Starting with a Family System to Become an Immortal Official Chapter 91

Before Gu young master went to submit his pill bottles or deal with Grand Elder Song Yan, he had a few other things to take care of first.

Gu Linyuan stood atop a towering sand ridge.

At his feet lay the corpses of seven candidates.

These were lower-world upstarts who had dared to approach the pill bottles he had already claimed.

He had their storage rings and pill bottles resting uselessly in his palm.

"I’ve collected over fifty thousand..."

But he didn’t bother with the submission altars.

Not at the time.

Gu Lao appeared behind him in a flash.

The young man bowed deeply as his forehead nearly kissed the scorching sand.

"Young Master..."

Gu Lao said in a low, respectful voice.

"This loyal subordinate has already mobilized the rest of our clansmen. Every last one will sweep the dunes clean. We will secure enough pill bottles to ensure that Li Qingmu receives nothing. Failing him will be simplicity itself."

Gu Linyuan let out a soft chuckle of amusement that felt cold and oddly disturbing.

"Whether he fails or passes this phase matters little. As long as I remain within these exam grounds, that boy will never taste true victory."

He tucked both hands behind his back and relaxed his straight and noble posture.

"This is precisely why talented rats from the lower worlds should learn to keep their heads down. By daring to ally with the wrong immortal family, Li Qingmu has made enemies far beyond his station. Many in the Lower Heaven Realm now wish him gone... and I was sent here to see the task through personally."

Gu Linyuan flicked his sleeve and turned to leave.

Gu Lao hesitated only a moment before calling out.

"Young Master... you mentioned earlier that you would not return to submit the pill bottles to the proctors. May this one know where you intend to go?"

Gu Linyuan paused and looked back over his shoulder with a calm smile that had no warmth.

"I’m going to visit an old friend."

His voice was gentle like a pure angel.

"Make certain every Gu family candidate exits the exam area within the next ten hours."

His golden eyes narrowed fiercely.

"Anyone who remains... will die."

Gu Lao’s face paled.

"How──!?"

"Just get it done."

Gu Linyuan said flatly.

Gu Lao swallowed hard, bowed even deeper and dared not ask again. He watched in silence as the young master’s figure blurred into the distance.

Gu Linyuan made a stop before confronting Song Yan on the central observation dais.

He had first flown to the higher floors of the pagoda.

The pagoda rose nine floors into the heavens.

Each level was like its own sealed world with increasing pressure and profundity.

The whole setup wasn’t random at all.

It was deliberately designed to copy the ancient Nine Celestial Transformations which was a secret inheritance only passed down inside the Exalted Sage School.

Even there, it was taught only to the personal disciples that Master Wen Jiuling himself chose.

A technique legendary even among immortals.

A dual-refinement art divided into body and mind.

The first four floors refined the Celestial Body.

Tempering flesh, bones, meridians, and organs until the cultivator’s physique rivaled the indestructible stars themselves, capable of withstanding the birth and death of celestial bodies.

The upper five floors then opened the Celestial Sky.

It expanded the divine sense and soul until the mind became a boundless firmament, able to comprehend the rotation of constellations, the flow of heavenly laws, and even glimpse fragments of creation itself.

Only those who mastered both aspects could truly claim the inheritance.

With his King Realm cultivation, Gu Linyuan could ascend all the way to the ninth floor if he wished.

Today, however, he stopped at the fifth.

He stepped into a vast spiritual herb garden bathed in soft azure light. Rows of immortal plants swayed gently as they released wisps of medicinal fragrance.

In the center sat an old scholar in simple gray robes.

Xu Wenliang the Counting Immortal.

His fingers flew across a jade abacus.

Each click birthed or erased a translucent spiritual butterfly from the air around him.

Before Gu Linyuan could open his mouth, Xu Wenliang spoke without turning or pausing his count.

"What do you want, young master?"

His tone carried no warmth, but also no dismissal.

Any direct-line member of the Gu main branch was more than worth his time.

Gu Linyuan smiled faintly, unoffended.

"A small favor."

Xu Wenliang snorted.

"I know. That’s why I asked what you want."

His fingers never slowed.

Gu Linyuan’s voice remained calm.

"I need you to release the Devouring Whale Sovereign Hai Tun Wang into the Thousand Empty Sea Domain on the first floor. It has some... little errands to run for me."

Xu Wenliang’s hand finally froze mid-click.

He whipped around, eyes blazing.

"Are you insane? That abomination is the very reason Master Wen tightened the Dao restrictions on every floor and personally sealed it on the third! Its current strength might already allow it to force its way up here to the fifth! Releasing it would be madness!"

