Chapter Twenty: Some Pits Are Unavoidable

Chapter Twenty: Some Pits Are Unavoidable

"Changshou! Xuanya!"

"Changshou! Aiya! How did you end up in this dangerous place?"

Standing in front of the cave, Li Changshou couldn't help but smile when he saw the two figures rushing down from the clouds.

It was unexpected that his master had come along as well...

Although he saw his master's excited expression and reached for the familiar dusting broom, seemingly ready to give him a kind beating on his buttocks again, Li Changshou couldn't help but feel a warmth in his heart...

In front of the elders, Li Changshou prepared not to dodge, allowing his master to vent his anger with a few hits.

Anyway, it wouldn't hurt much.

Jiujiu and Qiyuan Lao Dao jumped down from the clouds together. Originally, Jiujiu wanted to go to Li Changshou first to see if he was missing any parts, but then he remembered that Qiyuan Lao Dao was also present, so he headed straight for Xuanya with the zither.

Seeing his master raising the dusting broom to strike, Li Changshou put on a bitter melon face and closed his eyes to endure it, but the broom just lightly fell on his shoulder without much force.

Then, Qiyuan Lao Dao scolded, "Why did you come to this dangerous northern continent! If it weren't for Linge waking me up, you would have been gone, and I wouldn't even know where to collect your corpse!"

"Master, disciple suddenly had a strong urge to travel and didn't inform master in advance. Please forgive me, master."

Li Changshou answered obediently, lowering his head, but his peripheral vision glanced aside...

Jiujiu lifted Xuanya up, spinning around in place, laughing like a child; Xuanya's face turned slightly red, calling out 'Master Uncle' repeatedly, but she couldn't break free.

With the skirts fluttering and the dark hair scattered, this scene of "Two-Person Dance" was quite beautiful.

However, in their direct confrontation and collision, judging from the scale and the fluctuations in their clothing during the collision, although Xuanya was also excellent, she clearly lost to Master Uncle Jiujiu...

Objectively speaking, Xuanya had a perfect body proportion and flawless lines, while compared to her, Master Uncle Jiujiu was slightly shorter with a rounder face, and their styles were completely different.

Li Changshou just glanced and then withdrew his gaze, obediently listening to his master's endless admonition...

This kind of situation just now was purely because of the gentlemanly behavior from his previous life, habitual, based on his own aesthetic judgment.

It didn't have any practical significance.

Instead, Li Changshou was more concerned about the actions of the short Taoist beside him...

Jiuwu lifted the old Taoist who had just been knocked unconscious, landing in front of them.

Seeing that Li Changshou and Xuanya were fine, the short Taoist remained calm and gently shook his wrist. The old Taoist he was holding convulsed a few times, then his breath dissipated instantly.

If Li Changshou hadn't seen it wrong, the old Taoist's primordial spirit was just shattered directly...

As if nothing had happened, Jiuwu threw the old Taoist's body into the nearby woods and smiled as he looked at the reunion of the master and disciples here.

He was also ruthless, killing people as easily as pinching bugs.

Li Changshou's fingers in his sleeves calculated silently, and he recalled the rumors he had heard about this short Taoist, making a simple summary:

[Jiuwu, the fifth senior brother of Master Jiujiu, the direct disciple of Duqing of the Duexian Sect, has been practicing for over two thousand years, reaching the peak of the True Immortal realm and half a step to becoming a Celestial Immortal.

His temperament is like that of a playful child, fond of joking with others, but in reality, he is quite scheming and has a deep loyalty to the sect. He often goes out to handle various matters and has a wide network of friends both inside and outside the sect; he likes brewing wine and refining pills, with no obvious weaknesses.]

Li Changshou quickly concluded that he didn't need to deliberately make friends with such a person; just fulfilling his duties as a disciple of the Duexian Sect would be enough.

On the side, Jiujiu finally let go of Xuanya, standing there looking up and sighing with relief, having saved most of his drinking money.

