When the Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic Meets the Unbeatable Protagonist | Chapter 59

Lin Ji suddenly remembered that in his previous life, he entered the Punishment Division many years later than the timeline of this life.

However, in this life, it was about uncovering the truth and solving problems, while in the previous life, he was simply caught without any distinction between right and wrong. That was the most crucial turning point in his life, transforming it from a shade of gray into a pitch-black darkness.

The reason he was captured wasn't for revenge, but rather... for killing his master, betraying his sect, and fleeing in fear of punishment.

Ever since he and Lu Xiaobai came out together from the Snowfield Forbidden Land and made a pact to compete for the peak many years later, regardless of how the outside world discussed the two of them, Lin Ji always treated it with a calm heart.

He acted as if he hadn’t heard anything, as if others didn’t understand their tacit understanding. They were not enemies, just competitors. One day, they would determine the victor; all he had to do was improve himself and defeat him openly and honestly.

Thus, no matter how quickly Lu Xiaobai's realm advanced, Lin Ji would inevitably follow closely behind. In fact, both of them were top talents in the cultivation world.

But aside from cultivation, they naturally had other matters to attend to. For instance, Lu Xiaobai had to go through various storylines, fight in dungeons, experience some fortuitous encounters, meet a bunch of like-minded friends, and save people to accumulate prestige, and so on.

His presence in the cultivation world was much more active than Lin Ji's, and the public's evaluation of him was also quite good.

Lin Ji's life was rather monotonous; aside from cultivating in the Yunshang Immortal Sect, he hardly appeared in the public eye, and his cultivation speed was still slightly slower than Lu Xiaobai's. This created an illusion for others that Lu Xiaobai was advancing effortlessly while Lin Ji was struggling a bit.

With the comparison, people always praised the genius more. Lin Ji sometimes wondered why public opinion couldn't just leave him alone; was he some kind of measuring stick?

Now, standing outside and reminiscing, Lin Ji realized he was actually frozen by the story's setting, appearing only when the plot required it, and existing only in the mouths of others when it didn’t. No wonder he felt like years had passed in a flash before he awakened; he hadn’t done anything!

After all, the main character of the world was Lu Xiaobai, and the timeline and character appearances revolved around him. Lin Ji drifted outside the plot, so the author naturally didn’t need to write about what he did.

The only two things he had been doing were cultivating and searching for the murderer who wiped out his family, the latter of which had also been frozen, with no progress for years.

Suddenly, one year, Lin Ji's revenge line made a significant breakthrough.

In the prosperous area of Zhongzhou, there was a place called the Yi Bao Pavilion, which seemed like just a business selling antiques to the mundane world, but in reality, it was a hidden gem known throughout the cultivation world.

It was famous for its knowledge of rare treasures. However, this place was not a marketplace for trading magical artifacts but rather a place for trading information.

Cultivators from all over the Nine Provinces could spend countless spirit stones to buy information from the Yi Bao Pavilion, with the price depending on the difficulty of obtaining the information.

Some magical artifacts were beneficial for cultivation; they wanted to obtain them or borrow them from their owners, so buying useful information was much better than charging in recklessly and returning empty-handed.

At the same time, if a cultivator discovered a magical artifact that had never appeared in the world, they could also sell their information to the Yi Bao Pavilion and receive corresponding rewards.

Of course, if someone possessed a rare treasure but didn’t want others to find out, they would have to pay a hefty price to buy it out, which would be many times more than the other two options.

Lin Ji suspected that his father had done this back in the day. Although the Yi Bao Pavilion mainly accepted spirit stones from the cultivation world, since it was built in the mundane world, they probably wouldn’t refuse if the money was sufficient.

The Yi Bao Pavilion operated this way, with cultivators from the Nine Provinces both hating its rules for being overbearing and unreasonable while also treating it as a crucial reserve for themselves.

Every ten years, the Yi Bao Pavilion would announce the newly discovered magical artifacts to the Nine Provinces, and this information was free, serving as a form of publicity.

Lin Ji had never paid attention to these things, but one time, when he exited his seclusion and passed by the main peak's stone wall, he casually glanced and saw it.

This was another incentive from the Yunshang Immortal Sect, as the sect's consistent goal was to encourage its disciples to do whatever it took to compete for advancement.

