Chapter 13 The Useless Immortal
The old ancestor was determined to die.
The name "Dijiang" was given to him by Duan Jiuyou.
In his drowsy state, Di Jiang saw her rubbing her eyes, slipping on a pair of embroidered shoes, brushing her teeth with bamboo salt while placing his portion on a low table.
The water in the copper basin was steaming, and the temperature looked just right.
With a bewildered look on her face, she pulled him up and asked in a hoarse voice, "Which clothes should I wear when we go out? Moon white is too thin, indigo is too thick, and you don't like the sleeves of the black one. How about the Dark Cloud Swallowing the Moon, which is suitable for night travel?"
When she was "Duan Xiaocui", she always arranged things for him this way, giving him many choices, but in reality, she had already decided on his future.
Di Jiang didn't bother arguing with her; it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. She was talkative and would just nag on and on, so it was better to remain silent.
He was actually quite sleepy too, just like Duan Jiuyou; his mind wasn't fully awake, but his body was already working. The two, like wandering souls, dressed themselves and headed outside.
These days are reversed; before going to sleep it's the early morning before dawn, and after waking up it's the pitch-black night.
Duan Jiuyou yawned and said, "It's like it can't stand the light of day."
However, what happened today really cannot be made public.
Prying open the Heavenly Sea Stone Gate is a momentous event that could shake the entire Ten Realms. If it were discovered, it would be another catastrophe for the Heavenly Realm.
"Let's avoid causing Bai Yanxing any more trouble. He's already exhausted from cleaning up our messes." Duan Jiuyou was still asleep when his mouth started moving, and criticizing Dijiang seemed to have become an instinct.
She said, "When you fight, can't you think about the 36 continents at all? You've destroyed half of the country, leaving houses and buildings collapsed."
Di Jiang kept walking, glancing sideways with disdain: "Do you know how much you nag?"
Who would hesitate to look around when fighting? The Great Wilderness Clan has always been indifferent to the process, only seeking the result. If something is destroyed, it is not secure. What's the point of keeping something that is not secure?
"This is like draining the pond to catch all the fish, or burning the forest to hunt—no way…!"
Duan Jiuyou's eyes widened.
Di Jiang covered Duan Jiuyou's mouth. With his long arms, he half-encircled and half-huddled around Jiuyou, his gaze slightly downward. He was really annoyed by this noisy "thing".
The disciples of the Ao Sect arrived just then. Duan Jiuyou waved his little fist angrily, while Di Jiang was nonchalant, a smile playing on one corner of his mouth.
He rarely smiled, so he didn't know that there was tenderness in his charming eyes. This "affection" had nothing to do with emotions; it was simply because he looked like that. Whenever he relaxed, he could look at everyone with a touch of affection.
However, this "deep affection" was perceived by the disciples of the Ao Sect as a bit of "flirting".
The disciples stood there, stunned, unsure whether they should go over.
"Lack of ambition!" Duan Jiuyou is a "superhuman child" with astonishing strength. He can't beat Di Jiang in magic, and he can't even compare in hand-to-hand combat.
Di Jiang hadn't exerted any force to begin with, and released his grip in accordance with her strength.
Duan Jiuyou was young and tender-looking. After letting go, she left a handprint on her face. When Di Jiang saw her furious expression and her "you really have no manners" look, he smiled a little more.
This kind of laughter is incomprehensible to others, but only Duan Jiuyou can understand it.
Are you making fun of me? Do you think I'm some kind of little toy?
She rolled up her sleeves; she was really angry.
Don't underestimate "Old Ancestor Duan" just because she's young; she's very proud. How could she be happy when Di Jiang treats her like a little puppy?
"Ancestor, Ancestor."
Seeing that Duan Jiuyou was about to fight Di Jiang, the disciples rushed over to stop her, urging her to prioritize the greater good and focus on the important matters. They patted her head and soothed her for a long time before calming her down.
Di Jiang looked at her silently, thinking that Duan Jiuyou and she were a perfect match in appearance; no matter how old they got, it would be a waste of their lives.
For the Shan Hai Ao Sect, "disassembling and assembling" the Tianhai Stone Gate was simply a matter of physical strength. In less than half a quarter of an hour, the Ao Sect disciples, who had conjured up a Dharma image, managed to open a crack in the Tianhai Stone Gate.
Di Jiang and Duan Jiuyou left the country in human form and rode on the clouds. They soon arrived at Wujian Mountain, where Liuxian Temple was located.
This mountain is so majestic that even immortals and gods must descend from the clouds and walk on foot—a rule established by Zhao Fengchen, the patriarch of the Daoist sect. The reason is simple: he himself cannot ride the clouds, and therefore he despises all immortals who can.
