TGDS Chapter 73.3

The Good Dad System (Arc 10) Chapter 73.3: The Villain’s Dad in the Cultivation Novels (9)

Xiang Wentian deliberately delayed exiting the room, only to find Lin Lianxing nowhere to be seen. He snorted inwardly, having already guessed the City Lord was trying to tell her some gossip about accepting a disciple—if he truly considered him family, would he not have told him?

He clenched his fists and left in anger. This Xingyun City was filthy to the extreme. Later, he would show no mercy!

…

When the Lanyue Sect sets out, they always travel light. After all, within the sect, most practice sword and blade training, allowing them to fly directly on swords and blades without the need for cumbersome equipment. The Xunxing Sect, however, is quite different. Every time they set out, they captivate everyone, stepping on star-shaped silk and descending from the sky, each step sprinkled with pearl and jade powder.

This time, Pei Naochun was traveling with the others openly. He simply said he was investigating something on the southwestern border of the continent, and no one suspected anything else.

This time, the team would head directly to Xingyun City, then travel from city to city according to their distance. Pei Mingzhen, with the newly developed star ship developed by the weapon-refining elder, would use it to bring back his disciples.

“Mingzhen,” Pei Naochun suddenly frowned as they neared Xingyun City.

Pei Mingzhen looked over curiously. “What’s wrong, Sect Leader?” From childhood, he had always insisted on calling his father “Sect Leader.”

“I’ve said before that I’ll investigate unusual events around Nebula City. Now that I’ve suddenly sensed something, I’ll conduct the investigation alone. Don’t take any risks after I leave,” Pei Naochun specifically instructed.

It turned out his father had indeed come to investigate something. Pei Mingzhen felt a bit embarrassed. “Okay, I’ll listen to you, brothers.” Several other brothers had come with him, but they’d let him lead the team, saying they hadn’t experienced it yet.

“Alright,” Pei Naochun nodded, and after giving a few more instructions to the others behind him, he flew away on his sword, and in a moment, he was gone.

He had come specifically not just to protect his son, but also to resolve the lingering doubts within the original body. Whether in the novel or in the original body’s memories, Xiang Wentian’s growth was traceable—in other words, aside from better luck and more opportunities than others, there wasn’t any such bizarre artifact as a portable grandfather or a heaven-dropped system. If that were the case, how did he exploit the demon gate? The novel, surprisingly, except for the extra chapters, never explicitly mentioned Xiang Wentian’s involvement with demons.

Pei Naochun took the time to compare the original body’s memories with the novel, pondering them over and over until he finally found a strange clue.

First, as mentioned earlier, the novel officially introduces the protagonist with the breakup of his engagement. In other words, the protagonist’s experiences before the breakup were essentially just a passing mention, not a detailed description. Furthermore, the novel mentions that after Xiang Wentian married Lin Lianxing, he returned to Xingyun City, purportedly to meet his father-in-law. Shortly after his return, the Demon Gate opened, and Xingyun City was destroyed. In his original memory, the blood-soaked burial ground was located in the Death Desert.

This meant the Demon Gate was likely located near Xingyun City, but how could it be opened?

Pei Naochun speculated that Xiang Wentian’s only chance of encountering demons was the death of his parents, but since his parents hadn’t taken him with them, the only possible demon-related relic they left behind was the Demon Inner Core or some small piece of equipment. Pei Naochun didn’t dwell on it, simply planning to take the Demon Inner Core and travel through the hardest-hit areas of his previous life. If he couldn’t find it, he would then target Xiang Wentian.

Regardless of whether this opportunity could be considered a gift from Xiang Wentian in a previous life, Pei Naochun had no intention of keeping it for him. After all, this opportunity had directly claimed the lives of countless cultivators and mortals alike.

Fortunately, no one in the cultivation world had ever considered exploiting the uses of demonic inner elixirs—after all, they weren’t a renewable resource, and there was no telling when a demonic invasion would occur. On the trading market, they were very cheap, costing less than a single spirit stone. It was usually only the wealthy and naive who bought them as souvenirs.

Pei Naochun had been buying them through forums for several years. This time, while accompanying his son, he had nearly cleared out all the market space, earning him the new title of “rich and naive” after the leader who had jumped off the cliff.

He soared high on his sword when a sudden inspiration struck him. He silently opened the Nine Gates Forum and posted a message in the leader discussion section. Then, quietly, he began his livestreaming journey. Livestreaming in the world of cultivation, surely it was quite interesting?

…

Ye Rushui is the male leader of the Xunxing Sect. His lifelong dream is to lead the Xunxing Sect to become one of the Nine Sects and defeat Pei Naochun, the leader of the Lanyue Sect. So far, he’s been persevering, despite repeated defeats.

His most painful experience lately has been the influence of the Lanyue Sect on his entire sect!

He admits it was he who proposed learning from the Lanyue Sect and the decision to introduce the forum, but he never considered how everyone in the sect could become addicted to it!

Pei Naochun was truly despicable, saying that their Xunxing Sect was too far away, and that to maintain the entire sect’s signal, they’d have to pay an outbound flight fee, a full high-grade spirit stone per month! While one high-grade spirit stone per month might not be much for the Xunxing Sect, he absolutely would not allow his own sect to aid the enemy in such a way! At Ye Rushui’s insistence, the Xunxing Sect introduced forum management regulations, limiting each person to thirty hours per month. This amounted to only one-third of a high-grade spirit stone.

