Chapter 114: Deceiving the Master

Chapter 114: Deceiving the Master

"Brother, the mountain gate is in sight, this demon can't cause any trouble anymore. Let's bid farewell here," said 'Qi Yuan' outside the gate of the Du Xianmen Mountain, three hundred miles away, to Jiu Wu, disguised as Li Changshou.

"Qi Yuan Junior Brother, why don't you come with me to the Reward and Punishment Hall?" Jiu Wu was slightly puzzled. "You deserve half the credit for this demon-slaying. You should come and receive the reward."

'Qi Yuan' smiled, "The reward and this spirit beast bag are for you to pass on to my two disciples. To be honest, I have urgent matters to attend to in Lindong City. This delay has almost coincided with the appointed time."

"Appointed time?" Jiu Wu frowned, nodding, somewhat hesitant to speak.

'Qi Yuan' made a respectful gesture and was about to leave. But as he flew barely half a step, Jiu Wu exclaimed, "Junior Brother, wait! Can you tell me who you've made an appointment with?"

Li Changshou breathed a sigh of relief... If the senior brother falls for it, that's good.

"Well," Li Changshou pretended to be hesitant, then sighed, "I dare not deceive you, Senior Brother. My senior sister sent me two letters a few months ago, inviting me to meet her in Lindong City."

Jiu Wu was visibly surprised, calculating and confirming his somewhat deep-seated memory. For a moment, his expression was quite strange. And what he said next was somewhat unexpected for Li Changshou.

"This is impossible. Qi Yuan Junior Brother, someone must be meddling or plotting against you!"

"What do you mean by that, Senior Brother?" There was a hint of urgency on the paper Daoist's face, who quickly said, "Please clarify, Senior Brother!"

"Well," Jiu Wu pondered for a moment, not answering directly but said, "In any case, this doesn't seem very likely."

"Senior Brother Jiu Wu!" 'Qi Yuan' immediately stepped forward, bowing repeatedly, pleading with Jiu Wu to tell the truth.

Jiu Wu couldn't resist the persuasion, sighing softly and said, "Your senior sister perished eight hundred years ago. I saw it with my own eyes. That year, when you and Kuai Si from Xianlin Peak fought, Kuai Si ambushed you, leaving you severely injured. Although you survived, you couldn't continue your cultivation. Your senior sister, Wan Jiangyu, left the mountain gate without permission, claiming she was going to find your master who traveled the four seas and return with him to meet you... But she actually went to Beiju Continent to find a medicine to repair your damaged foundation. When the elders found out, they immediately sent me and two other disciples to chase after her. But when we caught up, she was deep in Beiju Continent and had been injured by a fierce beast, barely clinging to life. Despite our best efforts, we couldn't save her immortal seed. At her dying moment, she entrusted us to say that she was not found, and we were not to speak of this to you. Her remains were buried by us. If you don't believe this, I can have the other two tell you... Junior Brother, Qi Yuan? Are you... alright?"

'Qi Yuan' trembled, his eyes losing focus, stepping back a few steps, tears shimmering in his eyes.

Li Changshou, who had never thought about how to act in such a tragic scene, could only rely on his imagination at this moment.

Fortunately, Jiu Wu closed his eyes and sighed softly, unable to bear to look any longer.

Jiu Wu didn't want to bring up this matter, but he was worried that 'Qi Yuan Junior Brother' might really fall into some scheme.

"She... where is she buried?"

"The place was shrouded in poisonous mist, and her bones have long since vanished. Junior Brother, don't dwell on this. She has already been reincarnated," Jiu Wu wanted to comfort him, but 'Qi Yuan' had already bowed and made a gesture of farewell, silently flying towards the mountain gate.

"Brother, I need some time alone."

"Qi Yuan Junior Brother..."

Jiu Wu knew 'Qi Yuan' was going through a tough time and didn't say much more. Carrying the spirit beast bag, he followed from behind.

Feeling emotional, Jiu Wu shook his head and murmured softly to himself:

"Love troubles the heart, the Dao unsettles the mind. What is love in this world, only making people... sleepless at night."

Thinking of his dao companion, Jiu Wu showed a hint of tender smile.

Suddenly, in front of his dao companion, an enchanting old woman appeared...

Ding—

Jiu Wu shuddered instantly.

Red powder, skeletal remains, cultivating the Dao is the proper way!

Meanwhile, in a grass hut at Xiaojiong Peak...

Li Changshou opened his eyes, his gaze complex.

There was still this kind of hidden situation behind this matter...

Unfortunately, as a paper Daoist pretending to be his master, he couldn't ask too much. Otherwise, he would have to inquire carefully and thoroughly investigate the details of this matter.

From Jiu Wu Senior Brother, he learned who the enemy of his master was, which was quite rewarding.

Xianlin Peak, Kuai Si.

This was a true immortal in the sect, relatively unknown within the sect, and Li Changshou had only seen this name on the roster of the Baifan Hall by chance.

As fellow true immortals in the sect, the recognition and visibility of this person were far less than Senior Uncle Jiu Wu and Senior Brother Jiu Wu, who were distinctive and unique.

This person...

[Maliciously fought in secret, attacked my master, causing my master to only use soldiers to resolve and refine the turbid immortal; forced me to go out for a trip to Beizhou for a few immortal-resolving herbs, causing many karmic relationships; now I know that you indirectly caused the death of my Senior Brother and my master's beloved Senior Sister.]

"Friend."

Li Changshou's eyes flashed with a hint of sharpness, but it quickly disappeared.

He murmured to himself...

"Our karma, seems a bit too big."

Standing up, pacing back and forth in the grass hut, Li Changshou pondered constantly.

