Chapter 50
Chapter 50: Zhe Liu
“This is way too hard.”
Yu Liu Ya looked trapped on all sides. Then his eyes lit up. “What if I go out with you?”
“Huh?” Hu Qing stared at him. “At a time like this, Sect Master, how can you leave the sect to fend for itself? Aren’t there plenty of Ancestors? Mahayana Stage, Integration Stage, Divine Transformation Stage—any one of them is stronger than you.”
“….” It was true. Still, it sounded awful.
“None of the Ancestors can move,” Yu Liu Ya said, his face full of the misery of a man who’d run out of people. “With the laws of the Immortal Realm tilting toward little li realm, every Mahayana Stage Ancestor is in seclusion to break through. Once they succeed, our sect will have an immortal of our own—”
Hu Qing blinked. So all the Mahayana Stage Ancestors were in seclusion. Then why had that Mahayana Stage old master from Treasure Visage Mountain still had time to take a kid out for a stroll? That had to be for fun.
“It’s also a rare chance for the Integration Stage Ancestors to break into Mahayana, and for the Divine Transformation Stage to reach Integration,” Yu Liu Ya went on. “If our Nascent Soul Stage generation weren’t so useless, they’d all be in seclusion too.”
He spread his hands, as if laying out a battlefield map. “So right now, Mahayana Stage must stay in seclusion. Integration Stage is forced to stay out and hold the fort. Divine Transformation Stage is the main force guarding the sect. As for us… we run errands. We pass messages.”
Hu Qing’s expression stayed flat. “So Mahayana Stage, Integration Stage, Divine Transformation Stage—none of them can move.”
“What else would it be?” Yu Liu Ya snapped, eyes wide. “If Hu Nuan and the others hadn’t run into trouble, Martial Uncle Chan Ming wouldn’t have dragged people away by force. That’s why Zhaohua Sect can’t move right now. We can’t afford a fight.”
He was so anxious his mouth looked like it was about to blister. “And don’t forget, Heaven’s Grace Continent still needs guards.”
One reason was defense and gathering information. The other was simpler—heaven-sent opportunities and treasures were there, and of course they wanted a share.
In short, little li realm was in a bad position.
Zhaohua Sect was even worse, after being undermined by its own people.
There was nothing left to say. Hu Qing and Shui Xin exchanged a look sharp enough to kill.
Yu Liu Ya saw it and went pale. “What are you planning? It’s not that you can’t, it’s that we don’t have people. The Ancestors can’t move.”
Now was exactly the kind of world-shaking moment when breakthroughs came easy. Any stage, any leap—almost guaranteed success.
They were on the edge of a miracle: Integration Stage rising to Mahayana, Divine Transformation Stage rising to Integration. A once-in-ten-thousand-years chance they absolutely could not ruin.
If even one person failed, Yu Liu Ya would die of heartbreak.
Hu Qing understood. Those who’d left and come back weren’t truly on Zhaohua Sect’s side anymore. Only the ones the sect had raised and supported all along would care about it.
It was a pity. Immortals were suppressed by the Heavenly Dao. If she could drag a few great experts in, killing one or two wouldn’t be hard.
But she couldn’t pull in a single helper, and she still couldn’t back down.
They were already setting their sights on Hu Nuan. From the sound of it, it wasn’t going to be a good place to end up. If she didn’t strike now, she’d regret it.
“Senior Brother,” she said, voice steady. “Who is he? Where is he?”
Yu Liu Ya sucked in a breath. She meant it.
Shui Xin didn’t spare him. “Why are you acting surprised? Isn’t this exactly what you wanted—Hu Qing solving your problem for you?”
Yu Liu Ya’s ears went red.
Hu Qing jabbed Shui Xin in the side. “We’re in the same boat.”
Shui Xin lifted one brow, a hint of wickedness in his eyes. “Then ask your dear Senior Brother how much he’s willing to contribute.”
Shui Xin: “….”
Yu Liu Ya: “….”
In the end, he couldn’t be shameless with his own people. Besides, he’d planned to help from the start—just not like this. He’d wanted to borrow someone else’s strength to scare that Ancestor off. Killing an immortal was another matter entirely.
