The second elder of the Yitian Sect claimed to have brought thirty Qi refining disciples and twelve Foundation Establishment disciples. They appeared to have more people than the Taihua Mountain faction, but in reality, if they were to engage in a battle, the twelve Foundation Establishment disciples from the Yitian Sect may not be able to defeat the four Foundation Establishment disciples from the Taihua Mountain faction.

The four Foundation Establishment disciples from Taihua Mountain were no older than fifty years old in terms of cultivation, with the youngest being under thirty. On the other hand, the youngest Foundation Establishment disciple from the Yitian Sect was already over sixty years old, and most of the disciples had relied on eating elixirs to forcefully break through to Foundation Establishment, making their foundations weak.

Among the twelve Foundation Establishment disciples from the Yitian Sect, only one was in the middle stage, while the rest were all in the early stage. In comparison, there was only one early-stage Foundation Establishment disciple and one mid-stage Foundation Establishment disciple from the Taihua Mountain faction, with the other two in the late-stage.

The strength of the major sects was beyond the imagination of these ordinary sects. Therefore, when Elder Liu heard that the leader of the Taihua Mountain faction was Lu Jianqing, he immediately reported it to the sect, and the Yitian Sect sent Cao Haining, a Golden Core cultivator, to personally welcome Lu Jianqing.

Now that both parties had gathered, the first thing to do was to integrate and prepare to enter the ruins.

The disciples from the Yitian Sect couldn’t help but widen their eyes and scrutinize every member of Lu Jianqing’s group when they saw them. Many young girls couldn’t help but cast their gaze towards Lu Jianqing, and saw him standing tall and straight under the clear sky, dressed in a green robe with a small bright red mole between his eyebrows, giving off an elegant and extraordinary aura.

“That should be the senior brother from Taihua Mountain, right? He must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator!”

“I think he must be in the late stage of Foundation Establishment. After all, he’s from Taihua Mountain.”

“Yes, he must be in the late stage of Foundation Establishment! He’s really powerful.”

Although most of these comments were whispered, Lu Jianqing and his group couldn’t hear them. However, seeing the gazes of these young girls and the way they were pointing and whispering, the four Foundation Establishment disciples from Taihua Mountain smiled knowingly at each other.

After both parties were ready, they were led into the ruins by Zhao Elder from the Yitian Sect.

After the two teams were fully equipped, they were led by Elder Zhao from the Yitian Sect into the mountains. The winding mountains converged like streams into the sea, finally gathering at a towering peak, where they abruptly stopped. Luo Jianqing flew up into the sky with his flying treasure, leading all the disciples to gather on the deck and overlooking the rugged mountain range below.

On the treasure ship, Elder Zhao suddenly flew into the air and took out a round and smooth white jade bead. The disciples of Taihua Mountain looked at it curiously, except for Luo Jianqing, who swept his gaze lightly and looked away.

Elder Zhao threw the white bead into the air and formed a virtual image with his fingers. The white bead emitted a dazzling light, and a beam of bright light pierced through the clouds and directly hit the peak of the mountain. After a moment, a loud rumbling sound came from the sky and earth, and a white light curtain suddenly appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

Elder Zhao said with a cupped fist, “Friend Luo, ahead is the remains of the Nascent soul True Immortal that we discovered this time. I can still lead everyone forward, please follow me!”

Luo Jianqing nodded, “Please lead the way!”

Soon, the flying treasure ship flew through the light curtain and entered it. Everyone felt that the world was changing, and Luo Jianqing put the treasure ship away in his storage ring and looked up at this strange place.

A thirty-three zhang high black iron gate stood in front of everyone, emitting heavy pressure. It was called a gate, but it didn’t have any door panels and was wide open, allowing others to enter. The disciples stood in front of the gate, feeling as small as a drop in the ocean.

Suddenly seeing such a door, the disciples couldn’t help but look around, feeling a bit bewildered.

Elder Zhao loudly said, “The Lord Beidou True Immortal is best at the North Star Seven Stars Array. This gate is the first challenge of the remains, called the Shaking Light. There are many small characters written next to the gate, clearly stating the requirements for entering. Those who enter this gate must not be over a hundred years old and their cultivation must be below the Nascent Soul stage. Previously, our Yitian Sect also sent cultivators who did not meet the requirements in, but they were all bounced out by the gate and suffered serious injuries.”

As soon as Elder Zhao finished speaking, Luo Jianqing looked at a new disciple from Taihua Mountain. He was the scion of a prestigious family who had won first place in the competition among the peaks before. The disciple nodded understandingly and stepped into the gate. He was not hindered at all and soon entered. Then he turned around and said, “Senior Brother, there is no problem.

As soon as the phrase “Senior Brother” was uttered, the disciples of the Yitian Sect were stunned, as if they had been struck by lightning, and they all stood there in shock.

“Senior… Senior Brother? The Senior Brother of Mount Taihua?!”

