Chapter 1 Cold Mountain

September is the season of crisp autumn air, but the lingering heat of summer still lingers, and a wisp of fiery energy flows in the air. Guests from the Three Mountains and Five Peaks, the stars in the heavens, all signed covenant documents at the foot of the mountain. The moment they stepped into Cold Mountain, a wisp of coolness rushed over them, instantly making them feel refreshed and completely comfortable. Afterwards, seeing the branches full of plump fruits and the exotic flowers and herbs blooming all over the mountains, they all consciously lowered their voices, fearing that their expressions would be too loud and their intentions would be misunderstood.

"Grandpa! There are so many trees here. Did they originally grow fruit? Why haven't I seen them before?" Ye Chuqian asked in a low voice, following a middle-aged man who looked no more than fifty.

The middle-aged man said, "There are experts in the Wuding Realm (realm of no fixed state) who have used methods similar to creating all things to activate the potential of these flowers, plants, and trees."

"From now on, this Cold Mountain should be a rare cave heaven and blessed land under this heaven," the middle-aged man said with emotion, his words carrying a hint of envy.

Ye Chuqian looked at the exotic flowers and herbs around her and nodded thoughtfully.

Although after returning to this world, she learned from some sources that her cheap elder brother had already become very successful.

But now it seems that she still underestimated the degree of development of "Big Brother."

When Ye Chuqian followed her grandpa to the shore of Little Mirror Lake, there were already about hundreds of people gathered here.

More than half of them were Yijing (realm of intent) cultivators from all directions, and the other half, like Ye Chuqian, were younger disciples who followed their elders to broaden their horizons.

The lakeside was lively. Even though many people consciously lowered their voices, with so many people talking, it still seemed noisy and chaotic.

At this time, Ye Chuqian, the organizer, appeared under a large, exaggerated tree.

Holding a small bell in his hand, he tapped it lightly. The sound of the bell drowned out the noisy sounds of the scene and attracted everyone's attention.

"First of all, I am Ye Chuxiao! On behalf of myself, I welcome you all!"

"I hope everyone can achieve satisfactory results in this event," Ye Chuxiao said politely for a few sentences, then gave up the focus of the line of sight and handed the stage over to He Gang.

He Gang was a specially "hired" auctioneer by Ye Chuxiao.

As a "third party" on the surface, he was more suitable for raising prices and creating atmosphere.

At the same time, a group of people were also mixed in the crowd, responsible for supporting the scene at key moments.

Everyone was smart, and some off-site tricks had to be prevented.

Although the proceeds from the auction were not the main purpose of this auction,

Ye Chuxiao had never thought about doing a losing business.

Preventing people from forming alliances off-site and deliberately suppressing prices, and trying to make the bidders truly compete in financial resources, was very necessary.

"Let's say less nonsense, first put out the divine artifact and let everyone take a look!" The speaker was an old man with a gloomy aura.

The feeling he gave people was not like a living person, but more like a zombie. His skin was delicate but did not have the texture that a living person should have, more like porcelain, with a strong sense of unreality.

Such an anomaly, it was unknown whether it was due to the cultivation of some special methods, or whether it originated from the unique defects of a certain world.

He Gang smiled and said, "That's natural. However, one universal divine artifact used for auction, as well as five divine artifact embryos, and a dozen top-level spiritual treasures with the potential to be promoted to exclusive divine artifacts, are all placed on that tree. If you all display the strength you should have, you can naturally go inside to take a look."

As he spoke, He Gang pointed to the tree house where Murong Ling was resting.

When everyone's line of sight shifted over, they stared intently for a few moments. Regardless of the level or realm, they would feel a gradual stinging in their eyes and a feeling of tearing.

Sure enough, there was a Wuding cultivator sitting in town.

Many people felt at ease in their hearts. Those thoughts that had been growing wildly like weeds were all cut off, and they no longer thought about it.

Among them, a group of people who were already harboring speculation calmed down and did not dare to act rashly.

Ye Chuxiao's gaze swept through the crowd and saw many familiar faces. Some came from the Great Heng Dynasty, some were high-ranking figures from the original Wu Mu Sect, and some were the heads of local powerful sects.

Most of those from the Great Heng Dynasty were Yijing cultivators. Some of them were personally invited by Ye Chuxiao.

There were also some Great Heng Yijing cultivators who had not received a direct invitation from Ye Chuxiao. They originally came with an attitude of questioning, because Ye Chuxiao, after all, was still an official of the Great Heng. Now that he had a divine artifact, he did not think of serving the country, but instead sold it privately. In some people's eyes, this was intolerable.

