Cultivating Immortality from the Book of Life and Death

Chapter 389 The Chosen One. (Second Update!)

Crane Cry Tower, deep within.

The luxurious and spacious corridor was covered with thick, soft brocade carpets, so that people could walk on them without making a sound.

Zheng Que followed Ren Duanwen through several gates and courtyards, and found the place becoming increasingly quiet. They noticed incense burning somewhere, and its delicate fragrance, like spring mist, lingered and permeated their lungs.

Just then, a bronze door appeared at the end of the road ahead.

The door is carved with intricate vine and floral patterns, and on each side is a celadon glazed brown-painted sheep-shaped porcelain candlestick, with a dark green flame burning on it, giving it a cold and eerie feel.

Ren Duanwen hurried a few steps to the bronze gate, bowed slightly, and respectfully greeted the person before reporting, "Senior Yanluo, the person has been brought."

A sweet, charming voice immediately came from inside the door: "You may leave now."

Ren Duanwen immediately replied, "Yes!"

Without even glancing at Zheng Que, he lowered his head and hurriedly left.

Senior Yanluo...

It's the Fairy of Smoke and Ivy!
I wonder what brings this Core Formation cultivator to see me all of a sudden?

Without hesitation, Zheng Que stepped forward and bowed, saying, "I am Zheng Que. I am honored by the favor of the Prefect and will soon participate in the imperial examination. I have met Senior Yanluo here. May I ask what brings you here?"

Upon hearing this, the sweet and charming voice inside the door seemed to scoff lightly, then replied calmly, "Don't worry."

"Xiang Songnian has already spoken to me."

"Just come in!"

Upon hearing that the prefect had greeted the Fairy Yanluo, Zheng Que was slightly taken aback, but then immediately realized that the prefect clearly appreciated him greatly.

The other party has been away from the city these past few days, most likely because he had already spoken to the other three Core Formation stage cultivators in the city about his affairs before leaving...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately followed the other party's instructions, raising his hand to push open the bronze door.

The bronze door looked thick and heavy, but with a little force, it immediately pushed open, revealing the scene behind it.

Behind the door was a magnificent boudoir, decorated with gold and jewels.

At the entrance, there is a screen with openwork dragon patterns and a picture of ladies viewing treasures. Through the gaps in the screen's patterns, you can see brocade inlaid with jewels, with misty gauze hanging down, concealing tall tables, stools, gauze lanterns, and potted plants.

Opposite the screen was a rosewood dressing table with painted phoenix and entwined branches, inlaid with bronze sea beasts and grapes. In front of the dressing table sat a graceful figure. Her black hair was tied up high, like layers of green clouds. She wore a short crepe gauze dress with a cinnabar background and beaded deer pattern, tied with a turquoise green skirt with twelve gold-painted lotus flowers. Beneath the soft skirt, her waist was as slender as a willow branch in spring, too delicate to be grasped in one hand.

Inside, only a single green gauze palace lantern was lit in front of the dressing table, casting shadows that outlined the surroundings. This dim light fell into the bronze mirror, seemingly reflecting a deep, dark pool.

A pale face floated in the pool, its slender eyebrows curving like the arc of distant mountains, its eyes like obsidian washed by rain, shining like a demon in the dark room, like a peony blooming at the bottom of the water, elegant and beautiful.

Fairy Yanluo gazed at herself in the mirror, gently picked up a piece of red paper, and slowly applied a touch of crimson. Her demeanor was composed and elegant, just like a noble lady from a prominent family.

Beside him stood a headless, blood-red ghost servant, one of the ten ghost servants that Zheng Que had consigned for auction earlier!

Clearly, one of these ten top-grade ghost servants was purchased by Crane Cry Tower itself.

At this moment, Zheng Que took a deep breath, entered the room, walked around the screen, and bowed respectfully to Fairy Yanluo, saying, "Junior Zheng Que greets Senior Yanluo!"

Fairy Yanluo remained silent, intently examining her reflection in the mirror before turning to look at Zheng Que.

Her gaze was as heavy as a thousand pounds, instantly giving Zheng Que a strong sense of oppression.

Gradually, Zheng Que felt as if a heavy mountain was falling on his body, as if he were carrying two towering peaks on his shoulders. His body was as if it were bound by an invisible force and he could hardly move. The ground beneath his feet also began to groan unbearably, with spiderweb-like cracks gradually appearing and expanding.

Zheng Que frowned, his spiritual energy surging through his body, barely managing to stay upright and not collapse to his knees.