The old scholar’s chest heaved.

Only age and hard-earned restraint kept him from slapping the arrogant youth across the face.

Gu Linyuan chuckled lightly.

"What if I told you I’d make it worth your while?"

Xu Wenliang narrowed his eyes.

"How?"

"You suppress your cultivation to pursue the Heavenly Nascent Soul method, building an unshakable foundation so that if you ever reach Grandmaster realm, you can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Official Xu Wanshan."

Gu Linyuan’s smile turned knowing.

"You play the loyal family elder but we both know the truth. You covet his position... and his wife, Feng Ruoxue. Isn’t that right?"

Xu Wenliang’s face burned red with anger.

"Lies! Feng Ruoxue favors me as well—she wants me strong enough to overthrow him!"

The words escaped before he could stop them.

His mouth snapped shut in shock.

He’d said too much.

Gu Linyuan merely nodded to himself.

『Feng Ruoxue is clearly playing both of you. She’s always been a dominating woman who turns powerful men into submissive fools. Until the Gu family grows strong enough to challenge the Feng clan... I can’t say it’s my concern.』

Aloud, he said quietly.

"Release Hai Tun Wang and I’ll give you one of the soul fragments in my possession."

He extended his palm.

A small wood-like seed appeared, pulsing with vibrant green light of life essence so pure it made the surrounding herbs grow more fertile.

"This belongs to the Heavenly Wood Immortal King."

Xu Wenliang’s pupils dilated with naked greed.

Gu Linyuan pulled the seed back slightly.

"Only if the entity kills Li Qingmu."

Xu Wenliang stared for a long moment.

Then grinned internally like a vicious beast.

『If that creature slaughters the boy that will save me the trouble of doing it myself. Afterward, I can simply kill his child and retrieve the Water soul fragment. Everything falls into my hands. This arrogant pup before me really thinks he’s using me hmm!? How laughable!』

Outwardly, he schooled his expression into calmness.

"Very well. I’ll make the arrangements."

Gu Linyuan nodded once.

"I have a bet to arrange. Farewell."

He vanished in a swirl of sleeve wind.

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Back in the endless dunes.

Li Qingmu walked between the two women.

Song Ruyi halted abruptly to stretch her slender legs with a wince.

"My legs ache terribly. Can we stop for a moment?"

Su Liyue shook her head firmly.

"No. We’re almost at the central oasis. So we really can’t afford delays."

Li Qingmu stroked his chin while frowning.

"There are over a hundred thousand pill bottles scattered across this desert. It makes no sense that we haven’t found even one."

Song Ruyi clicked her tongue as she folded her arms with haughty pride.

"Of course not. The exceptional geniuses from the upper worlds have already swept most of them clean. You really thought you had a chance? Lower-world trash like you both simply aren’t on our level."

She huffed, chin lifted.

Li Qingmu regarded her with half-lidded eyes.

"You’d better not be counting yourself among those ’exceptional’ geniuses, little miss. I haven’t seen anything impressive from you yet."

Song Ruyi’s face flushed red with rage.

"How dare you disrespect me—!"

She stomped forward only for her bruised ankle to buckle.

She crumpled with a soft cry of pain then tried to hide her weakness as she scrambled to rise.

"Let’s just go already!"

Li Qingmu crouched beside her to study the swollen ankle that had gone purple.

"..."

He was utterly silent.

Song Ruyi froze under his stare.

Minutes passed. He said nothing.

Her cheeks burned hotter.

"C-, Can you stop staring like that! If my father knew a filthy man was looking at me with such... intent, he’d have your head chopped off!"

Then she stuttered some other proud nonsense.

Li Qingmu still didn’t speak.

Finally, he reached out.

"WAAHHH—!?"

That was her first reaction.

Li Qingmu wrapped an arm around her slim waist and hoisted her effortlessly over his shoulder.

Song Ruyi’s face exploded into flames.

She pounded his back with tiny fists.

"Let me go, you beast!"

Before he could retort, one of her flailing legs swung up and smacked him across the cheek.

Li Qingmu’s temper flared.

He spanked her firm, little butt hard.

PAAAHHH!

Song Ruyi’s entire body went rigid, numb.

The strike vibrated through her smallish body till she was limp and trembling with shame.

She gritted her teeth with a face like chilli.

"You... when I tell my father, he’ll skin you alive...!"

Li Qingmu yawned.

"Whatever."

He resumed walking, the pampered holy daughter slung over his shoulder like a sack of rice.

In a hidden corner of the dunes.

Gu Lao watched alongside a dozen Gu family members all watched with killing intent.

"Before we leave... we kill Li Qingmu."

"Hmph!"