Xuanya listened as Qiyuan Lao Dao scolded Li Changshou, "Why did you, at the Nascent Soul stage, come to this place? Aren't you just dragging others down?"

"Master Qiyuan!"

Xuanya immediately spoke up, her expression serious, "Senior Changshou didn't burden anyone. On the contrary, he has helped me several times..."

"That's right, I didn't drag anyone down and even helped a lot."

Li Changshou calmly intercepted Xuanya's words and smiled slightly, "Master, you don't know yet, I broke through to the Return to Void stage during my training here."

As he spoke, Li Changshou revealed his aura, at the first level of the Return to Void stage.

There was still a slight instability in his aura, perfectly matching the appearance of just breaking through.

Xuanya suddenly felt a bit stunned.

How did her senior brother...

Suddenly change?

His previous calmness had suddenly turned into a somewhat frivolous demeanor.

Xuanya remembered Li Changshou's previous advice and lightly pursed her lips, not knowing what else to say.

"Changshou, you've had a breakthrough?"

Qiyuan Lao Dao was suddenly excited, carefully sensing Li Changshou's aura, and immediately showed a smile, his eyes brightening.

But before Qiyuan Lao Dao's smile could fully bloom, he immediately put on a serious face and reprimanded, "It took you a hundred years to comprehend the Return to Void stage, yet you're so arrogant! Look at Xuanya! She's already at the fourth stage of the Return to Void!"

Li Changshou smiled helplessly, seeming a bit annoyed by his master's scolding...

But in reality, there was no fluctuation in his heart at all, and he even felt like laughing.

"Breaking through to the Return to Void stage in a hundred years is quite good, and it's also considered excellent talent," Jiuwu interjected with a smile. "Junior Brother Qiyuan, my second senior brother spent two hundred years to comprehend the Return to Void realm, and then he made rapid progress, achieving Immortalhood in just twenty years. The path of cultivation depends on fate, so don't be too harsh on the disciples."

"By the way, Xuanya, do you know the whereabouts of Yuanqing?"

Xuanya's face sank, taking two steps back, kneeling with one knee on the ground, bowing her head and saying firmly, "Yuanqing is dead, killed by my hand. Please punish me, senior uncle!"

Jiuwu frowned, asking, "Did you kill him yourself?"

"Yes, I pierced him with four swords, destroying his primordial soul," Xuanya said, bowing her head, "This was done by me alone, unrelated to Senior Changshou. Senior Changshou just used earth escape technique to help me escape. I am willing to accept any punishment from the sect!"

Jiuwu furrowed his brow in contemplation.

Jiujiu jumped to Li Changshou's side, intending to nudge him with his elbow, but stopped in time, not touching Li Changshou's arm.

"Hey, what's going on?" Jiujiu asked in a low voice.

Li Changshou shook his head, not answering.

Instead, Jiuwu looked over, his gaze like sharp arrows, as if he wanted to pierce Li Changshou's eyes.

Jiuwu asked in a deep voice, "Changshou, aren't you going to defend Xuanya?"

"I don't know the specifics of the situation," Li Changshou answered calmly, meeting Jiuwu's gaze with a steady gaze of his own.

"You are quite steady," Jiuwu sighed. "In fact, I have already examined the soul of the Yuanxian just now and roughly understood what happened. Yuanqing had evil intentions first and brought the struggle for secular power into the Duexian Sect, which was unforgivable. But, Xuanya, killing fellow disciples is a serious crime, no matter the reason, it is an unavoidable responsibility..."

Jiujiu angrily scolded, "Why not change this rule? Yuanqing attacked first, right? Xuanya was just retaliating!"

Xuanya bit her lip, remaining silent.

Seeing this, Li Changshou coughed lightly on the side, "Senior Jiuwu, why don't we leave this place first and meet up with the other senior uncles and senior brothers, then let Xuanya explain the whole story. I believe the sect will understand if Xuanya speaks truthfully."

The second half of the sentence was actually said to Xuanya. At this moment, Xuanya also looked at Li Changshou, her eyes showing a hint of helplessness and bitterness.

