180: Chapter 180 Choosing a Victim: Fortune Lies in Peril

After leaving Qingshi Town, Chu Sheng did not return directly to the wasteland.

He changed direction and headed straight for the branch altar.

The matter regarding Xiao Huan had filled him with suppressed anger, but anger was one thing; he still had to keep moving forward.

That bearded uncle had told him to go to the East Sea, but that was a matter for the future.

What he needed to do now was find a Sect to bind himself to, and absorb cultivation.

And Wendao Palace was undoubtedly the best choice.

Chu Sheng traversed the Heavenly Street with practiced ease, turned into that secluded alley in the North City, and the black-lacquered gate of the Wendao Palace branch appeared before his eyes.

There were no guards at the entrance; the gate was open, and it was quiet inside.

Chu Sheng walked in, crossed the bluestone path, and arrived at the familiar courtyard.

The pine trees were still the same pine trees, the stone table and benches were still in their old positions, but the handlebar-mustached Elder Wang was not there.

A woman was standing in the courtyard, her back to him, practicing with a sword.

Yue Jianli.

She was wearing a long dress, her hair tied up with a jade hairpin, and she held a three-foot-long green-edged sword in her hand.

Sword Qi, like water, flowed around her.

Chu Sheng recognized that sword technique—the Phoenix Immortal Sword Art.

The low-grade earth artifact sword art he had gifted her.

Yue Jianli practiced very earnestly; every move and every stance was meticulous, and her Sword Qi condensed without dissipating.

Chu Sheng leaned against the courtyard wall, arms crossed, watching her practice, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"Many Children, Many Blessings" was taking effect; this girl truly had good talent.

After Yue Jianli finished the set of sword techniques, she sheathed her sword, turned around, and saw Chu Sheng.

Her eyes lit up.

She put the sword into her Storage Pouch and lowered her head slightly: "Senior."

Chu Sheng said to just call him by his name.

Yue Jianli hesitated for a moment, then said, Young Master Chu.

Chu Sheng smiled and did not correct her again.

"Your Phoenix Immortal Sword Art practice is not bad," Chu Sheng said, "faster than I imagined."

Yue Jianli's face flushed slightly, but only for an instant.

She said the Cultivation Technique Senior gave was very good, and Elder Wang of the branch had also given her pointers a few times, so her progress was relatively fast.

As soon as she finished speaking, Elder Wang walked out from the room, his handlebar mustache twitching, and he cupped his hands: "Young Master Chu is here? Perfect, come and take a look."

He pointed to the stone tablet in the corner of the courtyard.

"Little Yue just tried it," Elder Wang stroked his beard, his eyes filled with unconcealable excitement, "Guess what? Seven rays of light!"

Chu Sheng looked at Yue Jianli; Yue Jianli lowered her eyelids and did not speak.

Elder Wang continued: "Seven rays of light, representing a Heavenly Spiritual Root. This old man has stayed in this branch for so many years. I have already reported it to headquarters, and there should be a reply in a few days."

Chu Sheng nodded. He remembered that her talent hadn't been this high before; it must have been the effect of a fortuitous encounter, combined with his own unblocking, that had blasted out her true talent.

Heavenly Spiritual Root, Wendao Palace—putting these two things together made the "Sect binding" plan in his mind a bit clearer.

But he did not rush to speak, choosing instead to sit down and regulate his breath.

Earlier in Qingshi Town, his Divine Sense had been scattered by a whisk from that bearded uncle; although he hadn't suffered any major injuries, the loss of Divine Sense was not small.

He closed his eyes, circulated the Taixu True Scripture, and slowly repaired the cracks in his Divine Sense.

Yue Jianli stood to the side, watching him quietly without speaking.

After regulating his breath for half an hour, Chu Sheng opened his eyes.

He pulled Heavenly Secret Calculation out from the standby slot and stared at the golden entry for a while.

Binding to Wendao Palace—this matter was too big; he had to cast a divination.

He silently recited in his heart: Binding to Wendao Palace, what is the fortune?

Then he chose two years of lifespan.

A phantom of a bamboo divination tube appeared, shook, and a divination stick jumped out.

Chu Sheng reached out to catch it, flipped it over to look—a medium divination stick.

Corresponding to neutral.

Fortune and misfortune were mixed; it was neither good nor bad.

Chu Sheng frowned.

Old Grandfather floated out from the ring, glanced at the stick, and his tone was grave.

"A medium stick. It means you might suffer a backlash, or you might achieve a total victory; it all depends on your operation. Are you sure you want to gamble?"

Chu Sheng was silent for a while, then put the stick away and said, I will gamble.

Wealth is sought in danger; he never lacked a gambling spirit.

Wendao Palace was a behemoth; if he could successfully parasitize it, the Luck he could absorb would be enough to stuff him full.

As for the risk, what in the cultivation world didn't have risks? One could even choke to death while eating.

Chu Sheng stood up and walked over to Yue Jianli.

Chu Sheng looked at her and suddenly said: "Yue Jianli, I want to become Dao Companions with you."

Yue Jianli was stunned.

Elder Wang was also stunned; the teacup in his hand almost fell to the ground.

