Chapter 242: The Innate Seed, Cultivating an Alias

Chapter 242: The Innate Seed, Cultivating an Alias

"Junior Sister, you're a bit dirty-minded. No wonder you have a water-attribute spirit root—turns out it's sewage."

Qi Yuan looked at Jiang Lingsu with an appreciative gaze.

This side of Jiang Lingsu was something he had never seen before, and it had its own unique charm.

Jiang Lingsu didn’t shy away and didn’t try to cover herself, which made her feel a surge of joy.

After all, every person, regardless of gender, feels pride when admired by someone as exceptional as her Senior Brother.

"Not bad. Your looks and figure far surpass those of your sister Jiang Ya, so you'll be more than adequate as a doorkeeper."

Qi Yuan couldn’t help but give his evaluation.

The smile on Jiang Lingsu’s face froze.

There it was... Senior Brother was just being Senior Brother—she shouldn’t have had any expectations.

"Senior Brother, thank you so much for this," Jiang Lingsu said, expressing her gratitude.

"It’s nothing, just a small matter."

As Senior Brother and Sister, they should love each other like family.

Unfortunately, their master Ruan Yixi wasn’t around, possibly up in the higher realms.

Qi Yuan’s partner Jin Li was also in the higher realms.

At this moment, Qi Yuan couldn’t ascend to the higher realms until he reached the Yin God stage.

"Senior Brother, you’ve helped me so much that I have no way to repay you. If you have a request that’s not too excessive, I’ll do my best to fulfill it," Jiang Lingsu said seriously.

Her words made Qi Yuan pause.

Jiang Lingsu added confidently, "Even if it’s a bit excessive, that’s fine too."

Jiang Lingsu knew Qi Yuan’s character, which is why she made such an offer. With anyone else, she would have simply offered all her spirit stones or some other treasures.

"I'm curious," Qi Yuan said, as Jiang Lingsu's words reminded him of something.

He continued, "If I offered you two options as a way to repay me, which would you choose?"

"What options?" Jiang Lingsu asked.

"First option: 'This humble girl has no way to repay such kindness and vows to repay the benefactor in the next life as a horse or an ox.' Second option: 'This humble girl is willing to offer herself in marriage.'"

Qi Yuan was testing his charm.

From what Qi Yuan remembered, if the benefactor was ugly, the lady would say she’d repay him in the next life as a horse or an ox. But if the benefactor was handsome, she’d offer herself in marriage on the spot.

This happened quite often.

For instance, in ancient times when a matchmaker introduced a couple, if the woman was satisfied, she’d say, "I leave the decision to my parents." But if she wasn’t satisfied, she’d have a different set of phrases.

In any case, you had to be tactful when speaking.

Qi Yuan was also trying to be tactful.

Jiang Lingsu furrowed her brows, seemingly deep in thought.

After a while, she looked Qi Yuan in the eyes and said, "Compared to repaying you as a horse or an ox, I'd rather offer myself in marriage."

Qi Yuan’s eyebrows shot up with joy.

It seemed he was indeed handsome.

Being certified as handsome by others was different from thinking it oneself.

Qi Yuan felt quite smug until Jiang Lingsu hesitantly added, "Senior Brother, is this excessive request the one you had in mind? If so, I..."

Qi Yuan quickly waved his hand, "Not at all. I’m not the kind of person who would exploit someone’s gratitude!"

He wasn’t about to play the role of a blackmailing benefactor.

Jiang Lingsu felt a bit disoriented by this response.

Though she had outwardly appeared calm when she made her decision, internally, she had struggled.

Now that she had her answer, she felt a mix of emotions—partly relieved, partly disappointed.

But then again, this was so typical of her Senior Brother.

His style was always unpredictable, making it difficult to understand him.

So when interacting with him, Jiang Lingsu had learned to just go with the flow and not overthink things she couldn’t comprehend.

"I’ll keep that request in mind for now. Oh, and don’t forget to invite the Demonic Desire Sect to the Nascent Soul Ceremony."

Qi Yuan gave special instructions.

Several disciples and elders from the Demonic Desire Sect had offended him.

At that time, Qi Yuan was busy wiping out his main enemy, the Bright Palace, so he only casually killed a few elders from the Demonic Desire Sect.

When the Bright Palace was destroyed and he returned to the Great Shang, he discovered that the Demonic Desire Sect had undergone changes.

The sect had always been controlled by two factions: one with the surname Shen, who were very low-key, and the other with the surname Ji, who were extremely arrogant.

For years, the Ji faction had dominated the Shen faction.

But after Qi Yuan returned, he learned that the Shen faction had suppressed and eliminated the Ji faction. Now the Demonic Desire Sect was once again under the control of the Shen faction.

Qi Yuan was curious about what had happened within the Demonic Desire Sect and wanted to learn more. So he decided to extend an invitation and see for himself.

After parting with Jiang Lingsu, Qi Yuan returned to his room.

His daughter, Qi Jianjun, was nowhere to be found—likely off somewhere fishing.

Qi Yuan’s consciousness then dove into the game jade slip.

The game had ended, and Qi Yuan was now waiting for a new one.

This time, as usual, a new game icon was slowly forming within the jade slip.

Qi Yuan’s divine sense approached the icon, but it was repelled.

"What kind of world will it be this time?" Qi Yuan wondered with anticipation.

