The Transmigrator’s Cultivation

Arc 25: Tempest Field | Chapter 462: Meeting Companions

Seeing this, Xu Ziqing felt a sense of reassurance.

No matter what the gambling contest stemmed from, at least for now, his companions had not suffered any losses, indicating that the situation wasn’t too dire.

Thus, he stood still, focusing his mind, and waited for Tu Jin and the others to arrive.

After about half an hour, Xu Ziqing suddenly caught a whiff of blood in the air. His heart stirred, and he raised his head to look toward the right. In the blink of an eye, a red light, like a piercing sword, shot straight toward him.

Following that red light, two other beams of light surged forward, and in an instant, they were close at hand.

The newcomers exuded a powerful aura, showing no hesitation or fear. They landed gracefully, transforming into three imposing men, their feet flashing with a sharp brilliance that quickly vanished, their expressions calm and collected.

Xu Ziqing recognized at a glance that the leader was Tu Jin, now at the late Spirit Severing stage. His aura was denser with blood light, radiating an indescribable dominating presence, suggesting he had made significant progress in swordsmanship over the past three years. Xun Liang, tall and sturdy, bore a heavy sword light infused with a sharp edge that was quite intimidating; this must have resulted from condensing his Sword Soul. Yin Xiu, having experienced strange and gloomy events in his earlier years, retained his enigmatic aura, yet there was an even deeper hidden power about him—one that seemed ready to unleash thunderous retribution if provoked! He had also condensed his Sword Soul.

After Tu Jin and the others landed, their consciousness quickly scanned the crowd and naturally spotted the youth in splendid attire and the other four. They immediately started walking toward them. Since they quickly found their opponents for the contest, they did not bother to look around, thus they did not notice Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie standing a bit off to the side.

Xu Ziqing tugged at Yun Lie’s sleeve and whispered, “Shixiong, shall we wait a moment before going over?”

Yun Lie nodded slightly in agreement.

So they remained still, watching as Tu Jin and the others approached.

Upon seeing them arrive, the youth in splendid attire and the others grew serious.

The several Nascent Soul cultivators, who were similarly dressed, had a rather grim expressions and immediately reproached, “Xun Liang, Yin Xiu, you two, born as loose cultivators, do not deceive yourselves by associating with the wicked and unorthodox!”

“Tu Jin has grievances with us; why must you involve yourselves? If you regret it, it’s not too late. Just step back, and this gambling contest won’t involve you two,” one of them insisted.

“Our Hongchuan Sect is a fourth-grade sect; do you two really want to be enemies with us?” they continued.

The three spoke in turns, presenting a united front, not only invoking the righteousness of their shared path but also issuing threats, aiming to force Xun Liang and Yin Xiu to withdraw from the contest, leaving Tu Jin to face them alone.

Meanwhile, the youth in splendid attire and the striking woman remained silent, watching coldly from the side.

After observing for a while, the woman furrowed her brows, clearly disdainful of such behavior.

The youth in splendid attire patted her hand, raising an eyebrow to calm her. “Just bear with it; they owe their elders a favor. What happens afterward has nothing to do with us.”

The woman huffed and replied, “If they hadn’t provoked the issue, you wouldn’t have had to waste time here and could have practiced longer in the Sword Pagoda. Their attitude is truly embarrassing for you!”

The youth in splendid attire smiled, “If I want to practice swordsmanship, there’s no place I can’t do so. The winds in the Tempest Field are unpredictable; they’ll surely be beneficial for me. You don’t need to take this to heart; those who are bound by a single matter or location may never achieve much.”

Upon hearing this, the woman retracted her expression and ceased her complaints.

Xu Ziqing took everything in and began to understand the situation.

It seemed that these two Spirit Severing cultivators were not particularly close to the three members of their sect. It appeared they were only traveling together because the youth in splendid attire owed a favor to the elders of those three Nascent Soul cultivators’ sect. Moreover, this youth didn’t seem to be visiting the Nine Void Realm for the first time and had no intention of clashing with Tu Jin and the others… However, since they had already crossed paths, they surely wouldn’t hold back.

Soon, after a series of threats and enticements, Xun Liang and Yin Xiu finally gave the three a glance.

Xun Liang spoke firmly, “We come alongside Brother Tu; his grievances are ours as well, so there’s no need for you to say more!”

Yin Xiu’s expression was gloomy as he glanced over and replied, “Hongchuan Sect? I’ve never heard of it.”

The three Nascent Soul cultivators, seeing that the two were unyielding, felt quite embarrassed and sneered at Tu Jin, “Indeed, you’re a demon, quite adept at manipulating others’ hearts. Have you found these two scapegoats to your liking? After this gambling contest, when your realms are diminished, let’s see how arrogant you’ll be!”

Tu Jin merely raised an eyebrow and replied, “All the souls that fall beneath my hands have committed wicked deeds. Hongchuan Sect, a dignified fourth-grade sect with countless disciples, is actually looking to settle scores with me over a failure… That’s quite a bold move.” His tone was dripping with sarcasm, lacking politeness. “Since Hongchuan Sect is willing to lose face by coming after me, it must also be a den of thieves. I, Tu Jin, accept this challenge; you may come at me as you wish; what have I to fear?”

After being so openly mocked, the three Nascent Soul cultivators’ faces turned red and white, feeling very uncomfortable.

