Xu Yi was awakened by the sound of chanting Buddhist scriptures.
The profound and obscure scriptures drilled into her sea of consciousness word by word, making her restless, so she woke up.
When she opened her eyes, she saw a vast expanse of dazzling golden yellow.
Xu Yi was stunned for a moment, and then her memories returned. She remembered what had happened before.
She stretched out her palm and looked down. Her delicate, fair fingers were no different from usual.
Her brow furrowed slightly, and she took out a piece of glazed mirror.
Her astonished yet familiar face was reflected in the mirror.
There was no ethereal immortal aura or Buddha light surrounding her, as she had imagined.
Xu Yi curved her lips and let out a light, somewhat sarcastic laugh.
She had been thinking too much. How could she possibly encounter such good fortune as Liu Jinghong?
But why was she seeing scenes related to Liu Jinghong?
Had she developed some kind of special bond with her?
As Xu Yi was lost in thought, the sound of Buddhist scriptures in her ears suddenly became louder, forcefully pulling her thoughts back.
Only then did she remember to check her situation. She looked around and found herself trapped in a sealed space.
She slowly reached out her hand to touch the smooth, golden yellow wall in front of her.
However, as her fingertips landed on the wall, a "click"—
The golden light spots suddenly shattered, turning into countless golden yellow light spots that quickly merged into her body.
Xu Yi felt a warm current seep into her from every part of her body. She felt as if she were submerged in a warm pool, with every bone filled.
"Mmm."
Xu Yi let out a soft hum, her eyes flickering, and she inadvertently met the gaze of three smiling Buddhist cultivators.
Xu Yi: !!!
Xu Yi's pupils widened in shock, and she screamed internally, "Ah, how embarrassing! How embarrassing! These three must have heard that strange sound I just made!"
"Little friend."
The three Buddhist cultivators performed a Buddhist bow to Xu Yi, their attitudes gentle, showing no hint of surprise.
Xu Yi forced down her shame and quickly returned the bow.
Although she didn't know the identities of these three people, she could see a faint yellowish halo behind them, which was sacred and solemn. They were clearly enlightened eminent monks.
"Little friend, you have a connection with our Myriad Buddha Sect."
"All phenomena arise from causes, all are bound by destiny."
"Great goodness."
Xu Yi: ...
Xu Yi looked bewildered.
She didn't quite understand what these three masters were saying.
Destiny?
Her and the Myriad Buddha Sect?
Xu Yi subconsciously touched her jet-black hair and shook her head vigorously, "Masters, my five roots are impure; we have destiny but no connection."
The three Buddhist cultivators were startled, and then they smiled faintly.
The Second Elder said, "Little friend, you will understand after the sect competition."
"Oh no! The sect competition!" Xu Yi hurriedly asked, "Masters, has the sect competition started yet?"
"Today is the competition for disciples in the Out-of-Body Stage."
Xu Yi's eyes widened. She hastily bowed to the three of them and turned to run up the heavenly stairs, saying, "Masters, may we meet again."
The three watched Xu Yi's receding figure, their smiles becoming more profound.
...
The competition stage.
Elder Qingfeng, without blinking, said to the Myriad Buddha Sect elder responsible for drawing lots, "Xu Yi has gone to the restroom, I will draw the lots for her."
The Myriad Buddha Sect elder was skeptical, but finally handed a numbered token labeled sixty-six to Elder Qingfeng.
The tokens could be collected by proxy, but the contestant had to appear in person for the actual match. Therefore, the Myriad Buddha Sect elder was not afraid of any tricks from the Xuanji Sect.
After receiving the token, Elder Qingfeng glanced at the tokens of Lu Zaiye and Ning Xiuzhu. One had the number four, and the other had twenty-seven.
Before Elder Qingfeng could ask, Yun Ling'er proactively picked up a token and waved it in front of him, smiling, "I am number nine."
The Xuanji Sect disciples were lucky this time, not clashing in the first round.
"Fellow Daoist Lu!"
Not far away, Xiong Zhuangzhuang raised his thick arm and greeted Lu Zaiye.
Lu Zaiye nodded gently in response.
"Junior Brother Lu, is that your friend?" Yun Ling'er's eyes lit up when she saw Xiong Zhuangzhuang; he was her type.
"Yes."
"Then, could you introduce me later?" Yun Ling'er smiled enthusiastically.
"No!" Elder Qingfeng suddenly darted out and blocked Yun Ling'er, separating her from Xiong Zhuangzhuang, with an angry expression. "Ling'er, no man is good. Don't be deceived by him."
Elder Qingfeng did not want his own precious cabbage to be snatched away by someone else, and in his haste, he insulted himself as well.
Yun Ling'er nodded perfunctorily, planning to find Junior Brother Lu for help after the competition.
Bei Xinghan's gaze swept across the surroundings, and a hint of displeasure appeared on his handsome face.
Xu Yi still had not appeared.
"Senior Sister Yu, you're pinching me!"
Among the team of disciples in the Out-of-Body Stage from the Daqi Sect, a burly man cried out in pain with a wronged expression, his face contorted.
"Ah, I'm sorry, Junior Brother Li. I didn't mean to."
The petite and delicate female cultivator quickly released her grip on her junior brother's arm, her face looking as if she were about to cry.
"Senior Sister Yu, you don't need to be nervous. Just treat those people as refining materials and smash them." Junior Brother Li clearly knew Senior Sister Yu very well and didn't mind, instead comforting her gently.
"But, but I'm afraid I'll break them." Yu Xiaoyu nervously fiddled with her fingers.
"Senior Sister Yu, don't worry, just smash them. Even if you break someone, the Sect Master won't blame you." Junior Brother Li chuckled. "Besides, you've sparred with some senior brothers before. Disciples in the Out-of-Body Stage aren't that fragile."
Of course, he was referring to cultivators who used refining to temper their bodies. The physical condition of ordinary cultivators was not within his consideration.
"I understand."
Yu Xiaoyu took a deep breath and silently encouraged herself.
"The preliminary round for disciples in the Out-of-Body Stage begins. Disciples one and two proceed to competition stage one; disciples three and four proceed to competition stage two..."
"Number sixty-six!"
"Xu Yi, number sixty-six."
"Is Xuanji Sect's Xu Yi here?" The Myriad Buddha Sect elder frowned and called out to the Xuanji Sect.
Before the Xuanji Sect members could respond, the disciples of the Xuanqing Sect started to make a commotion.
"Did I hear correctly? Did the Myriad Buddha Sect elder just call Xu Yi? Is it Senior Sister Xu?"
"That's impossible. How could Senior Sister Xu be a disciple of the Xuanji Sect?"
"Yeah, isn't she Senior Brother Long's friend?"
"But it seems Senior Sister Xu never mentioned her origin either."
"..."
Finally, everyone, including True Person Qinglian, looked at Long Haotian, their gazes filled with various emotions.
Long Haotian felt as if he were being poked into a sieve by those gazes, especially his father's gaze, which seemed like he wanted to kill him.
Long Haotian could only grit his teeth and nod randomly, not even daring to move his eyes.
This couldn't all be blamed on him; they never asked.
True Person Qinglian's intestines were almost regretting their existence at this moment.
He never expected Xu Yi to be a member of the Xuanji Sect.
Recalling how, during these past days, precious spiritual treasures had been sent to Xu Yi like flowing water.
True Person Qinglian's heart ached. These items were all taken from his own allocation.
Damn it.