The crowd looked at the calm and collected young man who stood at the forefront of the crowd with incredulous eyes. Although Luo Jianqing seemed to have not noticed anything, he arranged for every disciple of Mount Taihua to enter first. When there was only him left, he said, “Elder Zhao, please.”

Zhao Yufeng had felt embarrassed at first, as this was a relic discovered by the Yitian Sect, but they had to let the disciples of Mount Taihua enter first. When  Luo Jianqing  remained in place and did not enter first, Elder Zhao looked gratefully at him, bowed, and then let his own disciples enter.

After the last disciple of the Yitian Sect had entered, only a few elders of the sect and Luo Jianqing were left outside the door.

 Luo Jianqing looked at the elders of the Yitian Sect indifferently, then his toes touched the ground, his figure turned into a green light, and he swiftly entered the door.

From that moment on, the affairs inside the door were no longer related to outsiders, and the Yitian Sect’s mission to guide them had ended.

After entering the relic of the Beidou True Immortal, the oldest Foundation Building disciple of the Yitian Sect timidly approached Luo Jianqing to discuss matters.  Luo Jianqing spoke gently, saying, “You can walk with the disciples of Mount Taihua, don’t worry.”

The man immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside the black Iron Gate was a quiet path with no light. The disciples of Mount Taihua took out a moonstone from their sleeves, and the shallow, dim light emitted from it gently illuminated the way, although it was not as bright as sunlight, it was enough for illumination.

They walked for half an hour, and the path became wider and wider. They heard the sound of rushing water, and when they finally left the path, even Luo Jianqing was stunned.

“What a big river!”

“Jiang! It’s a river! Not a stream!”

A turbulent, muddy river flowed from afar, rushing between the mountain walls. The color of the river was dark yellow, but the waves were very ferocious. Even Luo Jianqing  could not see how far the river spread, only that it was definitely more than a hundred miles long!

A hundred miles long was already a small space opened up!

Opening up space was something that only a great power in the Unity Formation stage could do. Obviously, it was not the work of the Beidou True Immortal. He must have obtained some treasure to create such a miraculous Infant Stage relic!

 Luo Jianqing gazed intently and soon saw a blue stone tablet standing in the middle of the river.

That stone tablet was at least a mile away from the shore, and only those above the Foundation Building stage could see the words on it.

A disciple of Mount Taihua loudly recited, “Why is the vast river used as a boat?”

Soon, a disciple in the Qi Refining stage shouted, “There are boats here! There are many boats here!”

The disciple in the foundation building stage continued reciting, “A seventh-grade boat can carry one person and cross one mile; a sixth-grade boat can carry two people and cross two miles; a fifth-grade boat can carry four people and cross four miles; a fourth-grade boat can carry eight people and cross eight miles; a third-grade boat can carry sixteen people and cross sixteen miles; a second-grade boat can carry thirty-two people and cross thirty-two miles; a first-grade boat can carry sixty-four people and cross sixty-four miles. The transcendent grade can carry one hundred and twenty-eight people and cross one hundred and twenty-eight miles!”

As soon as he finished speaking, all the disciples fell silent, except for Luo Jianqing, who frowned, and Li Xiuchen, who smirked.

The words on the stone tablet were too simple. All cultivators in the world were divided into nine categories based on their aptitude. First, there were those like Li Xiuchen, who had no aptitude at all; second, there were those with low-grade aptitude, from fourth to seventh grade; third, there were those with middle-grade aptitude, second and third grade; fourth, there were those with excellent first-grade aptitude. Lastly, there was the one in ten million cultivators with transcendent aptitude!

Transcendent aptitude was incredibly rare and went against the natural order.

Only one in a billion people could practice with it, and among ten million cultivators, only one would have transcendent aptitude.

Even Mount Taihua only had two cultivators with transcendent aptitude – Xuan Lingzi and Luo Jianqing.

Li Xiuchen looked at the senior brother in green standing by the riverbank, his eyes shining with a bright light despite the black shoe print on his shoes.

Although it had not been confirmed, Li Xiuchen believed that Luo Jianqing was also a transmigrator like him. Otherwise, according to the original story, they could not have crossed the river altogether. Instead, Little Junior Sister – his first harem member – should have carried sixty-four people, and two first-grade disciples should have carried five disciples. Everyone would have had to work hard, use many magical treasures, and finally cross the river with great difficulty.

But now things were different.

Although Little Junior Sister Meng Tianxin was a first-grade cultivator with the best aptitude, she was not transcendent.

But Luo Jianqing was a transcendent cultivator!

If that was the case, passing this first test would be too easy. Let Luo Jianqing take the helm and carry all seventy of them across the river – it would be a piece of cake!

Thinking of this, Li Xiuchen laughed and said, “Don’t be afraid. Everyone knows that our Mount Taihua’s eldest senior brother has transcendent aptitude, so carrying all seventy of us across is more than enough!”

Li Xiuchen’s voice directly entered the ears of everyone present. The disciples of Yitian Sect were all stunned, while the disciples of Mount Taihua looked at him strangely.

