Chapter Thirty: Let the heavens and the earth... bear witness to my emergence!

Thinking of this, Xiao Lin’s lips curled into a faint, subtle smile.

Not only that, but he would also cripple his own cultivation in front of Gu Jianyao.

He refused to believe that if she watched her own junior brother destroy his own Dao foundation just to protect the people of a city and prevent her from losing her own cultivation, Gu Jianyao would still remain so thick-headed!

By doing this, he could not only wring tears from the more sentimental viewers and earn a massive surge of popularity points, but he could also influence and alter Gu Jianyao’s future.

It was essentially killing two birds with…

No, that wasn't right.

There was also the Fallen Sword Immortal.

This time, he would make sure to grind him away entirely, down to the very last trace…

That made it three birds with one stone, Xiao Lin thought to himself.

"Redeem."

[You have spent 200,000 popularity points to acquire the pill: "Heaven-Seizing Creation Calamity Pill."]

Xiao Lin proactively opened the live broadcast overlay. When the camera was focused on him, the chat messages would pop up automatically. If the camera was elsewhere, he had to open it manually. However, the comments were not guaranteed to appear; they required the production team to have actually produced content for that specific timeframe.

At this moment, the comments began to flood the screen.

Xiao Lin pondered for a moment. As expected, the production team hadn't skipped over the time he spent in seclusion; instead, they had shifted the focus to others.

Xiao Lin focused his eyes on the screen:

"You’re done for, you’ve fallen in love!"
"Seclusion (×) Dating (√)"
"Off to dream of his little girlfriend."
"When is Brother Lin coming out of seclusion? I miss him."
"You don’t miss Brother Lin; you just want to see him kill the senior brother’s little girlfriend!"
"Hehe."

Xiao Lin analyzed these comments, his eyes widening slightly. Wait, he had only been in seclusion for a month. Had Li Changhe already hooked up with a demoness from the Demonic Sect?

So, during those days when Li Changhe was in a coma, he had entered a "Dream Realm" where he happened to encounter a demoness who had also entered the dream?

In other words, his own strike had, through a series of coincidences, actually pushed Li Changhe’s plot forward.

"This..."

Xiao Lin was speechless. He couldn't help but look up at Shen Wuyai’s spirit tablet. "Old man, your star disciple is about to fall in love with a demoness. Are you going to do something about it?"

"If you won't, I will."

Xiao Lin had only said it as a passing remark, a way to vent. Constantly plotting in his mind was exhausting. The next moment, a light breeze suddenly blew, moving from bottom to top, then top to bottom.

Xiao Lin followed the path of the breeze and suddenly realized that the light wind had guided him into a slight nod.

"Hahahaha."

He burst into laughter. He knew it; if the Fallen Sword Immortal could haunt him like a persistent ghost, how could Shen Wuyai truly be completely extinguished? A remnant of his nascent soul still remained in the world; perhaps one day in the future, there might truly be a return.

"Fine, old man, you said it yourself."

Xiao Lin leaped up from the meditation cushion, the thin layer of dust on his robes shaking off naturally. When a Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment is achieved, it often produces omens from heaven and earth. This is the response of the "Heavenly Dao" to the one who establishes their foundation through it—hence the name "Heavenly Dao."

Li Changhe was one such case. It was rumored that on the day he broke through to Foundation Establishment, lightning flashed, thunder roared, and a torrential storm raged for three days and three nights.

The phenomena were indeed present, but as for the implications... Xiao Lin reasonably suspected that the production team was laying the groundwork for Li Changhe’s future betrayal of Sword Mountain. They must have thought they were so clever with their design.

Xiao Lin estimated that his "Righteous Foundation Establishment" shouldn't be any worse than a Heavenly Dao one. It should naturally produce divine omens to announce his emergence. Although he couldn't personally manifest them... the system could.

Xiao Lin opened the shop.

