Chapter 6: Departure

Chapter 6: Setting Off

Between transmigrating and one hell of a gamble, Chu Jingxi had hit all three boxes for a winner in life:

A prestigious clan, Heaven's favored one, and stinking rich.

Then several days passed, and he was just about to starve to death.

When the attendant came in to deliver food, seeing Chu Jingxi sprawled half-dead on the lounge chair, barely breathing, he was startled.

Chu Jingxi mechanically turned around, catching sight of the pills on the tray out of the corner of his eye, convinced he was done for sooner or later.

Family scions in the immortal domain basically didn't need to eat three square meals a day, which meant what arrived daily were the same boring fasting pills.

With a mortal body, he couldn't handle even one normal fasting pill's dosage, so the pills they sent were only the size of little pearls.

He couldn't think about it—the second he did, Chu Jingxi would start shedding little pearls of his own.

Downing the pill in one go, he muttered the system's assessment weakly: "I am a person."

I'm starving to death...

The attendant said, "The fasting pill kicks in right away. The Spirit Pharmacist specially adjusted the dosage, so you should be feeling pretty full by now."

Chu Jingxi rubbed his stomach: "This isn't 'full,' this is 'gassy and bloated.'"

So now he was full of gas and full of annoyance.

The attendant didn't pick up on the self-deprecation: "Want another one?"

Chu Jingxi lifted his arm and pointed at the door: "...Scram."

His pronunciation was garbled, but this time the attendant got it.

Not one to just sit around and wait to die, Chu Jingxi went to find the Butterfly Demon. When he heard Chu Jingxi couldn't stomach the fasting pills, the Butterfly Demon enthusiastically said, "Why didn't you say so sooner? I eat other stuff all the time."

Under Chu Jingxi's hopeful gaze, it fetched two bottles of fresh spiritual flower nectar: "Here, this'll help you digest."

"You have to be full before you can digest anything!!"

The immortal domain was so rich in spiritual energy that even a pig might take flight after hanging around a while. The spiritual energy fed his body but also made him hungrier.

Chu Jingxi came back twice as hungry, but at least the trip wasn't a total loss.

There was the Golden Devouring Art, the Withered Glory Technique, Drawing Thunder into the Body, Sinking into the Deep Sea, and the Kunyuan Earth Fiend Skill.

That afternoon, the Butterfly Demon showed up with the promised beginner techniques. Chu Jingxi stared at the five techniques, each matching one of the five spiritual roots, and went silent.

Every single one sounded like a one-way ticket to suicide.

The tutor opens the door, but you have to walk through it yourself. Beginner techniques were all self-taught—if you couldn't figure them out, you just weren't cut out for immortality.

"According to the tutor's test, I've got clashing gold and wood mixed spiritual roots, so I need to pick one technique first."

The Chu family had deep roots, refined over generations, so even mixed spiritual roots wouldn't cause much trouble cultivating the clan's basic techniques.

Chu Jingxi waffled between the Golden Devouring Art and the Withered Glory Technique for two seconds, then unhesitatingly picked the Golden Devouring Art.

Compared to "withered glory," this one sounded a bit safer, and at least the gold would be spent on himself.

At least he'd die a more valuable death.

"Feel the spiritual energy flowing through your body, condense the metal's origin, draw in the Geng metal qi..." Chu Jingxi read while pulling out the spirit armor he'd just traded for.

So the Golden Devouring Art started with the golden-threaded spirit armor.

Just as he was about to "dig in," a shout came from nearby: "What the hell are you doing?"

To make sure he could call for help if he choked, Chu Jingxi had deliberately moved his training spot outside the building. To the newcomer, this scene looked like pure desperation.

Chu Jingxi: "This is the Golden Devouring Art."

The errand guy from the task hall looked totally exasperated: "The Golden Devouring Art is about drawing in metal, not literally eating it!"

Chu Jingxi nodded. "Gotta get close to get the feel of it."

The sight was too much, and the attendant didn't want to stick around another second. He handed Chu Jingxi an official jade slip and an ID token, "The Canglan Secret Realm is about to open. Meet at the edge of the immortal domain at Chou hour the day after tomorrow."

"Wait."

The attendant said flatly, "I don't teach the Golden Devouring Art."

Chu Jingxi asked humbly, "What time is Chou hour exactly?"

"..."

--

Once word got out that the Canglan Secret Realm was about to open, a lot of the younger Chu family members started scrambling to make final preparations.

This secret realm wasn't exclusive to the Chu family—it was located in the lower realm, and prodigies from many other factions would be attending as well.

Chu Jingxi didn't care if it was overkill and just asked Chu Tiannan—the clan kid who'd lost the bet—to help him buy some daily necessities.

