Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Lu Xing Yao’s Challenge

Ye Chu Xue woke in the Eroding Wind Cave.

For a long moment, she stared blankly at the jagged ceiling, mind sluggish, memories scattered. Then everything rushed back at once—what happened before she blacked out, the pain, the panic.

“Ah—!”

She jolted upright, eyes frantic. “Where’s my stone?!”

She tried to lift both hands.

One arm didn’t move.

It hung limp at her side, useless.

Ye Chu Xue’s face changed. She’d been holding the stone before she passed out. It was gone. And her hand—no, her arm—how had it been broken?

She swallowed a healing pill, then forced herself to search through the pain. She combed the entire cave, every corner, every crack.

Nothing.

“How could this happen…? Where did my stone go?”

Her legs gave out. She dropped to the ground, face pale, panic flooding her chest. A stabbing pain pulsed near her heart, as if something important had been torn away.

It made her feel restless, wronged to the point of suffocating.

Thinking of everything that had happened over the last six months, she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She collapsed and sobbed.

Before transmigrating, she’d been a workhorse everyone pushed around. After transmigrating, she’d started as a despised five-spirit-root cultivator. She’d finally stumbled into a massive opportunity and changed into a chaotic spirit root, becoming Gu Qing Yuan’s disciple.

She hadn’t even had time to enjoy it.

Everything had turned into a mess again.

Why?

Why was Heaven treating her like this?

Ye Chu Xue’s heart had nowhere to lean. After all this time, she still felt like an outsider—someone who didn’t truly belong.

She bit down hard on her lower lip. Through tears, she forced herself to sit up.

Not everyone was like Song Wan Ning, born a favored genius with a bright future. Deep down, Ye Chu Xue envied her—and resented her.

That was why, when Gu Qing Yuan and his three disciples had all taken her side, a strange sense of achievement had swelled in her chest.

But now…

Ye Chu Xue pinched her thigh until pain spiked sharp and clean. She sucked in a breath, face twisting, and forced herself to stand. Step by step, she made her way toward the cave entrance.

Men were all spineless trash who bent with the wind.

And Heaven was no help either.

She could only rely on herself.

—

At the gates of the Heaven-Questioning Sect, a figure dropped from the sky. A long sword rested across his back, and black robes snapped in the wind.

“Lu Xing Yao of the Myriad Swords Sect is here to challenge Gu Qing Yuan of the Heaven-Questioning Sect.”

His low voice rolled toward the watchtower like thunder. The disciples on duty jolted as if struck.

“Lu Xing Yao of the Myriad Swords Sect?! Hurry—report to the Sect Master!”

“Why is True Lord Lu here? Is he looking for trouble?”

The guards exchanged uneasy glances, then immediately sent word into the Inner Sect. After that, they approached the gate with forced respect and invited Lu Xing Yao in.

The news spread like wildfire, racing through every corner of the Heaven-Questioning Sect.

The disciples were already on edge. Now they were stunned.

Was this the first shot? A test?

“Outrageous! The Myriad Swords Sect has no honor—they sent someone to probe us first!”

“That old bastard has some nerve!”

The Sect Master’s fury detonated. He slammed his hand across the desk and flipped it over, sending everything crashing to the floor.

All the pressure he’d been swallowing over the past days burst at once. He wanted to smash everything. Tear the sky open.

Why was every single thing a headache?

It was bad enough he had no time to cultivate. Now he was being crushed from every direction.

Ever since the ancestor reached the Ascension Stage and their status came under threat, he’d contacted those so-called “friends” in other factions, trying to pull them to the Heaven-Questioning Sect’s side.

Those bastards had turned their backs without hesitation—laughing, brushing him off with empty words.

He couldn’t force them, so he’d cut the connection in a rage.

He’d thought he could buy time.

But the Myriad Swords Sect came knocking now, arrogant and loud.

Outrageous!

“Quick! Go inform Gu Qing Yuan—tell him to prepare for the duel!”

Face flushed, the Sect Master ordered the Seventh Elder to deliver the message.

Then he paused, jaw clenched. “Wait. Go to the storeroom and bring the best pills you can. Make sure he recovers as much as possible. At a time like this, he can only win. He cannot lose.”

He snatched a key from his sleeve and shoved it into the Seventh Elder’s hand. The sect’s future was at stake—taking from the storeroom was justified.

“Yes! I’ll go right away!”

The Seventh Elder hurried off. If the Heaven-Questioning Sect was demoted, their resources would be cut. No one could pretend it didn’t concern them.

“Sect Master, Lu Xing Yao is already here. Will the other sects…”

The Fourth Elder paced anxiously, unable to sit still.

Normally, winning or losing a duel wouldn’t matter much. But now—

Hearing that, the Sect Master forced down his anger and swept his gaze across the elders present. “If we rise, we rise together. If we fall, we fall together. Don’t hide your little schemes right now.”

“We have to work together and get through this. Don’t rely on me for everything. Go think of solutions!”

He waved them away, dismissed everyone, and went alone to receive Lu Xing Yao.

Since it was “only a duel,” the lower the profile, the better. Ideally, only the Heaven-Questioning Sect would know.

But those old monsters in the Myriad Swords Sect were surely waiting for Lu Xing Yao’s report.

—

“Fellow Daoist Lu, you came all this way. Why didn’t you send word first? We’ve been discourteous.”

The Sect Master smoothed his expression into a warm smile and welcomed him with practiced ease.

Lu Xing Yao only nodded coolly. “Sorry to disturb you.”

“Not at all. It’s just that Junior Brother Gu was poisoned a few days ago and hasn’t recovered yet. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait a bit, Fellow Daoist Lu.”

The Sect Master spoke politely, then tried to guide him toward Guest-Welcoming Peak.

Lu Xing Yao refused.

“Since Gu Qing Yuan isn’t well, may I first meet Song Wan Ning?”

“Junior Sister Song?” The Sect Master froze, then nodded quickly. “Then I’ll ask first. I’m not sure if Junior Sister Song is in the sect.”

He took out a Voice-Transmission Talisman and sent a message to Song Wan Ning, then led Lu Xing Yao toward Cloudsky Peak.

All the way there, the Sect Master frowned, thoughts racing.

Why did Lu Xing Yao want to see Song Wan Ning?

Didn’t he know the engagement had been called off?

Since Gu Qing Yuan couldn’t fight, was he planning to pick on Song Wan Ning instead?

The Sect Master’s eyes brightened as if he’d found a path through the storm.

Song Wan Ning’s cultivation had risen again and again. If she could fight in Gu Qing Yuan’s place…

Perfect.