Zhi Xuan darted toward the broken bamboo gate; his speed now allowed him to glide easily, passing ancient trees with agility. Ahead, the gate guards were waiting, their eyes narrowing as they saw Zhi Xuan running.

  "Isn't that the Golden Core kid who went to the Shadow Cliff yesterday?" One of the tall, muscular men glanced at his friend. His face showed subtle shock at Zhi Xuan's condition.

  "With the two Golden Core kids yesterday? I think he is the one," said one of the thinner guards, his eyes scrutinizing Zhi Xuan.

  Zhi Xuan, now at the Divine Wheel Sanctum level with a foundation enhanced by Taiyin Essence, sensed every pair of eyes and every fluctuation of spiritual essence around him. He slowed his pace as he approached the gate. His one blind eye felt cold, but his right sapphire-blue pupil radiated sharp alertness.

  He stopped right in front of the weathered bamboo gate, his robe torn in several places and covered in the spiritual dust remnants of destruction. His face was pale, but his aura—though cold and unnatural—was clearly at the peak of the Divine Wheel.

  "Good morning, Senior Brother," Zhi Xuan greeted, his voice slightly hoarse. He tried to smile but only produced a stiff grimace due to the lingering coldness on his skin.

  The two guards exchanged glances. The thin man, who was at the First Ember dawn stage, frowned. "Who are you, boy? I saw you yesterday, and now you are back in a condition like a ghost who just woke up from death?"

  Zhi Xuan sighed. He knew he was smiling broadly, trying to be honest so as not to seem suspicious. "I am Zhi Xuan. I want to go to Shoutuo City, Senior Brother!"

  "You, from that star village?" The thin man stepped forward, placing one hand on his chin and scrutinizing Zhi Xuan. "Yesterday your eyes were still normal when you left the shadow cliff; why are you blind in one eye now?"

  The tall man reached for the wine jug in his hand. "And your smell, like a walking corpse. Did you just swarm a livestock carcass? You reek!"

  Zhi Xuan raised his hands, his face panicked. The movement caused an unpleasant odor to waft from his armpit through his robe.

  "I just fell into a spiritual mud puddle!" Zhi Xuan answered quickly. "And my eye... I fell on the road yesterday when I returned to the village."

  The thin man frowned, waving his hand due to the unpleasant smell. "Hey, put your hands down! You smell like carrion!"

  "That is not carrion!" Zhi Xuan protested, immediately lowering his hands and hugging his own body. "It is just... the aroma of very rare ancient spiritual mud! The smell is strong, but it is a sign of good fortune!"

  The tall man, who was sipping his wine, choked and sprayed its contents onto the ground. "Ancient spiritual mud? Boy, you smell like a mixture of devil sweat and thousand-year-dead rotten moss! You smell even worse than a wild boar wallowing in its own filth!"

  "You should be grateful I did not try to sell it in Shoutuo City, Senior Brother!" Zhi Xuan defended himself. "This mud is deadly to ordinary insects. Look! No flies dare to approach me!"

  He pointed around, but as he did, a small, bright blue butterfly that happened to be passing suddenly turned sharply as if hitting an invisible wall and flew away frantically.

  "See! Even that butterfly ran away!" said the thin man, his nose wrinkled. He pulled out a white Jade handkerchief and covered his nose with it. "You are Divine Wheel Sanctum, yet your appearance is worse than a beggar!"

  "Wait, Divine Wheel Sanctum?" The tall man froze, his wine spilling onto his robe. He sensed a faint cold aura around Zhi Xuan, realizing that the boy in front of him was indeed at the Sanctum level. "You... were not you Golden Core yesterday?"

  "Ah, that..." Zhi Xuan scratched the back of his neck, producing a rustling sound from the spiritual dust. "That is a side effect of the ancient spiritual mud! I cultivated for five minutes in that puddle, and suddenly BOOM! I leveled up. It is just that the side effects, well... the smell and this eye."

  "Five minutes?" The thin man almost stumbled backward. He held his Jade handkerchief tightly. "True cultivators take decades for that! Five minutes to reach Sanctum? You are trying to fool us, boy!"

