Great Yan Dynasty, Jade Pure Sect
Somewhere close to Jade Pure Sect, a man in a straw raincoat and an old man exchanged paper messages without any words. The man in a straw raincoat quickly vanished when he saw the message, 'Deity Slaying has a disciple? If we could get him…'
He came to a secluded area near the sect, where two others were waiting. The two waiting showed displeasure, "Raindrop, you're late again. Elders will be displeased."
The smaller one charmed in, "Yes, Mistfall and I already finished our objective." He puffed his chest as he pointed at the three unconscious disciples.
Raindrop frowned, "My objective is the most important. Deacon found out that Deity Slaying Elder has a disciple." All three of their eyes gleamed as Raindrop continued, "Imagine we bring him back, wouldn't that please the elders?"
The smaller one, snapping out of his imagination, asked, "Wouldn't we attract the attention of Deity Slaying? Plus, to become his disciple, he would have to be special."
Mistfall hit on the head with a staff, "Dew, you're too cautious! Who can match us?" He smirked, "He can't be a Nascent Soul, right?"
Raindrop nodded, "That's right, it's said he's above the Foundation Establishment, but let's not rule out he's a Golden Core expert. So I'll use Soul-Dulling Bell."
Mistfall's eyes flashed, "You're bringing out that bell. Not even renowned Deity Slaying will notice anything. We might actually have a chance." A small smile formed on his face as he rubbed his hands together.
Raindrop waved his hand, "Don't jinx us. All we know is he's on his way back, someone saw a man flying on a purple lotus. Sect has hidden the mission he's on, but Deacon knows it's a high one."
They decided to hide and wait for him to appear, as even a year is acceptable. And they waited for three days, when they saw a flying lotus in the distance.
All of them nodded, and Raindrop, taking out the bell, decisively attacked. Raindrop's hand rang the Soul-Dulling Bell, and a wave of suffocating silence spread outward.
Hua Lian, who was cultivating, snapped open his eyes and coughed up blood. Quickly activating 36-grade Violet Lotus' protection, he healed himself while vigilantly looking around.
The trio, seeing that their attack didn't work, panicked. Dew sent out a voice transmission, "Didn't I tell you, he's a monster. Even a Nascent should be severely injured. Look at him, he has already healed half of his injuries. We're screwed."
Raindrop, despite sweating bullets, tried to calm him down, "Don't worry, he hasn't noticed us, we still can escape."
Hua Lian, seeing that he couldn't sense anyone, took out Moon Wail Guqin. Plucking one string, he sent out a ripple of qi, which quickly reached the trio. Sensing them, he sent out an invisible palm strike.
When they saw they'd already been discovered, it was too late. Dew fell on his knees, as a palm swiftly landed on his chest. The other two panicked. Mistfall yelled, "What do you mean by this attack?! Does Jade Pure Sect want to start a war?!"
Hua Lian, with slight trembling, wiped the blood with his sleeve. Laughing through the trembling, he mumbled, "Thank you for reminding me I'm in a cultivation world."
Sending out another palm strike, he thought, 'I can't believe I forgot about the Raincoat Sect, after all, it's the home to my favorite character, Huang Zuntian.'
Mistfall mobilized his cultivation base, taking out a sword, but it shattered in the face of the invisible palm strike, "F**k!" Was the last thing he yelled before the palm imprint appeared on his chest, shattering his Golden Core, and killing him.
Raindrop immediately used all his strength to escape, but before he even turned around, Hua Lian used new Mystical Power, 'Heaven-Sealing Myriad-Forms Palm.'
This time, the palm was visible, Violet Qi gashed, and within a breath, the palm was already on Raindrop, turning him into a marble, "Two dead, one sealed."
Exhaling, Hua Lian calmed his heart, "I killed two more people… For what do I cultivate?" He put the marble into the storage ring and went toward the Mission Building to claim his reward.
But before he did so, he untied the disciples whom the trio had captured. After collecting the storage rings of the two dead and the bell Raindrop used, he headed toward the sect.
