"Senior Brother Yuan Qing, don't you know yet? You successfully triggered the Ancient Immortal Needle. It released golden lightning that blanketed the entire sky above the Ancient Immortal Pool."
"More than that! Beyond the legendary golden lightning, five bolts of lightning appeared that aren't recorded anywhere in history. They seemed alive — galloping across the horizon. It was absolutely spectacular!" the disciples of the Star Observatory exclaimed with excitement.
"So it really was the Ancient Immortal Needle being triggered?" Hearing these words, Yuan Qing's brows furrowed slightly as his heart began to churn.
Qin Guang had gone to pursue Chu Feng and still hadn't returned. Fearing something had happened to him, Yuan Qing had been waiting this whole time. While waiting, he'd been cultivating with his eyes shut.
When the Ancient Immortal Needle was triggered, he had felt the fluctuations. At that point, he knew something had changed. But considering that even the Ancient Spirits who had been cultivating in the depths of the Pool had already departed, and only Qin Guang and Chu Feng remained unaccounted for, Yuan Qing felt uneasy and didn't dare come out.
So he waited a while longer, but the longer he waited, the more anxious he became. He didn't know whether Qin Guang had run into trouble or had simply left. Realizing the three-day deadline was almost up, he finally emerged from the Pool.
Never in his wildest dreams had he expected to walk into this scene. The earlier fluctuations had been caused by the Ancient Immortal Needle being triggered — and judging from the crowd's reaction, it appeared to have been triggered by a human.
Now, seeing everyone's excitement and reverent gazes, it was clear they had all assumed he was the one who'd done it.
Although Yuan Qing knew he hadn't triggered the needle — he couldn't even reach its base — when he thought about how triggering the Ancient Immortal Needle had been his lifelong dream, and the glory and benefits it would bring, he honestly wished it had been him.
And now that everyone believed it was, he wasn't about to refuse the credit.
After collecting his thoughts, a confident smile spread across his previously bewildered face. He nodded with undisguised pride: "That's right. I triggered it."
"Woooosh~~~~~~~~~~"
The moment those words left his lips, the crowd erupted. Even though everyone had already been certain Yuan Qing was the one who'd triggered the Ancient Immortal Needle, hearing him say it himself was far more electrifying.
In that instant, Yuan Qing had become the hero in everyone's eyes. Not only did the Star Observatory disciples cheer and celebrate, but even those from other sects clapped and shouted words of praise for Yuan Qing.
However, just as everyone was convinced that Yuan Qing had triggered the Ancient Immortal Formation, the Ancient Spirits who had entered the Ancient Immortal Pool held a different opinion.
"Him? How is that possible? I saw that guy in the Pool — he never dove to the bottom. He didn't even reach the depth we did. He was just lingering around the middle the whole time."
"True, he didn't reach the bottom, but he was still the deepest-diving human this year. If anyone could have triggered the Ancient Immortal Needle, it would most likely be him."
"Impossible! The Ancient Immortal Needle can only be triggered by someone who reaches the bottom. He was so far from the Pool's floor — how could he possibly have activated it?"
"This time, the Needle's activation was different from all previous times. Besides, who's to say it can only be triggered from the bottom? Can you guarantee that the conditions for humans to trigger the Ancient Immortal Needle are the same as for us Ancient Spirits?"
"That..."
The Ancient Spirits who had glimpsed Yuan Qing argued back and forth, but none could definitively confirm that it wasn't him. In the end, left with no alternative, even the Ancient Spirits were forced to accept that Yuan Qing had triggered the needle — because apart from him, they simply couldn't find anyone else who fit.
"This is so unfair! I spent all that time at the bottom of the Ancient Immortal Pool and couldn't trigger the needle, yet he managed it from that depth? And it even produced lightning phenomena never seen before? This is completely unfair!"
"That man doesn't deserve this glory at all. He doesn't deserve to have triggered the Ancient Immortal Needle." Compared to the others, Xian Kun was consumed by an even greater fury. His resentment mounted until killing intent boiled over inside him, growing denser and denser, until finally the words burst from his mouth: "I want to kill him."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible." Just as Xian Kun was about to act, a sweet and tender voice suddenly rang out from behind the crowd.
Everyone turned to look and was momentarily stunned. Then they quickly dropped to their knees in a formal bow: "Greetings, Your Highness."
The newcomer was an Ancient Spirit — a princess from the Kingdom. And this so-called princess was none other than the little girl who had previously stolen pills from the Star Observatory disciples, only to be rescued by Chu Feng.
"Rise, rise! You drop to your knees at the drop of a hat — don't your legs get tired?" The Elven Princess flew through the air, skipping along with her hands clasped behind her back, an impish grin on her face as she made her way to the Southern Lord, the attending elders, and Xian Kun.
"Your Highness, that worthless Yuan Qing doesn't deserve to trigger the Ancient Immortal Needle. His doing so is an insult to our Ancient Spirits. He must not be allowed to live. Please grant me permission to kill him and erase this stain," Xian Kun pleaded.
"Oh? Southern Lord, what do you think about this?" The Elven Princess blinked her big eyes and looked to the Southern Lord with an expression of helpless indecision — like a child in a panic, asking an adult for help.
"Um..."
"Your Highness, what Lord Xian Kun says is not without reason. This stain cannot be allowed to remain," the Southern Lord said after a moment's hesitation.
"Oh? Then I suppose you're planning to slaughter every last person in this Southern Domain — all several hundred million of them, inside and out?" The Elven Princess narrowed her eyes and asked with a grin: "What do you take us Ancient Spirits for — executioners or butchers?"
"That..." Her question left everyone at a loss for words.
"There are things you should know. Our Ancient Immortal Needle has been triggered by humans before. Ten thousand years ago, the human Qing Xuantian triggered our Kingdom's Ancient Immortal Needle — and not just any ordinary needle, but the Golden Needle of our Kingdom."
"Just how impossibly difficult the Golden Needle is to trigger — Xian Kun, you should know that better than anyone, shouldn't you?" The Elven Princess suddenly turned a smiling gaze toward Xian Kun.
Under her gaze, Xian Kun's expression darkened, but he ultimately nodded: "This subordinate understands."
"Don't feel too discouraged. Among our Ancient Spirits since ancient times, those who have managed to trigger the Golden Needle can be counted on one hand. Triggering it is simply not something ordinary beings can accomplish." The Elven Princess gave a meaningful smile, edged with irony, then continued: "But the human Qing Xuantian did just that."
"If you claim that whenever another race triggers the Ancient Immortal Needle, it counts as a humiliation for us — then that humiliation already occurred ten thousand years ago."
"If you truly want to erase this stain, killing the few hundred million people here won't be enough. You'd have to kill everyone in the Martial Holy Land — because whether human or demon beast, old or young, every single person there knows that ten thousand years ago, the human Qing Xuantian defeated our Ancient Spirits."
The Elven Princess spoke in a child's voice, and no matter what she said, it was still unmistakably the voice of a young girl. But once her words fell, every Ancient Spirit present bowed their head in silence. Not only were they rendered speechless, their faces were flushed with embarrassment.