Lin Shaoyou said solemnly, "I feel the Dao Seeking Sect is a wonderful place. The fellow disciples of the Dao Seeking Sect live in harmony, free of estrangement, which fills me with longing. I am willing to join the Dao Seeking Sect!"
Qiu Jin'an was nearly incensed to death by Lin Shaoyou. Trembling, he pointed a finger at him, taking a long while before finally squeezing out two words:
"Unfilial disciple!"
Lin Shaoyou turned his head and said to Qiu Jin'an, "Master, didn't you just say it yourself? Why should cultivators care about face?"
"Get your ass back here!" Qiu Jin'an roared in fury.
"Oh."
Lin Shaoyou obediently stood behind Qiu Jin'an again. As the two brushed past each other, they exchanged glances.
*Master, was my acting alright?*
*You overdid it a bit. You still need more practice.*
Qiu Jin'an cleared his throat and gradually calmed down. "Since Shaoyou is unwilling to participate in the matches, we elders can hardly drag him by force, can we?"
By having Lin Shaoyou take the initiative to decline competing against Yun Zhi, Qiu Jin'an could naturally propose continuing according to the Dao Seeking Sect's original plan.
This provided a justifiable excuse without losing face.
As the eldest disciple, Lin Shaoyou was well-versed in taking bullets for his master.
This time, Qiu Jin'an had intended to sweep through the Dao Seeking Sect from top to bottom. Thus, on this trip, he had brought along personal disciples from the Foundation Establishment stage all the way to the Soul Formation stage. Every one of them was a paragon among peers, brimming with confidence that they were invincible within the same cultivation realm.
"Ba the Second, stay away from her!" Qiu Jin'an noticed Second Elder still pestering her, grabbed Shangguan Yu's delicate hand, pulled her over, and shielded her behind him.
"Jin'an, Little Ba harbors no malice toward me."
Qiu Jin'an glared. "Then the problem is even bigger!"
Brooking no argument, Qiu Jin'an pulled Shangguan Yu along and led the Five Elements Sect cohort to the Martial Arts Square. After making brief arrangements for the order of appearances, he returned to the spectator stands.
By now, Dao Seeking Sect disciples had gathered around the Martial Arts Square, smiling faces everywhere as they came to enjoy the spectacle. Lu Yang had never realized the Dao Seeking Sect had so many disciples.
Restaurants operating within the Dao Seeking Sect had sniffed out business opportunities, selling prime viewing spots or hawking fruits and melon seeds from large boxes carried through the crowd; to say they were raking in gold by the cartload was no exaggeration.
On the stands, the Immortal Fairy and Qiu Jin'an sat side by side, while Yun Zhi, the Grand Elder, Shangguan Yu, Lin Shaoyou, and the others sat on their respective flanks.
In his spiritual space, Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy were discussing a grave matter of life and death.
"Fairy, have you ever considered being slain by Eldest Senior Sister, and then reviving hundreds of thousands of years later?"
"Eh? Why be so cruel to me?!" The Immortal Fairy was immensely astonished, feeling she had done nothing wrong. "Wait, you aren't angry because I didn't teach you ancient culinary arts, are you? Let me tell you, the Dao must not be lightly imparted.
"You and I are not master and disciple. Passing down teachings, imparting skills, and resolving doubts is a very solemn affair—it cannot be done casually!"
Lu Yang thought to himself, *Fairy, where do you get the nerve to think your cooking is good? Just because the Four Ancient Celestials didn't drop dead from your poison?*
Wearing a look of profound grief and lamentation, he said, "Fairy, think about it. Ever since you became Acting Sect Master, how much enmity have you drawn onto me? Even if I were made of iron, I couldn't endure it!"
Lu Yang could guarantee that once today passed, the senior brothers and sisters in the Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Soul Formation stages whom the Immortal Fairy had challenged across realms would grab their weapons and come teach him a lesson.
