The night was deep and the cold wind howled like a wailing ghost. Amidst the cries, the howls of demonic beasts mixed in, echoing throughout the entire back mountain.

Zhong Yinyue trudged through the snow, sword in hand, making his way step by step toward the back mountain, surrounded by the howls of the beasts. Behind him were several disciples from Yuluan Palace.

“At midnight, we were just about to go to bed when we heard something calling from the back mountain. It sounded like a demonic beast. I remembered what Master taught us—that these creatures are usually easy to deal with. We didn’t want to disturb Master, thinking our own cultivation might be enough to help him out,” one disciple explained.

“We thought maybe there was a flaw in the barrier that allowed the beast to slip in, so Senior Brother Wen went to take a look,” another added.

“But when he looked, he found that the barrier had been broken open by something unknown, with a large hole that was still fresh. The back mountain was filled with the aura of thunder techniques, and their power was not to be underestimated. We didn’t dare act recklessly, so we mustered the courage to call for Master…” Su Yuying finished, holding a torch.

The wind blew, yet the flame on the torch remained undisturbed. If one looked closely, they would see that the torch was not wrapped in white cloth but was instead floating with a talisman that burned brightly.

Since it was a spell, it wouldn’t be easily extinguished by the wind.

“It’s thunder technique, so it must be a thunder beast,” Zhong Yinyue said, gripping his sword as he spoke in the cold wind. “Tianjue Sect is the number one immortal sect in the world, with the Seven Mountains blessed by heaven and earth, and many cultivators. The spiritual energy accumulated here naturally attracts these demonic beasts to come and feed…”

“This is common knowledge, so the Sect Leader had already ordered every elder to set up barriers on each mountain to guard against this… As a talisman cultivator, I should be more adept at spells than those sword or body cultivators. Yet, a demonic beast managed to slip in and break the barrier. If this gets out and the Sect Leader finds out, I might not die, but I’ll definitely be in for some serious trouble.”

“Speaking of which, don’t you find it strange, Master?” Wen Han said loudly. “You are a talisman cultivator, and you value these spells the most. Your barrier technique is such that even the elders from Guanghan Baiyu would have to speak softly around it. How could it be broken by a mere thunder beast?”

Zhong Yinyue wasn’t foolish; he could figure this out too. No matter how flattering the Yuluan people were, being young and becoming an elder in the number one immortal sect in the world meant they had some strength.

In the original setting, these demonic beasts had not cultivated wisdom. Although their powers varied, they were merely small monsters acting on instinct. Such creatures could not possibly shake the barrier of a talisman elder on their own.

It had to be Qian Yao! That scoundrel, who was publicly humiliated by Yuluan at the elder meeting, must have captured a thunder beast to come and ruin his barrier, trying to frame him for negligence!

What on earth did he want? With such a big event already on his plate, Zhong Yinyue was about to be busy like a headless fly, and he still had to deal with this mess!

Zhong Yinyue gritted his teeth, determined that one day he would definitely make him pay.

But right now, dealing with the uninvited guest on his mountain was the most urgent matter. With the original owner’s cultivation and spells still in his mind, taking care of a demonic beast shouldn’t be a problem.

It was just a demonic beast; he was an elder of Yuluan Palace after all.

As he pondered, the demonic beast let out a long howl. The sound was nearby, and Zhong Yinyue instinctively raised his hand to stop the three disciples behind him.

The disciples immediately halted.

Zhong Yinyue kept his hand raised, vigilantly scanning the surroundings.

The area fell silent, and no one dared to speak. Everyone tensed up, looking around.

Before long, sparks of thunder crackled around them, and the howls of the demonic beast grew louder.

“Master!” Su Yuying called out in panic.

“Step back!”

The three disciples quickly retreated as instructed.

In the snow-covered grass nearby, the wind rustled, and Zhong Yinyue immediately raised his hand, swiftly writing a talisman in the air.

Thunder erupted from his hand with greater force, heading straight for the rustling grass.

With a loud bang, the grass was blown to smithereens. A mournful howl followed as a black creature resembling a wild boar tumbled out.

One strike, and the surrounding thunder dissipated, allowing the disciples behind to breathe a sigh of relief.

