Revenant Immortal

Chapter 3: Transmigrated into the Xianxia Novel (3)

Su Fan felt the intense heat in his chest gradually fade away, replaced by a strong surge of raw energy that rushed through his newly formed meridian. The sudden force of the breakthrough knocked him down, forcing him onto his hands and knees on the cold floor of the Grey Bamboo Hut.

 

Drip... drip...

 

Su Fan closed his eyes and straightened his posture as he felt the heavy spiritual energy gathering in his dantian. He stared at the battered wooden wall of his hut. Feeling a sudden urge to test this power, he pulled his right fist back and threw a fast, hard punch straight ahead.

 

BOOM!

 

Su Fan looked at his hand and then at the huge hole in his room. "I have completely surpassed my previous level of cultivation," he murmured. "Xiaoyu, how did I end up going straight to level seven? That doesn't make any sense."

 

【That's impossible! You shouldn't have gone straight from Qi Condensation Level 5 to Level 7!】

 

Su Fan frowned at the blue screen. "What do you mean it's impossible? You're the system, shouldn't you know everything?"

 

【Host, your soul is compatible with the Qi of heaven and earth. Since you're a transmigrator who crossed the boundary between life and death, your spirit absorbed the remaining death Qi in this body and turned it directly into cultivation power.】

 

【Besides, no ordinary mortal could reach Qi Condensation Level 5 in twenty years without a mentor, even with that heavenly treasure.】

 

【The previous owner, Zhao Ye, was never worthless. He had a dormant Divine Grade Physique that only became active after the defective Purifying Consuming Art was completely removed. It's called the Golden Immortal Physique.】

 

《Golden Immortal Physique》

 

《Rank: Divine Grade》

 

Su Fan’s eyes narrowed. “So Zhao Ye wasn't trash at all? How did no one in the Azure Cloud Sect notice his heaven-defying talent?”

 

【Honestly, host, I'm not completely sure. The Golden Immortal Physique never reached its full potential because of that defective Purifying Consuming Art. When Zhao Ye died, the physique should have been lost forever. But when you took over this body, you brought it back to life. With the help of the Soul Rebirth Pill, his old supreme-grade physique evolved straight into a divine-grade, jumping up two whole levels.】

 

Su Fan scoffed, shaking his head. "Tch! Heaven envies talent! Zhao Ye was a dragon trapped in shallow waters, but everyone in the sect only saw worthless trash. Well, it doesn't matter now. A dead man is dead, and the dead can never return."

 

[A/N: "Dragon trapped in shallow waters" (蛟龙困水) is a classic Chinese idiom referring to a legendary hero or brilliant genius who is trapped in a bad environment and unable to reveal their true power. "Heaven envies talent" (天妒英才) is used when a great genius dies young or suffers tragic misfortune.]

 

Su Fan immediately cleaned up the mess on the floor and covered the hole in the wall with a spare wooden plank.

 

Knock, knock, knock!

 

"Brother Zhao! Are you in there?! Open up!"

 

It was the disciplinarian disciple, Yu Bao. He was a chubby second-generation rich kid and the son of Merchant Yu, the wealthiest merchant in the region. He only got into the sect as an honorary disciple through the back door, after his father gave a massive pile of gold and silver to an immortal master.

 

[A/N: "Back door" (走后门) is a common expression referring to using bribes, money, or personal connections to gain an unfair advantage.]

 

Despite his wealthy background, Yu Bao was the only decent person who ever bothered talking to pitiful Zhao Ye, while the rest of the sect treated him like trash.

 

"Shut up, I'm coming," Su Fan called out, adjusting his clothes before pulling the door open.

 

Yu Bao stared at him with wide eyes, completely breathless. "Brother Zhao! You... you're actually alive?! I was looking everywhere for you! Everyone is saying you're dead! They said a demonic beast lurking in the mountains killed you. They even put up a poster about you! What on earth happened?!"

