FIMA Ch158: Angry

Every time the Xianling Secret Realm appeared, it was one of the most important events on the continent.

Ever since the cultivation world entered the Middle Ancient Era, no one had managed to break through to the Deity Transformation stage and ascend to the upper realm.

The spiritual energy of this continent had also been declining day by day. Many secret realms and small worlds that once existed in the world had become extremely unstable—either filled with lethal danger or simply vanished into strange dimensions.

As a result, the precious cultivation resources and spiritual treasures available to Nascent Soul cultivators became fewer and fewer, making advancement even more difficult. Thus, the cultivation world had fallen into an endless vicious cycle.

And so, a stable small world like the Xianling Secret Realm, one that appeared once every twenty years, was truly one of the greatest treasure vaults on this continent.

Although only cultivators at the Golden Core stage and below could enter, some of the resources inside were enough to move even Nascent Soul cultivators.

When the Qingchen Mountain Lord had previously told Gu Siyuan to find more treasures in the secret realm and bring them back to honor him, he had truly meant every word.

On this particular morning, just as the rising sun was appearing, a huge spirit ship was parked on the plaza before Taixuan Mountain.

Its body was entirely carved from green jade. It looked somewhat similar to the one Gu Siyuan had ridden when he went to bring back the new disciples before, but on closer look there were many differences. Whether in size or the complexity of the carved runes, this one was much more exquisite.

“Da Shixiong!”

“Da Shixiong!”

Gu Siyuan stood beneath the spirit ship with his hands behind his back, listening to the constant stream of greetings from all around him.

This time, when entering the secret realm, Taixuan Immortal Sect would naturally be led by him.

And as the leader, and as the one with the greatest battle strength, he also had to shoulder the responsibility of protecting his fellow disciples.

Beside him, Xie Xueyi smiled and said, “Da Shixiong is so impressive. Everyone’s hugging your thigh.”

Gu Siyuan glanced at him. “And is Xie-shidi not planning to hug it too?”

Although the secret realm allowed entry to Golden Core and below, entering at the Qi Refining stage was far too dangerous—practically a one-way trip to death. So this time, Taixuan Immortal Sect’s entrants were only Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators.

Exactly one hundred people came, of whom twenty-four were Golden Core cultivators, while the rest were at Foundation Establishment.

As spiritual energy in the world diminished, cultivation had become increasingly difficult. Even a sect as powerful as Taixuan Immortal Sect only had thirty-seven Golden Core cultivators in the entire sect, and more than half of them had come this time.

As for those at Foundation Establishment, nearly all of them were in the late stage, and all were already very old. Even though they knew the secret realm was dangerous, and that Golden Core cultivators inside would be even more dangerous, they could no longer afford to care. They had to search within for a chance to break through into Golden Core. This was their final gamble: succeed or die.

Those in early and middle Foundation Establishment would not come to take such a risk. After all, the secret realm opened once every twenty years. They could always wait for the next opening; by then, their cultivation might have reached late Foundation Establishment.

And among all these cultivators, there was only one exception—Xie Xueyi.

He was the only early Foundation Establishment cultivator, and he had only broken through not long ago. His foundation and spiritual power were still rather unstable.

But he happened to be following at the side of the strongest one of all, Gu Siyuan.

Feeling all the envious and jealous looks around him, Xie Xueyi moved even closer to Gu Siyuan and wrapped both hands around his arm, swaying it gently as he said, “Of course I’m going to hug it. Not only am I going to hug gege’s thigh, I’m also going to hug gege’s neck, hug gege’s waist…”

Those pretty watery eyes were full of seduction, and his clear voice was like a feathered hook.

Looking down at him, Gu Siyuan clasped his slender wrist in return and gently rubbed it. “In broad daylight, in front of everyone, does Xie-shidi know no shame at all?”

Xie Xueyi gave a soft dissatisfied huff. “I’m actually very reserved. It’s just that I like gege too much. The feeling’s overflowing. I can’t hold it back even if I try.”

Seeing his spoiled and adorable expression, Gu Siyuan could not help but reach out and pinch his cheek.

“Da Shixiong.”

Just then, two voices sounded from nearby.

Gu Siyuan turned to look and saw that Baiqing Mountain’s chief disciple Yi Qianqiu and Hongling Mountain’s chief disciple Yan Miaomiao had arrived together.

As they came closer, they said, “We have yet to congratulate Da Shixiong on your success in cultivation.”

That day, Gu Siyuan’s strike on the Trial Strength Pillar had directly surpassed the Mingguang Holy Son’s battle strength. It had truly been astonishing.

The two of them had been inspired by it and had gone into seclusion to train even harder, while also preparing for the secret realm. It was only today that the chiefs of the various mountains had finally met again.

