39: You are such a good actor, you are risking your life

Furthermore, as expected, the Sect did not rush to act and surround and kill the demonic beasts gathered at Mangniu Mountain, but waited until now.

Lu Chen would do the same; opportunities that present themselves are always welcome. Waiting a bit longer might attract even more demonic beasts. Once enough have gathered, they can cast the net, catching them all in one go, which is guaranteed to pacify Ye Province by more than half.

After all, there are only so many demonic beasts in Ye Province. Although new ones are constantly born, growth takes time. Killing a batch naturally reduces the number.

'Also, it turns out the green fruit borne by that strange tree, which resembled a green snake, was a dragon transformation fruit!'

This means the strange tree he saw back then indeed hadn't matured yet, otherwise it should have resembled an Azure Dragon, not a green snake.

"Thank you, Senior Apprentice-Sister, for coming to remind me. I am indeed very interested in Mangniu Mountain." Lu Chen expressed his desire to go, but not too strongly.

He couldn't let others see how eager he was to get demonic beast corpses to nurture Dao Soldiers, could he?

Something unusual implies something demonic; no one would constantly think about killing those demonic beasts for no reason, and there's danger involved.

"My name is Yun Zhi," Yun Zhi said. "Junior Brother Lu, please follow me to accept the mission."

She turned her slender figure, a belt tied around her impossibly small waist, which was perfectly described as a 'water snake waist' in books, except for the slightly disappointing flatness.

When he saw Yun Zhi's waist, this thought couldn't help but flash through Lu Chen's mind, but he quickly dismissed it: Bah, why do you care about her body? Despicable.

Following Yun Zhi's steps, he headed towards the peak of Doujian Peak.

"Oh right, I heard Junior Brother is extremely skilled in the Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers Technique, even Senior Apprentice-Sister Xuan Qi from Mingjing Peak admits inferiority. If there's a chance, could Senior Apprentice-Sister also witness it?" Midway, Yun Zhi casually spoke, as if joking.

"It's just a low-grade minor technique, there's nothing outstanding about it," Lu Chen replied instinctively.

He quickly reacted, 'No, she's testing me!'

This seemingly ordinary Senior Apprentice-Sister Yun Zhi has very accurate intuition!

He didn't show his face at Lingya Mountain before; he only let his Dao Soldiers devour the hundred ghosts and captured two Black-haired Zombies. But this Senior Apprentice-Sister Yun Zhi had clearly inquired about some information and suspected Lu Chen.

Crucially, she actually guessed correctly.

However, Lu Chen would obviously not admit it. The Nurturing Soldier Immortal Coffin, a born treasure, is invisible to outsiders, but Dao Soldiers that can devour hundred ghosts would also attract attention, which is not a good thing.

And Lu Chen has always disliked potentially troublesome matters.

You can guess all you want, but if I deny it to the death, you can't do anything to me.

"It's true that Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers is a minor technique, but Junior Brother's 'Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers' may not be unexceptional. Perhaps it can even devour hundred ghosts and become the bane of evil cultivators!" Yun Zhi walked ahead, speaking as if discussing everyday matters.

Still testing!

Lu Chen acted 'shocked' and repeatedly shook his head, as if unwilling to believe: "How could Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers have the ability to devour hundred ghosts? Senior Apprentice-Sister Yun, please don't deceive me. I've never even heard of such a technique, let alone seen it."

"I've seen it," Yun Zhi chuckled softly. "Perhaps Junior Brother will also have a chance to see it in the future."

As she spoke, Yun Zhi looked back at Lu Chen with a meaningful gaze.

"I'd really like to see it," Lu Chen said, full of anticipation, as if yearning for it.

'Your acting is so good, are you not afraid of death?' Yun Zhi looked at Lu Chen's face full of anticipation and immediately lost interest in continuing the test. This guy's mouth was too tight; she couldn't get any information out of him.

Or, perhaps, the one who helped them that day really wasn't Lu Chen?

Yun Zhi also had some doubts because Lu Chen's eyes showed sincerity; he really didn't seem to be acting.

