Volume One: Autumn Festival Chapter Thirty-Seven: Venerable Luo of Kutan

On their way back to the Half-Day Leisure Inn, the battle scene remained etched in the minds of Shu Ni and Ning Shisi. Their perception of Jiang Wang had been elevated yet again.

Shu Ni no longer dwelt on the possibility of Jiang Wang being a demon. Since Xie Wuxing of the Sword Pavilion had not pointed it out, it was proof enough that Jiang Wang could not be one. However, having seen him fight the Sword God’s true disciple to such a standstill, Shu Ni began to wonder who Jiang Wang truly was. The claim that he had learned to cultivate entirely on his own sounded like complete nonsense. Clearly, there must be a significant background behind him.

...

Jiang Wang returned to the Marquis’s estate and went straight to his room. Collapsing onto the couch, waves of weakness washed over him, yet his mind felt increasingly clear. He called out to the Night Wanderer in his thoughts.

When the Divine Kingdom was hidden, he could not sense it. After this battle, Jiang Wang felt that the power of the Divine Kingdom had surely undergone another sublimation.

As he had hoped, the Night Wanderer replied, "The Divine Kingdom has indeed been nourished, and a sliver of my power has returned. However, because the consumption of the Divine Kingdom's power was so severe, it will be unusable for a while should we encounter danger again, though it should recover quite soon."

Jiang Wang felt satisfied and soon drifted into a deep sleep.

In front of the woodshed, having witnessed Jiang Wang return to the estate, the green-robed cultivator and Xiao Yu returned to their respective rooms. The old butler looked at Du Yanruo and Su Lingyi, who were kneeling side by side, and said with a smile, "The young master is likely tired. You should patiently spend the night in the woodshed. Do not think of escaping; I will be watching this place at all times."

Su Lingyi lay back down among the firewood. As the woodshed door was shut, he found himself at a loss for how to express his frustration. Du Yanruo had never expected that she, who had come to rescue someone, would end up unable to leave herself.

"What is up with that Sword Pavilion disciple? Is there any chance he will come to save us?" Su Lingyi still held onto a glimmer of hope.

Du Yanruo shook her head. "Xie Wuxing must have been defeated. Whether he is dead or alive is unknown, so how could he possibly come to save us?" She thought to herself that she had indeed overestimated Xie Wuxing; he was just as useless as Cai Tanggu and Tan Laoliu. Why had she been so foolish as to use Xie Wuxing to distract the people of the Marquis’s estate and rashly come to rescue someone? She regretted it to the depths of her soul.

Regardless of how Du Yanruo vented her frustrations about Xie Wuxing in her heart, Xie Wuxing, who had searched everywhere for her in vain, was now rushing back toward the Marquis’s estate in a fever of anxiety. He suspected that Jiang Wang had abducted Du Yanruo. The thought of the delicate Miss Du falling into the hands of the bully Jiang Wang was simply unthinkable.

...

At the ruins on Qixia Street, several figures appeared. They were all seekers of immortality who had just arrived in Hun City. The commotion caused by the battle between Jiang Wang and Xie Wuxing had been too great; looking at the devastating scene before them, they could easily imagine how intense the fight had been.

"They must have been two cultivators at the peak of the Dongming Realm," one of them speculated. "But they are definitely not ordinary individuals. They are likely among the top-tier of Dongming cultivators in the entire Sui Kingdom, perhaps even on the verge of breaking through. With such experts in Hun City, we must tread carefully."

Except for small sects completely suppressed by the imperial Qingxuan Bureau, some larger sects that were only held in check, if they could find an immortal, would mostly prefer not to send them to the Divine Capital for worship, but rather invite them to their own sects. Therefore, every seeker of immortality had their own agenda; they could be allies or enemies.

The largest sect in Kutan was the Sword Pavilion, followed by the formidable forces of the Qingxuan Bureau and the Yuyuan Academy, both deployed by the imperial court. Sects caught in the middle, neither here nor there, found it rare to produce a great cultivator above the Dongming Realm, and thus were the most delusional about using an immortal to ascend to the heavens in a single step.

"What I worry about more is that those large sects will send cultivators of the Zao Xue Realm. We must find the traces of the immortal while those big shots are tied up; otherwise, we will have nothing to do but watch from the sidelines."

The others felt the same. For their own sects, the highest cultivation level was only at the peak of the Dongming Realm, and the more deep-rooted ones might only have a dozen or so such experts. But if they were to face a titan of the Zao Xue Realm, their entire sect could be wiped out in the blink of an eye.

"Great demons are ravaging every region of Kutan and even other parts of the Sui Kingdom. The major sects are doing their best to slay demons, yet you lot are delusional enough to think of using an immortal to ascend. The Qingxuan Bureau claims to govern all cultivators in Sui, but it seems they are failing to live up to their name, letting you stray fish jump around like this."

A young man in a goose-yellow robe suddenly appeared. He looked at the cultivators and said coldly, "Searching for immortals has been the most important matter for the Sui Kingdom for a hundred years. It is not just about how to eradicate demons, but also how to resist West Qin."

"Rumor has it that West Qin has an immortal. If not for the fact that our Divine Capital also has one, the Sui Kingdom would have been destroyed by West Qin long ago. Just think, with a small sect like yours, an immortal would have to be out of their mind to let you worship them."

The cultivators, initially flustered, sensed the newcomer for a moment, and one of them chuckled lightly. "A mere martial artist? What do you know? Where do you get the nerve to shout here? I could take your life with a flick of my sword."