After a long while, Fairy Yanluo finally nodded slightly, withdrew her gaze, and said in a calm voice, "I called you here today just because I was curious about the ghost servant you sent."

"But now, I am even more curious about your identity."

"You remind me of when I first met that prodigy. He was just like you, showing no respect whatsoever for us cultivators!"

"Unfortunately……"

At this point, Fairy Yanluo shook her head slightly, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes. She didn't continue, her beautiful gaze returning to Zheng Que. A chosen one of heaven?

Zheng Que felt a sudden lightness throughout his body. Before he could catch his breath, he frowned. The other party had only said half of what he meant, and he didn't understand what this Core Formation cultivator meant. In a flash, he lowered his head and said, "Senior Yanluo must have misunderstood. I have always held Xuanyuan Pavilion in the highest esteem."

"However, I come from the countryside and am new to the city, so I don't know the rules."

"If I have offended or been rude in any way, please forgive me, senior!"

Fairy Yanluo smiled, picked up a red-gold hairpin from the dressing table, and casually inserted it into her hair. The tassels of the hairpin gleamed with a sharp, cold light, reflecting her gaze. She slowly shook her head and said in a low voice, "Those rogue cultivators and so-called court cultivators often say many disdainful and contemptuous things about us sect disciples in private."

"But once they've witnessed the power of our sect's disciples, the fear, disappointment, and inferiority they feel from the bottom of their hearts are impossible to hide."

"And you are different."

“You only show respect verbally, but you have no fear in your heart.”

"You should have fought against disciples of our sect before, and even won."

"They might win more than once."

"You bear the shadow of that once-proud genius!"

"This kind of aura, built up from victory after victory, cannot be fooled by my eyes, no matter how you try to hide it!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Que was slightly startled, as he had indeed fought against the disciples of the Six Sects.

Moreover, the person he fought was none other than Chen Zhentao, a disciple of Xuanyuan Pavilion!

In addition, when he was in Shujiabao, he also had contact with Xiao Yiyang of the Tianqi Sect. Although he did not have a direct confrontation with Xiao Yiyang, the strength, adaptability and methods that the other party showed at the time did not frighten him.

Then there's Gao Yinxia from the Heavenly Artifact Sect, who tried to search his soul but ended up suffering a lot of losses at his hands instead...

Thinking of this, Zheng Que immediately shook his head and calmly replied, "Senior is joking. I am a rogue cultivator who has always lived in a remote place. Not to mention fighting with sect disciples, I have only seen a handful of sect disciples."

"As for the so-called chosen one of heaven that you mentioned, senior, what virtue or ability do I possess to dare to resemble such a person?"

"I am deeply grateful for the high regard of the Prefect, and I need to devote myself to preparing for the Immortal Examination these days."

"If you have no further instructions, please forgive me for not being able to stay any longer."

Seeing that Zheng Que was still pretending to be confused, Fairy Yanluo suddenly sneered, stood up from in front of the dressing table, and walked towards Zheng Que.

As she walked, Fairy Yanluo said calmly, "Back then, Daoist Qu led three disciples to participate in the Six Sects Grand Competition. Among them, Du Anyong was the most powerful and almost swept away all the young geniuses of the six sects by himself!"

"At that time, I was just an ordinary inner disciple of Xuanyuan Pavilion. I witnessed the rise of a prodigy and also the end of that prodigy."

"Time flies, so many years have passed in the blink of an eye..."

At this point, Fairy Yanluo had already walked up to Zheng Que.

A fragrance reminiscent of orchids and musk wafted towards me, creating a sense of allure in the dimly lit room.

Zheng Que dared not be distracted in the slightest, and replied with a furrowed brow, "Senior Yanluo must have made a mistake."

"This junior has never heard of Qu Daoren before. As for Du Anyong, I only heard of him for the first time when the manager of your building introduced the magic treasure, the Demon-Suppressing Bronze Bell."

"If you don't believe me, you can wait until the Prefect returns to the city and confirm with him."

"As a junior participating in the imperial examination for immortality, my identity and background will naturally be verified by the imperial court..."

Before Zheng Que could finish speaking, Fairy Yanluo suddenly raised a slender white hand and placed it lightly on Zheng Que's shoulder, saying in a strange tone, "Is that so?"

"It's a pity!"

"The imperial court cannot recruit such a promising talent as you."

"I was originally thinking of sparing your life because you are Du Anyong's junior brother!"

(End of this chapter)