Clang!

  The bell rang out loudly and shone brightly. The towering doors to the Direct Disciple hall opened slowly.

  By a column on the side of the entrance, Pi Yangqiu’s eyes swivelled about as he observed the surroundings. “Is junior sister Ruan going to come or not?”
Le Tian leaned against the column. “Who knows?”
“If she doesn’t, that kid is done for.”
“He might have fled already.”
“Don’t he dare!”
Several unfamiliar direct disciples stood on the other side of the entrance, either dressed elegantly and standing out like pine trees or dressed loosely with swords, graceful like the wind. They all possessed extraordinary bearings. Ge Xing was among them.

  Apart from him, the others were all a little irritated. This small issue that could have been resolved easily had actually developed into a confrontation in the Direct Disciple hall.

  By the time the door had completely opened, a female cultivator walked out. Her violet dress dragged along the ground; her hair was beautiful like clouds. She was dignified, yet she smiled, giving off a bearing that was noble yet friendly. She was also a direct disciple. She stood with her hands on her hips and asked, “What’re you all standing outside foolishly for?”
“Third senior sister, junior sister Ruan isn’t here yet.”
Ge Xing explained in a hurry. This “third senior sister” Dai Mengfan placed behind Chao Tianjiao on the Myriad rankings. Regardless of who became the first senior brother or sister in the end, she would still be the third senior sister. She was currently in charge of the Direct Disciple hall, presiding over all matters that were to be discussed.

  The thing that Ruan Yaozhu wanted to contest in the Direct Disciple hall was Ge Xing’s enlistment order. The others had only come along to voice their approval or disapproval. Only the two of them could not be missing.

  “Hasn’t she been here all this time?” Dai Mengfan smiled and extended a finger towards the bottom of the white jade steps.

  Cling!

  There was a ripple of nine-coloured light, and a person and a deer appeared. The deer hooves clopped against the jade steps gently and arrived at the door. Ruan Yaozhu landed on the ground gently and lowered her head. “Senior sister.”
Everyone was speechless. There were so many direct disciples here, yet no one managed to notice her.

  Ge Xing said sternly, “Junior sister Ruan, your concealment techniques are truly wondrous. Did you only show yourself now because you didn’t want to see us earlier?”
Ruan Yaozhu had never been particularly good at speaking, so she seemed even more simple-minded now.

  Pi Yangqiu arrived beside her with a flash and smiled at her. “If I were capable of something like that, I’d probably remain hidden even now because I don’t want to see you.”
“Then you better hide away forever, so I don’t see you.”
Le Tian walked over with a chuckle and joined the conversation. “Hello, senior and junior brothers.”
Ge Xing snorted coldly. He had nothing good to say to the person behind the entire scheme that screwed him over.

  When they confronted each other, it was not daggers drawn, but they did not show each other any politeness either.

  “You can stop now. If you have something to say, come on in!” Dai Mengfan brought her arm around Ruan Yaozhu’s shoulders and made her way into the Direct Disciple hall. She communicated, “Piece of wood, oh piece of wood. You can’t blame me for not helping you out this time. The kid has been far too arrogant.”
The direct disciples trailed in, and the doors closed slowly again. Ruan Yaozhu glanced backwards. The skies were clear, without a single cloud in sight. She prayed inside, No matter what, I hope you can be fine!

  Boom!

  With a rumble, the island rocked.

  The volcano that had lain dormant for who knew how many years erupted, spraying out with black smoke, shattered rocks, and fire. Looking down from above, it seemed like a lit torch.

  With a swish, a five-coloured ball of divine light rose up from the thick smoke and flames, rapidly circling around the rising mushroom clouds before diving into the vast ocean.

  As soon as it landed in the ocean, the five-coloured ball of divine light changed immediately, turning into a ball that was primarily blue. Not a single ripple or splash appeared on the surface of the ocean.

