I Failed to Fake My Death After Scumming the Demon Lord [Transmigration] - Chapter 18

Chapter 18

For this Ancestral Worship Ceremony, nine inner-sect disciples from the Yin-Feng Pavilion were listed to attend, including Qin Gu and Ji Yun. Ye Yuqing was also among them.

According to tradition, on the day before the opening ceremony, all disciples had to board the Fairy Boat and rest in their respective quarters to prepare for the event.

Qin Gu arrived early. Once all nine disciples were present, he led the way toward the sect-protection formation.

He injected his spiritual energy into the Sect Leader’s token—which Qin Rulian had left to him—and a brilliant red light erupted, resonating with the surrounding array.

Amidst the trembling of heaven and earth, a golden ladder rose from the ground, extending upwards until it reached into the clouds.

The golden light made Qin Gu’s eyes shine like stars. He looked away, feeling deeply shaken.

This was the Cloud Ladder leading to the Fairy Boat. Ordinarily, only the Five Great Families were qualified to open it. Only during the Ancestral Worship Ceremony could other immortal sects under the families’ jurisdiction open the Cloud Ladder within their own sect.

At the end of the Cloud Ladder lay the Fairy Boat, a place of divine longing for countless cultivators.

The Cloud Ladder consisted of eighty-one steps. Cultivators could ascend using movement techniques, though they could also choose to climb it step by step.

The other disciples leapt up, but Qin Gu wanted to experience the sensation of walking. He climbed leisurely for most of the way, only using his cultivation to jump the rest once the entrance to the Fairy Boat became faintly visible.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, an immense pressure descended instantly. An boundless, solemn majesty enveloped the entire Fairy Boat.

This was the dignity of the Immaculate Immortal Venerable.

Qin Gu opened his hand and curled his fingers, grabbing at the air. The spiritual energy flowing through his fingertips flickered like a faulty lightbulb and extinguished with a “pop.”

This was the Fairy Boat’s most unique feature.

Perhaps because the power of the Great Ascension stage was too terrifying, the Fairy Boat, as a part of the Immaculate Immortal Venerable’s soul, exerted an instinctive suppression on the cultivators who boarded it.

Below the Out-of-Body stage, one was no different from a mortal on the Fairy Boat. Those like Qin Gu, who were nearing the Spirit Transformation stage, could use some spiritual energy but could not exert their full power. It was only easier for those at the Spirit Transformation stage, and those at the Integration stage could move freely.

This was also why the Ancestral Worship Ceremony required the blacksmith shop to forge iron weapons; they could not channel spiritual energy into Dharma artifacts.

There were disciples from the Service Department on the Fairy Boat to guide them, first leading them to the assembly area to collect their respective tokens.

The Yin-Feng Pavilion arrived neither early nor late, and they soon received their tokens from the person in charge.

An exaggerated voice rang in his ears: “Yo, isn’t this the famous Young Alliance Master? Greetings, Young Alliance Master.”

Qin Gu followed the voice and looked over. The speaker was a masked cultivator. As he spoke, a black hawk landed on his shoulder and gave Qin Gu a side-eyed glance.

Qin Gu saw thick disdain in the hawk’s eyes and was speechless for a moment.

The original body had always acted like a gentleman in front of others and would never have revealed a shred of his true nature. Having ruled out the possibility of a personal vendetta, it was clear that this person was simply looking for trouble.

Qin Gu gazed steadily at his mask. The mask covered the upper half of the cultivator’s face, revealing only a black cloud pattern between his brows. His attire was highly exotic, and his feet were bare—not the style of the Central Plains.

Looking across the entire cultivation world, there was only one sect that dressed this way.

The Zhuoyun Valley of Yue City, one of the Five Great Families.

Disciples of Zhuoyun Valley never showed their true faces; they were experts in using poison and beast taming. Every disciple had their own companion spirit beast, and evidently, this giant black hawk was this person’s companion.

Qin Gu smiled: “I wouldn’t dare claim to be famous. I am ill-informed and have never heard of your esteemed name. May I ask who you are?”

The cultivator was stunned, and when he spoke again, there was a touch of annoyance: “You dare say I am unknown?!”

He reacted quite quickly. Qin Gu blinked innocently: “I dare not.”

He truly did not recognize this person.

The young cultivators queuing up around them had been attracted to the commotion, and upon hearing this, they burst into laughter.

The exposed half of the Zhuoyun Valley cultivator’s face turned bright red with anger. He shoved away the hand of a fellow sect member and scoffed: “I want to see what qualifications you have to be this Young Alliance Master!”

As he finished speaking, the black hawk suddenly flapped its wings and soared high, turning into a swift black shadow as it attacked Qin Gu. Qin Gu subconsciously blocked his face, but the black hawk suddenly veered and flew past his waist. Qin Gu felt a weight on his waist, and when he looked down, his token had been snatched away by the hawk.

The Zhuoyun Valley cultivator laughed: “The autumn hunt hasn’t even begun, and your token has already been taken by me. Qin Juanzhi, you might as well withdraw! Don’t embarrass the Immortal Alliance!”

The Ancestral Worship Ceremony was a place for both exchange and competition; only if a cultivator was defeated would their token appear in the hands of another sect.

After laughing, the Zhuoyun Valley cultivator saw that Qin Gu was still standing in place, neither angry nor making any move to snatch the token back. He looked around suspiciously: “Why aren’t you coming to grab it? Are you afraid?”

Qin Gu was all smiles, thinking that if he fought him for it, he really would be acting like a schoolchild pulling hair.

