The cultivators' tricks are truly one after another.

Inside the cave,

Shen Yunshu sat in front of the big pot, staring blankly at the fire beneath it.

Since her senior sister lay in the coffin a month ago, she hasn't come out and has been in a deep sleep. Her master, Qingxuan, was knocked unconscious by the big-bearded man using some kind of magic and has also not woken up.

And so, Shen Yunshu was left all alone in the cave, which made her incredibly bored.

The bearded man used to come every few days, but he hasn't come lately and hasn't shown up for more than ten days.

"Senior sister, when are you finally going to wake up?"

Shen Yunshu looked at the bronze coffin in the corner, her eyes filled with such sorrow. Her senior sister had gone too far, leaving her there to sleep for a whole month.

Shen Yunshu was initially worried that something might have happened to the other person, but the bearded senior said that her senior sister had just obtained some kind of opportunity and would be fine after waking up.

As a result, this wait lasted for a month.

"Ugh!"

After letting out a long sigh, Shen Yunshu got up, picked up the pestle, and stirred the pot of medicine in the pot. The senior with the big beard said that this pot of medicine only needed to be stirred every few days, so it wasn't too troublesome.

After stirring the medicine, Shen Yunshu took out a chessboard and played chess by herself. After a while, Big Beard suddenly appeared in the cave.

He first inspected the pot of medicine, and finding nothing amiss, he turned his gaze to Shen Yunshu. Seeing the young girl's idle expression, he frowned slightly and couldn't help but offer some guidance:

"Young friend Shen, you are exceptionally talented. You should focus on cultivating diligently, not spend your days idly."

He could tell that this little girl was very dependent on her senior sister. When her senior sister wasn't around, the little girl couldn't concentrate. This wouldn't do.

The path of cultivation is inherently a solitary journey; even fellow practitioners cannot be together all the time.

Big Beard valued Yu Zhao and Shen Yunshu highly, and now that he saw that Shen Yunshu was having some mental issues, he couldn't help but want to correct her.

"Senior is right, Shu'er will start cultivating now."

As she spoke, Shen Yunshu began to meditate and practice her cultivation technique.

At this moment, the bearded man stopped her and said:

"It won't make a difference if you stay a little longer. I happen to have nothing else to do today, so I'll give you some pointers. Young friend Shen, what kind of martial art do you practice?"

"An unnamed martial arts manual that I obtained by chance."

Shen Yunshu answered obediently.

This statement was not a lie; she was indeed practicing the nameless martial arts technique that she had obtained together with the real Shen Yunshu back then.

This nameless martial arts manual is quite extraordinary and can be integrated into other martial arts techniques.

For example, the Blood Fiend Technique of Qingfeng Temple was absorbed by this technique. Therefore, theoretically speaking, no technique, even a problematic one, can affect Shen Yunshu.

Even more outrageous is that this nameless martial arts technique laid an incredibly solid foundation for Shen Yunshu.

That is why, although Shen Yunshu is only at the third level of Qi Refining, her spiritual power and strength are actually comparable to those of a cultivator at the twelfth level of Qi Refining.

In a sense, this girl is also cheating.

However, this girl knew how to hide her true self, and with the help of her senior sister Yu Zhao, she didn't need to worry about anything and was willing to be a pretty face.

When the bearded man heard Shen Yunshu say that she practiced an unnamed martial arts technique, he was quite puzzled and blurted out:

"You possess the bloodline of the Azure Dragon, so you must be a direct descendant of the Shen family. Why then are you not cultivating the Shen family's Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique and Nine Dragons True Art?"

"Um... if I said I didn't know about these two cultivation techniques you mentioned, would you believe me?"

Shen Yunshu had no idea about the Azure Dragon Body Refining Technique or the Nine Dragons True Technique. She was a fake Shen family woman. Although the Shen family had initially recognized her as one, no one in the family had mentioned anything related to cultivation to her after her return.

Instead, it was as if they had placed her under house arrest, feeding and caring for her like a caged bird.

This is actually why Shen Yunshu resolutely broke away from the Shen family; she always felt that the Shen family had ill intentions towards her.

But upon closer reflection, it still doesn't make sense. If they had ill intentions towards her, why would they let her leave so easily?

Shen Yunshu couldn't figure out what was hidden in all of this.

After hearing Shen Yunshu's words, the bearded man sized up the little girl and, seeing that she didn't seem to be lying, became curious.

However, he didn't ask any further questions. He guessed that there was some secret involved, but this young friend Shen probably wouldn't know.

"I never imagined that the Shen family would be so blind as to let such a proud daughter of heaven wander outside."

