Chapter 98 'Tool'

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  PS: I recommend this great article, "Xian Xia" by Kongshan Yanyu 1, the update speed is very reliable!

  Introduction:

  A crystal brought a creature from another world. Ye Feng, who narrowly escaped death, soon set foot in another world.

  There used to be countless cultivators here, with many ancient sects. But now, the entire world has shattered. Those once powerful sects, along with the cultivators who could destroy heaven and earth, have all become things of the past.

  It was in such a shattered world that Ye Feng obtained a strange disk. For the first time, he learned about cultivating immortality and for the first time stepped into the mysterious realm of cultivating immortality.

  Why does the shattered world have a passage connecting the earth? What happened to the earth back then, leading to the exhaustion of spiritual energy. What is the shattered world foretelling to the earth again? Does the immortal in the legend really exist?

  I dare ask if there are immortals in this world. If there are indeed immortals, I further ask whether all beings under the immortal's realm are but ants.

  The author has completed "Endless Xian Road" and "Apocalyptic Corpse Emperor", please collect them.

  (This is Xiǎo Shǎo's first Weibo post, I don't know if it's recommended like this, this is Kōng Pǐn's third article, the quality is very good, everyone please support if you like it!)

  As the date of the Holy Lake Competition approaches, the city of Purple Heaven Mansion is becoming increasingly lively. It is said that this time, 900 young mages will participate in the competition, among which the three major empires have 500 places, and other countries share 400 places. Countries like Fengyun Country on that continent do not even qualify to participate. Of course, they may not even know about it.

  As expected by Zuo Xiaoyao, due to the influential event that occurred in the Upper Realm, this year's Sacred Lake Competition will have unprecedented security measures. It is said that apart from the five Law Kings serving as judges, there will also be two Law Enforcers supervising the scene, and there are even rumors that a high-level expert at the Law Emperor realm may make an appearance.

  It was just that the psychological shadow brought to the entire mage system by the incident nine years ago was too great, and after the fact, no matter what means they used, they couldn't figure out how someone made the holy water of the "lake" almost instantly lose its effect, and the "culprit" disappeared without a trace, leaving not only the three empires feeling stifled, but also making those top-level masters who felt their dignity challenged feel quite resentful.

  It's him!

  In the most famous brothel in Zichen Prefecture, Yanhuage Pavilion, she sat alone at one of the tables, seemingly fully absorbed in the performance on stage, but in reality, her attention was focused on a young man dressed in finery sitting five tables away from her. Recently, he had been frequently entering and exiting various high-end brothels, all for the purpose of determining which 'tool' she would need to use next.

  Because she has high requirements for this 'tool'. Not only does the other party need to have enough strength to rank in the top 20 at the Sacred Lake Competition, but he must also be a complete waste of humanity with no redeeming qualities. Finding such a person is quite difficult, but Zuo Xiao Yao persisted nonetheless, not wanting to ruin someone's life for no reason.

  Although for Zuo Xiao Yao, who had already taken lives with her own hands, killing a few people without making a sound was merely a trivial matter, she not only disliked killing people indiscriminately, but also wouldn't even change the course of someone's life without a cause-and-effect relationship; she would never look down on ordinary people as a cultivator who wanted to live a better life.

  Even if she couldn't determine what kind of defense the others had prepared for this Saint Lake Confrontation, she could roughly estimate that all the mages participating in this confrontation would definitely be subjected to high-intensity scanning comparable to infrared thermal imaging when entering the venue and the Saint Lake. With her current cultivation not yet breaking through to the Golden Dan stage, it was really too difficult for her to sneak into the Saint Lake with someone else's identity. However, Zuo Xiaoyao was clear in her heart that she still couldn't advance to the Golden Dan stage in a short period of time.

  And the place where the holy lake is located, that is, the 'Holy Lake Palace' which was built very solemnly and majestically. Zuo Xiao Yao had gone to 'investigate' around it earlier, with extremely tight security, she didn't dare to let her spiritual consciousness recklessly seep into the interior, and she had no doubt that there must be something inside that she couldn't afford to provoke.

  "Excuse me, is this young man alone? May we join you at your table?"

  In her heart, she was secretly thinking about when to make a move, when suddenly a gentle voice came from beside Left Xiaoyao's ear.

  Turning her head to look aside, she saw a 21 or 22-year-old youth in blue clothes, with a warm and refreshing smile. Following him were two men and two women, all very young, each with an extraordinary aura. Zuo Xiao Yao smiled casually and nodded "Yes, please sit down!"

