Zhang Jingmo's white robe was covered in blood. He stood at the top of the mountain, sword in hand, calmly looking at the person behind him.

The person behind him wore scarlet clothes and had a crazed, deranged smile. Seeing Zhang Jingmo at a dead end, he laughed loudly: "The name 'Zhenren Qingyuan' seems to be undeserved!"

Zhang Jingmo remained silent, only lowering his head to look at the long sword in his hand.

This sword was a mystical weapon he had personally forged. In the world, there were only three such weapons. He had one, one had been destroyed, and the last one was in the hands of the person opposite him.

Zhang Jingmo's cultivation had reached great heights, and he was about to ascend to the immortal realm. The mortal world was facing a great calamity with the invasion of the demon race. If it were any other cultivator, they would likely choose to abandon this continent and escape to the immortal realm.

But Zhang Jingmo did not. It wasn't that he had a great sense of righteousness, but rather the person before him had become the demon in his heart. If he did not eliminate him, he likely wouldn't be able to pass the tribulation of ascension.

That person seemed to guess that Zhang Jingmo had no strength left to fight and laughed: "Elder Zhang, please!"

Zhang Jingmo slightly tightened his grip on his sword. His black hair moved without wind as he uttered a single word in a calm tone: "Please."

As soon as that word left Zhang Jingmo's mouth, he turned into a beam of blue light and charged towards the scarlet-clothed person opposite him. That scarlet-clothed person was skilled in close combat to begin with. Seeing Zhang Jingmo fearlessly charging over, he thought Zhang Jingmo had gone mad. Thus, without much thought, he engaged Zhang Jingmo in battle with his magic weapon.

But after just a few moments, the scarlet-clothed man suddenly realized Zhang Jingmo's intentions. He cried out "something's wrong" and wanted to escape, but by then it was already too late.

A burst of intense blue light erupted from Zhang Jingmo's body. As that seemingly gentle light spread, all living things in the surroundings seemed to be erased by the blue glow.

The scarlet-clothed man roared: "Zhang Jingmo, you actually self-detonated your nascent soul! Are you crazy?!" Then he let out a miserable scream.

If a cultivator dies, they can still reincarnate. But if they self-detonate their nascent soul, they lose even the chance of reincarnation. However, with Zhang Jingmo's great cultivation, if he self-detonated, there likely wouldn't be any living thing left on this cliff today.

Originally, the scarlet-clothed man was fully confident in capturing Zhang Jingmo alive. But now, he could hardly ensure his own survival. He had no choice but to abandon his physical body and escape with his primordial spirit.

In Zhang Jingmo's last bit of consciousness, he watched the scarlet-clothed man escape. Seeing the red light fade into the distance, he let out a soft sigh in his heart. Then, his consciousness dissipated on this cliff.

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When he opened his eyes again, Zhang Jingmo was not surprised.

He looked at the alchemy furnace in front of him, calculated the time, and casually said: "Finish the pills."

The young attendant standing to the side said "yes" and went to lift the alchemy furnace.

Zhang Jingmo glanced at the furnace fire and said: "Go deliver some Taixu Huangquan Pills to Zhenren Hong."

The young attendant acknowledged the order. After taking the pills, he rode a crane and left. Judging from the direction, he was headed to Zhenren Hong's cave abode.

Zhang Jingmo's expression had been calm the whole time. Only after the young attendant left did his face show a hint of unsightliness. He had died again, this time at the hands of the scarlet-clothed man. And then—he lived again.

He had been reborn, reborn to the time when their Lingxu Sect was at its most prosperous. At this time, the demon race had not yet invaded. The grand formation protecting the entire continent had not yet collapsed.

Zhang Jingmo slowly took out a bamboo slip from his bosom. The bamboo slip was neatly covered in densely packed short lines. Zhang Jingmo glanced at it and counted over 120 lines.

Over 120 lines, proving that he had died over 120 times...

Sensing his emotions fluctuating, Zhang Jingmo had no choice but to stop reminiscing. He recited a mantra to calm his mind. After his heart settled, Zhang Jingmo put the bamboo slip back into his bosom, then got up and walked out of the manor. He rode a cloud to the mountain gate.

Zhang Jingmo's cultivation was not considered very high, but his status in the Lingxu Sect was not low. Because nearly all of the sect's precious pills passed through his hands, regardless of whether it was the sect master or the other elders, they all had to give him some face.

Today, it was quite lively below the mountain gate. The voices of several hundred young children were very noisy and boisterous. These children were at most seven or eight years old, with the youngest only three or four. Standing together, naturally some cried while others made a ruckus.

These children were all from worldly aristocratic families. Only a small number of them were selected because of their outstanding talent. Zhang Jingmo remembered that person was the third son of the Lu family.

The selection process was not complicated, but also not simple. First was examining their innate qualities, then their temperament. If they passed these two criteria, they would be chosen by the sect's elders. Those selected would be taken under their wing to be taught and raised. Those not selected would stay in the inner sect as menial workers or become nominal disciples outside the gate.

Zhang Jingmo had been at the Golden Core stage for over forty years and had only taken on two disciples. They were currently out traveling the world. Originally, with his reclusive nature, he did not want to accept any more disciples before reaching the Nascent Soul stage. But today he still came, and not only did he come, he was also preparing to choose someone to bring back.

