When the Cannon Fodder Male Supporting Role Picks Up the Script - Chapter 18

After returning to Baiyun Pavilion, Yun Zhuoran first contacts Jiang Zhibai with the sound transmission jade talisman and learns that the chaos outside has ended. However, from Jiang Zhibai’s words, the situation of the Tiandao Sect is not good. 

The mountain-protecting formation has developed cracks, and this is not a recent issue. No one knows how many evil creatures have infiltrated during this time. It isn’t until that night when Ji Chen is taken away by a demon that they realize the severity of the problem. Then several peak masters expend a lot of effort to find a demon dragon, which is the mirage dragon that Yun Zhuoran sees in North Mountain.

The mirage dragon is discovered by several peak masters, and Gu Qiuming is brought to North Mountain by the nightmare demon just as the altar formation opens. This is definitely not a coincidence.

Perhaps the mirage dragon is noticed when it rushes to North Mountain and gets entangled and blocked. Therefore, although many disciples in the front mountain are injured, no lives are lost. The one who is injured the most is the master of Qingyang Peak, who has the highest cultivation. He makes the greatest effort to stop the mirage dragon, but due to the huge difference in strength, he allows the mirage dragon to escape.

Soon after the mirage dragon seriously injures the master of Qingyang Peak, it breaks through the mountain-guarding barrier and leaves the Tiandao Sect. Unfortunately, the mountain-guarding barrier also shatters. 

 Yun Zhuoran doesn’t care much about how the Tiandao Sect repairs the barrier. After hearing Jiang Zhibai say that he is not injured, Yun Zhuoran secretly breathes a sigh of relief and cuts off the contact after Jiang Zhibai’s repeated, fearful instructions.

After finishing these tasks, the feedback from the Heart Demon’s transcendent consumption of the nightmare demon also arrives. Yun Zhuoran promptly settles down to meditate and prepares to absorb the surging spiritual power.

It is almost dawn when Yun Zhuoran absorbs the feedback from the Heart Demon this time.

No one has lit the lights in the building. The only light source is the stars on the flowers. The water-green spiritual light sways slowly with the moonlight and playfully falls on the window lattice. 

Yun Zhuoran’s black eyes are illuminated, appearing clear and transparent. He wears a slightly dazed expression, gently pressing his right hand on his lower abdomen. As he suspects, that nightmare demon is of a higher cultivation level than he is, already at the Nascent Soul stage. Compared to all the evil creatures previously consumed by the Heart Demon, it is much more formidable and helps him directly ascend one small realm.

He reaches the late stage of the Deity Transformation Realm. 

This unexpected surprise is truly significant. 

However, such opportunities are rare. There are not many cultivators who can reach the Integration stage, let alone other evil spirits. While Yun Zhuoran feels delighted, he also understands that he will still need to accumulate slowly moving forward.

In the dim room, a small creature climbs onto Yun Zhuoran’s shoulder. The spiritual energy on its body has not yet dissipated. The Heart Demon subconsciously takes a deep breath and involuntarily leans close to Yun Zhuoran’s neck. “Brother,” it says. 

The boy’s voice, becoming increasingly clear, sounds a little dull. Yun Zhuoran then notices this little black creature. Every time Yun Zhuoran’s cultivation level increases, the Heart Demon is always proud.

Now, however, it appears listless, and its silence makes Yun Zhuoran feel uncomfortable. 

The Heart Demon says, “I want to grow up quickly.” 

Yun Zhuoran raises his eyebrows. “You’re already growing very fast.”

“Not enough.” The Heart Demon looks at Yun Zhuoran with its black eyes, and the entire black ball lies on Yun Zhuoran’s shoulder sullenly. “I want to grow up quickly and be more powerful than that ugly black dragon.”

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t quite understand the Heart Demon. “That dragon is not weak; at least it’s at the Integration stage and above.”

The black ball pauses, looking even more depressed. “I want to protect my brother…”

Is it unwilling to be crushed by Gu Shenshu and the mirage dragon? Yun Zhuoran is amused and doesn’t take the little creature’s words to heart. 

The Heart Demon’s mindset hasn’t kept up with its growth; it still thinks like a ten-year-old. Its frustrations come quickly and fade just as fast, and soon it perks up again.

“I want to grow up quickly and turn into a human form so I can protect my brother!”

The Heart Demon nods like a chicken pecking at rice, agreeing with itself, and the whole black ball is full of energy. Yun Zhuoran is helpless and can only smile as he says, “Okay.”

The Heart Demon is even happier, wagging the tip of its tail and rubbing it against Yun Zhuoran’s fair neck.