  With just one glance, she already knew the identities of these five people, all of whom were popular candidates with a chance to enter the top twenty in this Saint Lake Competition, and had also been 'candidate targets' for Zuo Xiao Yao. However, these people who unknowingly dodged a bullet clearly didn't know that.

  In the first floor hall of Yanhua Pavilion, although there were no empty seats, the guest who occupied a table alone was not only Zuo Xiaoyao. The reason for choosing her was that she saw that although she was dressed in ordinary clothes, she was very young and had a good temperament, which was different from other guests on the scene who focused their attention on the beautiful and talented artists on stage. Her gaze at them did not contain any impurities, but he had never seen her before in the city of Purple Heaven Prefecture, and it was highly likely that she was a young wizard who came to participate in this Saint Lake Competition. She looked too young, so he had the intention of making friends with her.

  Now seeing Zuo Xiao Yao let them sit down, without any intention of making further conversation, a hint of interest flashed in his eyes, and he sat down unceremoniously in the position next to Zuo Xiao Yao, ignoring the unexpected looks on the faces of his companions. The young man in blue clothes introduced himself with some inexplicable enthusiasm: "Since we've met, it's fate. I'm Jiao Yun Fan, a person from Purple Star Prefecture. How should I address you, little brother?"

  Zuo Xiaoyao, who had already turned her head to look forward again, heard this and felt somewhat unexpected. After all, as far as she knew, Jiao Yunfan was similar to herself in some ways, both of them liked to wear a gentle mask when dealing with people, but their bodies always gave off a faint sense of detachment, keeping a certain distance from everyone.

  Unexpectedly, the seemingly calm and collected Xiao Yao smiled warmly and replied "So it's Master Jiao, I've long heard of your great name. I am Xiao Yao."

  Although the other party said "I've long heard of your great name" in their mouth, they didn't show any indication of feeling honored to be with a "famous person", and it was quite clear that they didn't intend to make friends. Jiao Yunfan smiled nonchalantly and asked "May I ask which place Brother Xiao is from? Are you also here to participate in the Sheng Hu Zhēng Fēng Conference?"

  Xiao Yao shook her head, "No, I'm just passing through Zichen Prefecture. I happened to arrive during the grand gathering and decided to join in on the fun. I heard that Jiao Gongzi is a strong contender for first place at this grand gathering, truly a hero!"

  Her tone was sincere, and the things she said were also true, but paired with Zhao Zan's calm face and eyes, it gave people a feeling that something wasn't quite right. Although it didn't make people feel hypocritical, it always made them think that she didn't take 'Feng Gongzi' seriously. Not putting 'Feng Gongzi' in her eyes was one thing, but if her status and identity were comparable to others, then so be it. However, Zuo Xiaoyao, who claimed to have come from the unknown 'Jiutai Mountain', obviously didn't meet this condition, and such words fell into other people's ears, making them feel somewhat inexplicable.

  A delicate-looking girl in pink clothes sitting on the left side of the Eight Immortals' table flashed a hint of displeasure in her eyes. She asked curiously, "Where is Jiutai Mountain? I've never heard of it before, and there's no indication on the continental map in our academy either!"

  "That's a small place, few people know it, and the girl has never heard of it, which is no wonder!"

  She knew that others were just using the "small place" to talk, and Zuo Xiao Yao spoke calmly and naturally. After all, this was a vast land with a wide sky, and she wasn't worried about anyone daring to point at her nose and say that there was no such place as Jiutai Mountain in this world.

  The topic she wanted to bring up as a raft was unexpectedly self-exploded by others, and she felt that her thoughts were not only seen in the eyes of others, but also brought out to be ridiculed. The pink-clothed girl who originally had some disdain for Zuo Xiao Yao suddenly filled with resentment towards her, and secretly gave her a fierce stare.

  And another one of the five officials was extremely beautiful and outstanding, attracting the attention of the people in the hall who frequently glanced at their table. The white-clothed girl smiled and said "I suppose you're a Fa Master too? You don't look very old, you should still have a chance to participate in the Grand Assembly of the Lower Realm!"

  Isn't the enemy of an enemy one's own friend? The white-clothed girl, who had deliberately avoided sitting with the pink-clothed girl, was apparently not on good terms with her. Yet, at this moment, she unexpectedly showed enthusiasm in making amends, which undoubtedly carried another meaning.

