"Little junior sister, what do you mean by that? Senior brother doesn't understand."
Nangong Luo smiled. Little junior sister's words were often interesting. He didn't understand, but he found them very amusing.
"It means if someone is too curious about everything, their danger will increase, and they'll die faster," Chu Lingwei poured herself a cup of spiritual tea and drank it slowly.
As cultivators, they already faced many dangers. If they followed second senior brother's path, there would be even more, and perhaps something would indeed happen.
Upon hearing his little junior sister curse him to death, Nangong Luo playfully patted Chu Lingwei's head, "You're getting more and more disrespectful."
"Second senior brother, I'm doing this for your own good. This is a well-intentioned reminder," Chu Lingwei touched the spot where she was hit. Second senior brother always knew exactly where to hit her, just enough to cause a slight pain, but not too much.
"Hmph, specious reasoning," Nangong Luo chuckled and looked at the Buddha's Light Pagoda, secretly resolving that he must find a way to enter.
Seeing the look in second senior brother's eyes, Chu Lingwei knew what he was thinking and couldn't help but shake her head.
"Second senior brother, with your current cultivation, you can't get in at all."
"If I do go in, what are the benefits?" Nangong Luo's face showed a confident smile. There was nowhere he, Nangong Luo, couldn't go.
"If you go, you'll be punished."
Chu Lingwei stood up, needing to return to her cultivation.
Nangong Luo listened to his little junior sister's words and felt both exasperated and amused. He had doted on her for nothing.
The next morning, Chu Lingwei received a transmission talisman from An Tao, inviting her to meet at the main gate of the Myriad Buddha Sect.
Chu Lingwei informed her second senior brother and went to meet An Tao.
"Weiwei, I'm here," An Tao waved enthusiastically when she saw Chu Lingwei appear. "Is your injury really healed?"
Chu Lingwei had been severely injured then, and An Tao had been worried that she might never recover.
"My master healed me, so I recovered quickly," Chu Lingwei thought to herself that her injuries had actually been mostly healed by her eldest senior brother in Golden Sun City; he just hadn't told her.
"That's really great."
As An Tao spoke, her expression turned cold, and a flash of anger crossed her eyes. "Weiwei, why did you hide your identity?"
Only after returning to her sect and describing her experiences to her master did An Tao learn that the person who had been adventuring with her was actually Chu Lingwei.
"This..." Chu Lingwei's face stiffened, and she rubbed her nose with an apologetic look. "It's just... my identity is a bit difficult to explain."
"Why is it difficult to explain? You are a direct disciple of the Academy of Spiritual Cultivation's Dean. Others would be begging to get close to you." An Tao had been quite surprised when she learned Chu Lingwei's true identity.
Chu Lingwei gave a wry smile. "I'm also the daughter of the former Sect Master of the Profound Heart Sect."
Everyone in the Profound Heaven Continent knew about what had happened to the Profound Heart Sect, and the evaluations of her were not very good.
"Uh..." An Tao was momentarily speechless. Thinking about the events of the Profound Heart Sect, she sighed. "Forget it, those things are in the past. Let's not dwell on them."
"So, you're not angry with me anymore?" Chu Lingwei smiled. She hadn't intended to hide her identity; it was just too troublesome.
An Tao waved her hand. "Of course not. When I go out adventuring, I also conceal my identity."
Chu Lingwei smiled and looked at the disciples from various sects coming and going, their sect robes a testament to their affiliations as they entered and exited the main gate of the Myriad Buddha Sect. The scene was quite lively.
"It's still early today. Why don't we go to the market? I heard the Myriad Buddha Sect's market is different from other sects'."
"Okay, I was thinking the same thing." An Tao took out a newly purchased flying artifact from her storage bag. "Let's go, we'll fly there on my artifact."
Myriad Buddha Sect Market.
The Myriad Buddha Sect focused on Buddhist cultivation and enlightenment, so all the shops in their market were related to Buddhist items. Many of the artifacts were also designed with Buddhist motifs.
It was very different from the market at their Academy of Spiritual Cultivation.
"Actually, the functions of these artifacts are pretty much the same as ours," An Tao said, pulling Chu Lingwei in and out of various shops. After buying a pile of artifacts, she came to this conclusion.
"Yes, Buddhist cultivation and enlightenment still revolve around the concept of 'spirit.' So, they're broadly similar, achieving the same results through different means," Chu Lingwei thought. They were all on the Profound Heaven Continent, how different could they be?
"Indeed." An Tao glanced at the artifacts in her storage bag and felt a little regretful. These items were not suitable for her as a young girl. She regretted buying them.
"Weiwei, I really hope we don't end up facing each other," An Tao said, a hint of worry in her voice as she thought about the upcoming grand competition in a few days.
She had witnessed Chu Lingwei's abilities and knew she stood no chance if they were to compete.
"Don't worry, there are a hundred spots. You just need to defeat the others," Chu Lingwei comforted her.
The Hundred Year Grand Competition was open to all disciples of the Spiritual Wheel and Spiritual Movement stages from all sects across the Profound Heaven Continent.
However, each sect had a limited number of spots and would select their strongest disciples to participate. Generally, no sect would send disciples of the Spiritual Movement stage.
There were exceptions, however, such as the direct disciples of some sects.
The competition's rules began with a grand selection. A thousand people would compete on a large arena, and one hundred would emerge victorious. After ten rounds, one thousand people would remain.
Next, it would be a lottery draw, with one-on-one matches, reducing the number to five hundred, and so on.
Therefore, this competition involved both skill and luck.
"Then I hope we can be together during the grand selection," An Tao said, holding Chu Lingwei's arm expectantly. "This way, I'm sure I won't be eliminated in the first round."
"Don't worry, even if we aren't together, you won't be eliminated."
An Tao was very capable. Sword cultivators were the most formidable in combat.
"Yes, this time, I will definitely enter the top one hundred," An Tao declared with confidence, her eyes shining as brightly as the sun that day.
A dark glint flashed in Chu Lingwei's eyes. An Tao didn't know the consequences of entering the Spirit Domain. Could it be that her master didn't know either?
"An Tao, are you the only one among your fellow disciples participating in this competition?"
"Yes." A flicker of disappointment crossed An Tao's eyes as she nodded. "Originally, one senior brother was supposed to participate with me, but he injured his soul a while ago, so only I am left."
What a coincidence.
Chu Lingwei believed that given how seriously the major sects took this grand competition, they must be aware of the underlying reasons.
"But it's okay, I'm sure I can enter the top hundred, and then we can enter the Spirit Domain together." An Tao quickly smiled, confident she would rank within the top hundred.
"I believe you can too," Chu Lingwei smiled, taking her hand and heading towards a spiritual teahouse ahead. "Let's go sit there."