Meeting Competitors

Chief of the Little Ox Village had a terrible headache. Ever since he came back from the front, everything started to fall apart. His old wounds made it impossible for him to work in the fields, and his wife's illness took her away soon after his return. Finally, his only son left to fight in a war.

Just as he thought his misfortune has finally ended, some strange ghosts appeared in a nearby forest. Numerous people started to disappear.

The situation quickly deteriorated to the point that their settlement was forcefully cut off from all merchant routes! It came to the point no one was willing to visit their village.

All things considered, nothing was as it should be. Furthermore, winter was approaching quickly, and not even the monks from the Taoist temple could help them!

"Old Liu!" Someone called from behind the closed door. "Old Liu, come down quickly! There are some people with the Imperial Seal coming! You must quickly receive them! They have letters… letters from the highest authority!"

"Do you mean…" His voice cracked, and his body shivered. "Do you want to say that another Immortal Envoy is coming?" He shouted back and cleared his throat. He was terrified.

"Yes, chief! There are two more! Unlike the one who came from the Gentle Wind Heavenly Palace of the North, these two Immortal Envoys are from the Empyreal Heavenly Palace of the East!"

The Village Head shuddered. Heavenly Palace! This was actually another Heavenly Palace! And the credentials they had... they were exactly the same as from the previous boy!

"What… what heinous crimes did I commit in my previous life to have this little village of mine become the middle ground between two legendary celestial forces?" He murmured under his breath.

"Old Liu!" His old friend continued to pester him from behind the closed door. "Don't joke around staying silent! And don't you dare to leave me alone with them! Quickly put on your best clothes and do your duty! I might be gullible, and illiterate too, but I'm not that stupid! These names…"

He hesitated, fearing to speak his thoughts out loud.

"They are the Great Envoys, the descended immortals in the flesh! Even the emperor himself would have to bow down to serve them, not to mention you! So, get your ass down here!"

"Lead them the Village Hall first. Hastily inform Envoy Ouyang Li. After all, he arrived earlier than those two." He ordered. "As for me… Unexpectedly, I've suffered from a terrible illness. I can't leave my bed today!"

"Old Liu! Be careful so as not to have this sickness of yours suddenly become permanent!" His friend's tone suddenly turned vicious.

Strange noises sounded from the bedroom. It didn't even take an incense-burning time for the Village Chief to step out of his room. His forehead was covered with beads of sweat, and he was already wearing his best ceremonial clothes!

"Lead the way to the first Immortal Envoy." He ordered.

They walked towards the kitchen. It was because the one who arrived earlier was a glutton. The winter was just around the corner, yet he had already given him one-third of his supplies! However, he was too afraid to anger this seemingly young man. At the same time, looking at the boy's ecstatic face while he devoured mortal food made the chief feel reluctant to talk about their quickly shrinking supplies.

It was ridiculous… but who knew? Perhaps the Envoy would appreciate his kindness and give him some kind of reward?

"Well, I don't know about the newly arrived ones, but immortal Ouyang Li seems to be trustworthy enough. He has a strange temperament, but he's actually less arrogant than my commanding officer back in the day. It's better to inform him first and let him deal with the consequences."

His old friend quietly nodded, indicating that he agreed with his reasoning. After all, better the devil you know than the one you don't. Later, by looking at the interactions between the Envoys, they will surely learn which Heavenly Palace was more powerful in this era.

Soon, both men reached the place where Ouyang Li stayed.

The boy still wore his dust-repelling robe. Its edges became a bit flashier now that he was outside. Trigrams and eye-catching fractals were visible on his silky back. There was also the purple mark of the Gentle Wind Valley embroidered at the front.

This was what stunned mortals the most. After all, not even human emperors could wear purple. It was reserved for the celestial masters only!

Currently, Ouyang Li was having a chicken tight with some dumplings and sauce. He thought that ancient cooking methods were incomparable to modern ones. He didn't remember eating anything tasting this good back on Earth. Not even with tons of sugar, preservatives, and flavor enhancements.

"Respectable Immortal Envoy, there are a few representatives from the Empyreal Heavenly Place of the East waiting for you downstairs."

The two old men bowed after reporting the news, and they patiently waited for the boy's answer.

"Fire Mountain disciples? Good! It's just as I hoped. The time is just right too. I've been waiting for them to send some people so that they can scout ahead for me. I'll be able to see what trump cards this ghost has. After all, it actually dared to scheme against two of the Five Great Heavenly Palaces!"

