***
Zhang Yunlu, a senior at Xuanjian Third High School, enjoyed researching the history of the ancient cultivation world due to the influence of her deceased parents.
She had even represented her school in competitions related to this specific field of study.
Possessing a cultivation base at the eighth level of the Qi Refining stage, she was considered a minor genius and thus held no small amount of fame within the school.
On a rare Friday, she intended to relax for a while, even though she had make-up classes scheduled for the following day.
She walked into a beverage shop located just outside the school grounds.
"One glass of Dragon Scale Fruit juice, less sugar and less ice."
The name Dragon Scale Fruit sounded quite grand and imposing, but in reality, it was just a common type of ordinary fruit.
Aside from its slightly better flavor, it did not possess even a single trace of spiritual energy.
[Simulated coating, look for Jingyue Flying Swords; Jingyue Flying Sword coating utilizes third-generation coating technology, offering realistic light effects and great sound quality—a fifty-year-old brand worthy of your trust!]
[According to statistical data, the Sect of Joy has ranked first in the number of applicants for six consecutive terms; does this signify a change in the cultivation trends of the cultivation world?]
[Maintenance of the third phase of the City-Guarding Grand Array has been completed; the Mayor stated: "We will do our utmost to guarantee the personal safety of the general public."]
While she was waiting, several pieces of news and advertisements were broadcasted within the mysterious light mirror hanging above.
Just as she received her juice and found a seat to sit down on, the communication device in her pocket began to buzz and ring loudly.
She took it out and looked at the screen.
It was her older brother.
She walked over to the table and sat down properly, then inserted a straw and took a sip before leisurely answering the call.
"Hello, big brother."
Because their parents had fallen while exploring a secret realm, this older brother, who was nearly thirty years older than her, was her true legal guardian.
"Xiao Lu, are you still at school or not?"
"I just finished school and came out. What's wrong?"
Zhang Yunlu chewed on the straw, her voice sounding somewhat muffled and unclear.
"Return to the school immediately and do not come out; a great cultivator of the Void Returning Stage or higher has emerged from seclusion nearby, and it is not yet certain whether he is a great demonic cultivator."
A great cultivator... of the Void Returning Stage?!
The serious tone in his voice caused her heart to tighten instantly.
The matter of a great cultivator emerging from seclusion was no laughing matter.
Three years ago, the great demonic cultivator of the Void Returning Stage known as 'Cang Jie Zi' had emerged from seclusion and entered the world.
Using only a single demonic array, he had directly slaughtered half of the population of the neighboring Hengjian City to sacrifice to his sword and refine his techniques.
Although he was eventually killed by a great orthodox cultivator who rushed to the scene, those who had died were truly dead.
Those ancient demonic cultivators would not abide by the rules of the new era.
Knowing the gravity of the situation, she could no longer care about the juice she had only taken a single sip of.
After hanging up the communication, she stood up and started running toward the outside, but just as she reached the exterior...
Buzz!
A tide of spiritual energy surged, and a majestic aura of spiritual qi tumbled through the air.
Zhang Yunlu was stunned and raised her head to look upward, only to see streaks of crimson array patterns lighting up in the sky, enveloping the entire city within them.
The City-Guarding Grand Array had been activated!
What her brother had said was true!
"Announcement!"
"A great cultivator at or above the Void Returning Stage who has not experienced the era of Great Reform has emerged from seclusion; it is temporarily unconfirmed if they are a demonic practitioner."
"To ensure the safety of all citizens' lives, please immediately proceed to the nearest school or immortal sect station. Do not leave the range of the City-Guarding Grand Array!"
"The Ancient Cultivator Response Department has already dispatched the Void Returning Stage cultivator, Perfected One Xiao Ning, as well as twelve Divine Transformation cultivators and seventy-two Nascent Soul cultivators."
A familiar voice spread throughout the entire city under the effect of a spirit tool produced by the Sound of Spirits Workshop.
It was the principal of Xuanjian Third High School!
He was the person with the highest cultivation base in Xuanjian City.
In an instant, everyone understood exactly what had happened.
Some residents who had moved over from Hengjian City felt an uncontrollable panic rising in their hearts.
As people who had experienced that previous event, they understood better than anyone else just how cruel the methods of a great demonic cultivator could be.
Zhang Yunlu ran toward the school with all her might, her figure pulling out streaks of afterimages.
In the sky, beneath the grand array, dense clusters of spiritual light sliced through the horizon.
Among them was the owner of the beverage shop from just a moment ago, who did not even have time to close the shop doors.
With an ice-blue longsword beneath his feet, he instantly overtook her.
