The Master and His Wealthy Fiancée

The few people on the White Jade Square were still waiting as Chen Dong's group of three walked out of the great hall.

"Greetings, Sect Leader!"

The guide who had first led Chen Dong's group up the mountain bowed.

Sect Leader Feng didn't respond. Instead, she gathered a rosy glow between her hands that tore open the abyss entrance to the Dragon and Phoenix Valley.

"Go," Sect Leader Feng said coolly.

Chen Dong gave a slight nod, summoned his white wisp, and flew directly into the chasm.

Zhang Jun and Sect Leader Feng exchanged a look. The formulas for the first four stages of the Drunken Immortal Brew were in their possession, and they had already resolved to enact their plan.

As Chen Dong passed through the chasm, the world turned upside down, just like in a Teleportation Array, and he found himself in a valley.

The sky was a strange mix of dawn's first light and dusk's crimson glow. At the edge of the clouds, twin suns flickered in and out of view. The surrounding land looked as if it had been scorched, and cracks spiderwebbed across its surface. There was no greenery in the hollow valley, only a single, towering, withered tree. Even the adjoining stone cliffs bore the marks of being baked and cracked by intense heat.

Several man-high hollows had been carved into the stone cliffs. They weren't deep, just large enough to fit a single person, and each contained a meditation cushion. 'They must be for meditating and seeking enlightenment.'

'This desolate valley is the Qixia Sect's Holy Land for enlightenment?'

Chen Dong observed for a moment before flying up to one of the hollows. From its vantage point, he was facing the towering, withered tree. Through its gnarled branches, he could glimpse the flickering twin suns and the vast crimson clouds.

'Enlightenment through appreciating the scenery?'

Chen Dong wasn't in a hurry to begin his enlightenment. Instead, he summoned his white wisp and flew out of the valley.

Outside the valley, the entire world was a uniform shade of desolation. Barren mountains stretched out as far as the eye could see.

Chen Dong picked a random direction and kept flying. In less than an hour, he found himself back in the valley.

The line of sight was perfectly clear. 'How can I fly in a straight line and still end up back where I started? This place is truly full of wonders!'

Chen Dong picked another direction and tried again. In less than an hour, he was back in the valley once more.

'It doesn't feel like an illusion array. The world here is simply... like this. It loops back to the start. It's really only this big. It's not even as large as the current Qiankun Realm.'

Chen Dong tried a few more times, but the result was always the same. He gave up and picked a hollow at random to begin his attempt at enlightenment.

Four hours later, Chen Dong noticed that while the Xiayun clouds in the sky were changing, the twin suns remained fixed in place, neither rising nor setting.

This world seemed eternal.

After observing for several more hours without any insight, Chen Dong suddenly heard voices in the valley.

"I'm finally in! Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Manual, your granddaddy is here!"

"What's all the noise?! Outer Disciples are so unruly. This is a Holy Land; you must be solemn and serious!"

Chen Dong followed the sound with his eyes and saw Qixia Sect disciples dropping into the valley from mid-air, one after another.

The new arrivals automatically split into two factions: the Inner Sect Disciples in their crimson, dragon-and-phoenix-adorned robes, and the Outer Sect, whose robes only bore the mark of the Xiayun.

THUD! A dull thud echoed as an Outer Disciple shaped like a ball hit the ground.

"Good thing I dodged quickly, or they would have crushed me!"

"Holy crap, I knew she was behind me, but that landing still made me jump!"

Chen Dong raised an eyebrow. 'Isn't that ball Wang Xian'Er?!'

A figure swiftly followed, asking in an anxious and worried tone, "Miss, are you all right?"

Chen Dong looked closer and was surprised to see it was Wang Wan'Er. 'She joined Qixia Sect, too? And she's wearing an Inner Sect robe, while Wang Xian'Er is still in an Outer Sect one.'

'The maid now outranks her mistress!'

Wang Wan'Er was already exceptionally beautiful, and standing next to Wang Xian'Er only made her seem more delicate, radiant, and ethereal.

A glamorous-looking woman among the Inner Sect disciples stared at the pair and said with clear displeasure, "I don't even know how someone like that got into Qixia Sect. How can you even cultivate when you're that fat!"

Though her words were aimed at Wang Xian'Er, the hostility in her gaze was fixed on Wang Wan'Er.

Seeing the master-servant pair from the Wang Family, Chen Dong decided to steer clear of them. He took advantage of the chaos below, flashing away to hide higher up on the valley wall.

He stopped paying attention to the Qixia Sect disciples. Instead, he carved out a small cave for himself in the cliff wall high above, away from the main part of the valley.

Once he was done, Chen Dong used his Divine Sense to observe the Qixia Sect disciples in the valley. It seemed everyone had finished entering. The crowd was split into two groups: one hundred fifty from the Outer Sect and three hundred from the Inner Sect.

A young cultivator, looking like a nobleman's son, stepped out from the Inner Sect crowd. He wore a jade hairpin-crown, held a folding fan, and had an exquisite Storage Ring on a finger of his right hand.

He walked to the front of the crowd and spoke, his voice infused with True Qi. "Junior brothers and sisters, now that we've all arrived, I must first clarify the rules of this Dragon and Phoenix Valley!"

The moment the young nobleman spoke, someone immediately chimed in, "Please speak, Senior Brother Chen!"

"Whatever the rules are, Senior Brother Chen, please tell us. We'll listen to you."

This Senior Brother Chen smiled faintly and said, "The Dragon and Phoenix Treasure Manual is one of our Qixia Sect's greatest opportunities. What you can comprehend from it depends entirely on your own talent. However, while talent is crucial, the spot where you meditate is also extremely important. These hollows on the cliff face are the absolute best places for enlightenment. This time, four hundred and fifty of us have entered, but there are only one hundred and eight hollows. Therefore, all the hollows belong to the Inner Sect. I trust no one has any objections?"

Once these words were spoken, no one objected, naturally. The Outer Disciples were all in the Qi Cultivation Stage, whereas the Inner Sect Disciples were all in the Foundation Establishment Stage.

The world had always been this way; those with higher cultivation and greater strength held all the power.