After Transmigrating as an Immortal Master, I Hold a Group Meeting - Chapter 88

The cold gleam advanced inch by inch, piercing his vital spot.

“Hiss—ah!”

The white-robed young man stood beneath the full moon. Against the light, the moon’s glow traced a sharp and chilling silhouette around him. From afar, he resembled a pristine crescent rising in the dark night.

Yet, just beyond that aura of purity, a child’s body lay motionless, drenched in blood.

Wretched, filthy.

“So, he just died like that.”

The young man turned and walked away. After taking a few steps, he mused to himself, “Where should I go next?”

Until…

Whoosh!

A sharp sound split the air as a surge of pitch-black flames streaked toward him, leaving a deep, clear slash across his back.

The cut was so swift that even his skin did not immediately register it. A moment later, a soft tearing sound was heard.

His flesh had been neatly sliced open.

Only then did the blood realize what had happened, surging out from the wound. The young man clutched his back, his hands instantly covered in red, and turned to look at the boy lying on the ground.

The child’s pupils had completely dilated. His upturned eyes showed almost no whites and as he lay there, black flames continued to surge from his body.

He no longer looked like a dying victim.

He looked like a beast.

A beast that bites.

He glared at him, hissing and growling.

But the young man, despite his severe wound, responded with nothing more than a puzzled remark, “Well, aren’t you quite the biter?”

Not a trace of pain or fear.

Only a renewed sense of interest.

The young man lowered his gaze to the boy, this time unleashing his full strength. The immense spiritual pressure forced the boy’s head down, pinning him to the ground as though crushed beneath a monarch’s overwhelming presence. Only his mouth remained free to snarl and howl.

And yet, the sight was terrifying.

Because he no longer resembled a human at all.

He was more like a wild beast, one that would drag itself out of the mud, even if every bone in its body was ground to dust beneath the crushing force.

“Now you finally look the part. But your methods are still too crude.” The young man crouched down, studying him for a moment before extending a finger to tap the boy’s forehead. “In that case… let’s see how you do with this gift.”

As he spoke, his gaze shifted toward the grand estate of the Lian family beneath the moon. His eyes landed on a particular courtyard.

“Killing Lian Zhao and forcing the Lian family to accept you as their adopted son, doesn’t that sound like a good plan?” he said.

Then, he gently ran his hand over the boy’s wounds. Wherever the black smoke touched, the gruesome injuries began to heal.

Yet, the boy continued to glare at him, hissing and snarling.

The young man looked back, a glint of eerie light flickering in his eyes. “Staring at me like that… as if I’ve stolen something that rightfully belonged to you. And yet, just moments ago, you loathed how he deceived you.”

As he prepared to leave, something rolled out from the boy’s waist.

It was a ring.

A serpent-headed ring.

The ring made the young man let out a soft ‘hmm.’ His voice carried a trace of nostalgia but also indifference.

It was not nostalgia for the soul within the ring but rather for his own past.

But why had the ring appeared on the child now?

The young man straightened up. This time, instead of looking toward Lian Zhao’s room, he turned his gaze to the eastern garden pavilion of the Lian family’s residence.

That was where Ning Mingmei and his group were staying.

And tonight, that child had just come from Ning Mingmei’s room.

Moonlight illuminated the young man’s striking features. He gazed at the pavilion, lost in thought.

After a long moment, he let out a light chuckle as if he could not quite figure something out, or perhaps he found it amusing.

***

The next morning, Ning Mingmei and his group prepared to depart.

Before leaving, he sent the fifteenth disciple to check inside the house. The fifteenth disciple returned and reported, “Master, the Sect Master is still unconscious.”

Qi Miancheng had been unconscious for quite some time now.

But Ning Mingmei showed no sign of concern like the others. “Load him onto the carriage. Today, I will continue posing as Qi Miancheng.”

The disciples quickly packed everything. The two carriages they had arrived in were now fully loaded and an additional carriage, belonging to Qi Miancheng, had been added to their convoy.

The Moon Palace’s Osmanthus Tree was tied to the roof.

After confirming everything was ready, Ning Mingmei, still disguised as Qi Miancheng, went to bid farewell to the Lian family.

However, he was met with an unexpected situation. In the Lian family’s main hall, not a single senior member was present.

“There was a sudden emergency at home…” The steward who had come in their place was drenched in sweat. “I sincerely apologize to all of you, Immortal Masters.”

Ning Mingmei asked, “What emergency?”

The steward remained silent.

Ning Mingmei dismissed the others, leaving only himself and the steward. “Not even to me?”

The steward shook his head.

