This change in attitude was really too fast.

Fang Xiaoxie, who had been bullied by Shen Jiu ever since entering the sect, had never witnessed such a “spectacle” before. For a moment, he even forgot to be afraid, only staring wide-eyed in disbelief at what he was seeing.

Shen Jiu truly had troubles he couldn’t voice, feeling like his old face had nowhere to hide.

But what could he do?

He was helpless too!

At this moment, he could only pretend he had never said those wild and ridiculous words from before, playing the role of a good junior brother who constantly missed his senior sister’s return in front of Jian Chou.

Jian Chou couldn’t help but smile: “It has been a long time indeed. I just heard Junior Brother Shen mention something about big shots or not being big shots—what was that about?”

My goodness, are you going to let people live or not?

Shen Jiu almost wanted to cry, his handsome face becoming bitter. Knowing that if he didn’t acknowledge Jian Chou, she probably wouldn’t let it go, he raised both hands in surrender and confession.

“I was wrong. In our Yashan, Senior Sister Jian Chou, you are the undisputed big shot. Absolutely no one would dare deny it!”

Mm, that sounded much more comfortable.

Although this title of “big shot” seemed rather peculiar…

But who cared?

Seeing Shen Jiu’s appearance, which was the same as when they parted at the Zuo Sanqian small gathering, Jian Chou felt affectionate. Though sixty years had passed, there hadn’t been much change.

Standing beneath this Sword-Drawing Platform, she raised her head and looked around.

The towering Yashan Mountain rose high into the clouds.

The Huanqiao Peak that pierced straight into the sky was hidden within layers of clouds, with the faint sounds of eagles’ cries drifting down. Below it was Yashan’s Lanyue Hall, the walkways, and the Council Hall further down.

The flat and spacious Lingzhao Peak lay beneath her feet.

A massive, rust-covered nameless iron sword was deeply embedded in the ground, supporting the high Sword-Drawing Platform and casting a large shadow on the ground.

The Guihe Well located in the center of Lingzhao Peak remained calm as ever, with wind messages and thunder messages from various places floating on its surface.

Several graceful white cranes floated on the water’s surface.

Of course, Jian Chou also immediately spotted that big white goose paddling with its webbed feet, swimming freely in the water…

At this moment, the corner of her mouth suddenly twitched.

An urge to doubt her own eyesight surged up, almost making her want to vigorously rub her eyes to verify whether she was seeing things wrong.

What kind of joke was this…

Sixty years had passed, and Yashan still looked the same as before—she wasn’t surprised by that. But this big silly goose that she had once given to Fudao Shanren as tuition payment was still alive?

Did geese in Shijiu Zhou have such long lifespans?

For a moment, Jian Chou’s facial expression became very difficult to describe. Her gaze fell on that big white goose leisurely paddling in the water, unable to look away for a long time.

How could Shen Jiu not notice such an obvious reaction?

Looking at this big white goose, his heart was also extremely complicated. Using a tone even more difficult to describe than the expression on Jian Chou’s face, he spoke: “It’s not very strange that Senior Sister’s goose has lived until now. Over these sixty years, our unreliable master has fed it quite a few spiritual pills and miraculous medicines…”

Feeding spiritual pills and miraculous medicines to…

A goose?

To this big white goose?!

Jian Chou felt like a thunderbolt had struck her from above, stunning her so much that she didn’t know north from south, east from west.

Hadn’t this goose originally been meant to be cooked and eaten?

Who could tell her why this creature had not only avoided being dismantled and devoured by the gluttonous Fudao Shanren, but had even moved toward the realm of “immortality” that ordinary geese could hardly aspire to?

Simply…

A few words really couldn’t express the complex feelings in her heart at this moment.

Fortunately, at this time, the people around had already gathered.

Although Yashan had accepted female disciples over the years, none with such bearing and cultivation had appeared, especially one who had never been seen before suddenly appearing on Lingzhao Peak. Everyone didn’t need to guess hard to know this was the legendary “Senior Master Uncle Jian Chou.”

Thus, in just a short moment, all the disciples who had been on Lingzhao Peak stopped in their tracks and looked toward her.

From high up on Yashan’s cliff wall came an extremely joyful shout: “Senior Sister! Senior Sister has returned!”

That was the voice of the little fatty Jiang He.

Jian Chou raised her head and saw a dark red light flying down from the cliff wall, landing right in front of her.

