Chapter 687: The Kind-Hearted Ji Hongwen

If a talented young person were to join the Qiankun Ziyun Palace and, aided by their innate talent, diligent effort, and fortunate opportunities, cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage, they would then unite the other two major sects. By collecting three tokens, they would open the secret realm, receive the teachings of Grand Ancestor Zhang Dao, and obtain an incomplete Tribulation Transcending stage cultivation method from a supreme sect, successfully cultivating to the God Transformation stage.

With even greater fortune, they could then join a supreme sect, perfect their cultivation method, and from there ascend rapidly, becoming a powerful Tribulation Transcending stage expert.

Of course, all of this hinges on there genuinely being a talented young person, not an ancient monster like Venerable Wuji impersonating one.

Reeling in his thoughts, Lu Yang silently observed the scene unfolding before him.

Zhang Dao knelt on the ground, vigorously kowtowing. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stolen anything. Venerable One, please be merciful and forgive me!"

Zhang Dao had never imagined that simply stealing a cultivation manual, and so long ago, would lead to a powerful figure like Venerable Wuji directly seeking him out.

Zhang Dao was only a little over a hundred years old. Even before he began cultivating, Venerable Wuji was already a supreme Tribulation Transcending expert, an insurmountable figure throughout Zhang Dao's entire life.

Was there something wrong with this cultivation method? Did it hide a secret that could even tempt a Tribulation Transcending expert?

Zhang Dao couldn't comprehend it.

Venerable Wuji sighed softly. "Alright, get up. Your true body is already dead; what remains here is merely a wisp of divine consciousness. What's the point of punishing a wisp of divine consciousness that doesn't have much time left?"

"Thank you, Venerable One!" Zhang Dao kowtowed three more times before finally rising.

"However, there is one matter that requires your cooperation."

"At your command, Venerable One, Zhang Dao will brave any hardship!"

"Tomorrow, I will join the Qiankun Ziyun Palace. Later, I'll find an opportunity to collect the three tokens and return to you. At that time, you are to pretend not to know me and impart that cultivation method to me."

Zhang Dao was utterly bewildered by what he heard; Venerable Wuji's words were beyond his comprehension.

However, he didn't dare ask further questions and could only nod vigorously in agreement.

"Wuji, do you still wish to continue this path?" Venerable Qianjiao quipped.

Zhang Dao broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing Venerable Qianjiao's address for Venerable Wuji. From her tone, it was clear this young woman was also an extraordinary figure.

Venerable Wuji gave a cold huff. "Why not?"

He had just been thoroughly defeated by Lu Yang's Invincible Infant and was finding it hard to accept this fact, so he needed to go to the Qiankun Ziyun Palace to regain some confidence.

The four departed from the secret realm. Lu Yang and the other promptly bid farewell to the two great cultivators and hastily left. Even from a considerable distance, they could still overhear the conversation between the two powerful figures.

"Why are you following me?"

"To see what an old geezer like you is doing at the Qiankun Ziyun Palace."

Lu Yang and his companion quickly departed.

The two returned to the city's stables and found the old horse, who eyed them askance.

Within Nine Dragon City, it possessed the highest cultivation. While others couldn't sense the commotion outside the city, it perceived everything clearly.

"What's going on with you two? Weren't you supposed to be recruiting disciples and assessing their character? Why were there two Tribulation Transcending stage auras in the direction you left from?"

"Can't you two consider my cultivation as a protector?"

"Why are you looking at me like that? It was all an accident," Meng Jingzhou said, noticing the old horse's skeptical gaze, and earnestly defending himself.

"Yes, I can corroborate what Old Meng said," Lu Yang offered, stepping forward as a witness.

The old horse rolled its eyes. What good is it for you two to vouch for each other?

The two boarded the carriage and swiftly departed Nine Dragon City. They took out a small booklet and drew an 'X' next to "Xie An" on the first page.

"Let me see, the closest one from here should be Gu Junye, from Lintian City in Youzhou."

"The report states that Junior Brother Wei Nanfei encountered him in a private school while on a mission in Lintian City, disguised as a teacher. Junior Brother Wei praised him for being calm and steady at a young age, meticulous in his thoughts, always planning before acting, and excelling academically."

