Chapter Twenty: The Barrier of Benevolent Fate

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Yunmeng City, Headquarters of the Yunzhou Alchemy Alliance.
The atmosphere was as oppressive as a sea before a storm. The alliance leader, an elderly man with white hair and beard, his face gaunt and dressed in a Taoist robe embroidered with the Eight Trigrams, hovered silently in the center of the council hall. His eyes were tightly shut, yet the terrifying pressure radiating from him, indicative of his near-Transcendent cultivation, suffocated the more than ten Nascent Soul elders present—none dared to breathe freely.
On the floor of the hall lay Wu Jingshan, unconscious. His aura was withered to the extreme; his Nascent Soul was riddled with fine cracks. Had the leader not personally intervened with his primordial power to protect him, Wu might have already fallen from his realm, perhaps even lost his life. The rest of the investigation team members were pale and unsettled, their lingering terror etched deep in their eyes like an indelible brand.
“Say it again—what did you see?” The leader’s voice was calm but penetrated deep into their souls.
A late Golden Core disciple stepped forward trembling, his voice hoarse as he recalled, “Reporting to the leader... we saw nothing. No spells, no divine abilities, not even any spiritual fluctuations. Elder Wu activated the Origin Compass to try to locate the mist-covered mountains, but just as the compass’s power was about to touch the mist, everything ended.”
He swallowed hard, as if the terrifying scene replayed before his eyes: “The Origin Compass... that ancient relic shattered on its own, like fragile porcelain breaking... An indescribable, irresistible backlash erupted from nowhere, and we... we ended up like this. From beginning to end, we did not even glimpse the shadow of the other side. We don’t know if it was human, ghost, male or female.”
“Shattered on its own?” The leader slowly opened his eyes; a gleam flashed within, like stars extinguished in the void. “Nothing shatters without reason. The only explanation is that the compass’s probing power touched a ‘law layer’ utterly beyond its comprehension and endurance. Their power has transcended the realm of ‘technique’ and reached the domain of ‘Dao.’ Their very existence forms an absolute, insurmountable barrier.”
He scanned the elders’ shocked and puzzled faces, then pronounced gravely, “That is not an ancient ruin but a living, terrifying existence beyond our imagination. The destruction of the Origin Compass and the grievous injury to Wu Jingshan were not attacks—they were warnings. A single word: ‘Leave.’”
The hall erupted in uproar.
An irascible elder blurted out, “Leader! Shall we just let this pass? Has our Alchemy Alliance ever suffered such a humiliating disgrace?”
“Disgrace?” The leader snorted coldly, his pressure suddenly intensifying, forcing the elder to pale and stagger back a step with a muffled grunt. “Foolish! That was a warning and mercy! If they truly meant to kill, do you think any of you would have returned alive? A mighty dragon feels no honor in crushing ants, but if ants crawl onto its nose, the dragon will simply blow them away.”
He paused, his tone heavy: “From this day forth, my command: Qingshi Town and the surrounding thousand-mile mountain range shall be declared the Alchemy Alliance’s highest-level ‘forbidden zone.’ No member of the alliance may approach under any pretext. Disobedience will result in cultivation being revoked and expulsion from the alliance. This matter ends here!”
“But... the origin of that pill...” an elder asked reluctantly.
“Origin?” The leader’s eyes gleamed with wisdom. “Since they have chosen to live reclusively in such a remote place, they desire no disturbance. Forcing the issue will only bring ruin upon us. However...”
He shifted his tone: “We must not provoke the sleeping dragon but can inquire about the ‘little birds’ nesting around it. After all, that pill flowed from Baicao Valley. Issue orders: conduct a comprehensive external investigation of Baicao Valley and the Lin family, who have had recent close contact with it. Remember, investigate—not coerce. I want to know how they connected with that existence and what they gained from it.”
The colossal Alchemy Alliance, after a brief spell of fear and shock, chose reason. They no longer dared to look toward the mist-shrouded Guixu Cottage but instead spread an invisible net quietly covering Baicao Valley and the Lin family.

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This pressure was soon detected by Sun Baicao and Lin Zhenshan, head of the Lin family.
At first, their caravan sent to Yunmeng City was subjected to unusually thorough inspections by the Alchemy Alliance. Then, several cooperating minor sects and families began probing indirectly into the sudden improvement of their pills and spirit beasts. Later still, they noticed unfamiliar cultivators with considerable power skulking around their sect’s outskirts.
A storm was brewing.
Sun Baicao and Lin Zhenshan were shrewd men and immediately realized that what they once thought a great opportunity was now a juicy morsel attracting ravenous wolves. The fiercest of these wolves was the overlord of Yunzhou—the Alchemy Alliance.
