Evening.
A figure in apricot-yellow landed gracefully beside the Sword-Unsheathing Stone in front of the Mountain Lord's Shrine. Dongzang, being from the Mountain Peak Villa, naturally adhered to the rules of the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake: no one was allowed to fly into the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake from the air, as it was a sign of disrespect. Thus, she carried her basket and floated gently up the mountain, several meters above the ground.
"Dongzang..."
A figure in golden splendor emerged from the Mountain Lord's Shrine. It was the elegant and refined Mountain Lord, Lord Su. He looked at the basket in Dongzang's hand and chuckled, "Off to buy groceries?"
"Yes, Lord Su."
Dongzang turned in the breeze and performed a curtsy, smiling. "When the dishes are ready, I'll share some with you, Lord Su. Two small plates of appetizers with wine?"
Lord Su immediately cupped his hands and said with a laugh, "Dongzang, you are too kind. Remember to send them over soon..."
"Alright~~~"
Dongzang continued up the mountain. Lord Su sat on the doorstep of the Mountain Lord's Shrine, gazing at the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake. Another day of meager incense offerings. He wondered when such days would end, and when he could return to his comfortable fourteenth realm.
At the entrance to the small town, the gatekeeper, Tang Guangjun, sat with his legs crossed, having been observing Dongzang's every move in Tingma Town with the Water Moon Observation Technique, privy to every detail. However, he made no move to reveal himself, merely smiling and saying, "Sister Dongzang, you're back from buying groceries?"
"Mm."
Dongzang smiled. "On duty?"
"Indeed!"
Tang Guangjun grinned. "When you take the dishes to Lord Su later, can you save a plate for me? It doesn't have to be fancy, just a plate of stir-fried vegetables will do."
"Ah?"
Dongzang pursed her red lips, a look of difficulty on her face. "Young Master only said I could send extra food to Lord Su, but he didn't mention you. This... I'm afraid I can't comply..."
"..."
Tang Guangjun picked his nose, waved his hand, and said, "Go on, go on. You're so beautiful, how can you be so bad at doing favors?"
Dongzang pursed her red lips, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Later, when I take food to Lord Su, I'll bring you a small dish of boiled peanuts?"
"Ah?"
Tang Guangjun's eyes instantly brightened. "Good, good, good! Sister Dongzang, you are truly kind and intelligent. You will surely marry a good man like the Mountain Master in the future!"
Dongzang's pretty face flushed red, and she turned and drifted away.
Tang Guangjun narrowed his eyes and looked down the mountain.
Hmph, no matter who they are, for the sake of this dish of boiled peanuts, I, Tang Guangjun, will face them with my sword!
...
Night shrouded the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake, and the earth was plunged into darkness.
At this moment, an old man in green robes, carrying a fortune-telling banner, slowly ascended the mountain. As he walked, he chanted, "Ancestral fortune-telling secrets, bring prosperity and peace to the nation! Ancestral fortune-telling secrets, bring prosperity and peace to the nation!"
When he reached the front of the Mountain Lord's Shrine, he saw a scholarly figure in white robes sitting on a blue rock, legs crossed, looking at him with a knowing smile.
Instantly, the fortune teller quickened his pace, a strange feeling in his heart. He had used formations and talismans to suppress his twelfth-realm cultivation and even concealed his demonic aura. Yet, how could this white-robed Mountain Lord seem to see through him as a demonic entity at a glance? Was there a mistake?
Impossible. That Mountain Lord was merely a crippled cultivator in the middle fifth realm. What means could he possibly have to discern me?
He trembled, frowned, and then resumed his leisurely demeanor, holding up his fortune-telling banner and shaking his bell as he continued up the mountain. However, as he reached the mountain gate of the small town, he saw a disheveled man with a long sword strapped to his back, standing in the center of the gate with his arms crossed, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, looking at him with a smile.
"Young fellow..."
The fortune teller chuckled nervously. "Need a reading? Ancestral fortune-telling, guaranteed to be effective..."