Wei Nanfei entered the Dao-Seeking Sect in the same cohort as Lu Yang. He cultivated the *Heaven-Burning Blood-Igniting Technique*. While his talent might not have matched Lu Yang's and Meng Jingzhou's, he was still considered a top-tier genius elsewhere. He showcased his abilities brilliantly in the grand finals, securing first place in the late Foundation Establishment stage group.

After listening, Lu Yang analyzed, "So, this Gu Junye dislikes speaking, tends to overthink, and isn't very active?"

"You could put it that way."

Just as the two were about to continue studying Gu Junye's information, they felt the carriage sway slightly before coming to a stop.

"Old Horse, what's wrong?"

Meng Jingzhou leaned out and asked. The old horse snorted, gesturing for Meng Jingzhou to look up at the sky.

A refined laugh drifted down from the sky.

"Junior Brother Meng, have you also been sent out by Old Dai?" A young man dressed in a scholar's robe descended, greeting them. He had recognized them by their carriage.

"Senior Brother Ji?"

The newcomer was indeed Ji Hongwen, the Fourth Elder's eldest disciple, currently in the initial stage of the Integration realm.

Hearing the commotion outside, Lu Yang also poked his head out.

Ji Hongwen chuckled when he saw Lu Yang. "Old Dai sent both of you out? It seems the sect truly has no one left."

"Senior Brother Ji, what brings you here?"

Ji Hongwen raised the small booklet in his hand. "Well, Old Dai said that staying in the mountains all day isn't conducive to cultivation, so he sent me out to observe the character of those on the list too."

"How many have you observed so far?"

"Just one, whom I've just finished observing. He's a promising young man. His father is a mortal, and his mother is a cultivator, but his mother disappeared when he was young, leaving only half a jade pendant as a clue. He and his father lived hand-to-mouth. He said he wanted to cultivate diligently and become a great cultivator so he could use that half-jade pendant to find his mother."

"When he spoke, his eyes revealed an unyielding will, though his cultivation aptitude was rather ordinary; he possessed a three-spirit root, barely meeting the sect's admission standards."

"I found the boy's filial piety admirable, so I wanted to help him find his mother. I carefully examined the jade pendant."

"If that half-jade pendant is worn for a long time, it can enhance one's spiritual root aptitude and improve their physique. A cultivation scroll is also hidden inside the jade pendant, which can only be opened after the boy successfully guides Qi into his body."

"From this half-jade pendant, I deduced that the boy's mother was no ordinary cultivator."

"However, that was all I could glean; I still couldn't find the person."

"Having no other recourse, I went to the Heaven Strategy Sect to ask a friend for help. Using their karmic divine abilities, they traced the boy's mother to her origin."

"So you just returned from the Heaven Strategy Sect?" Lu Yang asked.

Ji Hongwen shook his head. "From the Heaven Strategy Sect, I learned that the karmic origin of the jade pendant was with the supreme sect Tinghai Sect in Yuzhou, so I went directly there."

"Upon arriving at the Tinghai Sect, I discovered that the boy's mother was their Saintess. She had defied the sect's wishes and secretly married a mortal. Enraged, the Tinghai Sect captured the Saintess and imprisoned her beneath their main hall."

Meng Jingzhou suddenly realized, "Then Senior Brother Ji, you must have intervened decisively, fought a great battle with the Tinghai Sect Master, and rescued the Saintess?"

Ji Hongwen looked at Meng Jingzhou with confusion. "No, I reported it to the authorities. The Tinghai Sect restricting someone's personal freedom constitutes illegal detention, which is, of course, a matter for the government to handle."

"So, did the family of three reunite?"

This time, Ji Hongwen nodded. "They reunited."

"After the authorities rescued the Saintess, they arrested a group of people from the Tinghai Sect, including the Sect Master and the Grand Elder. They'll likely be imprisoned for several hundred years."

"Further investigation revealed that the half-jade pendant the boy wore was a supreme treasure of the Tinghai Sect, stolen by the Saintess. She committed theft and will likely be imprisoned for several hundred years as well."

"Just now, I brought that boy to visit his mother in prison."

"Before I left, I told him that if he had any interest in cultivation, he could come to the Dao-Seeking Sect for the entrance examination on the second day of the second month next year. I'm not sure if he'll show up."