Who let him join the Sword Sect?!

A hundred years ago, the legend of the Six Paths Immortal suddenly appeared in Lantian County, Diannan.

Many mortals and cultivators claimed that they saw the so-called Six Paths Immortal talking to them in the mountains, even passing down Taoist techniques.

However, such stories in Diannan are not uncommon, almost every month there's a new one.

A small part of these stories is true, some are purely made up to trick children, but the majority are fabricated by evil cultivators for fishing scams.

In addition, some loose cultivators at the Golden Core stage and disciples from major sects have gone into the mountains to investigate, but all came back empty-handed.

So, this story quickly became just another folk tale, like the legend of the giant monkey peeping through windows at night, or the super water monkey that can battle Divinity Transformation stage experts, all eventually debunked.

The story Little Yingchun tells is the dumbed-down ghost story version of the Six Paths Immortal legend.

It should have ended there, but then Liu Yong's father entered the scene.

Liu Yong's father, Liu Dahai, one day suddenly claimed to be the sect leader of the Six Paths, saying he received genuine teachings from the Six Paths Immortal.

He gained quite a reputation in their village, and even extended his influence into neighboring county towns.

Hearing this, Liu Yong couldn't help but feel nostalgic.

"Sigh, I remember when I was a kid, we had meat at every meal, unlike now..."

"Liu Lang, you're really ungrateful, aren't you? You've been staying with me all this time, and I haven't treated you badly for a single meal." Little Yingchun's face changed faster than flipping a book, just now she was all sweet, but now her brows were raised in anger.

"Ying'er, it's not like you think, I..."

Zhang Ze coughed to interrupt their domestic drama, "And then?"

Liu Yong took a sip of tea, then sighed, "Later, the Beast Taming Sect teamed up with Medicine King Valley to crack down on evil forces here, and they also took care of my dad."

Zhang Ze, "..."

Before Zhang Ze could ask more, Liu Yong continued.

"In the end, my dad was fine, because they found out he was just a big fraud."

"The old man boasted that he was Half-Step Golden Core Great Perfection, but they sent three Golden Core cultivators to catch him, and only then did they realize he had just started Qi Cultivation."

"Luckily, you righteous path cultivators have a process of trial before execution, otherwise my dad would have been killed on the spot."

"After reasoning with him for a bit, they disbanded the Six Paths Divine Sect."

"So this legend is fake?" Zhang Ze asked.

Liu Yong shook his head, "It's true, because my dad really did receive teachings from the Six Paths Immortal, otherwise how could a mere farmer learn Qi Cultivation?"

"Besides, people in this part of Diannan are actually quite shrewd; no one's going to believe you without real benefits."

"But this story was also something my dad told me on his deathbed."

After finishing, Liu Yong took out a yellow talisman from his pocket, "This was given to me by the Six Paths Immortal."

Zhang Ze observed the yellow talisman; it seemed peculiar, somewhat similar to the Epidemic Exorcism Talisman from Dragon Tiger Mountain, but with subtle differences.

Just then, Tang came over, glanced at the talisman, and immediately said excitedly, "This is a talisman my grandpa drew; my martial uncle showed it to me."

"This talisman was crafted by the old Celestial Master himself?" Zhang Ze asked.

"Yes, my martial uncle said that my grandpa drew talismans continuously, which is why they sometimes work, sometimes don't," Tang seemed unfazed by this fact.

Liu Yong realized something after hearing this, "No wonder, only three out of ten of them work."

Being a sensible person, Zhang Ze didn't intend to let the topic drift away.

"Go on? Have you met the Six Paths Immortal?"

"No, I haven't," Liu Yong shook his head and continued talking about the Six Paths Divine Sect.

Perhaps because recalling this story reminded Liu Yong of his father, his storytelling was rather disorganized and often veered towards little anecdotes from his childhood with his father.

But Zhang Ze didn't interrupt, simply sitting by and listening.

"No matter what, my father was a First-Layer Qi Cultivation practitioner, stronger than a mere mortal. After that incident, he completely settled down."

"He just relied on his Qi Cultivation abilities to do some manual labor, not seeking great wealth, just avoiding calamity."

"Later on, my father settled in the town with me; those few years were peaceful, and thinking back, it was quite good."

"Until he was on his deathbed, he told me to get something from the ancestral tomb in our old home."

According to Liu Yong's account, that thing should be an incense burner.

