Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Just as I handed over the name tag, I heard the immortal in front of me ask:

"You are Zhu Wuyao?"

Upon hearing this ambiguous statement, she quickly recalled her past entanglements with Zhaixinglou.

He had accepted the "Sky-Gazing Technique" given to him by Ye Xiaozhou, had taken extra lessons from Shen Anzhi, had watched Zhang Zhihan release geese, and had even received help from an unknown senior from the Star-Picking Tower who had retrieved his sword.

Could it be that their previous fraudulent activities under the guise of the Star-Picking Tower have been exposed?

Or was Ye Xiaozhou caught peeking at whether he had been selected?

Wow... Thinking about it, I really do have a connection with the Star-Picking Tower.

I wonder if what this senior just said was a good or bad omen.

He bowed slightly, as if testing the waters, and asked:

"This junior is Zhu Wuyao. May I ask what guidance you have for me, Immortal Master?"

Elder Chi gave her a scrutinizing look. Qi Refining Level 3, nothing special, how could she not calculate it?

He even ruined his own wooden stick!

“I saw on your registration form that you said you saved one person and collected the remains of 231 people.”

"What exactly happened?"

Upon hearing this question, Zhu Wuyao fell silent for a moment.

She didn't know how to answer.

He claimed that he overestimated his abilities, foresaw the impending disaster in Nanli City, and recklessly attempted a heaven-defying act, only to fail.

Not only that, he also dragged his friends down. In the end, he lost Ji Yuezhang, accomplished nothing, and only managed to save a small fish and collect many skeletons...

Seeing that Zhu Wuyao did not reply, Elder Chi sighed slightly.

It seems to be a past event that I don't want to recall too much.

He doesn't even want to talk about it; this is a knot in his heart. How will he face the mountain gate when he tries to break through it?

I shouldn't have asked that question...

"Since you've already done it, don't regret it anymore, just move forward."

As compensation, Elder Chi offered a brief suggestion, but that was all he could say, and then continued:

"Let's test your spiritual root first."

Zhu Wuyao breathed a sigh of relief and, following the instructions, placed his palm on the spirit-testing stone.

As expected, the five colors were murky.

Mixed spiritual roots.

Brother Shen's initial judgment was indeed correct, and there were no unexpected surprises today.

Elder Chi was slightly surprised. Who would have thought that someone involved in such a complicated cause and effect, someone whose specific situation even he couldn't calculate, would have such a junior involved as a mere Qi Refining Level 3 cultivator with a mixed spiritual root?

Double nine wooden counting sticks, their calculations cannot exhaust the causes and effects.

This matter cannot be stopped by two or three hundred people; it probably involves thousands or even tens of thousands.

The wooden counting rods that broke the sequence at the end, in particular, indicate that this matter is not only difficult to calculate, but also that cause and effect have been confused.

In particular, her silence suggested that she had been keeping it bottled up inside for a long time.

It will be extremely difficult for this person to break through the mountain gate.

Elder Chi didn't say much. He opened the barrier and said something that seemed like encouragement:

"Go and give it a try."

In recent assessments, it seems that Master Fang has been intentionally selecting those who dare to defy fate.

If you do not retreat, you may enter through this gate.

Zhu Wuyao bowed in farewell, turned around, and stepped into that strange and mysterious maze.

Take a step in.

A black curtain seemed to have been drawn over her eyes.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't open my eyes and could only be surrounded by the noisy voices around me.

Zhu Wuyao heard someone calling her—"Master Wuyan".

Her heart seemed to skip a beat, and almost instantly she realized where she was.

I was finally able to open my eyes.

She looked at the family of three in front of her, and she heard herself say those words—

"Life and death are things that cannot be discussed."

She saw herself stretch out her hand and could almost feel how hard and menacing those three coins and four cash were, making her palm hurt.

Zhu Wuyao tried his best, but only blinked once.

When she opened her eyes again, she saw herself telling the fortune of that merchant: the cargo ship would arrive at the dock in a month, but then it would capsize and be destroyed.

This was the beginning of the events in Nanli City.

But things were different.

……

It turns out it wasn't some open or covert attack, nor was it a written test...

This is an attempt to... destroy one's spirit.

Zhu Wuyao suddenly found it somewhat laughable.

She didn't want to recall these things, but when did she ever say she was afraid?

Everything around her gradually faded and shattered, like fleeting shadows, with fragments floating beside her. She saw immortals in the mortal world, murderous cultivators, and a raging flood.

It got dark around us.

The fragments gradually separated into thin lines that pierced through her body, as if trying to nail her to the ground in the mud.

Zhu Wuyao can no longer go any further.

She couldn't lift her legs; every step was so heavy, as if everything was dragging her back into the vortex behind her and shattering it.

So she simply stopped.

Stand still and see what tricks this illusion is up to.

She heard the clamor of questions and accusations, and in the instant she stopped, each sound reached her ears, the malicious voice becoming clearer—

"Are you truly pitying the child, or are you questioning the absurdity of fate?"

"Are you suffering because you've lost a friend, or because you can't escape your fate?"

"Hahahaha—it's the latter! It's the latter!"

The laughter around him was incessant, but Zhu Wuyao listened quietly without reacting.

"Regarding the flood in Nanli City, did you truly never consider the consequences? Or did you anticipate that the outcome might be unchangeable, yet still choose to try?"

"Are you trying to save people, or are you testing fate?!"

The sound suddenly became extremely chaotic, and the next moment, it became exceptionally sharp, as if it could pierce eardrums.

"You're a ghost too!"

"What a selfish person!"

"He's a cold-blooded, ruthless demon!"

"so what?"

Zhu Wuyao asked about the matter.

The voice in her ear seemed to stop abruptly, but in the next second it became even more arrogant and unrestrained, with such a vicious tone that it seemed as if it wanted to tear her apart.

Zhu Wuyao smiled.

"Do you want me to kneel here like a dog, crying and begging, saying I was wrong and I regret it?"

She nodded and admitted:

"Yes, I regret it. I regret that I don't have the ability."

“If I had enough money on me that day, how could he have only a thin coffin?”

"If I am strong enough, I can move mountains and fill seas, so why should I fear floods? Not only that, I can also kill every cultivator who has committed murder."

Zhu Wuyao drew the bladeless sword from behind her. The hilt was still cold. She gripped the sword tightly and slashed at the threads that were entangled around her.

She seemed to remember something, and anger gradually ignited in her eyes.

With each strike, she gripped the bladeless sword tightly in her hand. This sword, which should have been destroyed, was now in her grasp, slashing at the countless threads that bound her forward. They seemed to be weaving a net, dragging her back into the vortex.

Zhu Wuyao could not stop; she could only raise her sword again and again and strike again and again.

“You can say I’m not ruthless enough, not greedy enough, and afraid to compete, so I’m weak, have nothing, and am a piece of trash.”

"So you're saying I'm selfish, cold-hearted, and not kind enough? Kindness can give me the power to save those people?"

"Oh, so being a kind and benevolent person can result in having a golden statue made, being bestowed with a plaque, and being praised by everyone who mentions it."

"And what do I want?"

"What about my interests?"

"What I want to do."

"Next time I encounter something like this, should I use my kindness to save people, or should I use my kindness to reform those murderous cultivators?"

"It turns out that none of them were possible."