Jian Lin felt so happy for several consecutive days that she felt like she was floating, with the Demon Lord's help, she completely sealed the demonic energy and focused on cultivating her spiritual power.
After finding the right method, her cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, and Jian Lin truly felt that she was not far from forming a golden core.
When she mentioned this that night, the Demon Lord poured a bucket of cold water on her.
"It's not that easy. Every breakthrough for a cultivator is about opportunity. You're just sitting in an inn and cultivating, I think..." The Demon Lord stopped speaking halfway, shaking his head to express his thoughts.
Jian Lin understood what the Demon Lord meant. She recalled her original body's cultivation process in the Guanlan Sect. Every time a disciple approached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, their master would do everything possible to send them to secret realms for cultivation and to find opportunities for breakthroughs.
Of course, not every disciple was qualified to enter the secret realms, but even if they couldn't, their master would personally lead the disciples who were about to break through down the mountain for trials. In any case, very few disciples achieved breakthroughs by waiting on the mountain.
In Jian Lin's understanding, pushing oneself to the limit made breakthroughs easier, so opportunities like encountering crises during travels or entering secret realms to snatch treasures and spiritual herbs were very important for cultivators.
"Then where should I go?" Jian Lin said with a troubled expression. "I don't have a master to recommend me, so I can't enter the secret realms. How about going to the mortal world? Helping mortals subdue demons and ghosts, that should work too."
"Who says you can't enter the secret realms?" the Demon Lord said slowly. "The Immortal Sect Assembly is still ongoing. This time, to win over rogue cultivators, they have specifically released ten spots. As long as you rank in the top ten in the points competition, you can get the opportunity to enter the secret realms."
"Really?" Jian Lin said with surprise. "That means I have a chance too!"
"As long as your ranking reaches the top ten," the Demon Lord emphasized the key point. "Although the sect disciples will not participate in the competition for these spots, you have stayed in Guanlan City for so long, you should know the strength of those rogue cultivators, right?"
Jian Lin's smile froze. Speaking of the strength of rogue cultivators, they were not to be underestimated. For her to rank in the top ten was no simple matter.
But at this point, she had already wasted twelve years, and she couldn't miss this opportunity again. Jian Lin made up her mind that even if she had to cheat using the system, she would fight her way into the top ten.
"I will definitely reach the top ten!" Jian Lin said firmly. "Lord Chongyuan, please watch my wonderful performance."
The Demon Lord found it amusing. He said with anticipation, "Alright, I will certainly watch carefully."
Jian Lin excitedly began her preparations, the first of which was dealing with Bai Xian.
Bai Xian, that cunning ghost, stayed obediently by Jian Lin's side to avoid being sealed, without any thought of escaping.
As a result, he was still not sealed after such a long time. Jian Lin's original plan failed, and she had to think of other ways.
When Jian Lin went to discuss with Bai Xian, Bai Xian very seriously accused her, "I knew it. You said you would send me to the demon realm, but you were actually lying to me."
Jian Lin felt no guilt. She said slyly, "Bai Xian, you can try to run away. Maybe you can run back."
"I don't want to. I'll just follow you. You figure it out yourself," Bai Xian refused heartlessly. As long as he wasn't sealed, he could know many things. Staying by Jian Lin's side was better than being locked in the void. He could still calculate this.
Jian Lin slapped her thigh, extremely frustrated. It was truly easier to invite a god than to send one away. She had invited Bai Xian out to break the formation, and now she was in a bind.
She returned in failure and could only seek help from the Demon Lord, asking him to think of a solution for her.
"There's no good solution. You take him with you and enter the secret realm to cultivate together," the Demon Lord advised her.
"Easier said than done. If he goes with me, he has to rank in the top ten, which is impossible!" Jian Lin complained. Bai Xian, that little chick, would lose half his life if someone kicked him. Ranking in the top ten was harder than reaching the heavens.
"Leave this to me," the Demon Lord said calmly. "You work hard to get the spot yourself. When the secret realm opens, I will sneak him in."
Jian Lin keenly grasped the key point. "Lord Chongyuan, since you can sneak in, why do I still need to participate in the points competition?"
"Because you are cultivating, and every opportunity to fight is precious to you," the Demon Lord said earnestly. "I once gave you a chance to take a shortcut, but you gave it up yourself. You can only hone your skills one move at a time."
It was indeed like that. Jian Lin sighed. Anyway, she would still have to fight others after entering the secret realm, so there was no reason to avoid the points competition. She would treat it as practice.
The problems were basically solved. Three days later, Jian Lin, under the alias Lin Jian, registered for the rogue cultivator points competition, striving for the opportunity to enter the secret realm.
After registering, she went to the main hall square of Canglan Peak as arranged. As soon as she entered the main hall gate, her gaze was attracted by a huge stone tablet.
She walked closer to examine it and found that this stone tablet was inscribed with the events of the Twelve Peaks Massacre and the words "rebellious disciple Jian Musheng." This monument was erected to warn cultivators, to serve as a lesson, and to prevent them from going astray.
Jian Lin was so angry she felt like she was going to faint. She was clearly a victim, yet her name was still hung on the stone tablet, to be reviled every moment.
Heh, Guanlan Sect, just you wait. She would definitely find a way to blow up this stone tablet!
