ILDV Chapter 76

The magnificent Fourth Demon Venerable, a Tribulation stage great cultivator, a formidable figure whose name ranked among the cultivation world’s elite, had been so easily tricked by crystal sugar cakes that could be bought with a mere piece of broken silver.

“Eh, wrong. Shen deceived him for the treasure map. As for Venerable Chao, I truly have no such intentions whatsoever.”

“……”

Veins bulged on Chao Liang’s forehead as murderous intent suddenly arose.

He laughed coldly, “Then the Tianji Daojun is bound to be disappointed. This Venerable doesn’t have that worthless broken map on him at all!”

‘I don’t believe you’ was written on Shen Muxuan’s left cheek, and ‘I understand’ on his right.

He nodded in agreement. “No matter. I don’t mind. In any case, Venerable Yan won’t find us so quickly. Since the Venerable already came this far, there’s no need to rush off. Travel-worn as you are, why not rest here temporarily?”

Only after being pulled along with an arm around his shoulders and half-dragged to sit at a tavern table did Chao Liang finally deeply recognize a certain truth—

This person truly had not a shred of awareness befitting an Immortal Sect Daojun!

After eating and drinking his fill, Chao Liang’s attitude softened considerably, and he temporarily abandoned the thought of turning and leaving immediately.

Yan Yin couldn’t possibly give up on the treasure map’s whereabouts so easily. Rather than hiding like a rat crossing the street, afraid to show himself, he might as well stay by this youngster’s side temporarily and mooch food and drink.

It had to be said that Shen Muxuan’s smooth threatening tactics combined with his excellent escape skills inexplicably brought Chao Liang no small sense of security.

Chao Liang leaned back in his chair. “Where do you plan to go next? Let’s be clear—this Venerable won’t go to your Taihua Immortal Sect’s territory.”

“Why would we return to the Taihua Immortal Sect?” Shen Muxuan smiled. “If not for retrieving the treasure map, I would have long since boarded the spirit ship with the sect disciples and headed to Jietian Dao Sect. I don’t like the environment of Tianxia City one bit.”

Venerable Chao’s expression changed in an instant. “Jietian Dao Sect? Not going!”

He slammed the table and stood up, turning to leave.

Shen Muxuan remained seated, steady as Mount Tai, his smile unchanged, even having the leisure to wave for the waiter to add more tea.

He held his cup and slowly sipped, the rising steam not yet dissipated when an imposing figure charged through the doorway. A palm slammed down, shattering the wooden table with an ear-splitting crash. “What did you make this Venerable eat!”

“Crystal sugar cakes from the Tianshi Pavilion.”

Ripples spread across the water’s surface in the cup. Shen Muxuan raised his eyebrows slightly, seemingly regretful. “Could it not be to Venerable Chao’s taste? What a pity—one box costs a whole piece of silver!”

His abdomen ached faintly. Recalling the ‘poison’ that he couldn’t suppress no matter what, and that only rebounded more fiercely the harder he tried, Chao Liang nearly ground his teeth to powder.

Damn it! These righteous Immortal Sect bastards were all the same hypocrites! Birds of a feather!

The handsome face before him suddenly became hateful and grotesque. Chao Liang took a deep breath. “What exactly do you want?”

“Didn’t I already inform the Venerable? Shen observes the beautiful mountains and rivers in all directions, yet suffers from having no one to tour them with. I deeply regret this and hope to travel together with the Venerable.”

Chao Liang said, “Would it be best if I accompanied you all the way from the Northern Demon Territory to Jietian Dao Sect, then on to tour the Tianxuan Secret Treasury?”

Shen Muxuan nodded with satisfaction. “Excellent.”

Chao Liang: “……” Damn it, he’d never seen such a thick-skinned righteous cultivator.

Unfortunately, constrained by the poison of unknown origin, Chao Liang secretly sought out many medical cultivators. He’d even used Nine-Revolution grade spiritual medicines, but nothing worked at all. He had no choice but to swallow his anger, disguise himself, and follow at Shen Muxuan’s side, touring mountains and waters all the way to the Southern Region’s Jietian Dao Sect.

The Taihua Immortal Sect disciples had taken the spirit boat and arrived ahead of him by a week. Now the final selection jointly hosted by the three great Immortal Sects was already nearing its end.

With a Tribulation stage great cultivator arriving, Jietian Dao Sect didn’t dare be negligent and immediately dispatched people to the mountain gate to welcome them.