“Don’t worry, brother. I’ll work hard, too!”

Yun Zhuoran has grown accustomed to the little creature’s antics and, unconsciously, lets down his guard. He generously encourages the Heart Demon, raising his hand to pinch the little black form.

The little black ball narrows its eyes in comfort and waggles its tail playfully. 

A few days later, several peak masters repair the mountain-guarding barrier of the Tiandao Sect, adding a few more layers of defensive arrays. They seem afraid of such accidents happening again.

However, before the barrier is fully repaired, many evil spirits take advantage of the chaos to invade. Most of them are below the Golden Core level and are quickly captured by the disciples. These evil spirits head for the North Mountain Cloud Pool. When they learn of this, they realize that something is wrong with North Mountain. 

But no one knows what happened in North Mountain on that chaotic day. The disappearance of the spiritual energy above North Mountain eventually becomes one of the top ten mysteries of the Tiandao Sect.

Similarly, during this turmoil, the peak masters notice many shortcomings among the disciples and decide to organize a cleanup activity. The disciples usually practice within the sect, occasionally taking on tasks to eliminate evil creatures down the mountain. This is a rare opportunity, and it’s time to let them stretch their legs.

After the Master of Qingyang Peak escapes from the mirage dragon, he is seriously injured and truly goes into seclusion, unable to oversee the sect’s affairs. Shen Lingshu, the future sect master, has to take matters into his own hands and becomes quite busy.

Half a month passes; all the injured disciples recover, and the evil spirits hidden in the sect are almost eliminated. During this time, Yun Zhuoran, who fishes in troubled waters every night, faces a problem—there is less and less food to feed the Heart Demon, so he fears he’ll have to sneak down the mountain again.

Of course, the evil spirits that sneak in are just small fish and shrimps to the Heart Demon. After half a month of eating, Yun Zhuoran’s cultivation level does not increase at all.

He also contemplates the abnormality of the North Mountain Cloud Pool. The North Mountain, soaked with evil spirits, is very attractive to them. However, when the barrier breaks, it attracts evil spirits from hundreds of miles around. In other words, there is nothing left nearby to feed the Heart Demon. At the same time, he does not tell anyone that Gu Shenshu has come back to life. 

After all, who would believe such a thing?

After half a month of activity, the slightly impetuous atmosphere of the Tiandao Sect completely clears up. Many disciples make breakthroughs while cleaning up evil spirits; some are happy, while others are sad. Ji Chen is among those with a sad face.

Before entering seclusion, the Master of Qingyang Peak has shut the door on his once-favored disciple, clearly still upset. Shen Lingshu also seems to hint at not wanting to have contact with him and has repeatedly suggested that he should focus on his mental cultivation. The only thing worth celebrating is that the two oddities who used to cover his eyes with black mist have not appeared for a long time.

In fact, Ji Chen just doesn’t know that Yun Zhuoran has been watching him. The death energy on his body dissipates too quickly, and the evil spirits who have sneaked into the sect do not approach him. So, Yun Zhuoran can only turn to the other disciples carrying death energy. He can occasionally catch one or two monsters in the Golden Core stage, which can give his Heart Demon a boost.

As the Tiandao Sect gradually returns to its former peace, Shen Lingshu begins to relax. 

On this day, Shen Lingshu comes to Baiyun Pavilion.

Unfortunately, Jiang Zhibai is also there. He vividly recounts to Yun Zhuoran how difficult it was when he led the new disciples to slay evil spirits. When he hears Shen Lingshu’s voice, the corners of his mouth drop.

Shen Lingshu enters and greets his two junior brothers. He initially thinks Jiang Zhibai will follow the previous custom and leave gracefully, but unexpectedly, Jiang Zhibai stands firmly beside Yun Zhuoran and even asks him back, “Is there something you need, Senior Brother Shen?”

Shen Lingshu responds with a smile, “I’m looking for Junior Brother Yun.”

Yun Zhuoran raises his eyes, and his clear black eyes reflect the reserve and joy that flash across the corner of Shen Lingshu’s mouth, making him blink in confusion.

Jiang Zhibai nods, places one hand on the table, and, under Shen Lingshu’s gaze, stands up only to sit back down again. He innocently says to Shen Lingshu, “That’s a coincidence. I just made an appointment with Junior Brother Yun. I’ll go to Qingjing Peak later; Junior Brother Yun hasn’t been out for a long time, and I’m afraid he’ll get bored.”

Shen Lingshu shows a look of realization. “That’s true.” 