"After passing through Witch Dragon Cave, by Little White River opposite Witch Dragon Mountain, light the incense burner, recite an incantation, close your eyes, and follow your feeling; you can see the Six Paths Immortal."

"Offer the tribute, and you'll receive a fortuitous encounter. That's what my dad said."

Liu Yong recited the incantation, but after Tang listened to it, he furrowed his brows.

But probably having learned to be wise from Zhang Ze, Tang didn't say it outright but instead used sound transmission to communicate with Zhang Ze.

"Senior Brother, that incantation is one for seeking spirits and probing the underworld, used when searching for the dead. My grandpa..."

"Don't worry, the old Celestial Master's cultivation level is not something that can be easily diminished. Let's hear more from him first."

After comforting Tang, Zhang Ze then asked Liu Yong, "What about the incense burner?"

Liu Yong sighed, "It was lost, and it's all my fault."

After learning the secret from his father, Liu Yong started having crooked thoughts.

After all, who doesn't want money and fortuitous encounters?

And Liu Dahai spent the latter half of his life cowardly, saving little wealth.

When Liu Yong came of age, he was teaching children to read and write in a small private school in town, not making much money.

After returning home to bury his father, he took the incense burner as his father had instructed and went to find the Six Paths Immortal. Sure enough, it came to pass as his father said.

"I don't know where that place is. When I opened my eyes, there was thick fog all around, and a rock wall full of small holes in front of me. Inside, a voice asked me to bring an offering for a fortuitous encounter."

"What did it ask for as an offering?" Zhang Ze asked.

This question was crucial, as it pertained to the state of the old Celestial Master.

Liu Yong seemed a bit embarrassed at this point, "The immortal wanted novels, storybooks, preferably the kind that are... not wholesome."

Zhang Ze felt relieved after hearing this part. If that Six Paths Immortal was indeed the old Celestial Master, then the old Celestial Master's state should still be quite good.

After all, no one's heard of any great power who goes astray and instead of wreaking havoc in the world, spends every day hiding in a mountain watching yellow books.

"Do continue," Zhang Ze poured Liu Yong another cup of tea.

"After receiving the immortal's gift, greed arose within me. Seeing that things had calmed down a bit over the years, I planned to take over my dad's business."

"I planned to con people for a few years, earn more money, then leave far away."

"I didn't dare to scam in my hometown, so I came to Yazi Town."

"And then, before I could even start scamming, I fell in love with the heaven and earth place here... you know."

"So?" Zhang Ze slurped his tea.

"A man should have principles. I was both scamming and frequenting red-light venues; these aren't things a good person should do, especially when I'm a schoolteacher," said Liu Yong.

"So, to not lead the children astray, I directly quit my job at the private school to focus entirely on the bro... heaven and earth."

"I have a knack for writing and composing poetry, and eventually, Little Yingchun and I fell in love at first sight, you know."

"Although I didn't need to spend money at Ying'er's place, life's still filled with expenses."

"I then planned to continue my father's business and restart the Six Paths Divine Sect."

"I even had the clothes made up."

At this point, Liu Yong's face was full of regret.

"Who would've thought things would go awry? While preparing at home, not only did things fail, but I got caught with incriminating evidence."

"And, and, also ended up summoning a genuine evil spirit, which took the incense burner away."

"First, I'm afraid of that evil spirit, secondly, I'm scared I'll be caught by righteous cultivators like you again, considering all the Six Paths Divine Sect's tricks are back home."

"I got scared and ran here."

"When I first saw you, I thought you were here to catch me..." After saying this, Liu Yong shrank his neck.

Zhang Ze felt a bit angry after hearing this, "You summoned an evil demon and then ran away, but what about the evil demon causing trouble?"

Liu Yong hastily gestured with his hands when he heard Zhang Ze's question, "No, no, that evil spirit won't hurt people."

"Then what are you afraid of?" This question came from Li, who had been listening alongside.

Liu Yong swallowed, glanced at Little Yingchun, and said, "Because that evil spirit wants to sleep with me..."

With the story of Great Sect Leader Liu finished, Zhang Ze figured the situation was mostly clear, so he wasn't planning to delay further.

In this room now, there was a dragon, two supreme magical artifacts proficient in calligraphy, the next Sect Leader from Dragon Tiger Mountain, and him, the little genius from Sword Sect.

Such a grand lineup, dealing with a minor evil spirit would take no more than a brief moment.

He pulled Liu Yong up from his stool.

"Take us to your home, and within a two-hour period, we'll get rid of that evil spirit and retrieve the incense burner."