Could Something Be Wrong with This Mountain Peak?

Golden Rainbow Sword Sect Zong Market.

Night had swallowed up all the daytime hustle and bustle.

The street was sparsely lit, and occasionally a few cultivators would hurry by, their footsteps sounding particularly clear on the stone pavement.

In a cave abode near the core area of the market, Li Ao sat cross-legged on a futon, his body surrounded by a slow flow of Spiritual Qi.

Yesterday, the young master asked him to wait outside the sect's market, so he simply rented cave abode dwelling here to stay.

He was, after all, a Golden Core True Person, and had some savings, so renting a cave abode wasn't a problem for him.

Now that he's the young master's servant, his life is finally safe.

But even though Li Ao is over four hundred years old, he still has some ambition!

What is the young master's background?

Nascent Soul True Lord serving as a servant, and the Sect Master True Lord of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect personally receiving him!

If he can accomplish a few impressive feats, the young master might be pleased and reward him with something.

Putting everything else aside, I'd be happy with any longevity pills or spiritual items that can boost cultivation!

Therefore, Li Ao spent the entire day wandering around the market.

He deliberately concealed his cultivation level, blended into the crowd, and visited all the crowded restaurants and teahouses.

In his view, since the young master had not assigned any specific tasks, he should take the initiative to gather some information.

What if something comes in handy?

Unfortunately, by the end of the day, most of the information they gathered was about the previous day.

Mysterious young master arrives in a flying boat, the True Lord leader personally greets him, Li Household's Golden Core is taken as a servant, and so on.

No wonder... Such a big event would be major news even in a sect of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect's caliber, enough to keep the people in the market talking for days.

Apart from that, it's just some low-brow news.

Which outer disciple stumbled upon fortuitous opportunity in the wilderness and gained some windfall wealth? Which Rogue Cultivator was caught red-handed selling fake pills in the market? Or which sect disciple was fighting with some Evil Cultivator outside?

These trivial matters are of no use to him, a Golden Core True Person, let alone to someone like the young master.

So Li Ao didn't report a single one to his superiors.

As evening fell and the market became less crowded, Li Ao returned to his cave abode to cultivate.

Of course, he couldn't possibly go into seclusion.

The young master might call for him at any moment, so he had to stay Divine Sense.

He simply sat cross-legged in meditation, performing some of the most basic daily practices.

Just as the Cultivation Method was being activated, his Sea of Consciousness rippled slightly.

Li Ao immediately stopped practicing and opened his eyes.

The moonstone light inside the cave abode was soft and serene, casting a faint milky white glow on the walls.

He quickly pulled out the Sound Transmission Jade Token from his Storage Bag and probed it with his Divine Sense.

Lu Yang's voice entered his Sea of Consciousness.

As always, he was gentle and composed, speaking at a slow pace.

Upon hearing this news, Li Ao froze on the prayer mat.

He even wondered if he had misdirected his energy during cultivation and was hallucinating.

How many Spirit Stones?!

Four hundred million???

Even if the unit is Low-Grade Spirit Stones, four hundred million is still an extremely exaggerated number!

You should know that over the years, the total amount of everything in Li Ao's Storage Bag is less than two million!

Golden Core True Person do indeed have far more ways to earn Spirit Stones than Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement cultivators, but their expenses are also astonishingly high.

Cultivation Method Law Technique require Spirit Stones, elixirs and magical Law Artifacts require Spirit Stones, renting out cave abode requires Spirit Stones, and making friends and socializing also requires Spirit Stones.

Over the course of a year, the amount that can be saved is actually quite limited.

Unless they are Golden Core cultivators who possess skills such as alchemy and artifact crafting, most Golden Core cultivators are not well-off.

Li Ao is already in a relatively good situation, after all, he has the backing of the Li Household, so some expenses can be avoided.

Those rogue Golden Core Rogue Cultivator fared worse off, by the time their lifespan ended, would only have a few hundred thousand in their Storage Bags as inheritance.

And what about the young master?

He's being asked to buy something worth over 400 million Low-Grade Spirit Stones right off the bat?

Even Nascent Soul True Lord probably couldn't produce that many Spirit Stones, right?

Li Ao's eyes were filled with shock. Having lived for over four hundred years, this was truly an eye-opening experience for him.

Shocked as he was, he quickly recovered, and his enthusiasm burned even brighter.

What if he really performs some great service? If the young master is pleased, he might reward him with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of Low-Grade Spirit Stones.

For the young master, it's nothing more than a drop in the ocean.

I'm so happy!

He snapped out of his daze and quickly replied telepathically, "Yes, young master!"

After giving Li Ao his orders, Lu Yang glanced at Lin Ying's message again.

My senior Senior Sister Lin had already communicated with Lu Yang telepathically that afternoon.

At that time, he was cultivating with Jiang Shiqing...

Lin Ying said she needed to tidy up the things at the outer gate today, and since she hadn't seen Qin Nanyue for several days, the two of them would stay together tonight and whisper some secrets between girls.