Of course, now they had to endure it.

With a Wuding cultivator suppressing them, they had to hold back any dissatisfaction.

Those threats and oppressive methods that had been brewing in their stomachs naturally could no longer be used.

"Eh! She's here too?" When Ye Chuxiao discovered Ye Chuqian, Ye Chuqian was also staring at him with a straight gaze.

Because there were too many Yijing cultivators present, even if the Yijing cultivators did not intend to do so, their domain auras would inevitably interfere with each other.

Therefore, Ye Chuxiao did not discover her existence the moment Ye Chuqian entered the mountain.

Waving in Ye Chuqian's direction, the little girl immediately showed a bright smile.

After saying a few words to her grandpa, she passed through the crowd and ran towards Ye Chuxiao.

Ye Chuxiao originally just wanted to say hello, but she directly jumped into Ye Chuxiao's arms.

"Big Brother! It's been a long time!" Ye Chuqian said with a giggle.

Ye Chuxiao rubbed her head, "Don't bid for anything later. Big Brother has saved some good stuff for you."

Ye Chuqian's beautiful eyes twinkled, but she whispered to Ye Chuxiao, "My grandpa brought the family fortune this time. He's interested in the heart-protecting mirror with the ability to strengthen the mind and soul that you advertised."

Ye Chuxiao was speechless.

She just sold out her grandpa like that?

"Anyway, it's not our family's money. It was raised before we came. After we go back, we'll modify it and cultivate it into a proper divine artifact. Everyone can use it," Ye Chuqian said.

Thinking about the unique style of the academy world, this kind of situation was not surprising.

While the two siblings were talking, He Gang had already started the auction.

First, to warm up the venue, was a divine artifact embryo. The object was oval-shaped, like a large stone. When the light shone on it, it would ripple in circles, like water-like patterns.

It possessed a rare mimicry function, which could be transformed at will according to the user's needs, and even change its function with the owner.

Once it was promoted to a divine artifact, its characteristics would inevitably have a "hundred transformations" trait.

These traits were extremely tempting to 99% of cultivators.

After all, possessing one magic treasure was equivalent to possessing many. It was not only practical, but also had a lot of potential to be tapped.

And the materials for manufacturing this kind of magic treasure with mimicry function were not common. Forging it was also very complicated and troublesome. It was also quite rare in the heavens and myriad worlds.

Even if Ye Chuxiao had swept through most of the immortal treasure realm, there were only two similar magic treasures.

The reason why Ye Chuxiao chose to sell it was very simple.

In addition to the fact that this was only an embryo, it was also because Ye Chuxiao did not lack divine artifacts in various directions and parts. If a divine artifact's characteristic was "hundred transformations," then it meant that its characteristic effect was discarded by half. The different states and attributes that were transformed only had the basic functions of the corresponding divine artifact, and it was impossible to replicate complete different characteristics.

In other words, even if this divine artifact embryo evolved into a divine artifact, although it had many functions, each aspect of its function was not outstanding, or even the worst.

Ye Chuxiao, who did not lack divine artifacts, naturally did not need this thing. It was better to take it out and warm up the venue first.

Sure enough, after He Gang introduced the effects and functions, many cultivators who were originally planning to observe started to bid enthusiastically.

Although Ye Chuxiao had previously sent out many auction publicity manuals, not everyone present had received them.

Moreover, it was impossible to announce all the auction items in advance. Some suspense had to be left.

Ye Chuqian's grandpa also seemed to be struggling.

What he was interested in was the heart-protecting mirror with the ability to strengthen the mind and soul that Ye Chuxiao advertised.

But this hundred-transformation strange stone also had effects that were quite tempting for cultivators in the academy world.

"Go tell your grandpa that I have another identical thing in my hand, which can be traded privately at cost," Ye Chuxiao said in Ye Chuqian's ear.

Ye Chuqian nodded and ran back to her grandpa's side, whispering a few words.

Ye Chuqian's grandpa revealed a happy expression, and then followed Ye Chuqian to come over.

Because he had something to ask for, Ye Chuqian's grandpa seemed very polite. His words implied that he wanted to treat Ye Chuxiao as "one of the family," but in reality, he maintained a certain distance and did not really get close.

It was just a temporary identity created across the world.

Some people took it seriously, and some people did not care.

No matter what they thought, maintaining the objective equality of interests was a good way to continue maintaining the relationship.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Ye Chuxiao finally revealed his true purpose.

"Let's make a deal!"

