Volume 1, Chapter 360 – The Daoist Order

The invitation was bluish white throughout, with a texture like jade. Cloud-brocade patterns ran faintly across its surface, its edges were inlaid with a layer of gold trim, and several formations were engraved into it. It was clearly a top-grade artifact, impervious to water and fire, and incorruptible for a thousand years.

Using a top-grade artifact as an invitation card—Shi Lan had never seen such extravagance before.

“Yunlai Immortal Palace…”

There was not much written inside the invitation. Only the four words “Yunlai Immortal Palace,” along with her name, the date of reception, and the address.

The appointed time was two months away, so there was still quite a bit of time.

Looking at the invitation in her hand, with its cloud-patterned base and gold-trimmed edges, Shi Lan did not know why, but she faintly felt that something was amiss.

While the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking had brought her enormous fame, it had also pushed her directly into the sight of the world. A tall tree catches the wind. It would undoubtedly bring her a great deal of unnecessary trouble.

Without realizing it, she had once again drifted a step farther away from that little dream she had at the beginning.

“I’ve heard of Yunlai Immortal Palace before. It seems to be a first-grade power passed down since ancient times. Why would they send you an invitation?”

Seeing that Shi Lan’s expression was off, Shi Tianlu beside her also fell into thought.

Among first-grade powers, there were supreme experts at the absolute peak of the Emperor level, and some even held several Sovereign Weapons. Their influence was immense. If one were to rashly refuse an invitation from such an existence, it would likely bring trouble.

But that did not necessarily mean it was a bad thing. Perhaps they had taken a liking to Shi Lan and meant to recruit her.

“There’s no need to worry, Father. It should not be anything bad.”

After thinking for a moment, Shi Lan flipped her hand and stored the invitation in her Qiankun Bracelet. She smiled, then took out all the items she had drawn from the system, checked them one by one, and handed them over to Shi Tianlu.

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Looking at the cultivation techniques and medicinal pills before him, Shi Tianlu showed no joy at all. He looked at Shi Lan and frowned.

“You’re going on a long journey?”

“Yes. I’ve run into a bottleneck in my cultivation,” Shi Lan replied with a nod.

Shi Tianlu understood. He knew what a bottleneck meant to a martial artist. It was not something that could be solved by staying home and cultivating in seclusion. More experience and tempering were needed.

“When will you return?”

“I don’t know.”

“…”

Shi Tianlu was silent for a long while before finally speaking in warning:

“Things are not what they used to be. The various powers have been making major moves one after another. Something big is clearly happening. You…”

At that point, Shi Tianlu’s expression remained calm, but he could not help feeling somewhat dejected. Shi Lan’s cultivation had already far surpassed his by too much. There was less and less he could do for her.

“When you’re away from home, put caution first. Don’t trust others too easily…”

Shi Lan nodded unconsciously while scanning through the contents of her Qiankun Bracelet to see whether there was anything else she could leave behind.

Shi Tianlu did not say much more. Shi Lan now had her own ideas, and all he could do as her father was offer a few reminders.

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Only after handing Shi Tianlu the corpse-control method for that purple corpse fiend did Shi Lan finally feel somewhat reassured.

That thousand-year-old purple corpse fiend was no weaker than a martial artist in the late Myriad Phenomena Realm. Its body was as hard as metal, unafraid of thunder and fire. Together with this batch of cultivation resources, it should be enough to keep the family safe for the time being.

After making a few final arrangements, Shi Lan took Tianbai to bid farewell to Su Lanyue, then left straight away.

Shi Qinghu, who had only just returned from searching for spiritual materials, saw no more than a glimpse of her back before it turned into a streak of light and vanished into the horizon.

“What are you staring at? Why aren’t you practicing yet?!”

Shi Qinghu, who had been standing there blankly with several wooden boxes in his arms, was jolted awake by a sharp shout. Shi Tianlu stood by the doorway, his gaze deep and his face stern.

Shi Qinghu did not dare say anything. He hurried into the house at a run.