He couldn't be hasty. Killing or incapacitating a true immortal enemy wasn't difficult for him now; however, this matter was related to their future situation in the Du Xianmen and must be handled cautiously.

The most urgent task now was to decide whether to tell his master about this matter.

Thinking carefully, his master was also...

Man, this immortal dude's got it rough.

Foundation for becoming an immortal destroyed, senior sister gone missing, master gone AWOL, turned into a murky immortal and getting played by others, no real buddy inside the sect to confide in, and being toyed with by disciples every day...

Ahem, scratch that last one.

Before long, Li Changshou had a plan in mind. He took out a shoddy communication jade charm, mimicked the handwriting from the previous two letters, and wrote two lines:

"Just knowing you're safe puts my mind at ease. Let's not think of each other anymore, from now on, it's all water under the bridge."

Later, he'd explain to his master that he'd been in Linding City for a few days and found this charm by his pillow, never finding the person it was meant for. Then he'd say he met up with Senior Jiuwu, and they teamed up to deal with a demon...

Telling his master the truth outright would just leave his master feeling dead inside, given his unstable immortal foundation.

Doing it this way would make his master think his senior brother was still around but just didn't want to see him. His master's mood would probably be like:

"Snowflakes falling, cold winds blowing, the world... so desolate..."

Though bleak, there'd at least be a hint of color.

"Now, I need to figure out how to find the reincarnation of this senior brother."

Li Changshou sighed inwardly, his gaze settling on the word "stability" he had stuck to the wall of his hut earlier, calming his mind's turmoil.

Things had to be done step by step.

The paper Taoist disguised as his master returned to Xiaojiong Peak on a cloud, first entering Li Changshou's hut, then together they went to his master's quarters. The paper Taoist's mission was now complete.

A moment later, only Li Changshou emerged.

A few days later, Senior Jiuwu came to visit his new friend "Senior Qiyuan" and brought the sect's rewards for demon-slaying, along with news of what happened to that female demon.

Using the excuse that "my master seemed saddened recently," Li Changshou detained Senior Jiuwu and talked to him about what happened back then.

Senior Jiuwu reiterated what he had said before, and Li Changshou asked about some details, all of which Senior Jiuwu answered in detail.

Then, Li Changshou earnestly requested Senior Jiuwu to ask the other two disciples who went with them back then to keep this secret strictly confidential and not to mention it within the sect...

Senior Jiuwu solemnly agreed, which was no big deal for him.

And so, the little episode in Linding City came to a close.

The captured fox demon was suppressed by the elders of the sect outside the Duxianmen sect gate, within a large array of earth veins, and was sentenced to three hundred years of confinement.

The fox demon didn't say much about not dying and was quietly suppressed under a mountain peak. There was no sign of resentment from her.

Li Changshou didn't take this fox demon lightly; after all, his "master" and Senior Jiuwu had captured her, and he'd even found her "nest" in the mortal realm.

Li Changshou had seen several methods of dirtying or cleansing merits in ancient texts. Although troublesome, it was not impossible.

But now, dealing with this fox demon wasn't the top priority.

After confirming that his master's enemy was Kuaisi from the Xianlin Peak, Li Changshou quickly began investigating and planning in secret, his divine sense never resting, covering the entire Xianlin Peak...

Every effort must be made to execute the perfect "enemy removal" plan, so careful consideration and planning were necessary.

Drafting action plans, marking various difficulties, and analyzing them one by one, he ultimately came up with several sets of plans, selecting the most perfect one, while keeping the rest as backup.

Considering giving the other party a surprise was the safest option for him.

Half a year later, Li Changshou finally met Kuaisi.

This was a middle-aged Daoist with a handsome face and extraordinary bearing, his brows sharp and his eyes bright, indeed somewhat "charming."

Daoist Kuaisi came from the sect gate, probably just returning from outside the sect. On his way back to Xianlin Peak, he glanced at Xiaojiong Peak four times, his gaze revealing a hint of coldness.

Li Changshou took a bamboo slip and meticulously recorded all of this.

...

Daoist Kuaisi...

Near-death Daoist?

From the moment Li Changshou learned this name, he began to prepare; two paper Taoists were stationed outside the sect gate, each with enough poison pills to kill twenty celestial immortals.

Li Changshou could maintain multitasking for a long time; it wasn't difficult for him to keep an eye on Xianlin Peak with his divine sense while doing other things.

However, what worried Li Changshou was...

His master hadn't come out of the hut since he saw those sixteen characters.

If Li Changshou couldn't sense his master's state, he would have barged in long ago to find out what was going on.

But keeping an eye on others didn't mean neglecting his own cultivation.

Li Changshou continued to refine pills, practice, ponder, teach his junior sister, and regularly went outside his master's hut to exchange a few words.

As a result, twelve years flew by in the blink of an eye, and Daoist Kuaisi had been secluded in his own cave the whole time.

This Daoist probably didn't know that the isolation formation outside his cave had long been secretly broken, and a strand of divine sense had been watching him for more than ten years, never moving.

Even if Daoist Kuaisi had faintly felt before that someone was watching him, after more than a decade, he had grown accustomed to it.

It was quite normal for a celestial immortal to cultivate in seclusion for decades or even centuries. If the other party didn't make a move, Li Changshou wouldn't either.

But Li Changshou hadn't expected that instead of Kuaisi coming out, he received some news.

Due to the recent catastrophe at Duxianmen sect, the sect wanted to ease the pressure on its disciples and select outstanding disciples to participate in the Three Teachings Origin Conference...

The sect-wide grand competition, held every two hundred years, was going to be held three years earlier...