Chapter 72 Don't Worry, There Won't Be Any Fight This Time
"Senior Qi Yuan, what brings you out today?"
Once again under the warm sun, Elder Qi Yuan, dressed in a long robe and holding a dusting whisk, drifted from the peak to the mountain gate.
Upon hearing the question from the gatekeeper immortal, after Elder Qi Yuan paid his respects, he replied:
"Just going out for a stroll, nothing major. Lately, I've been feeling a bit uneasy."
"Very well."
The elder immortal guarding the gate didn't inquire further, smiling kindly before opening the mountain gate, allowing Qi Yuan to ride the clouds and float into the sky outside the mountain.
Due to the incident with the Wujie Zhuo Immortal, Qi Yuan now had some 'reputation' within the mountain; however, this reputation wasn't always flattering, occasionally becoming the subject of ridicule.
After Li Changshou finished refining this batch of pills and waited for another four months, his master finally ended his seclusion and went out for a stroll. After discussing with his master, Li Changshou decided to let his master stay outside for a few more days this time, giving the Paper Daoist more time to act; then, Li Changshou repeatedly urged his master not to stray too far from the mountain gate...
To ensure his master could conceal his whereabouts, Li Changshou presented the second edition of the "Turtle's Breath Calming Qi Technique" to his master, lest his master be targeted and manipulated while waiting for him to return; Li Changshou's main body was also inside the mountain gate, in case anything happened to his master, he could come to the rescue.
Allowing his master and junior apprentice sister to have equal knowledge here was a decision Li Changshou had made earlier.
After placing the box, Qi Yuan quietly left; the Paper Daoist reappeared, visibly 'bulkier', with a backpack on his shoulders instead of a shoulder bag this time.
This time, Li Changshou transformed into the appearance of an old Daoist and decided to do the business of selling pills in this old Daoist guise from now on.
Using the Earth Escape technique, the Paper Daoist quickly rushed to the town of Linhai; half a day later, Li Changshou wandered half a circle to the east, turning his planned route from an 'exclamation mark' into a 'question mark'; finally, he emerged from an uninhabited forest to the west, riding the clouds and carrying a sword on his back, floating towards the magnificent town ahead.
The sword on his back, both the hilt and scabbard, had changed in style and color, with added prohibitions to shield against divine sense detection.
Of course, the core function remained unchanged.
It looked like a sword, but in reality, it was a mixture of poison and dispersal techniques, capable of invisibly releasing colorless poison powder, subtly infiltrating the vital organs of the enemy's primordial spirit, thereby increasing the chances of poisoning and killing a true immortal...
This kind of weapon was naturally unavailable on the market and, like the Luotian Treasure Umbrella, belonged to a treasure Li Changshou had developed himself.
And this time, Li Changshou also prepared a second similar magical weapon.
It was a flute that could release poison through its holes when played, but there was a hidden danger—
One must pay attention to inhalation and exhalation, or else it would be easy to inhale the poison.
Otherwise, it would be just as ridiculous as saying "My knife is very poisonous, touching it equals death, wiping it equals death... whoosh" and so on.
There were four gates in the town that led in and out of this large formation, similar to the city gates of the secular world, except that these were the entrances and exits left by the formation, not city walls.
Responsible for maintaining stability here was the Linhai Sword Sect of the East Victory Divine Continent, who followed the rules of the Primordial Era, sending people to collect 'entrance fees' at the gates of the formation.
These fees could be spirit stones, precious materials, or spiritual herbs, as long as they had some value.
A town of this size could also bring in a substantial income for the immortal sects; however, they had to station a large number of experts here on weekdays to prevent any disturbances and ensure smooth operation, which could only be managed by large sects.
The Transcendence Sect had also tried to establish a town here before, but due to factors such as location and poor management;
The town only lasted for a few thousand years before it was abandoned, with few scattered cultivators staying or visiting, causing the Transcendence Sect to lose a lot.
This, Li Changshou could understand.
After all, the disciples of the sect mainly practiced the 'Way of Inaction', and they liked tranquility and inactivity; a little energy was spent on 'cultivating Daoist friendships'...
Joking about his own sect a bit in his heart, Li Changshou made the Paper Daoist reveal his late-stage Primordial Immortal cultivation, waiting behind more than ten figures in front.
