Free Web NovelChapter 197: Chapter 190: The First-Generation "Spark of Life" Restoration Potion
Ye Longtao stepped through the mountain gate, and the first thing he saw was the video projection suspended in the sky.
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two sharply contrasting scenes.
On one side, a young woman, clueless and lost upon first joining the sect.
On the other, the form of an Evil Cultivator, a demon incarnate tearing a powerful enemy apart with her bare hands.
And within the projection, lines of gilded text scrolled past, glaringly conspicuous:
"Once a Pseudo Spirit Root, merely at the third level of Qi Refining, seeking the path from the lowest rungs."
"Today in the Guixi Sect, now the Holy Daughter of the sect, slaying demons in bloody battle!"
"How does one ascend to the heavens? Through loyalty and diligence alone! Join our Guixi Sect, and your future is in your hands!"
"Talent and aptitude of the lowest grade, even a Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root of metal, wood, water, and earth—Su Ling’er is the best proof!"
"Heh."
A blatant sneer curled his lips.
He recognized her at a glance. The woman in the video was one of the targets of his current mission: Su Ling’er.
If the Sect Leader hadn’t given him portraits of those pieces of trash—Su Ling’er, Wang Xiedi, Dong Changsheng, and Li Chunfeng—he wouldn’t have bothered to remember what a single outer sect disciple looked like.
It would have been a sheer waste of his precious brain capacity.
The Inner and Outer Sects were two different worlds.
’No wonder...’ Ye Longtao sneered to himself.
’No wonder this little junior sister from the outer sect went completely silent and cut off contact with the sect.’
’And no wonder the rest of those losers all went missing one by one, yet their life tablets remain intact.’
’They must have been unable to resist the temptations of this demonic sect’s evil techniques and willingly fallen. But perhaps out of some lingering loyalty to their old sect, they didn’t just turn their backs on us completely.’
’They know their place, at least.’ But this only deepened his contempt for this group of outer sect disciples.
Just then, he saw the "demon" from the projection walking slowly toward him.
And far behind her followed a figure in black robes whose Cultivation he couldn’t discern.
Ye Longtao immediately wiped the disdain and ridicule from his face, replacing it with an expression full of worship and longing.
He quickened his pace, bowing from a distance toward the black-robed Lin Qingfeng. His voice rang out loud and clear:
"This junior, Ye Longtao, has long heard that the Guixi Sect is the true orthodox path of Cultivation, teaching all without discrimination and allowing mortals to be reborn and embark on the supreme immortal journey!"
"Seeing the sect’s heavenly visage today, I now know the rumors are true!"
His gaze turned piously toward Su Ling’er’s image in the sky:
"Especially this Miss Su!
With such meager aptitude, she has achieved such divine might today!
Such heaven-defying methods, capable of turning the rotten into the miraculous—this junior yearns for them!
I beseech the immortal sect to grant this junior an opportunity! Let me enter the gates and serve the sect with utmost loyalty!"
With that, he bowed deeply, perfectly acting out the humility and desire of a path-seeker.
...
Watching Ye Longtao approach, Su Ling’er’s mind was in turmoil.
’I know that face!’
Ye Longtao!
’One of the Inner Sect Disciples from Qingxu Temple who loved nothing more than to mock us outer sect trash!’
’Everyone else was fine, but he always had to jump out and find fault.’
’Could it be that his disposition is the very reason he was sent here as a disposable pawn, just like the rest of us?’
Su Ling’er would never forget the time she walked past him, hugging a bundle of firewood taller than herself, and he had remarked with that sneering tone:
"Well, well, if it isn’t one of Qingxu Temple’s diligent outer sect disciples?
So, how many sticks did you chop today?
Feeling another step closer to the Great Dao, are we?
Then again, with aptitude like yours, there’s not much else you’re good for besides manual labor. It’s good you’re realizing that early."
Such blatant, face-to-face humiliation was rare even among Inner Sect Disciples. For that very reason, Su Ling’er remembered this face with particular clarity.
A wave of resentment rose from the bottom of her heart, but she quickly suppressed it.
She glanced at the figure on the distant hillside who was monitoring her and recited silently in her heart:
’For the sake of the righteous path and all the people of the world, this little personal grudge is nothing.’
Secretly, however, she had already split off a wisp of her Divine Sense, condensed it into a fine thread, and sent it into Ye Longtao’s ear:
[Su Ling’er]: Mr. Ye, I didn’t expect the Sect Leader to send you.
Ye Longtao was slightly startled.
’I can’t believe this outer sect girl actually recognizes me.’
But he was quickly relieved.
’A chosen one like myself is someone that these low-aptitude peasants can only look up to their entire lives. It’s only normal that they’d remember me.’
[Ye Longtao]: You’re too kind. I am merely here on the Sect Leader’s orders to investigate.
Su Ling’er had thought that upon meeting again, the first words out of his mouth would be his familiar old taunts.
’I didn’t expect him to have become so restrained.’
She didn’t dwell on it and quickly got to the point:
[Su Ling’er]: My Eldest Brother is watching from not far away. Mr. Ye, be careful.
However, Su Ling’er didn’t know that the moment before she spoke her warning, Ye Longtao had already been sneering inwardly.
He had noticed the figure on the distant hillside the instant he stepped through the mountain gate.
So, her warning sounded particularly ridiculous to him.
But his reply via Divine Sense was still calm:
[Ye Longtao]: Thank you for the reminder. I know what I’m doing.
Meanwhile, on the distant hillside, Lin Qingfeng was enjoying the scene at the mountain gate with great interest.
When he heard Ye Longtao’s passionate "sect-joining declaration," the corners of his mouth lifted uncontrollably into a satisfied smile.
Lin Qingfeng mentally gave a thumbs-up to the promotional video he had worked so hard to edit.
’Look at that!’
’Look at these results!’
’This new disciple actually watched the promo on the sky screen and deeply understood its true meaning!’
’The new disciple’s name is Ye Longtao. The ’Longtao’ part sounds just like ’bit player.’ Not a great omen, but that’s not important!’
Just as he was basking in the immense satisfaction of seeing his hard work pay off, preparing to enjoy the show a little longer, his brow suddenly furrowed without warning.
"Fuck."
He cursed under his breath.
Something completely unrelated to Cultivation or the sect had just popped into his head with extreme urgency.
Nirvana Biotech, a subsidiary of the Ashen Heaven Group—the parent company of the game *Ashen Heaven*—was having a global flash sale for its first-generation "Life Seed" repair potion, and it was about to start!
If you had over three thousand hours of playtime, you got a 20% off coupon.
’I almost forgot! If I don’t hurry, they might sell out!’
The moment that thought appeared, all thoughts of the sect’s grand ambitions and welcoming new disciples were thrown to the back of his mind.
Without another moment of hesitation, Lin Qingfeng’s thoughts shifted.
His figure instantly vanished, reappearing back in his cave residence, where he lay down on his jade bed, preparing to log off.
And in the instant before he left the hillside, he had the [Celestial Governor’s Profound Companion] take his exact place to continue the duty of supervising his little junior sister...
