Chapter 9: The Eight-Curve Long Cup

The Dayan Sect is known as the “Eight-Curve Long Cup,” both for its shape and as its mountain-protecting array.

The Dayan Sect is enveloped within an upside-down eight-curve long cup, so vast that it stretches endlessly, blocking the sky and sun. The long cup is made of the hardest crystal ore from the Kunyu realm, fully transparent, pure and flawless. When sunlight refracts into the cup, it appears the same as outside.

The top is an oval-shaped low circular base, the hardest part of the long cup, capable of withstanding attacks from five Tribulation-crossing cultivators.

The body has eight horizontally layered curved petals, corresponding to the eight classifications of the Dayan Sect: array formation, talisman crafting, alchemy, weapon forging, and so on.

At the center is the largest teleportation array in the Kunyu realm, capable of transporting hundreds of thousands of people at once. Since the array was carved, it has never been used. Above the array are the Dayan Sect’s Law Enforcement Hall, the main peak, and the dormitories of the many disciples.

To enter the Dayan Sect, one must pass through the gaps between the curves, with a total of eight entrances.

Yu Xiaowu stood before the endless teleportation array, lost in thought, muttering to himself, “Such a huge array… how much spiritual energy would it take?”

He Guang scanned the surroundings with a calm gaze. Dayan Sect disciples were coming and going, walking quickly, and she spoke lightly, “The reason the teleportation array is built beneath the dormitories is because of this. The spiritual energy leaking from the disciples gathers into the array.”

Yu Xiaowu took small steps forward. After a whole night, his tattered monk robe had become even more wrinkled, making him look like a beggar. There was a faint pink tint in the corners of his eyes. He wasn’t used to drinking, but he sure knew how to expel the alcohol smell.

“Senior Sister, should we go find Liu Youyou now?”

Disciples of the Dayan Sect nearby all glanced over.

He Guang looked at him, her brows slightly furrowed, and spoke in confusion, “What does she have to do with me? We’re here to find Ji Chanzi.”

“Huh? That Heart Demon…”

Before he could finish speaking, He Guang slapped him on the forehead.

“Lead the way, and don’t talk too much.”

Liu Youyou’s master is named Yuan Ji, a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage.

In an era where Golden Core cultivators are as common as dogs and Nascent Soul cultivators walk the streets, Yuan Ji was not outstanding enough to turn heads. He didn’t have the qualifications to open a peak and take disciples; he only held a minor position in the Dayan Sect, where he had a small palace, and opened his door to take in students.

He Guang had no personal connection with Yuan Ji, and the Wanfo Sect had no ties with him either, so she had no intention of visiting him.

Instead, she found one of Yuan Ji’s disciples, Liu Youyou’s senior sister, and asked her where Ji Chanzi was staying.

Green Luo looked at her with some surprise and told her that three days ago, Liu Youyou took a sect mission, and Ji Chanzi went with her.

He Guang’s smile froze on her face. Green Luo kindly added, “You can go to the Mission Hall and see. Perhaps you can ask about their mission.”

The two then turned and headed for the Mission Hall.

In most large sects, the areas with the most traffic are the dormitories, the dining hall, and the Mission Hall.

These three places are where only the sect’s disciples go. If disciples from other sects appear, it’s like a drop of water falling into hot oil—causing a stir. He Guang felt like she was being stared at by a crowd as if she were a monkey in a circus.

The onlookers were not at all shy and immediately began gossiping right in front of her.

“Another one from the Wanfo Sect.”

“Could it be that they’re after Liu Youyou again?”

“No, I think it’s more like they’re here to find Ji Chanzi.”

He Guang’s expression stiffened. She silently removed the prayer beads from her arm, turning each bead one by one, which made Yu Xiaowu nervous and uneasy. He quickly grabbed her hand and urged, “Senior Sister, don’t be impulsive. You won’t be able to take on so many people.”

He Guang gave him a benevolent smile, her eight white teeth gleaming, and the beads in her hand spun even faster.

