The Drill

When Eldest Senior Sister recounted what she had witnessed in the secret chamber, the Immortal Fairy was infuriated. "Which bastard dares to impersonate this immortal?! Don't they know that back in the ancient era, I swept across the world without an equal, and anyone who saw me had to walk the long way around?!" The Immortal Fairy had every right to be proud. After all, cultivators who mastered Words as Law were essentially invincible among their peers, yet one had died at her hands. "I felt a familiar aura on the Cult Master. Could it have come from that person impersonating me?" The more the Immortal Fairy thought about it, the angrier she grew, clamoring to go out and confront the Immortal Celestial to expose his true colors! Yun Zhi stopped her. "Senior, please don't be hasty. That person calling himself the Immortal Celestial can manifest freely within his statues, and statues of the Immortal Celestial are spread across the entire continent. If we let him escape, it will be very difficult to catch him then." "Then what do you mean..." "When the Cult Master conversed with the Immortal Celestial, he mentioned the upcoming selection. On the surface, it is a selection of talent, but in truth, it is to choose a vessel for the Immortal Celestial's body seizure. As long as Lu Yang becomes the chosen vessel, the Immortal Celestial will walk right into the trap. When that time comes, he won't be able to escape." As if awakening from a dream, the Immortal Fairy said, "Little girl, you've got quite the clever mind!" "Hmm?" Yun Zhi raised an eyebrow. Seeing that the fairy with a screw loose was about to annoy Eldest Senior Sister, Lu Yang hurriedly beat a retreat. When Eldest Senior Sister's divine soul had left her body, she wouldn't care about what she was called, but now that her divine soul was whole, there was no telling. *Fairy, you'd best pray for yourself.* *Still, what is actually going on with this Immortal Celestial?* Lu Yang had never expected there to really be an Immortal Celestial. Was the fifth immortal of the ancient era the Immortal Celestial, or the Immortal Fairy? Emotionally speaking, Lu Yang leaned toward the latter. From the standpoint of sheer grandeur, Lu Yang leaned toward the former. *Or could there have been a sixth immortal in the ancient era?* Lu Yang opened his eyes, emerging from his cultivation state, and gauged his current realm. "I should now be at the peak great perfection of the middle Foundation Establishment stage, just half a step away from the half-step late Foundation Establishment stage." "Are you just piling up words for the hell of it?" Meng Jingzhou scoffed from the side, having also emerged from cultivation. Man Gu looked thoughtful. "Is dividing cultivation realms so meticulously one of the reasons Brother Lu is so strong?" Meng Jingzhou hurriedly stopped Man Gu. "Don't overthink it. Lu Yang's having a fit of madness—you don't need to join in with him." "You three, get ready for the drill!" a cult member at the door called out to remind them. Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu were completely bewildered. *A drill? What drill?* Sound-amplifying formations placed throughout the area began to blare: "Attention all personnel: the righteous path is about to attack! Attention all personnel: the righteous path is about to attack!" Believers hyping up the atmosphere screamed outside: "The righteous path is here! We're finished!" "Hurry and run!" "We'd rather die than surrender!" "Fight the righteous dogs to the death!" "Hahaha, dogs of the righteous path, don't think you can catch me!" "Immortal Celestial protect us!" Following that came the frantic clatter of scurrying footsteps. Lu Yang: "...You guys really get into character, don't you." Lu Yang briefly explained the drill to Meng Jingzhou and Man Gu, and only then did the two realize what was happening. The three hurried out of the room, shouting as they ran, "Oh no! Forces from the Great Xia Dynasty and the Five Great Immortal Sects have joined hands and broken in!" A man in front glared at the trio. "Don't yell nonsense! If both the Great Xia Dynasty and the Five Great Immortal Sects came, we'd have to switch to a surrender drill!" Clearly, the Immortal Cult had categorized their drills with great detail. Along the escape route, Lu Yang saw cult members briskly packing their belongings into storage rings, their movements so practiced it was almost heartbreaking. Some wailed at the top of their lungs, claiming they would live and die with the headquarters. Others took advantage of the chaos to steal things, making off with hands full of loot. "Hey, what do you think you're doing, you little bastard?!" a cult member shouted upon spotting a thief. The man didn't even turn his head. "It's a drill! The more realistic, the