Zhong Yinyue shook his hand, thinking to himself that thankfully, even if his writing looked like a dog’s paw, the talisman still worked.

He stepped forward and looked down at the thunder beast, now charred black from his lightning spell, lying motionless on the ground.

The disciples followed him closely.

Su Yuying bent down, curious. “Is this the thunder beast?”

“It’s my first time seeing a demonic beast with a thunder spiritual root…”

In this world, demonic beasts, like cultivators, also had different spiritual root attributes.

Spiritual roots were divided into general and mutated types—general spiritual roots were simply metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.

Mutated types included thunder, light, and ice.

These three types of mutated roots were known as异灵根 (yì líng gēn), extremely rare, appearing only once in a thousand miles.

Once they appeared, they were bound to be gifted individuals with superior strength.

For instance, among all the people in Tianjue Sect, Zhong Yinyue was the only one with a mutated spiritual root.

It was a pity that the gifted elder from Yuluan, for reasons unknown, preferred to flatter others rather than focus on his own cultivation.

Even the original author, that crazy person, said that if Yuluan wasn’t so mentally unstable and focused on cultivation, Qian Yao wouldn’t have dared to speak up at all.

But unfortunately, Elder Yuluan was indeed mentally unstable.

Demonic beasts with mutated spiritual roots were much harder to deal with than those with ordinary roots. They were not bound by the natural laws of mutual growth and restraint, inherently superior to them.

So when the disciples from Yuluan Palace saw the barrier broken and realized the beast was a mutated spiritual root, they immediately panicked. Although they had been in the sect for some time, the original owner had only focused on flattering others and hadn’t taught them much, leaving these kids with no experience of other mutated roots besides their own master.

Usually, demonic beasts couldn’t even enter Yuluan Mountain, so this was their first time seeing a thunder beast. They were all very curious, circling around it and chattering excitedly.

“Alright, it’s just a demonic beast that looks like a wild boar. What’s so interesting about it?” Zhong Yinyue said. “Bury it here and go back to sleep. Where’s the place where the barrier was broken? I’ll go take a look.”

Wen Han quickly pointed him in the right direction.

Zhong Yinyue followed his direction and instructed them to hurry back to sleep.

Walking through the snow to the mountain’s edge, Zhong Yinyue looked up at the barrier and indeed saw that it had been damaged.

He squinted, placing his hand on the barrier. After feeling it for a moment, he sensed a power of fire spiritual root within the thunder barrier.

What a coincidence, it was Geng Mingji, who had both fire and earth spiritual roots.

That old man had bad intentions.

Zhong Yinyue muttered curses under his breath, raised his hand to repair the barrier, and reinforced it vigorously.

After doing all this, he returned to Yuluan Palace.

Once inside, he took off his fur coat and looked around, only to find that Shen Changxue had already disappeared.

She must have gone back.

Zhong Yinyue sighed, thinking about how he might be called by the Sect Leader for punishment tomorrow, and his head started to ache.

Not only did he let a demonic beast in, but he might also be locked up in the heavenly prison for a few days…

Zhong Yinyue felt like he wanted to die.

The next morning, as expected, a messenger eagle crashed into the window of Yuluan Palace with a loud bang, waking Zhong Yinyue from his dreams.

Zhong Yinyue was utterly speechless. He climbed out of bed, opened the window to retrieve the eagle, and opened the letter to find that it was indeed a summons from the Sect Leader to meet him at the Upper Xuan Palace.

After putting on his layers of immortal robes, Zhong Yinyue stepped outside and looked at the sundial, realizing it was only five in the morning.

He hadn’t woken up this early since graduating high school!

—

“Tianjue Sect…”

The Sect Leader of Upper Xuan sat at his desk, holding a scripture. His eyes were on the book, and his mouth moved slowly as he spoke.

“Our Tianjue Sect is the number one immortal sect in the world…”

“This place is blessed by heaven and earth, rich in spiritual energy. Demonic beasts, ghosts, and even those infamous demonic cultivators, ghost cultivators, and beast cultivators… who isn’t eyeing us covetously?”

The Upper Xuan Palace was vast, and Zhong Yinyue stood silently before the Sect Leader’s desk.

