Unsheathed

Chapter 421 (1): Young Hero Meeting a Great Hero

Chapter 421 (1): Young Hero Meeting a Great Hero

After traveling on the exquisite louchuan that had transformed from a miniature carved boat for about two hours, they broke through a layer of clouds and landed on a mountain peak that was surrounded by lingering mist.

They had arrived at the Purple Sun Residence.

Gazing down from high up, it was clear that the scale of this immortal sect was no inferior to that of a royal palace in the mortal world. Located in the central region was a magnificent structure that shimmered purple and gold under the bright rays of sunshine.

After Chen Ping'an and the others disembarked the louchuan, the tall and slender woman who referred to herself as Cave Spirit True Lord Wu Yi transformed the louchuan back into a miniature carved boat and placed it inside her sleeve. As for the group of beautiful young women, they were turned into a stack of talismans that the Cave Spirit True Lord unexpectedly didn't take back. Instead, she casually waved her sleeve and sent them into a gurgling river not far away, causing them to transform into wisps of spiritual energy that fused into the water.

A tall and skinny old man immediately appeared on the opposite bank of the river in a tactful manner, falling to his knees and kowtowing to Wu Yi as he exclaimed, "The minor god of the incense temple pays his respects to Ancestor Cave Spirit True Lord. I thank Ancestor for Ancestor's great kindness and virtue!"

Zhu Lian smacked the back of Pei Qian's head and commented in a quiet voice, "A like-minded friend of yours has appeared. Are you not going to run over to enjoy a hearty conversation with him?"

Pei Qian rolled her eyes in response.

"You can return to your incense temple if there's no other matter to report," Wu Yi said with a look of indifference.

The deity hurriedly stood up and took his leave, transforming into a streak of azure smoke that contained specks of golden light as he vanished into the river.

Wu Yi smiled and explained, "That's the bad thing about going out and traveling. It's very difficult to find peace and quiet."

Chen Ping'an nodded in understanding.

"Young Master Chen, where are the people who were traveling with you last time? For example, the little girl wearing the red jacket whom my father liked the most. Why don't I see a single one of them?" Wu Yi asked in a casual manner.

Chen Ping'an smiled and replied, "They're all studying in the Great Sui Nation."

Wu Yi appeared slightly disappointed.

Her father had once revealed to her that the tall young man using the pseudonym of Yu Lu was actually the crown prince of the destroyed Lu Empire!

His concentrated dragon aura was like the most amazing delicacy in the world.

Her father hadn't devoured him for whatever reason back then, and Wu Yi hadn't dared to act without permission in front of him. Thus, she had also let the opportunity slip by. It was hard to say whether she would get an opportunity to fill her belly in the future, and perhaps doing so would allow her to break through the godforsaken barrier of the Golden Core Tier.

In order to advance to the Nascent Tier, the so-called end tier of the Great Dao for flood dragons nowadays, her younger brother had gone as far as to become the river god of the Cold Food River. Meanwhile, she was earnestly practicing some heretical cultivation techniques of the Daoist Sect, and it couldn't be said that they were completely useless. However, progress was so slow that she wanted to pull her hair out.

Was she truly going to live in her father's shadows for the next one hundred years or one thousand years? Was she truly going to live in fear, afraid that her father would suddenly become hungry one day or require nourishment after fighting to the death with someone and thus decide to devour his two children?

There was also an official river god assigned to the Iron Plate River, and it was none other than the timid old man who had hurriedly appeared and disappeared just then.

The elderly river god had been honored in the incense temple for many years, and he was nothing more than a puppet for the Purple Sun Residence and a training resource for Lower Five Tier cultivators of the sect. During these training sessions, the elderly river god who was often laughed at by fellow river gods would send forth his minions to their deaths, with the pitiful water spirits essentially sticking their necks out for the cultivation fledglings to to chop. Only those who were fortunate would be able to escape with their lives.