To facilitate the long journey, he also specially bought a spatial ring: stuffing soft bedding inside, a hundred catties of fruits and vegetables, and clothing and compasses—nothing missing.

The steward of the treasure pavilion, watching a spatial ring worth ten thousand High-Grade Spirit Stones being filled with such items, barely managed to keep his professional smile.

Others in the pavilion saw this and nearly said it was like gilding a chamber pot.

"You bought a spatial ring just to carry this stuff?" What a waste of heaven's gifts!

For cultivators, spending spirit stones on resources flowed like water, and many still used storage pouches.

"A ring should be the biggest and most expensive." The silver band coiled around his finger like a streak of silver serpent light. Chu Jingxi was thoroughly satisfied and swaggered out.

Before departing, he made one last visit to the Butterfly Demon, then patiently waited for nightfall.

Chou hour.

Deep in the night, a massive Warship hung across the sky. This trip was led by Elder Feng of the Law Enforcement Hall, with over a thousand Clan Guards accompanying.

The warship pierced through the clouds, tearing a rift in the heavens, its tail churning up countless wispy white trails.

Since boarding the warship, Chu Jingxi had stayed in his private cabin, quietly cultivating. Not to brag, but he discovered he actually had considerable talent for cultivation—the process of drawing Geng metal qi into his body went far more smoothly than expected.

He guessed it was related to completing daily tasks.

"As my skills improve, my body seems to be changing too."

His meridians had solidified considerably, and when Chu Jingxi looked into the distance, he could even make out the patterns on a bird's feathers.

The system popped up out of nowhere: "Can you quit cuddling that soft armor of yours?"

The golden silk armor was about to get sucked dry into iron wire.

Chu Jingxi didn't budge, feeling the spiritual energy coursing through his body, finally gathering in his dantian like a deep well, just a little more to fill.

"Foundation Establishment is right around the corner!"

The warship tore through the sky, flying nonstop for three days and nights. Along the way, other family scions chatted among themselves, but no one took the initiative to approach Chu Jingxi. It wasn't until the sun peeked over the clouds that a Clan Guard told him they had arrived above the Tianfeng Imperial Dynasty.

The area outside the secret realm was packed with sect cultivators, all full of swagger and high spirits. All kinds of spirit beasts stood watch over the camps, while younger disciples, nervous and hyped, asked around about past secret realm exploits. Farther off, minor clans were duking it out over territory.

The Chu family's warship landed right at the front spot by the entrance. Elder Feng felt the fluctuations at the entrance and figured it'd be a while before it opened.

"Set up camp."

The Chu family was always the center of everyone's attention, and a sharp-eyed cultivator immediately caught something off: "Did the Chu family bring an extra person this year?"

The Canglan Secret Realm only opened once every ten years, and its slots were super precious—some minor clans only got one spot for their whole clan.

The one speaking was a royal brat from the Tianfeng Imperial Dynasty.

Chu Jingxi had once crossed paths with the Tianfeng Imperial Dynasty's ruler, but that was in the imperial capital, where he and Yan Zizhan only stopped by briefly, and it never got spread around.

Seeing his words fall flat with zero response, the royal brat frowned and stepped up: "By the rules of the Immortal Alliance..."

This time, his words didn't fall flat—because he got sent flying into the sky.

An elder from the dynasty, tagging along, timely blocked the leftover force of the attack, waving his sleeve to shove back Chu Suye, who'd just thrown the punch, and said in a deep voice: "Young friend, that's too much."

Elder Feng, heading the group, shot a cold glance over: "Say one more word, and not a single one of your Tianfeng Imperial Dynasty people gets in today."

Facing this fuss, the big clans and holy lands pretended not to notice, while the minor clans were too scared to speak, even though they were pissed.

As the extra guy, Chu Jingxi stood in the camp, watching Chu Suye walk over, and offered a bit of concern: "You okay?"

Chu Suye sneered: "He'd better not dare."

Seeing Chu Jingxi standing there all calm, her tone eased up a bit: "Remember this—whether our Chu family brings one extra or ten extra, they've gotta deal with it."

"..." We're like the bad guys in one of those stories.

With that, Chu Suye went back to her tent to catch her breath. Elder Feng then waved Chu Jingxi over and handed him a protective talisman.

Secret realm inheritances usually didn't kill anyone—anyone who threw a punch would get teleported out instantly—but you couldn't rule out weird exceptions.

You can never have too many life-saving items, so Chu Jingxi stashed it away right away: "Thanks, Elder."

Elder Feng closed his eyes and meditated: "Do you think our Chu family's too overbearing?"

