Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

In the tenth year of Qiming, in the third month of spring.

On the southern border of Xinjiang, in Huazhou, thirty miles outside Baiguo City.

Ancient road, spring breeze, and galloping horses.

Hidden beside the old official road, which is surrounded by bamboo groves on both sides, is a teahouse built entirely of bamboo and wood.

A spring breeze blows, causing the horses in the bamboo forest to neigh contentedly.

The teahouse, hidden in the bamboo forest, is a bit old. Half of the signboard at the entrance is broken and hangs limply above the teahouse.

Every now and then a strong wind blows by, making a crackling sound, making one wonder if the plaque will fall to the ground at any moment.

"A teahouse where you can freely drink tea and chat"

The characters on the plaque are already blurred, but the novel name still makes people want to take a second look.

In this day and age, it's hard to say what kind of business owner would come up with such an unconventional name.

I don't know about others, but Mu An was attracted by the name of the shop. He disguised himself as a gentleman in fine clothes and sat in the shop for a while.

A cup of tea, a plate of fennel beans, a plate of peanuts, and a simple side dish.

The teahouse doesn't offer many dishes, only some pre-prepared snacks to go with drinks. There aren't even any stir-fried dishes that require a stove to cook, yet the prices aren't cheap.

Mu An didn't know what the prices were like in Baiguo City, but for an ordinary teahouse to be priced as high as the upscale teahouses in Qing'an Prefecture seemed like the work of a shady merchant.

What's even more interesting is that this seemingly unremarkable teahouse was packed with customers. All fifteen tables were occupied, and those who arrived later couldn't even find seats and had to share a table with others.

Mu An doesn't believe there's no reason behind it.

There's more than one teahouse on this street. If it's not a monopoly, the fact that it can attract so many people must mean it has something special about it.

From Mu An's perspective, if there's anything special about this teahouse, it's that there's a knife hanging behind the counter.

A silver knife.

Even though he deliberately suppressed his divine sense and played around with the mindset of an ordinary person, the conspicuous knife still attracted Mu An's attention immediately.

Hanging a knife behind the counter is hardly a common practice for businesses that open for business.

A knife is a weapon, and hanging it in a conspicuous place will always make people feel uneasy.

The same is true for a sword that possesses spiritual power.

Even so, the customers in the teahouse were already used to it, chatting casually as if they hadn't even seen the knife.

Clearly, these people were not first-timers at this teahouse, and they talked without restraint, saying whatever came to mind without any inhibitions.

Some chatted about chivalrous feuds, some about national affairs, and some even slandered officials of the imperial court...

All sorts of content are included, some true, some false, and some are simply expressions of anger.

Such arrogance in public is rare even in Qing'an Prefecture, so people are somewhat wary of it.

It perfectly matches the teahouse's signboard: "A teahouse where you can freely drink tea and chat."

Freedom, huh...

Mu An thought it was a good word, but there were many different opinions on how to define it.

In this teahouse, you can talk about almost anything.

Thinking of the name of the teahouse, Mu An found it quite interesting and picked up his teacup to take a sip.

At the table to his right, a young man in fine clothes, who looked to be in his early twenties, started a conversation.

"Brother Hu, have you heard? The Burning Fire Gate in the north was wiped out by the Dark Feather Guards. Not a single one of them was spared. They even chopped up cockroaches in half, and scalded the ants in the courtyard with boiling water..."

The burly man, who was eating beans, touched his forehead and spoke in a muffled voice, as if he didn't quite believe it.

"Where did you hear this news? The Burning Fire Sect is the largest power in Guang Prefecture, with tens of thousands of disciples, including three Celestial Martial Saints."

The Burning Fire Sect has been rooted in Guang Prefecture for hundreds of years, and its relationship with the local forces in Guang Prefecture is already intertwined. Do you really think those court lackeys and lackeys of the Dark Feather Guard can take them down?

Seeing that his companion did not believe him, the young man in brocade robes became visibly anxious, and his voice even rose a few decibels.

"There's no mistake! I have inside information. This time, the four commanders of the Dark Feather Guard, along with three Azure Jade Seven Star Envoys and seven great masters at the Celestial Martial Saint level, acted simultaneously and wiped out the Burning Fire Sect in one fell swoop..."

"Four Heavenly Stems Commanders! Three Jade Seven Star Envoys? My goodness..."

"Seven Celestial Martial Saints attacking together—how many years has it been since anything like this has happened in the martial world?"

The confident tone coupled with the astonishing news immediately attracted countless eyes.

A young girl who looked like a junior sister couldn't even hold her cup properly before spitting out a mouthful of hot tea, spraying it directly onto the face of her senior sister opposite her.

The senior sister, with an icy expression, silently wiped the tea off her face and picked up the stick she carried with her without hesitation.

The girl was so frightened by the practiced movements that she immediately shrank under the table. The movements were swift and decisive, showing that she had been beaten quite a bit in her life.

Just as many martial arts practitioners were mourning for the unfortunate girl, the senior sister, whose face had been sprayed with water, put away her stick and gave the shopkeeper sitting in front of the counter an apologetic smile.

The junior sister who's always causing trouble definitely deserves a beating, but we can't fight her in the teahouse. The teahouse is a place for drinking tea and chatting; no matter what happens, we can't fight there.

This was a rule set by the shopkeeper. Before she left, her master had specifically instructed her not to provoke this unfathomable shopkeeper.

Another point is that the senior sister should always give the junior sister some face and deal with her properly when no one is around.

Mu An, who was drinking tea, took in everything that was happening in the teahouse. While watching the lively scene between her fellow disciples, she glanced at the brocade-clad young man who was talking incessantly.

Mu An vaguely remembered that she seemed to have a Kaiyang Envoy token representing the Seven Stars of Azure Jade in her hand.

Years ago, he thought the token was pretty cool and that he could use the power it represented to do something.

Who would have thought that after going to Qi'an City, they would directly follow Princess Yongning in a massive sweep of the national treasury, making them rich overnight and feasting on rare and precious treasures.

As his strength improved too quickly, Mu An's horizons also broadened accordingly.

He threw all these useless things into some nook or cranny.

Official titles are something that can be bestowed at will. The court of Daqi sent him countless imperial edicts, adding a bunch of random honorifics to his name.

Just like the Celestial Master and the Mysterious Spirit Bodhisattva, Mu An's current title has fifteen or sixteen characters in total, which sounds complicated.

Anyway, Mu An was too lazy to remember. Compared to letting the Great Qi Dynasty bestow titles arbitrarily, he preferred the title of Five Elements True Lord.

It's simple and clear; you can tell who it is just by hearing it.

As for Mu Ling'er, Mu An said that the court could bestow titles as it pleased. In any case, he had designated Mu Ling'er as the Prince of Qishan decades ago, which was unanimously recognized by the people of Qishan.

The divine right of kings is perfectly valid.

……

Hearing the name "Azure Jade Seven Stars" for the first time in a long time, Mu An couldn't help but recall some things from the past.

So many years have passed, I wonder if the Dark Feather Guard ever selected a new Kaiyang Envoy.

Thinking about the past, Mu An's gaze shifted slightly, looking at a round table diagonally behind her.

Women, the elderly, and children.

There were exactly three people, no more and no less.

According to the unwritten rules of the martial arts world, such a combination is considered a walking source of danger.