Had his concealed cultivation been exposed?

As Li Changshou flew on his cloud toward the Immortal Crossing Hall, he kept pondering this question. Currently, due to the Southern Sea Divine Teaching incident and his possible inadvertent confrontation with the legendary Mosquito Dao Master…

His hidden cultivation level was no longer just a trump card; it directly concerned his life and death!

The “unorthodox” technique *of Turtle Breath Qi Calming Art* had actually cost Li Changshou significant effort. Initially, he had reverse-engineered various cultivation detection methods through continuous analysis. By studying and integrating various qi-concealing methods preserved in the Crossing Immortal Sect, he discovered ways to hide his presence…

Before his tribulation, this technique had been improved dozens of times. After Li Changshou became immortal, he elevated this technique to the same strategic level as his escape arts!

But facing a Golden Immortal who had lived for an unknown length of time, Li Changshou felt somewhat uncertain…

‘I can only prepare two contingencies. If Master is deliberately testing me, I’ll immediately implement backup plan three.’

The backup plan was simply to prove his innocence immediately.

The priority was to prove he wasn’t an enemy spy or external demon, but a genuine Crossing Immortal Sect disciple who had, by coincidence, cultivated quickly and accidentally ascended during his tribulation…

Landing before the hall, he gazed at the majestic building ahead.

Li Changshou calmed his mind and restrained his immortal consciousness, stabilizing his aura at the eighth stage of the Returning Void realm, then stepped inside.

Just as he entered, he heard a somewhat weak voice:

“Cough, cough cough…

Small Jade Peak’s disciple, Li Changshou?

Don’t speak, just nod if that’s you.”

Li Changshou maintained his composure and nodded slightly.

The voice continued: “Come to the left side, there’s a small door in the corner of the hall. Just enter through there.

Don’t be nervous, this poor Dao master is the Crossing Immortal Sect’s Master. I called you here to discuss a small matter.

Cough, cough cough.”

Li Changshou: …

Setting aside everything else, from the sound of his voice, why did the Sect Master seem to be critically ill?

Li Changshou walked quickly with a lowered head through the somewhat empty main hall toward the corner on the left side, soon reaching the two wooden doors.

He stood there briefly, waiting until the Sect Master transmitted his voice again before gently pushing open the doors…

Inside was a simple yet elegant tea room, furnished with several tables, chairs, and screens. Through two open windows was the beautiful view of “Cloud Sea Peak Island.”

Li Changshou had no heart to appreciate these things, raising his head to look at the young Dao cultivator seated by the window.

This was his own Sect Master, the named disciple of the named disciple of Taiqing Laozi…

Ji Wuyou.

His jade-like complexion, sword-like eyebrows, and star-bright eyes made him handsome and sophisticated, but these details hardly needed mentioning.

Generally speaking, male cultivators who maintained middle-aged or youthful appearances wouldn’t look too unsightly unless they or their Dao companions had particular preferences.

The Sect Master’s smile was gentle, his bearing refined, giving off an educated and elegant impression…

But this wasn’t the main point.

The key was…

This Golden Immortal realm Sect Master had a pale complexion, weak aura, and lifeless eyes. Though his posture was straight, he exuded an overwhelming sense of frailty and weakness.

If Li Changshou hadn’t known that his Sect Master’s Dao title was “Wuyou” (Worriless), named Ji Wuyou, and was known in the Eastern Divine Continent as the “Worriless Sect Master”;

Li Changshou would have been tempted to give the Sect Master the nickname “Primordial Void Young Master.”

Upon seeing Li Changshou, the Sect Master smiled slightly, but a trace of immortal blood trickled from the corner of his mouth…

Li Changshou was startled and quickly said: “Sect Master!”

“Minor issue, minor issue, no need for concern.

Just some spirit wounds, I’ve already taken healing spirit pills.”

Sect Master Ji Wuyou wiped the corner of his mouth and breathed gently, stabilizing his injuries. “These injuries can be healed after I enter closed cultivation later.

You’re Changshou, right? Take this…

This poor Dao master has been waiting for you for several days, just to give you this item.”

Sect Master Ji Wuyou took out a jade bottle from his sleeve and gently pushed it toward Li Changshou with immortal power. Li Changshou bowed his head and received it with both hands.

At this moment, Li Changshou felt quite moved;

His own Sect Master had sustained such injuries to protect the immortal sect!

Previously, he had criticized the Sect Master’s divine abilities as weak and skills as mediocre, truly…

Alas!

Li Changshou felt ashamed and harbored genuine gratitude in his heart for this Sect Master who fought desperately to protect the sect.

“Sect Master, you are injured, please enter closed cultivation soon to recover.

You’ve worked so hard fighting external demons to protect the sect.”

“Minor issue, minor issue.”

Ji Wuyou laughed, his expression somewhat embarrassed, and sighed: “Actually, a few days ago, this poor Dao master received a divine ability from the founding ancestor about nurturing primordial qi within the apertures…

These past few days, this poor Dao master tried cultivating it but was too hasty and accidentally injured my spirit with my power.

