Chapter 106: Triumphant Return

"How did you use my power?" Yun Zhi looked at Lu Yang, a touch of perplexity in her eyes. From what she had heard of his experiences, he was nowhere near qualified to touch such a profound and abstruse spell as Divine Descent.

"Uh... I just happened to come across a set of Pictographic Boxing by chance."

"When I was practicing, I thought to myself: Pictographic Boxing is a martial art that mimics an object to gain its advantages. So why must I restrict myself to mimicking animals? Humans can be mimicked too."

"Among all the people I know, you are the strongest, Eldest Senior Sister. So I mimicked you, and thus obtained your power."

Yun Zhi remained silent.

She had been steeped in the mystical arts since childhood and was a veritable prodigy. Any spell required but a single glance for her to master, and she could even rectify its flaws to make it more flawless. She had even deduced many long-lost spells, such as Divine Descent.

Yet, she had truly never witnessed a case like Lu Yang's.

"Even if I grant you a wisp of my strength, it is not something your current self can bear. Do not use this style of boxing lightly."

Lu Yang caught the underlying meaning of his Eldest Senior Sister's words: resolve your own difficulties, and do not call upon me if nothing is amiss.

"And you, leave Lu Yang's body."

The Immortal Fairy adopted a rare stance of resolute defiance, shaking her head in refusal. "I cannot leave him."

"Hmm?" Yun Zhi's voice rose by two degrees. Sensing the shift in the wind, the Immortal Fairy hastily added an explanation.

"I have only just revived, and my immortal soul is fragile, requiring a vessel to inhabit. Lu Yang called out my name and brought about my resurrection, which created a unique karmic bond between us. This karma forces me to reside within his body. Only when this unique karma dissolves and my immortal soul grows stronger can I depart from his mental world."

Lu Yang grew thoughtful. "Is it somewhat akin to a ten-month pregnancy?"

The Immortal Fairy flew into a rage. "Could you not find a more fitting analogy?!"

Lu Yang spread his hands; his imagination was barren, and he could think of nothing better.

"I could also simply shatter your immortal soul and revive you myself," the Eldest Senior Sister said, her gaze falling upon the Immortal Fairy. The fairy felt an immense pressure weigh down upon her.

"That will not work. From whence did you learn my name? You learned it from Lu Yang. In essence, it would still be Lu Yang reviving me. Your method is unfeasible."

Yun Zhi fell silent for a moment. Then, with a single hand, she formed a hand seal and struck out a golden imprint. It branded itself into Lu Yang's mental space, faded, and vanished.

"This is..."

"This is a soul imprint I have left behind. Should you attempt any harmful action against him, this imprint will activate and shatter your immortal soul. When that time comes, you can only hope that another fool three hundred thousand years from now will chant your name correctly." The warning inherent in her words was plain to see.

A shiver ran down the Immortal Fairy's spine.

"In truth, you need not be so wary of me. Once my immortal soul recovers, I can directly reshape my immortal body without needing to possess anyone. Furthermore, I require a slumber to restore my strength, and I know not when I shall awaken."

As she spoke, the Immortal Fairy let out a yawn.

"Immortals can grow sleepy too?" Lu Yang asked in surprise.

The Immortal Fairy yawned continuously. "It is all because of the clash just now, which drained the vast majority of my strength..."

Mid-sentence, her upper and lower eyelids began to fight, and she fell over, fast asleep. "Goodnight. Do not wake me before the end of the world."

Confirming that the Immortal Fairy was truly asleep, Yun Zhi departed the mental space and manifested in the mortal realm in her soul form.

"Thank you for your hard work, Eldest Senior Sister!" Meng Jingzhou greeted her with an unprecedented display of politeness.

"Greetings, Eldest Senior Sister." Mangu remained as honest and simple as ever. Though he had done no wrong, he knew not why, but he felt a wave of fear whenever he beheld his Eldest Senior Sister.