The man in the goose-yellow robe sneered, "I am a martial artist, that is true, but you want to kill me? Hmph, you are thinking too much."

Upon sensing the aura on the newcomer more carefully again, they breathed a sigh of relief. "Your words were indeed frightening; you almost had us thinking you were a Grandmaster."

"Only a martial artist who has entered the fourth realm can barely contend with a cultivator, and only a Grandmaster is qualified to stand above a Dongming cultivator. Even if you are a fourth-realm martial artist, surely you don't think you can defeat all of us?"

The man in the goose-yellow robe smiled. "I cannot defeat you alone, but who said I am alone?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a figure arrived, breaking through the air. It was an old man who appeared to be in his seventies.

The man in the goose-yellow robe bowed and offered a salute. "Venerable One."

The indifferent expressions of the cultivators suddenly changed. In Kutan, there was only one person who could be called "Venerable." It was not just an honorific, but a title of office.

The Qingxuan Bureau governed all cultivators in Sui, so naturally, there was an entity that governed all martial artists in Sui. Although, in a true sense, cultivators and martial artists could not be compared, the Martial God Shrine, which governed all martial artists, held the same status in the imperial court as the Qingxuan Bureau. Just as the Qingxuan Bureau and the Yuyuan Academy had established branches in Kutan, the Martial God Shrine was no exception. The highest authority in the Kutan Martial God Shrine was the Venerable.

It was common knowledge that every Venerable of the Martial God Shrine was a Grandmaster-level expert. A Dongming peak cultivator facing a Grandmaster, without some incredible means, was essentially as good as dead. A Grandmaster represented the peak of martial arts, a transformation that left them with a physique that the flying swords of Dongming cultivators could not shake. Moreover, a Grandmaster could walk on air for short periods, and their fist wind could strike from a hundred paces away; a Dongming cultivator found it very difficult to maintain an advantage before them.

"Venerable... Venerable Luo."

The cultivators lowered their stance and bowed respectfully. Ordinary cultivators feared the Qingxuan Bureau, but martial artists viewed the Martial God Shrine as a holy land. Although it was difficult to make martial artists equal to cultivators, it was precisely the existence of the Martial God Shrine that gave martial artists the qualification to look down upon them—even if it was only ordinary cultivators, and even if that qualification was not easy to obtain.

The cultivators never expected that the esteemed Venerable Luo of the Martial God Shrine would personally arrive in Hun City. Searching for immortals was mostly the work of cultivators, and martial artists could only play a supporting role, but that depended on who it was.

Venerable Luo said faintly, "Put away your little schemes and search for the immortal calmly. If I discover that you have found traces of the immortal and concealed them, you will all stay in Hun City forever."

The cultivators hurried to say they would not dare, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Venerable Luo said in a low voice, "Get lost."

The cultivators fled in a panic.

The man in the goose-yellow robe said, "But they were right about one thing: two Dongming peak cultivators fought here, and judging by the situation, they may have even touched the threshold of the Zao Xue Realm."

Venerable Luo said, "The one from the Sword Pavilion has already come down the mountain and may have arrived in Hun City, but I have not heard of any other true disciples from major sects coming to Kutan. While Sword Pavilion disciples are warlike, they would not cause such a commotion at this time. Once you find Xie Wuxing, you will know who it was that fought him."

The man in the goose-yellow robe smiled bitterly. "Venerable, it is so late, and we have just arrived in Hun City; why don't we find a place to stay first?"

Venerable Luo said faintly, "Very well. It will not be too late to pay a visit to that person in Hun City tomorrow." Besides the strange phenomenon of the immortal’s descent, the only other thing in Hun City that interested him was that one person. He was very much looking forward to the scene of meeting him.

...

Inside the Marquis of Xunyang’s estate, the old butler watched Xie Wuxing, who had barged in, and said calmly, "Do you have further instructions, sir?"

Xie Wuxing said in a deep voice, "Where is Jiang Wang? Make him come out!"

The old butler replied, "My young master has already gone to sleep. If there is anything, you can discuss it tomorrow."

Xie Wuxing drew his sword and pointed it at the butler. "Tell Jiang Wang to release Miss Du!"

The old butler was slightly stunned, then smiled. "How can a true disciple of the Sword God act like a hot-headed boy? Do you know who that Miss Du is? And why do you think she is in the Marquis’s estate?"

Xie Wuxing frowned. "No one else would capture Miss Du but Jiang Wang. Whether she is in the Marquis’s estate or not, I will know once I search." Saying this, he prepared to bypass the butler.

The old butler did not stop him; being at odds with the Sword Pavilion was, after all, not a good thing. He watched Xie Wuxing head toward the backyard, then turned and walked to Jiang Wang's courtyard. The green-robed and white-robed cultivators were also staying there. Hearing Xie Wuxing’s aura, they had just walked out.

"Uncle Tong, that guy is here again?"

The old butler nodded, looking at Jiang Wang’s pitch-black room, and said, "Xie Wuxing has been deceived by Du Yanruo’s lies. If it is not necessary, we must not become enemies. The young master fought him and must be very tired. You two keep a good watch and ignore the matters outside."

After saying this, he left. The green-robed and white-robed cultivators looked at each other. They thought, if Xie Wuxing went crazy, how could Uncle Tong’s old bones withstand it? Moreover, in their view, the battle between Mr. Jiang and Xie Wuxing was purely a game; why would he be tired? After all, Mr. Jiang was an immortal.