Chapter 72: Don't Worry, This Time It Absolutely Won't Happen

"Junior Nephew Qi Yuan, what brings you out today?"

It was another day of gentle breezes and warm sunshine. The elderly Daoist Qi Yuan, dressed in a long robe and holding a whisk, floated down from Xiaoqiong Peak to the mountain gate.

The immortal guarding the mountain asked this question, and Qi Yuan bowed in respect before replying:

"I'm just going out for a stroll; nothing serious. Lately, I've felt a bit restless inside."

"Very well."

The old true immortal at the gate didn't press further. With a kind smile, he opened the mountain gate and let Qi Yuan ride the clouds into the outer sky.

Due to the incident involving the Bingjie of a Zhuoxian, Qi Yuan had gained some 'reputation' within the mountain; however, this fame wasn't always positive, and occasionally, people would mock or jest about it.

After refining this batch of pills, Li Changshou waited another four months until his master finished his seclusion and went out for a wander. He discussed it with his master, arranging for him to stay out longer to give the paper effigy more time to operate. Afterward, Li Changshou repeatedly instructed his master not to venture too far from the mountain gate.

To help his master conceal his tracks, Li Changshou passed on the second version of the Guixi Pingqi Jue to him, ensuring that while waiting for his return, his master wouldn't be targeted or schemed against. Li Changshou's true body remained within the mountain gate, so if anything happened to his master, he could sense it and rush to the rescue.

Li Changshou had already decided that both his master and his junior sister would have equal access to information from him.

Qi Yuan stowed the box and quietly departed. The paper effigy reappeared, looking noticeably bulkier, with the shoulder bag now changed to a backpack.

This time, Li Changshou transformed into the appearance of an elderly Daoist and decided to use this image for selling pills in the future.

Employing T Tudun, the paper effigy quickly headed toward Linhai Town. Half a day later, Li Changshou wandered in a semicircle toward the east, deliberately altering his path from an exclamation mark to a question mark. Finally, he emerged from a deserted forest on the west side, riding the clouds with a sword on his back, and flew toward the grand market town ahead.

The sword on his back had a new hilt and sheath style, with an added prohibition to block immortal sense detection. Of course, its core function remained unchanged. What appeared to be a sword was actually a mixed poison agent dispersal treasure, capable of silently releasing colorless poison powder, delivering the toxin into an enemy's Yuan Shen and lungs without a trace, thereby increasing the chances of poisoning a true immortal.

This item was naturally one-of-a-kind, like the Luotian Bao Umbrella, and belonged to Li Changshou's self-designed treasures.

For this trip, Li Changshou had also prepared a second similar treasure: a flute that could release poison through its holes while playing. However, it had a drawback—

One had to be careful with breathing, or else it might be inhaled accidentally.

Otherwise, it would be like saying, "My knife is so poisonous that touching it means death, brushing it means demise... hiss, what a joke."

The market town had four entrances to its great array, similar to the city gates of the mortal world, though these were openings in the array rather than walls.

The Dongsheng Shenzhou major immortal sect, Linhai Jianpai, was responsible for maintaining order here. Following the customs of the Honghuang era, they stationed people at the array gates to collect 'entry fees.'

This fee could be spirit stones, treasure materials, or spirit herbs, as long as they had some value.

A market town of this scale could bring substantial income to an immortal sect, but it required stationing many experts on site to prevent trouble, making it feasible only for major sects.

Du Xian Men had once tried to establish a market town, but due to factors like location and poor management, it only lasted a few thousand years before it lost its regular visitors and scattered cultivators, resulting in losses for Du Xian Men.

Li Changshou understood this well. After all, his sect cultivated the Wuwei Jing, and its disciples preferred quiet and inaction, often channeling their energy into 'Dao companion pursuits.'

After a brief mental jab at his own sect, Li Changshou had the paper effigy reveal a late Yuanxian realm cultivation and wait in line behind over a dozen figures.