It was still that little fatty from years ago, short and only reaching up to Jian Chou’s waist; with fair skin, round dark eyes, and still somewhat cute.

He had been shouting loudly and boldly from the cliff wall earlier, but once he landed, he suddenly became shy.

Jiang He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.

However, Third Junior Brother Kou Qianzhi and Sixth Junior Brother Chen Weishan, who followed afterward, were more open.

Chen Weishan still had that dull appearance, scratching his head and happily calling out “Senior Sister” in greeting.

Kou Qianzhi, holding his Wendao Sword, with his “I care about nothing but swords” sword-obsessed demeanor, simply smiled upon seeing Jian Chou and said: “Senior Sister’s cultivation has advanced again. When there’s time in the future, I must spar with Senior Sister.”

“That sounds good.”

Jian Chou answered very readily.

When she first entered the sect, her cultivation was minimal, so sword fanatics like Kou Qianzhi would feel embarrassed to even ask her to fight.

Now that she was the number one in the Nascent Soul stage, naturally there was no need to be polite.

However, upon hearing these words, Shen Jiu picked at his beautiful painted fan with his slender fingers and snorted sourly, dropping four words that made no attempt to hide his disdain—

“Courting humiliation!”

“…”

At this moment, the atmosphere on Lingzhao Peak suddenly froze.

With Shen Jiu and Kou Qianzhi as the center, it seemed as if lightning flickered in their locked gazes. In a trance, fierce winds arose and sand and stones flew.

The two men’s auras almost immediately collided!

Before anyone could even begin to mediate, they heard Kou Qianzhi coldly reply: “Is that so?”

“Clang—”

A sharp sword qi suddenly rose from nowhere. The Wendao Sword that had been hidden in its sheath was directly drawn out, attacking Shen Jiu like lightning.

“You’ve really eaten a bear’s heart and leopard’s gall, thinking I can’t handle you? If you want to fight, then fight!”

Shen Jiu had done this many times and was familiar with the process.

This was Yashan’s evil habit that had spread throughout Shijiu Zhou and was most widely known—

Drawing swords at the slightest disagreement!

Whether you’re right or wrong, fight first and talk later!

Shen Jiu had always had this temperament of confronting heaven and earth. It was like this when Qu Zhengfeng was around, and it wouldn’t change even after Qu Zhengfeng left.

What was teaching and disciplining newcomers like Fang Xiaoxie, who had only been in the sect for a few years?

Not even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth!

Fighting with these fellow sect brothers was what was truly exciting!

He laughed, and a silver-gleaming “Buguo Sword” directly left its sheath. His figure flew backward, and he was already on the Sword-Drawing Platform, immediately engaging in combat with Kou Qianzhi who followed closely.

Suddenly, sword shadows layered upon sword shadows, and sword qi collided with sword qi.

On the entire Sword-Drawing Platform, even human figures couldn’t be seen clearly.

What a familiar scene this was.

Standing in place, Jian Chou wordlessly recalled the outcome when Shen Jiu and Qu Zhengfeng had fought on the Sword-Drawing Platform over a disagreement. Observing his current state fighting with Kou Qianzhi, she finally couldn’t bear to watch and turned her gaze away.

Forget it, she’d just pretend she didn’t see it.

Cough.

She raised her hand to make a fist and placed it by her lips, coughing somewhat defensively, then turned back to ask Jiang He and Chen Weishan: “Speaking of which, Junior Brother Bai Yin brought Zuoliu back, arriving even earlier than me. How come I don’t see him?”

“I was just about to tell Senior Sister about this.” Reminded by this, Jiang He suddenly remembered, slapping his forehead. “Junior Brother Zuoliu has gone into seclusion, seems he has some new insights. Senior Brother Bai Yin is currently in Lanyue Hall, discussing matters with Senior Brother the Sect Master. The Sect Master sensed Senior Sister’s return just now and requests you to go to Lanyue Hall.”

After disappearing for sixty years, who knew how many things had happened in between, not to mention the great commotion caused immediately upon return, including matters concerning Baiyin Tower, Qu Zhengfeng, and the Nine Heavens Tablet. So naturally, there was much to discuss.

This was also within Jian Chou’s expectations.

However, she hadn’t expected that Zuoliu would be going into seclusion again.

This kid, after being brought back to Yashan, probably hadn’t even found a master yet, and in the blink of an eye, he was going into seclusion again.