One night, Lin Zhenshan secretly visited Baicao Valley. Two paramount leaders of Qingshi Town sat face-to-face in a secret chamber, their expressions grave.
“Brother Lin, you’ve sensed it too, haven’t you?” Sun Baicao broke the silence first.
Lin Zhenshan nodded heavily, a trace of bitterness on his face. “Though the Alchemy Alliance’s methods are covert, their pressure is undeniable. They dare not provoke our benefactor, so they’ve turned their sights on us. Master Sun, our two families are like locusts tied to the same rope now.”
“Yes.” Sun Baicao sighed, “Our benefactor has granted us a rebirth. The alchemy of Baicao Valley and the beast taming arts of the Lin family have both leapfrogged qualitatively. We must repay this kindness. Besides, if the Alchemy Alliance learns of our benefactor’s presence, their greed will surely drive them to harass him. Should this anger our benefactor and bring down his wrath, not just our two families but all of Qingshi Town could be reduced to ashes!”
They exchanged a glance, seeing in each other’s eyes a resolute determination. The greater the blessings they received, the deeper their reverence for Jiang Xiuyuan grew. None understood better than they that protecting their benefactor’s peace was protecting their own lives and their sect’s future.
“We cannot sit idle and wait for death!” Lin Zhenshan slammed his fist on the table and said sternly, “Our benefactor dislikes trouble. As recipients of his grace, it is our duty to shield him from worldly dust. From today on, the Lin family and Baicao Valley shall form an alliance of offense and defense, using all our centuries of accumulated strength in Qingshi Town and beyond to build a solid wall for our benefactor!”
“Exactly my thought!” Sun Baicao’s eyes flashed brilliantly. “If the Alchemy Alliance wants to investigate, we’ll make sure they find nothing. If they want clues, we’ll give them a heap of false leads!”
The Lin family mobilized their extensive mountain informants to spread rumors both true and false. Some claimed a ferocious ancient beast had appeared behind Qingshi Town’s mountain, killing any who approached; others said it was the site of an ancient demonic sect’s ruin, saturated with vengeful energy and taboo to humans; some even fabricated stories of Baicao Valley and the Lin family discovering a collapsing secret realm from which they salvaged treasures, whose entrance had since vanished.
Baicao Valley used their pills and connections to initiate a proactive “offensive.” They sold some high-quality pills—though not from Guixu Cottage—at high prices to forces closely tied to the Alchemy Alliance, casually dropping carefully crafted, fictitious details about “ancient cultivator caves” to mislead the alliance’s investigations toward nonexistent places.
The two families united as never before, sharing resources and intelligence. Like diligent worker ants, around the towering tree of Guixu Cottage, they used worldly wisdom and means to gradually build an impregnable “information barrier.”
Meanwhile, inside Guixu Cottage, Jiang Xiaobai, through a mysterious method, sensed all this.
She had established a faint spiritual link with the Lin family’s Gale-Chasing Leopard, which she had awakened with ancient bloodline power. One day, while teasing the leopard, she keenly perceived through it the anxious emotions of Lin Zixuan—a mixture of “danger” and “protection.”
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Curious, she extended a strand of divine sense along this connection. Though she could not grasp the specifics, she clearly “saw” the image of the Lin family and Baicao Valley united in unyielding solidarity, doing their utmost to protect a certain secret.
At the center of their protection was the very homeland beneath her feet.
Jiang Xiaobai was stunned.
She had always believed that she and her sister were powerful, the apex beings of this world. The Lin family, Baicao Valley, and those mundane cultivators were weak, needing her “guarding” and “charity.”
Yet now, these “weak beings” in her eyes were using their own ways to exhaust every effort to shield her and her family from the storms outside.
A single pill she had casually fed, a kindness she had casually extended, had now transformed into a solid shield—a warm barrier protecting their peace.
At that moment, it was as if a great door had been violently thrown open in Jiang Xiaobai’s heart.
For the first time, she truly understood the meaning of “cause and effect.” It was not an abstract theory but a real and tangible return. If you plant a seed of kindness, it will grow into a mighty tree sheltering you when you need it.
She also deeply grasped the essence of “protection.” Protection is never a one-sided gift but a mutual exchange. While you protect others, others are protecting you in their own way. This reciprocal commitment makes the word “protection” infinitely warm and profoundly weighty.
“So... this is cause and effect, this is protection...” Jiang Xiaobai murmured, her eyes shining with unprecedented brilliance.
She gazed at the world beyond the mountains, her look no longer merely curiosity or amusement, but one filled with recognition and warmth.
Thank you all for urging the update. Today’s release is over ten thousand words. Keep writing; more to come tomorrow.