 

He reached out, grabbing Su Fan's shoulders to see if he was injured. "Are you alright? Did those bastards do something to you again?"

 

Su Fan stepped forward and cupped his fist in his hand. "Brother Yu, calm down. I don't have time to explain. The only thing I can tell you right now is this: no matter what happens, do not get involved with me. For now, don't tell anyone that I am still alive."

 

[A/N: The fist-and-palm greeting (抱拳 - Bao Quan) is the traditional martial etiquette used among cultivators to show respect, discipline, and goodwill to fellow peers in the jianghu.]

 

He pulled out a formal letter and pushed it into Yu Bao's hands. "Give this letter to Sect Elder Zi Rui. Tell her that fortunately, heaven never abandons me, and I survived."

 

Yu Bao looked at the letter, nodded solemnly without asking any more questions, and turned away. He hurried straight toward the inner peak to find the Sect Elder and make his report.

 

After Yu Bao left, Su Fan let out a quiet sigh.

 

System, can I really trust that fatso? Su Fan asked in his mind.

 

【Host, Yu Bao is an old friend of the former Zhao Ye. He holds zero malicious intent toward you.】

 

The only person he could truly rely on in this place was Sect Elder Zi Rui, despite her high status as a high-ranking elder in the Azure Cloud Sect. She was the only one who had ever seen potential in Zhao Ye, which was why Su Fan had instructed the system to prepare that formal letter while he was talking to Yu Bao.

 

Once that disgusting bastard finds out Zhao Ye survived, things will get dangerous quickly. Su Fan needed to start planning his next move to survive, but right now, he desperately needed rest. It had been a whole week since this body last had a proper sleep. Besides, no one else knew Zhao Ye was alive yet, giving him a brief moment of quiet.

 

Su Fan lay down, finally letting his exhausted body relax as he fell into a deep sleep.

 

••••

 

Inside a quiet chamber in the sect, Sect Elder Mo Tianxing took a sip of tea and put the cup down with a cold smile.

 

"Finally," he murmured. "That ungrateful bastard Zhao Ye is dead."

 

He glanced up at his subordinate standing nearby. "Did you do what I asked you to do?"

 

The subordinate bowed deeply. "Yes, Immortal Master. We have done everything according to your instructions."

 

"Good!" Sect Elder Mo Tianxing threw his head back and laughed.

 

A figure in dark robes walked into the chamber.

 

Mo Tianxing stopped laughing and stared at the doorway. "Now... our guest is here."

 

The dark-robed figure bowed slightly, his face completely hidden beneath a mask. "Elder Mo."

 

Sect Elder Mo Tianxing gestured toward the empty seat across from him. "You are right on time. Tell me, how are the preparations on your end?"

 

"Everything is moving according to plan," the masked man replied. "The honorary disciples you captured over the past few weeks have been delivered to the devil altar. No one in the sect has noticed their disappearance."

 

Sect Elder Mo Tianxing smiled, swirling the tea in his cup. As a demonic cultivator hiding inside a righteous sect, he needed a steady supply of fresh blood to fuel his dark techniques, and grabbing useless honorary disciples was the easiest way without raising suspicion.

 

"Good, those pieces of trash served their purpose," Mo Tianxing said, putting down his cup. "Now we focus on what actually matters, because the Grand Sect Tournament is coming up soon."

 

The rogue cultivator leaned forward. "The one where both outer and inner disciples compete for access to the Sacred Spring?"

 

"Exactly. The Sacred Spring is one of the top spots in the Azure Cloud Sect, and anyone who cultivates inside it will progress ten times faster than normal. No matter what, my disciple must take first place, enter the spring, and steal it."

 

"And if other disciples get in the way?"

 

"Then you kill them," Mo Tianxing said, his expression filled with murderous intent. "Send your men into the tournament grounds and slaughter any disciple who poses a threat to my disciple, but make the bodies look like they were killed by wild beasts or rogue cultivators."

 

The masked figure chuckled softly. "It will be taken care of, Immortal Master."