On the side were a steady stream of people going out, with most figures floating close to the ground;
There was no need to pay taxes when going out, but one had to queue up and pay when coming back in.
Just as Li Changshou was about to take his turn to enter, he caught sight of seven or eight figures about to leave the town...
There were two old Daoists, three middle-aged cultivators, and three young men and women.
They flew higher than the others, about to fly out just above the gap in the formation, with two pairs of town patrol soldiers escorting them, quite a spectacle.
Li Changshou's gaze was actually drawn to one of the young men;
This person... had horns on his head, and there was... no tail behind him...
Ao Yi?
How did I run into this little dragon again?
Li Changshou was also somewhat dumbfounded in his heart; was he destined to have some connection with this little dragon?
But on second thought, how come this little dragon... looks exactly the same as when he knocked him down last time, and hasn't grown at all in size.
Perhaps the development period of the dragon race is much longer than that of the human race, and this amount of time isn't enough for him to grow.
Making the Paper Daoist retract his gaze, it happened to be his turn to pay the entrance fee.
Li Changshou handed the spirit stones in his hand to the female immortal behind the counter.
The female immortal smiled and said, "I see that fellow Daoist looks a bit unfamiliar. May I ask what brings you here?"
So, Li Changshou gave a fake name and said he came here to buy and sell pills and herbs, and after the other party made a brief record, he was allowed into the town.
During this process, Ao Yi and the two young women floated over the Paper Daoist from above...
The five celestial immortals were in a good mood, discussing whether to return to Golden Arowana Island next or to continue on to another sect for tea.
Li Changshou heard one of the old Daoists praising:
"How long has Brother Ao Yi been practicing cultivation now? He's already a Primordial Immortal. He truly deserves to be of the Dragon King's bloodline, with astonishing talent..."
Brother?
Sure enough, Ao Yi had joined the ranks of the Transcendence Sect and should have worshipped a second-generation expert.
At this moment, Li Changshou felt that Ao Yi had matured a lot, his gaze restrained, his expression calm; although he was still a youth, he also had the appearance of a calm and steady person who had experienced a lot and been tempered by fate.
However... it had nothing to do with him.
The Paper Daoist stepped into the town, riding the clouds directly over various pavilions and stone houses, heading towards the gathering place of the alchemy shops.
"Competing for business with our own sect again."
Li Changshou sighed inwardly.
The shops of the Transcendence Sect were also mainly engaged in alchemy here.
However, he only came here every few years for a few days at a time, and although it might somewhat affect the business of his own sect, it shouldn't leave the sect's business in dire straits.
After all, he was just a small-scale operation.
Although he was a bit envious of Li Changshou's large quantity, high quality, and low price...
Now, let's talk about the group of Qi Refining cultivators from Golden Arowana Island. After leaving the town, they flew southwest for a while, then suddenly changed direction and flew towards the northwest.
This time, their trip for exchanging Daoist insights was actually an invitation from several prominent cultivators from the Eastern Continent to the familiar celestial immortals from Golden Arowana Island.
Golden Arowana Island was a well-known place for the Sect of Interception and regularly received invitations from various sects to give lectures and exchange insights.
Originally, their trip had lasted for three months, during which they had been mooching off several sects in the East Victory Divine Continent... uh, exchanging insights...
Their trip was already successful, and it was time to return in triumph.
However, because Ao Yi had performed exceptionally well during these discussions, effortlessly defeating the emissaries sent by several sects, and because Ao Yi was of the same generation as these five celestial immortals, they didn't know what to reward him with directly.
So they brought Ao Yi to this Linhai Town and picked out many gifts for him.
Ao Yi distributed these gifts to the two young female disciples by his side, making the two girls very happy, and the celestial immortals from Golden Arowana Island also quite pleased.
If the sons of the leaders of major sects were considered to have wealth;
Then Ao Yi, as the prince of the East Sea Dragon Palace, was essentially a walking treasure trove...
Giving away these gifts to make his 'senior brothers' disciples happy was not something Ao Yi felt any reluctance about.
If needed, he could send a message to his family and have generous gifts sent to each of the Qi Refining cultivators from Golden Arowana Island tomorrow.
After leaving the town, the group was about to head to Golden Arowana Island;
But after a moment of contemplation, Ao Yi suddenly spoke up, saying, "Brothers, I have an awkward request."
