Chu Xingchen naturally stepped inside.
At the moment, Xie Lingyu was not in the room — he had no idea where she had gone.
He casually picked up a spirit fruit from nearby that was clearly worth a small fortune.
These spirit fruits were unique to Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, and their taste was exceptional.
Back during the competition, Chu Xingchen had brought quite a few of them home.
These were likely brought by Xu Jin.
One who accepts gifts must soften their words. Chu Xingchen's tone shifted to a teasing one.
"As a core disciple of the mighty Xuanqing Heavenly Sect, you of course have the freedom to go wherever you please."
"I am simply curious — how did you get word that we were here?"
A faint smile appeared on Xu Jin's face.
"I naturally asked Yanyun."
"Try one — these are not easy to come by." Chu Xingchen tossed the spirit fruit toward Zhang Miaoyu, who looked even more nervous than before.
He then turned to Xu Jin.
"You came all this way just to find me. I doubt it is for anything good."
Xu Jin did not even look up, his tone flat as he shot back.
"As if you ever come to me with good news. Last time you said you would treat me to drinks, and I have not heard from you since."
Chu Xingchen chuckled.
"Well then — better late than never. This time, Brother Yuyang will be my witness. I will buy you those drinks."
"The drinks can wait." Daozi Yuyang cut in.
He picked up an urgent jade slip from his side and pushed it toward Chu Xingchen with a pulse of spiritual energy.
"Look at your disciple's handiwork first."
Chu Xingchen reached out and caught the jade slip, his divine sense dipping into it.
In moments, he understood the sheer initiative his fifth disciple had displayed.
After a brief pause, Chu Xingchen raised his brows.
"Since he is confident he can pull it off, we might as well support him. Is a master's job not to clean up after his disciple?"
"If anything goes wrong, I will take responsibility."
Daozi Yuyang said nothing more at this — like master, like disciple, it seemed.
With only Foundation Establishment cultivation, Cui Hao's deep involvement in this matter meant the danger level was rising exponentially.
"Keep an eye on your own disciple. Do not make my Taidao Sect clean up your mess again."
Daozi Yuyang sat with a slightly languid posture. His gaze drifted to the thoroughly tense Zhang Miaoyu standing behind Chu Xingchen.
With just one glance, Daozi Yuyang was certain that Zhang Miaoyu was no disciple of Chu Xingchen.
The reason was simple — her Golden Core cultivation was far too loose and undisciplined.
She bore the unmistakable hallmarks of a wandering cultivator or a minor sect member.
Say what you will about Chu Xingchen, but he was genuinely devoted to training his disciples.
Each one he produced had a foundational solidity that rivaled — or even surpassed — those of the Eighteen Immortal Sects.
Even Cui Hao at the Foundation Establishment stage radiated the aura of someone who had honed their craft for a very long time.
Zhang Miaoyu noticed Daozi Yuyang's appraising gaze and grew even more tense — or rather, guilty.
In his Nascent Soul days, Daozi Yuyang had been an absolute legend across the entire East Victory Divine Continent.
Add to that the prestige of being a core disciple of Taidao Sect, one of the Eighteen Immortal Sects, and his reputation was towering.
Back when Zhang Miaoyu used to run her mouth with wild boasts, Daozi Yuyang was the target of roughly forty percent of her fabrications.
After all, someone who had been famous for ages had real, verifiable battle records.
If you made things up about them, you would likely be the one getting mocked.
But a newcomer with no decisive combat achievements at the Nascent Soul stage, claiming to be unbeatable among their peers — that was just arrogant.
What nonsense — this so-called Flawless Daozi was nothing but a product of resources piled high.
You could feed a pig that generously and turn it into a Flawless Giant Pig.
If she had access to those same resources, she could pin Daozi Yuyang to the ground with a single finger.
Back when she had been running her mouth, she had been completely shameless about it.
Zhang Miaoyu was well aware of what tier she actually belonged to.
In this lifetime, just catching a glimpse of Daozi Yuyang would already be incredibly lucky.
So she had boasted without restraint — what were the consequences? There would not be any.
In her mouth alone, Daozi Yuyang had been instantly killed by her at least three hundred times.
Turned into a pig roughly two hundred times.
Made to kneel and beg for mercy about a hundred times.
The spread of these stories from her lips alone likely reached several thousand cultivators.