A guy from a wild background who had reached this level without anyone’s guidance—who knew if anyone would be capable of taking him as a disciple after he emerged from seclusion.

But now wasn’t the time to think about these things. Jian Chou temporarily set this matter aside and nodded: “Then I’ll go to the Sect Master first, and catch up with all the junior brothers later.”

“Mm.”

Both Chen Weishan and Jiang He responded. As for those two on the Sword-Drawing Platform, they naturally heard nothing, completely absorbed in their exhilarating battle, with no attention to spare.

Jian Chou didn’t mind this much. She immediately took flight, heading directly toward Yashan’s steep and towering cliff wall, landing in the simple stone pavilion that jutted out from the cliff wall, half-obscured by clouds.

A broad pathway was carved within the mountain’s belly, hollowing out the cliff wall and connecting this stone pavilion with Lanyue Hall on the other side of the mountain.

She had been to Lanyue Hall before, so now she was familiar with the route, walking in with just a few steps.

It was still the same Lanyue Hall as before.

During the day, Lanyue Hall was well-lit and bright. At a glance, one could see the floating clouds outside, and looking down, one could see the rushing waters of the Nine-Head River tributaries.

Looking around, there wasn’t half a chair to be found.

Only the crane-shaped lamp holders that seemed to grow from the ground and the three-legged bronze cauldron placed in the hall could prove that this was indeed Yashan’s public-facing main hall, just like Kunwu’s Yihe Hall.

At this moment, Yashan’s Sect Master Zheng Yao was casually sitting cross-legged on the mirror-bright floor, with Bai Yin sitting in the same forced manner diagonally across from him.

As soon as Jian Chou entered, Zheng Yao spotted her.

His slightly chubby face immediately filled with smiles, and he hurriedly waved to Jian Chou: “Haha, finally we see Senior Sister return! We’ve been worried for quite a while. Come sit, come sit!”

…Sit?

Jian Chou was deeply speechless. She couldn’t help but look at the apparently calm Zheng Yao, then at Bai Yin who was also sitting on the floor nearby.

Although she hadn’t had much contact with Bai Yin, she could easily tell that this junior brother was obviously a refined person—a refreshing stream of elegance in this sect that produced oddballs.

Now, sitting casually with the Sect Master in this empty Lanyue Hall, he had an air of helplessness about him.

He simply spread his hands toward Jian Chou, the meaning quite clear—

Everyone was being forced into this.

Who would have thought that Yashan, this famous great sect known throughout Shijiu Zhou, not only had no chairs in its main hall, but even when the Sect Master summoned people for discussions, everyone just sat randomly on the floor?

If she didn’t understand the sect’s foundation, Jian Chou might have thought Yashan was dirt poor.

All of this could probably only be summarized in one sentence—

Magnificent, our great Yashan, truly different from those vulgar sects outside!

Jian Chou comforted herself with these thoughts, appearing calm as she first bowed and said “Greetings to the Sect Master,” then walked over, lifted her robe hem, and sat properly cross-legged beside Bai Yin.

The hem of her robe embroidered with intricate cloud patterns perfectly covered her knees, creating quite a pleasing sight.

Zheng Yao, as the Sect Master, never put on airs in front of his own people. Perhaps due to his beauty-preserving techniques, though he was somewhat chubby, his skin was fair and smooth, comparable to a baby’s, and quite fine.

Seeing Jian Chou sit down, he began inquiring sentence by sentence.

Starting from the events involving Jian Chou and the others in the hidden realm of Qingfeng Monastery, he asked all the way to the Extreme Domain competition.

Jian Chou naturally explained everything clearly, item by item, incident by incident, right up to the battle with Lord Qin Guang, before finally concluding.

“After that, I fell into that strange spatial rift and slept for sixty years before emerging. I woke up under the peach tree ghost gate in the Eastern Extreme.”

“So you’re saying Lord Qin Guang’s cultivation is extremely deep and terrifying, and there’s quite a bit of entanglement between the Extreme Domain and Buddhism, especially with the Tibetan Esoteric School.”

After listening, Zheng Yao had a clear understanding.

“Over these years, we haven’t failed to notice this. The Yin-Yang Realm war is indeed real, but regarding the causes and consequences involved, Uncle Master Fudao knows more clearly. I think we should wait until he emerges from seclusion in a few days, then he can explain it to you in detail. That Senior Sister can return safely is already great fortune for our Yashan.”