However, Lin Ji's gaze didn’t land on the magical artifacts that could aid in advancement but instead froze at one particular item.

He saw a spiritual artifact with a rather useless yet magical function.

The Dust Viewing Mirror. As long as something related to a certain person's aura was smeared on the mirror's surface, it could reveal their life story within the mirror.

But every spiritual artifact had its downsides; if someone wanted to pry into the life of a person completely unrelated to them, they would naturally face restrictions and backlash. When used, the other party would become aware of their consciousness being probed, and if they resisted with techniques, they would suffer backlash.

The higher the opponent's cultivation, the greater the backlash would be, but if one’s own cultivation was higher than the opponent's, they could do it without being detected.

The safest method was to have the other party willingly agree, but if you could get someone to agree, why not just ask directly?

For a cultivator, observing someone weaker than themselves was of no benefit, and observing someone stronger might not succeed either.

Even if one gained some insights from it, they might not apply to themselves.

But, dead people had no restrictions. It might be useful for solving cases.

Lin Ji was stunned for a long time and hurried back to his cave to find the bloodstains from the broken armor from years ago.

In fact, when he found this item, the bloodstains had long since dried into blood scabs. He used techniques to restore them to droplets of blood and had kept them sealed in a bottle.

Lin Ji had been holding onto them out of a certain kind of luck, thinking that when human efforts were insufficient, perhaps immortal techniques could achieve it.

The principle was similar to what Mo Qingming did in his second life, allowing the blood droplet to find its owner so that he could identify his enemy.

At first, Lin Ji carried it with him, trying to release the blood droplet for verification whenever he was in a crowded place, but unfortunately, he found nothing.

Later, he gradually lost hope, thinking that verifying it once a year during events like the Immortal Sect Conference would suffice, as the personnel in the cultivation world wouldn’t change too much.

Now that he saw the Dust Viewing Mirror, he realized the blood droplet finally had a use.

As long as he could reveal that person's life, he could learn the identity of his enemy and have solid evidence!

Lin Ji rushed to the Yi Bao Pavilion for a transaction, spending the spirit stones he had saved for many years.

To his surprise, the Dust Viewing Mirror, which seemed useless, had quite a few people wanting it!

"Well, not everyone’s purpose is as serious as yours, dear guest; there are many perverts too," said the seemingly polite proprietress in charge of receiving guests.

"But once they learned about the Dust Viewing Mirror, they all ran away. So, you can understand why our price is a bit high, right?"

Lin Ji: "..." In short, he was going to be ripped off.

After the proprietress was satisfied, she pulled out a scroll for him to see. "This item was discovered by an ordinary cultivator. He was injured and fainted while fighting a demon and accidentally stumbled into what was probably a secret realm. Fortunately, he encountered an old man who healed his injuries and let him out, but he could never find that place again."

"You know what a secret realm is; it relies on chance. According to that cultivator, he saw the old man easily using the Dust Viewing Mirror to observe the myriad states of the world. When he curiously asked, the old man told him about the wonders of this item."

For someone with immense power, they could obtain the aura of a cultivator using spiritual power out of thin air, which showed how terrifying the old man's cultivation was.

Lin Ji took the tea, "Did the old man agree to let him tell others about it?"

The proprietress shrugged: "I wouldn’t know."

"The Dust Viewing Mirror is optional for enhancing cultivation, and the old man's realm is unfathomable, so those with ulterior motives backed off. Are you sure you want to go for it?"

"Yes, I must obtain this item."

"Then let me give you a suggestion. Every cultivator can maintain their youth, but this person is so old and can even set up a secret realm; he must be at least at the ancestor level. He doesn’t know how long he has lived and may know many powerful figures of this generation. Even if you find him, if he can’t lend you the artifact, you should try to get your master to write you a recommendation letter."

"But when the time comes, don’t just take it out immediately; first gauge the ancestor's attitude towards that person. What if he doesn’t like your elder? Observe his expression and adapt accordingly."

"…Thank you."

Well, at least the spirit stones were worth spending.

Lin Ji felt a headache at the thought of the old man's chance; he always felt he didn’t have the luck to encounter it. If it were Lu Xiaobai, the chances would increase significantly.

But this was the only opportunity he had found to track down the murderer over the years; he had to go and must borrow the Dust Viewing Mirror.