To hell with Ji Chanzi, if you want to flirt, must you make it so well-known?

He Guang walked straight to the counter without a sideways glance. “Fellow Daoist, I’m looking for Ji Chanzi from my sect. I’ve learned that he went on a mission with your sect’s Daoist Liu. I wonder if you could tell me where their mission is located?”

In the sect, mission details and locations aren’t private, as the disciples at the Mission Hall are aware of them when the task is assigned. It was the first time that disciples from another sect wanted to know.

He Guang thought to herself that since the Wanfo Sect and the Dayan Sect have always had a friendly relationship, they would likely give her some face.

The Foundation Establishment cultivator behind the counter paused for a moment, then realized what she meant.

“Senior, please wait. I’ll go check.”

He Guang nodded, thinking he must be asking his superior, but she didn’t get a chance to wait for him to return.

“Why are you looking for my disciple?”

He Guang turned toward the voice. It was a middle-aged man with a serious expression and long, flowing beard—Yuan Ji. She quickly composed herself, thinking, I found the junior, and now the senior shows up. How troublesome.

She paused for a moment, then smiled, cupping her hands in greeting as she said, “Greetings, Senior. I am looking for Ji Chanzi from my sect regarding an important matter.” She placed emphasis on the words “my sect.”

Yuan Ji furrowed his brows.

“I don’t have Ji Chanzi’s contact information. I learned that he went on a mission with your sect’s disciples, and I was hoping to learn his whereabouts from your sect.”

He Guang thought to herself that her words were flawless and could not be criticized, but to her surprise, Yuan Ji didn’t play by the usual rules.

Yuan Ji flicked his sleeve. “What will you do after you find Ji Chanzi?”

He Guang’s brows twitched slightly, and a trace of impatience flashed in her eyes. She thought to herself, What does it matter to you once I find him? But on the surface, she remained composed and respectfully replied, “Of course, I will bring him back to the Wanfo Sect. Master Zhang has something to ask of Ji Chanzi.”

She really didn’t expect that, after mentioning Master Zhang, Yuan Ji would still be so overbearing.

Yuan Ji glanced at her sideways. “I’ve heard that the practice of the Wangqing Zen focuses on the Supreme Wangqing path. To attain enlightenment, one must first have emotions, then let them go. Has Ji Chanzi taken my disciple as a stepping stone on his way to immortality?”

He Guang’s expression froze for a moment, feeling a bit awkward. She wasn’t a worm in Ji Chanzi’s stomach, so how could she know what he was thinking? According to the rules of Wangqing Zen, though, this was likely the case.

But whether Ji Chanzi truly fell in love while struggling to break free from Wangqing Zen, He Guang didn’t know.

He Guang carefully chose her words and cautiously replied, “I am not aware of the entanglements between Ji Chanzi and Senior’s disciple.”

The Dayan Sect disciples watching immediately exchanged looks, their expressions skeptical. How fake is that? Something this big, and you say you don’t know?

He Guang maintained a serious expression, unaffected by their looks. In politics, the first thing is to have thick skin and be willing to take risks. When the time comes, for the sake of利益, you should even be willing to expose your own backside.

Yuan Ji’s expression softened a bit. “So, you’re not here to break them apart?”

“I am only here to bring Ji Chanzi back. I do not concern myself with anything else.”

He Guang: This pile of muck, who would want to get involved in it?

Yuan Ji’s expression cleared slightly as he spoke, “In that case, you need not bring Ji Chanzi back. I will take matters into my own hands. Ji Chanzi can leave Wangqing Zen, join my sect, and harmonize with my disciple. Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

He Guang’s mind snapped when she heard those words.

What? What did you just say?

She didn’t have time to put on a respectful, elder-loving pose. She waved her hand, “Wait, wait, I’m still stuck on the ‘you’ll take charge’ part. My thoughts haven’t caught up—could you say that again?”

