I Just Wanted To Live but I Somehow Became Better Than the Protagonist

Returning to One’s Roots

After the He Mountain Sect left in a hurry, the people from the Yi Lian Sect turned their attention entirely to Ye Yong, curious about his identity. With so many Nascent Soul treasures, he must be either wealthy or noble. To put it bluntly, even the leader of the Yi Lian Sect had never seen so many earth-level treasures all at once.

“May I ask your esteemed name?” Li Hong performed a respectful gesture to Ye Yong.

The Yi Lian Sect might seem unattainable in front of smaller sects, but in the eyes of great families and major sects, they were hardly worth a glance. The world of cultivation is complex yet incredibly pure; it is all about strength.

Even if one’s own power is lacking, as long as the backing is strong, one can still walk with confidence.

“There’s no need to mention my name. I am here to fulfill the late senior’s wishes, and it is not convenient to discuss it here…”

“I sincerely apologize for making you wait outside for so long.” Li Hong quickly realized and immediately instructed his disciples, “Hurry and prepare a banquet, and notify the elders.”

The disciples of the Yi Lian Sect hurried to comply. The injured middle-aged man, after taking a healing pill, knelt before Ye Yong in apology: “I was blind and foolish, blocking the young master at the mountain gate. I ask for your magnanimity; if there is to be punishment, let it fall solely on me. This matter has nothing to do with the other disciples.”

Ye Yong was not so petty, and the middle-aged man’s direct apology without excuses left a good impression on him; he was a loyal man with a sense of responsibility. At the same time, Ye Yong recalled that in the novel, the Yi Lian Sect suffered greatly because the protagonist caused their mountain gate to shatter, with disciples either dead or fleeing.

As for the reason, Ye Yong felt that the timing would likely be much earlier than expected, and he might even experience it firsthand.

After being invited into the sect, Li Hong personally explained to Ye Yong what had recently transpired.

It turned out that He Ma and the others who had gone to Lu Ming Island with Li Lanshan had not returned. He Shan Sect sent people to investigate but found nothing. Ultimately, they used special means and discovered that He Ma and the others were all dead, their souls unable to be summoned. Either their souls were completely extinguished, or they had been collected, or they had been transcended by powerful means and reincarnated.

Lu Ming Island was merely a small secret realm, and those who entered would not have high cultivation levels. How could there be powerful transcending methods? Thus, He Shan Sect believed the first two possibilities were the most likely.

Whether it was the complete destruction of souls or the collection of souls to cultivate into ghost soldiers, both were extremely cruel practices.

Originally, Li Hong wanted to demand an explanation for the incident where He Ma and his group had nearly taken advantage of Li Lanshan, but then He Shi’s side came over in a ruckus, insisting that Li Lanshan had colluded with demonic sects and harmed his precious son. Several others who were victims were grandsons of the elders, and He Shan Sect completely regarded Yi Lian Sect as enemies.

They would not rest until Li Lanshan was handed over for soul searching to uncover the truth of the matter.

Soul searching was a deeply humiliating act for cultivators; once searched, all their life experiences would be laid bare, and no secrets would remain. There was even a risk that the end of the search could lead to soul damage, resulting in months of recovery or, in severe cases, becoming soulless walking corpses.

Li Lanshan was the daughter of the sect leader. Not to mention that she knew some sect secrets, she had done nothing wrong yet was to be treated as a criminal. The entire Yi Lian Sect opposed this, fully aware that their strength was no match for He Shan Sect, yet they chose to stand firm.

As Ye Yong listened, he nodded; this was similar to the direction of the novel. The difference was that in the plot, Long Tian killed in front of Li Lanshan, who was aware of the events, while the real Li Lanshan was completely unaware.

“If He Shan Sect continues to blockade us, our sect will eventually face a shortage of resources…” an elder murmured, clearly hinting that he hoped Ye Yong could help.

If they could gain the intervention of great families and major sects, He Shan Sect would have to cease their frenzied targeting.

Ye Yong pretended not to hear. Although revealing his identity would resolve everything, he preferred not to have his whereabouts known. However, solving this matter without exposing his identity would be quite challenging, as He Shan Sect was merely a visible pawn, with darker forces behind them—forces connected to a certain righteous major sect and directly related to future events.

—

Seeing that Ye Yong did not respond, the elder also ceased to continue speaking; after all, no one was obligated to help a stranger.

Upon entering the guest hall, all seven elders of the Yilian Sect were present. The highest-ranking elder, the Grand Elder, was at the second level of the Nascent Soul stage, while the Third Elder was at the first level. Ye Yong couldn’t help but lament the significant gap compared to the Tianluo Sect, where a Nascent Soul cultivator could only manage affairs at best, and to become an elder, one had to reach the Transformation stage.

Of course, Ye Yong was not there to experience the disparity between wealth and poverty; he quickly made his intentions clear.

“Senior Bu Xiangsi is an elder of your esteemed sect, so I believe you all know him better than I do. The situation is this: I inadvertently discovered a hidden cave and found the remains of a senior who has passed away…”

“He has already passed away?” Upon hearing this, everyone present was extremely shocked.

Bu Xiangsi was their Second Elder, the most likely candidate to break through and become the third Nascent Soul cultivator. Everyone had fantasized about the day he would return in glory after his breakthrough, yet the reality was so disheartening.

“May I ask where his remains are? In the cave?” Accepting this painful news, some began to inquire about the subsequent arrangements.

“Rest assured, I have brought him back as agreed.” Ye Yong revealed the body wrapped in high-grade silk. Very soon, the Third Elder stepped forward to unveil it. Although the body had lost moisture and appeared quite shriveled, with hair in disarray, it was still recognizable from the facial contours and attire.

“It’s all my fault; I shouldn’t have argued with you back then.” The Third Elder gently grasped Bu Xiangsi’s shoulder, his eyes glistening with moisture. “If you hadn’t left in anger, you would have surely broken through to…”

The other elders also mourned for the remains, reminiscing about the past, and then expressed their gratitude to Ye Yong for bringing him back. As the saying goes, fallen leaves return to their roots; Bu Xiangsi had no descendants, and the Yilian Sect was his home. Being buried within the sect was the best outcome.

Receiving the elders’ thanks, Ye Yong felt no sense of pride; instead, he thought to himself how fortunate it was that he was not Long Tian. Otherwise, if he had left the body in a mangled state and failed to bring it back, it would have brought disaster upon their sect.

The elders were tactful enough not to mention Bu Xiangsi’s belongings, as Ye Yong was not the main character; the aura of a villain was evident, and no one dared to bully him. On the contrary, they unanimously expressed their desire to offer Ye Yong a token of gratitude for helping Bu Xiangsi fulfill his last wishes.

“There’s no need for that; I have already received appropriate compensation from Senior Bu.” Ye Yong waved his hand. Any additional gifts would merely add to the burden of his storage bag, and it would be better to receive the key related to the incident instead. However, it was clearly not possible to bring this up directly; he needed to take a roundabout approach to reduce attention.

Thus, Ye Yong took out Bu Xiangsi’s earth-grade treasure robe. “This item is of no use to me. I would like to see your sect’s treasury and exchange it for something else. Would that be feasible?”