As for the various powerful elders in the cultivation world, he found that the longer they lived, the weirder their personalities became. The ancestor's strength far surpassed his, and whether he could achieve his goal depended entirely on the other party's mood and a moment's thought.

To increase his chances of success, Lin Ji considered the proprietress's suggestion, but the Yunshang Immortal Sect... left him feeling uncertain.

While flying back to the sect on his sword, Lin Ji unexpectedly encountered someone.

Ling Yun Zunzhe.

It was indeed a coincidence; when he landed to rest, he sensed the spiritual power fluctuations of fellow cultivators around and saw some junior disciples seemingly gathering to do sect tasks together.

When Lin Ji heard them mention Peifeng Sect, he planned to bypass them.

However, at a certain outskirt pavilion, he saw an orange-yellow figure sitting at a stone table, sipping tea.

The senior disciples who had attended the Immortal Sect Conference basically recognized him, especially Ling Yun Zunzhe, whom he remembered.

Lin Ji suddenly recalled that the reputation of the Zunzhe seemed quite good and was highly respected throughout the Nine Provinces. Could he...

To seek revenge, Lin Ji took the initiative for the first time to approach a senior from another sect, but when Meng Wanqiu saw him, he inexplicably wanted to run away.

In the end, Lin Ji stepped forward to pay his respects. Perhaps it was due to nervousness or the long time without interacting with others, he spoke a bit awkwardly: "I happened to pass by and came to pay my respects to the Zunzhe."

Meng Wanqiu had a kind and gentle demeanor, "You are... Lin Ji from the Yunshang Immortal Sect, right?"

"Please, have a seat."

Lin Ji sat across from him, slightly lowering his gaze, feeling a bit awkward in front of a stranger.

"Don’t be so formal." Meng Wanqiu poured a cup of tea and handed it over, "I’m very happy that you came to greet me."

The Yunshang Immortal Sect disciples he had met before were all so arrogant, so it was rare to encounter someone who was polite.

After Lin Ji drank the hot tea, he relaxed a bit. Meng Wanqiu asked him some caring questions for the younger generation, and Lin Ji answered one by one.

However, the atmosphere quickly turned cold. Lin Ji wasn’t very good at chatting, and Meng Wanqiu usually didn’t put on airs as a senior.

He rubbed his hands, noticing that Lin Ji seemed to have a difficult expression, and kindly asked, "Lin Shizhi, are you facing any difficulties?"

He remembered that he had admired Lin Ji's excellence when he saw him at many occasions a few years ago; back then, he looked quite spirited, but now he seemed to be enveloped in a gloomy aura.

Lin Ji was troubled about how to start speaking, and upon hearing this, he quickly stood up and bowed, hoping that Ling Yun Zunzhe could help him.

He only said that he wanted to meet a powerful hidden elder to seek guidance on cultivation, but he feared that the other party wouldn’t be willing, so he wanted to ask the Zunzhe for a recommendation letter.

But after saying that, Lin Ji hesitated again. Meng Wanqiu was Lu Xiaobai's master; would he help him upon hearing this reason?

However, Meng Wanqiu cheerfully agreed: "It’s just a small matter, very simple."

Meng Wanqiu wasn’t sure if Lin Ji was telling the truth or who the hidden elder he mentioned was; as long as it wasn’t for doing bad things, why bother with so much?

Meng Wanqiu wrote a recommendation letter on the spot and handed it to Lin Ji, "I know quite a few friends; if you need more, you can leave me a communication talisman, and I’ll have them write to you."

Seeing Lin Ji’s serious expression, it was likely that this was very important to him; otherwise, he wouldn’t have approached a senior from another sect.

Lin Ji quickly bowed, "Thank you, Zunzhe."

When it came to family grievances, the more guarantees, the better.

Lin Ji carefully stored the letter and was about to leave when he suddenly paused, turned around, and asked out of nowhere, "Zunzhe, may I ask how Lu Xiaobai has been recently?"

Meng Wanqiu was even more delighted to hear this: "He’s doing well; he’s just been running around a lot, never resting. But he might come to find me soon; if you need to find him, I can have him come to see you!"

Lin Ji quickly said, "No, I don’t have anything to find him for."

Meng Wanqiu: "Alright, then I’ll let him know you asked about him."