Gu Siyuan nodded slightly to the pair, his expression calm. “Bai-shidi and Yan-shimei are too polite.”

They were familiar with Gu Siyuan’s temperament and did not find this coldness neglectful, only smiling lightly.

Yan Miaomiao looked at Xie Xueyi and asked one extra question, “Da Shixiong intends to bring this shidi in with you?”

Xie Xueyi smiled sweetly. “That’s right. Da Shixiong won’t be able to leave me for even a moment once we’re inside.”

Yan Miaomiao gave Gu Siyuan a strange look. “Da Shixiong… really?”

The matter of Gu Siyuan taking on a beautiful sword attendant had long since become a rumor throughout Taixuan Immortal Sect. Seeing the intimate way the two stood together now, one could more or less guess the relationship between them.

It was just that this cold and ruthless man who had always devoted himself entirely to cultivation… could he really have ended up like this one day?

Gu Siyuan glanced at Xie Xueyi.

Xie Xueyi blinked playfully back at him.

Gu Siyuan did not deny it. He only said to Yan Miaomiao, “Once inside the secret realm, he’ll remain with me the whole time.”

“Al… alright then.” Yan Miaomiao nodded in a dazed way.

So Gu Siyuan, this stone, really had bloomed after all.

The group stood on the plaza for a while longer.

Then, suddenly, a gust of wind passed, and four figures appeared atop the high platform, all of them Nascent Soul cultivators.

The one leading them was none other than the Baiqing Mountain Lord. Dressed in elegant white robes, with a gentle expression, he said, “This time, I will lead the group. All disciples heading to the Xianling Secret Realm, board the spirit ship now in order.”

At once, the whole place fell completely silent, not a single extra word to be heard.

Gu Siyuan moved first. With one graceful, flowing leap, he brought Xie Xueyi up onto the spirit ship.

After him, Yi Qianqiu, Yan Miaomiao, and the others boarded one by one.

Finally, just as the Baiqing Mountain Lord was about to send the spirit ship into motion, the male lead Ji Jinghuan and the other male lead Xiao Xinchi—who had not been seen until now—finally arrived late in a flustered rush.

Mo Yun Mountain’s chief disciple Ren Jiutian smiled at the hurried pair and said, “Ji-shidi was nearly late again. That’s not a good habit. Two years ago, you were late at the Five Mountains Competition too and lost the title of Da Shixiong. As they say, one late step becomes a hundred late steps. Looking at things now, what a pity indeed…”

The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere aboard the spirit ship changed.

Ji Jinghuan’s expression darkened instantly.

In the past, hearing others mention that he had lost the title of Da Shixiong would not have stirred the slightest ripple in his heart. If anything, he would have felt secretly pleased.

Because everyone understood in their hearts that he was the strongest one. He was the true Da Shixiong in name and reality.

But now…

Ever since that strike upon the Trial Strength Pillar, everything had changed.

Ren Jiutian was very clearly mocking him now. He was humiliating him.

Ji Jinghuan’s fist tightened slightly, but he lifted his head with a faint smile. “Many thanks for Ren-shixiong’s concern. But perhaps shixiong should worry more about his own cultivation, and strive to at least make it to the final battle at the next Five Mountains Competition.”

Ren Jiutian’s face shifted between green and white.

One Nascent Soul elder watched the exchange among the younger generation and said coldly, “You all belong to the same sect. Once inside the secret realm, you must support and assist one another. Stop showing off verbal sharpness here and return to your respective cabins.”

“Yes.” All the disciples answered awkwardly.

The Canglan Continent was vast beyond measure. Even if a Golden Core cultivator traveled day and night without rest, it would still take more than a year to go from south to north.

This time, the entrance to the Xianling Secret Realm was in the Purple Bamboo Forest in the western region of the continent, not too far from Taixuan Immortal Sect. If one traveled there alone, it would take about two months.

Since Taixuan Immortal Sect’s spirit ship was driven by Nascent Soul cultivators, it naturally moved several times faster than a Golden Core cultivator could.

And so, in just about ten days, the spirit ship landed in the Purple Bamboo Forest near the secret realm.

Perhaps because Taixuan was relatively close and had therefore departed later, when they arrived the Purple Bamboo Forest was already packed with people, a sea of heads everywhere.

Some were disciples from the major sects, while the rest were independent cultivators from all over.

In the current Canglan Continent, the righteous path held the dominant visible power, led chiefly by the four great immortal sects—Mingguang, Taixuan, Chaotian, and Wanghai. Beneath them were countless sects, clans, and cultivation families of all sizes.