Even more frustrating, those thirty hours weren’t nearly enough! He’d run out of time just to play for a short while each day. He’d heard that several other sects offered unlimited access with one high-grade spirit stone, but the Xunxing Sect was the only one so stingy. Despite the complaints of many disciples, Ye Rushui refused to surrender. To surrender to the enemy would be to betray their faith, and there were no cowards in the Xunxing Sect.

But the forum was a time-consuming troll. Every day, he’d read the secret realm adventures written by casual cultivators and answer their questions—yes, his favorite thing was answering questions from the Lanyue Sect disciples. Receiving their gratitude was a supreme feeling, a feeling of immense importance, a true figure for the Lanyue Sect.

Ahem, perhaps because of these reasons, he spent more time on the forum than anyone else, forcing him to either exploit his fellow disciples in seclusion or exploit their own disciples. As a result, within just a few days, he’d been completely turned down.

Ye Rushui was indignant, but hesitantly clicked on the forum. He’d only look for a moment, just a moment. His first thought was to check the Sect Leader’s Discussion section for any new posts, so he wouldn’t miss anything important. Upon opening it, the freshest post was right at the top, and he couldn’t help but recite the title: “Live Broadcast of Southwest Continent Exploration: Where Does the Demonic Invasion Come From?” Then he looked at the person broadcasting it—it was his lifelong enemy, Pei Naochun. The southwest was clearly their territory, wasn’t it just about accepting a disciple? The Sect Leader had come all this way—could he be taking advantage of this opportunity to secretly explore secret realms and dig for treasures?

He hurriedly clicked on it, only to be increasingly surprised.

[I’m currently at the edge of the Death Desert. According to information from the Moon-Raising Sect, demonic invasions have become increasingly frequent over the past thousand years, mostly appearing on the southwestern border of the continent. This time, I’ve accompanied my disciples to recruit new disciples, and I’m specifically exploring alone to find the source of the problem.]

Well, that’s an acceptable excuse, but it could also be a wolf in sheep’s clothing, an excuse!

[…I took out the demon’s inner elixir I’d purchased beforehand. After a demon is killed, only the inner elixir is usually left behind. Based on my rough calculations, I have a vague feeling that this inner elixir might be related to the demon.]

Ye Rushui waited a long time before a new reply appeared. He frowned and nodded thoughtfully. Cultivators possess the ability to calculate and perceive. Before he could even finish his serious thought, he suddenly burst into laughter, remembering that the idiot the disciples had mentioned, who was going around buying up demonic inner elixirs, was actually Pei Naochun. He could laugh about this for three years.

In just a short while, a number of replies had already arrived, all from leaders of other sects. Ye Rushui was filled with resentment. They were the only ones who could do this. If he only spent a high-grade spirit stone, their Xunxing Sect could also be online every day!

[I thought today would be a failure, but unexpectedly, I gained something.]

What did you gain? Ye Rushui was furious, wishing he could enter the forum and engage Pei Naochun in a fierce battle. How could he be so suspenseful? He refreshed the page relentlessly, not noticing the rapidly counting down on the screen.

[Found it! Holding the demon’s inner elixir, I can actually sense a monstrous demonic aura! Attached is a fragmented photo. Please help identify it. Based on my limited experience with formations, this is most likely a formation or a portal. There’s a gathering aura right above it, and from my perception, I sense a profound danger. Could this be the root cause of the demonic invasions for years?]

Ye Rushui jumped to his feet in shock. Such a dangerous place existed right within their sect’s jurisdiction? Even though he had been through hundreds of battles, he was still a little panicked. The classics left by the ancestors mentioned demons more or less. Although individual demons were not strong, they were endless and devoured each other. When they condensed into a large army, they were endless. It was said that in the past, the demon world was sealed after exhausting the efforts of countless people. Ten thousand years had passed. For most people, demons were already a distant existence, but they did not expect them to be so close.

He immediately switched the page to the private message, intending to confirm the location with Pei Naochun. In an emergency, he had to take everyone in the sect to study the seal and see if it could be strengthened. Otherwise, if an invasion occurred, wouldn’t their Xunxing Sect be the first to be in trouble? He just chose to send, but he pressed the button for a long time and it didn’t work. What was going on? Could it be that something happened to Sect Leader Pei?

Just when Ye Rushui was confused, he suddenly noticed the red zeros on the screen. Such words were all too familiar to him; he saw them every month. But now, his anger intensified. Ye Rushui stepped onto the Stepping Star Ribbon and, without a word, headed for the server cluster. An elder from the sect was dozing off, guarding the servers.

“Master, what’s going on here so late?” The elder stood up, his face filled with anxiety.

Ye Rushui’s face was emotionless. He extended his right hand, holding a glowing, high-grade jade. “Recharge your internet fee. We’re searching for the Star Gate. From now on, we’ll have unlimited data and unlimited time.” He acted swiftly. He was absolutely not an internet addict, nor would he aid the enemy!

…

In the central square of Nebula City, a cloud-topped platform had descended. Connected to it was a grounded cloud ladder, a magical instrument used by the Moon-Grabbing Sect. Tools for testing spiritual roots and spiritual energy perception were located on top.

Xiang Wentian stood there, looking up, and could only see the magnificent buildings looming in the clouds. He secretly told himself that today he must show those people that they had misjudged him