This battle is of utmost importance to my future plans.
On the cloud, Ao Yi looked at the Immortal Du Sect that he had once yearned for. At that moment, his mental state was no longer the same as when he was ten years old.
He was there to look for Li Changshou.
Ao Yi didn’t even know Li Changshou’s name and Li Changshou’s exact status in the Immortal Du Sect.
However, Ao Yi knew that he had to get back at the Immortal Du Sect today!
In the Demon-Sweeping Meet, Ao Yi was the one who performed alone but he credited his ‘success’ to Li Changshou.
Ao Yi felt that if he wanted to make a name for himself, there should be no black marks on him. He had to reverse the results of the competition that happened when he was ten years old!
He could use this opportunity to build an image and portray himself as a man who has become courageous after being ashamed. He could then fight with the most powerful cultivator in the younger generation of the Immortal Du Sect. He could challenge the strongest cultivator in the younger generation of all the Immortal Sects in the entire Eastern Continent. From then on, he would soar high in the sky…
He wanted to be the role model for the dragon race. He wanted to obtain their approval first.
He wanted to set an example for the descendants of the dragon race and establish his influence!
He would then think of a way to make the dragon race slowly let go of their pride. That was the only way to save the dragon race…
Ao Yi slowly took a deep breath and pondered about how he should speak later.
His five seniors had already arrived outside the Immortal Du Sect’s array formation. They did not leave the sect and simply released their auras.
The Qi Refinement cultivators of Golden Ao Island are here to cause trouble…
Ahem, to discuss the Dao!
…
Seeing that the few Qi Refinement cultivators of Golden Ao Island had suddenly come to pay a visit, everyone in the Immortal Du Sect was immediately alarmed by the sounds of the bell ringing.
When the bell rang at first, all the Peak Leaders and elders who were not in seclusion rushed to the Heaven-Breaking Peak.
However, the deputy Sect Leader and the elders felt that it was too grand. The few Qi Refinement cultivators were only there to visit their friends…
Golden Ao Island was a well-known teaching venue for Jie School in the Primordial World. Compared to them, the Immortal Du Sect was less famous and smaller.
However, the Immortal Du Sect was still part of the Ren School. It would be embarrassing for them to be that flamboyant when welcoming a few unknown immortals.
If the person who visited was a famous immortal from Jie School, such as the outer sect disciple, Zhao Gongming, who was cultivating in the Grotto-heaven on Mount Emei, the members of the Immortal Du Sect would naturally send all the immortals out to welcome him personally.
However, a few Heaven Immortals arrived instead…
Soon, more than half of the Peak Leaders were sent back, leaving behind only ten-odd elders of the Heaven Immortal realm.
The elders and the Deputy Sect Leader, Exalted Zhong Yu, led a few intelligent Perfected Immortals to entertain the Qi Refinement cultivators from Golden Ao Island.
In the eyes of the elders, Jiu Wu was a clever ‘junior’.
Following the elder’s orders, Jiu Wu got busy. He invited eight people of Golden Ao Island to the Immortal Hall of the Heaven-Breaking Peak in the Immortal Du Hall and led a few disciples to offer incense.
If there were guests at the Dragon Palace, the ones who served tea and water would be beautiful sea maidens.
However, Immortal Du Sect did the opposite. The servers were all-male disciples who looked decent and had stable Dao foundations.
That was probably the difference between a force and an immortal sect.
After the guests were seated, the two of them looked at each other. Before they could even speak, they started to laugh loudly…
Jiu Wu was knowledgeable and knew that it was a regular routine. The longer he smiled more, the less hostile he would seem.
There was nothing too enjoyable in the Primordial World.
After laughing, the Deputy Sect Leader of the Immortal Du Sect, Zhong Yu, spoke first. “Fellow Daoists, you have truly brought glory to the Immortal Du Sect…”
The two of them exchanged a few pleasantries. The Qi Refinement cultivators stated that they were there to discuss the Dao with the members of the Immortal Du Sect.
All the elders in the Immortal Du Sect smiled. Immediately, someone secretly invited a few elders with the highest cultivation level in the sect to support them.
Preaching and discussing the Dao was a rather popular thing in the primordial world. In fact, each of them had their own understanding of the Dao and hence would just compete with each other, meet, and exchange pointers…
However, before the Dao discussion started, the group of people from the Jie School raised an absurd request to Jiu Wu…
A middle-aged Heaven Immortal slowly said, “My junior brother, Ao Yi, was just ten years old during the previous Demon-Sweeping Meet. He was sent by the Dragon King of the Dragon Palace to compete with your disciple. In the end, he was defeated by your disciple.”
He continued, “This time, my junior brother has transcended the tribulation and become an immortal. He wants to spar with that disciple of yours again. I wonder if that’d be convenient.”
Upon hearing that, the elders of the Immortal Du Sect looked at each other. One of the elders smiled and said, “It’s just a sparring session between the young juniors. It’s not a big deal. However, Crown Prince Ao Yi is the son of the Dragon King. His cultivation level is definitely not comparable to the young disciples of the human race.”
