novelraw Chapter 304 : Quite Challenging
Chapter 304 : Quite Challenging
Five years later, in the cave dwelling.
The thunder tribulation was approaching.
After many years, Chu Sang emerged from seclusion again. She raised her eyes to look at the layers of thunder tribulation gathering in the sky, narrowed her eyes, and a thoughtful expression flashed across her mind.
The time of her emergence was not far from her expectations. The talent of a Heavenly Spirit Root in the Spirit Abyss Continent of ten thousand years ago could be said to be overwhelming. To put it bluntly, she was like a mother of spiritual energy that had been dispersed for many years. She didn't even need to actively absorb it; the spiritual energy would rush into her body. Her dantian was also broader and vaster than cultivators of the same realm. The spiritual energy could be completely refined and absorbed in a short time, breaking through layer after layer of bottlenecks, reaching the critical value, and welcoming the legendary Great Perfection Heavenly Thunder...
This time, the heavenly thunder was far less formidable than the previous difficult ones.
She didn't even need to rack her brains to find a good friend to be a scapegoat, because this heavenly thunder compared to the previous tribulations was really—too weak?
For a moment, she even wondered if this heavenly thunder had struck the wrong person???
The power of the heavenly thunder was only slightly stronger than her Nascent Soul stage thunder, and even weaker than her Divine Transformation stage thunder. Indeed, when people are psychologically abused for a long time, they get used to it. In fact, this was the normal power of heavenly thunder. Having survived the previous life-threatening tribulations, this thunder posed no great difficulty for her. She suffered some procedural injuries, but these injuries would recover in a few days after taking some pills and resting.
Her guess was finally confirmed.
Her previous heavenly thunder had indeed been tampered with. This Great Perfection stage heavenly thunder was the normal tribulation without enhancement.
Could the abnormal heavenly thunder that occurred to her be seen as... a curse?
Ten thousand years ago, she shouldn't have existed in this time and space, so the curse on her naturally shouldn't exist—
The thunder tribulation naturally wouldn't be controlled by the curse.
As soon as this thought emerged, it quickly elicited a heartfelt "damn" from Chu Sang. Who was so perverted to specifically target her? She wasn't a completely innocent person, but surely she wasn't so hateful? Had she done anything to incur heaven's wrath and people's resentment?
"Boom!"
Suddenly, there was an earthquake outside the cave dwelling. What had happened? She didn't have time to think in detail and quickly went out to look. She found that a beast tide had invaded nearby towns.
If the current Beast Kings and Beast Emperors didn't control them, it wasn't uncommon for beast demons to gather under the leadership of some great beasts and invade the cultivation world. Especially in the border areas between the cultivation world and the beast realm, this kind of thing happened almost every other day. However, the affected area of this beast tide seemed quite large. She had nothing else to do, so she helped clear the beast tide for the nearby common people.
Halfway through, she received a message from the small sect she had encountered before.
When she left the child with that sect years ago, she had been a bit worried, so she had added a way to contact the Sect Leader in case they needed her help. This beast tide affected a large area, even impacting small sects. Chu Sang had a hunch that the beast tide probably wasn't so simple and might be targeting that child again, so she turned back halfway and rushed to the small sect.
A red-robed chivalrous cultivator descended from the sky, sword unsheathed, cold light flashing through the air. The vast beast tide was shattered, some fleeing, some dying.
The sect-protecting formation had been destroyed by the beast tide, and most of the sect buildings had been damaged. Many disciples were seriously injured. If she had come a step later, who knows how many more people would have died.
"We are deeply grateful for your rescue. If you hadn't arrived in time, I'm afraid our sect would have perished in this beast tide. You've given our sect a chance to live again. If... if you don't mind, would you consider taking over this sect..."
The Sect Leader, supported by disciples, came forward, his voice carrying a hint of pleading.
Chu Sang noticed that his realm had fallen due to injury. A Divine Transformation stage cultivator was not enough to protect a sect in the Spirit Abyss Continent of ten thousand years ago. The remaining elders were either injured or crippled. If they didn't find a protector for the sect at this time, it was very likely that this sect would be removed from the entire cultivation world today.
The Sect Leader looked up at the spirited red-robed female cultivator before him. The true age of cultivators usually couldn't be discerned. Those with high cultivation levels had long lifespans and could use various techniques to disguise their appearance, transforming into a young appearance. But the female cultivator before him gave him an extremely young feeling, both in appearance and demeanor.
