100: Advancement: A Message from the Dimensional System

Seeing Mu Tou set up the Immortal Execution Sword Formation once again, Qing Feng was greatly alarmed. He thought Mu Tou was harboring a grudge over his earlier covetous desire for Ya Xin’s vital spiritual essence and was now seeking revenge. Upon hearing Mu Tou ask him about his chances of victory, he pondered for a moment and said, "I do not possess a protective dharma treasure like the Black Lotus; I fear I would be no match for you, Junior Brother, within this sword formation." As he spoke, he looked toward Yun Zhongxian and asked, "What manner of divine beast is this? I perceive her magic power to be seemingly inferior to my own."

Having attained the realm of an Immortal, Qing Feng naturally recognized at a glance that Yun Zhongxian was a transformed divine beast. However, he found it strange that her power appeared to be on par with his own, yet he could not discern her true form.

Mu Tou smiled but did not answer. "Senior Brother Qing Feng, Ya Xin and I have become Daoist companions. You shouldn't be harboring any more designs on her, should you?"

Qing Feng laughed in spite of himself. "It was my own rashness as a Senior Brother today. I offer my apologies to you, Junior Brother!"

"Apologies are unnecessary," Mu Tou replied. "I have a favor to ask of you, Senior Brother."

"Speak!" Qing Feng was quite forthright.

Mu Tou said, "As you have observed, my friends here are not from this realm. I do not know how to explain their origins to our Sect Leader, so I must trouble you to assist me."

Qing Feng was stunned. "How am I to explain it? Besides, would he even believe me if I did? And what exactly is the background of these friends of yours!?"

Mu Tou replied, "As for their background, I will explain it to you when the time is right. Regarding the Sect Leader, you need not worry about him not believing you. Your cultivation realm is exceptionally high; you are a senior expert. Who would dare to doubt your word?"

Qing Feng was speechless, never expecting Mu Tou to dump this difficult task onto him. However, seeing that although Mu Tou was smiling, there was a clear implication that if he did not agree, he would use the sword formation to teach him a lesson, he had no choice but to compromise. "Very well!"

Only then did Mu Tou retract the sword formation and laugh. "Senior Brother Qing Feng, three days from now is the day of my joyous union with Junior Sister Xin Yi. Please stay at the Taixu Sect for a few days; it will not be too late to leave after you have witnessed the ceremony!"

Zheng Yi Zhenren, eager to keep such a senior expert in his sect, quickly added his own invitation. Qing Feng gave a bitter smile and said, "That is excellent, excellent!"

Thus, the group mounted their flying swords and headed toward the Taixu Sect. Naturally, Baldy and the others could not fly by sword, but each had their own methods. Zi Gui, Baldy, and Lu Daoxuan each produced a skateboard-like object, stepped onto them, and shot into the sky like the Goblin Gliders from science fiction films. Gu Feng had it easiest, sitting atop the back of the Qiongqi with effortless grace.

At the main peak of the Taixu Sect, above the cloud-piercing heights, mists still swirled and cranes flew—a truly celestial sight. Within the main hall of the Taixu Sect, Zheng Yi Zhenren gathered everyone to announce that Mu Tou had won the championship of the Chaotian Peak Grand Tournament and would be entering into a marriage alliance with a junior sister from the Shuiyue Sect. He then appointed several elders to represent the Taixu Sect in receiving the bride three days later.

Afterward, Zheng Yi dismissed the others, keeping only Mu Tou and Xiaoyaozi behind. "Junior Brother Xiaoyao, are you aware that your disciple has another master?"

Xiaoyaozi was also taken aback. "That cannot be, how would I not know?"

Zheng Yi Zhenren said sternly, "A-Mu, the path of cultivation places the highest importance on the lineage of the Dao. As a disciple of our Taixu Sect, if you were to take another as your master without notifying the sect, it would be considered an act of apostasy in the cultivation world. How is it that the expert Qing Feng addresses you as 'Junior Brother'?"

By the end, his tone was severe. Mu Tou knew the rules of the cultivation world—if disciples were allowed to take masters at will, the order would be ruined. He quickly explained, "Sect Leader, please do not be angry; listen to me!" He then recounted the story of how he had accidentally obtained the Four Immortal Execution Swords while in seclusion at the Wuya Ancient Cave. Finally, he added, "Apart from Master Xiaoyaozi, I have not taken anyone else as a master. Furthermore, the Immortal Execution Swords were found in the ancient cave on Wuya Peak; they may well be the legacy of an expert from our own sect. Even Senior Brother Qing Feng said that the original owner of these swords, the Supreme Master of the Shangqing Lingbao, shares the name of our own cultivation techniques. Perhaps there is a deep connection to our sect that we are simply unaware of!"

Only then did Zheng Yi Zhenren’s expression soften. "I see. In that case, I am relieved. I was merely afraid that you were unaware of the rules of the cultivation world and had taken a master haphazardly, which would have been difficult to resolve."

Mu Tou nodded in agreement, then a thought occurred to him. "Sect Leader, are you also unaware of the Grandmaster of Heaven (Tongtian Jiaozhu)?"

Zheng Yi frowned. "It is not just me. I have read through our sect's Daoist scriptures thoroughly, and I have never seen any mention of a 'Supreme Master of the Shangqing Lingbao' or a 'Grandmaster of Heaven,' nor have I ever heard of any 'Great Immortal Zhenyuan' or 'Wuzhuang Temple.'"

Mu Tou let out an "Oh," secretly wondering, "This is strange. No one in the true cultivation world knows of these two great figures, yet legends of them circulate on Earth. How can this be?"