The sect's elders also seemed to not have expected to see Zhang Jingmo here and were all somewhat surprised. Elder Yu, who had a good relationship with Zhang Jingmo, even directly said: "Jingmo, how come you could bear to leave your mountain gate today?"

Zhang Jingmo glanced at his good friend and replied indifferently: "I guess the time was right."

Elder Yu said: "If so, then that's good. Seeing you hole up in your cave abode all day, your complexion has turned a few shades paler."

He said this purely as a joke. Zhang Jingmo looked at him blandly, the corners of his mouth also curving up in a not-so-obvious smile.

Elder Yu laughed heartily. Just as he was about to say something, he saw Zhang Jingmo direct his attention to a child in the middle of the field.

Elder Yu said: "What? See someone you like?"

Zhang Jingmo said: "What do you think of that one?" As he spoke, he pointed with his finger.

Elder Yu looked over in the direction Zhang Jingmo was pointing. He saw a young child with hair hanging down to his shoulders standing silently in the center of the field. He was not crying or making a ruckus with the other children, just quietly standing there, looking a bit wooden.

After examining the child for a moment, Elder Yu slightly furrowed his brows: "This child has an ominous aura between his brows. Although his innate qualities are not bad, if he is not taught well and goes astray... I'm afraid it would be detrimental to his elders." Upon hearing Elder Yu's euphemistic words, Zhang Jingmo understood their meaning clearly.

The child's appearance was that of a solitary star of misfortune, destined to bring harm to his father, mother, wife, and children. Yet, this very person... possessed a grand fate that Zhang Jingmo envied.

Years ago, entrusted by an old friend, Zhang Jingmo took in this disciple and meticulously guided him, watching him grow little by little, ultimately becoming a powerful cultivator of his generation.

But how did he treat Zhang Jingmo in return? Zhang Jingmo's typically calm and unperturbed expression turned slightly gloomy, even angry, but this anger came and went swiftly. In a moment, he regained his composure and said, "Elder Yu is right."

Elder Yu understood his good friend well, knowing that despite his seemingly amiable nature, he had an extremely stubborn personality. He sighed and simply said, "If you want him, then take him. In Lingxu Sect, there won't be any major chaos."

Zhang Jingmo slightly nodded his head and thanked Elder Yu.

Disciples were selected every year, but those truly chosen by the Lingxu Sect elders were pitifully few. Most people became nominal disciples outside the sect, received a shallow cultivation method, and lived an ordinary life.

The other elders generally came, swept their eyes over the crowd, and seeing no one of interest, turned and left. Some didn't even bother to come, clearly uninterested in taking disciples.

Thus, in over thirty years, only three or four mortal disciples had entered Lingxu Sect. Among these three or four, some were accepted due to their extraordinary family background, with the elders giving face to those who had pulled strings.

Lu Guijiu was once such an existence.

Having chosen his disciple, Zhang Jingmo took the nameplate engraved with Lu Guijiu's name from the attending disciple and returned to his cave abode on a cloud.

Before leaving, Elder Yu had invited Zhang Jingmo to have a drink at Qingxian Creek in half a month, which Zhang Jingmo agreed to.

Not long after Zhang Jingmo returned to his cave abode, the young servant at the entrance came to report that the disciple Zhang Jingmo had selected had arrived.

At that time, Zhang Jingmo was refining pills in a cauldron. Hearing the three words "Lu Guijiu" from the young servant's mouth, his movements paused for a moment. With this pause, an entire batch of pills was ruined.

The young servant was also startled and trembled as he knelt on the ground, begging Zhang Jingmo for forgiveness.

Zhang Jingmo casually waved his hand, indicating for him to leave. Seeing that Zhang Jingmo had no intention of blaming him, the young servant quickly stood up and hurriedly left.

Zhang Jingmo glanced at the ruined batch of pills, sighed, and turned to walk towards the cave entrance.

The newly arrived Lu Guijiu was kneeling at the entrance. He was only four years old, an age when he should have been at his mother's side, acting spoiled. Unfortunately, his mother had passed away when he was born. His father treated him well, but strange things often happened in their home.

Later, his father invited an immortal to read Lu Guijiu's face. The immortal said, "If this child remains at home, within five years, your Lu family will be ruined and its members will perish."

His father anxiously asked if there was any way to resolve this. The immortal sighed, shook his head, then pointed his hand towards the southwest, where Mount Lingxu was located.

After that, the four-year-old Lu Guijiu was sent to Lingxu Sect.

Back then, Zhang Jingmo had accepted Lu Guijiu to honor a favor. Now, even without that favor, he still had to acknowledge Lu Guijiu.

The child had been kneeling on the ground for a long time, his body swaying a little, but he didn't cry or make a sound. He just gritted his teeth, his face pale, and knelt on the ground with his back straight.

Zhang Jingmo walked up to him, but the child didn't raise his head, still lowering it to reveal his small head with two little buns.

Zhang Jingmo looked at him for a long time before saying, "Get up."

――This single sentence "get up" marked the beginning of their relationship as master and disciple.