Jian Chou only regretted that Ghost Axe had been left in Lord Qin Guang’s hands. Now, apart from the Deer-Cutting Blade, she didn’t even have a handy weapon.

However, hearing Zheng Yao say that Fudao Shanren was about to emerge from seclusion, she immediately raised her head.

“Master will emerge from seclusion in a few days?”

“Yes, having one’s cultivation retreat day by day isn’t a solution. Uncle Master has been in seclusion for quite some years now.”

Zheng Yao sighed and calculated with his fingers.

“Seven days from now will be the Zuo Sanqian small gathering. At that time, Real Person Hengxu will come to contact Uncle Master Fudao regarding all matters. So he will definitely emerge from seclusion. Senior Sister, you also know that Kunwu is led by the Sect Master, while our Yashan is led by the Law Enforcement Elder. What you saw and heard in the Extreme Domain involves some matters of great importance. But as for the specifics, I think we should wait for Uncle Master Fudao to emerge from seclusion, and he’ll make the decisions.”

The two sects of Yashan and Kunwu had different traditions.

However, if we’re talking about why Yashan’s Sect Master position is inferior to the Law Enforcement Elder, isn’t it because every generation of Sect Masters are too lazy to be Sect Masters, being obsessed with cultivation and not wanting to deal with mundane affairs?

Now that Fudao Shanren was more idle than Zheng Yao, it was entirely because Zheng Yao’s ability to pass the buck wasn’t good enough!

Jian Chou felt embarrassed in her heart for a long while, but hearing Zheng Yao speak so righteously, she couldn’t directly expose him. She only appeared to understand as she said: “Then I’ll wait until Master emerges from seclusion to inquire about the unclear matters in detail.”

“Mm.” Zheng Yao nodded, then said: “Senior Sister, this ordeal could be considered a blessing in disguise. You’ve achieved the Nascent Soul realm in one stroke and are even listed first on the Nine Heavens Tablet, pushing down that Wang Que from Kunwu. It’s truly satisfying. Cough, these few days, Senior Sister might as well rest well for a couple of days. The sect has quite a few new disciples.”

“I saw that.”

Jian Chou immediately smiled.

“I saw it as soon as I returned, especially that disciple sparring with Junior Brother Shen Jiu on the Sword-Drawing Platform. He looked very talented and determined. I imagine he should be a hot favorite for this year’s small gathering championship?”

“Hahaha…”

At the mention of this, Zheng Yao couldn’t help but laugh proudly.

“He’s called Fang Xiaoxie. I picked him up while wandering around outside two years ago. He’s considered my personal disciple. How about it? His cultivation is quite good, right? Although he’s only been cultivating for barely ten years, this time he’s definitely going to make those little brats from Kunwu kneel!”

“…”

A personal disciple who gets thrown to Shen Jiu for teaching and discipline every day?

Jian Chou exchanged a look with the equally speechless Bai Yin beside her, suddenly feeling extremely tired.

Probably, unreliable masters were also one of Yashan’s “specialties.”

She really didn’t want to make any comments and just nodded vaguely in acknowledgment.

The three monsters of the old generation sat on the ground like beggars on the street, chatting about everything under the sun for quite a while.

Finally, Zheng Yao suddenly exclaimed “Aiya,” remembering something.

“I almost forgot. If I remember correctly, Senior Sister, your Ghost Axe was left in the Extreme Domain and won’t be coming back anytime soon, right?”

“Right.”

This matter was also troubling Jian Chou, and she had some other thoughts about it.

However, Zheng Yao waved his hand carelessly and laughed: “This is really quite a coincidence. The day after tomorrow is the day Yashan opens the Armory. Why don’t you, Senior Sister, lead those youngsters to open the Armory and select some magical artifacts? Over the years, the Armory has also added some new magical artifacts. Senior Sister can also select some. Who knows, you might pick something handy.”

The Armory?

Jian Chou was immediately stunned, her mind conjuring up the spectacular scene when the Armory was opened back then, and those countless long swords covered in ice and snow.

Back then, apart from Ghost Axe, she hadn’t been able to gain recognition from any other magical artifact, only because her three souls and seven spirits were incomplete. Now that she had returned from the Extreme Domain, although her soul wasn’t completely restored, presumably it was much better than before.

