Chapter 347: What Exactly Do You Guys Want to Do?

The forbidden grounds of the back mountain of the Nanhua Sect.

Watching the receding figure of the Feng family patriarch, a tall, ghost-like shadow materialized from the void.

That gaze, greedy and laced with a trace of cruel bloodlust, could never belong to a human.

"Is everything settled?"

"It is done." The woman's voice was icy, as if devoid of any warmth, "Though that old codger is truly insatiably greedy! Shouldn't we..."

A flash of cold, murderous intent flickered through her eyes.

"Pay it no mind." The voice was gloomy, as though echoing from the depths of the abyss, "Once I regain my freedom, everything here will be our servants. At that time, why bother drawing lines between what is yours and mine? When that day comes, what belongs to him will still be ours."

A burst of sinister laughter suddenly echoed from the depths of the darkness.

"How is the situation within the Nanhua Sect now?" the voice inquired again.

"Among them, quite a few disciples have already become our people," the woman sneered. "I suppose my dear martial brothers and sisters remain entirely oblivious, don't they?"

"Excellent!"

"However," a look of suspicion crept into the woman's eyes, "my martial brother Ye Tang should have already fallen victim to my covert plot, yet for some reason, he has failed to arrive even now. I wonder if something has gone awry!"

"No need to worry!" the voice in the darkness intoned. "Sooner or later, he will be ours! The desires within his heart can no longer be suppressed. Since it was determined long ago, there is nothing to fear."

"True, this must only be an unexpected fluke."

The voice concealed within the shadows spoke once more: "Bring more Nanhua Sect disciples into our ranks to serve as our leverage, the better to aid me in escaping this wretched place! When that time comes, you shall be the Sect Master of Nanhua!"

"Sect Master of the Nanhua Sect." The woman licked her lips, which were so red they seemed ready to drip blood.

...

It was already the middle of the night, and if Long Yi wanted to rush from Banbian City to the Nanhua Sect, even an hour or so would be cutting it dangerously close.

"Oh no!" Long Yi's countenance turned grim.

"What is wrong?" Yue Yan and the others asked, somewhat bewildered.

"For the sake of playing games and watching dramas here, I, your elder brother, may have neglected a matter of grave importance!" Long Yi spoke with an expression of self-reproach.

"What matter could possibly be more important than playing games and watching dramas?"

"..." Long Yi reflected for a moment. In this Origin Internet Club, if one wanted to raise their cultivation level, they could; if one wanted to learn various supreme techniques, they could; even planting vegetables could be exchanged for all sorts of pill recipes and textual materials that ordinary people could only dream of. What more could one possibly ask for?

Taking advantage of his spare time, he had even read the Heavenly Book for a short while, and after just that brief moment, he felt his understanding of the Nanhua Sect's cultivation methods and techniques grow profoundly deeper.

And the laws of heaven and earth, the grand truths of the Dao that overflowed from it, were things that even a cultivator of his modest achievements could clearly perceive!

His mind seemed to have cleared up considerably, and scratching his head, he murmured, "It really does feel that way, doesn't it?"

Immediately following that realization, immense excitement surged within his heart, and he slapped his own forehead, exclaiming, "Exactly! Am I a fool? If I could cultivate in a place like this for a hundred years, let alone Senior Brother Li who sits beneath the Sect Master, I could even surpass the Grand Sect Master himself, whose cultivation has reached the peak of perfection, and show you all!"

He quickly spoke with rising excitement, "Junior Sister, this place opens at eight in the morning tomorrow, right?"

"Yes!"

"Tomorrow, we continue!"

"But... what about that Lord...?" Long Yi suddenly shook his head, "What Lord? Do I actually know some incredibly powerful figure? Why can I not remember it at all now?"

Yet he clearly recalled that there seemed to be an exceptionally formidable individual who had spoken to him about something?

Those previous events felt like a passing dream; upon waking, in a bizarre turn of events, he suddenly could not recall them clearly.

...

In front of the internet cafe entrance, one long howl after another rang out, as if the pent-up, stagnant energy suppressed for so long was entirely released at this very moment.

"A breakthrough! To think that after decades of bitter cultivation, this master would actually break through in such a fashion!"

