I'm Still an Infant!

"That fellow in the imperial palace stays secluded in the forbidden grounds and rarely makes a move; it's unlikely to be him. Could it be Yun Zhi of the Dao Seeking Sect then? "No, that's not right either. My avatar was hidden beside the Immortal Celestial, and the Immortal Cult has always been cautious. How could anyone have found their doorstep? "Could it be that the Immortal Celestial had an awakening of conscience, mended his ways, and turned himself in to the Great Xia Dynasty or the Dao Seeking Sect to seek leniency?" Whenever those few figures on the Central Continent were mentioned, the shadowy silhouette felt a deep headache. Ever since the end of antiquity, he had been scheming and laying his plans. Everything had been arranged meticulously; by all rights, nothing should have gone wrong. Neither the Great Qian nor the Great Yu eras had deviated from his calculations. He had proclaimed that future generations would hold opportunities to become celestials, putting people into slumber so they would awaken during the struggle of the Golden Age and muddy the waters. Only during the Great Xia Dynasty did unforeseen figures appear one after another, including those who had attained celestialhood. Those who attained celestialhood were no longer pawns, but players standing on equal footing with him, forcing him to revise his plans time and again. "Especially that Yun Zhi. Young as she is, her talent reigns supreme across past and present." "My Lord, may I ask who this Yun Zhi is...?" The attendant searched his memory of the prominent figures of the Central Continent, yet among the mighty experts who swayed the continent's tides, none went by the name of Yun Zhi. His Lord rarely praised anyone, and heaping such unstinting praise was a first. Just how astonishing was this Yun Zhi's talent? The shadow sneered. "Merely a little girl from the Dao Seeking Sect. A century ago, when I traveled to the Central Continent, she came out in person to greet me and warmly inquired where I was from. I couldn't be bothered to entertain her, and she had little to say in response. "Afterward, seeing that she had some ability, I traded blows with her to offer some pointers. Once we finished, I intended to leave, yet she pursued me relentlessly, begging for further guidance. I figured that friendship between cultivators should be as pure and undemanding as water, so why force things? It was best for our karmic affinity to end right there, as too much guidance would only disrupt her path. "I used an escape technique to depart immediately, unwilling to become overly entangled with her." "Your cultivation is supreme through the ages, My Lord!" The attendant clasped his fists in praise, drawing hearty laughter from the shadow. The attendant felt fortunate. Once swept into the struggle of the Golden Age, a single misstep would cast one into irrevocable damnation; remaining at his Lord's side was far safer. His Lord possessed peerless cultivation and had plotted across eternity. He was bound to seize every advantage in the struggle of the Golden Age. Following in his Lord's wake to enjoy whatever scraps fell from the table would be enough to live joyfully for a lifetime—and with a bit more luck, he might even attain celestialhood himself. Meanwhile, recalling his encounter with Yun Zhi a hundred years ago, the shadow felt a burn of embarrassment. Naturally, he could never admit that, seeing how young the girl was, he had taken the initiative to attack—only to be thrashed within an inch of his life and flee in utter humiliation. Having lived for countless ages, to be bested by a mere child and forced to run away was nothing short of a disgrace. Such things could never be spoken to a subordinate, lest his authority be undermined. The shadow looked back on the events of a century ago. Back then, he had simply wanted to visit the Immortal Cult to see how much longer it would take to form a rudimentary Dao fruit. Yet before he could even reach their lair, he ran into Yun Zhi, and a fierce battle immediately erupted. Reflecting on the strength Yun Zhi had displayed, the shadow believed she could be called the foremost figure of the Central Continent—and the greatest obstacle in the struggle of the Golden Age. Which was why, ever since then, he had sent only avatars to the Central Continent to avoid being captured. *Could it be that the Great Xia Dynasty is blessed by destiny?