“Third Junior Brother, what’s with the act?” Ji Fuyao’s exquisite face showed a hint of sternness.
“Ow, ow, ow!” Chen Changsheng put on his usual honest act. “Master, speak for me! Defend me!”
Lu Xuan smiled faintly. His Eldest Disciple truly had that Fiery Temperament. But she really could keep Chen Changsheng and Ye Chen in line.
Chen Changsheng immediately said, “Eldest Senior Sister, I’ll cook. Master must be hungry.”
Only then did Ji Fuyao release Chen Changsheng.
Just then, Xuanji Holy Lord also emerged.
Chen Changsheng squeezed out a guileless, honest smile. “Fourth Junior Sister, hello. My name is Chen Changsheng.”
Xuanji Holy Lord’s white hair cascaded down, her figure graceful in a purple dress. She surveyed Chen Changsheng, then shook her head lightly. “I’ve never seen you before the Bronze Ancient Palace.”
Ji Fuyao and Ye Chen were both somewhat stunned. Why? Third Junior Brother is an ancient relic himself!
Lu Xuan said indifferently, “Old Third is incredibly cunning; probably no one in the Southern Wilds knows his true nature.”
Chen Changsheng immediately changed the subject. “Compared to Fourth Junior Sister’s popularity across the Five Domains, I’m not worth mentioning.”
Ji Fuyao’s interest was piqued. “Third Junior Brother, spill it!”
Chen Changsheng said, “Fourth Junior Sister is the Ancient Era’s Number One Beauty, and many have pursued her. In the Southern Wilds alone, there are many powerful figures: Taichen Old Ancestor of the Supreme Profound Sect, Ancestor Yao Chen of the Yao Family, Titan Supreme of the Demon Court, and Xiao Nuo, the leader of Dark Shadow Island’s Eight Killers…”
Ji Fuyao and Ye Chen exchanged glances, a hint of shock in their eyes.
Xuanji Holy Lord, however, calmly took a seat at the stone table, completely unperturbed by Chen Changsheng’s revelations, her face unruffled. Through endless epochs, no man had ever truly approached her. Except for Lu Xuan. And in such an… intimate position. Thankfully, Master was a true gentleman, who knew not to look at what was improper. Otherwise, even with a will as strong as hers, she wouldn’t have been able to compose herself. As this thought crossed her mind, a fleeting blush appeared and vanished on her exquisite face.
Ji Fuyao’s eyes sparkled with excitement. “Any more news...?”
Lu Xuan’s face twitched. It seems gossip mongers are everywhere. Even Great Emperors aren’t immune!
Chen Changsheng glanced at Xuanji Holy Lord and continued, “There’s also the founder of the Northern Plains Imperial Court. Back then, he pursued Fourth Junior Sister. When Fourth Junior Sister established the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone, the Northern Plains Imperial Court founder swore he would accomplish something grand. He swept across the Northern Plains and established the Northern Plains Imperial Court. But Fourth Junior Sister’s ambitions lay elsewhere. Even when the Northern Plains Imperial Court founder became a Supreme and wanted to take her away, she refused.”
Ji Fuyao and Ye Chen were utterly dumbfounded. “What?!” “And? And?”
Chen Changsheng continued his revelations. “Many eminent monks from the Western Desert Spirit Mountain Temple entered Buddhism because of Fourth Junior Sister.”
“What?!”
“They even still yearn for Fourth Junior Sister to this day.”
“Good heavens.”
“And then there are several Old Ancestors from the Eastern Wilds’ Ji Family. They fervently pursued Fourth Junior Sister for several epochs. Every time a Domain Gate opened, they would step into the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone.”
Xuanji Holy Lord frowned slightly. She had never paid these matters any mind, even forgetting many of them. She hadn’t expected Chen Changsheng to remember them so clearly.
Chen Changsheng continued, “The Eastern Wilds is rife with Eerie Power, and the Ji Family, as one of its dominant forces, holds Fourth Junior Sister in high regard.”
Ye Chen asked, “Is it because the Eastern Wilds lacks someone like Xuanji Holy Lord, willing to make such sacrifices?”
Chen Changsheng nodded. “Precisely. Fourth Junior Sister is one of a kind.”
Ji Fuyao and Ye Chen were deeply shaken.
Chen Changsheng glanced at Xuanji Holy Lord, then immediately stepped into the thatched hut. “I’ll go cook.”
Soon, wisps of cooking smoke began to rise.