That was exactly the response Ning Mingmei had been expecting. Without hesitation, he knocked the steward unconscious and searched his memories.

Originally, Ning Mingmei had no interest in digging into the Lian family’s affairs. However, earlier that morning, Ren Miao had rushed to him in a panic, saying that A’Yue was missing.

Of course, for Lian Chengyue, disappearing was nothing unusual. Last night, Ning Mingmei had outright rejected him and if he had decided there was no benefit to staying and left on his own, it would not have been surprising.

But seeing the steward’s evasive attitude, Ning Mingmei’s instincts told him there was more to it.

And sure enough, he managed to extract some useful information from the steward’s mind.

“Lian Zhao is dead?”

Upon hearing this, Gui Ruoxue furrowed his brows.

The cunning and scheming beauty immediately sensed that it was no coincidence. “Of all times, he just happened to die now?”

“They say he suffered qi deviation last night, killed over a dozen servants, and then exploded from the backlash. The speculation is that he was desperate to prove his strength to us before our departure this morning but in his impatience, he lost control,” Ning Mingmei explained. “The Lian family only had Lian Zhao in this generation. Being excluded from second-tier aristocratic status is a crisis for them and they cannot afford to wait another fifty years for a successor. Conveniently, they discovered someone in Lian Zhao’s personal dungeon.”

Gui Ruoxue asked, “Who?”

Ning Mingmei replied, “An old acquaintance of ours, A’Yue. He was once Lian Zhao’s refining vessel.”

Gui Ruoxue only needed a moment to piece it together. “That child must have escaped the Lian family after witnessing the fate of the other refining vessels. By coincidence, he returned with us. Lian Zhao failed to enter the Supreme Clarity Sect and, seeing that you valued A’Yue, was resentful. So, he set a trap to capture and eliminate him last night. Unfortunately, he was too clever for his own good and ended up getting himself killed instead.”

Ning Mingmei nodded. “That seems to be the case.”

Gui Ruoxue asked, “So what now? Are you going to bring him back to the Supreme Clarity Sect?”

“That is no longer necessary,” Ning Mingmei replied. “The Lian family, in their grief, has decided to adopt A’Yue as their foster son. He has extraordinary talent, no family background, and is the perfect replacement for Lian Zhao. This decision was arranged by the Lian family’s patriarch and a green-robed female cultivator. She holds significant prestige in the Lian family and is highly regarded by the patriarch.”

“This…” Gui Ruoxue found it hard to believe. “Did that child… just get lucky?”

After saying this, he found his own words strange. “This series of events doesn’t seem like something that could happen by coincidence.”

Ning Mingmei looked out at the pond. “What a coincidence. I think so too.”

In the pond, the first lotus buds were just beginning to emerge.

Gui Ruoxue said, “This couldn’t have been planned by A’Yue. He’s just a child, how could he have such resources and means? I’m afraid he’s just another piece in the game.”

“You never know,” Ning Mingmei replied. “Don’t underestimate children.”

Gui Ruoxue was speechless. “Your paranoia really needs treatment.”

Even Gui Ruoxue couldn’t believe that a five-year-old child could possess extraordinary cunning or means.

Ning Mingmei remained silent, still gazing out the window.

Gui Ruoxue asked, “What do you plan to do?”

“Life and death follow their own fate. And I… have already taken what I needed. Letting him stay here for the long term is actually quite stable,” Ning Mingmei said. “Let’s leave it at that.”

With that simple statement, he decided he would not intervene.

Gui Ruoxue had no objections. He only remarked, “That kid was quite eager to learn. A pity.”

“If a few days were enough to make you say it’s a pity, then it wasn’t really a pity at all,” Ning Mingmei replied.

And so, the matter was settled.

Aside from this, Ning Mingmei had also discovered something amusing from the steward’s memories.

The Lian family’s patriarch had once discussed with the steward a plan to use the corpse from Qi Miancheng’s friend’s grave to threaten him and Ning Mingmei, forcing them to accept Lian Zhao.

What a shame they wouldn’t get to see the Lian family’s patriarch’s face when he dug up the grave, only to find two entangled donkey corpses.

The immortal carriages departed from the Lian family’s residence, just as they had arrived, riding on clouds and sunlight.

The people of Lian City knelt and bowed, watching as the immortals high above them vanished into the sky.

“Father, Mother,” a child asked, “Is this what immortals always look like? When I grow up, I want to become an immortal too.”

“Hush! What nonsense!” A man smacked the child hard, sending them tumbling. “Is becoming an immortal something you can just say? Immortals and we are not even the same kind of people.”