The demonic path, meanwhile, was chiefly represented by the Demon Sect, the Corpse Refining Sect, and the Hehuan Sect. But their smaller branch powers were fewer. More often, they were lone rogue cultivators, each of them fierce and vicious to the extreme.

The Nascent Soul old ancestors had no doubt hidden themselves somewhere out of sight, and at the moment the people gathered here were mostly Golden Core and Foundation Establishment cultivators.

When Gu Siyuan led Taixuan Immortal Sect’s people down from the spirit ship, they immediately attracted a great deal of attention. After all, disciples from the major sects had refined techniques, and once inside the secret realm, they would be formidable opponents.

Moreover, people from several forces directly walked over.

Judging by their unified clothing, one could immediately tell that these were the other three great sects that stood alongside Taixuan Immortal Sect.

“Ji Jinghuan! Last time I carelessly lost to you by two moves. This time, inside the secret realm, let’s decide the victor again!” shouted Zhao Tianzong, Da Shixiong of Chaotian Immortal Sect, full of impatience.

Hearing the challenge, Ji Jinghuan’s mood actually lifted a little. “Good. How could I dare refuse?”

At the same time, his gaze swept subtly across Gu Siyuan’s expression.

Yin Xiaojue, the Holy Son of Mingguang Immortal Sect, wore white robes and looked proud. “Ji Jinghuan, I hope you’ve improved somewhat during this time. Don’t make me too lonely.”

Among the younger generation of the four great righteous sects, Yin Xiaojue’s cultivation and battle strength were the highest, and he carried the air of a lonely undefeated master.

Among all of them, only Ji Jinghuan had ever been able to fight him on equal terms.

Ling Qingyue, the Holy Maiden of Bihai Immortal Sect, also nodded toward Ji Jinghuan. “Daoist Ji, long time no see.”

Watching the lively scene over there, even Yan Miaomiao and Yi Qianqiu could not help their eyes drifting toward Gu Siyuan, their expressions somewhat awkward.

Ren Jiutian, however, wore a faint smile at the corner of his lips. Truly interesting…

Those three were all holy sons or Da Shixiong of their respective sects. By all logic, when peers exchanged greetings and sects met, they should be speaking with Gu Siyuan.

Yet in their eyes there was only Ji Jinghuan, and Gu Siyuan had been completely ignored. In a sense, that was the greatest humiliation possible.

Xie Xueyi’s expression darkened. “This bunch of blind idiots.”

Gu Siyuan remained calm. Pinching the soft flesh of his cheek, he gently comforted him. “No need to mind it.”

Xie Xueyi widened his bright watery eyes. “You’re not even angry?”

Gu Siyuan answered, “Of course I would be angry. But for this? It isn’t worth it.”

Gu Siyuan truly did not care much about the matter.

Whether intentionally or not, Taixuan Immortal Sect had blocked the news of his Trial Strength Pillar result from spreading outside the sect, so the outside world still mistakenly believed Ji Jinghuan was the strongest.

Gu Siyuan was quite satisfied with that approach. Playing the pig to eat the tiger—wasn’t that far more interesting?

Besides, he had no interest in social pleasantries with other people.

Just then, the four people began discussing matters concerning the secret realm.

Zhao Tianzong said, “I’ve heard this secret realm is different from before. The most important Xianling Ancient City may appear this time. When that happens, to stop those who don’t know their own limits from making trouble, let’s privately agree in advance: once signs of the ancient city appear, everyone must bring their disciples and rush to the city gates as fast as possible for a full clearing.”

A “full clearing” meant that the disciples of the four great immortal sects would join forces to drive away every other cultivator, allowing none of them to compete for the resources of the Xianling Ancient City.

That would guarantee the greatest possible gains for the four of them and prevent a few lucky nobodies from profiting amid the chaos and seizing the opportunities that should belong to them.

This kind of behavior was naturally tyrannical to the extreme. Those rogue cultivators and small sect disciples truly would not even get a sip of soup.

But in the cultivation world, whoever had the bigger fist was right. Once the chief disciples of the four great immortal sects joined forces, how could anyone else resist?

“That is only natural. The Xianling Ancient City appears only once every thousand years. Who knows how many rare resources lie within? What qualification do those mediocrities have to compete with us?” Yin Xiaojue said sternly.

Ling Qingyue also nodded, her voice gentle. “Mm. Those people’s cultivation is low. Even if they entered the ancient city to seek treasures, they would only be throwing away their lives.”

Then several of them looked toward Ji Jinghuan. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Your Taixuan Immortal Sect is always the one that likes to act benevolent and righteous. You don’t have objections, do you?”

The corner of Ji Jinghuan’s mouth lifted slightly, and he said in a clear voice, “As you all know, I am not Taixuan’s Da Shixiong. To mobilize our disciples to do something like this, I would still need to ask Senior Brother Gu first.”