But if Hu Qing insisted… his blood was stirring too.
He crooked a finger at Hu Qing and switched to mind-transmission. “Our sect still has a few good treasures.”
Shui Xin turned his head slightly, as if debating whether to tell him he could hear that.
Hu Qing thought for a beat. “Then we’ll go over what we have and decide what we need.”
“Then do it now. Here.” Yu Liu Ya stood. “I’ll stand guard.”
Before Hu Qing could answer, he strode out of the main hall and the barrier and actually took up position outside.
Shui Xin looked at Hu Qing.
“What are you staring at?” Hu Qing hissed. “Get over here. Plan.”
Shui Xin shuffled closer, grumbling, “I’m telling you now, I’ve got zero confidence.”
Outside, Yu Liu Ya stood with his hands behind his back. The scenery was bright and beautiful, but to him it looked like gloom.
He forced himself to breathe. Don’t panic. Don’t rush. Once Zhaohua Sect got through this, it would leap the Dragon Gate and become a true dragon. Someday, it would stand tall as a real great immortal sect.
He chose not to think about how even native immortal sects in the Immortal Realm could fail, or rise only to fall again.
You needed hope to keep moving.
A cool breeze swept over the mountain. The sky was high and filled with clouds, fat and layered, sunlight turning them white and soft with gold edges. It looked like a heavenly realm—like one of those grand immortal sects, rich and bustling.
Even the clouds’ outlines looked like towering gate pillars, carved with dragons and phoenixes.
Good omen, good omen. When Zhaohua Sect grew big and strong, he’d build pillars like that too. Just looking at them would feel impressive.
As he was daydreaming, a figure stepped out of thin air in front of him.
The man wore a purple-gold robe, cinched with a white jade belt. He landed, glanced at Yu Liu Ya, and frowned faintly, his carefully groomed brows pinching together.
This generation’s Sect Master looked like an idiot. Zhaohua Sect truly was worse with every generation.
Still, his heart was kind. He would take the few disciples who were still passable to an immortal sect. That would at least repay the years of cultivation and support.
“Yu Liu Ya.”
The man called again, colder. “Yu Liu Ya?”
“Yu Liu Ya!”
Only the third shout snapped Yu Liu Ya back to himself. He jolted and hurriedly bowed. “Immortal Venerable Zhe Liu.”
The barrier didn’t block sound. Inside the hall, Hu Qing and Shui Xin threw themselves behind the window. The gauze prevented outsiders from peering in, but let those inside see out clearly.
They both saw the stranger. They saw Yu Liu Ya standing before him, obedient and respectful.
An immortal.
Hu Qing clicked her tongue. The man looked like a handsome youth in his early twenties, but she could feel the age behind him—an old monster in a borrowed springtime face.
And that robe… It was already flashy, but he’d embroidered it with oversized flowers, packed so tightly they looked like the clouds on the horizon. Too much. Too loud. Not a good sign.
Shui Xin clicked his tongue too. That face wasn’t his original. Only someone dissatisfied with how they looked would pack on powder and oil like that.
His real face must be too ugly to show.
Shui Xin had no idea he’d accidentally guessed right.
Zhe Liu’s original appearance really had been unremarkable. After his ascension, he’d even been disfigured once. He’d gone to great lengths to get a new face, and he cherished it enough to pamper it obsessively.
Hu Qing and Shui Xin both found themselves thinking the same thing: Immortal Venerable. What realm was that supposed to be?
It wasn’t a realm at all—just an honorific.
They couldn’t tell what he truly was, but Juan Bu could. Immortals were more familiar to him than cultivators. With one glance, he had an answer.
“A Spirit Immortal,” Juan Bu said.
Hu Qing’s heart jumped. “That’s it? Just a Spirit Immortal?”
Juan Bu sounded almost amused. “Heavenly Dao suppression must be heavy. Anything above Spirit Immortal probably can’t enter. Most lower realms reject powerful immortals trying to sneak in.”
He paused, then added, “At best, he’s a Spirit Immortal Lord.”
For no reason Hu Qing could name, she exhaled. “Can you tell anything else?”
“That depends,” Juan Bu said. “Let’s see how he fights.”