“Now that Crown Prince Ao Yi has become an immortal, there’s no need for that. He doesn’t necessarily have to spar with a young disciple of our sect.”
Hearing that, Ao Yi immediately stood up and bowed to the elders of the Immortal Du Sect.
“To be honest, I bore a grudge since that incident. I was afraid that it would turn into a problem that would hinder my cultivation in the future. That’s why I decided to be thick-skinned and ask to spar with the disciple from the Immortal Du Sect again.”
“When we are sparring, I will ask Senior Brothers to seal my cultivation realm.”
“Well…”
The few elders of the Immortal Du Sect looked troubled.
“It’s not a big deal.” The Deputy Sect Master, Exalted Zhong Yu, smiled and said, “Someone, call Xuanya over.”
A Perfected Immortal executive immediately received the order and turned around to leave the Immortal Du Hall in quick steps, heading towards the other side of the Heaven-Breaking Peak.
Ao Yi recalled something and said, “The person who sparred with me that day should not be a disciple called Xuan Ya. I heard someone calling him… Changshou.”
“Changshou?”
“Which peak is that disciple from?”
At that moment, the few Heaven Immortal elders of the Immortal Du Sect, who had been in seclusion all year round, pinched their fingers and made some deductions. They looked puzzled.
The other elders knew about the matter and smiled without saying a word.
When Jiu Wu saw the situation, his mind was filled with thoughts.
It seems that the Crown Prince from the Dragon Palace has joined the Jie School and is here to seek revenge on Disciple-Nephew Changshou!
Changshou should only be at the eighth-stage of the Void Return realm. He is much weaker than Ao Yi whose dragon mystical abilities are quite powerful.
There is no one behind Little Qiong Peak. If I don’t explain and speak up for Little Changshou, Little Changshou might be tricked by this little dragon!
With that thought in mind, Jiu Wu immediately stood up and bowed.
He said loudly, “Changshou is a disciple of the Little Qiong Peak and the eldest disciple of Junior Qi Yuan. I was the one who recommended him to go to the Demon-Sweeping Meet in the East Ocean previously. However, I heard from Ninth Junior Sister that Prince Ao Yi had won that sparring session. Disciple-Nephew Changshou missed and moved out of the boundary that was set!”
The elders of the Immortal Du Sect, as well as the few Qi Refinement cultivators of the Golden Ao Island, looked at Ao Yi.
Ao Yi muttered to himself with a gloomy expression as he sighed, “No, I lost. I lost in every aspect.”
“I was injured by Daoist Changshou’s talisman and had to rest for over a month. However, he was not injured. He must have intentionally given in to me so that the Dragon Palace wouldn’t lose face. I came here today to look for Fellow Daoist Changshou to resolve this karma and thank him in person…”
His words were rather sincere but they also seemed to have other connotations.
An elder from the Immortal Du Sect smiled and said, “Jiu Wu, go and call Changshou over.”
“Um… Yes.” Jiu Wu lowered his head and answered. He then turned around quickly and rode a cloud towards the Little Qiong Peak.
While riding the cloud, Jiu Wu had already thought of many ways to deal with the situation.
The elders in the sect definitely would not want to see their disciples lose.
Ao Yi had sealed his own cultivation level. If he seals himself up to the level of the Grade Four Void Return realm, which Disciple-Nephew Changshou has disguised himself as, his cultivation level would be exposed to the Heaven Immortals on both sides during sparring. Wouldn’t that ruin the Immortal Du Sect’s reputation?
I must persuade Disciple-Nephew Changshou to give up his plan to disguise himself. In the upcoming battle, he must go all out to fight this battle!
Jiu Wu made up his mind. He took out a few immortal treasures and shoved them to Li Changshou so that he could practice along the way.
However, what Jiu Wu did not expect was…
He missed.
Jiu Wu’s immortal senses swept across the place. Ling’e was meditating in the straw hut by the lake. The spiritual energy in the surrounding forest of the Pill Chamber seemed to be calm, but the dangers were… clear to him.
Jiu Wu did not dare to enter the array formation. He hovered above the Pill Chamber and activated his immortal powers before shouting with all his might.
“Changshou!”
“Changshou…”
In the Pill Chamber, Li Changshou was lying on a rocking chair and resting.
However, his real body was hiding in the secret underground chamber with his eyes closed and focusing in a corner.
His mind and attention were on the paper effigy which was twenty thousand kilometers away…
As long as someone barged into the outer array formation, the jade pendant in his hand would vibrate and wake Li Changshou up…
That was also one of the major flaws of the current state of the paper effigy. Once it left the range of his immortal senses, he had to place all his attention on it.
Jiu Wu called Li Changshou twice, but to no avail. He was so anxious that his forehead was full of sweat. He started to spin in the air.
Ling’e stuck her head out of the straw hut and recalled her senior’s instructions.
“Uncle-Master Jiu Wu! Senior Brother is in seclusion! He won’t come out until he breaks through!”
Upon hearing that, Jiu Wu stomped his feet.
“Hey! Why is he in reclusion at this juncture!?!”
