At the center of the Teleportation Array.
Two youths were curled up with their eyes closed. They were twins, with similar facial features but opposite genders, making it just possible to tell who was the brother and who was the sister. However, they were covered in blood and reeked of it; even their hair was matted together with dried bloodstains, tangled into a messy mess.
Ruan Wei stepped forward to help the two of them up.
One of the twins instantly opened his eyes.
"Who are you?"
Chang Huaijin got to his feet, gripping his spirit sword, his eyes stained with blood. With cautious movements, he shielded his younger sister behind him, glaring at Ruan Wei with the utmost hostility, his voice raspy beyond recognition.
The young woman before him was far too bizarre, possessing exceptional beauty.
Weren't they still inside the Chang Family's Teleportation Array?
And where was this place?
Ruan Wei was left speechless.
She let out a long sigh.
How should she put it? The five wretched souls of the Penglai Immortal Sect...
They certainly all turned out to have good looks.
Even in such a disheveled state, Chang Huaijin's graceful bearing was unmistakable. He had the air of a bright breeze or the moon shining from the clouds, and set against his blood-stained robes of indistinguishable color, it only served to highlight an effortless elegance that he couldn't quite conceal.
If there ever was a man with the delicate features of a woman, it was him.
"My name is Ruan Wei."
The spirit sword in the young woman's hand let out a clear ring, and with a casual flick of sword qi, she knocked his sword aside. "This is not the backyard martial arts arena," she said. "The sword in your hand shouldn't be pointed at your Senior Sister."
The sword qi bore no trace of either spiritual energy or demonic aura.
Chang Huaijin was struck with terror.
Just a single sword strike.
Ruan Wei looked to be around the same age as him, and the aura surrounding her seemed no different from his own Foundation Establishment level; yet, she had defeated him with a single stroke.
And furthermore.
Where on earth did he get a Senior Sister?
Chang Huaijin's face turned ashen. He glanced back at Chang Woyu, who was still unconscious, and thought to himself that this must be his fate.
Seeing his expression, Ruan Wei couldn't help a throbbing headache.
She imagined that Xiao Xuantong must have felt just as helpless when facing her back then.
Another stubborn mule.
"This is Penglai Island."
Ruan Wei put away her spirit sword and spread her hands to signal she had no hostile intent.
Then, she pointed at herself.
"I am the sixty-eighth-generation direct disciple of the Penglai Immortal Sect, studying under Immortal Lord Feng Wuya of Penglai. A few days ago, Master went to Tongzhou to exterminate the demons, and he must have saved the two of you. He wants to take you both as his disciples, which is why he sent a message ordering me to come to the Teleportation Array and welcome you both up the mountain."
"My junior sister's blood is almost drained. I came out in a hurry and didn't bring any wound-healing pills."
"Stop being so stubborn for now and come with me up the mountain to find Third Uncle-Master to treat your injuries. That's what's important."
Upon hearing her words.
The Penglai Immortal Sect?
This was that legendary natural seclusion hidden amidst the boundless seas, surrounded by illusions—the one that might not appear in Tongzhou once in a millennium, the one that only revealed itself during the centennial grand tournaments as one of the top ten sects—the Penglai Immortal Sect?
In Tongzhou, storybooks always depicted Penglai as a paradise on earth.
Stories claimed the island was covered in spirit stones everywhere you looked, that the sect possessed countless immortal treasures and cultivation techniques, and that every disciple was naturally detached like an embryonic immortal.
Word spread from ten to a hundred, and compounded by the fact that Penglai never bothered to issue denials.
In the eyes of ordinary commoners in Tongzhou, Penglai was the fairyland of the Cultivation World.
Often, yearning rogue cultivators would come here chasing their reputation, boarding ships in hopes of finding the path to Penglai across the boundless ocean. Those with good luck would drift at sea for ten-odd days and return; as for those with bad luck, best not to mention them at all.
The conditions for the Penglai Immortal Sect to accept disciples were particularly ethereal; they primarily believed in fate.
She remembered that a few years ago, Penglai suddenly opened its gates, and Immortal Lord Feng Wuya had specifically sent a message to Tongzhou's largest civilian newspaper, broadly announcing to cultivators across the world that Penglai was recruiting disciples, setting a time limit, and temporarily sealing away all the illusions surrounding Penglai.
In an instant, sails were raised across the sea, dense and innumerable, making it almost difficult to tell whether one was sailing on the ocean or boating on a lake.
Rumor had it that they ultimately accepted the Ruan family siblings.