“Don’t let your elder sister get bullied out there in the future, with not even someone behind her who can speak up for her.”

Shi Qinghu’s footsteps paused slightly, and he unconsciously tightened his grip on the wooden boxes in his hands.

…

…

“Your Excellency, where are we going?”

To speed up their travel, Tianbai had already reverted to her true form and was crouching on Shi Lan’s shoulder.

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“To Wuyang Prefecture. I’m looking for someone.”

Wu Lingkong was one of the few friends she had. Now that she had the time, Shi Lan naturally wanted to confirm how she was doing.

The Central Heaven Domain was extremely vast. Between Yisha Prefecture and Wuyang Prefecture lay more than two million li.

Shi Lan now walked upon the void, covering dozens of li with a single step. She traveled at astonishing speed. But even if she kept moving day and night without rest, the journey would still take more than half a month.

Naturally, Shi Lan was not going to spend that much time on travel. She first went to the main city of Yisha Prefecture and borrowed the use of a teleportation array. In only four hours, she had already stepped into territory governed by Wuyang Prefecture.

Not long after entering Wuyang Prefecture, Shi Lan found her path blocked by a group of people.

It was a desolate mountain range. There were roughly thirty of them blocking the way. Their clothing was similar in style, all white with silver trim, embroidered with blooming green lotuses, as if they had been waiting here for a long time.

At their head was a young man of about twenty. His hair was bound in a Daoist topknot, his brows were as sharp as swords, his gaze was clear, and his bearing was gentle. In every movement he carried a noble, upright air.

He sat high upon an ancient war chariot. Before him stood a low table, and on it rested two cups of clear tea.

“Miss Shi Lan, might we have a talk?”

At the sight of Shi Lan, the young man smiled leisurely and raised a hand in invitation.

“Who are you?”

Shi Lan’s gaze turned slightly cold, and warning bells rang in her mind. She had not alerted anyone along the way, and she had also used the Myriad Transformation Sacred Robe to conceal her traces. Yet this group looked as though they had long known she would pass through this place. It was exceedingly strange.

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“I am Gu Tiancheng of the Tianyang Dao, Daoist name Yuxuanzi. I come with no ill intent. I merely wish to make friends with Miss Shi Lan.”

Shi Lan was silent for a moment, but in the end she still stepped onto the war chariot, revealed her true appearance, and sat down beside the tea table.

There were not many strong experts among this group. The Gu Tiancheng before her was only around the Myriad Phenomena Realm. To Shi Lan as she was now, he was nothing to fear. What truly made her wary was that there was someone else inside the war chariot.

Within the Daoist Order of Shenzhou, the powers were intricately entangled. Among them, the Tianyang, Xueyang, Xuanyang, and Jieyang Daos were the four greatest branches, and of those four, the Tianyang Dao held the leading position.

Now that she knew where this man came from, Shi Lan no longer found it so strange that Gu Tiancheng and the others had appeared here.

The Xuanyang branch of the Daoist Order was also known as the lineage of divine calculation. They understood the Eight Trigrams of heaven and earth and the yin and yang of the Nine Palaces. Calculating her route was not a difficult matter for them.

“If you have something to say, then say it.”

Shi Lan did not touch the clear tea on the table. She stared directly at Gu Tiancheng.

When Gu Tiancheng met Shi Lan’s cold, steady gaze, his heartbeat suddenly became somewhat disordered.

He picked up the clear tea from the table and drank it in one gulp. After calming the disturbance in his heart, a smile appeared on his face once more.

“Miss Shi Lan now ranks twenty-seventh on the Heavenly Prodigy Ranking, and among the human race you are even in the top five. Your fame has long since spread far and wide. And with no sect standing behind you, I fear that by now, the vast majority of the powers across the Vast Land of Shenzhou have taken an interest in you.”

Shi Lan had long known all this, so she said nothing and merely signaled for Gu Tiancheng to continue.

“So long as Miss Shi Lan is willing to join our Daoist Order and become our Holy Maiden, my Celestial Master Dao will devote all its strength to safeguarding your path!”