Their previous remarks were indeed excessive. As a fourth-grade sect in the Qianyuan Great World, while they might not uphold the title of an Immortal Sect, they had produced quite a number of immortals and had many factions and branches within. They wouldn’t go to such lengths for a mere disciple. Moreover, as an Immortal Sect, they had to maintain some dignity; the inner disciple, who had committed heinous acts by targeting a minor family and slaughtering the entire clan, even if exterminated, would at least be justified in doing so—outwardly, they couldn’t hold grudges against those who punished evil.

The reason these three Nascent Soul cultivators had a grudge against Tu Jin was that the disciple who committed the crime was actually a senior brother of their lineage and a remarkably talented Divine Transformation stage cultivator from the direct line of their ancestor. After Tu Jin killed him, their lineage indeed suffered a significant loss but could not retaliate due to the situation. In their ancestor’s anger, he issued a command within the lineage that if anyone could present Tu Jin’s head, that person would be accepted as a direct disciple and nurtured with all available resources, which greatly tempted many disciples.

However, encountering Tu Jin in the Nine Void Realm was purely coincidental.

The youth in splendid attire had owed a favor to the master of these three, which is why he agreed to bring them to the Sword Pagoda to cultivate for a year. During this year, he had to protect their safety; thus, when they happened upon Tu Jin and caused trouble, he had no choice but to intervene.

Seeing the two sides verbally sparring, it was clear they were each preparing to head to other entrances for the contest. Xu Ziqing then tugged at his senior brother’s hand, gently shaking it, “Let’s go over.”

Yun Lie nodded slightly and took his hand, floating forward together.

Xu Ziqing raised his voice, “Fellow Daoists, please wait a moment!”

Upon hearing that familiar voice, Tu Jin and the others turned around, “Xu Daoist, Yun Daoist?”

Xun Liang couldn’t help but laugh heartily, “You’ve returned safe and sound; that’s excellent, excellent!”

Yin Xiu assessed them and, seeing that neither had suffered any injuries and seemed even more formidable, felt relieved, and the ominousness in his brow eased a bit. Being a close friend of Lu Wenge, he naturally wanted to look after his shidi, and given Yun Lie’s astounding swordsmanship and Xu Ziqing’s warm and approachable nature, he regarded them as friends. Seeing them now brought him some joy.

Even Tu Jin, whose temperament was eccentric, felt a reduction in the murderous aura in his eyes at that moment.

When the youth in splendid attire saw Yun Lie, his expression suddenly paused. As an exceptionally talented sword cultivator, how could he not see that this person’s swordsmanship had surpassed his own? At that moment, a competitive spirit arose within him. Previously, he had only been slightly wary of Tu Jin’s cultivation level, but now he was more concerned about Yun Lie.

— After all, for cultivators like them, breaking through in cultivation levels wasn’t particularly difficult; they placed even greater importance on achievements in swordsmanship.

The beautiful woman also had a discerning eye. Following the youth’s gaze, her expression darkened, and she became even more guarded.

The three Nascent Soul cultivators, upon seeing the two, were also taken aback. “Who are you? We are currently engaged in a gambling contest; it would be best for idle people like you to leave early!”

Xu Ziqing smiled slightly, “We came precisely for the gambling contest. These friends have arrived in this realm alongside my shixiong and me. We temporarily dispersed earlier due to some matters between us. Now that such a grand event is taking place, my shixiong and I, as companions of all of them, should naturally go together.”

The three Nascent Soul cultivators knew it wasn’t good and retorted, “We already made an agreement; how can we allow others to join halfway?”

Xu Ziqing responded calmly, “Earlier, it was simply a matter of insufficient numbers. If it’s a fair contest, how can it be five against three? It should be five against five. Unless… do you have some underhanded schemes? Or are you lacking in confidence and trying to suppress the few with the many, showing none of the dignity of a cultivator?”

The few Nascent Soul cultivators were momentarily speechless. “You… don’t speak so wildly!”

Xu Ziqing’s expression remained unchanged, his smile friendly. “It seems I misunderstood you; this gambling contest should indeed be five against five, quite fair.”

The Nascent Soul cultivators still wanted to argue a bit more, but before they could speak, the youth interrupted, “Enough, there’s no need for further discussion!”

Though the three Nascent Soul cultivators were reluctant, they didn’t dare to continue complaining.

The youth in splendid attire turned to Xu Ziqing, “Now that everyone is here, do you understand the rules?”

Xu Ziqing replied unhurriedly, “I would like to hear them again to avoid any mistakes that could lead to an unsightly outcome.”

The youth then gestured to the beautiful woman beside him.

She spoke, “Entering at this time, we will meet again here on the seventh day of next month. By then, regardless of how many survive, the one who gathers the most chaotic wind flowers will be the winner. The losers must consume the Soul-Corroding Pill, causing their realms to drop by one level.”

Xu Ziqing smiled, “Let’s proceed according to these rules.”

The youth in splendid attire added, “We will head to the first gate; you may do as you wish. Farewell!” After finishing, he looked at Tu Jin and the others.

Tu Jin scoffed coldly, “During this month, let’s hope none of you are wiped out completely.”

Afterward, he ignored the angry glares from the three Nascent Soul cultivators and turned to speak with Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie.

Before long, the five in splendid attire departed. Tu Jin then curled the corners of his mouth into a smirk, “It’s been three years; both of you have made good progress.”

Xu Ziqing first expressed his gratitude, saying “Thank you,” and then inquired, “Daoist Tu, what’s going on here?”

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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