I get stronger every day I live.

Chapter 159 Entering the Immortal Realm of Limitless Inquiry, Wandering the Continent
As Chu Xiao watched Jian Wuji cleave the sea surface with a single sword strike and slay the giant beast beneath the sea, a burning passion welled up in his heart.

The only difference between him and Jian Wuji right now is their cultivation level. The higher they advance in the Tribulation Realm, the greater the gap between them becomes.

Chu Xiao was confident that he was second to none in the same realm.

Once he breaks through to the peak of the seventh realm, he can also kill the powerful monsters inhabiting this endless sea with a single spear thrust.

"Alright, let's end this sparring here. We've made enough of a commotion."

"Pack up your spoils, let's go back."

Just then, Lai Yang walked up to the two of them, glanced at the huge demonic body on the endless sea out of the corner of his eye, and slowly spoke.

Chu Xiao and Jian Wuji exchanged a glance, then immediately put away their weapons and replied respectfully, "Yes, Master."

A short while later, Lai Yang led Chu Xiao and Jian Wuji back to Mingyue City.

"How's the situation at the Immortal Sect lately? Are you settling in alright?" The three sat down to rest, and Lai Yang turned to look at Chu Xiao, asking with a slightly gentler gaze.

"Many affairs of the Immortal Inquiry Sect are quite complicated to handle, especially balancing various forces and guarding against the schemes and suppression of other immortal sects, which really makes this disciple feel exhausted." Upon hearing this, Chu Xiao's face showed a bitter expression, and he sighed helplessly.

“If you don’t like it, then you can hand over the position of acting sect leader to someone else,” Lai Yang said calmly.

However, Chu Xiao shook his head slightly at Lai Yang's words and said firmly, "Before Qingxian left, she entrusted the Wenxian Sect to me. I cannot let her down. I will take charge of the Wenxian Sect for a hundred years in place of Qingxian. If she does not return to the Wenxian Continent as promised within a hundred years, I will find a suitable candidate for sect leader and hand the Wenxian Sect over to the other party."

"Actually, I think Senior Sister Wen is more suitable to lead the Wenxian Sect than I am. Master initially wanted to hand the Wenxian Sect over to her, but Senior Sister Wen refused in the end. Sigh..."

Chu Xiao shrugged helplessly and sighed.

"Senior Brother, stop acting innocent after getting such a good deal. You've become the acting sect leader of the Wenxian Sect, and the sect's cultivation resources are countless and inexhaustible. They're all yours now. I wonder how many people are coveting the position of sect leader of the Wenxian Sect." Jian Wuji felt that Chu Xiao was in Versailles and couldn't help but interrupt him.

"Hehe." Chu Xiao chuckled.

Lai Yang waved his hand and calmly said, "As the saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. In general, it will be more beneficial than harmful to you. When you go back this time, take your junior brother Wuji with you. With his help to develop the Wenxian Sect, the pressure on you will surely be relieved a lot."

"Also, please tell Xiaowen and Xiaonuan that I'm going to travel around and they don't need to come to Mingyue City anymore."

Chu Xiao's expression faltered slightly, a hint of doubt appearing in his eyes: "Master, when are you leaving?"

"It depends on my mood. I'll go out and travel whenever I feel like it. It could be tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or next month."

Clearly, Lai Yang had no such plan.

Of course, he doesn't need a plan.

Because he has a long enough lifespan to travel to every corner of the entire Immortal Quest Continent.

Before this world rejects him and forces him to ascend and leave, all he can do is leisurely enjoy life and while away the time.

In addition, one must comprehend the universe, integrate the techniques one has learned, and continuously improve one's self-created techniques.

To prepare for breaking through to a realm above immortality in the future.

The environmental conditions on the continent of Wenxian Sect are insufficient to meet the requirements for becoming an immortal; one must ascend to the upper realm to achieve immortality.

However, the dangers of the upper realm are unknown, so to be on the safe side, Lai Yang plans to wait until his physical body breaks through a few more realms before making any moves.

"In that case, I will go back and inform my two senior sisters." Chu Xiao nodded.

"Recently, the Eastern Sacred Land suddenly extended a friendly gesture to my Immortal Sect, saying that it wanted to form an alliance with us. I suspected that there was a trap, so I sent the Grand Elder to visit the Eastern Sacred Land. I don't know why the Eastern Sacred Land would do this so suddenly. Is it trying to scheme against my Immortal Sect?"

"Junior Brother Wuji, you were an elder of the Eastern Region Holy Land before, what do you think of that?"

Chu Xiao's gaze unconsciously fell on Jian Wuji, who was standing to the side.