  Unfortunately, due to her previous intentional 'tracking research', Zuo Xiao Yao already had some understanding of the two women's identities, strengths, and personalities. She was also quite clear about their relationship with each other, and didn't plan on getting entangled with them at all. "Miss has misunderstood, I only cultivate martial skills, not magic, this time I just want to broaden my horizons, not prepare for participating in the grand gathering of the lower realm!"

  A white-clothed woman was also eating at Lao Xiao's place, and the pink-clothed woman suddenly felt much better. Although she looked down on him in her heart, she didn't think about the unpleasantness before. Just as she was about to speak, a black-clothed young man sitting next to her said: "I observe that Brother Xiao has an extraordinary bearing, he must be from a famous school. In the past and present, many talented people have emerged in the martial arts world, and his future prospects are boundless. My name is Kang Rui, this is Liu Longsheng, Mei SuYun, and Wen Jiao'er, we all come from the Purple Heaven Academy, and I hope that in the future we can exchange blows!"

  Several of them came from the most powerful families in the Purple Star Domain, and it's not just because they were all the sons of heaven with high hopes pinned on them. Just by looking at the surnames of these people who appeared together, one could sense a certain status in the minds of many people. However, Kang Rui's deliberate probing was destined to be fruitless. Left Xiao Yao still smiled warmly and calmly, "So, you are all top students from the Purple Star Academy, and you are all likely to enter the top twenty of this grand gathering. It's an honor for me to meet you!"

  Never met such a person who is not affected by fame or wealth, with an elegant temperament and a warm attitude towards others, yet speaking and acting freely without revealing any emotions. Neither does she care about the face of beauty nor feel envious due to the difference in status between warriors and mages. She can even hear from her unemotional reactions whenever she mentions the Saint Lake Conquest that the other party may not even have the qualifications to enter the Saint Lake.

  If all these reactions had appeared on an old man who had experienced many vicissitudes, it would not have been surprising. Although the mention of the Sacred Lake made everyone on this land, regardless of status, age, or gender, unable to help but feel a strong yearning and be deeply moved, yet such an extremely calm reaction had now appeared in a youth who seemed to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, which caused even the thoughtful Jiao Yunfan and the few others who noticed this point to feel a sense of puzzlement.

  To know that all the powerful masters on the mainland who have a status above the Law King Realm have entered the Sacred Lake, what does this mean? The truth is quite astonishing!

  But little did they know that Zuo Xiao Yao was just being polite to them, and most of her attention was focused on the young man wearing a luxurious brocade robe, with a beautiful girl in his left arm and a handsome boy in his right arm. She was carefully observing his words and actions. The five-day Sacred Lake Competition was about to begin, and after the 20 quotas were announced, there would be a day of rest before entering the lake.

  She wants to ensure that her hard-won 'props' can get into the lake without drawing attention to herself, and she still has a lot of preparation work to do. These few 'candidate targets' that she had already given up on were no longer in her mind, and even pretending was unnecessary. Moreover, Zuo Xiaoyao knew best that her goals were completely different from those people, and it was highly likely that they would harm the interests of the twenty people who could get into the lake with her 'old friend'. If she really became friends with these few people who had inexplicable intentions to befriend her, wouldn't it be adding fuel to the fire?

  It is human nature to sacrifice the interests of some unrelated strangers for one's own benefit, as long as it doesn't touch their vital interests, and she won't feel guilty about it. However, if harming the interests of friends with whom she has a relationship for her own benefit, in Zuo Xiao Yao's view, that is called betrayal and is unforgivable.

  So, no matter how much Ji Yunfan and the others wanted to make friends with her, regardless of their motives, Zuo Xiaoyao had no intention of accepting the olive branch they seemed to be condescendingly offering.

  Half a month later, when the young man from the Wind Departed Country's imperial family, one of the three major empires, was filled with excitement along with nineteen others who had undergone 'verification', he finally entered the Sacred Lake Palace. After bathing and dressing, according to the arrangements made by the Sacred Lake Palace which did not belong to any national power, the young man whose fate had been sealed from the moment Left Xiao Yao chose him almost instantly became a mere 'prop' devoid of self-awareness.

  PS: Thanks to book friends still Junming Pearl, flowers bloom and fall like a dream, Jinmo, confused girl for their support. Wishing everyone a happy New Year's Day, tomorrow will definitely strive for double updates!