Yuan Ji, displeased, spoke more harshly, “I said I will take charge. Ji Chanzi will leave Wangqing Zen, join my sect, and spend day and night with my disciple. In the future, we can even hold a grand dual cultivation ceremony.”

He Guang’s expression was like she had just eaten a fly’s droppings. “You take charge? What kind of ‘charge’ are you taking?”

There were too many points to criticize, and she didn’t know where to start.

Insulted by a junior, Yuan Ji’s face turned pale. Having reached the Yuan Ying stage, no junior had ever dared speak such disrespect to him.

Yuan Ji’s lips tightened, his face showing undisguised contempt. “Ji Chanzi and my disciple are a perfect match—young talent and beauty. If you can’t support their relationship, then fine, but why point fingers here?”

He Guang was both angry and amused. Is this person an idiot?

She ripped the aquamarine bead off her arm and began to turn it, her words firing out like machine gun shots at Yuan Ji.

“Who do you think you are, making decisions for Ji Chanzi? He’s a member of the Wanfo Sect! If you take charge of him, what happens to the Wanfo Sect’s face? Ji Chanzi’s master, Zhang Chanzhu, is at the Great Ascension stage, and you’re just at the Yuan Ying stage—who gave you the right to speak up?”

“Joining your sect? I don’t know if Ji Chanzi’s brain got caught in the door, or if yours did, or if you two are both equally out of your minds.”

“Heh, a grand dual cultivation ceremony? Only a Yuan Ying cultivator can hold such a ceremony, not two little Foundation Establishment cultivators. The most they can do is drink a cup of celebratory wine. By the time they hold a dual cultivation ceremony, your old body will be halfway in the ground.”

He Guang’s face twisted into a mocking smile, her words dripping with sarcasm toward Yuan Ji’s cultivation and abilities. She had long been irritated by the disdainful expression he wore. After centuries of cultivation, he had only reached the Yuan Ying stage—who was he to look down on her?

“On the away game, one should at least show some respect to the host. I didn’t expect this guy to be tough too—give him an inch and he dares to open the dye vat.

Yuan Ji was so angry that his whole body trembled. He pointed at He Guang, gasping for breath but unable to speak.

He Guang lowered his eyes and swatted away the finger.

‘As per the rules, the Wanfo Sect allows disciples to switch sects. However, Ji Chanzi practices the orthodox method of the Wangqing Zen, which cannot be passed on. If leaving the sect, one must abandon all their cultivation and start over from scratch.’

‘To be honest, I don’t care about their little issues. The young ones are inexperienced and, in their naivety, lost in love. It’s understandable. What I don’t understand is how you also let that kind of love cloud your judgment.’

He Guang’s gaze flickered, suppressing his investigation into Liu Youyou and avoiding any mention of it, subtly guiding Yuan Ji’s thoughts toward Ji Chanzi.

The onlookers, especially Yu Xiaowu, were so shocked that their melon fell from their hands. They couldn’t help but cover their mouths, thinking: Who am I? Where am I? What’s going on?”

He patted the nearby cultivator from the Dayan Sect, pointed to his head, and whispered, ‘Friend, does this senior have some issues here?’

The cultivator’s expression showed a bit of awkwardness, as if embarrassed, and he stammered, ‘Senior Yuan Ji wasn’t like this before, maybe he accidentally bumped his head.’

In his memory, Senior Yuan Ji was a dignified, meticulous, and diligent elder.

How did he suddenly become like this?

Someone quietly suggested, ‘Should we go help him? After all, Senior Yuan Ji is one of our own, and he’s being bullied right in front of us.’

‘But, Senior was at fault first. Intervening might make us look foolish.’

Just as everyone was torn between helping what’s right or helping their own, Yuan Ji’s anger reached its peak.

Yuan Ji couldn’t hear the whispers of the crowd, but from their expressions, he could tell it was nothing good.

His lips moved, his beard trembled, and with his Golden Core cultivation, how dare they speak to me like this? This is absolutely outrageous.