"The Eastern Holy Land wants to form an alliance with the Wenxian Sect? Based on my understanding of the Eastern Holy Land, even if they wanted to form an alliance, they should have sought cooperation with other holy lands and immortal sects of similar strength. Why would they choose the Wenxian Sect?"

Suddenly realizing he had said something wrong, Jian Wuji immediately explained, "Don't misunderstand, I didn't mean to look down on the Wenxian Sect."

"I know that the strength of the Wenxian Sect is indeed inferior to that of the Eastern Region Holy Land." Chu Xiao shook his head, completely ignoring Jian Wuji's words.

After all, the overall strength of the Wenxian Sect is inferior to that of the Eastern Region Holy Land; that is a fact.

Chu Xiao wouldn't stoop so low as to distort the facts or refuse to admit them for the sake of saving face.

"The Holy Lord of the Eastern Region Holy Land is a very cautious person. Even I rarely see him take action personally. Besides, the Eastern Region Holy Land has been passed down for ten thousand years. With their current strength, why would they need to unite with other immortal sects? There must be something else going on. If it were me, I would also think that perhaps the Eastern Region Holy Land has its eye on something of your Wenxian Sect, or perhaps... the Eastern Region Holy Land is wary of your Wenxian Sect."

“We think so too. Perhaps the Eastern Holy Land has its eye on the treasures of our Wenxian Sect. However, besides the Wenxian Mirror, there is probably nothing else in the Wenxian Sect that would be worth the attention of a Holy Land.” Chu Xiao said in a deep voice, his expression solemn.

The Immortal Inquiry Mirror is the foundation of the Immortal Inquiry Sect, and it must not be lost.

If the Eastern Holy Land has indeed set its sights on the Immortal Inquiry Mirror, their Immortal Inquiry Sect may be in trouble.

Lai Yang listened quietly to their discussion.

Little did they know that the reason the Eastern Holy Land sought out the Immortal Inquiry Sect was not because of the sect itself, but because of Lai Yang's warning.

Of course, Lai Yang was unaware of this, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.

On the other side, in the Eastern Holy Land.

"Your Majesty, we have investigated and found out."

"explain."

"That man's name is Lai Yang. He was personally brought into the Wenxian Sect by Lan Qingxian and then became the chief elder of Yuanyang Mountain..."

Then, the person in charge of reporting relayed all the information they had gathered to the Holy Lord of the Eastern Region.

After listening to what the other party said, the Holy Lord of the Eastern Region fell into deep thought.

He guessed that Lai Yang might be related to the Wenxian Sect, but he never expected their relationship to be so complicated.

His disciple is now the acting sect leader of the Wenxian Sect, but he has a conflict with the sect's law enforcement elder, so he has chosen to resign from his position as elder and leave the sect.

Although he left the Wenxian Sect, he stayed in Mingyue City for the time being and even took the initiative to stand up for the Wenxian Sect.

It is obvious that the other party's relationship with the Wenxian Sect is not as simple as it appears on the surface.

Or perhaps, Lai Yang's angry departure from the Wenxian Sect was a staged performance by the sect itself, designed to mislead others and conceal their true strength.

That was a brilliant scheme; indeed, it was insidious and cunning.

Although they, the Holy Land of the Eastern Region, have used this method quite often.

"I never imagined that the Immortal Inquiry Sect not only had Zhan Qiong behind them, but also such a powerful figure hidden within. I truly underestimated them." "By the way, how did that matter go? What was the Immortal Inquiry Sect's response?"

The Holy Lord of the Eastern Region asked.

"Reporting to the Holy Lord, the Immortal Sect said they need to consider it further and have not yet given a reply."

"Hehe, if they agree immediately, I will suspect that they are plotting against my Eastern Holy Land. Let's not make this public for now and wait and see."

"As ordered."

...

Chu Xiao stayed in Mingyue City for a day, and then returned to Wenxian Sect with Jian Wuji.

A few days later, news that Jian Wuji, the number one sword prodigy in the Eastern Region, had joined the Wenxian Sect spread rapidly, causing a stir among many immortal sects.

It should be noted that Jian Wuji is no ordinary seventh-realm expert; he is hailed as the next Sword Immortal of the Eastern Region.

The fact that such a person would abandon the Eastern Holy Land and join the Wenxian Sect signifies something.

What did the Wenxian Sect promise Jian Wuji that would allow him to leave the Eastern Holy Land and join the Wenxian Sect?

With the addition of Jian Wuji, a supreme master of swordsmanship, the Wenxian Sect is like a tiger with wings.

Everyone thought that the Eastern Holy Land had lost face and would therefore retaliate against the Wenxian Sect.