An hour later, Chen Changsheng emerged, carrying dishes. The food was steaming hot, perfect in color, aroma, and taste.
Xuanji Holy Lord’s eyes flickered with a hint of envy. Such balanced power! She had it so hard. Cooking was as difficult as ascending to the heavens for her. These past few days, she had secretly practiced in her cave dwelling. The results were utterly unpalatable. She couldn’t even manage a second bite.
Everyone took their seats.
Chen Changsheng asked, “Master, how should we arrange the Supreme Path?”
Lu Xuan said, “Ye Chen will stay in the Southern Wilds. Fuyao, you go to the Northern Plains. I hear there’s an Extreme Cold Three Thousand Flames there; have Fuyao collect it. Baili, you go to the Eastern Wilds.”
Chen Changsheng nodded. “Sounds good to me.”
Lu Xuan continued, “The Supreme Path doesn’t need to start immediately. Let’s wait until Ye Chen and Fuyao reach Nine-star Great Emperor.”
Ye Chen and Ji Fuyao immediately grew excited. “Master, we’ll work hard! We’ll reach Nine-star Great Emperor within a century!”
Lu Xuan replied, “A century? By then, the chance would be long gone.”
Ye Chen: “…”
Ji Fuyao: “…”
In the following days, a cultivation frenzy swept across Azure Mystery Peak. Ji Fuyao cultivated like a madwoman. Ye Chen cultivated like a madman. Baili cultivated like a maniac. Chen Changsheng... lay flat like a corpse.
The System’s voice continuously echoed in Lu Xuan’s ears.
“Ding! Host’s Eldest Disciple Ji Fuyao is cultivating! Synchronizing cultivation!”
“Ding! Host’s Second Disciple Ye Chen is cultivating! Synchronizing cultivation!”
“Ding! Host’s Fourth Disciple Baili is cultivating! Synchronizing cultivation!”
As the notifications ceased! A heaven-shaking surge of cultivation foundation flowed back into Lu Xuan’s body, like mighty rivers surging through his limbs and bones. A tingling sensation. It was incredibly satisfying.
Ten days later, Xuanji Holy Lord broke through to Nine-star Great Emperor! Her cultivation speed was accelerating rapidly!
Lu Xuan, meanwhile, spent his days lying flat, eating, sleeping, reading storybooks, composing poetry, and painting, utterly content.
...
At the same time.
Beyond the Southern Wilds, in the other four domains.
The dominant forces of the Northern Plains, Eastern Wilds, Western Desert, and Central Domain were eagerly awaiting the descent of the Bronze Ancient Palace into their own great domains. Some powerful figures had made deductions and found things very strange. Logically, the Bronze Ancient Palace should have descended by now. But it hadn’t! It simply hadn’t!
The Bronze Ancient Palace had first fallen in the Southern Wilds, so every time the Supreme Path was about to open, the Southern Wilds would be the first to see the Bronze Ancient Palace, before it rotated to the other four domains. But now the Second Heaven and Earth Change had already begun. Yet the Bronze Ancient Palace hadn’t appeared? What was happening? And there were no signs of the Domain Gates opening either! This epoch felt... peculiar!
Eastern Wilds.
In the Eastern Wilds, Eerie Power from the Outer World had once torn through millions of miles of land, causing a dense dispersion of Eerie Power throughout the region. The Eastern Wilds had no figure like Xuanji Holy Lord to establish a forbidden zone and seal away the Eerie Power. Moreover, the Eerie Power in the Eastern Wilds was far denser than that in the Ancient Desolate Forbidden Zone.
The Heaven and Earth Change had begun, but the Bronze Ancient Palace was still conspicuously absent. This was truly strange.
Within the ancestral land of the Ji Family, the leading dominant force of the Eastern Wilds.
Ji Yue Old Ancestor, clad in a gray robe, his face etched with wrinkles, sat upright in the ancestral hall. He slowly began to speak. “I wonder what’s gone wrong in the Southern Wilds this epoch? Is Xuanji Holy Lord doing well? I miss her. This epoch, I will continue to pursue her. We are afflicted by Eerie Power and Ominous Power; we are the same kind of people. We only marry among ourselves. Outsiders can’t stand us, and we can’t stand outsiders.”
As he spoke, Ji Yue Old Ancestor revealed a hint of melancholy. Slap! He suddenly, inexplicably slapped himself, muttering. “Baili, your beauty... I remember it all.”