Anyone who dares to come and knock on his face from the clouds is slapping him in the face.
Most of the immortals who came to Liuxian Temple were there to ask him to forge divine weapons; no one wanted to offend this eccentric and useless immortal.
"Go on up, I'll wait for you at the foot of the mountain."
Duan Jiuyou took out a Qiankun bag from her sleeve, which contained all her salary from all these years of life.
She said that Master Huang loved money, but in fact she was the miser herself, carrying a money bag with her wherever she went, and she couldn't trust anyone to give it to.
But she does have one redeeming quality: she's willing to spend money where necessary, and as long as what she gets in return is worthwhile, she doesn't haggle over the cost.
She said to Di Jiang, "There are 200,000 spirit treasures inside. Once you go in, follow his rules and just say you want to buy the Lingtian White Blade. He loves money, and 200,000 spirit treasures are enough to exchange for a broken blade. He certainly won't make things difficult for you."
Since Duan Jiuyou arrived at Wujian Mountain, she had felt a sense of unease and trepidation. She pulled Di Jiang to stand under the stone wall and deliberately found an old locust tree with lush branches and leaves. She hid under the shade of the tree and kept her voice very low, as if she would be heard if she spoke even slightly louder.
After observing Duan Jiuyou for a while, Di Jiang realized that the "situation" between this man and Zhao Fengchen must be quite serious. He didn't ask any more questions and went up the mountain with the spiritual treasure in his pocket.
There are six gates to this mountain, each with a young boy who announces visitors through the gates, passing them from one gate to another, one level after another, silently conveying a sense of self-importance and a feeling of oppression that insists on being superior to others.
Once you officially enter the temple, there are many more rules. You have to burn incense and bathe, and enter the hall in a white robe. The Taoist boy is serious and doesn't say a word. His silence is so monotonous that even Emperor Jiang, who is usually taciturn, finds it boring.
The temple was devoid of flowers and trees, and all the buildings were extremely cold and hard, with blue stone bricks and tiles, and upturned eaves. The weather was already cold, and coupled with this empty and desolate temple, it had no human touch whatsoever.
After some commotion, a young Taoist led Di Jiang into the reception hall. Di Jiang sat down, his disgust already growing within him.
The incense at Liuxian Temple is not very popular, and the main source of income comes from buying and selling divine weapons. Zhao Fengchen's business is aloof. He is clearly an ordinary person from the market, but he insists on building a high platform for himself and turning himself into a god who does not eat or drink.
Di Jiang lightly scraped the teacup, tapped it gently, and without drinking the tea, smiled faintly: "When will I be able to see the Daoist Master?"
This was his expression when he was extremely impatient. The young Taoist, unaware of Di Jiang's identity, saw his noble bearing and sickly appearance and assumed he was some good-for-nothing member of the divine race who had come here to find a divine weapon to make up for his shortcomings.
They often encountered such people, and their attitude was naturally arrogant. After all, their master was the head of the three masters, and as his disciple, they seemed to be several times superior to others. They had no idea that the person in front of them, when angered, was someone who could destroy the entire Wujian Mountain.
The young Taoist replied according to the rules: "Master never sees guests in person. If the immortals have any needs, they can simply choose from the weapon list and pay the price accordingly."
Now I feel much better.
Emperor Jiang's smile deepened, and with a slight lift of his eyes, he burned the weapon manual that the young Taoist had presented with one hand.
"Let him come to see me in person."
"How dare you?!"
The young Taoist was in excruciating pain, and after shaking off the diagram that had turned to ashes, he was filled with alarm.
"This is Liuxian Temple!"
"The person I want to see is the abbot of Liuxian Temple."
The young Taoist had encountered countless immortals, and even those who were impatient with the old master's rules would never act so directly as this one. The young Taoist was at a loss and hurriedly headed towards the inner hall.
"Old Master!"
It seems a very important person has arrived.
Duan Jiuyou waited at the foot of the mountain for a full hour. She understood Zhao Fengchen's rules well; from top to bottom, inside and out, nothing about him was not annoying.
She was impatient to see him, firstly because of these ridiculous rules, and secondly because she hated his sharp tongue. He seemed like a wise and dignified immortal, but in reality, he was a venomous and sarcastic person. Even someone as talkative as her could only stare blankly in front of Zhao Fengchen.
Old Ancestor Duan was so preoccupied with disliking Zhao Fengchen that he forgot this unpleasant character might anger the capricious and aloof Lord of the Wilderness. Was he the kind of person who would indulge others so easily? Even if he did, there was a limit; once that limit was crossed, he would act entirely according to his whim.
