Inside the quiet chamber, Shen Gongbao slowly ended his meditation, the Jade Purity celestial light swirling around him gradually receding into his body.
Host: Shen Gongbao
Cultivation: Mid Mysterious Immortal (Chaos Dao Body transformation 2%)
Technique: Jade Purity True Canon (Fragmentary)
Arts: Puppet Mastery, Yin Thunder Curse
Treasure: Rift-Shattering Thunder Lord Whip (High-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure)
Spiritual Item: Twelfth-Grade Creation Green Lotus Seed
Task: Available Task 2: Unity and Friendship (89/100)
Over these past few days, Shen Gongbao had completed eighty-eight of the one hundred Unity and Friendship tasks. Although the reward for each was merely a bronze-tier draw, the sheer volume made up for the low quality. After eighty-eight draws, his cultivation had reached the absolute limit of the Mid Mysterious Immortal stage. He was only one small step away from breaking through to the late stage.
"It’s just a shame that little rascals like Nezha have gotten smarter..."
Shen Gongbao shook his head with a faint smile. Nowadays, whenever those third-generation disciples saw him, they would either shrink away or sit rigidly upright, leaving him with no excuse to find trouble.
"But simple cultivation on my own will only be slower. It would be better to go out and try my luck!"
As he pondered, Shen Gongbao suddenly sensed two familiar auras behind a corridor pillar.
"Well, well, isn't this my two junior nephews?"
A sharp glint flashed in Shen Gongbao's eyes, and he drifted toward the pillar like a phantom.
"What brings you two out to visit your uncle today?"
Nezha jumped back three steps, his back hitting the pillar with a thud. Yang Jian remained composed, though the Xiaotian Dog’s tail was tucked firmly between its legs.
"Sh-Shen Gongbao!"
Nezha forced his chin up. "Don't you come any closer. I have business with you today."
Shen Gongbao didn't care in the slightest what business Nezha had; he merely asked with interest, "Little Nezha, have you forgotten the lessons your uncle taught you? How convenient—I have some free time today. Let me take you back to the tree to swing around for a while."
At the memory of his miserable experience being hung from a willow tree, Nezha became frantic.
"Shen Gongbao, do you only know how to bully us juniors? You keep talking about the sect rules, but are we the only ones who violate them? If you’re so capable, why don't you target your own senior brothers? Otherwise, in our eyes, you’re just a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong."
"Oh? Do you happen to have proof that your senior uncles have violated the sect rules?"
Shen Gongbao raised an eyebrow. The little demon was acting strangely today, actually handing him a knife. It was becoming increasingly difficult to "shear the wool" from Nezha and his group. If there was a legitimate reason, Shen Gongbao wouldn't mind taking a shot at his senior brothers and sisters. After all, he wanted to measure exactly what level of strength they possessed now.
Seeing Shen Gongbao moved by his words, Nezha’s eyes lit up. He straightened his back and asked, "Uncle Shen, are the three sects not one family?"
To manipulate him, Nezha had even changed how he addressed Shen Gongbao. Shen Gongbao didn't care about that; he simply nodded slightly.
"Red flowers, white lotus roots, green lotus leaves—the three sects come from the same source; naturally, we are one family!"
Nezha had expected this answer and pressed further. "Then, is using the life feathers of fellow disciples to refine spiritual treasures a violation of our Chan Sect’s teachings?"
Was it a violation? Naturally, it was! But as Nezha said this, Shen Gongbao realized exactly who he was talking about. Among all the second-generation disciples of the Chan Sect, only one used the life feathers of exotic beasts to refine treasures: Qingxu Daode Zhenjun, one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect.
Shen Gongbao looked at the two of them with an amused expression. Good heavens, they were asking him to poke the hornet's nest of the Twelve Golden Immortals right from the start!
Seeing the flicker in Shen Gongbao's eyes, Nezha immediately mocked, "What? Are you scared? If you are, then just admit you’re a coward who bullies the weak and fears the strong, and stop bothering us in the future!"
Hearing this, a smile appeared on Shen Gongbao's face. Scared? Why would he, Shen Gongbao, be scared? They had brought him a new target for his tasks; he was delighted!
"Lead the way!"
Two simple words, yet they left Nezha and Yang Jian stunned. They hadn't expected this madman to actually accept the challenge.
...
"Brother Qingxu Daode!"
Shen Gongbao’s voice rang out like clashing cold iron, startling the birds in the mountains into flight. He stood on a cloud, the Rift-Shattering Thunder Lord Whip coiled around his arm, trails of spatial rifts spreading around him like spiderwebs.
"It has been reported by fellow disciples that you have used the life feathers of fellow practitioners to refine a treasure. Now, hand over the Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan!"
"BOOM!"
The stone gate of the cave exploded into dust. Qingxu Daode Zhenjun stepped into the air, his robes flapping as five-colored divine light swirled behind him.
"Shen Gongbao!" His face was dark as water. "Who gave you the audacity to come to my cave and clamor?"
Although he had personally orchestrated the plan to bait Shen Gongbao into attacking him, seeing Shen Gongbao act so insolently still sent him into a rage. As one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of the Chan Sect, to be threatened by someone who was little more than a "beast in human skin"—if this got out, how could he show his face in Kunlun's Yuxu Palace?
At that moment, Judulsun stepped out from the side, pretending to mediate. "Brother Qingxu Daode, Junior Brother Shen just came out of the Ice Prison; he must be in a bad mood. Plus, you know his origins—he must have felt a sense of grief for his own kind, which is why he came to you. Don't hold it against him."
Having said this, Judulsun turned to Shen Gongbao: "Junior Brother Shen, Brother Qingxu Daode is your own senior brother. How can you, as a junior, be so rude to him? Apologize to your brother at once!"
Listening to Judulsun’s "advice," Shen Gongbao sneered inwardly. Judulsun appeared to be speaking on his behalf, but every word was a jab at his origins while constantly implying his insubordination. But since Shen Gongbao had decided to come for Qingxu Daode, it was for the system rewards. He had already prepared for a fight, regardless of whether he won or lost. Why would he stop now because of these words?
"Senior Brother Judulsun, were you perhaps involved in the refining of Brother Qingxu Daode’s Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan? Otherwise, why are you in such a rush to stand up for him?"
Hearing Shen Gongbao’s merciless retort, Judulsun turned ashen. He flicked his sleeves and stepped back. "Shen Gongbao, you truly are ungrateful. Since you won't take my advice, I won't interfere. I want to see just how much capability a reckless man like you really has."
Shen Gongbao ignored him and snapped his Rift-Shattering Thunder Lord Whip, creating a massive, circular void rift with himself at the center.
"Senior Brother Qingxu Daode, I will ask you one last time: are you going to hand over that Five-Fire Seven-Fowl Fan, or not?"