Yue Jianli's face changed from white to red, from red to white, and finally settled on a very complex color.

She lowered her head: "Young Master Chu, I... I don't want to let down your sincerity."

Chu Sheng didn't speak, waiting for her to continue.

Her voice was trembling: "I am born unable to bear children. You are good to me and gave me a Cultivation Technique, which I keep in my heart. But a Dao Companion... I cannot."

After she finished speaking, she closed her eyes, as if waiting for a verdict.

She thought Chu Sheng would be disappointed, would turn and leave, would think she didn't know what was good for her.

Then she heard Chu Sheng's voice: "Is that all?"

Yue Jianli opened her eyes, stunned.

"I thought it was some big deal," Chu Sheng said, "So what? Who said Dao Companions must have children?"

Chu Sheng reached out and took her hand.

Her hand was very cold and trembling slightly.

"Trust me." He said.

Yue Jianli's eyes finally turned red, tears swirling in her eyes, but they did not fall.

She was never the type of woman to cry easily.

Then she nodded gently, her voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz: "Okay."

Elder Wang watched this scene from the side, the corners of his mouth twitching, thinking to himself that this young man really knew how to pick up girls.

But he didn't say anything, took his teacup, and went back into the room, leaving the courtyard to the two of them.

Yue Jianli was indeed a Heavenly Spiritual Root, but Chu Sheng was definitely not ordinary; Elder Wang saw this very clearly. Moreover, since Yue couldn't bear children, Chu Sheng wouldn't stay long sooner or later.

Chu Sheng didn't rush to do anything.

He pulled Yue Jianli to sit down on a stone bench and began to plan the next steps.

He first explained the Sect binding plan to Yue Jianli; of course, he didn't use the word "parasitize," but instead said "sharing Luck with the Sect."

After listening, Yue Jianli was silent for a while, then said something unexpected to Chu Sheng: "What do you need me to do?"

Chu Sheng said: "Help me enter Wendao Palace."

Yue Jianli nodded and said that Elder Wang had already reported to headquarters; if she were admitted by Wendao Palace, she could recommend one person to go with her.

Chu Sheng smiled and said that was good.

Then he mentioned Ye Wuhen.

If he could establish a connection with Ye Wuhen, it would be much easier to gain a firm foothold in Wendao Palace.

Yue Jianli didn't know who Ye Wuhen was, but she didn't ask further.

This kind of trust made Chu Sheng feel a bit warm, but also a bit heavy.

He had to be worthy of this trust.

Chu Sheng brought up the Sect binding entry and began to study how to operate it specifically.

Simply put, he couldn't treat the Sect like leeks to be harvested; he had to treat the Sect like a fruit tree to be nurtured—watering, fertilizing, and pruning, then picking the fruit.

If he only picked without nurturing, the fruit tree would die, and he would be finished as well.

Chu Sheng thought about it and felt this mechanism was quite reasonable.

You can't just keep shearing the same sheep; you have to take turns and give the sheep grass to eat.

He conceived a preliminary plan.

First, use Yue Jianli's connection to enter Wendao Palace, then use Ye Wuhen to gain a firm foothold in the Palace.

Then help Wendao Palace solve some troubles, such as wiping out a few Demonic Path strongholds or recovering a few lost Magic Treasures, using these merits to exchange for trust.

While exchanging for trust, secretly absorb the Sect's excess Luck, maintaining a balance so that the Sect's Luck would not show obvious fluctuations.

This way, it would not attract the attention of the higher-ups, and he could bleed it dry in a slow, steady stream.

Old Grandfather listened to his plan, was silent for a while, and said one thing.

"The waters of Wendao Palace are quite deep. Your little tricks might not be enough in front of the powerful experts."

Chu Sheng nodded, saying he certainly wouldn't cause trouble under the noses of those powerful experts.

He would hide his Heavenly Demon Body and only use the Phoenix Immortal Sword Art and the Zhuxian Sword.

The Zhuxian Sword was a top-tier Heaven Rank artifact, its Sword Qi fierce and overbearing, which could perfectly mask the aura of the Taixu True Scripture.

Even if Ye Gucheng was powerful, it was impossible for him to see through the cover of a top-tier Heaven Rank Magic Treasure at a glance.

Old Grandfather thought about it and felt it was feasible.

But he still reminded him: "Caution is the parent of safety. There is a reason why Wendao Palace has been able to stand in the Central Region for a thousand years."

Chu Sheng said I understand.

Everything was ready.

Chu Sheng stood up and brushed the dust off his body.

Chu Sheng glanced at her, and she looked back at him; there was something more in those cold eyes, a kind of equal, side-by-side tacit understanding.

Chu Sheng smiled and stepped toward the courtyard gate.

Yue Jianli followed behind him, her steps light but steady.

Elder Wang poked his head out from the room, watched the two figures walk away, shook his head, and then retracted it.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip; the tea was already cold, but he didn't mind.

Chu Sheng stood at the entrance of the branch, looking up at the sky above.

There was a cloud on the horizon, shaped like a sword, with its tip pointing North.

That was the direction of the Wendao Palace headquarters.

He took a deep breath and stepped out.