He remained composed: “The Ancestral Worship Ceremony has not yet begun. If you wish to spar with me, let’s do it during the autumn hunt…”

Before he could finish, the black hawk suddenly let out a miserable shriek, wobbled in the air, and plummeted straight down.

Its claws loosened, and Qin Gu’s token fell as well. A gust of wind stirred behind him, and the token was intercepted in mid-air by Ji Yun.

The black hawk crashed at his feet, but Ji Yun didn’t even glance at it. He walked back slowly and returned the token to Qin Gu with both hands.

He then turned to look at the stunned cultivator: “Lin Yin, is this all you’re capable of?”

Qin Gu’s smile froze on his face, his heart filled with both sorrow and joy.

The joy was that the protagonist had stood up for him; he felt the excitement of having successfully latched onto the protagonist’s thigh.

The sorrow was that he finally remembered who this Zhuoyun Valley cultivator was.

Lin Yin, courtesy name Jingfeng, was the son of the former Valley Master of Zhuoyun Valley and the nephew of the current Valley Master.

The former Valley Master of Zhuoyun Valley had once been a strong contender for the position of Alliance Leader of the Immortal Alliance, but he had failed his breakthrough and died from a rupture of his internal energy.

Which meant that if the former Valley Master hadn’t died, the position of Young Alliance Master might have been Lin Yin’s.

That was why every word he said was laced with thorns, yet followed a traceable logic.

Lin Yin was furious, clutching his black hawk and stammering “You!” for a long time, looking as if he wanted to perish together with Ji Yun.

Qin Gu hurriedly pulled Ji Yun behind him: “Junior Brother Lin, you snatched my token in public, and my junior brother took it back. One go, one return—we are even.”

Lin Yin: …

You call this even?!

Qin Gu quickly added: “Several sect leaders are nearby. If this matter blows up, I fear it will not only be embarrassing for me as Young Alliance Master, but Zhuoyun Valley will also lose face. I have some excellent healing medicine here. Junior Brother Lin, take it first; treating your spirit beast’s injury is what matters most.”

He had already taken a step back and offered the medicine voluntarily, admitting that his side was more at fault while also analyzing the pros and cons clearly. Lin Yin seemed like he wanted to argue, but he was eventually held back by other disciples of Zhuoyun Valley. He took the medicine with a sour look and said viciously: “You just wait!”

Qin Gu nodded: “See you tomorrow.”

His harsh threat was interpreted as a sign of reluctance to part. Lin Yin stumbled, glared at Qin Gu in anger, and finally left, clutching his black hawk.

Qin Gu breathed a sigh of relief. The onlookers saw that the show was over and took their leave.

Tokens were distributed randomly. The quarters for the nine disciples of the Yin-Feng Pavilion were not all in one place. Qin Gu gave the others a few words of advice, specifically urging them to avoid conflict with Zhuoyun Valley, and then they disbanded.

As it happened, he and Ji Yun were staying in the same courtyard. As they walked side by side, Ji Yun suddenly called out: “Senior brother.”

Qin Gu tilted his head, seeing his brows slightly furrowed and his lips pressed into a thin line. He could guess what he wanted to say: “Lin Yin was indeed excessive. It’s fine to give him a little lesson. Zhuoyun Valley was in the wrong first; they won’t want to make a scene.”

Ji Yun’s brow loosened, and he gave a soft “Mn.” Qin Gu thought for a moment, then reached out to press down on his head and ruffled his hair.

Ji Yun’s dark pupils vibrated for a moment. Qin Gu was amused by his reaction and laughed for a while before saying seriously: “Junior brother, your eagle-hunting skills are excellent. It seems the winner of the autumn hunt will certainly be our Yin-Feng Pavilion.”

He waved his hand, signaling for Ji Yun to return to his room, and took two steps toward his own.

Behind him, Ji Yun asked: “Senior brother, don’t you blame me for being too impulsive?”

Qin Gu did not look back: “If you know you were impulsive, then why would I blame you?”

With that, he pushed his door open and entered the room.

The courtyard meant for the young cultivators to rest in was much like a traditional courtyard house and was more spacious than he had imagined. The bedding and tea sets were all brand new, and the names of the occupants were written on wooden plaques at the entrance to prevent anyone from entering the wrong room.

It was indeed well-prepared.

Qin Gu pushed open a window facing the courtyard and saw a crooked-necked ornamental tree dropping its leaves in the wind.

He stared at the leaves, lost in thought, his mind drifting even further than the leaves were floating.

He thought of Lu Mi’s expressionless, cold face, then of Lin Yin’s defiant appearance, and finally, of the eyes of Demon Lord Ji Yun from a dream many years ago, filled with killing intent and mockery.

Thinking of Ji Yun, he was suddenly struck with a flash of inspiration and looked across the way. Through the layered leaves of the crooked tree, he saw Ji Yun push open his window and lock eyes with him the very first moment.

Ji Yun seemed startled, and then the corners of his lips curled up bit by bit. He silently parted his lips and called out: Senior brother.

The protagonist’s face—when devoid of expression, it was cold and aloof; but once he smiled, the ice melted and the spring breeze seemed to pale in comparison. All the adjectives rushed through Qin Gu’s mind, eventually leaving only the most direct word: “Beautiful.”

Beauty had nothing to do with gender. The young man smiling at him was truly breathtaking.

Qin Gu’s heart skipped a beat. He suddenly understood the feelings of the heroes of old who would fly into a rage for the sake of a beauty.

He raised a hand to cover half his face, the skin his fingertips touched feeling slightly hot.

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