The bearded man couldn't help but sigh. His words piqued Shen Yunshu's curiosity. After spending some time together, she had figured out this senior's temperament and knew he was a good person, so she grew bolder and asked him:

"Does what you're saying mean you're quite familiar with the Shen family?"

This surprised Shen Yunshu. She had thought that the Shen family was just a small family with a Nascent Soul cultivator, but now it seemed that the Shen family was not simple.

"We weren't very close. To be precise, I had met the Shen family ancestors a few times."

Seeing the little girl eagerly waiting for him to continue, the bearded man, now with something to talk about, sat facing Shen Yunshu, cleared his throat, and continued:

"Young friend, you probably don't know where your Shen family's Azure Dragon bloodline comes from. Today, I'll tell you about it."

This Azure Dragon bloodline originated from an unparalleled powerhouse. Its true name should be the Azure Heaven Divine Body. However, because you descendants could not withstand this bloodline, it gradually degenerated into the Azure Dragon bloodline.

That supreme being is the true ancestor of your Shen family; this is a blessing he bestowed upon you, his descendants.

Shen Yunshu: "!!!"

The Shen family actually had such a powerful ancestor?

"Then, senior, where is this supreme being you spoke of now?"

"They have fallen."

"Even supreme beings can perish?"

Hearing these childlike words, the bearded man smiled and shook his head, saying indulgently, "Of course he will fall. That person is an unparalleled power in our eyes, but there are beings even stronger than him. The path to immortality is long, and no one can say for sure whether it will ever end."

The further you go down this road, the more terrifying it becomes; the further you go, the more horrors you encounter.

Therefore, young friend Shen, you must always be vigilant and never become arrogant.

The bearded man spoke these words with great emotion, recalling how he had once been full of vigor and believed himself to be invincible in the world, capable of traversing the entire universe.

It wasn't until he witnessed a truly powerful being and saw the powerful being he once knew being killed with a single blow that he truly came to his senses.

Only then did I truly understand the real meaning of the phrase "the path to immortality is long and arduous".

The universe is too vast, and the path to immortality is too long. It is so vast that it can never be fully explored, and so long that we will never know what terrifying beings are lurking in any part of the path.

After saying that, the bearded man noticed that Shen Yunshu looked thoughtful, and realized he had said too much, so he added:

"Young friend, there's no need to overthink it. Such a powerful being is still far from you. What you need to do now is to be down-to-earth and take each step of your cultivation path firmly."

I eagerly anticipate the day when I can truly meet you and my friend Yu ahead, and then exchange greetings of "May you be well, fellow Daoist?"

This bearded man was good at teaching younger generations. He outlined a direction for Shen Yunshu, making her resolve to pursue the Dao stronger than ever before.

Shen Yunshu imagined the scene and was immediately filled with longing. She stood up and respectfully bowed to the bearded man.

"I will forever remember your heartfelt words, senior. Today's words are like a morning bell, illuminating my clouded Dao heart once more. I will surely repay this kindness in the future!"

After saying this, Shen Yunshu ignored the other person's reaction, sat cross-legged, and her internal Dao energy spontaneously generated, entering a state of enlightenment.

The bearded man was practically grimacing at the sight. These two little girls were truly extraordinary, one having used some unknown means to completely alter the appearance of the magical artifact he had given her, while the other had been enlightened by his few words.

This level of understanding... is simply unbelievable.

Although he was envious, Big Beard was actually quite happy. The more stunning they were, the more it proved that he had made the right bet.

These two women possess the qualities of a supreme celestial emperor. With the good fortune they have today, they will surely reap good results in the future!

……

Meanwhile, while Yu Zhao and the others were busy with their own things in the cave,

The outside world is not peaceful.

The northern region, in particular, is in complete chaos.

The cause was naturally a coffin that was unearthed in the ruins of the Northern Region. The Purple Extreme Holy Sect's original goal was this coffin. They didn't know where they got the information that the coffin contained the inheritance of the ancient Corpse Refining Sect.

The inheritance of the Corpse Refining Sect is naturally very tempting to the Purple Extreme Holy Sect, which is also a demonic sect.

So the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Souls led two Nascent Soul cultivators and a group of Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators to the Northern Region.

Unexpectedly, instead of obtaining the inheritance, they unearthed a powerful figure. The two Nascent Soul experts who came with the Purple Extreme Holy Sect were killed, the Myriad Souls Ancestor was seriously injured, and the Zhenbei King lost his physical body.

As for the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators, countless people were killed or injured.

It can be said that the exploration of the ruins caused heavy losses to the Purple Extreme Holy Sect, and made the already talent-poor Northern Region even worse.

As the overlord of the Northern Region, the Sword Pavilion could not tolerate this.

Sword Pavilion can tolerate the Purple Extreme Holy Sect taking a share of the pie, but it cannot tolerate the fact that the Northern Region was almost wiped out because of the Purple Extreme Holy Sect.

