Chapter 17 Am I Supreme Treasure?

The Human-Headed Dog Demon had already witnessed Zixia's methods and suspected her senior brother's skills might be even more formidable, therefore it sent a Fox Demon to patrol the mountains and gather intelligence.

However, after the Fox Demon waited in vain to the left and right and returned to the scene, it heard the sounds of a fight coming from an old temple, and it hid under a window behind the Bodhisattva Lingji Temple to secretly observe.

It just so happened to see Li Ping'an using his Divine Skills for no apparent reason, conjuring weapons and equipment, and together with the female cultivator Zixia, powerfully killing the Human-Headed Dog Demon.

Wanting to avenge its kind but recognizing its own lack of sufficient mana, cultivation, and strength as no match for Li Ping'an and Zixia, it thought to wait until they were deeply asleep in the late night to suddenly strike.

However, the cautious Zixia, having much more experience and knowledge than Li Ping'an, set up a Demon-Alerting Bell before sleeping. If it approached, the bell would immediately awaken the two, preventing any attempt from the Fox Demon.

Thus, it painfully waited all night, planning to quietly follow them and then look for an opportunity for revenge.

But just now, it heard that Li Ping'an and Zixia were actually heading to Chang'an, a place not frequented by ordinary demons. Therefore, it dared not follow any longer and could only go to report the matter to their king first.

"I never expected this young man to wield an Immortal's Divine Skills! It has been five hundred years! A full five hundred years! An Immortal has finally appeared!"

"If I report this to the king immediately, I will definitely be rewarded handsomely!"

After muttering to itself while watching the fading figures of Li Ping'an and Zixia, the Fox Demon darted in the opposite northwest direction, disappearing into the vast mountains, leaving no trace.

The journey of Li Ping'an and Zixia to Wuxing Mountain involved traversing states and counties, traveling by day and resting by night, enduring two hard days. By noon this day, they finally arrived at the territory of Wuxing Mountain.

There was still some distance to Wuxing Mountain but they were already in its proximity; Li Ping'an and Zixia took a rest right where they were, eating the dry food they carried, and after eating and drinking sufficiently, they set off again.

Not half a mile walked, they saw an abandoned Mountain God Temple by the roadside. As they approached the temple front, they saw a printed notice pinned to the temple door.

Zixia stopped and commanded Li Ping'an:

"Although the Mountain God is the least of the Immortals, having Immortal Scroll Divine Books, this Mountain God Temple has been deserted for many years. As a Taoist cultivator, I naturally need to enter to clean and offer incense and kneel in worship. You have not been initiated yet, so you need not join me. Just look at what is written on that printed notice?"

"Yes, Master."

As Zixia entered the Earth God Temple, she noticed inside the hall a statue of the Mountain God dressed in golden armor, flanked by a judge and a minor ghost, all with closed eyes.

After cleaning the temple, she took Road-asking Incense from her luggage, lit the incense, and prayed:

"I hope the Mountain God Grandfather aids the journey of your disciple and Ping'an's Disciple to be smooth..."

Upon receiving the order, Li Ping'an stared at the printed notice to read it, but he discovered it was a wanted poster that stated:

Wuxing Mountain County proclaims:

Atop Wuxing Mountain, there exists a band of strongmen, with the head chief named Supreme Treasure, who leads a crowd gathering in the woods, causing disaster everywhere, committing rape and plunder, and persisting in all forms of wickedness.

The local government officials and other officers have pursued but not captured them; any passing experts should please assist the government in their capture to be turned over to the authorities, with a substantial reward ensured. All should take note.

Below the document were portraits and personal details of the head chief Supreme Treasure, the second-in-command, and the third-in-command, including their ages and birthdays.

After Li Ping'an looked over the appearances of the second and third in command, he then turned to see the portrait of the head chief, Supreme Treasure.

"Damn! You can't be serious!"

He hadn't thought it necessary to look, yet on seeing it, Li Ping'an broke into a cold sweat—the wanted poster's details about the head chief's hairstyle, age, and physique perfectly matched Li Ping'an's current appearance.

The most frightening thing was that the portrait of the Head Chief Supreme Treasure of the Wuxing Mountain bandits looked exactly like Li Ping'an's current appearance, even down to a mole by the corner of his left eye, depicted clearly.

"Isn't this just me? When did I become a bandit leader?"

Li Ping'an, shocked and sweating, stared wide-eyed and examined the portrait of Supreme Treasure again—it was just like looking at his own photo or in a mirror, truly eerie!

"In this world, aside from twins, can there really be two people who look so alike? Impossible, right?"

Li Ping'an felt that things were not so coincidental, considering his experiences after entering the game, his lost memory, and the distance between his birthplace at Dog Head Peak Bodhisattva Lingji Temple and Wuxing Mountain.

He suddenly had a bold guess:

I, Li Ping'an, am Supreme Treasure, just somehow ended up at Dog Head Peak Bodhisattva Lingji Temple for some unknown reason!

Of course, there was also the possibility that such a coincidence truly existed in the world. Although he did not recognize or had never met Supreme Treasure, he looked exactly like him.

But regardless of which outcome, given Zixia's previously demonstrated disgust toward bandits, if she were to see the portrait of Supreme Treasure on this wanted poster, she would probably kill him on the spot as the bandit leader Supreme Treasure!

"No way!"

With a swift move, Li Ping'an quickly tore down the portrait of Supreme Treasure, ripping it into pieces that scattered like shattered pearls and jade.

And this scene was just witnessed by Zixia, who had finished offering incense. She stared at Li Ping'an suspiciously and asked:

"Ping'an's Disciple, what are you doing?"

Li Ping'an, still using his skill of slick talking, shamelessly babbled without a blush:

"Master, this seal script is a capture warrant, issued by the Wuxing Mountain official residence to enlist passing experts to help capture the Wuxing Mountain Head Chief, Supreme Treasure!"

Zixia was no fool and not so easily fooled. Seeing Li Ping'an acting sneakily and inexplicably, she walked up and took a closer look by herself.

Only then did she notice that the portrait of Supreme Treasure was missing from the capture warrant, and she glared at the scraps of paper on the ground and once again questioned him:

"Your master is asking what you were doing just now."

Li Ping'an, mastering his shamelessness to the full, immediately adopted a righteously indignant stance and continued his nonsense:

"Master, you know that your disciple is a slick and shameless person, but even if I don't measure up, I still share your heart for justice!"

"Seeing that this Head Chief Supreme Treasure has such a hateful and evil-looking face, it reminded me of how he gathers bandits and harms the people, oppressing the populace. Anger rose from my heart and I couldn't hold back, so I tore up this villain's portrait."

Having said this in outrage, Li Ping'an then respectfully performed a hand-crossing gesture toward Zixia with his head bowed and spoke earnestly:

"If the disciple has done wrong, please punish me, Master!"

"Well done! Your master indeed wasn't mistaken about you!"

Zixia, staring angrily at the portraits of the Second-in-command and Third-in-command of Wuxing Mountain, said furiously:

"In these chaotic times, with a corrupt imperial court and rotten officials everywhere, it's already bad enough that they exploit the people with their power. These bandits, born from commoners, should consider their fellow people but instead bully the weak to cheat and harm them, no different from the rampant demons! If I see them, I will surely kill them!"