To be a Great Perfection stage cultivator at such a young age was enough to show her terrifying talent.
He wanted to entrust the sect to this female cultivator, but such highly talented geniuses usually wouldn't be interested in such a declining small sect. However, from the moment he first saw this female cultivator, he felt that she seemed to care a lot about their small sect, even sending that child to the sect for care. Perhaps, even if just for the sake of that child, she might be reluctant to refuse.
For the future of the sect he had painstakingly managed for many years, the Sect Leader decided to take a gamble.
"...Let me take over the sect?"
Chu Sang raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected him to make such an offer. For her, it wasn't necessarily a good thing, but it wasn't a bad thing either.
The decision was hers.
"Of course, this is just my one-sided wish. If you're unwilling to take over, there's no need to force it. We..."
"I can take over."
Everyone was stunned.
Initial resources handed over on a silver platter shouldn't be wasted. Chu Sang seemed quite open to it. "However, if you want me to take over the sect, naturally there needs to be some reorganization. Let's start by changing the name. I don't like the current name of the sect. How about... let's call it Lingqing Sect."
After casually saying this, she suddenly froze.
A casual remark from ten thousand years ago hit her ten-thousand-year-later self right in the heart. In that instant, she seemed to understand something.
"Young hero, why have you stopped speaking?" the Sect Leader asked uneasily.
Did she think cleaning up this mess of a sect would be too troublesome and wanted to back out?
"It's nothing."
She smiled,
"Let's call it Lingqing Sect."
Rebuilding the sect would take some time. Since Chu Sang had agreed to take over this sect, she naturally had to take on the tasks of the new Sect Leader. After arranging things more or less, it would be time to go back into seclusion. However, before that, she had some things to do. She wrote out all the books she had memorized from the archive pavilion from memory, creating sample copies, and handed them over to the elder in charge of this matter in the sect.
The biggest difference between small sects and large sects wasn't in scale, nor in the number of disciples. These could be gradually made up for later. The most important thing was the foundation.
The archive pavilion was the most direct manifestation of a sect's foundation, and also the upper limit for cultivating disciples.
To help the newly established Lingqing Sect rise rapidly in a short time, the archive pavilion naturally had to be arranged first. Fortunately, Chu Sang had a good memory. She had flipped through the scrolls and books in the archive pavilion countless times. Recreating them wasn't difficult, it just took more time.
For these few years, she had to put cultivation aside and throw herself into the grand plan of building Lingqing Sect.
The little girl she had saved years ago had grown up quite a bit and opened up a lot.
Chu Sang vaguely felt that the girl looked somewhat familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere else, but she couldn't quite place who she resembled.
Since coming to this world, her memories of the past had gradually become blurred.
For example, she knew who she was, knew how many Senior Brothers and Sisters she had, and could clearly recall each person's personality and name, but their appearances had become increasingly vague, leaving only a rough outline...
She understood clearly.
This was the backlash effect of time and space.
If she continued to stay in this world for too long, she might be completely assimilated and unable to leave.
She couldn't delay any longer. She needed to complete the plan for this journey as soon as possible.
Beast tides often occurred in the Spirit Abyss Continent, and it suffered attacks from the demon race, but these could all be classified as internal conflicts, not enough to cause destruction to the continent. The time-space cracks she had been waiting for still hadn't arrived. However, Chu Sang didn't feel relaxed; she became even more tense, not daring to let her guard down at all.
She understood the principle of calm before the storm.
One year, two years, three years... she kept waiting like this. Chu Sang didn't know how many years had passed. Her memories of the past became increasingly blurred, almost assimilating her into half a person of this world. There was still no progress in the situation, so she simply went back into seclusion, wanting to try to break through to the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
When the Upper God's true body descended during the last closure of the time-space cracks, she had suspected that the passage between the upper and lower realms had been opened. Even if it wasn't completely open, it should be in a half-open state. Otherwise, the Upper God couldn't have descended with half of his true body.
If she reached the Tribulation Transcendence stage and still couldn't ascend, it would mean that the passage between the two worlds was still closed. But if she could ascend, it would mean that the passage between the two worlds had been secretly opened by someone.