Li Changshou sighed inwardly, showing a slight smile, nodding to her.

Just a little encouragement for her.

"Let's go with what Changshou said, let's go find them first," Jiuwu said.

After that, Jiuwu couldn't help scratching his head, also thinking about how to spare Xuanya from punishment; but then he remembered that Yuanqing's master was also present, making things a bit difficult.

The short Taoist created a white cloud for them to ascend, asking them to come up one by one, and instructed Xuanya to follow him closely, indicating that he would temporarily watch over her.

Li Changshou followed beside his master, and they all sat cross-legged on the cloud.

At this time, Qiyuan Lao Dao clearly had a different expression, looking as if he had just become a new person. He had come with a downcast expression, but now he left with a triumphant look.

He, too, had become a master of the Return to Void stage...

Before the white cloud ascended, Jiuwu suddenly seemed to remember something, turned to Li Changshou, and smiled, "Changshou, hmm?"

"Here,"

Li Changshou responded as if nothing had happened.

"Just wondering, don't you need to collect those strands of silk from the three-eyed spiders around here? They are rare treasures, you know."

Li Changshou smiled naturally and replied, "Thank you for your concern, but once you set them up, it's hard to take them back. I have several nests of three-eyed spiders on Xiaojiongfeng. If senior uncle is interested in these peculiar things, I'll move one nest for you when we go back."

Jiuwu raised an eyebrow at Li Changshou, "Then I won't refuse. You have a promising future, kid. In the future, get closer to your senior uncle."

"I'll obey," Li Changshou smiled modestly, not continuing the conversation.

The less said, the fewer mistakes made. Jiuwu seemed to have seen through some of his bottom line, but by actively asking for 'hush money,' it showed that Jiuwu didn't want to meddle too much in the cultivation affairs of a junior disciple.

However, Qiyuan Lao Dao frowned and looked at Li Changshou, his expression serious as he said, "You, how can you be so stingy? If it weren't for your senior uncle Jiuwu coming to save you this time, you might be in trouble now! How many nests of immortal insects do you have? Keep one for yourself and move the rest to your senior uncle Jiuwu!"

"Cough!"

A surge of energy rushed up from his dantian, and Li Changshou coughed a few times, covering his mouth.

He struggled to maintain a smile, biting his back teeth and saying, "Yes... I'll obey..."

Ahead, Jiuwu chuckled at the sight, sitting there laughing heartily a few times, but didn't continue speaking.

A small round face peeked over from the side, it was Jiujiu who had circled behind Qiyuan Lao Dao, leaning to the left of Li Changshou, carefully staring at him.

Li Changshou instinctively leaned back.

Sure enough, with this backward movement, the angle was much better, and he could directly peep through the collar of the coarse cloth...

Ahem, it could effectively prevent Senior Uncle Jiujiu from suddenly playing tricks.

Jiujiu blinked, "What's that spider silk thing? Why do you feel like you and Wufu are both acting strange?"

Li Changshou said, "It's a precious material. I can't explain the specifics, why don't you ask Senior Uncle Jiuwu?"

"Hmph, forget it."

Jiujiu sat up straight, as if remembering something, and slapped his knee with force, speaking seriously:

"Right, Qiyuan senior brother, Wufu! Look, what's wrong with Changshou? Did he make a mistake in his cultivation, causing a demonic obstacle?"

"Demonic obstacle?"

Qiyuan, Jiuwu, and Xuanya all turned their heads to look, while Jiujiu had already raised his hand and gently poked Li Changshou's earlobe.

This action was fluid, as Jiujiu had already started when he spoke, giving Li Changshou no chance to react.

Li Changshou's whole body was suddenly swallowed by black lines, his left hand trembled, and his muscles all over his body began to twitch. He rolled his eyes, foaming at the mouth, making sounds like he was choking...

Damn!

This little senior uncle is poisonous too, huh?

No, this cloud is poisonous! Anyone with 'wine' in their title is just bizarre!