  It shot past a large sea turtle that swam slowly, and the five-coloured ball of divine light suddenly descended again, diving into the depths of the ocean and moving through the thick earth. Its colour changed once again.

  Find the original at h*sted novel.

  From fire to water, from water to earth… the ball of light moved rapidly, without any obstruction.

  Li Qingshan was inside the five-coloured ball of divine light. He was overjoyed. After several days of consecutive cultivation, he had finally achieved this five-coloured ball of divine light. That was a symbol of achieving initial mastery over the Divine Movement of the Five Elements. Henceforth, he could move through water without drowning, fire without burning, and metal, earth, and wood would no longer pose an obstruction to him.

  The only downside was it stood out a little too much.

  Time was tight. He could not pause for even a second. He immediately began to practise the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique. The Divine Movement of the Five Elements had the support of the small world, which was why he could reach this state so quickly. The Illusionary Demon Movement Technique probably would not be that easy.

  Sure enough, several days later, the progress with Illusionary Demon Movement Technique was very slow. Even when Li Qingshan pushed it to the limit, his figure only became blurred, let alone when he used the Divine Movement of the Five Elements at the same time. At this rate, he definitely would not make it in time.

  He furrowed his brows, and he came up with an idea. He arrived at the base of the volcano and found a smooth rock face, getting to work with carving. Before long, a statue that was extremely twisted, strange, and ugly was carved out from the rock.

  “Doesn’t really seem like it!” Li Qingshan took a few steps back and studied it closely, muttering to himself.

  There was a gust of wind, and Gu Yanying appeared before the rock face. “What the hell is this?”
“Maheśvara,” Li Qingshan said sternly.

  “How does it even look like him?” Gu Yanying widened her eyes. “What’re you carving this for?”
“To summon a god,” Li Qingshan brought his palms together and said with a face of devotion.

  Gu Yanying brought her hand over his forehead. “You’re not crazy, are you?”
“Go away. Don’t get in the way of my cultivation.”
Li Qingshan shook off her hand. If the Divine Movement of the Five Elements was based on the small world, then the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique was based on the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. If he wanted to succeed with the Illusionary Demon Movement Technique quickly, then he had to make quick progress with the Heavenly Tome of Liberty. He had to advance by a level at the very least.

  However, that was an even more difficult task, but there was a shortcut—Siddhānta school’s God Advent technique, or in Li Qingshan’s language, the great technique of summoning a god into the body.

  There were many examples of this in the records of the Siddhānta school—a person on the verge of death from sickness suddenly recovering, a mortal suddenly becoming imbued with divine strength, a fool suddenly coming to his senses one day, and so on. It was basically quick, convenient, easy, and brainless.

  The chances of success seemed a little small, and the records were probably unreliable, but he still had to give it a try. Perhaps it would end up working!

  With this thought that was the antithesis of devotion, Li Qingshan began to chant the scriptures to the statue.

  “Doesn’t summoning a god usually require kneeling and bowing?” Gu Yanying saw how he stood there as straight as a stick, bearing absolutely no resemblance to a follower.

  “If you want to kneel, you can kneel. Be quiet. Go catch a fish for me.” Before Li Qingshan had even finished what he was saying, Gu Yanying returned with a flash, holding a large, colourful fish that leapt around in her hand. “This kind of fish?”
Bang! Li Qingshan stomped down with his right foot, and a small, circular altar rose up in front of the statue. He made Gu Yanying throw the fish onto it before beginning to pray. “Maheśvara, oh Maheśvara, I’m not your follower, but we’re still people of the same path. C’mon, just make do with the fish and give me some benefits.”
Gu Yanying shook her head in speechlessness. Let alone summoning a god, even fooling with ghosts normally required a little more seriousness. “You’re not going to face divine retribution for something like this, are you?”
Li Qingshan focused on chanting the scripture. Every single word seemed to be filled with a strange liveliness like notes. In a daze, the statue began to dance. Its movements were graceful yet filled with a sense of power.