During these years of her seclusion, the long-absent time-space cracks reenacted in history, descending upon the Spirit Abyss Continent.
A large amount of black mist spread rampantly. At the same time, the already disharmonious relationship between the four races of the Spirit Abyss Continent further disintegrated. The ghost race, beast race, and demon race not only didn't unite against a common enemy but even took advantage of the chaos to attack the cultivation world. The continent's situation was even more devastating than ten thousand years later.
The small sects, being the first to bear the brunt, suffered the most damage and had the highest rate of losses. When Chu Sang awoke from seclusion and rushed to Lingqing Sect, it was too late. The small sects without much self-protection ability had been massacred, with few remaining. Lingqing Sect was just one of them.
She landed in front of the damaged formation of the sect and walked forward step by step. Entering her sight were ruins and corpses strewn everywhere, but the confusion in her heart grew heavier.
This was... different from what was said in the original history.
Both Master and Elder Dong Liyan had unanimously said that Lingqing Sect had fallen and never recovered during the final battle after becoming a super large sect. Now it was only the beginning of the decisive battle, and Lingqing Sect was still just a third-rate small sect, far from reaching its peak period. How could it have fallen so quickly?
As she was thinking, an unnamed gust of wind lifted her clothes, and the surrounding scene began to change. The damaged buildings were actually being restored inch by inch in a regressive manner. The corpses at her feet stood up shakily, the blood stains on their bodies disappearing. Only the sound of the wind remained, and people's conversations reached her ears in the deathly silence.
Several disciples walked past her, chatting and laughing. Chu Sang, like a transparent person who had never been present, watched everything return to its original state. Her pupils contracted slightly, and a sense of shock rose in her heart. Was this... time reconstruction?
Where was the trigger for time reconstruction?
The time reversal didn't go back very far, only about an hour. A group of formidable demon cultivators had taken advantage of the chaos to invade Lingqing Sect. Even if it happened again, these disciples without self-protection ability would still be beaten helplessly in the face of crisis.
Her fingertips moved slightly, instinctively wanting to deal with the demon race people, but another thought flashed through her mind. She didn't act immediately, watching expressionlessly as everything returned to the starting point.
The disciples were once again massacred by the demon race. Blood flowed to her feet. She took a step forward, and within a few breaths, the wind and clouds flowed in reverse, and the sect returned to its original state.
It started again...
After several repetitions, Chu Sang realized that something was controlling all this from behind. After another time-space reconstruction occurred, this time she directly released her divine sense, enveloping the entire Lingqing Sect, and finally noticed the abnormal energy fluctuations.
She walked quickly in that direction and found the little girl she had saved years ago. Her cultivation level wasn't high and hadn't improved much over the years, still remaining at the Qi Condensation stage. A demon cultivator stabbed through her chest with a knife, and then time began to reconstruct once again.
...So she was the switch for reversing time and space.
Chu Sang had long suspected that this child had issues, but she hadn't expected such a strange thing to happen to her. No wonder those people were chasing and trying to kill her.
The secret she carried was unusual. If she asked directly, the other party would probably still mumble like she did years ago, unable to get any useful information. Why not change the approach and keep this child by her side to see what secret she was hiding?
When the demon race was about to strike again, this time she acted. The demon cultivators were mercilessly eliminated, and the corpses strewn throughout the sect changed from cultivators' bodies to demon cultivators' bodies.
She lowered her eyes to look at the bewildered little girl, "Do you know what just happened?"
"The sect's formation failed, and people from the demon race broke in. Our people couldn't resist..."
She shook her head, seeming to know nothing about other matters besides this. It appeared she didn't know about the time reconstruction and had no memory of it.
Then it was only possible that she didn't actively initiate the time reconstruction.
If not active, then it was passive.
She must be hiding something.
Chu Sang felt even more that there was an issue with her, but didn't show it on her face. She nodded and said calmly, "I understand this matter. Don't worry about the sect's formation. I've already arranged a more stable formation. I believe the demon race won't invade again. As for you..." She paused, then said, "I don't have many disciples under me. From now on, you'll follow me."
"Me?"
The girl was both surprised and delighted, quite flattered. Seeing her like this, Chu Sang paused again and said,
"After so many years, your cultivation level hasn't improved at all. I've never seen anyone so stupid. I have to say, it's quite challenging."
There was a hint of disdain in her tone.
"......"