Inside the spiritual space, two peerless beauties sat side by side, each possessed of her own distinct grace, making for a truly delightful sight.
Yun Zhi sat quietly holding a scroll of a book, radiating a scholarly aura and an air of complete detachment from worldly strife.
The Immortal Fairy sat sprawled out, yawning out of sheer boredom, looking utterly out of touch with the world.
"Little girl, at our realm of cultivation, why do you still need to read page by page? Wouldn't a quick sweep of your divine sense tell you everything?" the Immortal Fairy asked with a yawn, completely disregarding her own image.
Standing off to the side, Lu Yang shook his head repeatedly. *Such a gorgeous fairy; what a pity she can move.*
Yun Zhi smiled and shook her head. "Senior might not know, but with things like books, the greatest joy lies in turning them page by page. You never know what surprise awaits you on the next. If you simply swept over it with your divine sense, wouldn't that greatest joy be gone?"
The Immortal Fairy gave it some thought and decided it actually sounded rather nice. "Then what book are you reading?"
"*How to Be a Good Eldest Senior Sister*."
"Quite a novel title."
"Indeed. I wrote it."
"..."
Standing nearby, Lu Yang asked casually, with no intention of stirring up trouble, "Eldest Senior Sister, don't you mind that the Fairy calls you a little girl?"
The Immortal Fairy glared at Lu Yang. Was that the kind of question a Cult Founder should be asking?
Yun Zhi gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Senior is not mistaken. Even setting aside the fact that Senior lived three hundred thousand years ago, purely based on her actual age, there is nothing wrong with her calling me a little girl."
Perhaps simplemindedness bolstered a coward's courage, for the Immortal Fairy suddenly puffed up her chest. "Hey, hey, hey! I can't just pretend I didn't hear that! I'm clearly only sixteen years old!"
Lu Yang chimed in, "Fairy, are you referring to your IQ or the developmental stage of your brain?"
The Immortal Fairy flew into a rage, clamoring to fight Lu Yang one-on-one. Unwilling to back down, Lu Yang darted behind Eldest Senior Sister.
"Come out if you've got the guts!"
"Come over here if you've got the guts!"
Neither yielded an inch.
While the Immortal Fairy and Lu Yang bickered noisily, Eldest Senior Sister quietly read her book beside them.
Halfway through the quarrel, Lu Yang suddenly remembered something. "Eldest Senior Sister, don't you need to project your spirit outward to scout out the layout of this headquarters?"
The three of them had low cultivation bases and didn't dare wander around, but Eldest Senior Sister was different. If her divine soul left her body, no one would be able to detect her.
Out in reality, Lu Yang and the other two were dutifully cultivating, going nowhere at all.
The Immortal Fairy rolled her eyes. "You mean her? Her spirit wandered out ages ago. The one you're looking at right now is just a soul avatar she left behind."
If it weren't merely a soul avatar, the Immortal Fairy wouldn't have dared speak to Yun Zhi like that in the first place.
Lu Yang: "... Truly undetected by anyone."
Himself included.
...
The Immortal Cult was teeming with experts, including earth-shattering powerhouses and peerless paragons. Yet not a single person noticed a divine soul moving through the headquarters, quietly observing everything.
Yun Zhi's cultivation was fathomlessly deep, allowing her to come and go from the Immortal Cult headquarters as she pleased.
She discovered that the Immortal Cult headquarters was laid out with meticulous care, possessing a total of twenty-five exits. In the event of an unexpected crisis, the cult members would escape through these twenty-five exits, making it extremely difficult to capture them all.
However, Yun Zhi had already scouted the locations of all twenty-five exits and locked onto them with her divine soul. The moment she made a move, she could guarantee that not a soul would leave through those exits, trapping them like turtles in a jar.
She noticed that the grotto-heaven housing the headquarters was somewhat barren, likely a remnant left behind from the Dayu Era that the Immortal Cult had stumbled upon by chance.