She wondered if the situation might change?

At this thought, she couldn’t help but recall that sword covered in rust and blood stains, frozen at the mountain peak…

Yixiantian.

As people say, “Heaven’s opportunity lies in a single thread, immortal opportunity lies in a single thread.”

In the end, she still felt somewhat covetous.

However, for now, she could only think about it. Jian Chou felt she should worry more about the nearer “Heart-Questioning Dao Tribulation” to be more practical.

At present, she only replied to Zheng Yao: “Then the day after tomorrow I’ll lead them to open the Armory and select some items. Hopefully, I can find something suitable.”

Having reached this point, they had said about enough.

She and Bai Yin rose together and bid farewell to Zheng Yao. The two emerged from Lanyue Hall, leaped down from the stone pavilion, and landed back on Lingzhao Peak.

By this time, Shen Jiu and Kou Qianzhi had already finished fighting, ending as usual with Shen Jiu’s defeat.

The disciples who had gathered to watch the excitement had also dispersed after seeing the spectacle.

Jian Chou raised her hand, about to bid farewell to Bai Yin, intending to return to her room to truly rest for a while. Who would have thought that at this moment, several indescribable strange laughs would come from near Guihe Well.

“Keke keke keke, keke keke keke…”

Upon hearing this sound, her eyelid immediately twitched violently. Looking up, she had an urge to black out.

—It was Little Marten.

Earlier, when she had just climbed Yashan and passed through the Thousand Cultivators’ Tombs on the river beach ahead, it had been restless, desperately wanting to jump out of the spirit beast pouch.

Jian Chou had thought that since this was where Little Marten had appeared, it must know it was “going home” and was excited.

So she had released it.

But she hadn’t expected that somehow, mysteriously, it had made its way to Lingzhao Peak.

At this moment, it was crouched by Guihe Well, one paw pressed against its soft belly, the other paw raised pointing at the big white goose and the flock of cranes on the water surface. With its mouth wide open, it was making that ghostly strange laughing sound from before.

This was exactly a “holding belly and laughing heartily” expression, even “laughing to tears!”

Probably because its mouth was opened too wide, or perhaps because its laughing actions were too exaggerated, the Dijiang Guyu that it had been hiding in its teeth since the Extreme Domain actually tumbled out!

“Plop.”

With a soft sound of something entering the water, the still drowsy little Guyu had already fallen into the water!

“Flap flap!”

This sudden change startled the big white goose in the well, causing it to spread both its fat wings and honk frantically with its goose voice.

“Keke keke keke—hiccup!”

Little Marten’s exaggerated laughter suddenly stopped, looking dumbfounded.

Such a scene was truly unexpected!

It looked exactly like this tiny marten, pointing at the goose-and-crane cohabiting Guihe Well, had literally laughed out a big white tooth.

Even more dramatic was…

Just moments later, the big white goose that had swallowed countless spiritual pills and miraculous medicines finally reacted: this damn thing actually dared to invade its territory? Didn’t it see that even the noble and aloof immortal cranes in the well had to give way to it?!

This goose had connections up top!

“Splash splash…”

“Flap flap!”

The snow-white goose shook its smooth feathers all over and without a word charged forward, opening its flat goose beak to peck!

“Smack!”

A heavy blow!

The Dijiang Guyu that had just surfaced was immediately pecked back into the water, finally waking up completely from this impact.

Struggling to turn around in the rippling waves of Guihe Well, it saw this snow-white behemoth chasing behind it, still trying to peck it. It was immediately so frightened that both its eyes became equally large.

So its mouth drooped, and it burst into tears with a “wah.”

At this moment, the area around Guihe Well suddenly became extremely lively.

The Dijiang Guyu cried “wah wah” while using all its strength, spreading its stick-like little short legs and paddling desperately to escape in the water. The arrogant big white goose, confident in its backing, flapped its wings in frenzied pursuit, continuously pecking the little bone into the water.

On the shore, Little Marten, after being stunned for a while, began pounding the ground and laughing even more maniacally than before: “Keke keke keke keke keke keke…”

“…”

Jian Chou, who had just come down from Lanyue Hall, suddenly felt everything in front of her eyes become particularly gray. In her mind, somehow, Shen Jiu’s words from not long ago popped up.

—Bow to the big shot.

Who could tell her what exactly this goose had experienced in the sixty years she’d been away?!