However, to everyone's surprise, the Eastern Holy Land did not react or make any move at all, as if it did not care at all.

The unusual behavior of the Eastern Holy Land has left many immortal sects puzzled and confused.

This is not in line with the usual practices of the Eastern Holy Land.

Could it be that the Eastern Holy Land is afraid?

And you know what? They were right. The Eastern Holy Land was indeed afraid.

If they hadn't witnessed Lai Yang's strength before, the Eastern Holy Land would never have remained indifferent; at the very least, they would have sent someone to demand an explanation and compensation from the Wenxian Sect.

As the instigator who brought all of this to fruition, Lai Yang has already left Brightmoon City with a big black dog and embarked on a journey of wandering.

Lai Yang and Xiao Hei walked on foot, heading towards the unknown distance.

The Immortal Continent is vast, and the number of immortal sects and human cities located within it is countless.

Six months later, the man and his dog arrived at a village.

Looking up, the sky was gradually darkening.

Lai Yang was about to rest as usual and continue his journey during the day when...

Suddenly, a faint light flickered and slowly approached under the night sky.

An old man carrying a lantern noticed Lai Yang and immediately looked startled, asking nervously, "Who are you?"

“Hello, old man, don’t be afraid. I’m just a traveler passing through. Seeing that it’s getting dark, I thought I’d rest here for the night and set off again tomorrow,” Lai Yang said gently as he stood up.

The old man's gaze unconsciously drifted to Lai Yang's feet, and seeing shadows beneath both the man and the dog, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

“You can’t stay here overnight, it’s not safe here. Luckily, I have some spare rooms, so why don’t you come stay at my place tonight?” the old man said.

"Won't this be a disturbance?" Lai Yang asked, standing up.

"It's alright, I'm all alone, and the room is empty anyway. It's fine if you stay here for the night. It's getting dark, so hurry up and come with me." The old man looked anxiously at the darkening sky from time to time, carrying a lantern in his hand, and hurriedly led Lai Yang back.

Seeing the other party's haste, Lai Yang was a little suspicious. He looked around and saw that every house had its doors and windows tightly closed.

“Sir, you seem quite nervous. Is it dangerous here at night?” Lai Yang asked.

“You’re from out of town, so you naturally don’t understand the situation here. Once night falls, evil spirits might appear, and anyone targeted by them is almost certain to die. Staying out alone at night is no different from courting death,” the old man said gravely.

Seeing that the other person didn't seem to be lying, Lai Yang immediately became interested and subconsciously asked, "Does this village attract evil spirits at night?"

"Why would I lie to you? If you don't want to die, hurry up. Don't open the door if you hear any noise at night. If you break the taboo, no one can save you."

Generally speaking, what ordinary people call demons and evil spirits are mostly monsters and spirits causing trouble behind the scenes, or the harmful methods used by cultivators.

Since he happened to run into them, it can only be considered that he was unlucky.

Soon, the old man brought the man and the dog home and cleared out the empty room on the left for Lai Yang to live in.

"Remember what I told you, if there's any noise outside at night, don't pay attention, and absolutely don't open the door. Young people who don't court death won't die," the old man earnestly and repeatedly warned.

"Thank you, I understand." Lai Yang watched the other person leave, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "There are still many good people in this world."

Just then, Xiao Hei, who had been disguised as an ordinary big black dog, spoke in human language: "Master, I do smell a special scent in this village. That guy smells very bloody. He's probably killed quite a few people. Should I go and take care of him?"

Xiao Hei had been cultivating with Lai Yang for a long time and had already successfully refined his throat bone, breaking through to the third level of cultivation.

"Don't worry, it will appear on its own." Lai Yang shook his head and smiled faintly.

Hearing Lai Yang say that, Xiao Hei stopped talking and lay on the ground silently cultivating.

After nightfall, the entire village was deathly silent.

The sounds of insects chirping and birds singing all around made the village seem eerily quiet.

As midnight approached, a chilling cold gradually enveloped the entire village, and gusts of eerie wind began to blow.

Meanwhile, in a cemetery located to the west of the village, a female ghost crawled out, her ghostly aura faintly tinged with blood.

Lai Yang closed his eyes to rest, mentally rehearsing the techniques.

Suddenly he sensed a ghostly aura in the village.

The ghostly aura was far too weak for him, so much so that Lai Yang failed to detect its presence immediately.

Lai Yang released a wisp of divine sense to envelop the village, and in an instant he found the female ghost who was trying to harm people.

For some reason, the female ghost, who had been dead for many years, inexplicably felt a chill creeping into the depths of her soul, as if someone was watching her.

(End of this chapter)