  "I am not fooling you! The puddle was truly magical!" Zhi Xuan insisted. "Grandpa Wu said that opportunities always come in places most people do not want!"

  Ruo Xianxue snorted in Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness. 'Ancient spiritual mud? Grandpa Wu? Shameless monkey! At least clean your one-eyed spiritual mud before claiming a miracle of nature!'

  The tall man stared at Zhi Xuan with narrowed eyes. "I broke through to Divine Wheel ten years ago, and I have never heard of mud that can raise levels in five minutes. What kind of stench is this?"

  "This is... Ancient Taiyin Mud!" Zhi Xuan exclaimed, taking a risk. The name sounded ancient and dominating. "Very dangerous, but very efficacious! I need to take a clean bath immediately, or the energy will turn into poison! I must leave now!"

  "Ancient Taiyin?" This time, both guards looked slightly surprised, murmuring to each other. Taiyin was a highly respected and primal concept, rare in the mortal world.

  "Yes! And Senior Brother, could I borrow your white Jade handkerchief for a moment? This smell is truly bothering my aura of luck," Zhi Xuan said with a pleading look, trying to use the abnormality of his blind eye to evoke sympathy.

  The thin man immediately hid his Jade handkerchief behind his back. "No! My handkerchief is too precious to hold your stench, Ancient Taiyin or not! Hurry up and go! Do not contaminate this gate!"

  The tall man, still stunned, waved his hand. "Go on, boy! Hurry and clean yourself! And do not try to sell that 'Ancient Taiyin Mud' in Shoutuo City; you will be beaten to death!"

  Zhi Xuan smiled broadly. "Thank you very much, Senior Brothers! May you have a bountiful spiritual harvest!"

  Without waiting for a reply, Zhi Xuan darted through the bamboo gate, using his new Divine Wheel Sanctum speed. He ran as far as possible into the forest, leaving the two guards still debating and sniffing the air.

  "I think he is genuinely crazy," the thin man said, still covering his nose.

  "But his aura... he was truly Golden Core yesterday," the tall man muttered, staring toward the direction Zhi Xuan disappeared. "Maybe we should report this? A Divine Wheel Sanctum who smells like mud..."

  "Are you crazy? Report it to whom? Reporting a foul-smelling boy will only get you laughed at." The thin man snorted softly. "I would even faint from smelling him."

  The two men shook their heads, but before they were done with their astonishment, Zhi Xuan ran back to the broken bamboo gate, approaching the two men again.

  "Senior Brothers, here is the gate fee!" Zhi Xuan smiled broadly and handed over a few silver coins. "Have a good and blessed day!"

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Zhi Xuan then darted away again, as fast as lightning. The two guards stared at the silver coins in their hands, then at Zhi Xuan's disappearance.

  "He... He came back just to pay the entrance fee?" the tall man asked, still sniffing the wine aroma on his hands.

  The thin man shrugged, his Jade handkerchief still covering his nose. "I do not know. Maybe that Taiyin mud made him responsible, or maybe he is just a very smelly, crazy monkey."

  Zhi Xuan sped along the flat path, different from the direction toward the shadow cliff. This path seemed busy with faint forests and was filled with fields and residents' huts.

  Ruo Xianxue laughed dryly in Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness. 'You are truly unbelievable. You have an ancient treasure but argued about a smell with low-level gate guards.'

  'That is called acting normal, Red Stone,' Zhi Xuan replied internally. 'Besides, we do not want to attract attention too quickly. They will soon forget "Zhi Xuan, the stinky mud" and focus on the greater spiritual disruption.'

  'Sly monkey,' Ruo Xianxue snorted again, but her tone now contained a hint of admiration. 'Quickly find a river, your chaotic and cold aura will attract trouble, especially with the Taiyin aura clinging to your torn robe.'

  Zhi Xuan nodded, looking ahead. The path began to meet a wider trail, and in the distance, he could see small huts and several low-level cultivators working in the fields.