Haha…

Cough cough, cough cough cough!”

Li Changshou: …

“Changshou.”

Ji Wuyou calmly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the porcelain bottle in Li Changshou’s hands. His gaze showed some hesitation, but he still spoke tactfully:

“You must take good care of what’s in your hands.

Do you know that our Crossing Immortal Sect’s Dao inheritance ancestor, who is this poor Dao master’s master, belongs to the Human Teaching and is the Kunlun Mountain Pure Virtue Immortal Divine, True Person of Crossing Tribulation?

This porcelain bottle was entrusted by a great senior, a great expert of our Human Teaching, through the Dao inheritance ancestor, cough… to be passed to you, saying it was to resolve some karmic ties with you.

This poor Dao master shouldn’t say more about this matter, but this is also your destiny, and you must use the spirit pills inside wisely.

Do you understand?”

Li Changshou suddenly realized and bowed his head: “Disciple understands.”

“Go then, just remember this matter.

Your cultivation talent is quite good, after you pass your tribulation and become an immortal in the future, stay in the sect and cultivate peacefully.”

Ji Wuyou waved his hand, and Li Changshou bowed to accept the command, then retreated from the small room.

Before completely closing the door, Li Changshou heard another bout of violent coughing and a “puff” sound that seemed to be blood spraying…

His mouth twitched slightly, but Li Changshou closed the wooden door, pretending he hadn’t heard anything, and turned to leave the hall.

The Sect Master’s last words were reassuring him.

The Crossing Immortal Sect recruited a batch of disciples every two hundred years, and before recruiting the next batch, they would give the current batch a choice: they could either continue staying in the sect or go out to cultivate and make their way in the outside world.

The meaning in the Sect Master’s words was:

As long as Li Changshou cultivated peacefully and passed his immortal tribulation in the future, his treatment in the sect wouldn’t be too low.

Leaving the hall doors, Li Changshou’s mind had already settled again.

Fortunately, it was just a false alarm;

His cultivation level hadn’t been exposed.

Sect Master Ji Wuyou, as the leader of the sect, specifically concerned himself with a small disciple from Small Jade Peak only because of the porcelain bottle in his hands.

If he wasn’t mistaken, this was bestowed by Great Master Xuandu;

The karmic ties to be resolved must be related to the matter when the Old Man under the Moon sought him out.

Hmm…

What exactly had Great Master Xuandu and the Old Man under the Moon done to his marriage clay figurine?

Li Changshou looked at the spirit pill in the porcelain bottle. Setting aside the pill’s effects, just this porcelain bottle was no ordinary magical tool – besides preserving the medicinal properties of the finished pills, it also had the effects of stabilizing the pills and preventing collisions.

After analyzing the effects of this six-transformation spirit pill in his mind, the corner of his mouth twitched.

Nourishing the origin, stabilizing the spirit, strengthening primordial yang qi…

One could see that the pill-refining skills of this Human Teaching’s first disciple were quite formidable, after all, not just anyone could casually produce a yang-supplementing pill at the six-transformation spirit pill level.

This pill…

Should be given to the Master.

After all, it was a six-transformation spirit pill, and ignoring the effect of strengthening primordial yang qi, it could still stabilize the spirit, which would be very beneficial for Master as a Turbid Immortal.

However, this pill would inevitably have some uncontrollable effects on a male cultivator’s body.

Persuade Master to find a Master-wife?

If it was just because of one pill, there was no need.

‘Why not save this pill as a congratulatory gift for when Master finds a Dao companion?’

Li Changshou smiled slightly and put away the porcelain bottle.

After getting some distance from the Immortal Crossing Hall, Li Changshou gradually released his immortal consciousness.

Junior Sister was still sound asleep at Elder Sister Jiu’s place, but the pouch tied to her waist was constantly wriggling…

Had Master woken up?

Li Changshou quickly flew over on his cloud.

He had already thought of how to explain things to Master later.

On the way, Li Changshou passed near the Hundred Ordinary Hall and looked toward its front.

Under a grove of trees, two stone tablets had been erected. One recorded the great calamity that suddenly befell the Crossing Immortal Sect and how the sect members fought to protect the mountain gate.

The other stone tablet recorded the names of the Crossing Immortal Sect immortals who fell in this battle…

A sect’s peace was maintained by every cultivator within the sect working to protect and preserve it.

One’s own nest naturally needed to be protected well.

However, Li Changshou soon saw that opposite the two stone tablets, in another corner of the hall’s front plaza…

There stood three stone statues that had just been placed.

On the left was a female immortal with a graceful figure and pretty features, in the middle was a male immortal with proper features carrying a sword, and on the right was a burly man carrying a large axe and laughing with bared teeth.

These three stone statues were quite vivid, and the person who made them had precisely captured the “essence” of each paper person.

There were two vertical plaques on either side of the three statues, which read:

[Human Race Heroes For All Time]

[Crossing Immortal Eternal Respect]

In front was a small incense burner with three long-burning incense sticks.