Kang Fuluo, now with a head full of white hair, was filled with confusion.

He had just returned from the Cangyun Continent, having recently made it onto the Eastern Lands’ list of top talents, a joyous achievement, yet the Sect Master had shown little reaction.

In the meantime, Kang Fuluo had been investigating what had happened while he was away from the sect.

He discovered that during his absence, there had been some trouble caused by Purple Mansion cultivators, who were then killed by members of the Blood Robe Alliance.

The Blood Robe Alliance was closely connected to the Seven-Color Peak as well.

This made him even more suspicious.

Could it be that Qi Yuan, who was always a bit odd, had been blessed by fortune and taken in as a disciple by the Blood-Robe Sword God?

Given his thought process, this was the only conclusion he could draw.

Sect Leader Kumu looked at Kang Fuluo and said casually, "Tomorrow, our Shenguang Sect will hold a Nascent Soul ceremony. Go prepare the arrangements and send out the invitations."

"Which Elder has reached the Nascent Soul stage?" Kang Fuluo asked, delighted.

With another Nascent Soul cultivator, the Shenguang Sect’s strength would significantly increase.

The Demonic Desire Sect had already gone through changes, and the Shenguang Sect would become the number one sect in the Great Shang.

"Seven-Color Peak... Qi Yuan."

"Junior Brother Qi Yuan?" Kang Fuluo’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Qi Yuan... a Nascent Soul?

How could this be? Wasn’t he just at the Foundation Establishment stage?

"As the head disciple of a peak, your mental state is far inferior to Qi Yuan’s," Sect Leader Kumu said proudly.

When Qi Yuan had mentioned his breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage, the Sect Leader hadn’t been surprised—just curious.

Why would an Yin God pretend to have just broken through to the Nascent Soul stage?

Kang Fuluo remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "Sect Master... Are you sure you’re not joking with me?"

It was like being told that a classmate who was struggling to keep up suddenly won a Nobel Prize and was elected to the Academy of Sciences.

How was he supposed to process that?

"Do I have any reason to lie to you about this? The invitations are ready, so go send them out," Sect Leader Kumu said.

The invitations even included a special title for Qi Yuan, as requested: the Great Shang’s First Nascent Soul.

Kang Fuluo didn’t object.

After all, if the boss wanted to play, he’d play along.

Meanwhile, Qi Yuan logged into the Divine Flower Four Emperors chat group.

"Great news, everyone! I’ve reached the Nascent Soul stage."

Reaching the Nascent Soul stage naturally called for some showing off.

Qi Yuan even considered contacting the president of the Divine Flower Association to have a post pinned in the association’s forum.

"Congratulations to Qi Yuan of the Divine Light Sect’s Seven-Color Peak for reaching the Nascent Soul stage and becoming the Great Shang’s First Nascent Soul."

But then he decided that it was better to stay low-key with such special treatment.

He didn’t dwell on it.

"Nascent Soul?" The Rogue Immortal Venerable was stunned. "Origin Heavenly Venerable, you’re incredible!"

No matter what, the best response to Qi Yuan was praise.

The Great Sun Flame Emperor also chimed in with flattery.

Even the Ice Mountain Queen offered a few compliments before lamenting, "Sigh, while your cultivation levels are soaring, I’ve been stuck for hundreds of years."

The Ice Mountain Queen had been stuck at the peak of the Purple Mansion stage for centuries.

To break through to the Yin God stage, she needed to traverse the boundless sea of lightning.

But with the looming catastrophe, the lightning sea had become even more dangerous. Even ordinary Yin Gods acting as guardians would face immense difficulties. Breaking through to the Yin God stage was exceedingly challenging for her.

Her grandfather was very old and seemed to have some injuries, so venturing into the boundless lightning sea would be extremely risky for him.

Without a suitable guardian, she had no choice but to delay her breakthrough.

She had considered asking the Blood-Robe Sword God, also known as Origin Heavenly Venerable, but ultimately decided against it.

After all, Origin Heavenly Venerable was just a venerable figure, and even venerables faced the risk of falling in the boundless lightning sea.

Moreover, with the catastrophe on the horizon, even Yin Gods were conserving their strength for the coming challenges.

She didn’t want to trouble Qi Yuan, nor could she afford the price.

"It’s all because of that damn catastrophe!" The Ice Mountain Queen couldn’t help but curse.

Without the catastrophe, she might have had a chance to break through to the Yin God stage.

"The catastrophe..." Mentioning the catastrophe made Qi Yuan’s expression grow serious.

Even though he had surpassed many myths in the Mortal Heart Realm and had even slain two Yang Gods...

He still felt a deep sense of unease regarding the impending catastrophe.

Even though he could call for reinforcements...

What if the catastrophe summoned a Yang God?

The difference between Yang Gods was even greater than the gap between humans and dogs.

He didn’t know which Yang God was behind the catastrophe.

"Ice Mountain Queen, don’t worry. After I play through one more game, I’ll wipe out the catastrophe!" Qi Yuan announced in the group.

In fact, if the Yang God behind the catastrophe couldn’t intervene directly, or if their strength was average, Qi Yuan might be able to solo the catastrophe once his cultivation stabilized.

"Origin Heavenly Venerable, please don’t call me sister anymore," the Ice Mountain Queen replied.

Having an Yin God powerhouse call her "sister" just made her seem older!