As time went on, the Iron Plate River was naturally unable to produce a sufficient number of water spirits. That being the case, the elderly river god had no option but to use his own money to increase the water essence of the river. If it were a year with low income at the water god temple, he would have to prepare gifts and visit the old immortals of the Purple Sun Residence, begging them to toss some immortal coins into the river and replenish its water essence. That way, the growth of water ghosts and water spirits could be accelerated, avoiding a situation where the training sessions for the internal disciples of the Purple Sun Residence were delayed.

This sounded very pathetic, and it could almost be said that the river god was barely staying alive. In reality, however, many river gods in the Yellow Court Nation were extremely envious of his position.

The reason for this was very simple. The old man was only a river god of the Iron Plate River, yet the strength of his gold statue was no inferior to the formal river god of the White Swan River, the third largest river in the Yellow Court Nation.

What was the reason for this? This was naturally thanks to the scraps that he was able to dig out from the fingernails of the Purple Sun Residence year after year. In addition, it was also thanks to the incense offerings that he received at the incense temple.

Cultivators in the Purple Sun Residence didn't like to be disturbed by outsiders, so many officials and wealthy people who came to visit the renowned sect could only stop at the incense temple located one hundred kilometers away from the sect.

After they stopped, they naturally had to offer incense and pay respect to the deity. Of course, there were also some dirty tasks that people needed to communicate to the Purple Sun Residence through the river god of the Iron Plate River. Because the Purple Sun Residence was extremely good at making money, they would offer a rough price point each time they were invited to provide so-called training sessions for cultivators ranging from the third tier to the eighth tier.

However, cultivators in the Purple Sun Residence were known for their haughty nature, so they might refuse to entertain the wealthy mortals even if they were offered large sums of money. Because of this, it was necessary for them to seek help from the incense temple, what with the elderly river god of the Iron Plate River having a close relationship with the Purple Sun Residence.

During this process, the elderly river god most certainly didn't dare to profit off the two parties, not daring to take even a single copper coin. Each time the officials and wealthy individuals donated money to the immortals of the Purple Sun Residence and received their help, however, they would naturally donate a sum of incense money unrelated to the Purple Sun Residence to the incense temple after their matters were successfully resolved.

Chen Ping'an and the others arrived near the Purple Sun Residence.

Outside the sect was a white jade plaza.

Many members of the Purple Sun Residence had already filled the plaza to respectfully welcome their old ancestor back. The Purple Sun Residence was divided into the internal sect and the external sect, and internal disciples included Sect Founder Wu Yi's direct disciples, the disciples of the various sect masters throughout the years, the elderly Dragon Gate Tier guest elders, as well as the Sea Observation Tier cultivators who were responsible for various matters in the sect and wielded actual power.

The external sect was comparatively diverse, and apart from cultivators with ordinary cultivation talent, there were also vagrant cultivators who had joined the sect, pure martial artists, as well as servants and slaves who had served the sect for generations after generation. This was a mixed bag of people, and they naturally far outnumbered the Qi refiners who were cultivating in earnest.

There were almost a thousand people standing on the white jade plaza.

Moreover, they were positioned according to their statuses, and this was something that they definitely couldn't get wrong.

Perhaps to prevent Chen Ping'an from thinking that she was trying to establish an imposing air and take him down a notch, Wu Yi smiled and explained, "It's already been one hundred or so years since I last showed myself in the Purple Sun Residence, and I previously announced to everyone that I had chosen a cave abode in which to cultivate in seclusion. In reality, I was simply tired and annoyed at the endless number of relationships that I had to maintain, so I eventually decided to hide and not need to deal with these matters."

When Wu Yi walked from the paved path onto the boundary of the white jade plaza, everyone fell to their knees in unison and started to kowtow, loudly exclaiming, "Congratulations on exiting seclusion, Old Ancestor."

This was like thunder to Pei Qian's ears.

The little girl's eyes also lit up when she saw this grand and impressive display.