Phew... That was quite a thrill."
Shen Mu, having escaped the attack range of the tree demon, arrived at a creek, removed his mask, and breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat beads from his forehead.
"Master, you're only at the Qi Refining stage?!" The golden toad jumped out of Shen Mu's embrace, its voice filled with disbelief and surprise.
"How? Haven't you seen a Qi Refining cultivator like me before?"
"..."
The golden toad fell silent.
Since it had gained spiritual wisdom and practiced for a hundred years, it had indeed never seen a Qi Refining cultivator dare to invade the territory of a thousand-year-old demon.
Let alone snatch the heavenly materials and treasures from its domain.
Such a suicidal move, either due to foolishness or boldness, it had truly never seen before.
If it hadn't experienced this personally, seen it with its own eyes, it would never believe that there could be such a remarkable person in the world.
"... Could it be, Master, that you are a direct disciple of some celestial expert?" The golden toad had reason to suspect that this guy was a descendant of some reclusive immortal coming out to train.
"Think too much, you. I just have more tricks up my sleeve for dealing with these guys who can't move around freely."
Dealing with opponents that can't move, as long as you understand their strength and methods, know their basic name in this world, he had his ways.
But after this trip, he had nearly exhausted all his spiritual energy, his body was at its limit, and even his reserve of pills was almost gone.
He needed to restock properly in the Heaven Sword City before continuing to other places.
"Master, you are too modest..."
The golden toad naturally thought he was being self-deprecating.
After all, the tricks to toy with a demon cultivator equivalent to the Yuaninfants stage by a Qi Refining cultivator were not something an ordinary person could think of and put into action.
"Enough of that, I'll take a short rest here first. Keep an eye out for me."
"Sure, I'll do as Master says."
Now, the golden toad was quite convinced by this extraordinary master.
"Master!"
"There are a few guys coming this way. It seems they're heading straight for you!"
Just as Shen Mu had sat down cross-legged, the golden toad jumped out of his embrace, looking alertly in the direction of his right hand.
"A thousand-year-old demon could not harm you, Fellow Cultivator. Your skills are indeed impressive."
"Whoosh!"
A beautiful girl with flowing purple hair, a graceful figure, dressed in a purple gauze robe with cloud patterns, descended on her sword ten paces away from Shen Mu...
Behind her followed several cultivators in gray robes at the Jindan stage, seemingly her guards.
Shen Mu, observing the girl's extraordinary appearance, attire, and aura, and the cultivators behind her, furrowed his brows, feeling a sense of unease.
At this moment, the golden toad, sensing the imperial aura emanating from her, jumped onto Shen Mu's shoulder, warning him, "Master, be careful. She's from the imperial family, and those people behind her are not simple either. They're not easy to provoke."
Imperial family...
Hearing these four words, Shen Mu's heart instantly dropped like a stone into an icebox.
In the Chi You Zhou, the only ones who could be called the imperial family, besides the Tianyu Immortal Dynasty, were the Jiu Tian Dynasty.
And the Jiu Tian Dynasty played a significant role in the main storyline.
Especially in the early stages of the main storyline, almost every major event was related to the Jiu Tian Dynasty.
It was one of the major powers that Shen Mu least wanted to deal with at the moment.
"..."
Why am I so unlucky...
Just when things were starting to go smoothly, here comes another person with a special identity...
Could it be that I'm being pulled into the main storyline?
Shen Mu's mindset began to change somewhat.
"May I ask what brings you here, Miss?" He calmed his uneasy heart and asked calmly.
The girl smiled and stepped forward to within three meters of him, "Fellow Cultivator, rest assured, I have no ill intentions. I just want to make a trade with you."
"Trade?" Shen Mu immediately caught on, "You want the Tongxuan Purple Spirit Ginseng too?"
"Yeah." The girl nodded.
"That's fine, we'll settle it at the common market price..."
Upon learning her intentions, Shen Mu breathed a temporary sigh of relief, but he still kept his guard up against her.
.....
After the transaction was complete, the girl maintained her kind and delicate expression and asked again, "May I know your real name, Fellow Cultivator? If we meet again in the future, we