Lin Ji: "..."

After Lin Ji left, Meng Wanqiu sighed as he watched his back.

This kid is quite good; it would be even better if he could become friends with Xiaobai.

Lin Ji actually just thought of Lu Xiaobai and casually asked. He remembered that over the years, they hadn’t met many times; perhaps he was just being silly.

Lin Ji returned to the Yunshang Immortal Sect, and after some contemplation, he went to find his master, Xuan Yi Zhenren, and also prepared to try his luck with the sect leader.

After all, he had been part of the Yunshang Immortal Sect for so many years, and he was still the first disciple; perhaps the sect would help him out of sentiment.

Xuan Yi Zhenren knew about Lin Ji's family grievances. He paused for a moment, indicating that he needed to think it over.

On one hand, he didn’t want Lin Ji to become obsessed with revenge and neglect his cultivation, while on the other hand, he feared that Lin Ji had already formed an obsession that would hinder his progress.

At that moment, Lin Ji realized that his master was still quite normal.

He then went to seek an audience with the sect leader, who asked him to wait outside. Lin Ji had no choice but to kneel under the scorching sun for half a day until the other party was satisfied with his submission.

Once inside, Lin Ji made his request, and after a round of guarantees to show his loyalty, the sect leader finally helped him up.

"I’ll help you just this once. You said you’d risk everything, even your life, right?"

Lin Ji: "Yes."

The Yun Sect Leader smiled inscrutably and told him to wait for news. After all, no one was going to give him anything on the spot.

Lin Ji waited for a few days; he didn’t receive the recommendation letters from his master and the sect leader, but the letter from Ling Yun Zunzhe had already arrived.

When Lin Ji received recommendation letters from the Peifeng Sect's sect leader and the owner of the Ming Ding Manor, he couldn’t help but smile sarcastically. If someone didn’t know better, they might think he was a disciple of the Peifeng Sect.

For the first time, Lin Ji felt a sense of wavering in his heart. Others said that only when faced with difficulties would one know whether they could share joys and sorrows, but usually, the sect treated him like a tool.

Was the Yunshang Immortal Sect really worth him staying in?

He hadn’t signed a contract to sell himself; why should he waste his life in a place he didn’t like? Moreover, he didn’t know the details of his enemy; if it really came to revenge, they might drag each other down.

In any case, he didn’t expect the sect to stand up for him.

A thought began to form in Lin Ji's mind, and soon this thought grew stronger. The moment he made the decision, he felt a genuine sense of relief, as if a heavy stone that had weighed on his heart for years had suddenly been lifted, and everything before him became clear.

But he wouldn’t express it; the Yunshang Immortal Sect was not a place one could come and go as they pleased.

In the end, Lin Ji couldn’t leave the Yunshang Immortal Sect.

He remembered the day of the incident, with thunder and lightning; his master, Xuan Yi Zhenren, had someone call him over.

When Lin Ji entered his master’s cave, before he could say anything, he was met with a slap.

He didn’t dodge because he truly hadn’t expected it. Xuan Yi Zhenren was occasionally warm but mostly strict; he had been whipped with a thorny branch and punished before. But Lin Ji never imagined he would hit him like this.

No matter when, hitting someone in the face was the most damaging act to one’s dignity, extremely insulting.

Lin Ji was stunned, glaring at the other party: "Master, you..."

Xuan Yi Zhenren was even more agitated, shouting hoarsely, "Unfilial disciple, kneel down!"

Lin Ji suspected that the books he read in the mundane world had influenced him too deeply, with all that talk about respecting teachers and valuing the way. Xuan Yi Zhenren was so fierce that his first reaction wasn’t to resist, and by the time he was forced to kneel under his pressure, it was already too late.

He could only choke back his words, gritting his teeth: "Disciple doesn’t know what wrong I have done."

Xuan Yi Zhenren sat back down, picked up a thick envelope, and sneered: "Then tell me, what is this?"

Lin Ji stared at it for a long time and scoffed: "This is my thing; why is it in Master’s hands?"

"You don’t need to worry about that! Even your fellow disciples can’t stand it! Corresponding closely with elders from other sects, you tell me, what do you want to do? Do you want to change sects?"

...So it was Ye Yu.

Lin Ji believed he had always supported his junior brother, but he gradually distanced himself from him, and now he even turned around to report him. Well, he had misjudged him before, and it wasn’t the first time.