“What should we do now!?”
Ling’e did not understand what was going on. Just as she was about to continue shouting, Jiu Wu drove the cloud away in a hurry.
In order to break through the bottleneck, the Qi Refinement cultivators would usually choose to enter seclusion without any distractions.
Although it was not a coincidence that Li Changshou was in seclusion, he could still go back and explain.
However, as an executive of the Immortal Du Sect, Jiu Wu could not help but think…
If I were to say that Changshou is in seclusion, wouldn’t it make others think that he is avoiding the battle? Moreover, why would a disciple at the Void Return stage be in seclusion for no reason?
That would definitely cause Changshou to provoke the prideful elders.
What should I do? I made an oath to keep a secret for Changshou…
Eh? Array Formation!
The array formations outside the Pill Chamber of Little Qiong Peak were designed by Changshou, and his Junior was the one who set them up. This could be considered a manifestation of Changshou’s ability to create array formations.
Jiu Wu’s eyes lit up. He had an idea.
When they returned to the Immortal Du Hall on the cloud, the elders saw Jiu Wu returning alone and their faces grew sullen.
The ones who had been chatting happily in the main hall quickly quietened down as well.
“Jiu Wu, what’s going on?”
The skinny Exalted Zhong Yu asked calmly, “Why didn’t that disciple come over?”
“Deputy Sect Leader.” Jiu Wu lowered his head and said, “Unfortunately, Disciple-Nephew Changshou has already broken through to the next realm while in seclusion. I didn’t dare to disturb him. I’m afraid that he will take the wrong path at a critical juncture.”
Exalted Zhong Yu stroked his beard and smiled lightly. He looked at the few Heaven Immortals from Jie School and sighed. “Please forgive me. My disciple of the Immortal Du Sect Changshou has been working hard to cultivate lately and has gone into seclusion.”
“Why don’t we invite Crown Prince Ao Yi to choose any disciple of our sect to spar with? How about that?”
Youqin Xuanya, who had just arrived, took half a step forward, clad in a red dress with a huge sword on her back.
She was about to stand up and fight Ao Yi, but her master quietly pulled her back.
Jiang Jingshan, who had come with Youqin Xuanya, frowned and looked at the long sword hanging on Ao Yi’s waist.
Jiang Jingshan could sense the fluctuations of the Numinous Treasure.
Ao Yi stood up again. He pondered for a while and hesitated.
He had come to the Immortal Du Sect to spar with that fellow, Li Changshou It was a plan that he had come up with after thinking for a long time.
Moreover, he had already spread the word.
He had also told his seniors that there were a thorn and an emotional trauma that existed in his heart because of this.
I can’t spar with anyone else…
His plan could not be disrupted just like that!
Ao Yi asked in a low voice, “How long will he be in seclusion?”
He continued, “After the Dao discussion ends, I’ll wait outside the sect for his breakthrough.”
The elders and middle-aged cultivators present were instantly moved by Ao Yi’s persistence.
Jiu Wu observed secretly. When he saw that an elder was about to speak, he reckoned that he would definitely make him think of a way to wake Li Changshou up…
“Ahem!”
The short Daoist spoke first. He took two steps forward and bowed.
“Deputy Sect Leader, elders, and seniors! Although Disciple-Nephew Changshou is in seclusion, his best ability is not using talisman techniques. Instead, he’s best at… array formations!”
While he was thinking about how to avoid the oath he made that day, Jiu Wu introduced Li Changshou to them and mentioned that the Little Qiong Peak was designed by Li Changshou and that Jiu Jiu had set up the array formations outside the Little Qiong Peak. He also proposed another method for sparring…
Sigh, Changshou, I can only do this much for you.
…
A moment later, a cloud flew over from the Little Qiong Peak.
The two Heaven Immortal elders from the Immortal Du Sect accompanied the Yuan Ze from Golden Ao Island and watched from afar with the two girls.
Han Zhi stared at Ao Yi’s back and asked with concern, “Uncle-Master, are you good at breaking array formations?”
“Don’t worry.” Yuan Ze waved his hand. “The array formation here doesn’t seem profound. How can it trap Junior Brother Ao Yi?”
Han Zhi could not help but support her forehead with one hand. Her eyes were filled with worry as well.
Below, Jiu Wu ushered Ao Yi and slowly landed outside the Pill Chamber’s array formations.
Jiu Wu gestured for Ao Yi to enter the array formation.
At this moment…
The paper effigy was strolling around Linhai Town and immediately turned around to go to the nearby ‘inn’. He rented a room with various array formations and set up several array formations of his own. The paper effigy then sat on the ground, appearing as though he was cultivating.
The paper effigy held onto a few porcelain bottles and closed his eyes. Li Changshou’s mind was instantly drawn back into his body.
Who was challenging the array?
Li Changshou was dismayed as he scanned the surroundings with his immortal senses.
Uh…
What is going on?
He remained distracted for a while before he snapped back to his senses. At that moment, Ao Yi’s was dizzy. Together with Jiu Wu, he saw the wooden sign…
It read: “Are you lost?”