Qi Yuan turned to see two streaks of light cutting through the sky. In the blink of an eye, they landed before him, revealing themselves as Tu Ruoxu, the Holy Scion of the Eternal Sacred Ground, and Zhuang Qingyun, the Holy Scion of the Boundless Sacred Ground.

What do these two want?

Qi Yuan’s guard went up immediately.

Seeing Zhuang Qingyun in particular triggered the warning Piao Genshuo had given him earlier.

The gossip about Qi Yuan and the Exquisite Saintess, Xiao Yueni, had been spreading like wildfire. Zhuang Qingyun was well-known as one of Xiao Yueni’s most loyal “admirers”—or to put it bluntly, a massive simp.

Now that he was here, looking for Qi Yuan so soon after leaving the Exquisite Sanctuary… surely, he had come to settle scores?

Qi Yuan’s expression grew solemn. He cupped his hands, his muscles tense, ready for a fight.

“To what do I owe the honor of two Holy Scions descending upon me together? Is there something you need?”

Seeing Qi Yuan’s stern face and heavy mood, Zhuang Qingyun misunderstood completely. He assumed Qi Yuan was distressed by the malicious rumors.

Zhuang Qingyun hurriedly returned the bow, his tone filled with righteous indignation and comfort.

“Fellow Daoist Qi, regarding those nasty rumors… I know both you and Fairy Xiao are victims! There is no need to take it to heart. If anyone is to blame, it’s that bastard Ji Tianpeng!”

He patted his chest. “In the future, if anyone dares question your integrity, Senior Brother Tu and I will stand up and clarify the truth! We will help you restore your reputation!”

Huh?

I’m a victim?

Qi Yuan blinked, utterly bewildered. He couldn’t figure out what kind of 4D chess these two were playing.

He knew the truth better than anyone. His “affair” with Xiao Yueni wasn’t a rumor—it was a fact. They just hadn’t been careful enough with their secrecy measures, and some sharp-eyed female disciples had caught on.

Even he, the actual perpetrator, didn’t have the face to stand up and claim innocence. Yet here was the Holy Scion of the Boundless Sacred Ground, volunteering to clear his name?

And what does this have to do with Ji Tianpeng? When did he get involved?

Though his mind was full of question marks, Qi Yuan wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. If they wanted to whitewash his reputation, who was he to stop them?

He forced a look of gratitude, accepting their trust with a thick face.

“Fellow Daoist Zhuang is truly broad-minded and perceptive. I admire your wisdom!”

Zhuang Qingyun waved his hand with a modest smile. “Fellow Daoist Qi flatters me. It was actually Senior Brother Tu whose eyes are as sharp as torches. He saw through Ji Tianpeng’s dirty schemes at a glance.”

Zhuang Qingyun’s expression turned cold. “That bastard surnamed Ji dared to slander Fairy Xiao’s purity. I, Zhuang, will not let this slide. Once I break through to the Soul Formation realm, I will personally seek justice from him!”

Qi Yuan: “…”

Good luck with that, buddy.

“Ahem!”

Tu Ruoxu coughed lightly, cutting off Zhuang Qingyun’s tirade. He turned his gaze to Qi Yuan, his eyes gleaming with a deeper meaning.

“Let us put aside these trivial matters for now. We came uninvited today because we have a massive opportunity to share with Fellow Daoist Qi. I wonder if you are interested?”

A massive opportunity?

Qi Yuan paused, his internal radar pinging with suspicion.

He wasn’t a fresh-off-the-boat rookie who would drool at the word “treasure.” In the cultivation world, there was no such thing as a free lunch.

To put it bluntly, he wasn’t their father. If they really had a heaven-defying opportunity, why would they share it with an outsider instead of keeping it for themselves?

Qi Yuan raised an eyebrow, looking at Tu Ruoxu with a half-smile.

“Forgive my bluntness, but just how big is this opportunity that it requires two Holy Scions to deliver it to my doorstep?”

Tu Ruoxu smiled faintly. He didn’t dodge the question.

“Fellow Daoist Qi… do you know of the Myriad Tribulations Soul Formation?”

Myriad Tribulations Soul Formation?!

Qi Yuan’s eyes narrowed. His interest was piqued.

