"How did you use my power?" Yun Zhi looked at Lu Yang, somewhat puzzled. Based on what she knew of Lu Yang's experiences, he had no business having access to a spell as profound and difficult as the Spirit Descent Technique.
"Uh... I just happened to acquire a set of Imitation Fist techniques."
"While practicing the fist, I thought to myself: Imitation Fist is a style where one mimics a subject to gain their strengths, so why should I limit myself to mimicking animals? People can be imitated too."
"Among everyone I know, Eldest Senior Sister is the strongest, so I imitated you and gained your power."
Yun Zhi: "..."
She had been a master of magical arts since childhood, a veritable prodigy. Any spell she saw once, she could learn, and she could even rectify its flaws to make it more perfect. She had even deduced and recreated many long-lost spells, such as the Spirit Descent Technique.
Yet she had truly never seen anything like Lu Yang's situation.
"Even a mere sliver of my power is not something you can withstand at your current level. Do not use this fist technique lightly."
Lu Yang caught Eldest Senior Sister's underlying message: Solve your own problems, and don't summon me over unless something is genuinely wrong.
"And you—leave Lu Yang's body."
The Immortal Fairy displayed an uncharacteristically resolute attitude, shaking her head in refusal. "I can't leave him."
"Hmm?" Yun Zhi's voice rose by two pitches. Seeing things turn south, the Immortal Fairy quickly scrambled to explain.
"I have only just revived, and my immortal soul is frail, so I require a body to dwell in. Lu Yang called out my name and revived me, which formed a special karmic tie between us. This karma forces me to reside within his body. Only when this special karma dissipates and my immortal soul grows stronger can I leave his spiritual world."
Lu Yang considered this. "Sort of like a ten-month pregnancy?"
The Immortal Fairy fumed, "Can't you find a more fitting analogy?!"
Lu Yang held out his hands; his imagination was lacking, and he couldn't come up with a better example.
"I could also simply shatter your immortal soul and revive you myself." Eldest Senior Sister's gaze fell upon the Immortal Fairy, making her feel an immense pressure bearing down upon her.
"That won't work! Where would you learn my name? From Lu Yang! In essence, it would still be Lu Yang reviving me! Your method won't work!"
Yun Zhi fell silent for a moment. Then, forming an incantation gesture with one hand, she cast a golden mark that branded itself onto Lu Yang's spiritual space before fading and disappearing.
"This is..."
"This is a divine soul imprint I have left behind. If you make any harmful move against him, this mark will activate and shatter your immortal soul. When that happens, you can only hope another fool happens to speak your name correctly three hundred thousand years from now." The warning in her tone was unmistakable.
The Immortal Fairy shuddered.
"Actually, you don't need to be so wary of me. Once my immortal soul recovers, I can directly reshape my Immortal Physique without needing to seize any body. Besides, I need to sleep to recover my strength, and who knows when I'll wake up."
As she spoke, the Immortal Fairy let out a yawn.
"Immortals get sleepy too?" Lu Yang asked in surprise.
The Immortal Fairy yawned repeatedly. "It's all because of that fight just now; it drained most of my energy..."
As she spoke, her eyelids fought to stay open. Collapsing headfirst, she fell fast asleep. "Good night. Don't wake me before the end of the world."
Confirming that the Immortal Fairy truly was asleep, Yun Zhi left the spiritual space, manifesting in the mortal realm in the form of her divine soul.
"Thank you for your hard work, Eldest Senior Sister!" Meng Jingzhou greeted her with unprecedented politeness.
"Greetings, Eldest Senior Sister." Man Gu was honest and meek as always. Even though he had never done anything bad, he couldn't help feeling terrified whenever he saw Eldest Senior Sister.
"Do not speak to anyone about the revival of the Immortal Fairy."
"Yes!" the two shouted in unison.
The old horse also let out a whinny.
"Furthermore, do not dilly-dally along the way. Return to the Dao Seeking Sect immediately!" Leaving these words behind, Yun Zhi's divine soul turned into a streak of flowing light and returned to the Dao Seeking Sect to resume her meeting.
The three put aside any thoughts of sightseeing, climbed onto the carriage, and hurried off.
"Huh? Why are we moving so fast?" Meng Jingzhou could see the scenery outside through the carriage window. The view outside was blurring past at ten times their previous speed!
The old horse completely cast aside its earlier sluggish pace. Its four hooves churned furiously as it employed spatial arts to shuttle through space. Moving at blazing speed, a journey that originally took several days brought them to the Dao Seeking Sect in less than half a day.
The old horse knew that Yun Zhi's parting words—"Return to the Dao Seeking Sect immediately"—weren't directed at the three boys, but at him.
"Haha, Dao Seeking Sect, I have returned!" Meng Jingzhou spread his arms and laughed heartily, feeling very much like a triumphant hero returning home in glory.
The three of them had endured humiliation, toiled like beasts of burden in the demonic cult, and painstakingly played the part of villains for what? Was it not to earn contribution points and show off how amazing they were?!
Hence, the very first thing they did upon returning to the sect was head to the Mission Hall to redeem their contribution points.
With chests puffed out and chins held high, oblivious to everyone around them, they strutted boldly into the Mission Hall like three big crabs that had just crawled ashore.
Inside the Mission Hall, the walls were covered with notices gathered from across the realm, and senior brothers and sisters were searching for suitable missions.
Lu Yang noticed that the mission to search for the Nascent Soul stage winged tiger was still posted on the wall. It seemed Daoist Priest Li Hong of Shanhaiguan still hadn't found his beloved little pet.
The mission regarding the suspected discovery of a grotto-heaven in Kunwu Mountain had been taken down, presumably because exploration had concluded.
There were also new tasks, such as traces of a Nascent Soul stage demonic cultivator discovered in a certain place requiring elimination, an ancient ruin found requiring a team for exploration, or two mighty figures having a domestic squabble and divorce needing someone dispatched to mediate, and so forth.
The senior brother on duty at the front desk saw their amusing strut and teased, "Did you three junior brothers just save the world?"
Lu Yang replied modestly, "Pretty much. We completed a classified mission and need to report to the Grand Elder."
The senior brother's expression turned solemn. Completing a classified mission was a matter of grave importance, not something he could handle, and no one would dare joke about such things. "The Grand Elder is currently attending 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 going on for most of the day and still had not ended.
The Mission Hall was located on Punishment and Reward Peak, the mountain peak overseen by the Grand Elder. In the Grand Elder's absence, Dai Bufan was in charge of all matters on Punishment and Reward Peak.
"Please trouble Senior Brother to announce us."
Upon hearing the message from the junior brother, Dai Bufan was somewhat puzzled. He didn't recall assigning any classified mission to Lu Yang's trio. Could Master have arranged it? No, that wasn't right either; Master always informed him of any tasks he assigned.
Suppressing his doubts, he said, "Send them in."
"Yes."
The three were ushered into the central area of the Mission Hall. Dai Bufan was reclining in a chair, flipping through dossiers—compiled intelligence from various regions, parts of which could be turned into missions.
Dai Bufan put down the dossier and picked up his teacup, which held freshly picked Enlightenment Tea. "Go ahead, tell me. What did you three do?"
Man Gu showed off his grasp of literary conciseness and declared tersely, "We defected to the demonic cult."
"Pfft—!"
Meng Jingzhou glared at Man Gu, then explained to Dai Bufan, "Don't listen to Man Gu's nonsense! We only joined the demonic cult!"
Chapter 106