"Not only do I have a divine artifact embryo with the potential for a hundred transformations, but I also have a large number of magic treasures that meet the needs of the academy world, which I can provide to you at a relatively low price."

"However, you also need to help me accomplish one thing."

"Find a student named Chu Dongjun in Qiannan Academy, help him cultivate, and introduce him to your world to study under the Wuding Realm cultivator who is the only one sitting in town for a period of time," Ye Chuxiao said with a very solemn tone.

Ye Chuqian's grandpa carefully looked at Ye Chuxiao, pondering the reason.

At the same time, he thought about the relationship between Ye Chuxiao and Chu Dongjun.

However, he obviously could not imagine that the Ye Chuxiao in front of him and the Chu Dongjun he mentioned were actually one person.

Grandpa weighed things in his heart, but said, "I need to discuss this matter with my colleagues in the academy world."

"Gong Zongshi's acceptance of disciples is very strict. It's not something we can influence."

"However, I am very willing to help facilitate this matter. Please wait patiently for good news."

The only Wuding cultivator who publicly appeared in the academy world was Gong Zhuming of Yun Chu City.

Ye Chuxiao had once visited Yun Chu City with Duanmu Ling, but he did not have the opportunity to meet Gong Zhuming.

At the moment he saw Ye Chuqian, a bold idea suddenly took shape in Ye Chuxiao's mind.

He found a third way besides the Mind Pill relationship.

That was himself existing on another timeline.

The academy, the Wasteland, and the islands sealed off Ye Chuxiao's path forward, which seemed to mean that among the several worlds he had traveled to in the six years when Ye Chuxiao leaped through space-time, there was very likely another "Ye Chuxiao" who was experiencing everything that Ye Chuxiao had once experienced.

It was precisely to avoid more complex space-time paradoxes that the Ship of Creation prevented Ye Chuxiao from crossing over to those worlds.

Because, when Ye Chuxiao purchased the Space-Time Anchor, the Ship of Creation had already undertaken all the cause and effect that triggered space-time variables.

Generally speaking, the heavens and myriad worlds are as numerous as stars.

If the main cross-border person's path was sealed off, that was equivalent to cutting off the connection with those worlds.

However, Ye Chuxiao's series of operations lured the cultivators from the academy world, and they were still the rulers of that world.

Borrowing them, Ye Chuxiao seemed to be able to try to stir up more variables.

"I know how to get to the Wuding Realm, but another me is ignorant. If I can reach some kind of tacit understanding with another me through the cultivators of the academy world, then it may be possible to achieve remote guidance. With my current resources and abilities, helping another me reach the Yijing Realm faster, or even attack the Wuding Realm."

"In terms of conditions, I, who is accompanied by Duanmu Ling, have this possibility."

"In fact, Duanmu Ling and I are like coexisting but non-intersecting parallel lines. Once I trigger their overlap here from afar, the breakthrough of the Wuding Realm will be easy."

"After such a change, after completing six years, assuming that it does not trigger more complex space-time variables, then the process of my change will be summarized and concluded as another result -- I can directly ascend to the Wuding Realm." Ye Chuxiao knew that his idea was very bold and absurd.

But he was very sure that this was possible.

Because Luo Chan was such a pioneer in manipulating time.

In Ye Chuqi's original trajectory cognition, Luo Chan successfully resurrected Wuding and refined the world through manipulating time.

Then why couldn't he, Ye Chuxiao, follow suit?

Come up with a way for me to teach myself, and then wait for the opportunity to ascend in place?

"The plan and the idea are there, but the pieces cannot be placed too quickly, and it is impossible to fully rely on Ye Chuqian's grandpa."

"Therefore, I will express extraordinary importance to 'Chu Dongjun' in another identity, but only that is all."

"This is more like deliberately caring for a certain deceased person." Ye Chuxiao continued to talk with Ye Chuqian's grandpa, but the changes in his heart had already turned several times.

"Then I'll have to rely on the support of my senior!"

"I'm very fond of Chuqian and really treat her like a younger sister."

"In that case, you are also my elder." As he spoke, Ye Chuxiao took out a set of magic treasures that he had already reserved for Ye Chuqian.

Although none of these magic treasures were divine artifact embryos, when combined into a set, they had a powerful effect that was no weaker than a divine artifact embryo.

Moreover, they were all top-level spiritual treasures with the potential to evolve into exclusive divine artifacts.

Looking at the "gift" given by Ye Chuxiao, Ye Chuqian's grandpa felt a little jealous of his granddaughter.

In turn, he had an increased sense of goodwill towards Ye Chuxiao.