This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Upon hearing this, the Sword Saint's heart skipped a beat. If it were an ordinary cultivator who had injured his junior brother, the Sword Saint might have immediately gone to seek revenge. But a disciple of Maoshan...

The Sword Saint took a deep breath, his face expressionless.

"Tell me, how did your entanglement with this Maoshan disciple arise..."

Upon hearing this, the Drunken Sword Immortal immediately regretted his actions. What could he say? That he had deliberately offended Li Xiaoyao to save face for him?
Not only did they offend him, but they almost died at sea.
The Drunken Sword Immortal couldn't bear the shame.

"Senior brother doesn't need to know..."

"You have a guilty conscience, just like back then."

The Sword Saint's words completely shattered the Drunken Sword Immortal's reason, and his face suddenly contorted into a ferocious expression.

"Yes! I was ashamed back then, but you weren't. You are a saint, and you only have your own path in your heart. Did you ever think of Qing'er? You!"

The Sword Saint remained silent, not even glancing at the Drunken Sword Immortal, and walked towards the exit of the hall on his own.

"I will report this matter to the patriarchs. Shushan cannot arbitrarily deal with the disciples of Maoshan. As for the outcome, I will inform you in a while. Also, bring that disciple you took in down the mountain up here. He has been decadent for years, it's time for him to come back and assist his senior brother in handling Shushan affairs. Don't forget, you are also a part of Shushan!"

After saying that, the Sword Saint left the Hall of Masters.

......................................................

The Demon-Sealing Tower.

This is a forbidden area for the disciples of Mount Shu. To ordinary disciples of Mount Shu, the Demon Locking Tower is just a forbidden area for imprisoning evil spirits. But little do they know that above the Demon Locking Tower is the blessed land and grotto where the founders of Mount Shu usually cultivate in peace.

When the Sword Saint arrived at the Demon-Sealing Tower, he saw that the tower was filled with demonic energy, which contained resentment and pain. However, the moment the Sword Saint arrived, all of this energy disappeared.

The peak of the Nascent Soul realm is the Sword Saint's greatest reliance. The Demon Locking Tower is nothing; without the Nascent Soul Demon Saint inside, who wouldn't be afraid of the Sword Saint?
In an instant, the Sword Saint landed at the top of the Demon-Sealing Tower, looking at the void in front of him.

"The 38th generation leader of the Shushan Sect, the Sword Saint, requests an audience with the Ancestor!"

The moment the words fell, a portal opened out of thin air in the void before them.

A stream of spiritual energy, ten times purer than usual, surged out. After taking a deep breath, the Sword Saint stepped into the portal.

This is a chaotic space, where a figure that blots out the sky stands in the void, every powerful aura emanating from it exuding immense strength.

"Sword Saint, pay homage to the Ancestor!"

The massive, sky-covering body merely lowered its head to look at the Sword Saint, and the Sword Saint felt a tremor run through his body.

"Sect Leader, what brings you here?"

The Sword Saint hesitated, but gritted his teeth and recounted the story of the Drunken Sword Immortal. "This disciple understands that Maoshan couldn't possibly be targeting Shushan, but if we don't get to the bottom of this..."

"You've come for your junior brother. Have you thought this through? You can only enter the blessed land once every three years. Is this what you've come for?"

Hearing the question from the patriarch of Mount Shu, the Sword Saint nodded. "Patriarch, this disciple believes this matter is very important, as it concerns the friendship between Mount Shu and Mount Mao..."

"Hypocrisy. Since this is the matter, I will naturally send a message to Maoshan. You may leave..."

As soon as he finished speaking, even though the Sword Saint had reached the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, he was unable to resist the immense power that was as vast as heaven and earth, and was instantly sent out of the blessed land.

Standing atop the Demon-Sealing Tower, the Sword Saint couldn't help but laugh at himself. Yes, he was hypocritical, selfish, and a cowardly and incompetent man.

......................................................

Dongzhou Central.

This is the territory of Maoshan and Longhushan. Occupying the best location in Dongzhou, these two sects can be considered the true giants of Taoism. However, Maoshan and Longhushan have always kept a low profile, so no one really knows how terrifying these two sects are.

Maoshan.

If Zhong Bai were to arrive, he would discover that the layout of Maoshan in this world is actually quite similar to that of the zombie world, especially the three palaces on the three mountain peaks that pierce the clouds.

Jiuxiao Wanfu Palace, Yuanfu Wanning Palace, Sanmao Patriarch Hall.

Inside the Wanning Palace of Yuanfu.

The mountain peaks that pierce the sky are shrouded in mist formed by the gathering of spiritual energy from heaven and earth, and cranes fly in the clouds. Rare flowers and exotic plants can be seen everywhere.

The Yuanfu Wanning Palace is made entirely of white jade. Inside the palace, there are no fancy decorations, only the Maoshan Sect Leader sitting at the head of the table and a group of Maoshan Elders. Each of the Elders exudes an aura of the Nascent Soul Realm, while the Maoshan Sect Leader at the head of the table is an even greater power at the Primordial Spirit Realm.