[Special: Heavenly and Earthly Omens]
[Effect: Commands the heavens and earth to serve you; manifestations appear, such as purple clouds coming from the east or the radiance of Buddha shining upon the world, declaring your uniqueness to the masses.]
[Price: 5,000 popularity points]

"So cheap?" Xiao Lin was surprised and immediately waved his hand. Buy two—no, buy three!

The more grandiose the display when he broke through, the more shocking his later act of crippling his own cultivation would be, and the more resolute his determination would appear.

...

Sky Heaven Peak.

"Ziyao, why do you keep delaying your departure?"

Yue Suxian looked at the woman with purple hair tied in a high ponytail before her and said calmly, "Whenever a disciple reaches Foundation Establishment, they must lead a team out of the sect to perform a mission. This is the code of Sword Mountain."

"Coincidentally, there is a treasure land that is rumored to contain spiritual materials for forging. If you find them, I can ask Elder Yue to craft a life-bound sword for you, which will raise your strength to the next level."

"Yet you hesitate and make excuses. Could it be... that Tang Qianxue is in the team?"

A trace of confusion flickered in Yue Suxian’s beautiful eyes. "Admittedly, Tang Qianxue is Xiao Lin’s senior sister, but that was a conflict between Xiao Lin and me, one that has long since been resolved. Why do you hold onto it so tightly?"

"This is not conducive to your Dao heart."

Qu Ziyao bit her lip. "Master, it is merely that this disciple feels her strength is still insufficient. If we encounter danger on this journey, I fear I will be unable to protect my fellow disciples..."

Hearing this, Yue Suxian’s willow eyebrows furrowed in displeasure. She gave a cold rebuke, saying sternly, "Nonsense! The mission locations are all selected after thorough investigation by the Discipline Hall; there is absolutely no danger that exceeds your capabilities. Do you realize that by saying this, you are questioning the authority of the sect’s Discipline Hall?"

"Disciple did not mean..."

Qu Ziyao was about to respond when she suddenly felt something.

As a Golden Core cultivator, Yue Suxian stood up abruptly. Before Qu Ziyao could speak, Yue Suxian had already brought her to the sky outside the main hall. She looked out and saw many figures appearing outside the various peaks and mountains. Clearly, they had all been attracted by the sudden commotion and had come to investigate.

There, on a rather remote peak of Sword Mountain, a radiant glow suddenly shot into the sky!

The light was distinct, appearing as nine colors: red like cinnabar fire, green like the clear sky, yellow like condensed gold, purple like auspicious mist... As it swirled, it almost obscured the heavens and enveloped Sword Mountain.

"Awoo—!"

A vast, heavy, and ancient roar suddenly echoed. At first, it sounded as if it were resonating through the heavens and earth; upon closer listening, it was appearing directly within everyone’s minds!

At this moment, even Yue Suxian’s beautiful face changed color.

Suddenly, the sky full of glowing clouds was split in two, as if a mysterious sword light had flashed, cleaving the heavens and cutting through the glow!

The mist and light churned and parted to the sides, and a massive shadow suddenly appeared within. It had the head of a dragon and the antlers of a deer, its body covered in shimmering scales. As its ox-like tail swayed, it brought forth auspicious clouds, and where its horse-like hooves trod, golden lotus flowers bloomed.

It was a scene of radiant light, a sword cleaving the heavens, and a Qilin descending into the world!

"Three types of heavenly omens..." Yue Suxian muttered to herself.

She knew better than anyone who was breaking through in that location, as she had personally set the seals herself. Yet, at that time, she could never have imagined that such a magnificent spectacle would be born there today!

"If the heavens respond like this for a mere Foundation Establishment breakthrough, what kind of scene would it be if he were to break through to the Golden Core?"

Yue Suxian sighed silently to herself, then suddenly thought of something and turned to look at Qu Ziyao.

She saw her disciple staring unblinkingly at that location, her red lips slightly parted, lost in a trance without even realizing it!

Yue Suxian’s fair face turned a shade of leaden blue, her expression ugly. Could it be that her disciple was going to follow in her own footsteps?