Therefore, Sword Pavilion openly challenged the Purple Extreme Holy Sect to give an explanation, or else they would attack.

The fact that the two holy lands are about to go to war is no small matter; it immediately put the entire world on edge.

Nobody wants these two holy lands to actually fight, not even the two holy lands themselves.

We can't go to war; how can we make money if we do?

Why not just peacefully exploit the lower-level cultivators?

The leaders of the two holy lands both thought this way, but the problem now is that the Sword Pavilion has lost face and must regain it.

Meanwhile, the Purple Extreme Holy Sect was considering how to give face to the Sword Pavilion while not losing face themselves.

After much deliberation, the two holy sites came up with a solution.

However, this method has a prerequisite: someone must be responsible for the legacy.

Originally, the two holy lands wanted Zhenbei City to take responsibility, but although the Zhenbei King of Zhenbei City only had a Nascent Soul cultivator left, he had a Nascent Soul Ancestor behind him. It was not worth it to confront a Nascent Soul Ancestor just for the sake of face.

Moreover, the Shen family is a very complex place; who knows what kind of old monster might pop up after defeating a Nascent Soul cultivator?

Once the most powerful family in the land, they should not be underestimated.

Unable to attack Zhenbei City, they had to find another target, and Luoyue Sect became the scapegoat.

It was your Falling Moon Sect disciples who discovered the ruins first, yet everyone suffered such heavy casualties. It must have been your Falling Moon Sect who set up this trap behind the scenes.

Thus, under the deliberate guidance of the two holy lands, Luoyue Sect became a demonic sect that everyone hated.

It was as if the whole world was demanding an explanation from Luoyue Sect, a third-rate sect.

This really annoyed Qingfeng Laodeng. Now that the Luoyue Sect leader was missing and the Grand Elder had also run away, all this mess fell on Qingfeng Laodeng's shoulders, who had possessed the Second Elder.

Qingfeng Laodeng then realized that the sect leader of Luoyue Sect must have discovered something long ago, and that the Grand Elder was more cunning than the other. They had run away beforehand, leaving him to take over this mess.

Sometimes he wondered if he had been set up.

Qingfeng Laodeng emptied out the entire Luoyue Sect in an attempt to calm things down, but those people still wouldn't let it go. For the past month, they've been blocking the mountain gate and shouting every day.

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous!"

That day, in the underground chamber, Qingfeng Laodeng heard the commotion outside and, in a fit of rage, smashed everything he could in the chamber.

But he still couldn't quell his anger. If it weren't for the severe damage caused by the repeated possessions in such a short period, he would have abandoned this body and run away.

After venting his frustrations, Qingfeng calmed down and began to think of a solution.

The current situation is very clear: the two holy lands are trying to force Luoyue Sect to its death; it's already a dead end.

There are Nascent Soul experts secretly blocking the way outside, so with this body's Golden Core cultivation level, there's no way it can escape.

The reason the other party hasn't made a move yet is probably because they want to see what kind of resources the Falling Moon Sect has.

Once they're sure there isn't any, they'll definitely come knocking.

It seemed there was no way to escape this calamity, but Qingfeng refused to believe in fate. He had been fighting against destiny and was naturally unwilling to accept it.

So he started thinking about ways to break the deadlock, and he actually came up with a way out.

From the memories of this body, he learned that the leader of the Falling Moon Sect was attempting to lead the entire sect to surrender to the Purple Extreme Holy Sect.

She is very likely currently within the Purple Extreme Holy Sect.

Can that young vixen really bear to leave Luoyue Sect?

With this in mind, Qingfeng Laodeng decided to give it a try. If it failed, he would have no choice but to abandon this physical body at the cost of damaging his foundation.

Old Deng is a man of action; once he's decided on a method, he just goes ahead and executes it.

He sent someone to deliver a message to the people from the Purple Extreme Holy Sect and the Sword Pavilion who were guarding outside, inviting them to a meeting.

Old Deng originally intended to deceive the two sects first, pretending that Luoyue Sect had a strong foundation, so that they would not bully them too much. Even if it was just this, it would buy them some time.

Having time is essential to proceed to the next step.

But to his surprise, the Sword Pavilion completely ignored him, while the Purple Extreme Holy Sect sent people to his door.

The one who arrived was a woman. Although her appearance and aura were different, Qingfeng Laodeng recognized her at a glance. She was the sect leader of Luoyue Sect!

How did this guy manage to change his identity and become a member of the Purple Extreme Holy Sect?

The moment he saw her, Qingfeng Laodeng instinctively felt that something was wrong. He quickly sorted through everything in his mind and finally realized with horror that he might have really been set up!