Chu Jingxi: "No."

In a world where the strong ate the weak, he couldn't even get a foothold himself—why would he care about others?

Elder Feng said coolly: "Most of the inheritances in the secret realm originally came from our Chu family."

Chu Jingxi was taken aback.

"Back in the war against the Ghost Clan, our Chu family sent the most fighters, followed by the Immortal Alliance, the holy lands, and forces like the Taiqing Sect. Countless Great Cultivators had their bodies shattered and couldn't make it back to their clans, finally dying near the Tianfeng Imperial Dynasty."

When it came to important family history, Elder Feng was patient enough to explain: "To rally more forces, the Immortal Alliance handed out a small chunk of secret realm slots to minor clans that had dodged the fight. Over the past century, they've been freeloading off the benefits."

Before Chu Jingxi could fully process the family history, the system popped up out of nowhere—

"Congrats, you've triggered a quest."

"Side quest: Among the cultivators entering the secret realm this time, find the hidden Ghost Clan spy and thwart the Ghost Clan's conspiracy."

"Quest reward 1: Gain 500 experience points, usable to upgrade the technique 'Silence, Fellow Daoist.'"

"Quest reward 2: Talent 'Negotiator' upgraded, talent 'Public Relations Consultant' upgraded."

"Failure penalty: Deduct 1,000 experience points and erase the talent 'Top Salesman.'"

If the system hadn't mentioned it, Chu Jingxi would have nearly forgotten he still had a few useless talents.

He was more concerned about his life-saving skills now—if 1,000 points were deducted, wouldn't his skill experience go straight into the negatives?!

Not to mention how absurd the quest itself was.

With this many people, and him knowing almost no one, finding a spy was harder than reaching the heavens. There was also a fatal problem: first, the secret realm forbade fighting; second, even if he did fight, he couldn't beat anyone.

Chu Jingxi's brows furrowed—the side quest's difficulty far exceeded that of daily quests.

However...

That actually put his mind at ease.

Chu Jingxi lowered his eyes. High risk with high reward was a good thing. If the risk were low but the reward high, then there would be something to ponder.

There was still some time before the secret realm opened, so he turned and headed back to his tent.

Fruits were laid out on the small round table. Chu Jingxi sat cross-legged on an extremely soft cushion, seizing the last moments to cultivate the *Gold Devouring Art*.

He could think about the quest once he entered the secret realm. For now, he was only one step away from truly embarking on his cultivation journey.

The technique began to circulate. Before he knew how much time had passed, the surrounding spiritual energy subtly stirred, flowing into Chu Jingxi's meridians one after another.

Outside the tent, a ripple appeared in the air.

Many forces were still striving for positions closer to the secret realm's entrance. Based on past experience, the earlier one entered, the deeper into the secret realm one would be teleported, and the higher the chance of obtaining scattered techniques and weapons.

The cultivators around were almost all preparing now, and more sects from distant places continued to arrive. The space around the secret realm was unstable, with white light occasionally seeping from the entrance. The spiritual energy fluctuations sent birds scattering in panic, and some demonic beasts, sensing the extraordinary aura, circled menacingly on distant mountain peaks.

"The secret realm is about to open."

Disciples from various forces gathered. Elder Feng swept his gaze across and noticed one person was still missing.

A Clan Guard ran to the tent to call for him. Almost at the same moment, the tent flap was pushed open from inside, and Chu Jingxi walked out brimming with energy.

His aura was more solid than before, his steps light. He had even tied up his hair and changed into new clothes.

Finally! He'd made it.

The Clan Guard didn't pay much attention to the subtle change in his aura and was about to urge him along when suddenly, a strange light burst before his eyes—had the secret realm opened?! Then he realized something was wrong. The light wasn't coming from ahead, but from above.

A peculiarity appeared in the sky. The great cultivators of various clans, who had been standing with bated breath, suddenly sensed something and looked up in surprise.

A flash of purple light blazed through the clouds.

At the center of the light, flash after flash, Chu Jingxi also realized something was wrong. He looked up and almost let out a "what the hell."

A bolt of lightning was hurtling toward him at the speed of light! Midway, the thunderclap hung suspended like the Sword of Damocles for two full seconds, then struck down violently.

Chu Jingxi bolted like a scared rabbit, without hesitation using the talisman Elder Feng had given him earlier to defend himself, cussing as he ran: "Why isn't the Heavenly Tribulation making any noise?"

The pause meant the skill had worked—it always made the opponent yap nonstop. Shouldn't the tribulation come rumbling through like a tractor?

The system said flatly, "The Heavenly Tribulation doesn't do 'quotes.'"

