The First Immortal of Destiny

Due to the emergence of the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons, millions of cultivators had gathered in Caiyi Country. They came from all over the Heaven Patrolling Zone; some were disciples of large immortal sects, and some were powerful rogue cultivators like Lady Scarlet.

It wouldn’t be long before the news of ”the rogue cultivator Shen Qingyun from Wangxian Mountain startling and forcing back Elder Yan Dacheng of True Martial Hall” would spread as quickly as his previous feat of suppressing and capturing the Taiyi Spirit Sword. This news would first reach the circle of top-tier cultivators and then gradually disseminate throughout the entire cultivation world of the Heaven Patrolling Zone.

Shen Mo no longer concerned himself with this. When he had first arrived, he had been quite cautious, mainly due to the Heaven Patrolling Temple. But now, his strength had improved further, and he had become thoroughly familiar with the situation in the Heaven Patrolling Zone. He no longer needed to constantly worry about being hunted down and killed by experts from the Daoist temple.

Even Yan Dacheng from True Martial Hall, whom he had just startled away, and Zhu Zhao from the Taiyi Sword Alliance, whom he had severely offended, were both top-notch experts within the Heaven Patrolling Temple, yet they could do nothing to him now. As long as he didn’t provoke Heavenly Monarch level figures or catastrophic disasters, Shen Mo had little to worry about.

Of course, his conflict with Yan Dacheng was merely a clash of egos and didn’t involve core interests such as their cultivation paths. He saw no need for a life-or-death battle with Yan Dacheng and reckoned that Yan Dacheng, having likely conceded, had retreated. As such, he would not order the Evil-eating Centipede to continue its pursuit.

Immediately, a thought struck Shen Mo.

Having received its master’s command, the Evil-eating Sky Centipede retracted its claws, sharp as knives and halberds, dove through the clouds, consumed a piece of corrupted spirit gold, and obediently returned to the Spirit Pet Bag.

It was only then that the cultivator from Thousand Cranes Mountain, who was selling the Gold Man, hurriedly withdrew the soul mark on the cloud platform and cast Shen Mo an amicable glance. He even refrained from asking for the four hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones that had been returned to him.

Shen Mo understood his predicament, but understanding didn’t absolve the man of needing a lesson for attempting to go back on a deal that had already been settled.

Therefore, Shen Mo confiscated half of the Spirit Stones and placed the remaining two hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones before him, saying, ”Because of you, I had a disagreement with Yan Dacheng and even had to use my Spirit Pet in a fierce battle. I will take two hundred Spirit Stones as compensation. Does fellow daoist have any objections?”

”As it should be! As it should be!”

The man dared not voice any objections. After receiving the two hundred middle-grade Spirit Stones, he departed from Tianyin Valley with a hint of relief in his expression, transforming into a streak of light.

Shen Mo also collected the Gold Man from the cloud platform, along with the Ice Cage, and placed them into the Golden Flowery Realm.

...

”Fellow Daoist Qingyun, may your fortune and longevity be boundless. I am Elder Hu Xiaodie from the Divine Heaven Sect; you may simply call me Xiaodie. I greatly admire your distinguished manner and would like to invite you to my temporary mansion to discuss the Dao.”

”Fellow Daoist Shen, your vast Skills are truly admirable. I wonder if you might have some free time...”

As the dispute subsided, figures shimmering with spirit light landed one after another on the mountain peak where Shen Mo stood. They greeted him with great enthusiasm, some inviting him as a guest, others simply making his acquaintance with pleasantries.

Of course, many Golden Core Realm cultivators avoided Shen Mo like the plague. They felt that he had offended both the Taiyi Sword Alliance and the True Martial Hall, and that his actions were too brazen. They feared he might invite a fatal disaster upon himself in the future and, wishing to avoid being implicated, they all kept their distance.

Seeing that his second identity had been exposed, Shen Mo simply circulated the True Immortal Magic and reverted to his original appearance. Afterward, with a warm smile, he exchanged greetings one by one with those who had shown goodwill.

During this process, several cultivators dressed as Elders from major immortal sects, including two guest Elders from the Ancient Vine Sect who were alien ministers, began to bustle about Tianyin Valley with formation materials. They started repairing the Formation Prohibitions that had been damaged by Yan Dacheng and the Evil-eating Centipede. Originally, Yan Dacheng had only blasted a small hole through them. However, when the Evil-eating Centipede’s massive, thousand-zhang demonic body crashed into them, the defenses were completely ruined.

The Golden Core Realm cultivators responsible for the Tianyin Valley’s trading affairs all looked at Shen Mo with a hint of resentment, appearing as though they wanted to ask him for compensation for the venue’s losses but didn’t quite dare to approach him.

This incident was instigated by Yan Dacheng. Now that Yan Dacheng was gone, Shen Mo naturally wouldn’t compensate. He would act as if he knew nothing about it. Anyway, when he and Lady Scarlet had entered Tianyin Valley, they had paid a large sum of Spirit Stones. With so many Golden Core Realm cultivators attending the trading fair, the earnings from each session were enough to set up dozens of new Formations.

After exchanging pleasantries and declining some invitations from female Golden Core Realm cultivators to discuss the Dao, Shen Mo decided not to linger. He bid farewell to Lady Scarlet, then transformed into a golden streak of light and departed from Tianyin Valley, flying towards the main gate of the Ancient Vine Sect.

While en route, he probed the Golden Flowery Realm with his Divine Sense. He then discovered that Flower Fairy Ami had already opened the Ice Cage and released the ten-foot-tall Gold Man. However, Ami had used her Spells to conjure tough vines, which now bound the Gold Man, and she was continuously lashing it with thick, whip-like creepers.

A short while later, Shen Mo finally understood the reason: after Ami had released the Gold Man, known as Tai 26, from the Ice Cage, it quickly recovered its mobility. It then began to run about in a frenzy, trampling many of the spiritual plants Ami had meticulously cared for. This had forced Ami to tie it up and flog it.

Seeing that the Gold Man, Tai 26, was wailing incessantly from the whipping and showed no signs of calming down, Shen Mo found a hillside to land on. He performed a Spell to manifest the Golden Flowery Realm and released both Flower Fairy Ami and the Gold Man.

”Moro Shen, look at this thing...”

”Ami told it you’re a good person and won’t use its flesh and blood to refine treasures, but it refuses to believe me!”

”It runs around like a maniac, trampling hundreds of flowers and spiritual medicines,” Ami said plaintively, landing on Shen Mo’s shoulder.

Even though she was the one who had hung Tai 26 up and whipped it, she looked as if she were the one who had been bullied. Glistening tears welled in her eyes, threatening to fall.

Shen Mo quickly comforted her, saying, ”I believe that with Ami’s skill in cultivating spiritual plants, even if these flowers and herbs are trampled to pieces, they’ll grow back in no time. Don’t be too sad.”

After consoling Flower Fairy Ami, Shen Mo turned his gaze to the Gold Man, still bound by vines. Sword Qi sparked from his fingertips, severing the tough tendrils.

The next instant, Tai 26 scrambled to its feet and bolted into the distance with incredible speed. It could cover more than a mile in a single breath, a pace not inferior to the escaping light of a middle-stage Spirit Sea Realm cultivator.

It was like a moving iron mountain, making the ground rumble with its passage. No wonder it had trampled so many spiritual plants under Ami’s watch!

Shen Mo smiled faintly. He cast a Jingmu An Palm to trap it and then transmitted images into Tai 26’s mind: scenes of him battling evil cultivators and Demons at Golden Light Ridge, and incidentally rescuing a Gold Man.