Chapter 326: The Young Taoist (Part 2)
Chen Sansi put away his Xuan Yuan sword, then planned to bid farewell to his master's wife and leave the Qingxu Sect to find a second-tier Cave Mansion for cultivation within Huayang Dao.
As he passed by the fenced courtyard, he heard a commotion from the usually deserted yard, and upon closer listening, it seemed to be a scuffle.
"Get lost!"
"Crack!"
The already decayed wooden door instantly shattered into pieces under a tremendous impact, a dark shadow shot out from it and slammed heavily onto the ground, rolling a few times before coming to a halt.
On closer inspection, it turned out to be a young Taoist.
The young Taoist, dressed in a gray Taoist robe with a hair crown, looked no older than fifteen or sixteen, currently lying in the mud, his face bruised and swollen.
"Bang!"
The towering Lord Taishan rushed out from the house, without a word, he mounted and pounded on the young Taoist.
Both were roughly Qi Refining Perfection, but the young Taoist had no strength to fight back against Mu Chutai, only lying there to take the beating, soon to be half-dead.
It wasn't until the young Taoist was left with just a breath that Mu Chutai stopped. After standing up, he gave another kick to the half-dead young man, cursing, "Aren't you going to get lost? Disturbing my sleep, next time I'll kill you!"
Just for disturbing sleep, did he get beaten up this badly?
Chen Sansi couldn't help but sigh.
It was hard to say whether Lord Taishan had always been of such temper or if his drastic decline in realm caused a change in temperament.
"Cough... cough..."
The young Taoist crawled and scrambled out of the courtyard, stopping by the side of the person in the white robe.
He fumbled to take out a storage bag from his wide sleeves and handed it over, "You must be Lu Shengzhi? Elder Yuling asked me to deliver this to you, and for you to take it and go find the elder in Baihua Valley."
"Is this Daoist friend here just to deliver something for me?"
Chen Sansi had stayed in this place for almost two months, during which no one ever visited, making this fenced courtyard a truly desolate place.
If this young Taoist came to deliver something and got beaten, it really seems quite pitiful.
"Yes, just call me Sixteen."
The young Taoist, wiping the blood off his face, smiled bitterly, "Lord Taishan has a bad temper, we are all used to it, it's alright.
"Daoist Lu, once you get what you need, head to Baihua Valley quickly; don't let Elder Yuling wait too long."
After saying these few sentences, he limped away, soon disappearing.
Chen Sansi went to the corner to open the storage bag and found that it contained a beast skin mask, brown-red in color, carved with the face of an unknown spiritual beast, its function noted in the accompanying Jade Scroll.
The mask named "Divine Beast" is a high-grade Disguise Artifact. Once worn, it can alter appearance at will and is difficult for high-realm cultivators to see through.
Chen Sansi's own Disguise Technique was already top-class, and with this mask, even high-realm cultivators would be unable to detect him quickly.
Considering there was someone named Cao pursuing him, this mask was quite a good thing.
He chanted a spell on the spot, fitting the mask onto his face, which then transformed into a red light and merged into his flesh.
After completing these preparations, Chen Sansi walked up the mountain to meet his master's wife.
The Qingxu Sect was undoubtedly the Upper Sect within Huayang Dao, with a total of forty-nine peaks throughout the sect, totaling twenty-eight thousand disciples, and over a hundred and ninety Foundation Establishment cultivators alone.
The Baihua Valley, where Master Yu Ling resided, was one of them.
It is said that Master Yu Ling rarely accepted disciples, with only two True Disciples under her, thus Baihua Valley wasn't very large.
"Disciple greets the master's wife."
Chen Sansi arrived at the garden on the mountaintop and saluted the Golden Core Elder.
"Have you learned all the Cultivation Techniques?"
Master Yu Ling, just like last time, was busying herself with a few small spiritual beasts, tending to the flowers in the garden without lifting her head, "How did he make things difficult for you?"
"Senior Mu, he..."
Chen Sansi said, "Not really a difficulty."
It was nothing more than a fair trade.
"That's good."
Master Yu Ling calmly said, "Remember, you can learn from him, but do not emulate his ways."