Some of the disciples from the Yitian Sect were initially unclear about the situation with the person with shoe prints on his face. But after hearing his words, many disciples couldn’t help but whisper to themselves, “We all know that the senior brother from Mount Taihua has extraordinary talent, but why does he have to lead us? He’s not even a super-genius, so why is he so proud?”

“That’s right, he’s not a super-genius. What right does he have to act so arrogantly?”

“What kind of talent does this Taihua Sect disciple have? Is it first-class?”

Their voices were very low, and Li Xiuchen, who was only at the second level of Qi refinement, couldn’t hear them at all. But several disciples at the fourth level of Qi refinement in Taihua Sect heard these words and lowered their heads in shame, while the four Foundation Establishment disciples twitched their mouths. One of the disciples from Haoming Peak even slapped Li Xiuchen on the back of the head, causing him to stumble and almost fall.

“What did you say? What did you say? Do you think you’re the only one who knows about this? My face has been ruined by you, the shameless one from Haoming Peak!”

Li Xiuchen held his head and looked angrily at the senior brother from Haoming Peak, completely unaware of what he had said wrong.

Since the situation had already been revealed, Luo Jianqing couldn’t hide it any longer. He waved his hand and summoned the largest ship, saying calmly, “Everyone get on the ship. This river spans more than a hundred miles, and I don’t know where I can lead you, but let’s take it step by step.”

The disciples of Yitian Sect looked gratefully at Luo Jianqing.

After everyone got on the ship, Li Xiuchen walked up with a face full of anger. But as soon as he stepped onto the deck, he heard Luo Jianqing say in a calm tone, “Nineteenth junior brother, seal this person’s mouth for me.”

The nineteenth junior brother from Haoming Peak happily arched his hand and said, “Yes, senior brother!”

Li Xiuchen widened his eyes in shock, but before he could react, a piece of coarse cloth was stuffed into his mouth. The cloth was obviously torn from somewhere, and it even had a faint smell. Li Xiuchen tried to take the cloth off, but when he saw Luo Jianqing glance at him, he stiffened and couldn’t move a muscle.

“Mmm… Mmm!” Li Xiuchen struggled to speak, but he couldn’t utter a word.

Luo Jianqing turned around and said, “I just dealt with a small matter in the sect. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

The disciples of Yitian Sect quickly shook their heads and pretended not to see Li Xiuchen, saying, “No worries, Luo Daoist, please proceed!”

Although they were grateful to Li Xiuchen for speaking up and allowing them to board the ship, if they were disciples of Taihua Sect, they would have been infuriated by this idiot.

After everyone boarded the ship, Luo Jianqing walked to the bow and looked at the giant pearl. He narrowed his eyes, placed his hand on it, and transmitted his spiritual power. Suddenly, a white light flashed, and the entire ship shook for a moment. The next moment, the ship roared forward, breaking through the wind and waves with unstoppable speed!

For the entire length of 128 miles, Luo Jianqing remained calm and never even furrowed his brow.

After reaching the shore, he lightly tapped his toes and was the first to disembark. His robes drew a beautiful arc in the air, impressing not only the disciples of Mount Taihua but even those from the Yitian sect, who looked at him with admiration and respect.

After walking a few hundred meters, someone suddenly realized, “Hey, that Taihua Mountain disciple seemed to have been frozen in place. He didn’t follow us!”

Luo Jianqing chuckled and said in a low voice, “I forgot.”

The others thought, “Did you really forget?”

With a flick of his sleeve, Luo Jianqing flew back to the riverbank, where a moment later, they saw Li Xiuchen, with a shoe print on his head, running towards them in a pitiful state. He stood at the back of the line without lifting his head or saying a word, as if he had really learned his lesson.

Luo Jianqing only gave him a glance and then continued leading the group forward.

If Li Xiuchen didn’t speak up, he really wouldn’t understand.

When the boat stopped, Luo Jianqing was the first to fly out, which was unlike his character. This was all because at the moment the boat stopped, a white jade light suddenly flew towards him, and he caught it, obtaining his reward for passing this level.

This reward was a white jade token. In “Seeking Immortality,” it was mentioned that when the little junior sister obtained a first-grade white jade token, crushing it would allow the user to teleport sixty-four li, making it a treasure for escaping. The token Luo Jianqing obtained was a superior-grade white jade token, which could teleport one hundred and twenty-eight li!

In his previous life, Li Xiuchen had obtained the first-grade white jade token. The reason was simple: the little junior sister didn’t gain anything from this ruin and had given everything she had obtained to Li Xiuchen, hoping he would keep quiet about what had happened that night.

But now… Luo Jianqing smiled faintly and continued walking forward.

Now, Li Xiuchen could forget about getting anything!

^[1]Tl’s note: Li also known as Chinese mile and is almost one-third of a mile. 1 mile is equivalent to almost 482.7 Zhang.