Green glowing specks fell from his palm.
Countless seeds sprouted on the cold rocks by the sea. They breathed, grew, and upon sensing a steady supply of pure wood spiritual power from above, they grew even more vigorously upward.
Even the seeds that had fallen to the base of the stele were no exception.
They strained, strained, strained with all their might to grow upward.
“Bang!”
The Immortal Stone Stele was also lifted by the seeds. It loosened, trembled, and rumbled into the sea—
“Boom!”
A massive splash, waves, and sudden thunder from the horizon crashed down together. Lian Yunzhi did not move, only tilted his head back. Suddenly, several vines erupted from his side, shooting straight toward the sky like giant serpents rearing up to coldly watch the thunder on the horizon, as if ready to bite and tear it apart.
“Rumble…”
The thunder retreated.
Lian Yunzhi turned around.
Behind him were towering waves, pitch-black clouds, massive vines, and receding lightning.
Expressionless, he asked, “What did you just say?”
Ling Tian stared at him in a daze.
Lian Yunzhi sneered and turned to leave.
Ling Tian blocked him again.
Lian Yunzhi looked at him impatiently.
Ling Tian: “…Where are you going?”
Lian Yunzhi: “Bookstores.”
Ling Tian: “You can’t burn all the stele books.”
Lian Yunzhi: “I can.”
Ling Tian: “…”
Ling Tian opened his mouth and said, “Even if you burn all the books, you can’t change the prejudices in people’s hearts. Hearts are harder to overturn than an Immortal’s stele.”
Lian Yunzhi finally looked at him squarely.
Ling Tian coughed lightly and straightened his posture. He wore exquisitely tailored Magic Robes, even the ribbon on his hair crown infused with transcendent spiritual energy. He stood out incongruously in the desolate ruins of Xiaoze State, proud like a white peacock in the mud.
Lian Yunzhi thought, Mu Cheng had once been this proud too.
Noticing the change in Lian Yunzhi’s gaze, Ling Tian straightened his back even more. He said solemnly, “The Immortal Stele has stood here for ten thousand years. Every cultivator who knows of Xiaoze State knows those words, that story. I don’t know why you want to overturn it, but believe me—even if you topple the stele and burn the books, that story will still circulate among cultivators. You can’t change it no matter what, unless…”
“Unless?”
“Unless you become the number one person in the world, unless you become the next ascended Immortal.” Ling Tian stared at him fixedly. “Then your words will become gospel, and only then can you truly overturn that story.”
“I will.”
Lian Yunzhi said without hesitation.
Ascension had always been his goal; he had never considered abandoning it, even during this time.
“But it will be slow,” Ling Tian said. “As a rogue cultivator without family support or sect protection, even as a Guest Elder of Lin Xian Sect, you can’t access the highest Heaven Tier manuals. Once you leave Lin Xian Sect, people will covet the Immortal Treasure on you, disrupting your cultivation state and progress. How long do you think it will take you to ascend successfully?”
Lian Yunzhi frowned.
“I have a way to help you ascend within fifty years,” Ling Tian said.
Lian Yunzhi abruptly raised his head.
Ling Tian took a deep breath, his palms sweating, though his expression remained composed. “Become Dao Companions with me.”
Lian Yunzhi frowned again.
Ling Tian quickly added, “We don’t need to form a Dao Companion Contract or even Dual Cultivate. We’ll just hold the Dao Companion ceremony and become nominal Dao Companions. But then you can formally become a member of Lin Xian Sect. You can borrow Heaven Tier manuals, purchase Heaven Tier Magic Artifacts, and you won’t need to do sect missions or pay Spirit Stones for them—I’ll prepare everything. You just focus on cultivating.”
Lian Yunzhi asked, “Why? What’s in it for you?”
Ling Tian said, “The Sect Leader keeps urging me to take a spouse, which has been troubling me greatly. I urgently need a nominal Dao Companion, and when it comes to matches, only you are worthy of me.”
Ling Tian paused, then continued, “I was there when Fu Qing rejected the Sect Leader’s proposal on your behalf. I know you don’t want to take a master or form Dao Companions with anyone—that you have a former Dao Companion you can’t forget… But how can personal affections compare to ascension? Besides, we’re only nominal Dao Companions.”
Accustomed to pride, Ling Tian’s earnest demeanor seemed even more sincere. Looking into Lian Yunzhi’s eyes, he said word by word, “Believe me—it’s just mutual benefit. I have no improper intentions toward you.”
A gale suddenly arose in Xiaoze State, churning the waves.
【Liar!】
The newly sprouted grass on the seaside rocks was also blown into disarray by the gale, the blades twisting to form letters.
But no one present noticed.
The wind was too fierce, tousling Ling Tian’s robes and hair, even pelting him with small stones. Irritated, Ling Tian waved his hand, erecting a transparent barrier around himself and Lian Yunzhi, firmly blocking the wind outside.
The hurricane battered the barrier ferociously and madly, but Ling Tian and Lian Yunzhi’s hair did not even stir.
“Indeed,” Lian Yunzhi said, “personal affections can’t compare to ascension. But we really won’t form a contract or Dual Cultivate?”
Ling Tian’s throat bobbed.
The wind abruptly stopped.
Ling Tian’s voice was hoarse: “…If you want… you can too. I am… the Spirit Washing Body, yes, a Peerless Furnace Cauldron physique.”
Lian Yunzhi looked at him and smiled: “That’s right, you also have the Myriad Absorption Spiritual Root, then—”
【Lian Yunzhi!!!】
A familiar voice exploded in his mind without warning!
Lian Yunzhi’s breathing stalled, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
The rest of that sarcastic line—”Forget it, I’m afraid I’ll hate you and won’t be able to resist climbing into your bed in the middle of the night to dig out your Spiritual Root”—failed to leave his mouth.
