The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The Qixia Sect was immense, embraced by a sea of mountains whose peaks stretched on endlessly, its palaces nestled among the Xiayun clouds.

Chen Dong, Zhang Jun, and ten Golden Core Guards, a party of twelve, ascended the mountain on foot under the guide's lead.

This was the main peak of the Qixia Sect. Not even someone with Daoist Zhang's status was permitted to fly directly to the top.

'The entrance to the Dragon and Phoenix Valley's chasm is in the clouds directly opposite the main peak. It would take at least twelve breaths for me to reach it if I summoned my White Feather Flying Sword and flew at full speed,' Chen Dong calculated. 'In that time, a Golden Core Zhenren could kill me at least twenty times over. And there are definitely people in the Qixia Sect stronger than a Golden Core Zhenren, not to mention I'm completely surrounded by cultivators at the Golden Core Stage.'

'Even if I found a twelve-breath window to shake off these Cultivators, I have no idea if the chasm entrance is even open, or how to get inside.'

After walking for the time it takes two incense sticks to burn, Zhang Jun and the guide up ahead exchanged idle chatter.

The party arrived at a spacious White Jade Square. Before them stood a grand and majestic hall.

A figure slowly emerged from the hall. He looked to be a young man in his twenties, with fine bangs brushing his forehead. Beneath sharp, blade-like eyebrows, his handsome eyes seemed to reflect the rosy glow of the clouds, exuding a faint air of majesty and giving off an unfathomable impression.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of the Yun Gu Sect's Daoist arriving at my Qixia Sect ahead of everyone else?"

Zhang Jun sneered. "What's the matter, Feng You? Am I not welcome?"

The man, Feng You, chuckled. "You, Zhang Jun, never do anything without a reason. Spit it out, what do you want?"

Zhang Jun gave a dismissive wave of his right hand. "I'm here to see your Sect Leader, not you. What is there for me to discuss with a mere Daoist like yourself?"

Feng You sauntered forward. "If you don't want to talk, then don't. You can see yourself down the mountain and wait for the ceremony tomorrow."

Zhang Jun's blue eyes stared coldly, a flicker of anger in their depths.

'There seems to be bad blood between these two,' Chen Dong noted.

At that moment, a majestic voice rang out, speaking slowly. "Daoist Zhang, since you have matters to discuss, please come in."

Zhang Jun shot a cold snort at Feng You before turning to Chen Dong. "Follow me inside."

Chen Dong was confused. 'That voice belonged to either the Qixia Sect Leader or another high-ranking member. You're a Daoist from the Yun Gu Sect going in to negotiate... why are you bringing me along?' Still, Zhang Jun had given the order, so Chen Dong had no choice but to follow.

The ten Golden Core Guards and the guide remained where they were. Feng You shot them a glance before heading back down the mountain.

Chen Dong followed Zhang Jun into the grand hall. Inside the vast space stood a single, middle-aged man dressed in a Xiayun Daoist robe. He bore a strong resemblance to Feng You, though this man's power was restrained. He possessed a composure that the sharp-edged Feng You lacked.

With a casual wave of his hand, the middle-aged man sealed the entire hall.

Zhang Jun glanced at Chen Dong, then raised a hand and cast a spell, sealing Chen Dong's movements and five senses.

The gap in their cultivation levels was immense. Zhang Jun was at the Mid-stage First-grade Golden Core, while Chen Dong's cultivation on his Extreme Dao path was only equivalent to the Eleventh-Layer Qi Cultivation in the Wangyou Realm. He was utterly powerless to resist. Instantly, it was as if he were plunged into a dark confinement—senses sealed, unable to move, see, hear, or speak...

Seeing Zhang Jun seal Chen Dong, the middle-aged man asked, "My dear Jun, why have you brought this person here?"

Zhang Jun didn't answer directly. Instead, fury surged in his eyes as he gritted his teeth and let his frustration pour out. "You said ten years, then another ten years, and now it's been nearly a century! I've even become the Daoist of the Yun Gu Sect, and you still won't spring the trap! What's next? Do I have to become the Yun Gu Sect's Sect Leader?"

The middle-aged man smiled placatingly. "That would actually be wonderful. If you became the Sect Leader of the Yun Gu Sect, my Qixia Sect could annex them without lifting a finger!"

Zhang Jun retorted angrily, "Dream on! Even if I became Sect Leader, do you think I could command the two Supreme Elders of the Yun Gu Sect? And the current Sect Leader, Thunder Radiance Pool, is no pushover. If I make a single suspicious move, he'll strip me of my Daoist title in a heartbeat!"

The middle-aged man said in a soothing voice, "My dear Jun, don't be angry. You know as well as I do that a war between the five great sects is no small matter. I've already formed an alliance with Liucheng. We just need to ally with either the Black Dragon or the Wangyou Sect, and then we'll have absolute certainty."

"Then hurry up and make the alliance, Sect Leader Feng! You drag this out year after year! I remember you tricking me, telling me that if I helped you take down Yun Gu, I'd become the Qixia Sect's Daoist. But in the end, you gave the position to your own son! Now, I don't care about being a Sect Leader or a Daoist. I just want you to keep your promise and cure my Divine Soul Fire Poison after we take down Yun Gu!"

The middle-aged man smiled benevolently. "But of course. You can rest assured on that point. I already have a plan in motion, and we should see results very soon... By the way, my dear Jun, you still haven't told me why you brought this man to see me."

Zhang Jun snapped, "That's what you said last time, and your 'soon' turned into a thirty-year delay!"

"This time for sure!"

Zhang Jun shook his head. "Because of the Divine Soul Fire Poison, my cultivation is the lowest among the Five Sects' Daoists. I can't afford to wait any longer. This time, I've come to give *you* a plan. And this man... he is the plan."

The middle-aged man stared at Chen Dong, his eyes narrowed in disbelief. "Him? He's just at the Qi Cultivation Stage... no, wait. It seems he's on the path of the Extreme Dao. He's already at a dead end, a cultivation cripple. What kind of plan could he possibly be?"

Zhang Jun smiled. "His name is Chen Dong. His cultivation may be low, but his talent for pharmacology is astonishing. He can already replicate the first three stages of your Qixia Sect's Drunken Immortal Brew. And he can do it at an extremely low cost, to the point where it could completely replace low-level cultivation elixirs."

"What?" The middle-aged man's eyes widened, filled with utter disbelief. As the leader of a sect, he knew exactly what that implied.