"What are you screaming for?" A sharp scolding instantly drifted out from inside the shop, "Just because the shop is closed doesn't mean this owner won't scold people, you hear? Cry out again, and don't bother coming back tomorrow!"

"..." A Taoist instinctively shrank his neck, quickly scurrying away in embarrassment.

"Oh, I say, Senior Sister, how on earth does that airplane, that hunk of iron, manage to fly without consuming a single shred of spiritual energy? And then there is this... Transformation Magic, which can actually turn dead matter into living things, what kind of logic is that? And this Heavenly Book, how can it be so profoundly powerful? Just who could have penned it...?"

On the road back to the sect, that very Taoist was chattering away incessantly; it was none other than Daoist Master Piao Miao.

At this present moment, where was there any trace of his former state of Qi deviation? Instead, he was bursting with energy, his mind clear and refreshed: "Too miraculous! A single bowl of instant noodles actually transformed all the errant, chaotic spiritual energy within my body into pure, unadulterated spiritual power, completely under my command. And those two volumes of the Heavenly Book made me realize that my understanding of our sect's cultivation methods had been flawed all along. Yet, a wrong turn led to a right outcome, allowing me to comprehend an entirely new path from the previously derailed techniques. It is simply too inconceivable!"

Clearly, at this juncture, a mere breakthrough was nothing at all; even completely rectifying his deviated techniques paled in comparison to using a path previously deemed erroneous to achieve a breakthrough, and furthermore borrowing it to refine a set of techniques belonging entirely to himself—that was the truest marvel.

"The Heavenly Book contains the ultimate principles of all things." Daoist Master Xi Chi evidently possessed a much deeper comprehension of the Heavenly Book than he did. "Even the path that Junior Brother deemed incorrect is contained within this heaven and earth. Perhaps to us it holds errors, but to the Heavenly Dao, since it exists, it naturally possesses its own reason for being."

"Senior Sister speaks the truth." Daoist Master Piao Miao nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"However, in my view, such a place ought to be made known to more disciples," Daoist Master Piao Miao remarked. "At the very least, the elite disciples of our Nanhua Sect can enter it to cultivate. In this manner, a century from now, will our Nanhua Sect not be teeming with remarkable talents?"

"Junior Brother makes a valid point," Daoist Master Xi Chi replied. "The Sect Master and the other elders are currently occupied with pressing matters. For the time being, there is no need to make a grand display of this affair. Otherwise, if they fail to grasp the inner workings, it may give rise to misunderstandings and yield the opposite effect. Once results have begun to manifest, it will not be too late to report to them. I shall immediately go to inform a few disciples, and have them bring along some close and trusted friends."

"Senior Sister is indeed thorough in her considerations."

On the other side, within the forbidden grounds of the Nanhua Sect's back mountain.

"Now, bringing in these ordinary disciples holds little significance. The elite disciples and elders of the Nanhua Sect must have also yearned for greater power for a long time," the voice in the darkness murmured. "As long as such desires dwell within their hearts, they shall all become our servants. Go, summon them all!"

The night over the Nanhua Sect grew noticeably darker, as if the entire sky were shrouded in a layer of dense, unyielding ink.

In the dead of night, the indolent had long since slept in their clothes, while for the diligent, it was precisely the hour for solitary cultivation.

Yet within the shadows, gusts of gloomy, dark winds began to howl, as though countless demons and ghosts were striding through the human world under the cover of darkness.

The entire Nanhua Sect had originally possessed the serene aura of an immortal realm, but tonight, it appeared exceptionally ghostly and sinister.

Several disciples deep in their cultivation suddenly snapped their eyes open, as if sensing something amiss.

"What manner of ghost is that?!"

"Who are you?"

"Do you wish to become stronger?" A seductive voice seemed to rise from the very depths of all their hearts.

"Do you desire greater power? Do you not long to become stronger? Do not refuse, obey your inner heart..."

...

Yet before long, a flurry of footsteps echoed from outside.

"Thud, thud, thud!" A sudden knocking rattled against the doors. "Senior Sister (Senior Brother), open up! I am going to take you to a wonderful place in a moment! I guarantee your strength will skyrocket once you go!"

"!!??"

WTF!!??

Nearly all the disciples who encountered this scene leaped straight up from their seats. What on earth are you all trying to do!?