My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Zhao Dazhu followed behind, growing increasingly anxious.

He couldn't help but ask again, "Father, what's wrong with Lin Wusheng? Are you hiding something from me?"

The elder paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.

"We'll talk about Lin Wusheng's matter later." His voice was low and deep, as if it came from underground. "For now, we can only rely on that Taoist priest."

Zhao Dazhu was stunned.

Taoist priest?

He certainly knew that, but could this Taoist priest's skills be comparable to those of a martial saint?

Zhao Dazhu's mind was in a mess.

He wanted to ask again, but looking at his father's ashen face, he swallowed his words.

He followed behind with his head down, his heart pounding with anxiety.

......

yard.

Yun Songzi sat in the tree chair that grew out of the ground, holding the cup of tea that had gone cold, but hadn't drunk it.

His gaze fell on Ye Qingfeng, as if he were looking at a person, or as if he were looking at a mountain.

He has lived for nearly sixty years and has met many extraordinary people, but none of them could give him this feeling.

The person sitting there didn't seem to be sitting in a chair, but rather on a cloud.

You can see him, but you know you can't reach him.

"Senior," Yun Songzi finally spoke, his voice somewhat dry, "may I ask, are you... a celestial being descended to earth?"

Ye Qingfeng glanced at him, but didn't answer; he just smiled.

The smile was faint, like ripples spreading across water before settling back down.

Lu Yang, who was standing to the side, immediately brightened up when he heard this.

He had long felt that the immortal master was no ordinary person, but the words "an immortal descended to earth" carried a completely different weight when spoken by him versus by Yun Songzi.

Yun Songzi is the leader of the Wuyin Sect, a highly accomplished man who has lived for nearly sixty years. His words are credible.

Ye Qingfeng picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, put the cup down, and leaned back in his rocking chair.

His gaze shifted from Yun Songzi to the jujube tree above his head.

The leaves of the jujube tree were swaying gently, rustling as if they were whispering secrets.

"Would you like to hear a story?" he suddenly asked.

Lu Yang was taken aback, then quickly nodded.

Yun Songzi also sat up slightly.

Ye Qingfeng leaned back in his chair, squinting as if recalling something from a very, very distant past.

"Long, long ago, beyond the East Sea, there was a fairy mountain called Flower and Fruit Mountain."

On the mountain stood a celestial stone, imbued with the essence of heaven and earth, the light of the sun and moon. One day, it burst open, giving birth to a stone monkey.

Lü Yang's eyes widened even more.

Yun Songzi raised his eyebrows slightly.

Ye Qingfeng continued, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

He recounted how the stone monkey discovered the secret to immortality, how he stormed the Dragon Palace and caused havoc in the Underworld, and how he was recruited by the Heavenly Court and appointed as the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses.

He said that the stone monkey disliked the low rank of his official position, so he rebelled against Heaven and proclaimed himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.

He said that the Heavenly Court sent troops to besiege the stone monkey, and the 100,000 heavenly soldiers and generals were utterly defeated by the stone monkey.

Lü Yang listened intently, his mouth agape, forgetting to close it.

When Ye Qingfeng spoke of the stone monkey's battle with the Heavenly Court generals, his voice remained unhurried, yet the scene seemed to come alive.

The golden cudgel swept across the heavenly soldiers, its hairs transforming into countless clones, each somersault covering 108,000 li.

Yun Songzi put down his teacup at some point, leaned forward, and stared intently at Ye Qingfeng.

He wasn't listening to a story; he was listening to someone recount what he had witnessed firsthand.

Because Ye Qingfeng spoke so truthfully.

Those details, those scenes, weren't made up; they were things I'd actually seen.

"And then?" Lu Yang couldn't help but ask.

Ye Qingfeng smiled and said, "Later, the stone monkey was captured by Erlang Shen and thrown into Laozi's alchemy furnace, where it was refined for forty-nine days."

Not only did he not burn to death, but he also gained a pair of fiery eyes. He leaped out of the alchemy furnace and fought his way to the outside of the Lingxiao Palace. The Heavenly Court was shaken, and the Jade Emperor invited the Buddha of the Western Paradise.

The stone monkey made a bet with Buddha, did a somersault, and thought he had reached the edge of the sky. He saw five fleshy red pillars, so he wrote "The Great Sage Equal to Heaven was here" on them and even urinated on them.

It turned out that the five pillars were actually the five fingers of the Buddha. He tried to somersault, but couldn't escape the Buddha's palm.

Lu Yang opened his mouth, unable to speak for a long time.

Yun Songzi also fell silent.

He wondered how powerful a person must be to prevent a monkey that could somersault 108,000 li from escaping his grasp.

That wasn't supernatural power, it was... he couldn't find the words to describe it.

"This story," Yun Songzi began slowly, "I've never heard of it before. Where did you hear it, senior?"

He felt this wasn't just a story, because it was so real, as if he had witnessed it himself.

But why is there no record of such a big event within their sect?

Could it be that it's been too long?

But how did this person find out?

Suddenly, a terrifying thought popped into his mind.

Unless this person has lived from that distant era to the present day!

His expression stiffened slightly.

Ye Qingfeng glanced at him, smiled, and said nothing.

Lu Yang, growing impatient, asked, "Immortal Master, please continue! What happened to the monkey afterward? Was he trapped under the mountain?"

Ye Qingfeng picked up his teacup, about to speak, when he suddenly stopped.

His fingers rested on the rim of the cup, and his gaze shifted from the jujube tree to the direction of the village gate.

That glance was very light, like a breeze, but something was flickering in his eyes.

Lu Yang noticed and asked in a low voice, "Immortal Master, what's wrong?"

Ye Qingfeng put down his teacup, leaned back in his chair, and smiled slightly.

That smile was different from before. The previous smile was faint and casual, but this smile carried something else.

"That's all for today," he said.

Lu Yang was taken aback: "Immortal Master?"

Ye Qingfeng didn't look at him; his gaze was fixed on the direction of the courtyard gate.

His voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear: "Lü Yang, go take my sword and walk to the gate of the stronghold."

Lü Yang was stunned.

At the entrance of the village?

What are you going there for?

He looked at Ye Qingfeng, then at Yun Songzi, his face blank.

"Master, what are you doing at the village gate?"

Ye Qingfeng picked up his teacup and slowly took a sip: "A bear demon with a hundred years of cultivation has appeared at the entrance of the village. Go and deal with it."

Lu Yang's mouth gaped open. He pointed at his nose, his voice trembling.

"Me? Immortal Master, you want me to go? I... I can't even beat a snake, and you want me to fight a bear demon with a hundred years of cultivation?"

Yun Songzi was also taken aback. He looked at Ye Qingfeng and then at Lü Yang.

A bear demon with a century of cultivation is not something that only a Martial Saint can deal with.

This kid has only been practicing for a year. Sending him there would be suicide.

But he didn't say anything.

Since Ye Qingfeng said that, he must have his reasons.

Ye Qingfeng didn't look at Lü Yang, but simply raised his right hand and gently beckoned into the room.

"Clang—"

The azure sword flew out of the room, passed through the window, and hovered steadily in front of Ye Qingfeng.