Lu Yang couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Senior Sister Lin and Senior Sister Qin have such a good relationship."

Then Lu Yang suddenly remembered Qin Nanyue's sudden surge in favorability towards him, and his expression slowly became somewhat strange.

I haven't had any contact with Senior Sister Qin since I came back, but Senior Sister Lin has.

Could it be that Senior Sister Lin said something to Qin Nanyue that caused their favorability rating to skyrocket?

Holy crap?!

Lu Yang was somewhat shocked for a moment.

What exactly did my dao companion do?

It actually had a miraculous effect on helping him pick up girls?!

Lu Yang couldn't understand it, but he was deeply shocked.

When Lu Yang received Lin Ying's telepathic message, he let Jiang Shiqing do as she pleased, and then he sent a telepathic message back to Lin Ying.

As for the content, he naturally wouldn't stop her from whispering to Qin Nanyue; he just teased her a bit and casually asked her to come over as soon as possible.

After all, there's a side quest called "Beauty Cultivation Plan" to do later.

Keep in mind that side quests reward Universal Experience!

This can actually raise your Spirit Root level!

It was extremely precious to Lu Yang.

Two days ago Lu Yang and Lin Ying, having been apart for so long, were still a bit shameless and unrestrained.

Now that we're back at the sect, it's time to get down to business.

Lin Ying replied quickly, saying she would be back first thing tomorrow morning.

Lu Yang, recalling his conversation with Lin Ying, smiled slightly. Then, he began sending a telepathic message to a communication mark. "Sect True Lord, my maid wishes to join the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect. Is that permissible?"

Jiang Shiqing doesn't have a sect affiliation, which makes it inconvenient for her to do things within the sect. Yesterday, she even had to rely on Fang Jin's help to buy Spirit Cuisine.

Only after joining the sect and obtaining the token can I better serve him in the future.

Lu Yang waited a while before Qi Yunshu's voice rang out, gentle yet with a touch of authority. "Since she's Young Master Young Master Lu's maid, there's naturally no problem. I'll have someone contact you tomorrow and give her the sect's inner disciple status, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

I never expected to get the status of inner disciple so easily!

It was even better than he had expected!

The authority of inner disciple is already quite high; if Jiang Shiqing is merely running errands for him, this status is more than sufficient.

"Then thank you very much, True Lord."

"It's nothing. Don't contact me about these kinds of small things anymore; just contact the person who's coming to see you tomorrow."

Lu Yang smiled and said, "No problem."

That's true, the sect True Lord is at least Nascent Soul Realm cultivator.

He's usually in seclusion for cultivation, so he's probably very busy.

It's really inconvenient for me to bother him so often over trivial matters.

After putting away the token, Lu Yang returned to his cave abode, went to the cultivation room, and sat cross-legged on the futon.

No way.

Jiang Shiqing couldn't hold on any longer; he couldn't force her.

He can only cultivate on his own slowly.

Lu Yang closed his eyes, placed his ten fingers in a mudra on his knees, and slowly released the spiritual mist around him.

Nothing more was said that night.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, a thin line of pale white appeared on the eastern horizon.

A beam of sword light shot from the distant horizon at great speed, leaving a faint white trail in the morning sky.

The air was cleaved by the sword light, producing a very low hum.

The sword light flew straight to the front of the nameless mountain peak, then suddenly stopped, revealing the figure within.

She was a middle-aged, beautiful woman wearing the robes of an elder of the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect.

The collar and cuffs of the robe were embroidered with silver cloud patterns, which shimmered with a thin sheen in the morning light.

She paused in mid-air, looking down at the mountains below, her brows furrowing slightly, a hint of confusion appearing in her eyes.

That's strange...

Why is there so much fog on this mountain?

She subconsciously turned her head to look at the other mountain peaks on both sides.

On those mountain peaks, the morning light was spreading down from the mountain tops, the mountains were lush and green, and the pines and rocks were clearly visible.

The Spirit Plants on the mountainside are lush and verdant, their branches and leaves swaying gently in the morning breeze.

The mountain peak where Young Master Lu was located was shrouded in a white mist.

Thick, spiritual mist enveloped the mountain from its summit to its base, veiling the entire mountain's outline in a light veil, obscuring even the outlines of the cave abode within its peaks.

This made the beautiful woman's heart skip a beat.

Could there be something wrong with this mountain peak?

Just two days ago, the True Lord personally bestowed this peak upon the mysterious Young Master Lu. If something happens only two days later, what will Young Master Lu think?

Does he think the Golden Rainbow Sword Sect deliberately tried to fool him by presenting him with a problematic mountain peak?

The moment this thought crossed her mind, a fine layer of sweat beaded on the beautiful woman's forehead.

Without a second thought, she took a deep breath, solemnly bowed to the mountain peaks below, and spoke in a respectful and clear voice:

"Elder Mo Xianyun of the Affairs Hall, acting on the orders of the Sect True Lord, has come to request a Young Master Lu Yang!"