Chapter Thirty: Chu Lingyun

"Hongluan, what has your senior sister been up to lately? Why haven't I seen her?" Chen Xuan asked as he saw Hongluan passing by.

"Senior sister?"

Hongluan scratched her head. Remembering their rivalry, she wondered if she had dealt a blow to Chu Lingyun's confidence, as the latter had been cultivating frantically lately. To acquire cultivation resources, she took on every task available—sweeping floors, clearing out demonic beasts, chores that even outer-sect disciples turned their noses up at—all for the sake of earning contribution points to purchase resources. She hardly rested for a moment. It was so intense that it made Hongluan nervous, fearing that Chu Lingyun might surpass her and then settle the score. Consequently, Hongluan didn't dare to slack off either, which left her utterly exhausted.

"Senior sister has gone to complete some tasks," Hongluan replied.

"Tasks?"

Chen Xuan opened the sect system and clicked on [Activity] to check Chu Lingyun's current status. A mist-covered map appeared before him. There were three small dots on the map representing Chu Lingyun, Hongluan, and Luo Hao; only those with the destiny of a protagonist appeared on this map. He hadn't checked the map in a while, and he noticed that a large portion of the mist had cleared—these were areas that Chu Lingyun, Hongluan, and Luo Hao had visited. Furthermore, the map was scattered with gray question marks. While golden question marks indicated hidden opportunities, gray ones meant that the opportunity had already been claimed.

Chen Xuan clicked on a question mark. It displayed the person who had obtained the opportunity:

*Opportunity: Chu Lingyun obtained a fragment of a Saint-rank cultivation technique.*
*Opportunity: Chu Lingyun obtained a Heaven-rank cultivation technique.*
*Opportunity: Chu Lingyun obtained a fragment of an Immortal artifact.*
*Opportunity: Chu Lingyun discovered a millennium spirit herb.*
*……*

Most of these were Chu Lingyun's opportunities, totaling over a dozen. Her current location indicated that she had just discovered another millennium spirit herb.

"As expected of a Golden Protagonist. In just one month, she has obtained more treasures than most people do in a lifetime," Chen Xuan remarked, clicking his tongue in amazement. It was a true windfall; with such a treasure by his side, he had no reason to worry about failing to ascend to immortality.

Chen Xuan opened Chu Lingyun's detailed profile:

*Name: Chu Lingyun*
*Cultivation: Late Foundation Establishment*
*Luck Value: Gold*
*Spirit Root: Perfect Ice Spirit Root (Damaged)*
*Constitution: Profound Yin Body*
*Comprehension: Exceptional*
*Cultivation Technique: Heavenly Frost Ice Art (Heaven-rank, High-grade)*
*Filial Piety Value: 95*
*Summary: Possesses the bloodline of an Immortal Emperor and the rare Profound Yin Body, suitable only for Yin-attribute cultivation. If one waits until she reaches the Nascent Soul realm, seizing her primal Yin essence would yield immense benefits.*
*Current Status: Being hunted.*

"Being hunted?" Chen Xuan's brows knit together. Chu Lingyun was his treasure on the path to immortality; he could not let anything happen to her. Watching the direction on the map, Chen Xuan immediately stepped onto a cloud and flew off.

At Thousand-Cluster Mountain, a Golden Core cultivator and a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators were pursuing a delicate young girl. The girl moved with incredible speed, managing to keep ahead of the Golden Core expert despite being only at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Ever since she lost to Hongluan, Chu Lingyun had been working tirelessly, day and night, to improve her cultivation. She wanted to defeat Hongluan and reclaim everything that belonged to her. Cultivation required resources. Although she was Chen Xuan's disciple, she had not asked him for anything, choosing instead to complete missions from the Law Enforcement Hall to exchange for resources.

A while ago, a task appeared on the golden board: "Assist the Sect Master in finding the Screaming Orchid." The reward was 5,000 contribution points. She didn't know what a Screaming Orchid was, but knowing it could help Chen Xuan, she accepted it without hesitation. She was lucky; she found the orchid in an uninhabited cave in Thousand-Cluster Mountain. However, just as she was about to leave, this group of people cornered her and demanded she hand it over. This was for her master; there was no way she would give it to anyone else.

Chu Lingyun moved nimbly, about to shake off the Golden Core expert, when a massive net imbued with powerful spiritual energy suddenly appeared before her, lunging at her.

"Oh no!" Chu Lingyun's face changed, and she immediately twisted her body to dodge.

"Good thing we set an ambush," the Golden Core cultivator behind her caught up, cursing, "Almost let the little girl get away."

"You dare steal from the Sun-Moon Sect? If you don't want to die, hand over the Screaming Orchid immediately."

"I found the Screaming Orchid first. Why should I give it to you?" Upon hearing the name of the Sun-Moon Sect, Chu Lingyun felt a surge of disgust. The Sun-Moon Sect had previously besieged the Profound Dan Sect, and now they wanted to steal from her master. They were truly wicked.

"Why? Because of our strength!" Wang Lei said, his posture arrogant. "The Sun-Moon Sect is one of the three great sects of the Great Xia Empire, filled with countless experts, and our Sect Master is a peak Nascent Soul powerhouse. In all of Great Xia, who dares to snatch what the Sun-Moon Sect wants?" He noticed Chu Lingyun’s stunning beauty and figure, and a lecherous smile spread across his face. "Little girl, you’re quite a looker. I bet you're talented in other ways, too. If you hand over the orchid and spend a night of dual cultivation with this elder, I might make an exception and take you as a disciple of the Sun-Moon Sect. You'll have endless resources. What do you say?"

"You ugly monster, never!" Chu Lingyun felt nauseous at his vile words. He actually wanted her to serve him? In his dreams. She belonged only to her master.

"You dare insult me!" Wang Lei was enraged, his greatest insecurity being his appearance. "Get her! Just keep her alive; I want to have some fun with her later."

"Yes!" The group of Foundation Establishment disciples charged at her.

Chu Lingyun remained calm. After a month of rigorous training, she had reached the late Foundation Establishment stage, and her *Heavenly Frost Ice Art* was a top-tier Heaven-rank technique. These dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators were no match for her.

"What?" Wang Lei was stunned to see his disciples collapse one by one. These were elite disciples of the Sun-Moon Sect, not mere rogue cultivators; they usually crushed peers from other sects. Yet, a dozen of them couldn't handle her alone.

"You have some tricks up your sleeve. No wonder you dared to steal from us," Wang Lei sneered. His spiritual energy surged as he lunged at her. "Let me see what you're really made of!"

Chu Lingyun's expression darkened, and she hurriedly used her movement technique to dodge. However, Wang Lei was at the peak of the Golden Core stage. No matter how strong her technique was, she couldn't overcome an entire major realm gap. A moment of carelessness, and Wang Lei’s palm struck her shoulder, leaving half her body numb. She looked down—her left shoulder was shattered.

"Heh, little girl, I am at the peak of the Golden Core stage. Losing to me is your good fortune. Normally, Foundation Establishment cultivators aren't even worth my time." Wang Lei smiled maliciously, reaching out toward her. "Be a good girl and come with me. I'll treat you well."