Chapter 36  This Person… I’ll Take Him!

At this moment, the vast and boundless mountain gate of the Qiankun Cave Heaven slowly opened. A celestial crane gracefully flew over, gently descending above the crowd.

On the crane’s back stood an elder, his beard flowing freely in the wind. His gaze swept downward, a trace of regret flashing in his eyes. Xuanqing looked up and realized that the elder’s eyes were fixed on him.

Everyone around noticed this and quietly turned to look at Xuanqing, their eyes full of envy.

“Impressive! Even with a lower-grade Saint-level talent, he’s being personally greeted by a Qiankun Cave Heaven elder!”

“Just as expected—if you have enough talent, you’ll be welcomed anywhere.”

“Even if he left the Tianxuan Holy Land, the other nine top sects would still fight over him!”

The crane elder looked at Xuanqing, shook his head, and sighed, “You should go. Qiankun Cave Heaven cannot accept you.”

Xuanqing blinked in confusion.

“Senior, why?”

The elder replied, “You know the reason. No need to ask further.”

Hearing this, Xuanqing could only shake his head helplessly and turn to leave. He walked through the crowd and disappeared at the far end of the plaza.

“What the heck? Qiankun Cave Heaven is rejecting someone like Xuanqing?”

“Are you stupid? There’s obviously something going on here. How could they not want someone with lower-grade Saint talent?”

“Exactly. If I’m not wrong, it must be because of the Tianxuan Holy Land!”

“You mean… Tianxuan blacklisted Xuanqing!”

“Pretty much!”

“Yeah, Tianxuan Holy Land hates when disciples defect. Every time it happens, those who leave can hardly ever join any major sect.”

“What a shame. Sure, he can still join some small sects, but that would be far beneath him.”

“Even someone like Xuanqing—if he joins a lesser sect, the lack of resources would severely limit his future achievements.”

The crowd’s speculation made the regret on the crane elder’s face even deeper. This was a Saint-level talent—just let go like that!

“Damn that Tianxuan Holy Land…”

Even the elder felt powerless. Qiankun Cave Heaven and Tianxuan Holy Land shared the same continent, and he was well aware of how terrifying the latter was.

They couldn’t afford to provoke them. Since Tianxuan had spoken, Qiankun Cave Heaven had no choice but to comply!

“Tianxuan Holy Land is too domineering,” Chu Tian said with a cold laugh.

Xuanqing was exceptionally gifted—he would be a top-tier figure even in the Jidao Holy Land. Though he hadn’t been selected as the Holy Son, with proper training, he would undoubtedly become a peak powerhouse.

But then he abruptly and mysteriously chose to leave the Holy Land. That was something the Holy Land could never accept!

Though Tianxuan wouldn’t go as far as to kill Xuanqing, they certainly wouldn’t let him off easy. They blacklisted him from all nine major sects of the Great Ruins Domain. None of the top-tier factions were allowed to accept him as a disciple!

“Qiankun Cave Heaven doesn’t dare, but I do!” Chu Tian muttered.

He already had a plan. As long as he acted discreetly and left no traces, no one—no god nor ghost—would know. Even Tianxuan Holy Land wouldn’t be able to trace it back to him. Of course, it wasn’t that he feared Tianxuan Holy Land.

He simply didn’t want to bring trouble to the Sacred Demon Mountain. With that thought, Chu Tian maneuvered his flying vessel closer to the departing Xuanqing.

At the same time, he used powerful magic to erase all traces. The entire vessel blended into the void, silently moving through space.

“These sects… none of them dare offend Tianxuan Holy Land.”

“Sigh… looks like I’ll have to rely on myself now…”

Xuanqing left the Heaven and Earth Grotto with a heart full of sorrow. He soared into the sky, pierced through the clouds, and flew towards the distant horizon.

If I had known how overbearing the Tianxuan Holy Land was, I would’ve wiped them out in my past life!

He thought viciously to himself.

As an emperor, he had been invincible, capable of annihilating any force with a single hand. Even a Supreme Holy Land was nothing—destroying one was just a matter of flipping his palm. But now, saying all this was pointless.

There was no going back to the Tianxuan Holy Land. Nor could he go to any other Supreme Sect. Having lived under the shadow of a divine artifact for so long, the risk of exposure was far too great!

And as for the Nine Super Sects of the Great Ruins, it was unlikely any of them would take him in…

It seemed the only option was to join a smaller sect for now. Later, he could find a way to acquire more cultivation resources.

“I remember the nearest sect from here is Yellowwind Valley. I’ll head there.”

With his target set, Xuanqing sped up, aiming to reach the nearest city and use a spatial teleportation gate. The Great Ruins region was vast and boundless. For an ordinary cultivator, flying across it would take hundreds of years.

For long-distance travel, unless one was a top-tier powerhouse capable of tearing through space directly, the fastest and most common method was to use a spatial teleportation gate!

As long as he could teleport to a gate near Yellowwind Valley, it would save him a great deal of time.

“Young friend, please wait.”

An elderly man in a gray robe appeared on the path ahead of Xuanqing, standing there with a smile.

“And you are?”

Xuanqing watched him warily. They were high up in the sky, with no one else around. If this man had bad intentions, he’d be in grave danger.

But when he saw the Eight Trigrams insignia on the elder’s chest—Realization dawned.

“You’re from the Heaven and Earth Grotto!”

“Indeed,” the gray-robed elder chuckled, looking Xuanqing over with satisfaction. “Would you be willing to join our Heaven and Earth Grotto?”

Xuanqing was surprised.

“Didn’t you just reject me? What kind of play are you putting on now?”

Then it hit him.

He added, “You were just putting on a show for the Tianxuan Holy Land?!”

“You truly are remarkably perceptive,” the elder said with a pleased nod, growing even more impressed with Xuanqing.

Not only was his talent top-tier, but he was also quick-witted. Such individuals were exceedingly rare these days. That’s why Heaven and Earth Grotto was willing to take this huge risk—to bring Xuanqing in!

“So, what do you say? Will you consider it?” The elder asked confidently.

He was certain that Xuanqing wouldn’t turn him down. Sure enough, under the elder’s expectant gaze, Xuanqing nodded. Just as he was about to speak, a white figure suddenly plummeted from the sky!

Chu Tian was absolutely fed up—Heaven and Earth Grotto was actually pulling off an act? Originally, with Xuanqing having nowhere to go, it would’ve been easy to recruit him into Sacred Demon Mountain. But out of nowhere, an unexpected interloper appeared!

“And who might you be?” The gray-robed elder asked, his expression turning cautious as he locked eyes on Chu Tian. This person had fallen from a high altitude—Yet he had completely evaded the elder’s divine sense until he was already in sight!

Chu Tian didn’t waste words. He pointed at Xuanqing and said coldly, “This man… I’m taking him. You can leave now.”