Jiang Zhibai adds, “Senior Brother Shen, please let me know if you need anything. We are about to leave.”

Shen Lingshu’s expression pauses, thinking that it should be him who makes the farewell now. 

However, seeing Yun Zhuoran nodding in agreement, Shen Lingshu glances at the two and guesses that Junior Brother Yun must be eager to go out after being cooped up for so long. He feels it is inappropriate to insist they stay, so he can only sigh and smile, “Well, it’s fine. Junior Brother Jiang will find out soon enough.” He finds a seat for himself right opposite Yun Zhuoran, sitting up straight.

“I still remember half a month ago when I tell Junior Brother Yun that every ten years, the four major sects send some disciples to Pojun Mountain for joint practice. This time, there is less than half a month until we go to Pojun Mountain, and I happen to be leading the team. I think Junior Brother Yun should get out and relax, so I want to invite him to Pojun Mountain.”

Jiang Zhibai has heard about this last time and asks Yun Zhuoran later, but Yun Zhuoran doesn’t mention it. Now that he hears Shen Lingshu mention it, he can only see Yun Zhuoran’s attentive look, which sets alarm bells ringing in Jiang Zhibai’s mind. He turns to Yun Zhuoran with a glare. “Pojun Mountain is so dangerous! Junior Brother Yun, do you really want to go?”

Yun Zhuoran doesn’t pick up on Jiang Zhibai’s strong hint. Instead, his eyes sparkle. Pojun Mountain means more evil spirits, which also means the Heart Demon can have its fill. 

He has already thought about going when Shen Lingshu asked him half a month ago, so of course, he nods at this time.

“Then I’ll trouble you, Senior Brother Shen.”

Jiang Zhibai feels uneasy.

However, Shen Lingshu coughs lightly and says with a rather embarrassed expression, “No, Senior Brother is here to tell you that you can’t go to Pojun Mountain this year.”

Jiang Zhibai is so surprised that he nearly chokes on his own saliva. 

Yun Zhuoran’s expression also fades slightly.

Shen Lingshu adds calmly, “Because the Little Ghost King of Pojun Mountain has disappeared. During this period, things outside have not been very peaceful. After discussions, several major sects decide to change the location for training.”

Jiang Zhibai is a little taken aback. “The Little Ghost King is missing? Something has happened at Pojun Mountain too?”

Yun Zhuoran asks curiously, “Yeah?”

Jiang Zhibai waves his hand and quickly explains, “Since the incident in our sect, there has been chaos outside, with monsters appearing frequently. I hear there are also strange movements at the Demon Sealing Well. Do you think this is related to the troublesome demon dragon? But the Little Ghost King seems to have a high cultivation level, so…”

In the past half month, apart from taking his demons fishing every night, Yun Zhuoran devotes himself to cultivation. 

Since Gu Shenshu appears, his desire to leave the Tiandao Sect grows stronger. Even if he is unaware of the chaos outside, he does know about the disappearance of the Little Ghost King at Pojun Mountain.

Yun Zhuoran’s eyes flicker, and he casually glances upstairs, thinking that the Little Ghost King you mention has already entered the belly of the Heart Demon upstairs.

Seeing Yun Zhuoran’s silence, Shen Lingshu has a hint of an expectant smile in his eyes. “This experience hasn’t been canceled; it has just been changed to the Forest of Ten Thousand Beasts. Not only will the four major sects participate, but also disciples from several places in Shengjing. As far as I know, there won’t be many people attending this time. The news about the Tiandao Sect has spread, and the cultivation world has been in turmoil recently, so training is the second priority.”

Yun Zhuoran pauses, “The Beast Forest?”

Jiang Zhibai is incredulous. “The Ten Thousand Immortals Conference?”

Under their watchful gazes, Shen Lingshu nods calmly. “It’s mainly in response to the recent disturbances caused by demons and evil spirits, so everyone should be attending. If Junior Brother Yun goes, I can guarantee that no one will cause you trouble.”

The only event capable of gathering everyone from the cultivation world together is the Sword Trial held every fifty years, where all sects can send their disciples to participate. If someone gains fame through this event, it would be an unparalleled glory. Of course, it’s also a rare opportunity for like-minded peers to spar; even observing can be highly beneficial.

But this Ten Thousand Immortals Conference… Jiang Zhibai recalls that, according to rumors, during the distant era of the righteous and demonic war, the Ten Thousand Immortals Conference had also taken place, which should have been a gathering of talented individuals from various righteous sects. Shen Lingshu mentions that it is in response to recent anomalies.