better! Things like this could totally happen!" "Catch the thief!" The Immortal Cult fell into total chaos; the drill was strikingly lifelike. Lu Yang and the others followed the congregation toward an exit. Emerging from the exit, they traveled an unknown distance before arriving at a completely unfamiliar location. The one bringing up the rear for this escape route was Vice Cult Master Jin. He destroyed the exit and severed karma so that the righteous path could not track them down—a seamless sequence of actions that showed plenty of practice. The cult members clapped one after another, delighting in the conclusion of another successful drill. Only Man Gu had a question: "How are we supposed to get back?" The entire area fell dead silent. *Right... in previous drills, we never severed the tunnel. Why did he sever it this time?* With the tunnel severed and karma erased, returning the way they came? Not a chance! Vice Cult Master Jin felt a bit awkward. He had gotten carried away with the drill, too immersed in the role, acting as if the righteous path were truly coming. However, as a vice cult master, he quickly found a remedy. "Everyone, don't panic. I have a flying boat in my storage ring that can fit us all. We'll fly back." The headquarters was packed with experts; apart from a small minority like Lu Yang and his companions, everyone could fly. However, a massive swarm of cultivators flying through the sky would easily attract the Great Xia Dynasty's attention. If a few Great Xia constables came over to investigate, saying, *Halt, show your identification*, and then—bam!—every single one was a big shot on the wanted lists, with life imprisonment as the lightest sentence... That would be a joke. It was better to ride a flying boat and disguise themselves as low-stage cultivators who had rented a vessel for sightseeing. That was a very common sight and wouldn't be checked. Vice Cult Master Jin took out a somewhat dated-looking flying boat from his storage ring. This was intentional on his part, as such a design wouldn't draw official notice. Everyone was a seasoned veteran and understood Vice Cult Master Jin's reasoning. They all boarded the flying boat and suppressed their cultivation, outwardly appearing at the Qi Refinement stage. Lu Yang and his companions, who were at Foundation Establishment, ironically had the highest visible cultivation. On the flying boat, Vice Cult Master Jin consoled everyone: "Actually, it's not a big deal. At the flying boat's speed, by the time we get back, the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement geniuses from the branch halls will just about have arrived. The timing will be perfect." ... The flying boat glided leisurely through the air, completely unaware that danger was already approaching. Not far from the flying boat hovered three mysterious figures in gray robes. "How about this flying boat?" "It's not from the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce or any of the other major chambers. It looks pretty worn—probably a rental." "There are quite a few people, but their cultivation is pathetic. Only three at Foundation Establishment. Let's make an easy score off them; maybe someone's hoarding something good." "Shall we do it?" "Do it!" The three gray-robed men turned into streaks of light, rapidly closing in on the flying boat and setting up a formation to trap it. "Don't move! This is a robbery!" one sneered ferociously, two blade scars etched across his face, looking every bit the desperate outlaw. "I reckon you've heard the fierce reputation of us Three Hu Brothers! Hand over your valuables obediently, and we guarantee you'll live!" another stuck out a long tongue and licked a sharp dagger, looking quite perverse. "If you refuse, don't blame us for being ruthless!" The third let out strange shrieks that sounded like a weeping ghost, chilling to the bone. "Don't think we don't dare kill! We've killed more people than you've ever seen!" They released terrifying auras to intimidate everyone. These three were actually at the early Nascent Soul stage! Generally speaking, once they unleashed their auras, the victims would give up resisting, hand over their valuables, and beg for their lives. As for whether they spared anyone, that depended entirely on their mood. Then, the Three Hu Brothers watched as the passengers on the flying boat showed no sign of fear. Instead, they all broke into strange, eerie smiles. One by one, the passengers released their auras: Nascent Soul stage, Soul Formation stage, Void Refining stage... Feeling auras far beyond their comprehension, the Three Hu Brothers swallowed hard. *We're done for. Looks like we've hit a brick wall.* Vice Cult Master Jin stood up and asked in an unhurried manner, "I heard you've killed more people than we've ever seen?"