Lin Ji closed his eyes, finally unable to hold back, he exploded: "What do you think I want to do? Such a simple request, you all wouldn’t even lift a finger to help me, yet I have to seek help from elders of other sects; shouldn’t you reflect on yourselves?"

Xuan Yi Zhenren’s eyes widened in fury: "Are you saying I have treated you poorly? Or that I haven’t fulfilled my duties as a master?"

Lin Ji stubbornly raised his head, coldly smiling without denying: "No one knows better than you the hatred I bear! Of course, I have no right to force others to do things; my family’s grievances are mine to avenge! No one can stop me!"

Lin Ji paused, considering the recommendation letter, and didn’t continue to provoke him: "Master, please return the letter to me!"

Xuan Yi Zhenren’s chest heaved violently, and with a wave of his hand, he scattered the letter.

The letters fell to the ground, and one was blown out through a door crack that had never been closed, soaked by the rain. If it weren’t for the paper’s material being resistant to water and fire, it would have been ruined.

Lin Ji saw this and his eyes turned red; the already scarce bond between master and disciple was about to be completely worn away.

But Xuan Yi Zhenren’s next words truly sent him to hell:

"Do you have anything of your own?"

Lin Ji looked up in disbelief; after his master’s rage, he strangely calmed down, and the words he spoke were so cold and hurtful.

"Over the years, all your cultivation, spiritual power, and place to stay—what isn’t given to you by the Yunshang Immortal Sect?"

"Do you think you’ve done enough? Do you really think you are irreplaceable to the Yunshang Immortal Sect and to me?"

"At least that person from Peifeng Sect, with the surname Lu, has progressed faster than you and has won people’s hearts! Who knew his name before the Secret Realm Competition? Yet in just a few years, he has surpassed you!"

"Even if you change sects now, it’s too late. You’re corresponding with the elders of Peifeng Sect; they already have an outstanding disciple. If you go, you’ll only be worse off than now! You will always be overshadowed by Lu Xiaobai!"

Lin Ji: "Enough! Enough!"

His sudden, hoarse shout made Xuan Yi Zhenren’s forehead twitch, and then he was shocked to find that Lin Ji was actually standing up against his pressure.

Xuan Yi Zhenren was still at the Nascent Soul stage, and looking at it this way, the gap between Lin Ji and him was getting smaller.

Lin Ji stepped closer to Xuan Yi Zhenren, tears rolling down from his reddened eyes: "Why do you have to be like this? Why!"

"It’s one thing for outsiders to say so, but you are my master! Yet you suppress me again and again, deny me; am I really that annoying to you?"

Lin Ji raised his hand and knocked over the tea set on the table, creating a mess on the ground. His face was filled with madness and confusion, "I just don’t understand why everyone insists on putting me in opposition to Lu Xiaobai!"

"From the moment I was born until I joined the Immortal Sect, I’ve understood that there are always people better than me! I’ve never demanded or wished for this world to be solely mine, not allowing others to be stronger than me! Just because others are strong doesn’t mean I can’t be strong too! What others gain doesn’t mean I lose anything!"

"I’ve only ever asked for myself; I want to break through my own limits, walk the furthest on the path I choose, and stand at the highest point. I just want to do my best to become the best version of myself!"

"But my hard work isn’t for comparison with others!"

"Master always urges me, but what about you? Where do you rank among the many seniors?"

These words had been suppressed in Lin Ji’s heart for too long, and when they erupted, even he couldn’t predict it.

Xuan Yi Zhenren was dumbfounded, and after realizing it, he began to cough violently, blood surging in his throat, and he was so enraged that he spat out a mouthful of old blood.

Seeing this, Lin Ji finally paused. Normally, he might have gone over to pour a cup of tea, but today he didn’t move.

Xuan Yi Zhenren shouted, "It seems I can’t control you anymore! Then get lost! If other sects are so good, then go join them!"

"You don’t even hate that Lu Xiaobai; from what you say, you seem to admire him, right? Then go find him! Let’s see how he will mock you!"

"From now on, I no longer have you as my disciple; get lost!"

Xuan Yi Zhenren was originally hot-tempered, and Lin Ji was no less so.