‘You brat with yellow hair, don’t know your place.'”

“He Guang initially felt some regret. She wondered if her anger had gotten the best of her and whether she had jeopardized her relationship with the Dayan Sect.

The Wanfo Sect and the Dayan Sect had always been closely allied—nothing that she and Yuan Ji could shake.

But if the Dayan Sect put her on their blacklist, it would cause trouble for her whenever she needed to visit them again in the future.

Yuan Ji was bullying her too much.

When she first arrived, she had greeted him respectfully, calling him ‘Senior’ again and again. She had never been this polite even with the elders of the Wanfo Sect—she almost wanted to put him on a lotus throne. Why not just go along with things? Why insist on causing trouble, especially when it wasn’t necessary? Was he hoping to stir up a conflict?

If the upper echelons of the Dayan Sect wanted to protect this madman, then their judgment probably wasn’t any better.

He Guang weighed it in her mind. The other party was clearly in the wrong, and her mistake wasn’t too serious.

She had clashed with him once or twice—well, maybe a few times—but it wasn’t a big deal.”

“I was discussing right and wrong with Senior, so why did you call me a ‘brat with yellow hair’? Are you out of words because you know you’re in the wrong?”

Yuan Ji’s face darkened, his expression turning ferocious as he gathered his energy and struck out with his palm toward He Guang.

He Guang’s lips curled into a smile. He made the first move.

She took a few steps back symbolically, looking as though she couldn’t resist the attack.

Her arm hung loosely, her palm showing no strength, and her steps were unsteady. It didn’t look like a strike from someone at the Nascent Soul stage.

Trash.

He Guang stood firm, quickly wrapping the blue gemstone around her arm. She gathered her energy in her palm, ready to show him what true palm techniques were. As soon as her palm struck, Yuan Ji’s expression changed drastically. When he tried to counterattack, both of their techniques were intercepted simultaneously.

He Guang’s heart sank. This person was no ordinary opponent.

She narrowed her eyes, looking at the newcomer.

He was wearing the white disciple robe of the Dayan Sect, with a golden trim around the hem. On his arm, he wore a red armband with the character “Fa” (Law), indicating that he was a core disciple of the Law Enforcement Hall.

“Feng Yao.

The top performer in the Foundation Establishment competition years ago.

If nothing unexpected happens, he is likely to become the next Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall of the Dayan Sect.

He Guang was the first to retract her move and cupped her fists toward Feng Yao, the unspoken meaning being ‘Apologies, brother.’ She then complimented, ‘It’s been a long time, Senior Brother Feng. Your cultivation has improved a lot.’

Feng Yao smiled modestly, exchanging pleasantries: ‘Junior Sister’s palm technique has also improved greatly.’

Yuan Ji watched the two of them greet each other while he was being ignored, feeling dissatisfied. According to their cultivation levels, Feng Yao should have greeted him first.

He cleared his throat to grab their attention and interjected, ‘Nephew Feng Yao, this person trespassed into the sect and offended authority.’

He Guang smiled inwardly upon hearing him accuse her first. What a fool—he would jump into any trap he saw.”

“Feng Yao’s smile stiffened. Seeing Yuan Ji’s self-righteous attitude, his head began to ache.

Yuan Ji spoke with such confidence and reason, yet none of his arguments held any ground. Even if Feng Yao wanted to smooth things over, there was no way to do so.

He Guang had come with an invitation, but it wasn’t addressed to Yuan Ji—it was the standard invitation for general visitors, meant for ordinary cultivators and mortals. The accusation of offending authority—clearly, you struck first, and so many people witnessed it. If you’re going to lie, at least set the stage first.

He Guang wore a mocking smile. Want to smooth things over? Your clueless teammate has already taken up all the space; you have nowhere to go.

Feng Yao maintained his professional smile, feeling mentally exhausted.

Since there was no room to smooth things over, he decided to pour some concrete and seal it.”