The village head nearly choked listening to such arrogant words, but he decided to stay silent. After all, this young-looking boy was an immortal practitioner!

So, it turns out that he's this confident! He thought in his heart, feeling reassured. I'm relieved, then!

"Let's go and greet them now." The boy spoke. "It's quite strange that they send more than one disciple. Could it be that they know a bit more than me?"

He wondered.

Still, Ouyang Li didn't care much. He was confident that there would be no one stronger than him at this place. Regarding his cultivation… well, he was actually speechless.

After a few weeks of traveling and eating good, spiritual meat, he has actually reached the peak of the Qi Gathering Realm. It was the 7th stage! Of course, it was also because he regularly mediated. He was now accumulating towards the legendary Immortal Foundation Realm! Moreover, he had no bottlenecks.

The only strange thing was that the broken bracelet seemed to activate during his breakthrough and some strange seal was placed on his chest.

The artifact was something he inherited from the previous body's owner. It looked troublesome. However, Ouyang Li couldn't find anything wrong with it.

"Well, I still don't understand everything around here. Besides, bottlenecks might still appear in a while. After all, it's only been a few days since I last broke through." He mused.

Ouyang Li was afraid that, even with his cheat, immortal cultivation wouldn't be that easy.

Soon, he and the elders arrived in front of a dilapidated hall. The boy noticed that the village chief slowed downed and hid behind his back. He even seemed to be trembling!

The people inside were immortal practitioners, and they had sharp senses. Before they even neared the building, an arrogant voice sounded from within.

"Finally, someone came to receive us! What galls you mortals have to make us wait for so long! Come in and explain yourselves quickly!"

Ouyang Li entered along with the village elders. He saw two young people indulging in drinking spiritual wine. They both had light brown hair. Their skin was pale and spotless, and their eyes seemed to be blazing with fire. They wore blue robes with the purple mark of anvil surrounded by flames.

Seeing Ouyang Li, the eyes of the two cultivators widened. However, they quickly resumed their stances.

"Green robe… an Outer Sect disciple of the Gentle Wind Valley?" Looking at him, the teenage-looking girl narrowed her eyes. Then, she snorted. "Well, you might be of some use to us!"

"That's right. This time, we might actually need a bait!" The boy laughed alongside.

The village chief suddenly trembled, feeling troubled. So, it turned out that Immortal Envoys from the Empyreal Heavenly Place of the East had the same intentions as immortal Ouyang Li! It's just that there were no subtilities in their words. None at all!

Folk legends told that, since the fall of the Heavenly Court, all Heavenly Places were actually competing with each other. Only some ruthless devils, powerful demonic beasts, and similar troubles could make them temporarily unite. Who knew if this malicious spirit in the nearby woods was powerful enough to warrant such unity? From their words... it seemed to be far from it.

"You dare!" Ouyang Li roared. "And who are you, with your measly cultivation at the 4th and the 5th stage of the Qi Gathering Realm, to order me around?"

Soon, suffocating pressure emanated from the youth, making its way toward the pair. Although he looked weak, Ouyang Li was actually strong!

The two Immortal Envoys moved back, and their pale faces became quite unsightly.

Although the pressure wasn't strong enough to make them cough up some blood, it nevertheless invaded their spiritual consciousness fields.

Basically, it uprooted them, making their stance unstable. They actually felt instinctive fear toward the boy!

"Peak of the 7th layer!" The girl screeched after a moment. She was the stronger of the two. "Senior, please, have some mercy! We were too presumptuous before!"

She kicked surprised boy, and they both bowed down, not daring to move in the slightest.

The village head heaved a sigh of relief. He actually preferred such an outcome. However, he quickly got rid of these ridiculous thoughts of his. He understood that he had no right to interfere with the affairs of the celestials. After all, just a bit of the boy's pressure was enough to crush ten of him.

"Now we can talk." Ouyang Li smiled, looking expectantly at the two young cultivators. "You should start by explaining your situation. What are your names, and what did your sect tell you about this assignment?"

'Senior, this one is called Ying Yue, and he is my martial brother Tan An. We are both inner disciples of the Fire Mountain Set"

'I have eyes dimwit! Tell me something I don't know! I mean… what is it that we going to face here? After all, your lineup is a little bit too strong for the case of a rebellious spirit, is it not?"