"However..." Zheng Yi Zhenren hesitated. "There is actually a secret in the cultivation world. It is said that thousands of years ago, there was another era of cultivation. At that time, cultivators could travel to fairylands with the help of experts to harvest spiritual fruits and rapidly improve their cultivation. There was also the concept of reincarnation; if a master at the Tribulation Transcendence stage failed their tribulation, as long as their primordial spirit remained intact, they could reincarnate and start over. Now, however, failure means total annihilation; even if the primordial spirit remains, one cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation."

"But, these legends from thousands of years ago exist only in fragments; there are no complete written records. It is said that when the previous cultivation era fell, there was a celestial anomaly. For three months, the sun, moon, and stars vanished from the sky, and the vital energy of heaven and earth went out of control. As for what exactly happened, no one knows."

"Ah!?" Hearing Zheng Yi Zhenren say this, Mu Tou recalled something. Back in the Magic Plane, someone had said something similar: "The growth of the ancient magical civilization threatened the existence of the gods. The gods unleashed divine punishment, and for three months, the continent saw no sun, no moon, and no stars. The elements of the world lost control, which led to the fall of the ancient magical civilization."

These were the words of the Great Sage of the Canglan Empire. How could they be so similar to the legends of the cultivation world? And both shared the same vague timeframe: thousands of years ago... What exactly happened back then?

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Mu Tou said aloud, "Perhaps the Immortal Execution Sword was passed down by the patriarchs of our Taixu Sect from that era; otherwise, why would it be in the Wuya Ancient Cave?"

Zheng Yi Zhenren laughed. "Silly child, our Taixu Sect didn't even exist thousands of years ago. However, the cultivation world values destiny above all else. Since you are the one who obtained it, it belongs to you!"

Afterward, Zheng Yi asked about his gains from the Immortal's cave. Mu Tou brought out the Shennong Cauldron and explained its functions. Zheng Yi said, "This is indeed a precious cauldron for refining medicine. If the Hundred Herb Sect had obtained it, they would naturally treat it as a treasure, but it is of little use in your hands. After all, knowledge of medicine requires years of accumulation, and our Taixu Sect is not skilled in that."

The three chatted for a while longer, then Mu Tou and Xiaoyaozi took their leave and returned to Wuya Peak. He settled Gu Feng and the others on the peak. Seeing Mu Tou return, Zi Gui immediately pulled him into the small cabin.

"Look at your Plane System!" Lu Daoxuan reminded him.

Mu Tou looked down and saw that a string of text had appeared in the Plane System at some point: "Beep... The strength of the basic material plane agent has advanced to an unknown state. The agent's strength and realm are unstable; system evaluation: unknown... According to system regulations, the agent is defaulted to S-rank strength. Effective immediately, you have acquired the title of 'Chosen One'."

"Upon the agent obtaining the 'Chosen One' title, the plane protection barrier is cancelled. The basic material plane agent—Chen Mu—will become one of the Plane Trialists. Warning: As this agent is a holder of the 'Covenant Emblem,' under the influence of said emblem, all members of the covenant team will ignore level and strength differences and uniformly receive the 'Chosen One' title, defaulting to the qualification to enter the trial ground."

Looking at this long string of notifications, countless questions flooded Mu Tou's mind. He quickly asked, "Oh!? Chosen One? Trialist? Trial ground? What does this mean?"

"It is easy to understand. Mu Tou, your strength has reached a certain level, and the grace period and protection provided to you by the Space-Time Administration have expired. You will become a gladiator in this game set up by either gods or sages. In certain situations, you may face life-and-death struggles with agents from different planes, and the ultimate winner may receive rewards from the Space-Time Administration," Lu Daoxuan said calmly. "We have also received notifications: since the founder of the covenant team is judged by the system to possess S-rank strength, all members of the covenant team have obtained the 'Chosen One' qualification and have become trialists."

"Chosen One? Wait! I think I've heard of this," Zi Gui suddenly said. "This doesn't seem like a good thing. It is said that only plane talents with S-rank strength or above become Chosen Ones, and Chosen Ones are assigned tasks by the Space-Time Administration from time to time, involving life-and-death battles during these tasks. Damn... I don't have S-rank strength!"

"I am only A-rank, though after obtaining the Heart of the Dragon King and using the Beast God Transformation, I do have S-rank strength," Baldy added.

Gu Feng also said, "Last time when I advanced to S-rank, the system warned me that as a member of the covenant team, no arrangements would be made for me for the time being. So that's what it meant!"

Lu Daoxuan nodded. "This was my oversight. I originally thought that with Mu Tou's cultivation, he would not advance to S-rank so quickly, so the team members could increase their strength step by step according to my plan. But I did not anticipate Mu Tou's growth would be so rapid, which disrupted my plans... And I have already realized that it is not that Mu Tou's own cultivation has reached S-rank, but rather that he used an unknown formation to gather the energy of heaven and earth, possessing S-rank strength for a short time."

As he spoke, Lu Daoxuan looked at Mu Tou and continued, "In other words, our actual strength is lower than that of other plane agents who become 'Chosen Ones' through normal means."

Mu Tou was stunned. "Then what should we do? Since we will have life-and-death struggles with other plane agents in specific tasks, won't we be in great danger due to our insufficient strength?"

Lu Daoxuan shook his head. "Not necessarily. After all, so far, I have not heard of anyone other than us completing the hidden trial tasks. This means that covenant teams like ours are unique among the 'Chosen Ones.' If we work together, combined with the formation you used earlier, I estimate that dealing with two S-rank individuals should not be a problem!"