Beside him, a steady stream of people were leaving, most flying close to the ground on clouds. Exiting didn't require a fee, but entering meant queuing up to pay.

Just as it was almost Li Changshou's turn to enter, he caught sight of seven or eight figures about to leave the market town.

There were two elderly Daoists, three middle-aged Daoists, and three young teenagers. They flew higher than the others, just about to pass over the array gap, escorted by two pairs of patrolling immortals from Linhai Town, making quite a spectacle.

Li Changshou's attention was drawn to one of the teenagers among them. This person had horns on his head but no tail behind him.

Ao Yi?

How did he run into this young dragon again?

Li Changshou couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Was he fated with this little dragon or what?

On second thought, this young dragon looked exactly the same as the last time he had been knocked down—no growth in size at all. It was probably because the dragon race had a much longer growth period, and these years weren't enough for his development.

Having the paper effigy withdraw his gaze, it was now his turn to pay the entry fee. Li Changshou handed the spirit stones to the female immortal behind the table.

She smiled and said, "You seem unfamiliar, Daoist friend. May I ask what brings you here?"

Li Changshou gave a false name and said he was here to trade pills and herbs. After she made a brief record, she let him enter the market town.

During this, Ao Yi and the two young girls, following behind the five Jie Jiao Tianxian, floated over the paper effigy's head.

The five Tianxian were in high spirits, discussing whether to return to Jin'ao Island or continue visiting other immortal sects for discourse and tea.

Li Changshou overheard one elderly Daoist praise:

"Ao Yi, our junior brother, has only been cultivating for so long, and he's already reached Yuanxian. Truly worthy of the Dragon King bloodline—remarkable talent."

Junior brother?

Indeed, Ao Yi had joined Jie Jiao, likely under a second-generation expert.

At this moment, Ao Yi gave Li Changshou the impression of someone much more composed and mature, with restrained eyes and a serene expression. Though still in a youthful form, he carried the steady demeanor of one who had endured many trials of fate.

Still, it had nothing to do with him.

The paper effigy stepped into Linhai Town, flying over various pavilions and stone houses toward the area where pill shops were concentrated.

'Time to compete with my own sect's business again,' Li Changshou sighed inwardly.

Du Xian Men also had a shop here that mainly sold pills. Though he only came every few years for a short stay, it might affect his sect's business a little, but it probably wouldn't hurt them too badly.

After all, he was just a small trader—with high volume, good quality, and slightly lower prices.

Meanwhile, the group from Jin'ao Island, after leaving the market town, first flew southwest for a while before suddenly changing direction and speeding northwest on clouds.

This outing for discourse had actually been an invitation from experts of several Dongzhou immortal sects to familiar Tianxian from Jin'ao Island.

Jin'ao Island was a well-known Jie Jiao dojo, often invited by other sects for lectures and discussions.

Originally, this group had been out for three months, 'enjoying' the hospitality—cough, engaging in scripture lectures—at several immortal sects in Dongsheng Shenzhou. The trip was considered complete, and they should have returned.

However, Ao Yi had performed exceptionally well in these discussions, easily defeating the Yuanxian sent by those sects. Since Ao Yi shared the same generation as these five Jie Jiao Tianxian, they couldn't directly reward him. Instead, they took him to Linhai Town and selected various gifts for him.

Ao Yi distributed these gifts to the two young female disciples beside him, delighting the girls and pleasing the Jin'ao Island Tianxian as well.

If the son of a major sect's leader was like having a mine at home, then Ao Yi, as the East Sea Dragon Palace Crown Prince, was basically a mine with a home.

Giving away these gifts to win over his 'senior brothers' disciples caused Ao Yi no heartache at all. If needed, he could send a message home, and the next day, generous gifts could be delivered to every Jin'ao Island cultivator.

After leaving the market town, the group set off toward Jin'ao Island. But Ao Yi pondered for a moment, hesitated, and then spoke up:

"Dear senior brothers, I have a small request."

The five immediately turned around, looking at him with concern.

"There's no such thing as a 'small request.' Whatever you ask, we'll respond. Just say it, Ao Yi, our junior brother."