The two leaders, one older and one younger, were both acquaintances. The older one wore snow-white robes and a white veil over her face, while the younger one had fluttering dress hems and overflowed with vitality—they were none other than Jietian Saintess Jiang Mingyue and the Li Dynasty’s current Little Princess Li Shuihe, whom he’d met in Beiyu City not long ago.

Li Shuihe’s eyes lit up when she saw him from afar. She jumped up and waved at him, calling out happily, “Senior Shen! You came to the Dao Sect too!”

Shen Muxuan smiled faintly, about to say something, when Jietian Saintess raised her hand and struck Li Shuihe’s shoulder heavily, saying coldly, “Did you eat all your decorum? Is this the upbringing of the Li Dynasty royal family?!”

Li Shuihe winced in pain. Her flying brows rose in a sharp arc as she raised her hand and drew the whip from her waist, gripping it and pointing it straight at the Saintess’s nose. Her voice was full of anger. “Jiang Mingyue, even if you find me displeasing, show some verbal restraint! Disasters don’t extend to family members. You open your mouth to say I lack upbringing and close it thinking I bring shame to the Dao Sect—who’s the one who truly lacks upbringing? The Jietian Saintess is the next generation’s sect master. These past days you’ve deliberately picked fights and been jealous—do you have even half the bearing of a future sect master!”

Before the two women had exchanged three sentences, they were already at loggerheads, their words full of gunpowder.

Someone behind them coughed heavily twice, walked past the two of them, and came forward apologetically. “I’ve made a spectacle for Daojun to witness. These days the sect’s affairs have been overly burdensome and trivial, and the Saintess…”

Shen Muxuan concealed his surprised expression, smiled and nodded, smoothly saying a few sentences to ease the atmosphere before following the other party through the mountain gate.

Along the way, this person objectively introduced the current situation of each sect. For some reason, he was particularly talkative, completely unlike what Shen Muxuan knew of Jietian Dao Sect people. Especially regarding accommodations, he explained at length, leaving Shen Muxuan thoroughly confused.

He then inquired about the person who’d been following at Shen Muxuan’s side. Shen Muxuan simply said it was an old friend he’d encountered midway and brought along. The Dao Sect person quickly understood and efficiently arranged their lodgings.

—Tianji Daojun’s friends? They were scattered across all corners of the world. It was perfectly normal that he didn’t recognize this one.

After settling in, Shen Muxuan swept his divine consciousness carefully through the entire courtyard but detected no flaws.

He was about to head to the competition grounds to observe when someone knocked on the courtyard gate. After receiving permission, a dejected Li Shuihe walked in.

“Daojun, I think something’s wrong with Jiang Mingyue.” Li Shuihe’s opening words were unusually direct. 

Shen Muxuan’s movements paused. “Little Princess, this kind of matter—you should find your Jietian Dao Sect’s senior elders. It’s probably not appropriate to discuss such things with an outsider like me.”

“Of course I have my reasons for coming to Daojun!”

Li Shuihe kept grinding her foot against the floor, her gaze restless, her expression serious. “I’ve observed carefully for many days now. Jiang Mingyue’s abnormality is greatly related to your young disciple. Originally, if you hadn’t come, I would have gone to find Taihua Immortal Sect’s seniors instead!”

Xu Rong…

What trouble had this brat stirred up in the few days he hadn’t been watching?

Li Shuihe had already begun speaking. “About three days before the Immortal Sect’s spirit boat arrived, Jiang Mingyue suddenly emerged from seclusion early. Using preparation to receive fellow cultivators as an excuse, she called over all the supervisors responsible for this disciple selection and questioned them individually about the situation, especially regarding your Taihua Immortal Sect—she asked in great detail.”

“I didn’t think much of it originally. After all, the Saintess has always been concerned with sect affairs and was meticulous, often summoning various stewards to understand the situation. But this time she showed no interest in trivial matters, constantly asking about personnel roster issues, and directly took over all tasks related to the Immortal Sect’s guests. Oh, right—”

Li Shuihe slapped her forehead apologetically. “That steward’s attitude just now was probably somewhat strange, but after all, it’s difficult for him to speak ill of the Saintess… These days the Saintess seems mentally exhausted. She even ‘mistakenly retrieved’ a cold jade bed from the sect treasury and installed it in a participating disciple from the Immortal Sect’s room. There were countless other items exceeding proper standards. Later when the sect master asked about it, she said she was too exhausted and made an error—”

“Others may believe it, but I have my doubts.”

