Chapter 136: Jiang Die

The news that the Eternal Teachings Sect had made a move to hunt down Chu Ling quickly spread throughout the First Heaven.

Everyone’s first reaction upon hearing it was...

Huh?

A head full of question marks.

Because it really was just like that.

The Eternal Teachings Sect and Chu Ling—those two had absolutely nothing to do with each other!

Chu Ling had always maintained an extremely low profile in the First Heaven.

Back when Yue Hongling was spending her days at the Grand Dao Sect, Chu Ling had already started traveling across the entire First Heaven, diving into danger and ancient ruins wherever they could be found.

She had memories of her past life and knew the locations of various blessed lands and hidden realms.

Lu Ye knew about these as well—so did Yue Hongling and the others.

But Lu Ye had been overwhelmingly busy, with no time to collect such things. Besides, even if he had the time, collecting treasures wasn’t as fast a way to grow stronger as killing foreign-race or human experts.

Yue Hongling also fought frequently, but compared to Chu Ling, her cultivation level had undoubtedly fallen behind.

That didn’t matter though—Shen Xitong would help her.

Given Chu Ling’s extraordinarily low visibility, the Eternal Teachings Sect suddenly stepping forward to hunt her down was truly baffling.

Even the Supreme Sword Sect couldn’t figure out what the Eternal Teachings Sect was trying to pull.

Some suspected that perhaps, sensing the Grand Dao Sect now had too many allies and that their position as the number one sect was no longer secure, the Eternal Teachings Sect wanted to cozy up to the Supreme Sword Sect?

The Eternal Teachings Sect claimed their justification was this: all sects {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} stand united, and Chu Ling had stabbed her allies in the back. That was undoubtedly the act of someone who walked the demonic path, and the Eternal Teachings Sect’s actions were nothing less than a righteous crusade to eliminate evil and uphold the Dao.

So now, the Supreme Sword Sect and the Eternal Teachings Sect—two great sects—were both hunting down Chu Ling.

But Chu Ling truly had many tricks up her sleeve.

She flitted through one forbidden land after another. Although she had only recently broken through to the Combined Dao Realm, she was as slippery as a loach and exceptionally hard to catch.

...

Lu Ye heard the news as well.

And immediately, he sensed something unusual.

The Eternal Teachings Sect making such a bizarre move—it looked like they were targeting Chu Ling, but their real objective was probably him.

Who had given the order?

A figure appeared in Lu Ye’s mind.

Jiang Die!

From the Second Heaven, the little princess of the Jiang Clan—one of the most elite noble families in all the Nine Heavens. Their ancestors had produced one Heavenly Lord and two Great Emperors.

Jiang Die wasn’t like the women of the First Heaven—she was someone with tremendous scheming ability.

Back when Lu Ye was still in the First Heaven, he already had these five women and had been perfectly content.

But Jiang Die had forcibly inserted herself into his harem through careful plotting—and had even successfully stirred up internal strife.

Was she testing him now?

Lu Ye pondered for a moment and roughly understood her intent.

If Chu Ling were captured and he did nothing, it would be enough to prove that he no longer protected the women and had completely severed ties with them.

In that case, they could go all out and kill Lu Ye.

To eliminate the threat once and for all.

But if Lu Ye still cared about Chu Ling and stepped in to rescue her—then things would get far more interesting.

What Lu Ye didn’t understand was: knowing how powerful he’d been in his past life, why would she still provoke him?

What did that say?

It said Jiang Die was extremely confident that she could crush Lu Ye in the First Heaven.

Or perhaps... the Second Heaven had already laid down an inescapable net, just waiting for Lu Ye to ascend.

Either way—this was the first woman to strike at him after his rebirth.

She deserved his full attention!

He stood up and left.

The reflection on alchemy that he had promised to write for Daoist Qinghuo was already finished. Don’t be fooled into thinking it was just a set of alchemical notes—this could become the most crucial alchemical method not just for the Grand Dao Sect, but for any top-tier force specializing in pill refinement.

The pharmacopeia within it was all-encompassing.