Yun Zhi continued flying deeper into the headquarters, noticing a secret chamber at the very back. The chamber's exterior was reinforced with all manner of formations, ensuring that no one could slip inside unnoticed.
Except Yun Zhi.
Yun Zhi stepped into the secret chamber to find the Cult Master paying homage before a statue of the Immortal Celestial. From within the statue, a thick plume of smoke drifted outward, coalescing into the form of an old man.
*Hm?* Yun Zhi frowned.
Neither the Cult Master nor the Immortal Celestial detected Yun Zhi, who had concealed her aura to the absolute limit.
"Celestial, there is a matter I fail to understand. I humbly request your guidance."
"Child, speak."
"The ancient records state that you are bloodthirsty and fond of slaughter. To please you, we have slain countless lives."
"Perished living beings are one of the sources of this Celestial's power."
The Cult Master wore a troubled frown. "To help you regain your peak, our slaughtering is no great issue. It's just that market conditions haven't been favorable lately. The righteous path has been investigating more and more strictly, making life hard for our cult members.
"A few days ago, I even organized a criminal law quiz and a lecture on the exclusionary rule for illegal evidence, striving to improve the members' literacy and grasp of the law. That way, they leave behind less evidence when committing offenses, and if they really do get caught, knowing criminal law will help them defend themselves."
The Immortal Celestial scratched his chin. "Are you asking this Celestial to organize a legal lecture as well?"
"No. I've realized our members' learning ability is concerning, and they dislike studying criminal law. To improve everyone's enthusiasm for learning, I'd like to alter the appearance of your statue to show you holding a copy of the criminal code. We can also publicize to the outside that you, Celestial, are an avid student of the law."
The Immortal Celestial: "... Do you have anything else?"
"Yes. I wanted to ask, does your power have to come from killing humans, or will killing other things do? To be entirely frank, my family used to run a slaughterhouse. Although we're out of the business now, I know the exact procedures well. What do you think about rebranding the Immortal Cult into the Immortal Slaughterhouse? We can go legitimate, and the cult members will be safe.
"Furthermore, our cult has three talents who excel at barbecue. When the time comes, we could open a chain of barbecue restaurants linked to the slaughterhouse, establishing an integrated industrial chain. It kills multiple birds with one stone!"
Seeing that the Immortal Celestial seemed about to say something, the Cult Master quickly pressed on, "Are you worried about taxes? Rest assured on that front. The reason I was wanted in the first place was for evading too many taxes, leaving me no choice but to turn to the demonic path. When it comes to taxation, I'm a professional!"
The Cult Master sounded remarkably confident as he spoke, his eyes gleaming with light.
The Immortal Celestial: "... If there's nothing else, may I go back?"
"There is one more minor matter."
The Cult Master respectfully produced several sheets of paper.
"What is this?"
"A drill plan. After all, we just changed headquarters and aren't familiar with the escape routes yet. In a little while, we plan to conduct a large-scale emergency drill under the assumption that the righteous path has attacked, requiring us to flee immediately. Celestial, would you like to participate?"
The Immortal Celestial fell silent for a long time, contemplating whether he should step down and let the Cult Master take his place as the object of worship.
"No need. This Celestial can manifest at will upon my statue; the righteous path cannot catch me. Also, organize the trial as soon as possible. The sooner this Celestial seizes a body, the sooner I can cultivate and return to my peak."
"Oh."
...
"Hm? She's back," the Immortal Fairy suddenly said inside the spiritual space, though Lu Yang sensed nothing.
From the Immortal Fairy's perspective, a golden beam of light flew in from outside, merging into one with the Yun Zhi present here.
A celestial was a celestial after all, possessing genuine ability.
Eldest Senior Sister set down her work, her expression distinctly different from before. Her delicate brows were slightly knit, as if she had discovered something.
Looking at the Immortal Fairy, she said hesitatingly, "Senior, you've become a fake."
"What?"
Chapter 187