Chapter 18 Proactive Showdown

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After traversing ninety miles, half the journey is considered done.

Li Ping'an continued to explore the path ahead with his Spiritual Sense. In these final few hundred miles, far from slacking off, he became even more cautious.

Until that familiar stretch of mountain forest came into view.

Li Ping'an stopped on a hillside, looked across the lush green valley, and gazed sentimentally at the small Daoist temple nestled halfway up the opposite mountain slope.

The hills after the rain, shrouded in a hazy fog.

Five years ago, on a summer day, with only a firewood knife, a hunting bow, and the guidance of a few woodcutters, he drank from mountain springs and ate wild game, enduring hardships until he found this Daoist temple.

It was here that he knocked on those tightly closed doors and found the 'turning point' of this lifetime.

Li Ping'an had always been grateful to Daoist Chen Gongmin.

After glancing at the clouds in the sky through the glass mirror in his palm, Li Ping'an donned the disciple's uniform he had prepared earlier, tied up a Daoist circlet, stepped into cloth boots, and passed a bamboo hairpin through the circlet, with two blue streamers hanging from the hairpin on either side.

Then, in front of the immortals above the clouds, he touched his face with both hands for a moment and removed a mask as thin as cicada wings, revealing his true visage.

Li Ping'an pondered in his heart:

'That female cultivator who disguised herself as an old woman knows the Shape-Shifting Technique, a rather rare spell.'

'If she's also a disciple of the Wanyun Sect, I might ask her where she learned the technique in the future.'

His figure fluttered with the mountain breeze, allowing a trace of mana to leak out as a sign of his identity.

Daoist Chen Gongmin was already 120 years old, still had the appearance of a middle-aged man, and his cultivation had stalled at the Void Refinement Realm. The distance to the Merge True Realm was sizable, and the prospect of ascending to immortality was bleak.

Master Chen was an outer sect disciple of the Wanyun Sect stationed in the ordinary Immortal Dynasty, mainly responsible for overseeing Wan'an City and surrounding towns. If demons caused mischief, he would exterminate those he could defeat on the spot and report the stronger ones to the sect.

Like Master Chen, the number of Wanyun Sect Qi Cultivators stationed in various locations within the Immortal Dynasty could be two to three thousand, mostly in the realms of Void Refinement and Merge True, and largely occupying the capital and the borders.

In the border regions where conflicts frequently occurred within the Immortal Dynasty, there would also be Immortals from the Wanyun Sect.

If nothing unusual happened, Master Chen would continue his cultivation here for the next several decades. Should he break through to the Merge True Realm, he could return to the sect to accumulate seniority. With someone to pull a few strings, he could become a low-ranking external affair handler like the former Master Weiyinzi.

When witnessing Master Weiyinzi ascending to immortality, Li Ping'an had a question.

[Why are there no heavenly tribulations for ascending to immortality in this world?]

After consulting numerous texts, he discovered that this world never had the concept of heavenly tribulation since ancient times.

The Heavenly Dao is not apparent; order arises on its own.

In this world, the 'Heavenly Dao' refers to the 'Dao of the heavens' and not 'the will of Heaven and Earth made manifest.' The so-called order is constructed by living beings themselves.

This left Li Ping'an somewhat helpless.

Whether you want to mix with the almighty Lord of the Heavenly Dao or curse at the treacherous heavens, both are nothing more than groundless talk.

A moment later, the young disciple who came from the Wanyun Sect arrived at the gates of the Daoist temple.

Li Ping'an gathered his thoughts, lowered his head to straighten the lapels of his Daoist Robe, smoothed the ribbon in front of him, and knocked lightly on the wooden door.

Thud, thud!

Sticking out his chest, he lifted his head, intending to show off a bit in front of Master Chen, thinking to himself with an inner jest:

'This could also be considered a triumphant return.

Just then, a mist arose around the Daoist temple.

A shallow barrier of Formation light shined, enveloping the courtyard completely, and the entrance of the Formation was the gate itself.

'How has Master Chen become so extravagant?' Li Ping'an first smiled, then grew slightly alert.

For a Qi Cultivator stationed in the mortal world, resources for cultivation were already scarce; Master Chen usually activated the Formation here only when he was in closed-door cultivation, to minimize the consumption of Spirit Stones.

Li Ping'an took two steps back and called out in a loud voice, "Disciple Ping'an, sent on a mission to deliver a message. Is the old friend in the midst of cultivation?"

He used a bit of mana to ensure his voice could penetrate the barrier.

The barrier of the Daoist temple trembled a few times and then shut down.

Li Ping'an's sense of wariness spiked in an instant.

At the moment the Formation closed, he sensed a foreign aura and Dao Charm. It was indeed of the Wanyun lineage but significantly different from Master Chen's.

Li Ping'an's right palm immediately secured a homemade Magic Artifact the size of a jujube stone.

Creak — Yo —

The door hinge let out a worn-out sigh.

A small head peeked out from inside the door, with two noticeable pink hair buns.

Double buns?

The female cultivator who had disguised herself as the old woman with the Shape-Shifting Technique also had the same hairstyle.

The young female cultivator peered out, and upon seeing Li Ping'an, blinked her large, rippling eyes and said in a soft and gentle voice:

"Who are you looking for? My master has gone out."

Li Ping'an's brows furrowed tightly, and his expression turned somewhat cold.

Could Master Chen have fallen victim to the schemes of these people?

The female cultivator, seeing Li Ping'an's current demeanour, also became slightly unsettled.

It wasn't that she was scared by what Li Ping'an had said about cremation earlier but rather,...

'Is this his true face? Quite handsome.'

Wen Ling'er pulled the two wooden doors wide open, continuing to play the role of an innocent young girl with a short skirt that just reached her knees, exposing a pair of fair and unadorned jade legs.

Differing slightly from the usual attire of female cultivators, her delicate feet were in 'straw sandals' made of jade strips and embellished with conspicuously thick heels.

Wen Ling'er's almond-shaped eyes sparkled as she spoke softly, "Judging by your presence, are you also a disciple of the Wanyun Sect?"

"I come from the Wanyun Sect," Li Ping'an said with a frown, "Is Master Chen your teacher?"

"Yup!"

"I share a deep friendship with Master Chen, and it has only been three years since we parted ways. To think that Master Chen now has a disciple at the Condensed Light Realm!"

Li Ping'an's gaze became somewhat intense.

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