"The disciple will remember."
Chen Sansi said, "Does the master's wife have any instructions by calling the disciple today?"
"You should first stay in Baihua Valley."
Master Yu Ling's tone became particularly serious: "Remember, within Qingxu Sect, you are called Lu Shengzhi, from Qian Island Lake, a descendant of my old acquaintance. When someone asks, don't say more than a word."
Staying in Baihua Valley?
That would mean having a top-notch Spiritual Vein Cave Mansion.
Chen Sansi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
In that case, it would save a lot of trouble!
He cupped his fists and said: "Thank you, Master!"
"Enough."
Master Yu Ling said irritably: "The reason I'm helping you is for the sake of Li Li and Bu Qi. After all, your master has been causing trouble, and now the entire Sun family has been put on a bounty order. If you are gone, there will be no one to protect their siblings.
"In this Baihua Valley, you have two senior sisters. Soon, the senior sister will come to take you to handle the entry-level documents. Then you will be a true disciple of Baihua Valley in the Qingxu Sect. Your daily conduct and cultivation must be the same as the other disciples, otherwise, with so many eyes around, your identity will quickly be exposed.
"Besides...
"There is also something else that Master wants to ask of you."
"Master, please speak," Chen Sansi said. "Whatever the instruction, just say it."
"Master needs a few kinds of spirit plants."
Master Yu Ling said frankly, without hesitation: "But they are hard to find. I only have a few seedlings here and want you to help me cultivate them for about two thousand years."
Currently, it is known by everyone that Emperor's Breath Soil is in Chen Sansi's hands.
For this reason, both the Holy Sect and the Heavenly Sect are furious, trying in every way to send people into the Eastern Continent.
Chen Sansi discovered through puppets reading the memorials that in the past half-year, a large number of cultivators have appeared around Nanling Town, trying to approach Great Han Chang'an while also stirring up wars throughout Jiang Mountain.
However, the cultivators would not exceed Qi Refinement, and the small insurrections they initiated would quickly be suppressed by Xu Wencai and others.
Nevertheless, it still cost a lot of labor and money.
This could be seen as a drawback of the Emperor's Breath Soil, but the benefit is that in just a few years, Sky Wall City's strength will ascend to a new level.
"This disciple will definitely plant them personally."
Chen Sansi agreed quickly and then added: "Does Master have seeds or young plants of 'Purple Ling Ma Lucao'?"
"Purple Ling Ma Lucao?"
Master Yu Ling gently shook her head: "Master doesn't have it. However, the sect's pharmacy contains a large number of medicinal materials, such as Jingshen Fruit, Foundation Establishment Spiritual Objects, etc. They can all be exchanged with merit. You can pay attention to that then."
"Stay here and don't move. Your senior sister will come later to take you to the main peak to register and receive the token."
"Your two senior sisters know your real identity, so there's no need to hide it from them."
"This disciple understands."
Chen Sansi agreed.
Master Yu Ling nodded slightly and turned to leave.
Soon after, a plainly dressed fairy wearing a veil came gracefully, her brows like a cloud ring, her eyes like autumn water. She brought a fresh fragrance as she moved, but it wasn't the fragrance of Xiao Xiang Sect girls; it leaned more towards the natural scent of spirit plants.
"Little junior brother?"
The fairy spoke, her gentle voice coming through the veil: "Come with me."
Chen Sansi followed her down the mountain.
The two of them went straight to the Steward Hall at the main peak, where "Lu Shengzhi" was recorded in the Baihua Valley disciples' register. Then they received some robes, magic artifact and elixirs, and the all-important token.
After that, he was considered a Qingxu Sect disciple, able to move freely around.
"Isn't that Senior Sister Jiang?"
"Hmm, Baihua Valley is recruiting disciples?"
"How many years has it been since Master Yu Ling accepted a disciple?"
"Indeed, who is this person?"
"Little Yi, what are you doing? No investigation magic is allowed in the sect!"
"..."
The disciples within Qingxu Sect seemed very surprised that Baihua Valley was recruiting a disciple.
Chen Sansi's focus was on the way these people addressed his senior sister.
Jiang Xianzi?