And if those stories then passed through other people's mouths and spread even further...
Who knew how many people had heard them by now.
Right now, Zhang Miaoyu was terrified that Daozi Yuyang might suddenly open his mouth and say:
"So you are the Zhang Miaoyu — the Zhang Zhenren — who was supposed to make me kneel and beg?"
If that happened, Zhang Miaoyu would probably be so mortified that she would actually drop to her knees right then and there.
Chu Xingchen glanced at the inexplicably tense Zhang Miaoyu, who could not even bring herself to meet Daozi Yuyang's eyes.
He stepped forward two paces to partially block her from view, then made the introductions.
"This is our sect's only Outer Elder — the backbone of our sect. Zhang Miaoyu — Elder Zhang."
"All of you need to show some respect. Yuyang, you first — come over and greet my Elder Zhang properly."
Daozi Yuyang's gaze immediately withdrew from Zhang Miaoyu and settled on Chu Xingchen.
But all he found was Chu Xingchen raising a single eyebrow at him.
Chu Xingchen had always been fiercely protective of his own. Daozi Yuyang actually rather appreciated that quality.
Besides, Zhang Miaoyu did appear to be genuinely and abnormally nervous.
With a soft sigh, Daozi Yuyang gave Zhang Miaoyu a gentle nod.
"Then I wish Elder Zhang a prosperous path on your immortal journey."
"Y-You are too kind." Zhang Miaoyu hastily cupped her hands in return.
Chu Xingchen gave Zhang Miaoyu's shoulder a light pat and transmitted his voice quietly.
"Do not be nervous. We are all family here. You are not a wandering cultivator anymore — you are a sect elder with real backing."
"As long as your conscience is clear, the sect will be your shield."
Zhang Miaoyu looked back at him, meeting Chu Xingchen's calm eyes. She gave a slow, steady nod.
The tension in her heart melted away considerably.
Her sect master was a top-tier cultivator who called legendary figures his brothers.
Chu Xingchen withdrew his gaze and naturally walked toward the empty seat at the head of the room.
He looked at Xu Jin, his tone even.
"Whatever bad news you have, just spit it out. If you wait much longer, I might not have the time to deal with it."
Xu Jin's expression turned serious.
"For you, it can hardly be called bad news. We have tracked this same lead, and the intelligence we have gathered is likely no less than what you have."
"Last time, in the Western Continent, you said that the Nascent Soul woman was not human but a demon — though I could not see it myself."
"We looked into it and spent a great deal of effort. We have now confirmed that this is most likely the power of the Dao."
"We originally wanted to compare notes with Tianyan Sect, and that was when we saw the replica trial product through Yanyun."
"That item is likely what prevents us from easily distinguishing between humans and demons."
"Xuanqing Heavenly Sect has already dispatched people to work alongside Tianyan Sect on this."
"Those demons have researched this far more deeply than we have. But the fact that they are still experimenting means they have hit a bottleneck they cannot overcome."
"It is most likely a usage limitation — or perhaps only specific individuals can use it. We are certain that this kind of transformation comes at an enormous cost, and the mortality rate is extremely high."
"There should also be weaknesses that are easy to spot upon careful observation — possibly internal, possibly on the divine platform."
"There is definitely something that differentiates them from ordinary people, and it varies significantly from person to person."
"That is why they have not dared to infiltrate the Eighteen Immortal Sects."
"At the very least, if we can figure out exactly how they use this thing, we will be able to quickly identify who is human and who is demon."
"That is extremely important for us."
Chu Xingchen's eyes lifted slightly.
"That aligns closely with my own calculations. But this time, let us wait and see how things play out on Cui Hao's end before making any decisions."
"Making a big fuss now would only tip them off."
"If you are taking the lead on this, I have no objections." Xu Jin nodded crisply.
His gaze then shifted to Daozi Yuyang.
"I do have one suggestion, however. If the situation becomes uncontrollable, I would like Xuanqing Heavenly Sect's cultivators to be deployed."
Daozi Yuyang thought for a moment before speaking.
"I will discuss it with the Sect Master and give you a reply in a few days."
Zhang Miaoyu stood there with a spirit fruit in her hand, listening in a daze as these legendary figures discussed their affairs.
They seemed to be... discussing how to save the world.
This topic — her standing here felt somewhat...
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