In addition to him, there was an elderly lady holding a kitchen knife and still wearing an apron, a sanitation worker carrying a broom and wearing an orange-yellow work uniform, and even someone putting on clothes while flying on a sword; it was unknown what he had been doing just moments before.
Practitioners of Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and even Nascent Soul cultivators were present; everyone quickly rushed toward the school and the civilian stations of the various major sects.
Just as Zhang Yunlu was about to reach the school, she saw a person standing in the middle of the road, looking up at the sky.
Without thinking much, she directly shouted: "Hey! Hurry back to the school!"
The person turned around; his appearance was very young, looking only a few years older than her.
"Okay."
He nodded his head and followed directly behind her.
At the school gate, the crowd was surging, composed mostly of students at the Qi Refining stage.
Zhang Yunlu squeezed through the flow of people and successfully entered the school, finally letting out a long sigh of relief.
"Phew—"
The cultivation bases of the teachers were not low; the three vice-principals were Divine Transformation cultivators, while the principal was only a single step away from becoming a Void Returning Stage cultivator.
With the help of the City-Guarding Grand Array's power, even if an old demonic head of the Void Returning Stage truly came to attack, they would be able to block him for at least a short while.
Oh, that was right; there was also that person who had followed her inside just now.
"I am a student here; if you are not familiar with this place, I can..."
She turned her head.
Hmm?
Where was the person?
Underneath a teaching building of Xuanjian City's Third High School, Xu Xing walked and stopped, occasionally raising his head to glance at the sky.
Not a single person noticed him; even if someone's gaze swept past, they would skip over him directly, as if they were completely unable to see him.
"The commotion caused by emerging from seclusion this time is truly not small."
He had already understood when he heard the broadcast outside earlier that the reason such a large display was being put on here was entirely due to his own emergence from seclusion.
As for the specific reasons behind it, he had also gained a general understanding through the fragments of conversation he had overheard.
Speaking of which, how could this world have become so... modernized?
There were playgrounds, teaching buildings, students wearing uniform school clothes, and teachers dressed in suits and leather shoes.
Heh, at a glance, it looked like a leader had come for an inspection.
This familiar yet strange environment seemed to be overlapping with his distant memories.
If it were only one instance, it could be ignored, but with so many familiar traces, Xu Xing could not help but suspect that this was the handiwork of some fellow transmigrator.
After all, there were already precedents, so it seemed somewhat justifiable if there were more.
In any case, it would be better to visit the library first to take a look.
He crossed the playground, and under the coverage of his divine sense, he already knew the location of the library.
At the entrance of the library, a thin and gaunt old man with a hunched figure and a face full of wrinkles—who even had only a few strands of hair left on his head—lay upon a lounge chair.
His expression was leisurely and comfortable, completely unaffected by the commotion outside.
Beneath his thin and gaunt body was a blood-qi as blazing and intense as a great sun.
If it were to be fully released, its range would be enough to cover the entire Xuanjian City, and practitioners of the Golden Core stage would be burned to death by the sheer heat.
What a pity.
Xu Xing gave him a glance but did not pay him any more attention, walking directly inside.
There were not many people inside.
The first floor consisted of rows upon rows of bookshelves filled with various types of miscellaneous books, which any student here could enter and read.
The second floor was different; it required authorization to enter, and thousands of jade slips were arranged neatly inside, recording various basic cultivation methods and Qi Refining spells.
The third floor contained cultivation methods and secret arts at the Foundation Establishment level, numbering in the hundreds.
The fourth floor had only a few dozen jade slips, which involved cultivation techniques and divine abilities related to the Golden Core stage.
As for the fifth floor, which was also the final floor, there were only seven jade slips inside that glowed with shimmering light.
Daoist charm surrounded them, and what was engraved within were the divine abilities of the Seven Great Immortal Sects, which could not be practiced by anyone below the Nascent Soul stage.
Seeing this, Xu Xing finally felt a bit of astonishment.
Putting aside the fact that these divine abilities, which were usually never shared with outsiders, appeared in a school library...
"The Seven Great Immortal Sects?"
Since ancient times, there had only ever been the Six Great Immortal Sects; how did an additional one suddenly appear?
Excluding the divine abilities of the Six Great Immortal Sects, the additional divine ability was named—'The Sect of Joy's Mysterious Art of Gathering Qi and Balancing Yin and Yang'!
It was a divine ability of the Sect of Joy.
"..."
Had the Sect of Joy become an orthodox immortal sect?!!
I have updated the internal glossary with all names, locations, and terminology. I am ready for the next segment.