Jade Pure Sect, Mission Building
Mission Building was busy as ever, many disciples lined up to claim their rewards and accept new missions. Many names on the contribution list changed, but the top 20 remained the same.
Hua Lian slowly walked in, and many glanced, but almost no one recognized him. All except Chang Yue'er forgot he existed, as Hua Lian was low-key, before Noah took over.
He exited seclusion only when Fairy Xi Xuan called, plus he's only been at the sect for seventeen years.
When Chang Yue'er saw him, she waved, "Senior Brother, over here!" Many gave Hua Lian second glances, but quickly went back to their own chatter. Hua Lian stepped toward her, ignoring everyone else, as his mind was in confusion.
Chang Yue'er snapped him out of this state, "Senior Brother, what's wrong?" Concern flashed in her eyes, 'Senior Brother's Dao Heart seems unstable, did he encounter any trouble?'
Hua Lian dully replied, "I'm no more your senior; I revoked my discipleship." He took out the token with 'Deity Slaying' and showed it, and sent out a voice transmission, "I've become Deity Slaying's disciple."
Stopping in her tracks, Chang Yue'er covered her mouth in shock, "Junior Han's…" Her mind went blank from shock, "But-"
Hua Lian clasped his hands, "Senior Chang, I have to get my reward and report back to Master." 'After all, Raincoat Sect has begun to make their move, I hope Han Jue's cultivation has progressed.'
Chang Yue'er stopped herself, 'Senior Brother, you've changed.' Nodding, she moved to the side, deciding to talk to Fairy Xi Xuan about this.
As Hua Lian approached, the elder in charge recognized him immediately, "You've come back so soon?" Surprise was evident in his voice, "Did you perhaps fail?"
Hua Lian just took out the core, placing it on the table, and the elder in charge almost fell out of his chair. He slowly took out a superior-grade spirit stone and took Hua Lian's token, he added 10,000 contribution points.
Hua Lian's name immediately climbed the ranks and stopped at 76th place. Many looked over, wondering, Who is this Hua Lian?
But before anyone noticed, Hua Lian was already outside the building, heading toward Han Jue's cave adobe. Han Jue sensed his arrival, but he didn't move; rather, he checked his emails.
[Your friend, Zhou Fan, was attacked by the Raincoat Sect.]
[Your disciple, Hua Lian, was attacked by the Raincoat Sect.]
When Han Jue looked at the second email, the system popped up another message.
[You've been informed that your disciple, Hua Lian, has been attacked by the Raincoat Sect. You have the following choices:]
[1. Immediately set out and kill everyone in the Raincoat Sect by yourself. Obtain a Supreme Numinous Treasure, Dao Field upgrade, and a new function of the system.]
[2. Inform the sect and don't participate in the initial attack. Obtain a random Natural Treasure.]
Looking at the options, Han Jue's brow twitched, 'System, why even give me the first option…' He exhaled, full of confidence, and he chose the second option, as the Raincoat Sect seemed to be strong.
He took out the communication jade and sent a message to Li Qingzi, "Sect Master, do you know of Raincoat Sect?"
Li Qingzi's voice hurriedly replied, "Yes, a thousand years ago they failed to conquer the Great Yan Cultivation World, being defeated by the united orthodox sects. Why?"
Han Jue's eyes twitched, 'Defeated foe wants a comeback?' He asked, "Do they have Soul Formation or Void Amalgamation cultivators?"
Even more confused, Li Qingzi replied, "I do not know about Void Amalgamation, but their Sect Master was a Soul Formation cultivator. He could be in the later levels of Soul Formation. Don't tell me-"
Han Jue cut him off, "Yes, my disciple and Zhou Fan have been attacked by the Raincoat Sect. Luckily, they were strong enough."
Li Qingzi was shocked, "How dare they?! Wait, I understand Zhou Fan, but Yang Tiandong is already that strong?"
Han Jue's pride slipped through, "No, my second disciple, Hua Lian."
Li Qingzi's confused voice floated over, "Second? Wait, there is Hua Lian in Jade Serene Peak, you took him in?"