"Do any of you have a disciple named Zhong Bai?"

After the previously silent Maoshan Sect Leader, Master Tianning, spoke, the Maoshan elders below immediately looked at each other, all wanting to see whose disciple was worthy of being mentioned by the sect leader.

Unfortunately, no one spoke.

“Master, Maoshan has not allowed any disciples to leave the mountain for the past ten years or so. Among the registered disciples, there is not a single one named Zhong Bai.”

It wasn't until an elder spoke up that the expression on the head of the table, Master Tianning's, changed.

“That’s interesting. Yesterday, the Five Ancestors of Shushan sent a message that my Maoshan disciple Zhong Bai severely injured one of their Shushan disciples, a Dao Lord at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and even tried to kill him.”

So, does this mean someone is impersonating a Maoshan disciple and traveling around?

Seeing the sect leader's ambiguous smile, all the Maoshan elders chose to remain silent. This matter was neither a big deal nor a small one; the key was whether Zhong Bai was a Maoshan disciple.

Seeing that the elders remained silent, Master Tianning shook his head.

“Hey junior brothers, you all seem completely unconcerned about this Zhong Bai who just popped up…”

"Hahaha, Headmaster, what's the point of caring? He's just a disciple of Shu Mountain. If he's not as skilled, he can come to Mao Mountain to complain. Not to mention that there might be other disciples of Mao Mountain in the world. Even if he really uses Mao Mountain's name to kill his Shu Mountain disciple, so what!"

It's truly laughable that a dignified Primordial Spirit Ancestor would be concerned with such things. No wonder Mount Shu has declined..."

"That's right. According to the nature of Maoshan, when something like this happens, unless it's a Maoshan disciple deliberately provoking them, we'll just take action and capture them first!"
Such behavior by Shushan is truly shameless.

The atmosphere suddenly became lively, and all the elders began to criticize, even digging up embarrassing stories about the Sword Saint and the Drunken Sword Immortal from Mount Shu more than ten years ago.

Seeing this scene, Master Tianning felt comfortable. Yes, this was exactly the kind of atmosphere he wanted.

"stop!"

As soon as Master Tianning uttered a single word, the hall returned to silence.

"Verifying whether Zhong Bai is a disciple of Maoshan is still easy for us."

After speaking, Master Tianning stood up, and three Dharma images appeared out of thin air in front of him, which were the manifestations of the Three Mao Patriarchs.

"Disciple Tianning inquires of the Three Mao Ancestors: Is there a disciple named Zhongbai in Maoshan?"

As Master Tianning finished speaking, golden runes appeared in the previously silent statue of the Three Mao Ancestors, converging into a string of characters in the void.

Zhong Bai is the 265th leader of the Maoshan Sect!

The sudden appearance of those large, gilded characters stunned all the Maoshan elders in the hall. Was Zhong Bai the head of Maoshan? Or the 265th head? Their Maoshan sect only had a dozen or so generations. Tianning Shangren was the 18th head of Maoshan in this world. Upon seeing this, he completely lost his composure, even though he was a Nascent Soul cultivator!
"Ahem, Headmaster, could it be that the Three Mao Ancestors have made a mistake?"

An elder spoke cautiously, but the smile on his face betrayed him.

"Sigh... Fellow disciples, feel free to laugh. How could we mistake an existence like the Three Mao Ancestors? However, the 265th head of Maoshan might actually be one. Don't forget, the Three Thousand Worlds are not just our world. Ten thousand years ago, when immortals and gods could still travel, it was the ancestor of the Earthly Immortal Realm who descended and established Maoshan. This Zhong Bai could very well come from another world!"

Master Tianning remained calm. At their level of understanding, many seemingly illogical things actually have underlying causes.

"Master, regardless of whether the Zhong Bai mentioned by Shushan is the same person shown by the Three Mao Ancestors... uh, Master, we should find this person first."

If he truly is the leader of the Maoshan sect from another realm, then we are all Maoshan disciples, and this person has even served as a leader; we cannot abandon him.

"Of course, I'll leave this matter to you, junior brother."

Upon hearing this, the elder was stunned, and his lips twitched. It turned out he had gotten himself into trouble.

I really have a sharp tongue.

"Junior brother receives the decree!"

Then, another Maoshan elder spoke.

"Senior Brother Headmaster, what is the response from the Shu Mountain sect?"

Master Tianning remained silent. He had a feeling that this Zhong Bai was the Zhong Bai manifested by the Three Mao Ancestors.

"Just say it directly: tell Shushan not to interfere in Maoshan's affairs. Maoshan will handle everything as it is!"

Master Tianning made his decision: Shushan is nothing but a bunch of old fogies clinging to life. They think they can teach Maoshan how to do things? Ha!
......................................................

Suzhou is just a few hundred miles away from Yuhang Town.

At this moment, Mo Ling and Zhao Ling'er strolled hand in hand on the street, while Zhong Bai's hands were covered with the spoils of their battle.