Two eyes, one mouth and yet, just because of a few spiritual roots, an unbridgeable gap in class was formed. Even speaking too much was an offense.

The child, who had just spoken with innocent curiosity, now knelt alongside their parents. As they looked up at the sky, there was no longer the wonder of childhood.

Only boundless fear.

And now, watching the immortals leave with them was another small figure.

The small figure was still dressed in a blue-gray cloth robe. But soon, those clothes would be replaced with luxurious silks and brocades.

Behind him, a green-robed female cultivator stood, looking toward the sky. “The immortals from the Supreme Clarity Sect are gone.”

The child said nothing, his eyes fixed intently on the sky.

The green-robed cultivator continued, “Just as I predicted. The steward said they left early in the morning without asking about your whereabouts. When they heard you would be staying with the Lian family, they had no reaction at all. To them, you were something as insignificant as a stray item picked up along the way. His talk of taking you to the Embracing Simplicity Temple was probably just empty words, nothing to be taken seriously.”

“…”

“Alright, calm yourself. From today onward, you’ve received your first acknowledgment from the Lian family. Unfortunately for you, this is far from enough. Right now, they see you as a tool that might be able to replace Lian Zhao, not as the future head of the family,” she said.

“Let me introduce myself again. My name is Bixiao. I have been with the Lian family for over fifty years.”

At last, the child spoke, “Fifty years… A Golden Core cultivator who doesn’t go out to train but stays in the Lian family’s ancestral halls, playing the local tyrant?”

And, just now, one of the key figures in deciding that he would be Lian Zhao’s successor.

“Every cultivator has different aspirations. Some seek to attain the Dao. Some wish to become famous across the world. As for me, all I want is the sincere devotion of a decent family and enough money to spend freely.” The female cultivator hid her smiling eyes behind a folded white fan. “Lian Zhao was not a smart person. Keeping him around would have led to the Lian family’s fortune being squandered sooner or later. Now that he’s dead and you’ve appeared instead, this is an unexpected delight for me.”

The child said, “Oh? Then I should consider myself honored.”

The female cultivator chuckled. “You speak like a little adult. Stop looking at the immortal carriage flying away. No matter how low or how close it flies, they will never belong to you. To those great immortal sects high above… second-rate families like ours are nothing more than the dirt beneath their feet. Isn’t that right? Speaking of which, from today onward, I should call you Lian Yue.

“The family’s patriarch wants to give you a new name to signify that from this day on, you are no longer a mere servant,” she said. “Have you decided on a new name for yourself?”

The child’s eyes darkened as he looked around. “What is this city’s name?”

The female cultivator answered, “Liancheng. Lian City.”

A well-known city near Liuyue Lake.

The child asked, “Is it famous?”

The female cultivator replied, “Fairly well-known.”

That would do.

In the original timeline, Lian Chengyue had chosen ‘Lian Chengyue’ as his name to remind himself of his origins. No matter how much hardship and wandering he endured in the outside world, he would always remember that he came from Lian City, a penniless avenger.

And that day, the child still chose the name ‘Lian Chengyue.’

But not for the same reason.

Instead, it was because…

’If you forget me, at least you will remember Lian City,’ he thought.

Liancheng A’Yue.

Lian Chengyue.

He wanted the one who discarded him like worthless trash to remember, the next time they met, that they had made an irreversible mistake in Lian City, one they would regret for the rest of their life.

He wanted them to regret ever toying with Lian Chengyue. He wanted them to regret not taking him as a disciple sooner.

He wanted them to be filled with endless remorse.

“Lian Chengyue, then,” the child said.

“Lian Chengyue?” The female cultivator pondered for a moment. “It’s a good name!”

Meanwhile, on the immortal carriage, the group was hurrying back to the Supreme Clarity Sect as fast as possible.

“Back at the Lian family, you didn’t investigate further and instead chose to return to the Supreme Clarity Sect immediately. I still don’t understand why,” Gui Ruoxue finally asked Ning Mingmei. “Do you have something planned?”

“I saw lotus buds beginning to form,” Ning Mingmei said. “Summer is coming.”

Gui Ruoxue: ?

Ning Mingmei continued, “Which means that next month, the grand conference between the Supreme Clarity Sect and the Smoky Cloud Tower will begin at the Supreme Clarity Sect.”

And after that would come the highly anticipated recruitment season.

Ning Mingmei said, “During this trip, the disciples I left behind at the Supreme Clarity Sect have already made significant academic progress. With the grand conference and recruitment season approaching, we must harvest the results as soon as possible!”

Five days later, the group arrived at the Supreme Clarity Sect.