However, in the months that followed, the Ruan Family held the Chitu Sword Master ceremony, along with a ceremony appointing the Ruan Family's Qilin prodigy as the Young Master of the Ruan Family.
The rumors grew even more distorted, and even the Chang Family, far away at the Tongzhou border, had heard many tales about the Ruan siblings.
So.
Was he picked up by an Immortal Lord?
Recalling the figure he had seen last before losing consciousness, Chang Huaijin felt a chill run through his entire body.
So that person was the current sect leader of the Penglai Immortal Sect.
No wonder; only he could possess such strength, scattering the demons that the Chang Family had fought so desperately against into nothingness with a single sword strike.
Was this the true power of one of the top two sword cultivators in the world?
He wanted to take him and Woyu as disciples? Chang Huaijin suddenly didn't dare to think about it anymore; it all seemed far too much like a story out of a book. He had been rescued, and on top of that, he was granted the legacy of a major sect?
Yet now, he was no longer a young master of the Chang Family; what could he possibly have that would make Penglai covet him?
Turning his gaze back to the gently smiling, light-blue figure in front of him.
Chang Huaijin turned his head and scooped up Chang Woyu horizontally in his arms, calling out in a soft voice, "Please lead the way, Immortal Ruan."
Woyu's complexion was as heavy and dark as thick ink, truly terrifying; she genuinely could not wait any longer.
Hearing the way he addressed her, it seemed he had not yet acknowledged this sect membership.
"Have you learned sword-swearing and flight?"
Ruan Wei didn't think much of it; Feng Wuya could collect this disciple and teach him himself when he returned.
Chang Huaijin blankly shook his head, feeling a sense of inner amazement.
In the Chang Family, most people practiced talismancy; he had only settled on the path of the sword after reaching Foundation Establishment, and afterwards, he had to learn swordsmanship from family retainers. As for the path of the sword, it was barely just beginning for him.
Seeing the unfamiliar way he held his sword, Ruan Wei understood immediately.
She retrieved a spirit artifact shaped like a toy skiff from her Mustard Seed Bag, chanted an incantation, and the skiff instantly grew larger, swaying a couple of times before obediently coming to a halt in front of the three of them.
"Get on."
Ruan Wei stepped onto the skiff and stood at the bow.
Chang Huaijin also carried Woyu and sat inside the boat's canopy.
She skillfully operated the spirit boat. Chang Huaijin watched in astonishment; even the operation of the tiniest spirit artifact consumed a massive amount of spiritual energy, and people in Tongzhou would generally prefer to use spirit stones to replenish it. He couldn't help asking, "Does Immortal not use spirit stones? Won't you exhaust your energy going on like this?"
Ruan Wei looked bewildered. "How much spiritual energy could this boat possibly use?"
Puff.
Chang Huaijin felt as though his chest had been pierced by a sword.
Oh no, it was the humblebragging of a genius.
"..."
Chang Huaijin quietly closed his inquisitive mouth.
Seeming to feel that her explanation was improper, Ruan Wei thought for a moment and decided to reply with absolute sincerity. "I possess an Innate Spiritual Body, so operating spirit artifacts doesn't consume much spiritual energy."
Puff.
He was struck by another sword.
An oblivious genius was even more heartbreaking.
If only he were like her.
If he, too, had been born with an Innate Spiritual Body.
Would things...
Would things have turned out differently, and the Chang Family might not have suffered this catastrophe?
He could have personally severed the head of even just a single demon with his own hands.
If he were powerful enough to let the blood of demons bloom before his eyes, if he were powerful enough to make demons too terrified to casually target the Chang Family for annihilation.
Chang Huaijin lowered his gaze, even though he still had the leisure of mind to ask those insignificant questions. But his thoughts were far from calm right now. He closed his eyes to recall the everyday affairs of the Chang Family and every blade of grass and tree in his hometown, only to find that he could barely picture any vibrant greenery; instead, his mind was flooded with the stench of blood.
And right beside him, his twin sister whose fate remained unknown.
At this moment, his heart was practically consumed by hatred.
The Demon Race—
Chang Huaijin clenched his knuckles until they turned red.
He lifted his eyelids, a resolute intent burning in his gaze, a hatred so monstrously thick it was congealed within his eyes.
Seeing this, Ruan Wei fell silent.
She calmly centered her mind to check the pointer in her sea of consciousness.
The pointer remained completely motionless.
It wasn't him.
Ruan Wei furrowed her brow. She had originally thought...