Xu Mu descended the mountain smoothly.
After eating at the disciple hall and taking a bath, Xu Mu returned to his courtyard as the sky began to darken.
The Wine Immortal had been waiting there for a long time.
"You're finally back."
Inside the small cabin, the Wine Immortal opened his eyes and met the gaze of Xu Mu, who had just entered, his hair still damp.
"So you were here."
Xu Mu yawned, then languidly sat down on the wooden chair, speaking with some fatigue.
The Wine Immortal nodded and asked,
"Is everything settled with Tai Wu?"
Xu Mu nodded, saying calmly,
"He sensed something was off with my identity, but he doesn't know who I am."
"Furthermore, I signed a contract with him, so he won't bother us for now."
The Wine Immortal frowned upon hearing this, asking,
"A contract?"
Xu Mu nodded.
"Yes."
"True Master Tai Wu said that someone in Tianshi Mountain is rebelling, involving elders from many peaks, but he's unclear about who exactly or the mastermind behind it, so he asked me to help investigate."
The Wine Immortal fell silent, not questioning why True Master Tai Wu would ask Xu Mu for help, nor showing any shock about the internal matters of Tianshi Mountain. He simply opened his wine gourd and took a sip.
"I actually suspected this long ago," the Wine Immortal said, sighing with a complex expression. "In the history of Tianshi Mountain's Heavenly Master succession, no generation has experienced a situation like this. It's only natural that something is about to happen."
Xu Mu asked with some confusion,
"What situation?"
"Does Zuo Mingqiu not deserve to be the next Heavenly Master? Why would someone be displeased with him?"
The Wine Immortal shook his head and said,
"The foremost lord of the Nine Heavens certainly deserves it."
"What I mean by different is that the current Heavenly Master has lived for far too long."
"He has been alive since many, many years ago. He cultivated the same path as my master's martial uncle, and only later joined Tianshi Mountain to become the Heavenly Master."
"After all these years, my martial uncle is dead, my master is dead, but he is still alive. This is because he has never found a successor and is unwilling to pass down the position of Heavenly Master. Therefore, he has used the method of a ghost immortal to prolong his life, refusing to die."
Xu Mu furrowed his brow, "So, what does this have to do with the people in Tianshi Mountain being displeased with Zuo Mingqiu?"
The Wine Immortal:
"Of course, it's related."
"Although every Heavenly Master passed down the position in their later years, they were still at their peak strength at that time. With a single word, no one in Tianshi Mountain would dare to have any other thoughts. By the time the Old Heavenly Master was about to ascend, the Daozi of that generation would have cultivated to a realm capable of shouldering the responsibility."
"But now, Zuo Mingqiu is too young, and the Old Heavenly Master is nearing his end."
"And most importantly, before Zuo Mingqiu joined Tianshi Mountain, the Old Heavenly Master had found a successor named Zhao Qingdong. She was a woman with extremely high spiritual talent."
"The Old Heavenly Master waited for many years, finally finding a worthy successor. This Zhao Qingdong was nurtured with all his resources, even going so far as to give her the Heavenly Master Token early, allowing her to freely cultivate her own faction within the five peaks."
"I've met that child once, and I have a very high opinion of her, calling her a congenital Dao seed. Furthermore, she is meticulous and a perfect individual."
"With power in hand and talent to boot, Zhao Qingdong conquered all the peaks of Tianshi Mountain in just two years. Countless elders were willing to follow her, and even though she was a woman, they were willing to recognize her as the next Heavenly Master."
"But then, Zuo Mingqiu arrived."
"And Zhao Qingdong lost."
The Wine Immortal paused at this point.
Xu Mu also sighed.
The rest was obvious.
Zhao Qingdong lost to Zuo Mingqiu, and a Daozi cannot lose. Therefore, Zuo Mingqiu naturally became the Daozi of Tianshi Mountain.
The Wine Immortal continued, "No matter how much the Old Heavenly Master favored Zhao Qingdong, he could not ignore Zuo Mingqiu's existence."
"He was born on the same day as Zhao Qingdong, and his talent was as high as hers, but his strength was even greater. Thus, the position of Daozi naturally fell to him."
"But the problem is, before this, many people in Tianshi Mountain, including the peak masters of the five peaks, had already decided that Zhao Qingdong was the next Heavenly Master. Many had paid great prices in private to build good relationships with Zhao Qingdong, and those costs were irreversible."
"Zuo Mingqiu's arrival caused those people great pain. Coupled with the Old Heavenly Master's extremely poor condition, and the possibility of him ascending at any moment, it's not surprising that some people in the mountain are harboring strange intentions."
Xu Mu nodded.
Regardless of whether those people wanted to support Zhao Qingdong or seize the position for themselves, Zuo Mingqiu's situation was extremely dangerous.
Although he might have cultivated many confidants and followers over the years, enemies often hid in the shadows.
Until the position of Heavenly Master was settled, no one knew what would happen.
"I've met this Zhao Qingdong," Xu Mu said, smacking his lips. He then recounted how he had accidentally trespassed onto Hidden Peak and encountered a short-haired woman.
The Wine Immortal was somewhat surprised after hearing this.