"Oh?"
Tang Guangjun grinned, revealing a row of white teeth, and said with a smile, "Mr. Fortune Teller, shall we chat?"
With that, Tang Guangjun took a step forward, instantly engulfing the fortune teller and himself in a small world filled with the dense aura of sword intent. He raised his hand, drew his sword, Dengtian, stepped on empty air, and looked down at the other with disdain, saying with a laugh, "Well, well, a twelfth-realm demonic entity. You dare come to our Snow Domain Heavenly Lake to court death?"
"Ah!?"
The fortune teller was terrified. His green robe kept burning, transforming into a fiery red Daoist robe, and his fortune-telling banner became a whisk. His expression was solemn. Legend had it that the highest cultivation in the Snow Domain Heavenly Lake was the eleventh-realm Sword Immortal, Fu Zhi. When did a twelfth-realm Sword Immortal suddenly appear? And the killing intent of this twelfth-realm sword cultivator was so intense!
However, twelfth realm against twelfth realm, he might not lose.
"Heh!"
Beixuan True Monarch's lips curled up. He held his whisk and said with a smile, "I am a hermit of the mountains, calling myself Beixuan True Monarch. May I ask where I have offended this Sword Immortal?"
"Beixuan True Monarch?"
Tang Guangjun picked at his ear and said with a laugh, "Never heard of you! I am a twelfth-realm sword cultivator from the ancestral lineage of the Military School. Tang Guangjun, I'm here to spar with you!"
Seeing that a peaceful resolution was impossible, Beixuan True Monarch's eyes grew increasingly fierce. He sneered, "The Four Saints, Ten Philosophers, and Seventy-Two Generals of the Military Temple, all of them are renowned figures. Yet, I have never heard the name Tang Guangjun!"
"..."
Tang Guangjun's killing intent surged tenfold, and he bristled. He grinned ferociously and said, "Then I'll make you remember this name today! And I'll teach you, you old bastard, to never set your sights on anyone from our Mountain Peak Villa!"
Unexpectedly, Lord Su's voice echoed in his mind, pinching his nose. "When the hell did you, Tang Guangjun, become a member of Mountain Peak Villa? Stuffing a bulb of garlic up your nose to pretend you're something you're not. Have you no shame?"
Damn you, Lord Su...
Tang Guangjun was enraged. His killing intent surged another tenfold. His shining sword, Dengtian, descended from the sky, instantly cleaving down at Beixuan True Monarch. Beixuan True Monarch dared not be careless. He waved his whisk, summoning a sky full of flames to resist, clashing continuously with Tang Guangjun's scorching sword energy in the air. At the same time, Tang Guangjun truly harbored killing intent. Two flying swords shot out from his acupuncture points behind him, transforming into two streams of light that launched sneak attacks.
Beixuan True Monarch was like a fish on a hot pan. The Northern Four Clans' rankings were always headed by the Demon Clan and the Fiend Clan, both possessing significant advantages. The Demon Clan had superior individual combat power, while the Fiend Clan had strong cavalry. Following them were the Ghost Clan. The world's ghost cultivators were diverse, with many outstanding individuals. The Sprite Clan, however, ranked last. Why?
Because, in a head-to-head battle between ordinary cultivators of the same realm, the Demon Clan and Fiend Clan would crush the Human Race. Ghost cultivators had various branches; those who carried coffins or practiced sword arts would crush the Human Race, while other branches were roughly comparable. Only the Sprite Clan, which drew essence from heaven and earth to gain sentience and form, was inherently inferior to humans, who were naturally the spirits of all things. Therefore, Sprite Clan cultivators were at a disadvantage against Human cultivators of the same realm.
Beixuan True Monarch was in the twelfth realm. He might be able to contend with ordinary Human cultivators, but against sword cultivators, it was generally hopeless. And against a Military School sword cultivator like Tang Guangjun, it was even more so.