Zhao Tianzong had an impatient temper and immediately said with disdain, “Ask him for what? That’s a waste of time. Does Gu Siyuan really dare oppose you?”

Whether intentionally or not, he did not lower his voice in the slightest. In fact, he practically shouted the words aloud.

At once, every person from Taixuan Immortal Sect standing behind Gu Siyuan changed expression.

With the status of sects like theirs, there were some things that could be deliberately ignored, some things that could be pretended not to exist—but they absolutely could not be shouted out into the open.

A Golden Core cultivator from Qingchen Mountain immediately shouted in anger, “Zhao Tianzong, who do you think you’re talking to?”

Zhao Tianzong turned around and let out a sneer. “And what are you? Do you want to fight me?”

Though both of them were Golden Core cultivators, there were differences even among Golden Core cultivators.

Zhao Tianzong was naturally among the very strongest of them. As he spoke, his pressure exploded outward without restraint.

That Qingchen Mountain cultivator immediately felt an enormous pressure and nearly could not keep his legs steady. He was almost forced to kneel publicly on the spot.

But just then, a breeze swept through, and a figure flashed to his side.

All the pressure instantly vanished.

Gu Siyuan had stepped in front of him—exactly like the time in front of the Gongfa Pavilion, when he had shielded those few Qingchen Mountain disciples.

Zhao Tianzong looked somewhat surprised. Of course he knew Gu Siyuan was second only to Ji Jinghuan among Taixuan’s disciples, but for him to so easily dispel his pressure was still somewhat shocking.

Narrowing his eyes, he said, “What? Now you’re the one coming to fight me?”

Gu Siyuan stood there with his hands behind his back, his face stern and cold.

Xie Xueyi stood beside him and was the first to flare up. “Gege, beat this idiot to death.”

“Jie jie jie… so your righteous path is about to start fighting among yourselves first? How boring. Why not fight us first instead?”

At that moment, a shrill burst of laughter entered everyone’s ears.

They all turned to look and saw that atop a nearby boulder stood three figures at some unknown time.

The man in the middle wore black and was handsome. Though his eyes were closed, his presence was terrifying, like a king of the dark night.

The man on the left had his hair hanging loose and a deathly pale face, like some ghost that had never seen sunlight.

The one on the other side had gorgeous features and wore a translucent pink outfit with the neckline cut very low, revealing a large area of bare skin.

There was no need to say it. These were clearly the heirs of the three great demonic factions.

At the sight of those three, the expressions of Yin Xiaojue, Zhao Tianzong, Ling Qingyue, and the others all became serious.

Zhao Tianzong said coldly, “You creatures from the gutter actually dare come out to seek death?”

The black-clothed young man among the three slowly opened his eyes. “Zhao Tianzong, last time I beat you until you ran away like a dog. Have you forgotten so quickly?”

Zhao Tianzong’s face turned iron-blue.

The black-clothed man smiled again. “But don’t worry. I’m not interested in you this time. Yin Xiaojue, I hear you’re the strongest among the four great immortal sects. Come, let’s have a match.”

A while later, everyone staring at the scene before them widened their eyes in shock.

Had the demonic path’s younger generation really produced this many outstanding talents? The younger elites of the four righteous sects were completely unable to match them.

Yin Xiaojue, Zhao Tianzong, and Ji Jinghuan had all been defeated.

“Hahahahaha, what a bunch of trash.” The pale-faced disciple of the Corpse Refining Sect laughed wildly.

“How boring. Not a single one of you can fight.” The pink-robed man from Hehuan Sect clapped his hands as he spoke, his eyes roaming everywhere without restraint.

Then suddenly his gaze lit up, as though he had discovered something. Pointing in a certain direction, he exclaimed, “Ah, I like this pretty little thing. Come here, come here, let gege have some fun with you!”

Xie Xueyi raised his eyes and swept a cold glance over him. His voice was even colder. “Where did this idiot come from? Get lost.”

The pink-robed man’s expression sank, and his tone turned sinister. “Pretty little treasure, words aren’t something you can say carelessly. Now that you’ve made gege angry, you’re going to suffer later. Gege here will play with you slowly until you die. I’ll let you taste the utmost agony in this world—unable to live, unable to die.”

“That stubborn little mouth, that white skin, those beautiful fingers—hahaha, there’ll be plenty to play with…”

Gu Siyuan looked at Xie Xueyi. “I think I told you before that I do get angry.”

“Ah…” Xie Xueyi blinked.

Gu Siyuan pinched his cheek gently and said in a soft voice, “Right now, I’m very angry.”

The words had barely fallen when the long sword that had long remained sheathed appeared instantly in his palm.

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