave off the Spiritual Power fluctuations of the Qi Cultivation stage. As if afraid he wouldn’t notice, they were all intentionally flaring their Spiritual Power.

What surprised him even more was that he spotted one team comprised entirely of Qi Cultivation Stage disciples, with their leader only at the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Just as he looked over, a young man from that very team excitedly rushed forward, cupped his fists toward him, and said:

”Fellow Daoist Xu, thank you.”

Hearing this, Xu Ran was utterly baffled. ’Thank me for what?’ he thought. ’Do I know you?’