Mount Shushan, Silver Sword Peak.
The weather was bright and sunny.
Li Xuanxiao had just completed three months of seclusion cultivation.
He exhaled a breath of stale air, his understanding of cultivation having deepened yet again.
The feeling was simply marvelous.
No annoying matters to deal with—he could just focus on cultivating.
When would this dream of his finally come true?
This onion-like man began carefully dressing himself again.
First, he put on the ten storage rings for his toes, then the first layer of magic robe, second layer—the poison robe, third layer...
“Senior Brother, are you done yet?”
“Mm, just halfway through dressing. Almost there.”
Li Xuanxiao walked out of his straw hut.
Nothing happened at Mount Shushan today.
Li Xuanxiao once again welcomed his favorite time of day.
He had just finished a secluded cultivation session and made progress in his cultivation level, and there were no annoying matters at Mount Shushan that needed his attention.
First, he’d go to Menial Peak for his favorite drumstick rice, then read some books at the Scripture Repository.
After reading, he’d go wander around and check on his Junior Sisters...
“Senior Brother, here’s the latest Central State World Report.”
Zhao Lu placed a thick stack of newspapers in front of Li Xuanxiao.
Li Xuanxiao immediately noticed the headline 【Daxia’s Number One Go Master Got Beat Up】
Must be another sensationalized piece to catch attention.
He skimmed it briefly.
Beaten up at Shencao Mountain.
Li Xuanxiao:..........
The sky has fallen!!!
Li Xuanxiao quickly flipped through the paper and read in detail.
【Recharge Spirit Stones to unlock the full footage of the Recording Stone】
Without hesitation, Li Xuanxiao chose to recharge.
Moments later, he saw the complete footage.
Li Xuanxiao still remembered he told the Sword Spirit before he left: don’t act impulsively, be kind to others.
“You got beat the fk up and you still dare come the f* back”
“My fing motherf**, you f******”
“Ungrateful piece of s*** ******”
Most of the sound from the Recording Stone had been censored.
Li Xuanxiao nodded thoughtfully.
Sword Spirit and her honey-coated mouth~
Well, guess the older she got, the worse the temper.
Looks like something big went down.
And based on the newspaper info, the Daxia prince had also been present.
He had no idea whether the Sword Spirit laid a hand on him.
Li Xuanxiao hurriedly tidied himself up, found a suitable excuse, and left Mount Shushan straight for Daxia.
He rushed as fast as he could, and finally returned to Shencao Mountain at top speed.
“So? How’d you end up hitting people from Daxia? What about that prince? Did you hit him?”
Sword Spirit lifted her head and said nonchalantly:
“Just something I did in passing.”
Li Xuanxiao nearly died on the spot.
“Don’t worry, Sect Leader. Just a measly Body Fusion Stage.”
“But behind him is all of Daxia!”
“Daxia? I’ll just destroy the whole thing.”
Sword Spirit said in a low voice.
“I already serve you as my master—even if the whole world turns against you, I will still stand by your side.”
Why would I want to go against the whole world!?
Li Xuanxiao had a groundhog brew him some Calm Spirit Tea, barely managing to recover.
So what if he’d offended Huang Jiu, Daxia’s number one Go master, and even beat up their prince.
And arrogantly declared that Daxia was now forbidden here.
Looking on the bright side...
There’s no bright side!!
Li Xuanxiao looked troubled.
After a few days, he had the groundhogs go out and gather information.
Strangely, Daxia made no moves at all.
Could they be secretly mobilizing troops, planning to flatten Shencao Mountain?
Even though the Sword Spirit had promised Li Xuanxiao she’d protect Shencao Mountain no matter what,
he still worried—not about her strength,
but about the amount of karma he’d incur if people died because of him.
He wouldn’t dare attempt his tribulation in the future.
“No no no! Of all the thirty-six strategies, running is the best! I need to get out of here. I can’t keep this place!”
Li Xuanxiao made up his mind and called for the head groundhog.
“From now on, you’re the Mountain Lord of Shencao Mountain!”
Head groundhog: (●´ϖ`●)
“Just press your paw here—Shencao Mountain is yours. No loss, only gains!”
“The Emperor of Daxia has come to visit the Mountain Lord of Shencao Mountain!!”
At that moment, a voice echoed across all of Shencao Mountain.
Li Xuanxiao was shocked.
The Daxia Emperor himself came!?
Sword Spirit blinked next to Li Xuanxiao, “Sect Leader, should I hit him?”
Li Xuanxiao paused for a moment, “Don’t act rashly. Let me handle this first.”
The Daxia Emperor stood with hands clasped behind his back.
Beside him was Daxia’s chief offering.
“Elder Sun, do you think the owner of Shencao Mountain could be a Tribulation Stage powerhouse?”
Elder Sun replied, “That brat Huang Jiu’s cultivation is decent—he’s among the best at the Body Fusion Stage. To be defeated so easily, the opponent must be a Tribulation Stage cultivator.”
The Daxia prince furrowed his brow slightly, “A Tribulation Stage powerhouse buying a mountain in our Daxia territory—what’s their goal?”
“All the known Tribulation Stage cultivators in Central State have names and territories. I really can’t guess who this person might be.”
“You think he’s from outside Central State?”
Elder Sun lightly shook his head, “We’ll know soon enough.”
An old Daoist rode the wind and arrived.
That Daoist had large, drooping earlobes that touched his shoulders, five long strands of beard flowing down his chest.
On his head was a fishtail crown, his topknot high and secured with a thorned pin.
He wore a gray Daoist robe with yin-yang and eight trigram embroidery.
Yellow silk belt at his waist, lantern tassels hanging on each side, water-pattern socks and cloud shoes on his feet.
“Two esteemed guests have come from afar—my humble abode is truly honored.”
Elder Sun and the Daxia Emperor clasped their hands in greeting.
“Greetings, Daoist. It is Daxia’s fortune that you have chosen to settle a mountain here. We simply hadn’t had time to pay a visit—please forgive us.”
“Just a mountain hermit, not worthy of such courtesy from Your Majesty.”
“You jest, Daoist. May I ask your Daoist title?”
The Daoist waved his horsetail whisk, “A humble Daoist from the mountains with no title—just call me Jia Sidào.”
“So you’re Daoist Jia.”
“Indeed, indeed. If you don’t mind, please come inside.”
The three of them entered the straw hut at Shencao Mountain.
A groundhog brought in tea.
But being too short to reach the table,
two groundhogs stacked themselves up to place the tea on the table.
Jia Sidào wore a smile on his face. Facing the Daxia Emperor and Elder Sun, he showed no trace of intimidation. After sipping his tea, he took the initiative to ask:
“So, what brings the two of you here today?”