"We Jie Jiao cultivators are like family—united, inseparable, sharing honor and disgrace!"

"That's right! Not just Jin'ao Island, but all of Jie Jiao is like this—one in trouble, and help comes from all sides!"

Ao Yi smiled inwardly, but kept his expression serious as he said in a low voice, "Actually, I've always had a... unspoken burden on my heart."

The two young girls nearby instantly looked over, their eyes sparkling.

One of the girls had her hair in over a dozen small braids, looking cute and lively—it was exactly Han Zhi, who had once watched Li Changshou's tribulation.

Among the five Tianxian ahead, one was Han Zhi's master, Yuan Ze, the elderly Daoist.

Ao Yi sighed: "Thinking back to that year at the East Sea demon-slaying assembly, I was only ten years old and was sent by the Dragon Palace to seek sparring partners, but I was defeated by a Hui Xu realm disciple from Du Xian Men. This has always weighed on my heart.

Now that I've passed my tribulation and become an immortal—though only at Yuanxian realm—I still want to find that person for another spar and discussion."

"Is that all?"

Yuan Ze, the elderly Daoist, asked with a smile.

Ao Yi looked ashamed and lowered his head: "Yes, that's it."

"That's easy to handle," another middle-aged Daoist laughed, casually pointing to summon a white cloud toward Du Xian Men's mountain gate. "Let's go to Du Xian Men for a visit. I'm quite acquainted with their deputy leader, Zhong Yu Daoist.

Du Xian Men follows the Ren Jiao tradition, and we're a Jie Jiao dojo—visiting them is perfectly fine."

The others all agreed.

One of them chuckled: "Should we notify them in advance to avoid any awkwardness?"

Yuan Ze waved his hand: "No need, no need. We're not going for a fight—just for some discussion and a friendly spar among the young ones."

At the back of the group, the two hand-in-hand girls exchanged a glance.

One of them activated the bracelet-shaped treasure on her wrist to ensure their conversation wasn't overheard.

She whispered, "Han Zhi, your master is at it again."

Han Zhi pouted and grumbled, "We'd better prepare ourselves.

Sigh, my master is basically like a heavenly artifact. When I was crossing my tribulation, he said, 'Don't worry, your heavenly tribulation will only have six paths,' and ended up attracting eight paths. I barely escaped with my life...

Based on my aptitude and accumulation, seven paths should have been the maximum."

The other girl covered her mouth and laughed lightly: "Well, you got some benefits from it and ascended a bit further."

"Speaking of that," Han Zhi's gaze turned distant, "After experiencing eight paths of tribulation—ones ranked lower, no less—I realize how terrifying the immortal ascension tribulation can be. It's hard to imagine what kind of figure that person was who crossed nine paths in the South Sea that day."

"Must have been some ancient or primordial great one reincarnating."

"Maybe..."

The two girls shared a light laugh, and their topic quickly shifted back to the dragon race youth in front of them. His handsome, youthful appearance was quite appealing to young girls.

Half a day later, as Du Xian Men's sleek and smooth protective mountain array came into view, the Jin'ao Island group chatted and laughed as they approached.

And at the corner of Ao Yi's mouth, his smile carried a subtle depth.

...

"Hmm?"

In the mountain forest, Qi Yuan, who was pondering the Guixi Pingqi Jue, looked up at the sky and saw the Jin'ao Island group passing by on the clouds. He sensed several Tianxian pressures and wondered to himself why a group of experts had suddenly come to visit Du Xian Men.

"It's got nothing to do with our Xiaoqiong Peak."

Qi Yuan chuckled, glanced at the transmission talisman his eldest disciple had given him, and figured it was just some experts visiting friends, so he didn't mention it to Li Changshou.

He continued to study this aura-concealing technique created by his disciple. Soon, Qi Yuan fully restrained his own aura and excitedly cast a transformation spell, turning himself into a tree stump.

After carefully sensing it...

"It's surprisingly stable."