“Is there anyone in the sect who doesn’t know about this? If everyone were like you, with so many flaws in the barrier technique… a small demonic beast could come and go as it pleases… wouldn’t Tianjue Sect be easily invaded?”

Zhong Yinyue bowed respectfully. “You are right, Sect Leader.”

“Don’t think I’m being harsh,” the Sect Leader sighed. “I’m not trying to scare you… You are already an elder of the sect. I often talk about these matters to remind you to keep them in mind.”

“Although the cultivation world seems peaceful on the surface, there are undercurrents flowing beneath.”

“That Demon Lord Wu Cang, on the surface, has reconciled with the righteous sects, willing to seek common ground with immortal cultivators… but those demonic cultivators rely on devouring human essence and taking lives to cultivate, so they won’t remain peaceful for long… He’s the kind of person who would eat people without spitting out bones, and at any moment, he could attack Tianjue Sect…”

“The Ghost King Bai Chan has also been in seclusion for quite some time… and the Demon Queen Gui Kuixin has also been missing in recent years.”

“The leaders of these demonic cultivators, ghost cultivators, and beast cultivators are all mysteriously absent. We must not let our guard down… How could you let the barrier fall?”

The Sect Leader was deeply pained.

“It’s Yuluan’s negligence.” Zhong Yinyue bowed again. “Rest assured, Sect Leader, Yuluan guarantees there will not be a next time. From now on, I will patrol the barrier daily. If there is another mistake, if the barrier has a flaw, I will bear the same punishment.”

“There’s no need to make such a harsh vow.” The Sect Leader set down the scripture in his hand. “Your attitude is quite good… If it were in the past, you would have been grinning and flattering me, hoping I wouldn’t notice. Today, you are brave enough to admit your mistakes and are quite serious… You even have a plan in mind for how to correct it.”

“Yesterday at the elder meeting, although Qian Yao was quite dissatisfied with you, I see that you are no longer flattering him, which is quite comforting.”

“If he makes things difficult for you, don’t be afraid.” The Sect Leader spoke earnestly. “One must know how to correct oneself. Since you have chosen the right path, you must never look back.”

“Yuluan will heed the Sect Leader’s teachings.”

The Sect Leader nodded in satisfaction.

“Go on,” he said. “Remember your words and patrol daily. This time, I won’t ask too much. If there’s a next time, I will definitely punish you severely.”

Just like that, he let him off?

Zhong Yinyue was surprised in his heart, but on the surface, he lowered his head even more. “Yes.”

Once he left the Upper Xuan Palace, Zhong Yinyue let out a sigh of relief.

Then he thought about it and felt it was normal; the Sect Leader wasn’t a fool. He could figure out that the barrier had been broken by a demonic beast.

Even if Zhong Yinyue was a bit scatterbrained, a talisman cultivator who could sit in the position of elder wouldn’t be easily defeated by a demonic beast.

He knew someone was deliberately causing trouble, so he just called him in for a scolding. After all, neglecting to notice someone tampering with his barrier was indeed Zhong Yinyue’s own fault.

Generally speaking, if someone tampered with or approached the barrier, the palace master would be able to sense it. It seemed that the original owner had a high opinion of himself, thinking no one could touch his barrier, which is why he hadn’t set it up meticulously.

Thinking this, Zhong Yinyue looked down at his empty hands.

He had just handed over the draft that Shen Changxue wrote yesterday to the Sect Leader, who asked him to come back at dusk to discuss it further.

He would just wait until dusk.

Zhong Yinyue rubbed his neck and yawned.

He set off back to Yuluan Palace. As soon as he landed with his sword, he saw someone standing in front of his palace door.

It was still snowing in the sky, and a thin layer of snow had settled on the person’s shoulders.

Footsteps approached from behind, and the person turned around.

Seeing Zhong Yinyue, they turned back and bowed to him. “Elder Yuluan.”

“Shen Changxue?” Zhong Yinyue was taken aback. “Why are you here so early?”

“Yesterday, the elder left in a hurry, and I was worried about you,” Shen Changxue smiled at him. “Did I cause you any trouble?”

“Not at all,” Zhong Yinyue quickly opened the palace door. “Come in, come in! It’s snowing heavily outside.”