Only now did the Immortal Fairy realize how much trouble her playful antics had caused Lu Yang. Yet she remained unwilling to admit fault. "How can you call that drawing enmity? This is an immortal's test for you! Once you pass my test, you'll be able to obtain my legacy."
If it were Immortal Ying Tian's legacy, Lu Yang might still be tempted. But as for the Immortal Fairy's legacy, Lu Yang harbored serious doubts about whether studying it would lower his intelligence.
"This is an immortal's legacy! Do you know how many people would die for it?"
"What's in your legacy?" Lu Yang eyed the Immortal Fairy suspiciously.
"Oh, so much! Spatial techniques like Shrinking the Earth to Inches and Inches to the Ends of the Earth go without saying—you've already learned them.
"Aside from those, I can also teach time-related techniques!"
Lu Yang's heart stirred. Time-related spells were the rarest of arts; even the Dao Seeking Sect's Scripture Pavilion had barely a handful of them. The Immortal Fairy truly had some real substance to her after all.
"This spell is called the Art of Playing Dead. By casting this technique, you can become just like a corpse from inside out. You can even adjust the time at will to control the corpse's level of decay, guaranteeing that no one will see through it!
"What do you do when facing an enemy you can't defeat? Just play dead!" The Immortal Fairy looked remarkably experienced, leaving one to wonder just how many times she had feigned death.
Lu Yang suspected he was being assimilated by the Immortal Fairy, as he shockingly found her to be quite reliable.
"There is also the Water Avoidance Art, which lets you freely enter and exit lakes and oceans!"
Lu Yang's interest was piqued once more. Many mighty experts fell in battle, their remains and relics sinking into lakes and oceans. Lakes and seas could be considered natural treasure troves; if one could dive down, a massive harvest might await.
"However, remember to use the Water Avoidance Art quickly when you cast it. There's a time limit."
"What kind of time limit?"
"My Water Avoidance Art is extraordinarily comprehensive. Not only does it repel the water around you, but it also expels the water inside your body. If you use the Water Avoidance Art for too long, you might die of dehydration."
Lu Yang: "..."
"You should just let your legacy gather dust."
"Hey, how can you be like that?!" The Immortal Fairy stamped her feet in indignation.
In the outside world, Qiu Jin'an turned his head, interrupting the two's conversation, and asked the Immortal Fairy, "Sect Master Lu seems to possess deep knowledge of ancient matters. Might I consult Sect Master Lu on a few questions?"
Qiu Jin'an did not look down on Lu Yang due to his young age. Since the youth was the Acting Sect Master, he had to treat Lu Yang as an equal.
The Immortal Fairy felt Qiu Jin'an had a decent attitude. "Certainly, but after I answer your questions, you must tell me where you obtained Immortal Ying Tian's book."
Lu Yang understood what the Immortal Fairy meant. The presence of Immortal Ying Tian's book indicated an ancient ruin; she wanted to search there for traces of herself and the ancient past.
"Agreed," Qiu Jin'an assented.
"I heard that in the Ancient Era, there was a divine being who remained alive even after his head was severed, using his nipples as eyes and his navel as a mouth."
"There was indeed such a fellow."
"I would like to know: did he wear a shirt?" Qiu Jin'an was deeply interested in such ancient legends.
The Immortal Fairy pondered for a moment and said, "Normally, he didn't wear one—he went bare-chested. However, that also caused him quite a few troubles.
"For instance, some large tribes were rather particular and barred anyone who wasn't properly dressed. If he went bare-chested like a savage, he couldn't enter; but if he put on clothes, he looked like a masked bandit and wasn't allowed in either, putting him in a terrible dilemma.
"Later, he got clever: he fitted himself with a fake head and put on clothes, so no one could tell. One day, however, he put the head on backwards, terrifying everyone around him into thinking someone had snapped his neck and turned him into a zombie wandering the streets."
Chapter 165