Daoist Qinghuo was overjoyed. “It’s already done?”

“It wasn’t particularly troublesome,” Lu Ye replied with a smile.

“No need for grand words of thanks. All pill furnaces and medicinal ingredients on the Pill Summit are yours to use freely. I only hope you won’t decline,” Daoist Qinghuo said.

Right now, Pill Summit could be said to be overflowing with wealth.

When Lu Ye had obtained so many storage treasures, Daoist Qinghuo had initially assumed that since Lu Ye knew how to refine pills, he’d definitely take away a large stock of medicinal ingredients.

Especially given that Lu Ye’s pill-making style involved tossing in heaps upon heaps of ingredients, needing that much raw material just to produce a single giant pill.

Clearly, Lu Ye would be in desperate need of ingredients.

But when the Sect Master distributed the spoils, Daoist Qinghuo was informed to come collect his share too. The portion allocated to Pill Summit had left him absolutely astonished.

Why was there so much?

Even though most of the ingredients were low-grade.

But that was exactly what Pill Summit lacked—low-grade medicinal ingredients!

Pill Summit wasn’t only for refining pills. It was also a place to train pill refiners. For novice alchemists just starting their cultivation journey, if they didn’t use low-grade ingredients to practice, what else could they possibly use?

Lu Ye nodded with a smile.

“Will you be using the Nine-Dragon Departing Flame Furnace again this time?” Daoist Qinghuo asked.

“No, I just came to deliver the alchemical notes,” Lu Ye replied.

“I see. Are you busy right now? If not, how about watching me refine a batch of pills and helping me identify any flaws?” Daoist Qinghuo asked.

By now, Daoist Qinghuo’s attitude toward Lu Ye was no longer that of a fellow cultivator—it was practically one of reverence, treating Lu Ye like a senior expert.

“Another day, perhaps. I still have some things to take care of,” Lu Ye said with a smile, politely declining.

“What kind of matters? Maybe I can help?”

“Nothing major. No need for help. Then I’ll take my leave.”

“Alright, alright. If anything comes up, you must let me know. Even if I can’t be of much help, I can at least wave the flag and cheer you on.”

If Daoist Qinghuo knew what Lu Ye was about to do, he would’ve clung to Lu Ye’s leg and bawled, refusing to let him leave.

Because after he left, Lu Ye headed straight for the Forging Summit.

He was going to forge his own pill furnace—and also upgrade his stone sword. His cultivation had risen far too quickly. The stone sword needed to be enhanced as well. If not, it might shatter before it even reached the Emperor Realm.

“Peak Master, Lu Ye requests an audience.”

The Forging Summit Peak Master, Zheng Tianhua, underwent a complete transformation in expression—again and again.

The corners of his mouth trembled wildly, clearly wanting to curve upward, though he forced them to stay down. After a brief but fierce struggle across his facial features, Zheng Tianhua finally revealed a warm smile and rapidly made his way down the mountain.

Even from afar, Lu Ye could already hear hearty laughter.

“Hahaha! Lu Ye, welcome to the Forging Summit! On behalf of everyone here, we offer you the warmest welcome!”

Lu Ye...

“Peak Master Zheng, I’m just a disciple. Isn’t ‘welcome’ a bit much?” Lu Ye said, half-laughing.

“No, no, it’s entirely appropriate. Lu Ye, I may be older than you, but on the path of cultivation, the accomplished are honored first. Based on your accomplishments in formations and alchemy, your ability in forging must surely be nothing less than peerless. I’ve wanted to study under you for a long time now.”

Whether they were elders, disciples, or even grand elders, everyone on the Forging Summit came pouring out, beaming with eager smiles, offering the most enthusiastic of welcomes.

Lu Ye took it all in stride, calm and composed.

In his past life, no matter where he went, he had always received the most enthusiastic welcomes.

Well... excluding his home.

This time, Lu Ye’s objective was to borrow the Forging Summit’s forging pool.

Zheng Tianhua patted his chest confidently. “Use it however you like. Go all in, take your time, no need to hold back.”

“Um... would it be alright if I watched from the side?” he added.

...