"Speak to no one of the Immortal Fairy's resurrection."

"Understood!" the two shouted in unison.

The old horse also let out a cry.

"Furthermore, do not dally on the road. Return to the Dao Seeking Sect at once!" Leaving behind these words, Yun Zhi's soul transformed into a streak of flowing light, returning to the Dao Seeking Sect to resume her meeting.

The trio put away their thoughts of leisure, boarded the carriage, and hastened away.

"Huh? Why are we moving so fast?" Meng Jingzhou could see the scenery outside the window through the carriage. He noticed that the passing landscape was shifting at a tremendous pace—ten times faster than before!

The old horse had completely shed its previous sluggish demeanor. Its four hooves broke into a frantic blur as it utilized spatial magic to traverse through the void. Its speed was soaring; a journey that should have taken several days brought them to the Dao Seeking Sect in less than half a day.

The old horse knew that Yun Zhi's final command to "return to the Dao Seeking Sect at once" was not meant for the three youths, but for itself.

"Haha, Dao Seeking Sect, I have returned!" Meng Jingzhou spread his arms and laughed aloud, feeling very much like a hero returning home in silken robes.

The three of them had endured humiliation, slaving away like oxen and horses within the demonic cult, laboring to feign the guise of villains. And for what? Was it not all to earn contribution points and flaunt their greatness?

Thus, the very first thing the trio did upon entering the sect was to head for the Mission Hall to exchange their contribution points.

With chins held high and chests puffed out, ignoring everyone else, they swaggered into the Mission Hall like three large crabs that had just crawled ashore.

Inside the Mission Hall, the walls were covered with missions gathered from all quarters, and senior brothers and sisters were searching for suitable tasks.

Lu Yang noticed that the mission to find the Nascent Soul stage Winged Tiger was still hanging on the wall. It seemed Daoist Li Hong of Shanhai Pass had yet to find his beloved little pet.

The mission regarding the suspected discovery of a hidden grotto-heaven in Mount Kunwu had been taken down, presumably because exploration was complete.

There were also new missions, such as the discovery of a Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivator's tracks in a certain region requiring eradication, an ancient ruin discovered in another place requiring a team to explore, and two powerful cultivators quarreling over a divorce requiring someone to mediate, among others.

Seeing their amusing manner of walking, the senior brother on duty at the front desk teased, "Have you three junior brothers saved the world?"

Lu Yang replied modestly, "Something like that. We completed a classified mission and need to report to the Grand Elder."

The senior brother's expression turned solemn. The completion of a classified mission was a matter of grave import, far beyond his authority to handle, and no one would dare jest about such things. "The Grand Elder is currently holding a meeting in the Discussion Hall. Senior Brother Dai is overseeing the Mission Hall on his behalf. How about the three of you report to him?"

The meeting in the Discussion Hall had been underway for the better part of the day and had yet to conclude.

The Mission Hall was situated on the Peak of Rewards and Punishments, the mountain overseen by the Grand Elder. In the Grand Elder's absence, Dai Bufan was responsible for all matters concerning the peak.

"We trouble Senior Brother to inform him."

Upon receiving the message from his fellow disciple, Dai Bufan felt somewhat bewildered. He did not recall assigning any classified mission to Lu Yang's group. Could it have been arranged by his master? But that made little sense, as his master would always inform him of such matters.

Suppressing his doubts, he said, "Let them in."

"Yes."

The three were invited into the core area of the Mission Hall. Dai Bufan was reclining in his chair, leafing through case files containing intelligence collated from various regions, some of which could be turned into missions.

Dai Bufan set down the files and picked up his teacup, which held freshly plucked Enlightenment Tea. "Speak then. What exactly did you all do?"

Mangu, trying to display his literacy, spoke with concise brevity: "We defected to the demonic cult."

"Pfft—"

Meng Jingzhou glared at Mangu and quickly explained to Dai Bufan, "Don't listen to Mangu's nonsense. We merely joined the demonic cult."