* Destiny was an elusive and intangible concept. To become a celestial required not only talent and strength, but also fortune. For instance, the Tribulation Transcendence cultivator who had learned Words as Law back then had also possessed the potential to attain celestialhood. Yet his luck was abysmal; he had run into Huang Doudou and suffered an untimely demise. The shadowy figure pondered for a long time without reaching an answer, so he simply gave up on the matter. "Enough, no point dwelling on it. Now that my avatar has been destroyed, it means the matter of the rudimentary Immortal Dao fruit has been discovered. The people of the Central Continent will be on high alert against celestials infiltrating their lands. Being caught would spawn needless complications. All I need to do is refrain from going to the Central Continent for the time being. Once the Immortal Dao fruit nears maturity, I will make my move and harvest it! "If I can obtain the Immortal Dao fruit, I will hold every advantage in the struggle of the Golden Age! "It's just a pity about the Immortal Fairy; she is destined never to revive. It's her own fault for holding the Immortal Dao fruit. If she does not die, no one else can ever claim it. "Who could have imagined back then that the one to bear the Immortal Dao fruit would be her? How enviable..." The shadowy figure drifted farther away, his voice fading into silence, leaving behind only a floor of withered bones. "What should we do with the Immortal Cult?" Lu Yang voiced his question. The objective of this trip had already been accomplished: they had located the Immortal Cult's headquarters, captured the Immortal Celestial, and even forced an avatar of the mastermind behind the scenes to self-detonate. Only one final issue remained: what to do with the Immortal Cult. Would dealing with the Immortal Cult rashly startle the snake in the grass and alert the mastermind behind the scenes? Could they use the Immortal Cult as bait to lure him out? Yun Zhi looked at Lu Yang in surprise, baffled by why he would even ask. "Report it to the authorities, of course." "Huh?" "There are so many people here that even if our Dao Seeking Sect captured them all, we couldn't interrogate them all. It's better to let the Great Xia Dynasty come and handle it." Lu Yang nearly blurted out, *Does our Dao Seeking Sect even have such law-abiding methods?* In Lu Yang's impression, torturing confessions, coercion and bribery, infiltrating demonic cults, taking first place in a demonic cult competition—weren't those the kinds of things the Dao Seeking Sect did? *Oh, right. Half of that was done by me.* "When are we reporting it?" Lu Yang asked, eager to try. The feeling of busting a massive hideout was quite exhilarating. Yun Zhi gave it some thought. "Four days ago?" "What?" Yun Zhi explained, "Four days ago, right after entering the headquarters, my divine soul projected outward and reported it to the Great Xia Dynasty. The reason I didn't take action immediately was that I wanted to wait until everyone in the Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement stages arrived before hauling in the net. "Of course, the Immortal Celestial was an unexpected harvest, something even I hadn't anticipated." The Immortal Celestial felt he had truly brought this upon himself by having too much free time. Why did he have to go and attempt a body seizure when things were fine? So long as he had stayed hidden, even if the entire Immortal Cult were wiped out, the Great Xia Dynasty would never have found him. Yun Zhi turned her gaze upon the Immortal Celestial. "As for you..." The Immortal Celestial hurriedly said, "My body seizure was an attempted crime, which can be likened to attempted murder! It doesn't warrant the death penalty! "I've always been law-abiding and never committed a single crime! Look, even my statue is reading the penal code!" Lu Yang glanced over, and sure enough, the statue of the Immortal Celestial was holding a copy of the penal code. The Cult Master had worked fast; the statue's pose had already been changed so that the Immortal Celestial was holding the penal code, aimed at encouraging the cult members to study the law. "Besides, my soul only became complete the moment I received my name! Only five days have passed since then. Right now, I'm only five days old—I'm still an infant! Under Great Xia's penal code, I'm a person below the age of criminal responsibility, exempt from criminal liability, and not subject to punishment under the penal code! "I'm still an infant! Please be magnanimous, My Lord, show mercy, and spare my humble life!" Lu Yang stared at the Immortal Celestial's decrepit face that was practically one foot in the grave, thinking that his name truly wasn't mistaken. *How could you bring yourself to say something so shameless?* Some people were dead, yet not completely dead...