Suddenly, Wujian Mountain shook violently. Duan Jiuyou stood under a tree, her chubby little face trembling. She was stunned by the tremor and then snapped out of it. After realizing what was happening, she smacked her forehead and ran up the mountain.
The cause and effect here don't need to be thought out in detail; even a fool could guess it.
Di Jiang is furious and is dealing with Zhao Fengchen!
How could she forget that this person is even more formidable than the one surnamed Zhao?!
At the same time, in Duan Jiuyou's mind, the Lord of the Wilderness, who was willing to "kill the whole family" at the slightest disagreement, was spreading his hand out and "playing" with an old Taoist priest in mid-air.
He "curled him into a ball" and tossed him up and down as he moved his fingers.
The old Taoist priest was not old at all; he was in his early twenties, with a refined appearance and an otherworldly demeanor. Before he was dealt with, he still had a bit of arrogance. Now, he was crying and cursing, and he was evenly panting.
The old Taoist priest, stubborn as ever, gritted his teeth and said, "Even if you kill me today, you'll have to get Duan Jiuyou to come in person. Otherwise, even if you kill me, I won't give you the Lingtian White Blade. I'm not afraid of death!"
There's a little anecdote to this story. The old Taoist wasn't exactly a tough nut to crack; when he tried to maintain his airs by receiving Emperor Jiang, he got a beating. Emperor Jiang was quite reasonable; after the fight, feeling satisfied, he threw out 200,000 spirit treasures in exchange for a sword.
The old Taoist priest was willing to sell, but upon seeing Lingbao, he refused to agree no matter what. With red eyes, he said, "Let Duan Jiuyou come up."
He recognized it as her money.
How did you recognize it?
Actually, it's quite simple. All the spiritual treasures in Duan Jiuyou's hands are his accumulated salary over the years. The salary is similar to official silver in the human world. The silver has the year on it. Duan Jiuyou has lived a long life and has served ten emperors, including Bai Yanxing. The official silver has different dynasty seals on it. The earliest piece of silver is still the dynasty name of the Primordial Emperor.
In this world, besides Duan Jiuyou, that old relic, who else could possibly have saved up this much silver?
Zhao Fengchen went mad at the sight of the official silver, insisting that Duan Jiuyou meet him in person no matter what. Di Jiang, finding it troublesome, explained that the "mountain shaking" earlier wasn't intended to destroy Liuxian Temple, but rather to indirectly signal Duan Jiuyou to come up on her own.
"None of them are easy to deal with! I told you to buy a melee weapon, not to come and rob someone. Those 200,000 spirit treasures weren't for—oh dear, he's flying so high, put him down, he's afraid of heights!"
When Duan Jiuyou rushed up, Di Jiang had just "thrown" Zhao Fengchen onto the roof. Zhao Fengchen was half-hanging on the roof beam, his clothes disheveled, looking like a crumpled rag.
In his haste, Duan Jiuyou made a hand seal, intending to put the person down. However, the seal was so careless that it caused the roof beam to open and close briefly, throwing Zhao Fengchen flat on his face.
The young Taoist was so frightened that his face turned as white as paper. He rushed forward and cried out to the Venerable Elder as if in mourning. The noise was terrifying, as if Zhao Fengchen had been thrown to his death on the spot.
Zhao Fengchen lay motionless on the ground for a long time. He had been afraid of heights since childhood. He was born without a spiritual pill in his body, so he couldn't gather qi and couldn't create clouds under his feet. He would feel weak in the legs if he went even a little higher. In recent years, he had overcome it a bit and dared to climb to higher places. Otherwise, he wouldn't have moved to this towering Wujian Mountain.
Duan Jiuyou's words "afraid of heights" evoked two emotions in Zhao Fengchen: shame and anger. How could he have mentioned his shortcomings in front of outsiders? His disciples and followers were all here, why bring it up!
Another slightly more complicated feeling, a mixture of secret joy and awkwardness, was that she hadn't completely forgotten me after all these years, and still remembered my little quirks.
—It wasn't in vain...it wasn't in vain for me...
Pooh!
Zhao Fengchen cursed himself in his heart. He had given up on this woman tens of millions of years ago, so why did he still say it was all for nothing!
Footsteps approached from his side, and Zhao Fengchen turned his face away, saying, "I don't need you. I'll go tidy up and change my clothes, and I'll come see you later."
He assumed the person making the movement was Duan Jiuyou, unaware that the footsteps were made by his personal attendant, who was slightly behind. This boy had been serving Zhao Fengchen for some years, and he spoke directly without any tact. Upon seeing that the old master had mistaken him for someone else, he immediately corrected his mistake, stepped forward to help the man up, and said, "Master, he didn't care about you at all."
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