“I’ve heard of it,” Qi Yuan nodded slowly. “Legends say that when a Nascent Soul ascends to Soul Formation, if one can trigger ten thousand bolts of heavenly lightning, they achieve the Myriad Tribulations Soul Formation. Also known as the Heavenly Dao Soul Formation.”

This was high-level cultivation lore.

When breaking through to the Soul Formation realm, a cultivator had to endure a lightning tribulation. The lightning refined the Nascent Soul, transforming it into a Primordial Spirit. The number of bolts determined the quality of the breakthrough.

One or two bolts? Failure. Your Dao foundation would shatter.

Three bolts? The bare minimum. These were “Three Tribulations Soul Formation” cultivators—the weakest of the weak. Most would be stuck at the early stage of Soul Formation for life.

Nine bolts? The standard for elites. “Nine Tribulations Soul Formation” guaranteed a smooth path to higher realms.

Above that was the “Hundred Tribulations Soul Formation,” reserved for top-tier geniuses like the Holy Scions.

But the “Myriad Tribulations Soul Formation”—the Ten Thousand Tribulations—was a myth. Like the Heavenly Dao Nascent Soul, it was something no one had seen in eons.

Qi Yuan also knew a secret detail: to achieve this state, one needed a wisp of Heavenly Dao Qi. Only then could one command the power of the heavens to forge a perfect Primordial Spirit.

“Correct,” Tu Ruoxu continued, his voice lowering to a conspiratorial whisper. “Achieving Heavenly Dao Soul Formation is harder than ascending to the heavens. But… it is not impossible. Tens of thousands of years ago, a rogue cultivator shocked the world. He called himself the Slaughtering Daoist.”

“The Slaughtering Daoist wielded a terrifying demonic sword. He was a maniac who bathed the cultivation world in blood, triggering one catastrophe after another.”

“No one knew where he got his inheritance. He was a loose cultivator with no sect backing, yet his divine abilities were boundless. He was invincible among his peers. Even when the Seven Great Sanctuaries united to hunt him down, he always stood tall, escaping death time and time again.”

The Slaughtering Daoist.

Qi Yuan searched his memory. The records in the Supreme Mystery Sanctuary were sparse, but the name carried weight. For a rogue cultivator to leave such a deep scar on history that the ancient texts still feared him… that was extraordinary.

And when it came to intelligence, the Eternal Sacred Ground was second to none. If Tu Ruoxu was bringing this up, it wasn’t idle chatter.

Tu Ruoxu’s expression grew serious.

“While at the Soul Formation realm, this man could easily slaughter Void Refinement experts. By the time he reached the Tribulation Crossing realm, he was uncontrollable. He once severely injured a Great Ascension Ancestor of the Boundless Sacred Ground.”

A Tribulation Crossing cultivator injuring a Great Ascension expert?

Qi Yuan was genuinely shocked. The gap between those realms was an ocean.

He glanced at Zhuang Qingyun. The Boundless Scion looked like he had swallowed a fly—clearly, this embarrassing piece of history was true.

That’s terrifying.

“After that battle, the Slaughtering Daoist was hailed as the Number One Rogue Cultivator under the heavens,” Tu Ruoxu said. “Everyone thought he would break through to Great Ascension and rule the world. But then… he vanished.”

“The consensus is that he created too much bad karma and perished during a Dao Tribulation.”

Tu Ruoxu leaned in closer.

“But his death doesn’t matter. What matters is that the Slaughtering Daoist once admitted that when he broke through, he triggered ten thousand bolts of lightning. He achieved the Heavenly Dao Soul Formation.”

“Since he could do it, it proves there is a method. The three of us are the apex geniuses of this era. Our aptitude is not inferior to his.”

“If we can find his inheritance, we might be able to replicate his success. We could step into the realm of the Myriad Tribulations Soul Formation!”

Tu Ruoxu’s eyes burned with ambition as he locked gazes with Qi Yuan.

“Fellow Daoist Qi, I have scoured every ancient text in the Eternal Sacred Ground. I have finally confirmed the location of the Slaughtering Daoist’s hidden cave abode.”

“Do you dare to join us and claim this legacy?”