  "The river should be there, Red Stone," Zhi Xuan whispered, his one blind eye feeling colder, as if scanning the water essence. "After bathing, we will head to Shoutuo City!"

  Zhi Xuan slowed his pace, walking calmly, his jade-white skin stained and messy. After a while, Zhi Xuan arrived at a small village that was part of the northern village.

  'Ruo, do you think the northern village is just a false target?' Zhi Xuan whispered. 'I do not think they have anything to do with the poison sect. Only Shoutuo City can answer this.'

  Zhi Xuan now walked along the edge of the village, where several farmers with Human Wheel cultivation levels were just starting their day. A middle-aged woman with a straw hat, who was bent over in a vegetable field, straightened up and looked in his direction. Her peaceful face immediately turned into an expression of pure disgust.

  The woman slowly stepped back, her hand reflexively moving to cover her nose. Her eyes swept from Zhi Xuan's messy hair, his torn robe, to his pale left eye.

  "Good heavens, where are you from, Young Master?" the woman muttered, her voice sounding choked. "Such a cold aura, but the smell is like death itself!"

  Zhi Xuan, who was now six steps away from the woman, tried to smile politely. "Good morning, Madam! I apologize. I just came back from a long spiritual journey at the Death Cliff. I am looking for the nearest river."

  A small child playing with a straw doll near a hut ran away screaming, "Mother! There is a stinky ghost!"

  An old man sitting on a wooden bench, sharpening his sickle, immediately stopped. The old man was the only one with Golden Core cultivation. He glared at Zhi Xuan, but as soon as the smell reached his nose, his eyes widened, and he coughed loudly.

  "Who are you, young man? Are you a Devil cultivator who just woke up?" the old man asked, his voice hoarse. "I have never smelled such a destructive Spiritual Essence! That cold aura... You could even freeze my vegetables!"

  Zhi Xuan felt his cheeks heat up with embarrassment. He was handsome, yes. But he also smelled terrible. "I am not a Devil cultivator, Senior. I am just..." Zhi Xuan searched for the right words. "I am a victim of... the efficacious but very, very, very smelly Ancient Taiyin Mud!"

  The old man twitched his nose once more, then immediately took a handful of dry straw from the floor and covered his face with it. "I do not care if you are Taiyin or Taiyang, stay away from my village! Go to the river! You are disturbing my harvest!"

  'Ancient Taiyin Mud... truly a brilliant idea, monkey,' Ruo Xianxue scoffed, but this time her tone was more amused. 'You became a village legend as the "Taiyin Stinky Ghost" in five minutes.'

  "I was trying to be polite, Ruo!" Zhi Xuan retorted internally. "But they are making me feel like public enemy number one!"

  Zhi Xuan bowed respectfully to the old man, ignoring the disgusted and fearful looks from the farmers. "Please forgive my inconvenience, Senior. I will leave immediately!"

  He turned and started walking quickly, then immediately ran when he heard the middle-aged woman shouting to the other children, "Children, do not go near that stinky ghost! You will get sick!"

  'I am a new Divine Wheel Sanctum cultivator, with a foundation enhanced by primal energy, and they are calling me a stinky ghost,' Zhi Xuan thought, feeling a mixture of embarrassment and pride.

  Zhi Xuan walked back, passing several trails with an embarrassed smile. Of course, there were cynical looks and some astonishment at the young man with the ragged robe. Zhi Xuan ignored them and focused on finding the river.

  He left the small village behind him, the sounds of whispers and suppressed coughs subsiding as the distance separated them. Zhi Xuan now followed Ruo Xianxue's soft whispers, which guided him toward the nearest water source.

  "Of course this damned village will not tell you anything about the poison sect," Ruo Xianxue said with a tone of disgust. "They do not even care about your stench. Focus on the river. There, beyond that clump of dead bamboo."

  Zhi Xuan lightly jumped across a small stone fence. Before him lay a small river. The water looked clear, reflecting the soft morning sunlight. It was a refreshing sight after the death cliff and the body bag.

  Zhi Xuan immediately dropped the Jade Bottle carefully onto the ground and removed his torn, foul-smelling robe. His inner clothes were just as dirty.