"She didn't even participate in the Alliance of Ten Thousand Races, and she's been in seclusion on Hidden Peak? What's her current cultivation realm?"
Xu Mu: "Stage Three, Upper Tier."
Upon hearing this, the Wine Immortal clicked his tongue and said,
"She's not at Stage Three Peak? It seems she's still a step behind Zuo Mingqiu."
"Since you've coincidentally gotten acquainted with Zhao Qingdong, you can use her to thoroughly investigate matters within Tianshi Mountain. Clarifying this will also help our plans."
Xu Mu nodded, his thoughts aligning with the Wine Immortal's.
Since Zhao Qingdong had the support of numerous elders, those who assassinated Zuo Mingqiu must have also been involved with them.
However, how to further approach Zhao Qingdong was a troublesome matter.
"Zuo Mingqiu is in seclusion and will emerge in seven days. At that time, Zhao Qingdong should go to the Thunder Pool to find him," the Wine Immortal said calmly.
Xu Mu's eyebrows slightly rose upon hearing this.
"The Thunder Pool, huh."
"Then I'll wait. See you in seven days."
...
...
After bathing, Zhao Qingdong changed into a brand new, pure white Daoist skirt, put on a veil, and flew down the mountain on a pale red sword.
She descended the mountain just like that.
Very few people knew of this news.
However, those who were qualified to be the first to know of Zhao Qingdong's departure were all the highly respected or powerful True Masters within Tianshi Mountain.
The factions and powers hidden in the shadows began to speculate on Zhao Qingdong's intentions for leaving the mountain, and for a time, the internal currents of Tianshi Mountain surged, and the pieces in many positions were moved.
But then, to everyone's surprise, that small red sword, after remaining silent for two hours, swiftly flew towards Shengyang Peak.
In the darkness of the night, she moved openly, without any intention of hiding, like a sudden red glow appearing in the night sky, attracting the attention of everyone along the way.
Then, she was stopped by a group of young disciples outside Shengyang Peak and asked her purpose.
Zhao Qingdong said she wanted to challenge Zuo Mingqiu.
The disciples replied that many people challenged their senior brother, and she had to go to the back of the line. Then, they were all knocked to the ground by Zhao Qingdong's sword.
After that, someone recognized Zhao Qingdong.
An elder from Shengyang Peak personally escorted her in and informed her that Zuo Mingqiu was in seclusion and would emerge in seven days, but would likely go to the Thunder Pool then and would not have time to accept her challenge.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Qingdong directly sat down outside Zuo Mingqiu's cultivation cave, keeping vigil day and night with the guards at the entrance.
With her here, the number of guards at the entrance increased significantly, including many elders from Shengyang Peak.
But those individuals were not just guarding Zuo Mingqiu; a considerable portion of them stood behind Zhao Qingdong, their expressions stern, seemingly afraid that something might happen.
Thus, seven days passed.
Zuo Mingqiu emerged from seclusion.
As soon as he stepped out of the cave, he sensed a sharp, bloody sword intent.
...
"It's you."
Zuo Mingqiu stepped out of the cave, looked at the short-haired girl before him, and was momentarily stunned. He smiled and said,
"Congratulations, you've broken through."
Zhao Qingdong looked at Zuo Mingqiu and said calmly,
"If it weren't for the commotion someone caused in Luosha Peak a few days ago, disturbing my seclusion, I would be at the same realm as you now."
Zuo Mingqiu was momentarily taken aback. He also knew about the events in Luosha Peak a few days prior. It was said that many peaches were picked from the ten-thousand-year-old Peach Tree in front of Ancestor Lu Zu's tomb, causing the Tianshi Mountain Ancestor to manifest and the sea of clouds to tremble. Yet, even the Sect Leader personally intervened, but they couldn't find the person who entered the Ancestor's tomb.
Zuo Mingqiu chuckled,
"Fortunately, I wasn't in seclusion at the time, but in the Thunder Pool."
Zhao Qingdong's eyes darkened, and she said calmly,
"It's all the same."
"My Dao is complete. Even being a minor realm behind, I can still defeat you."
"If you have no objections, then let's fight."
Saying this, Zhao Qingdong made a move to attack. Her red Dao sword emanated a magnificent sword glow, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to tremble, and the swords at the waists of the surrounding elders also vibrated.
Zuo Mingqiu extended his index finger and gently tapped his scabbard, which immediately calmed down.
Then, he looked at the girl and said,
"I need to go to the Thunder Pool."
"I'm afraid I don't have time to fight with you."
Zhao Qingdong frowned and said,
"Go after we fight."
"After I defeat you, I still need to find Xu Mu, who defeated you."
Hearing this familiar name, Zuo Mingqiu gave a faint, bitter smile, then said,
"You might not be able to defeat me."
"And you definitely won't be able to defeat him."
Zhao Qingdong looked at Zuo Mingqiu, the momentum of her sword growing fiercer. Her eyes sharpened as she asked,
"Shall we try?"
Gazing into the girl's black, almond-shaped pupils, Zuo Mingqiu coldly walked past her and leaped off the sea of clouds with the breeze.
"No trial."
"The reason I lost to Xu Mu was my physical body, so I need to go to the Thunder Pool."
"As for you, wait a while longer."
...