The five immediately turned around, looking at Ao Yi with concern.
"There's no such thing as an awkward request. If you have a request, there must be a response. Just say it, Brother Ao Yi," said one of them.
"We cultivators from Golden Arowana Island are united, and we share honor and disgrace together!"
"Yes, not only us from Golden Arowana Island, but all of the Sect of Interception is like this. If one is in trouble, support comes from all directions!"
Ao Yi smiled inwardly, but his expression remained serious as he said in a low voice, "Actually, I've always had... a hidden worry."
The two young girls beside him instantly looked over, their eyes sparkling.
One of the girls, with more than ten small braids in her hair, looked cute and charming. She was the same girl who had witnessed Li Changshou's tribulation, Hanzhi.
Among the five celestial immortals in front, one of them was Hanzhi's master, Elder Yuanze.
Ao Yi sighed, "Thinking back to the Great Demon Cleansing Assembly in the East Sea that year, I was only ten years old and was ordered to represent the Dragon Palace in search of someone to spar with. However, I was defeated by a disciple from the Sect of Transcendence who had returned to the Void Realm."
This matter has always been difficult for me to let go of.
Now that I have become an immortal after transcending my tribulation, although I am only in the Primordial Immortal realm, I still want to find that person and spar with him again."
"Is that all?"
Elder Yuanze asked with a smile.
Ao Yi showed a trace of embarrassment and bowed his head. "Yes, that's it."
"That's easily arranged," another middle-aged cultivator said with a smile, pointing casually as white clouds floated towards the direction of the Sect of Transcendence, "Let's go, let's pay a visit to the Sect of Transcendence. I have a good relationship with Junior Fellow Daoist Zhongyu, the vice head of the Sect of Transcendence. They are the heirs of the Human Education Dao. We are from the Sect of Interception. There's no harm in visiting them."
The others all agreed.
One of them laughed, "Should we inform them in advance? So as not to have any embarrassing situations later?"
Elder Yuanze waved his hand, "No need, no need. We're not going to challenge them to a fight. We're just going to discuss Dao. It's enough for the young people to spar."
In the back of the group, the two girls holding hands looked at each other.
One of the girls activated the bracelet-like magical device on her wrist, allowing them to converse without being overheard by others.
She whispered, "Hanzhi, your master is starting again."
Hanzhi's lips twitched, and she said with annoyance, "Get ready. My master is as unpredictable as a divine weapon;
When I transcended my tribulation before, he said, 'Don't worry, you'll only have six tribulations.' But in the end, I faced eight tribulations. I almost died, just one step away from annihilation...
My talent and accumulation should have only warranted seven tribulations at most."
The other girl couldn't help but chuckle, "But you benefited from it. You ascended sooner."
"Speaking of which," Hanzhi's eyes wandered, "After experiencing eight tribulations, even if they were ranked lower, I truly understand how terrifying the process of ascending to immortality is.
I never expected that the person who passed nine tribulations in the South Sea that day would be such a remarkable figure."
"He must be a great figure from ancient times or the remote past who has been reincarnated."
"Perhaps..."
The two girls chuckled lightly a few times, and the conversation quickly turned to the young dragon in front of them.
His handsome appearance made the two girls very fond of him.
Half a day later, the faintly lubricated protective formation of the Sect of Transcendence was in sight, and the group from Golden Arowana Island floated over with laughter.
And the slight smile on Ao Yi's lips carried a hint of meaning.
...
"Hmm?"
In the woods, Qu Yuan, who was pondering the "Turtle Breath Calm Qi Technique", looked up at the sky and saw a group of people from Jin'ao Island drifting by on the clouds.
Feeling the pressure of several celestial experts, he couldn't help but wonder where these high-level practitioners suddenly came from and why they were heading to the Du Xian Gate.
"It has nothing to do with our Little Qiongfeng Peak," Qu Yuan chuckled to himself. Glancing at the message token given by his eldest disciple, he figured it was just a few skilled individuals visiting the area together, so he didn't mention it to Li Changshou.
Continuing to ponder the concealed breath technique created by his disciple, Qu Yuan quickly converged his own aura and eagerly performed a transformation spell, turning himself into a tree stump.
After carefully sensing for a while...
"Well, surprisingly peaceful."