After returning from Lingya Mountain that day, Yun Zhi, Hou Liehu, and the other two went to inquire. Among the fellow Disciples in the Sect who had stone figures, they finally received news from Mingjing Peak that Lu Chen from the Outer Sect was the most skilled in the Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers Technique. He had once used Gathering Earth to Form Soldiers to kill a mid-stage Spirit Transformation Realm Demon Wolf while he was still in the Qi Condensation Realm. Apart from this, no other fellow Disciple had characteristics matching the stone figures.

Even more coincidentally, Lu Chen was at Lingya Mountain that day performing a mission for white scale ivory!

In the end, Yun Zhi didn't think too much about it and changed the subject: "The commotion you caused when entering the Inner Sect was not small. Even the Peak Lord, and the Grand Elder, Second Elder, and Fifth Elder were alerted. Now, it is being spread throughout the six Inner Sect peaks that you are the only successor chosen by the Peak Lord for Doujian Peak. This may not necessarily be a good thing."

"A tree that stands out in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. I think you understand this principle."

Lu Chen was thoughtful, 'So, are other Disciples jealous of me?'

Or perhaps, those Disciples who originally had hopes of inheriting the position of Peak Lord after the Sword Fighting Peak Lord, the Third Elder, perished, have become dissatisfied with him.

"It's not that Junior Brother is admitting defeat, but speaking the truth. I actually have no interest in the position of Sword Fighting Peak Lord," Lu Chen thought for a moment and said.

Yun Zhi couldn't help but look at Lu Chen a couple more times, then suddenly smiled: "With your current strength, even if you don't say it, everyone knows that you can't become the Sword Fighting Peak Lord."

She paused: "The reason some people are dissatisfied is that there are too many such rumors, which makes some fellow Disciples unhappy to hear."

'So the fellow Disciples within the Sect aren't worried about me taking the Sword Fighting Peak Lord position at all, but rather getting annoyed by this kind of idiotic talk'?

Lu Chen suddenly felt much more comfortable.

Yun Zhi asked in surprise: "You're not angry?"

Lu Chen smiled: "I'm quite happy."

Happy about being looked down upon? This Lu Chen is indeed interesting. He is at the age of youthful arrogance and has high talent. If it were another young person under the same conditions, they would likely shout, 'Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river, don't bully a young man into poverty!', and then bottle up their energy, trying every means to slap the faces of those fellow Disciples who look down on him!

But Lu Chen didn't. He seemed even happier than when he heard others say he was going to be the sole successor of Doujian Peak.

What a strange person!

Yun Zhi was very curious as to why Lu Chen, who was still just a young man, could possess such a mindset.

"The mission to go to Mangniu Mountain belongs to Doujian Peak itself, so there's no need to go to the Internal Affairs Hall." Yun Zhi led the way and soon arrived at a 'Doujian Hall' located halfway up the mountain.

At this time, Doujian Hall was already filled with many Doujian Peak Disciples. Seeing Yun Zhi lead Lu Chen in, the gazes of most Disciples also fell upon Lu Chen.

"Is this the Lu Chen who is called the successor of Doujian Peak? Mid-stage Spirit Transformation Realm, entered this year, his cultivation speed is indeed fast!"

"Fast cultivation speed doesn't necessarily mean he's strong."...

Faint whispers occasionally reached Lu Chen's ears, but he paid no attention.

He didn't need to prove anything to anyone, because it was meaningless.

What if he proved it? Would he get a few more powerful demonic beast corpses? If that were the case, Lu Chen wouldn't mind considering it, but unfortunately, there wasn't.

After accepting the mission to surround and kill the demonic beasts at Mangniu Mountain from the deacon here, he bid farewell to Yun Zhi and returned to his small courtyard.

"Mangniu Mountain!" Lu Chen stroked his chin. "If I can nurture that Demon Tiger, suspected to have cultivated into a Mountain Lord, into a Dao Soldier seed... and that Giant Python that is about to transform into a Flood Dragon!"

Is there a chance?

Not necessarily no. With so many Doujian Peak Disciples going there, and hearing that two Doujian Peak Elders are leading them, he might really be able to pick up a bargain!