The disciple’s face was still flushed with the excitement of tasting his first Spirit Fruit and the ecstasy of being entrusted with an important task by the Sect Leader. He felt he had taken a great leap toward success.

But soon, his tense body began to relax involuntarily, and his knitted brow gradually smoothed out.

His expression grew increasingly slack, the corners of his mouth curling upward on their own.

His gaze became unfocused, his pupils losing their sharpness.

His whole body went soft, and he collapsed to the ground like a pile of mud, even stretching out comfortably.

The bizarre scene left Xuanyuan looking on with shock and suspicion.

’Could the Guixi Sect really be an ancient demonic sect?’

’Are they able to attack the holder of the parent fruit directly through the connection of the Spirit Fruit?’

Just then, the disciple lying on the ground let out a muffled sound from deep in his throat:

"This fruit... is so delicious..."

"I don’t want to work anymore... I don’t want to do anything... I’m so tired..."

"Why try so hard? Lying down... is so much more comfortable..."

"I want to... eat more of this fruit... I want to sleep... just lie here forever..."

With that, he curled up in a comfortable position on the cold stone floor, closed his eyes, and began to snore softly.

In an instant, the barren mountain fell deathly silent. Only the disciple’s snores and the RUSTLE of the wind through the trees were piercingly audible.

Xuanyuan’s expression shifted from shock to gloom, finally settling into an ashen fury.

’This... is the "intelligence" Wang Xiedi sent back?!’

’What has he been doing over there?’

The aura around him roiled in chaos as an immense pressure emanated from his body, forcing all the surrounding grass and trees to bend to the ground.

He had considered countless possibilities:

Perhaps the Guixi Sect was a righteous sect, forthright in its conduct, but possessing a strange and extremely valuable Cultivation Technique;

Perhaps the Guixi Sect was a demonic sect, treacherous in its methods, but possessing a strange and extremely valuable Cultivation Technique;

Perhaps the Guixi Sect was a neutral sect, indifferent to worldly affairs, but possessing a strange and extremely valuable Cultivation Technique;

At the very least, he expected an urgent call for help, a sign that Wang Xiedi was trapped.

But he never, ever imagined that in exchange for a precious Spirit Fruit he had found in his early years, all he would get was such decadent drivel from a hopeless case!

’Treating a Heart-Connected Fruit like a bedtime snack?’

Pathetic!

Slothful!

Utterly lacking ambition!

Absolutely useless!

"CRACK!"

Xuanyuan was incandescent with rage. He had already planned to silence this disciple who knew too much, and in his fury, he held nothing back.

With a violent flick of his sleeve, he blasted the sleeping outer sect disciple into a fine mist of blood.

The blood mist coalesced, finally forming a blood pill the size of a pigeon’s egg that fell into his hand, a meager compensation for a trivial loss.

The poor disciple. His family back home was still hoping he would achieve greatness, or at least give up the path of immortality and return home to live a normal life. They would never know they had lost their son forever.

Xuanyuan’s face was dark, the fire in his heart refusing to be extinguished.

’The lineage of Qingxu Temple must not be destroyed in my hands!’

’To think that useless trash Wang Xiedi would also sink into the hedonistic paradise of the Guixi Sect!’

’There’s no other way...’

’For the continuation of Qingxu Temple’s lineage, I can only increase my investment.’

’Even if I can’t have it all for myself, I must obtain enough to ensure Qingxu Temple can continue to survive in the face of the Celestial Furnace Sect!’

...

The stone door of the secret chamber slowly opened. Xuanyuan sat within, his profound gaze sweeping over the twelve outer sect disciples standing bowed before him.

A moment later, the twelve outer sect disciples were assembled.

Ten of them looked terrified, clueless as to why the Sect Leader had summoned them in the dead of night. The two standing at the very front, however, were different. They were clearly the leaders of this group.

One of them was Dong Changsheng.

Speaking of Dong Changsheng, he originally had a three-element Spirit Root, but an accident damaged his foundation. From then on, his cultivation could not advance a single inch, leaving him stuck at the fifth layer of Qi Refining.

For the rest of his life, the absolute peak of his achievement would, at most, be a minuscule chance of reaching Foundation Establishment before his lifespan ran out.

In essence, he was still a piece of trash, unworthy of even entering the inner sect.

But the most striking thing about him wasn’t his stagnant cultivation, but the air of confidence he exuded at all times.

It was as if merely by standing there, he was destined to reach the pinnacle of success.

As if by following him, you were guaranteed to reach the shores of success alongside him.

His theories always managed to make the other outer sect trash, who were treated as mere handymen, fiercely loyal to the sect.

The other person was also a special case whose name Xuanyuan could remember. His name was Li Chunfeng.

This man had bulging, fish-like eyes, disheveled hair, and a face full of whiskers.

He was originally a mortal, but he possessed an extraordinary obsession with seeking immortality and the Dao.

He possessed a kind of optimism that even Xuanyuan couldn’t comprehend.

Once, Li Chunfeng had been a wealthy merchant, but he had spent his entire fortune just to seek a chance at immortality.

Yet, not only did he have No Spiritual Root, his Dantian was even flawed. He couldn’t even cultivate the Inner Strength of a common martial artist.

To this day, Xuanyuan couldn’t figure out why such a complete and utter failure at cultivation hadn’t just managed his vast fortune, instead insisting on throwing himself into the illusory pursuit of immortality.

Xuanyuan had told him in no uncertain terms that cultivation was a hopeless endeavor for him in this life.

But, on account of the vast amounts of gold and silver he had donated to Qingxu Temple, and his efforts in greasing palms high and low, an exception was made to allow him into the outer sect.

Now, Li Chunfeng was over fifty years old. His wealth was gone, his connections had withered, and he had still accomplished nothing in his cultivation.

But he didn’t seem the least bit sad about it, remaining cheerful all day long.

In consideration of his past contributions, Xuanyuan had taught him a few common sword moves.

Unexpectedly, Li Chunfeng’s talent in the Sword Dao was actually quite good.

Unfortunately, without the support of Spiritual Power or Inner Strength, he could never become a Sword Immortal. He couldn’t even be considered a sword master in the mortal martial world.

His sword could only be used for sparring with other unarmed mortals. If he were to face a martial artist with even a little protective Inner Strength, the outcome would likely be grim.

Now, this old man who had nothing was of little use to Xuanyuan.

The only praiseworthy thing about him was his pathological optimism, which might prevent a repeat of the lazy, slothful situation that happened with Wang Xiedi.

Besides, in Li Chunfeng’s eyes, there was no such thing as a "bad thing" in this world. From some bizarre angle, everything was inevitably a fantastic thing.

For example.

What? You were being hunted by a wild beast?

Oh!

That’s a good thing!

Do you know what that means?

It means your flesh is tender and you’re in good health! Even beasts drool at the sight of you!

Not only did it train your Body Technique, but it also honed your will to survive!

What?

You got your Spirit Stones docked for causing trouble?

Heavens, that’s a truly wonderful thing!

At the very least, it allows you to clearly recognize your own shortcomings, accumulating valuable experience for your next success!

And what’s more, the loss of Spirit Stones will make you feel the lesson more deeply. Isn’t that just paving the way for a bright future?!