This master-disciple pair exploded at each other, spending the night saying the most aggressive and hurtful words, and neither could tell whether they were speaking the truth or just out of anger.

Lin Ji gradually calmed down, squatting down to pick up the envelopes one by one, putting them back into his robe.

In the end, he knelt and bowed three times to Xuan Yi Zhenren, saying, "Then as you wish."

He didn’t care to stay in this den of wolves!

Lin Ji turned and left, braving the wind and rain, ignoring his master, who was sitting there, clutching his chest and gasping for breath.

This was also the last time he would see Xuan Yi Zhenren in this life.

Lin Ji flew away from the Yunshang Immortal Sect without stopping. The rainy night was difficult to navigate, and he almost fell off his sword. He flew on his sword for an entire day, and by the next evening, the rain was still heavy.

He finally landed, wandering aimlessly in the rain, with nowhere to go.

Lin Ji found himself back at the place where he had encountered Ling Yun Zunzhe not long ago, and only then did he realize he had unconsciously stopped his sword there.

As he walked along the road, thoughts of Xuan Yi Zhenren’s words echoed in his mind.

Over the years, he had indeed felt like he had nothing, and what he had didn’t belong to him.

Lin Ji walked all the way to the streets of a nearby small town, where there were only a few households.

He inexplicably approached, knocking three times on each door with all his might.

He felt a mix of anticipation and emptiness.

He wondered if anyone would open the door to let him in, yet felt it was a wishful thinking.

Until he finished knocking and no one opened the door, Lin Ji sighed; it was as expected.

At the last house, just as he was about to knock, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

Lin Ji was taken aback, wiping the rain from his face and looking up, his whole body stiffened.

Lu Xiaobai was also stunned: "You..."

Lin Ji suddenly turned and ran away.

He could encounter Lu Xiaobai at any time, just not in this situation!

He wasn’t sure if the other party had seen his face clearly, but it absolutely couldn’t happen; he must not be seen!

Lin Ji had no choice but to return to the woods, walking all night, and by dawn, the rain finally stopped.

He barely used his spiritual power to remove the handprint on his face, so even if Lu Xiaobai saw him, it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.

The disciples of Peifeng Sect had stayed here for a long time, indicating that there were demons that needed to be dealt with.

Lin Ji encountered a demon, but for the demon, encountering him now was the worst luck.

They were both unlucky, so it would come down to who was more unfortunate! Lin Ji drew the Jueying Sword and vented his frustrations by hacking at the demon, acting wildly.

When Lu Xiaobai arrived, he saw such a scene; his hair was also wet, and his clothes dripped with water, but clearly, Lin Ji couldn’t see him.

Lu Xiaobai couldn’t say anything to him at that moment and could only join him in exterminating the demon.

The big demon that had been lured by Peifeng Sect for many days appeared, and the two of them went from fighting individually to cooperating with each other.

That year in the Snowfield Forbidden Land was short yet not so short; certain habits seemed to be triggered when they encountered each other.

At a certain moment, they pressed their backs together, a position they often took when fighting against snow wolves in the Snowfield.

The advantage of being back-to-back was that the enemy couldn’t sneak attack from behind, but to do this, both had to trust each other completely; otherwise, they could lose their lives at each other’s hands at any moment.

The thought that Lin Ji had never had in the Snowfield Forbidden Land suddenly emerged at this moment.

Why not just kill him?

Killing Lu Xiaobai might lessen his pain a bit.

He really didn’t hate him, but Lu Xiaobai’s existence was a kind of cruelty to him.

Lin Ji didn’t notice that his pupils turned red for a moment; he silently gripped his sword with the blade facing behind him.

With a fierce thrust, he stabbed the claw of the approaching demon.

A strand of Lu Xiaobai’s hair was cut off by the sword’s aura.

At such a close distance, if Lin Ji could cut his hair, he could also cut off his head.

Such intense killing intent was felt by Lu Xiaobai.

But when they eliminated the demon, as Lin Ji’s vision went black and he fell to the ground, Lu Xiaobai still acted faster than his brain, catching him and protecting his head from hitting the ground.

He reached out to touch Lin Ji’s forehead, which was burning hot.

Lu Xiaobai looked at the sword that Lin Ji was still tightly gripping even in unconsciousness and couldn’t help but wonder just how insecure Lin Ji was.