With Jing Yi being an ascended deity and Xiao Dong being a dragon, the two of them soon arrived at the Hei Dian Sect, not noticing the demon following them.

Jing Yi looked at the familiar entrance and then looked down at his robe. They had put on the sect robes from the Yun Zou Sect to blend in better over there but now, they naturally stuck out like a sore thumb. He smiled wryly and then wondered whether they should change their clothes. That was what Qiu Ling and he had done when they came here for the mission. Even though it hadn’t been the sect robes of the Hei Dian Sect, it had at least been something dark that wouldn’t make them look as suspicious.

Xiao Dong didn’t seem to be interested in doing that though. He had already walked over to the entrance, nodded at the disciples, and then just walked past them even though they seemed to be about to say something.

Jing Yi’s eyes widened and he stared in doubt. Just how … had Xiao Dong done that? After a heartbeat, he shook his head at himself. This really wasn’t important right now! He needed to catch up to him first. Thus, he rushed off too, hoping that he could somehow replicate the miracle Xiao Dong had just performed in front of his eyes.

Of course, he wouldn’t be that lucky.

The guarding disciples might not have been able to stop Xiao Dong in time and then been shocked as well but now, they were already forewarned and hastily stepped in Jing Yi’s way. “Stop right there! What are you doing here?!”

Jing Yi smiled wryly. Why had he even expected that this would work? The problem was probably his attitude. People like Qiu Ling and Xiao Dong could swagger into any place and usually wouldn’t be questioned. Even if they were, they would manage to look completely baffled that somebody would dare to do so. Then, the answer was usually violence and as dragons, they always won here in the mortal realm.

For a moment, he wondered if he should try that as well for once. In the end, he didn’t do it though. What could he say? He just wasn’t that type of person. He was too awkward for that kind of pretension. Instead, he kept up that wry smile and gave the next best explanation he could come up with. “We just came back from a mission. Please don’t mind the robes.” He didn’t want to have to explain anything but this seemed like the most logical way to gain entrance easily.

The two disciples stared at him dumbfounded and then exchanged a glance. This … well, it wasn’t impossible but it was … strange. And they weren’t idiots. They wouldn’t let him in just because he said that he had just come back.

They exchanged a glance and then decided to question him first. “Well, if you’re a disciple of our sect, then you can certainly prove it!”

Jing Yi faintly raised his brows but then nodded. Anyway, he had been a disciple of the Hei Dian Sect in the past, even though it had only been for short while.

He rummaged through the spatial ring he had gotten from Qiu Ling and took out the sect robes of the Hei Dian Sect from back then, as well as the manual of the alchemy division.

He was pretty sure that there had been an identity token as well but he couldn’t find it. They really couldn’t fault him for that! Anyway, it had been a long time. He looked around for a moment longer but then shook his head. Nothing. Who knew where it had been thrown to? It seemed he could only try to muddle through this way.

“Well, do you want me to put this on? I’m from the alchemy division. My name is … Jing He.” He winced inwardly when he had to say that name but that was the one he had registered under back then. Thinking about it, he felt that he should make use of that identity though. “Well, if you don’t believe me, you can go and get senior martial brother Yue. We worked together closely before I was sent on that mission so he will recognize me.”

The two disciples exchanged another glance and then took the robes and manual, taking a closer look.

“It’s really from the alchemy division.”

The other one nodded. “I say, this is a really good back story he made up if it’s not the actual truth. He even knows of senior martial brother Yue Lin.”

Jing Yi nodded faintly, feeling that the truth was somewhere between these two options. But anyway, he wouldn’t say anything. It was better to let them hash this out between themselves. Even if they decided that they wanted to check with Yue Lin, that was still not too bad. Anyway, if they really got him out here, then he wouldn’t even have to look for him. Even finding Niu Hai might be easier later on.

Well, as it turned out, he wouldn’t have that much trouble. The disciple gave back his things and then nodded inside before stepping to the side.

“Well, go on in then. Next time, don’t forget to change back before you get here. What if we had attacked you on sight? You’re really not making our job any easier.”

“Yeah! And you better find your old identity token or register for a new one. Others won’t be as easygoing as us, you know?”

Jing Yi nodded good-naturedly and then rushed in with the robe still in his arms. Anyway, he wasn’t about to change in front of these two guys.

When he left, one of the disciples couldn’t help but look at the other. “What if this was just something he made up? I mean he didn’t have that identity token and senior martial brother Yue is quite well-known. The righteous sects should know about him as well.”

The other disciple shrugged his shoulders. “Well, it’s plausible enough. And if not, the sect is full of our own people. If he tried something funny, do you bet he will be jumped by a bunch of other disciples? Why should we care?” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and then just continued to look into the distance again.

Anyway, they were actually just glorified vases. Nobody really expected them to check the people coming here or keep the sect safe. They were just here to seem impressive and keep up appearances. If there was really something wrong with the ones coming to their gates others would take care of it. The job actually wasn’t too bad if you thought about it like that.

Either way, Jing Yi had finally made it in as well and hurriedly caught up to Xiao Dong who was waiting further inside, observing the caves around him.

Jing Yi gave him an exasperated look. “How did you manage to pass by them in that robe?” Actually, not just the robe but Xiao Dong had the kind of appearance that was pretty memorable. Surely, those disciples should have known that he couldn’t be a disciple of the Hei Dian Sect.

Xiao Dong raised his brows and then he shrugged his shoulders. “Just be fast and keep walking. Even if they say something, what are they going to do? I’m stronger than both of them together. You should also try it! Anyway, they’re just small disciples. At most, they’re in the mid-range for human cultivators. What are they going to do to an ascended deity?”

Jing Yi raised his brows and finally nodded. “You know, even though it’s been mentioned a lot of time these last few days, I sometimes forget that I have actually ascended. It just seems so … unreal.”

Xiao Dong gave him a look, not sure what to say about that. Although … “In all of human history, you’re probably the first ascended deity to say this sentence.”

After cultivating for such a long time, becoming immortal, and gaining entrance to the Nine Heavens, how could you forget about being an ascended deity? It didn’t seem to make any sense. But then, if you constantly had to compare yourself to a trueborn god, maybe that did make you feel much more mortal than it was the case with others.

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