  "Finally! I feel like I can breathe again!" Zhi Xuan exclaimed, feeling the cold essence from his body mix with the warm water vapor.

  'Bathe quickly, monkey. The smell is hurting the Devil Monument,' Ruo Xianxue hissed.

  Zhi Xuan jumped into the river. The cold water felt like medicine. As the river water touched his skin, the spiritual dust and remnants of the Taiyin mud dissolved in a small vortex, leaving a subtle layer of essence on his skin. The coldness from his blind eye also subsided as the stench disappeared.

  "Ahhh... Heaven!" Zhi Xuan sighed, dipping his head. He realized that the river water, although it did not contain Spiritual Essence, felt very cleansing.

  After a moment, Zhi Xuan emerged from the water. His black hair was soaked, and his slender body, now infused with the power of Divine Wheel Sanctum, radiated a clean, cold aura. His left eye was still pale, but no longer emitted the threatening coldness as before.

  "How is it, Ruo? Am I still the Taiyin Stinky Ghost?" Zhi Xuan asked proudly.

  "The stench is gone. Now you are just a pale young monkey with a flawed eye," Ruo Xianxue replied flatly. "But at least I can restrain myself from destroying your Sea of Consciousness now. Quickly put on your robe and let us go. We do not have time to soak."

  Zhi Xuan nodded his head, swimming closer and getting out of the river. He sighed softly and then touched his black-and-red robe; this black robe with red silk, which had been with him since he was a baby, had never left his body.

  Zhi Xuan grabbed the robe and soaked it in the water for a moment, then pulled it back, and it was immediately clean and dry. "This robe has been with me since childhood. The one who sent me was very smart to even store a spiritual robe that can recover itself."

  Zhi Xuan put on the robe which now felt light and cool. The robe not only cleaned itself, but its red silk lining now seemed to reflect the cold aura of his Divine Wheel Sanctum.

  "That robe is quite good. Not bad for a Golden Core boy," Ruo Xianxue commented with a slightly impressed tone. "The robe rejects dirt and retains warmth. Protect it well. You will not find such an item easily in this mortal world."

  "I will take care of it," Zhi Xuan promised, tying the silk belt. He touched the Jade Bottle he had just retrieved from the ground, storing it inside his robe. Grabbing the heart-protecting jade, he tied his hair back.

  Zhi Xuan stepped out of the riverbank. With steady and elegant steps—completely different from the 'stinky monkey' running around before—he headed toward the trail that led to Shoutuo City.

  His next destination was a large trading city that served as a connection between small cultivation sects and the imperial territory in the mortal world. It was the right place to get rumors, the Five-Element Scroll, and, most importantly, information about the poison sect that threatened the star village.

  After walking for a moment, Zhi Xuan arrived at a small wooden bridge that crossed the river. From the bridge, he could see a settlement much larger than the village he ran through earlier. Houses were neatly lined up, and there were well-maintained fields.

  "The northern village is not much different from the Star Village, Ruo," Zhi Xuan muttered. "Everything is calm and peaceful. It is hard to imagine any danger threatening here."

  "Peace is an easily flammable blanket, monkey," Ruo Xianxue hissed. "The Poison Sect you are looking for will not show themselves in a vegetable patch. They work in the shadows. These villages are just food. Focus on Shoutuo City. True power gathers there."

  Zhi Xuan nodded, stepping steadily across the bridge. "I understand. I will be careful. I must reach the First Ember as soon as possible," Zhi Xuan said, his hand touching the spiritual pouch gifted by Uncle Chen at his waist. "It contains herbal supplies and meat that are useful to me."

  "Use it wisely," Ruo Xianxue said. "You have just reached the peak of the Divine Wheel; stability of the realm is better before you can think about the Flame of Sunrose Flower."

  Zhi Xuan now walked on the wide road, with his aura back to normal and his appearance clean, he only looked like an ordinary young cultivator on a spiritual journey.

  "Shoutuo City. My first mission," Zhi Xuan whispered, his eyes radiating determination. "I am coming."