After ten moves, Beixuan True Monarch's techniques were completely suppressed. The torrent of sword energy rained down, leaving numerous fine wounds on his body. Fortunately, his true form was that of a fiery maple, a plant of the human world, with tenacious vitality. His wounds healed at an unimaginable speed, but each healing consumed spiritual energy. Thus, Beixuan True Monarch's spiritual energy grew weaker and weaker; death was only a matter of time.
Cannot just sit and wait for death!
Beixuan True Monarch gritted his teeth and crushed over a dozen magical artifacts, throwing them towards the sword intent restriction behind him. A continuous series of explosions erupted, creating a small gap in Tang Guangjun's small world. He turned and fled!
"Still trying to run?!"
Tang Guangjun stepped on a wisp of sword energy and flew through the air, his imposing aura like that of a heavenly sword immortal. He raised his sword, Dengtian, and slashed down, saying with a laugh, "You old scoundrel, you're already thousands of years old, yet you still want to find young girls for dual cultivation. Have you no shame? Since you, Beixuan True Monarch, are so unseemly, I, Tang Guangjun, will help you maintain decorum by cutting off your kidneys!"
This incredibly sharp sword had the power to split mountains. Beixuan True Monarch had nowhere to dodge. With a "plop," Tang Guangjun's sword struck him in the kidney area. A scream of agony erupted, and his body flipped and flew out of the gap in the world. Immediately, he transformed into a fiery red maple leaf and seeped into the mountain forest, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
...
Tang Guangjun dispersed his small world and pursued with his sword to the mountainside, but he couldn't catch up. Sprites, born between heaven and earth, were closer to the mountains and forests than humans. Once they entered the forest, they could hide within every blade of grass and even move through plants. They could go anywhere on the mountain instantly, making it difficult to hunt them down even for a twelfth-realm Sword Immortal.
"Miscalculated?"
On the crossbeam in front of the Mountain Lord's Shrine, Lord Su, dressed in elegant white robes, held a folding fan and said with a smile, "Tang Guangjun, oh Tang Guangjun, just a little more, and you could have claimed merit from your junior brother! Look at you, you didn't capture the person, nor do you have any evidence. You can't even claim merit now!"
"Alas!"
Tang Guangjun sighed. "Forget it, that old bastard is very cunning. My sword intent restriction was too weak. I'll reinforce it next time. But regardless, at least I severed his kidney, making that old bastard give up the idea of finding dual cultivation furnaces from now on. Sister Dongzang will no longer be threatened."
"You!"
Lord Su sat up abruptly, pointed at Tang Guangjun's nose, and said with feigned grief and indignation, "What's the use of cutting off one kidney?"
"Ah?"
Tang Guangjun looked surprised. "It's useless?"
"Absolutely useless!"
Lord Su patted his sides. "You only cut off one kidney, but you forgot, when Sprites cultivate into form, they are like humans and have two kidneys!"
"Ah!!!"
Tang Guangjun stomped his feet and beat his chest, filled with regret. He pointed at Lord Su, "You! Lord Su, why didn't you say so earlier? You've ruined my great plan! I was so close to becoming the top general under the Mountain Master's junior brother!"
Lord Su looked as if he was disappointed in his student's lack of progress. "You're stupid and you blame me? Besides, how dare you speak to me like that? Have you forgotten that your sect leader is my brother?"
"Oh dear..."
Tang Guangjun quickly put away his anger and put on a fawning smile. He bowed to Lord Su with the respectful gesture of a scholar and said, "A gentleman is cautious even when alone, and restrains himself and returns to propriety. Tang Guangjun admits his mistakes and is willing to correct them. Great is the virtue of repentance."
Lord Su rolled his eyes. You, Tang Guangjun, trying to restrain yourself and return to propriety? Trying to piggyback on Confucian scholarship? Truly shameless!
...
Just then, a figure in apricot-yellow carrying a bamboo basket descended the mountain. Lord Su and Tang Guangjun both turned to look, their faces breaking into joyful smiles.