Now was Han Jue's time to be confused, 'Master has a person with Hua Lian's name? Or is it the same person? Wouldn't that make him my Senior?' Unaware of his background, he stayed silent.
Hearing the silence, Li Qingzi decided to drop the matter, "I'll personally investigate this, don't worry." With that, they both cut the connection.
[You chose not to kill the whole Raincoat Sect by yourself. You'll obtain a random Natural Treasure.]
[Congratulations on obtaining the Ruomu Tree.]
[Ruomu Tree: Divine Tree of Heaven and Earth. It can increase Dao Comprehension and disperse all evil. Ten thousand years later, it can produce fruit. A million years later, it can create worlds.]
A tree sapling appeared in Han Jue's hand, about a pinky tall, but the vitality and calmness it gave off were considerable. Han Jue instantly felt his mind clear, as Dao insight flowed like a river.
"Ruomu Tree, good stuff." He said as he planted it near the spirit lake in his cave adobe, "But this Raincoat Sect…" He frowned, his trouble senses tingling, 'Why don't people just cultivate in peace, why cause trouble?'
Hua Lian's voice came over, breaking his thinking, "Master, this disciple has something to report." Han Jue immediately noticed his disciple's Dao Heart was unstable, so he quickly opened the cave adobe and let him in.
Hua Lian kowtowed, "Master, this disciple was attacked by the Raincoat Sect."
Han Jue nodded, "I already informed the sect, they'll investigate. On another note, why is your Dao Heart unstable?" He couldn't help but be confused, 'With so much of an impressive Connate Providences, that shouldn't happen.'
Hua Lian looked at him, and confusion also flashed in his eyes, 'Unstable Dao Heart? What's he talking about?' Closing his eyes, scenes of him killing appeared in his view, making his breathing rapid.
When Han Jue looked at his trembling hands, he quickly said, "What happened on the trip down the mountain?" When he thought about it, he just couldn't wrap his head around it, 'Dao Ancestor's inheritor has Dao Heart problem?'
Hua Lian woke up, covered in sweat, with his head still touching the floor, he slowly said, "This disciple had to kill…"
With his eye twitching, Han Jue exclaimed, "That's it?!" He couldn't deal with this, 'How do I deal with this?' After thinking a bit, he continued, in a composed manner, "In this world, the strong rule. You are a cultivator, why be obsessed with the morals of mortals?"
Hua Lian knew that, but still was not able to accept the fact that this was real and that he'd killed three people. Clenching his fists, he thought, 'Why did I transmigrate into this world?'
Seeing this, Han Jue's hands tightened so hard he almost pierced his skin, "Wake up from your illusion! Morals are only applicable to strong cultivators or weak mortals, you are neither. Become a strong cultivator, and you can live by your ideals."
When Hua Lian began to calm down, Han Jue continued, "I pursue longevity, eternal life. You make your own goal, hardening your Dao Heart, and pursue it till your dying breath."
Hua Lian nodded, his lilac eyes shining brighter and brighter, as he remembered his sister's last words, "Noah, don't fail. Live for both of us…" When he did, the Ruomu Tree sapling slowly swung left and right, giving off gentle light.
Han Jue was in disbelief, "What is ha-?" Before he even finished his sentence, he received a system mail.
[Your disciple, Hua Lian, passed his Dao Heart tribulation.]
[Your disciple, Hua Lian, comprehended the true purpose of the Dao, and his cultivation increased greatly.]
Rubbing his chin, Han Jue proudly raised his head, "I'm such a good Master." A smirk spread as he watched Hua Lian enveloped by purple light.
When the light peaked, 36th-grade Violet Lotus slowly floated above Hua Lian's head, absorbing the light. As it did, the silent hum of the Dao filled Han Jue's ears, making even him fall into a state of Dao Comprehension.
After two days, Hua Lian awoke. Seeing that Han Jue was still in the state of Dao Comprehension, he exited the cave adobe on his own. But as he did, he noticed the Ruomu Tree, 'That shouldn't be here.'
Remembering something, he shook his head with a wry smile spreading on his face, 'I guess this is the ripple effect many protagonists struggle with. My presence changed the course of Destiny.'