Shen Muxuan asked, “Those mistakenly placed items—I presume they were installed in my worthless disciple’s room?”

Li Shuihe smiled bitterly. “Precisely.”

Shen Muxuan asked again, “May I presume to ask—the Little Princess’s relationship with my worthless disciple… the Saintess must be aware of this as well?”

Li Shuihe looked up in astonishment, meeting a pair of clear, transparent black eyes. After a long moment, she lowered her head and said, “…Daojun is perceptive.”

Very well, he understood what was happening now.

This young girl, bearing the title of Xu Rong’s betrothed through arranged marriage, had probably suffered no small amount of oppression these days from the spirit occupying Jiang Mingyue’s body. No wonder at the mountain gate earlier, her temper had been so easily provoked.

The sense of crisis in his heart grew increasingly intense.

These inexplicable entities could effortlessly occupy even Tribulation stage physical bodies without leaving a trace. Judging by Zhao Hejing’s fate, the moment they seized the nest, the original owner’s soul had likely already been obliterated… This was far too terrifying.

Shen Muxuan lowered his eyes, saying lightly, “I understand. Little Princess, please return for now. This lord will pay attention to the specific situation.”

That he was willing to show this accepting attitude already greatly delighted Li Shuihe. After all, the Jietian Saintess had accumulated prestige over many years. Even if her temperament had been slightly off these days, it was difficult to arouse suspicion from those within the sect. Li Shuihe had actively sought out Shen Muxuan because she had no other option—she could warn one person at a time.

Not long after Li Shuihe left, voices and laughter from Immortal Sect disciples mixed together and drifted from the distance.

“Junior Xu is as sharp as ever! The opponent monk didn’t even react before being sent off the stage with one move!”

“Exactly! Even the Jietian Dao Sect’s next sect master was attracted. Hehehe… They say she was too tired and made a mistake, but I don’t believe it. Junior Xu, your romantic fortune is quite abundant~”

Xu Rong walked in the middle of the group, smiling as he enjoyed their flattery, his footsteps becoming even lighter.

From the corner of his eye, he casually glanced at the temporary residence not far away. Suddenly his expression changed and he immediately sternly rebuked them, “Don’t disrespect the Saintess! The Saintess’s treatment of me is merely appreciation for a junior. Don’t fabricate stories and ruin the Saintess’s reputation.”

The disciples showed bewildered expressions, not understanding why Xu Rong had suddenly turned hostile. He’d clearly been listening quite happily before…

Following his line of sight, they looked over, and one by one they instantly froze in place like statues.

“Well now, half a month away and you haven’t achieved any results, but you’ve learned to gossip behind people’s backs.”

The white-robed Daojun walked slowly before this group of worthless things, his expression changing as he shouted, “Still standing around here doing what! All of you, get back and face the wall in reflection!”

The group of disciples fled in panic, leaving only Xu Rong sweating profusely, soon soaking through his clothes.

He dropped to his knees with a thud, his forehead striking the ground heavily—it sounded painful just listening.

Before he could open his mouth, he heard Shen Muxuan ask with mild surprise, “Why are you kneeling? I was scolding that group of worthless fools. Could it be you’re also…”

Xu Rong’s brain raced, his heart celebrating that Shen Muxuan had arrived late and hadn’t heard those words, not noticing the icy gaze the snow-robed Daojun cast downward.

He quickly said, “This disciple’s cultivation is shallow. Here day and night I fear bringing shame to Shizun’s reputation. My heart is filled with utmost shame.”

Shen Muxuan was both amused and exasperated. He reached out to help him up. “Am I such an unreasonable person? You’re merely at Golden Core cultivation, yet you can rank among the elite—this already brings me great comfort. Why force yourself? Stand up quickly.”

Xu Rong breathed a huge sigh of relief. As his tense emotions faded, the sensation in his palm became all the more distinct.

As a great swordsman, Shen Muxuan’s forearms weren’t slender, delicate, and frail like those of spell cultivators, but covered with a thin layer of muscle—resilient without being overly bulky, feeling excellent when gripped in one’s palm.

He couldn’t help but move his fingers, yet afraid of startling the other person, he didn’t dare make any obvious movements, his heart itching with desire. A few loose strands of Shen Muxuan’s hair slipped down, brushing against his face ticklishly, carrying the crisp scent of mountain pines and bamboo.

Xu Rong couldn’t help but look up and lean in slightly closer, his voice hoarse. “Shizun…”

“What are you doing!”