Canglan Peak was one of the twin main peaks of the Guanlan Sect. The main hall was majestic, and the square was flat and wide. At this moment, a high platform was erected in the center for the points competition.
The platform was three meters high and about five zhang long and wide. The combat rules were simple: two parties fought, and falling off the platform meant losing. Winning earned one point. The competition was divided into three days, and the top ten in points would get the opportunity to enter the secret realm for cultivation.
Jian Lin stood at the very edge, carefully savoring the combat rules, and realized that it was not enough to win solely by fighting. This matter required strategy.
The key was to win enough points within three days, and there were too many ways to manipulate this.
As she had expected, at the beginning, the rogue cultivators still fought honestly. By the afternoon of the same day, they started to have ulterior motives.
For example, they would team up to exchange victories, or use spirit stones to cheat and buy victories. What surprised Jian Lin the most was that the Guanlan Sect, as the organizer and supervisor, turned a blind eye to various cheating behaviors, and even actively participated in the trading of spirit stones for victories, taking a cut.
This bottomless money-grabbing behavior reminded Jian Lin of the Golden Scale Sect.
She and the Demon Lord joined forces to change the fate of the Golden Scale Sect. Hao Jun had already passed away, and the marriage alliance could not be realized. With a single move affecting the whole situation, the Guanlan Sect, without the spirit stone support from the Golden Scale Sect, had to find other ways to make money.
It was a chain reaction, which unexpectedly provided Jian Lin with an opportunity to cultivate.
Jian Lin clearly realized that, like a butterfly effect, her influence on this world had exceeded her imagination. So, in this life, would the war between immortals and demons still happen as it did before?
As she was lost in thought, someone suddenly patted her shoulder and asked, "Why is your score still zero? Haven't you won a single match?"
Jian Lin was startled and turned to see the Demon Lord's face. She patted her chest and said, "Why are you here?"
"Worried about you," the Demon Lord said, unmoved, focusing entirely on questioning her. "I'm asking you, why is your score still zero? You're not afraid to make a move, are you?"
"No, I discovered some tricks," Jian Lin pointed to the distance and explained to the Demon Lord about the group of people exchanging victories.
"Those are not important. There are still some upright opponents. The most important thing now is to seize the time. When the three days are up, if you haven't won enough victories, what's the point of discovering their tricks?"
Jian Lin thought it made sense. She hesitated no longer and immediately jumped off the steps to find opponents in the crowd.
She searched for a long time and found a righteous female cultivator who refused the spirit stone transaction. Jian Lin immediately rushed forward and proposed to fight her on the platform.
The two women stated their positions in a few words. Seeing that she did not use spirit stones for transactions, the female cultivator readily agreed.
As the two were queuing at the platform, a disciple from Canglan Peak slyly approached and asked, "Are you two in a hurry? If you are, there's a way to jump the queue."
The righteous female cultivator sternly refused, "Of course, queuing should be done according to who comes first. How can you do such an unjust thing? Don't you feel..."
"How much spirit stone do you want? I'll give it to you," Jian Lin interrupted the female cultivator, smiling as she discussed with the Canglan Peak disciple.
The disciple's face had turned green, but upon hearing Jian Lin's words, he beamed and secretly gestured a number with his hand.
Jian Lin took out spirit stones and handed them over. The disciple took out another queue number from his embrace and handed it to Jian Lin, saying, "After five groups, it will be your turn."
The female cultivator was indignant and said to Jian Lin, "I didn't expect you to agree to such a thing. I thought you were also a person of integrity and uprightness."
Jian Lin said calmly, "One needs to assess the situation. At least our match is fair, don't you think?"
The female cultivator pursed her lips and nodded silently. "You're right. I just didn't expect that Guanlan Sect, which everyone yearns for, would be like this now. If I had known earlier, I would never have come."
Yes, who would have thought that Guanlan Sect would become like this.
In the afternoon, Jian Lin painstakingly found ten upright opponents, winning seven and losing three, a good record. She happily ran to the Demon Lord to show off.
"Not bad. You've improved a lot recently. Although your moves become messy when you're anxious, you still managed to force your opponent off the platform by suppressing them with your spiritual power," the Demon Lord commented seriously.
Jian Lin nodded repeatedly. "Lord Demon Lord has sharp eyes. It's not just because I'm anxious. It's mainly because what I've learned is too messy. I'm afraid of using Guanlan Sect's techniques, and I'm also afraid of using the Bright Moon Swordplay. I can only make my moves cautiously. What else can I do?"
"This is easy to solve. You can use the Bright Moon Swordplay," the Demon Lord said with a smile. "In the past hundred years, I have fought against people from the immortal realm and have never used the Bright Moon Swordplay. Don't worry, they won't recognize it."
Jian Lin's eyes widened in surprise. She slapped the Demon Lord's shoulder excitedly and said, "Why didn't you tell me such good news earlier!"
"You didn't ask in advance either," the Demon Lord chuckled. "Seeing your confident appearance, I thought you had already figured out a way to deal with it."
Jian Lin didn't have any coping methods. She took things as they came, and even made some up. There was no method at all.
Now that she could use the Bright Moon Swordplay, Jian Lin recalled her painful sword practice process. Her confidence soared. Just you wait and see her dominate!