Three days have passed since they arrived in Suzhou. For Zhong Bai, a few days would pass quickly as he cultivated, but for Zhao Ling'er, these three days have been the happiest time of her life.

"Brother Zhong Bai, let's go back!"

Finally, Zhong Bai heard Zhao Ling'er's words, and Mo Ling came up to Zhong Bai and hugged one of his arms. Zhao Ling'er smiled cleverly and hugged the other arm. The three of them returned to the inn amidst the envy of others on the street.

After returning to the inn, Zhong Bai planned to have Zhao Ling'er consider the matter of cultivation.

Originally, Zhao Ling'er, who possessed the bloodline of Nuwa, was no weaker than Mo Ling. However, Zhao Ling'er was sixteen years old and still had not cultivated. Even with the protection of Zhong Bai and Mo Ling, one must be strong oneself to succeed. It was imperative for Zhao Ling'er to start cultivating.

inside the house.

Zhong Bai and Mo Ling stared at Zhao Ling'er in front of them, who was incredibly shy.

"Brother Zhong Bai, Sister Mo, why are you staring at Ling'er like this...?"

Mo Ling said seriously, "We want to know, Ling'er, you clearly have good talent and possess the bloodline of Nuwa, so why can't you start cultivating? You've already..."

At this moment, Zhao Ling'er spoke up to explain.

"Sister Mo, Brother Zhong Bai, you want Ling'er to cultivate, but Ling'er hasn't cultivated for sixteen years because of the special nature of Nuwa's bloodline..."

Nuwa's bloodline gave Ling'er extraordinary talent, but ultimately it was not Ling'er's own power, but the inheritance of her bloodline.

For us Nuwa people, to begin cultivation, we must first remove the Nuwa bloodline, which means having children...

"By giving birth to a child, I can pass on Nuwa's bloodline, and then I can begin my cultivation."

As she spoke, Zhao Ling'er looked at Zhong Bai with deep affection, and Zhong Bai's expression became somewhat unnatural.

“Sister Ling’er, in that case, the bloodline of Nuwa is a different kind of curse.”

If you and your husband have children, won't those children end up like you are now?

Mo Ling's focus was slightly different, but the meaning was clear: continuing this situation would be too cruel.

She didn't think there was anything wrong with Zhao Ling'er having a child with Zhong Bai first.

Zhong Bai fell silent after hearing Zhao Ling'er's words.

Zhao Ling'er didn't rush to ask Zhong Bai's opinion...

Shushan.

The news from Maoshan arrived quickly. When the Sword Saint saw Maoshan's reply, he was so angry that he almost drew his sword and went down the mountain. There was nothing he could do. The implication was that Shushan should not interfere too much, and Maoshan would handle the matter itself.

Their method of filing complaints in Shushan is rather underhanded.

The Sword Saint was clearly worried that killing Zhong Bai in private would affect the relationship between the two factions, but...

After much deliberation, the Sword Saint still couldn't get over the hurdle in his heart.

He wanted to wait until his junior brother recovered from his injuries before going down the mountain with him. If they could find him, they would definitely get revenge!

Some more days passed.

In a small courtyard nestled against the mountains and beside the water, far from Suzhou city, red decorations and colorful ornaments were everywhere.

After several days of deliberation, Zhong Bai decided to become Zhao Ling'er's Daoist partner first, allowing Zhao Ling'er to transfer the Nuwa bloodline within her body for cultivation.

Zhong Bai originally did not intend to make this decision, but Mo Ling dispelled his inner conflict.

inside the room.

Mo Ling was discussing the upcoming wedding night with Zhao Ling'er. Zhao Ling'er was blushing furiously as she listened. Mo Ling had noticed that although Zhao Ling'er looked innocent and pure, her interest in that kind of thing was unmatched by most people. Hmm, given some time, Zhao Ling'er might very well become just as good as her.

"Sister Mo, were you scared at the time?"

Upon hearing Zhao Ling'er's question, Mo Ling shook her head, her ears turning bright red.

"Of course I'm not afraid. I'm not afraid of you, Brother Zhong Bai. I'm not like you, Sister Ling'er, who are like this now. Back then, I took the initiative..."

Listening to Mo Ling's boasting, Zhao Ling'er wasn't stupid; she naturally knew it couldn't be true.

Time was up quickly, and Mo Ling tactfully left Zhao Ling'er's room.

As soon as I stepped outside, I saw Zhong Bai already standing at the door waiting for me.

"Is my husband a little impatient?"

Seeing Mo Ling teasing him, Zhong Bai wasn't embarrassed at all.

"If that's what Mo'er thinks, then so be it. But why should Mo'er leave? The three of us are one..."

"Tch, stop daydreaming! Hurry up and go inside, Ling'er is even more eager than you, hahaha..."

Mo Ling smiled and was about to leave when Zhong Bai pulled her into his arms and picked her up.

“I’ve already said that we are all one, and none of us can be missing… Sister Ling’er has agreed to this.”

(End of this chapter)