Li Changshou couldn’t help but rub his brow, pretending he hadn’t seen these things, and hurried to Junior Sister’s side.

Currently, the Crossing Immortal Sect is investigating the origins of the blood mosquito puppets, as well as the background of these “righteous true friends.”

The former investigation was naturally for revenge;

The latter was to make some compensation, to provide some benefits to the three friends’ relatives.

Regarding Mosquito Dao Master, Li Changshou felt that secretly revealing the intelligence he knew to the Crossing Immortal Sect would be less effective than keeping it concealed and letting the sect search aimlessly.

As for these “heroes”…

Li Changshou’s thoughts suddenly became active.

Should he make some paper people mourn, indirectly mixing in some precious materials and spirit stones from the sect?

Li Changshou smiled and dismissed this idea…

This battle had clearly shown him the importance of formation arrays, and he had developed further, greater plans.

The Small Jade Peak’s grand formation could be continuously strengthened and deepened, and its internal formation bases could be combined into a complete grand formation, refining Small Jade Peak into a huge movable formation base.

In the primordial world, there were immortals with profound cultivation who could refine their caves into magical treasures that could be large or small according to their wishes.

When his cultivation was higher, he could try something similar.

Then if he encountered disasters threatening the entire sect again…

For offense, he could bring out Small Jade Peak to destroy powerful enemies;

For defense, he could directly collect Small Jade Peak into his sleeve and burrow ten thousand miles underground.

However, this would require vast amounts of precious materials and long-term preparation.

‘I don’t lack time now, so I should still do what needs to be done.’

Li Changshou made up his mind in his heart. The destination was not far ahead now – Immortal Jiu’s place. He collected his thoughts, lowered his head, and descended.

First, wake up Junior Sister, return together to Small Jade Peak, and comfort Master before dealing with other matters.

…

‘What can I do for Niece Hanzhi now?’

By the treasure pond on Golden Tortoise Island.

Ao Yi, who appeared as a handsome youth, looked at Hanzhi who was privately grieving nearby, his gaze also carrying some gloom.

Senior Brother Yuanze had been schemed against, his mind was controlled, and he committed outrageous acts. A few days ago, the Human Teaching’s Senior Brother had sent his corpse and a wisp of remnant soul back to Golden Tortoise Island.

After several Sect of Humanity experts pleaded before the Human Teaching’s Senior Brother, Senior Brother Yuanze’s remnant soul was finally pardoned from most of his crimes and allowed to reincarnate, having no more connection with the Sect of Humanity…

Thinking of Senior Brother Yuanze’s daily care for himself, Ao Yi secretly decided.

Your disciple, I shall care for.

“Hanzhi…”

Just as Ao Yi wanted to say something, his immortal consciousness suddenly detected two old Daoists flying toward Golden Tortoise Island.

He immediately became alert and hurriedly said: “The two Senior Brothers who took Senior Brother Yuanze’s soul to the Netherworld have returned!”

Hanzhi looked up, her eyes immediately reddening again. She quickly flew up on her cloud to meet them, wanting to ask how her master had fared on the Yellow Springs Road…

A moment later, the two old Daoists were stopped by Ao Yi and Immortal Hanzhi. Both old Daoists frowned in silence, not knowing how to speak.

Ao Yi hurriedly asked: “Senior Brothers, did something go wrong?”

“This…”

“Alas, there should have been no problems, there really should have been no problems!”

The old Daoist on the left sighed and said in a low voice: “Given the face of our Sect of Humanity, the Netherworld immortals naturally wouldn’t make things difficult. But according to the rules set by the Sage Lord, we can’t interfere with the Six Paths of Reincarnation, so the Netherworld immortals could only guarantee to arrange for Junior Brother Yuanze to a high-grade human path rebirth, cutting ties with this life. But unexpectedly…”

The old Daoist on the right looked up and sighed long: “Before drinking Mother Ghost’s soup, that wisp of soul spoke again!”

“Wh-what…” Hanzhi asked tremblingly, “What did my master say?”

“He said, don’t worry, something as small as reincarnation shouldn’t be a problem.”

Hanzhi couldn’t help but support her forehead with one hand, feeling dizzy…

Ao Yi hurriedly asked: “What happened in the end?”

“He crossed the Bridge of Helplessness, drank Mother Ghost’s soup, and walked to the front of several paths;

Yet somehow, a wave rose from the River of Forgetfulness, and a splash of water flew out, knocking his soul into the nearby path of beasts.

We couldn’t save him, and his soul was absorbed by the wheel of reincarnation.

We asked around about what happened afterward through our connections. Junior Brother Yuanze seems to have reincarnated among the demon race, and in his next life, he should be a black panther.”

“Mas…”

Upon hearing this, Hanzhi was overcome with grief. Her spirit wavered and her consciousness faltered, her form swaying unsteadily until Ao Yi hurriedly supported her.

Note: The folk tale about Lord Shen Gongbao being a panther spirit is a misconception and need not be examined closely.