"You piece of %&￥#..."

"Is that... a tribulation?" The tribulation clouds were quite limited in scope. Cultivators farther away fighting for better positions realized belatedly and immediately scattered—who the hell was going through tribulation in a public area?

This lightning was also unprecedentedly sneaky—not a single sound, crashing down like a silent movie.

Trying to zap someone to death?!

Amid the rumbling boom, the ground was scorched black. The lightning that was a catastrophic disaster for Chu Jingxi left everyone else speechless—the power was way too weak. It didn't even affect ten miles around, let alone a hundred.

Cultivators casually drifted to the edges, hovering in the air to watch.

Some even wondered if it was just weather: "Maybe it's a natural disaster."

For a moment, only Chu Jingxi was left below, stuck in a pit. Afraid of getting one-shot if he poked his head out, he was cautiously "looking at the sky from the bottom of a well."

The contrast made the whole scene hilarious.

The royalty of Tianfeng Imperial City, who'd had their pride bruised earlier, now saw that the one in trouble was a Chu family member, and couldn't hide their smug grins.

"What a disgrace." Their muttering lasted barely two seconds before the smiles vanished.

Wait... "Foundation Establishment?" The breakthrough aura couldn't be faked—this was definitely a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Even before them, plenty of Great Cultivators had already been peering into the pit.

Cultivators only hit their first tribulation when forming a Nascent Soul; nobody had ever heard of someone going through tribulation at Foundation Establishment.

Small sects had limited info, but in some big clans, they quickly matched the identity: "I've met all the Chu family geniuses—only this one... it's probably that branch of the Chu family that was left outside. I heard Yan Zizhan from the Taiqing Sect personally brought him back."

Everyone turned to the Taiqing Sect, where the guardian elder said calmly, "Thunder tribulations vary from person to person."

Some go through seven thunder tribulations, some nine. Different talents and strengths mean different tribulations.

The logic was simple—it was just so unheard of that people couldn't wrap their heads around it at first.

Just how monstrous was this talent to draw a tribulation at Foundation Establishment?

As the center of all this attention, Chu Jingxi finally crawled out of the pit.

Before he could even mourn the talisman he'd burned, his body suddenly locked up on its own.

For a few seconds, his limbs were frozen solid, completely wrapped in an unknown presence. Chu Jingxi did his best to hide his panic, glancing around—that piercing feeling wasn't from the cultivators above... it was...

Chu Jingxi suddenly looked up and locked onto the source.

It was the secret realm!

Around him, cultivators were still processing the bizarre Foundation Establishment tribulation when they felt the secret realm stir. Several elders looked up—tall phantoms appeared in the tear in the sky, various pressures converging, all aimed this way, as if staring at the odd one out.

The demon clan, silent until now, suddenly spat out indignantly: "What a sly brat!"

Inside the Canglan Secret Realm, lingering consciousnesses of dead Great Cultivators waited for heirs to their legacies.

With the secret realm's passage half open, going through tribulation in public was like handing in a calling card—showing off to stand out from the crowd!

The old fox was indeed the craftiest—Elder Feng immediately backed him up: "If the demon clan has any junior who can pull off a Foundation Establishment tribulation, they're welcome to come out and show off. This kid was personally vetted by Cang Kun, with limitless potential ahead."

Even knowing the elder's game, cultivators couldn't help but be stunned. Immortal protection, Foundation Establishment tribulation, Cang Kun's prophecy—any one of these alone proved this kid was no ordinary fish.

So why had he had no cultivation before?

The Chu family scions also spoke up at this point.

"Sly or not? You demons are probably just mad that the top spot on the Immortal Beauty List got taken. If you've got the chops, why don't you sway an immortal as a mortal?"

Among the Great Cultivators who died in the secret realm, one specialized in soul-snatching—maybe that specialty was a perfect match.

First on the Immortal Beauty List, the one with Innate Charm!

These words hit the crowd like a bombshell.

For a moment, even the pressure from the secret realm above couldn't drown out the noise from the cultivators below. The elders stayed quiet, while the younger cultivators were secretly rattled.

Praise, shock, envy... emotions crashed over him like a tidal wave. Chu Jingxi had already been labeled a once-in-a-billion-years genius.

Even the reason for his lack of cultivation got filled in by speculation—someone brought up the ancient method of rebuilding from crippled meridians to forge a perfect Foundation Establishment.

Chu Jingxi held his breath, frozen.

"System, what should I do?"

"Be your male idol."

"..."

Author's note:

Chu Jingxi: The nail that sticks out gets hammered down.

Probably, maybe, perhaps... no one would go after a Foundation Establishment cultivator, right?