What Should I Do If I'm Too Popular?

"Junior Brother Lu, I never expected you to be hiding your cultivation, you rascal. You had us worrying for nothing."

As soon as Lu Changsheng left the arena, Zhao Wuyan came over to greet him.

Lu Changsheng had earned his approval.

"Haha, I thought Mount Shu was about to lose its place at the top for the time being."

"If not for Junior Brother Lu, Ask Immortal Pavilion would have come back from one loss to beat Mount Shu two to one."

"Junior Brother Lu will surely be entrusted with important duties by the sect from now on."

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Lu."

The Mount Shu elders all offered Lu Changsheng their congratulations.

"I merely had a sudden enlightenment after a hundred years in seclusion."

Lu Changsheng returned their greetings modestly.

He had an explanation for the rapid advance of his cultivation.

For one thing, Lu Changsheng's predecessor had spent a hundred years in seclusion. During that time, no one knew what had happened to Lu Changsheng, who had kept to himself.

For another, sudden enlightenment was possible in this world. Hearing the Dao in the morning and becoming an immortal by evening was not impossible. Lu Changsheng's rapid advance in cultivation could be explained entirely by sudden enlightenment.

"Sudden enlightenment is a fortuitous opportunity that the vast majority never experience. Junior Brother Lu, you are truly fortunate to have had such an encounter."

Song Wuchuan sighed with feeling.

The elders all nodded in agreement.

Most of the elders present had never experienced sudden enlightenment. They could only rely on diligent cultivation to improve step by step.

"Eldest Senior Brother, I offended the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion. You'll back me up, won't you?"

What worried Lu Changsheng most was that the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion would take revenge afterward.

With his current cultivation, Lu Changsheng naturally could not yet contend with the six sect leaders, who had lived for thousands of years.

Li Changye said meaningfully, "Although the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion is at odds with our sect leader, that's only on the surface... In truth, Ask Immortal Pavilion is the sect that cooperates most closely with Mount Shu. So you needn't worry about her taking revenge..."

Lu Changsheng was completely reassured.

So the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion was a hopeless tsundere.

No wonder Ask Immortal Pavilion had asked Mount Shu to send people on the Desolate Province mission last time.

"The Taiqing Wuji Art is our sect's foundational Cultivation Method, created by the Dao Ancestor of Mount Shu. Changsheng, when did you learn it?"

Taiyuan True Person's voice rang in Lu Changsheng's ears, startling him.

The Taiqing Wuji Art was actually a Cultivation Method created by the Dao Ancestor of Mount Shu!

Lu Changsheng hesitated only briefly before answering, "While this disciple was in seclusion, the Dao Ancestor appeared in my dream and taught me the Taiqing Wuji Art."

"It seems you truly have an immortal affinity with Mount Shu."

Taiyuan True Person had no doubts and asked no further questions.

Lu Changsheng had cultivated in Mount Shu all this time. Aside from the Dao Ancestor of Mount Shu appearing in his dream, how else could he have learned the Taiqing Wuji Art?

The Dao Ancestor of Mount Shu, the perfected immortal Taiqing, was said to have attained the Dao and become an immortal hundreds of thousands of years ago. He had also founded Mount Shu and served as its first sect leader. Mount Shu's records contained accounts of the Dao Ancestor appearing in dreams.

Lu Changsheng had come across similar legends while reading Mount Shu's records, so he had picked one up and put it to use.

"Go and rest for now. The other sect leaders and I must discuss how to deal with the calamity."

"Yes."

Li Changye, Song Wuchuan, Zhao Wuyan, Lu Changsheng, and the other Mount Shu elders went to the lodgings Ask Immortal Pavilion had prepared for them, leaving only the six sect leaders behind.

"This calamity is not merely a feud between the Wilderness Tribe and the Demon Race. The grudges from back then must also be settled."

Taiyuan True Person spoke slowly after the elders had left.

Lu Changsheng followed the Mount Shu elders to their temporary lodgings.

Birds sang and flowers filled the air with fragrance on Misty Peak, while clouds and mist wreathed the mountain like an immortal paradise on earth. Its Spiritual Qi was as abundant as Mount Shu's.

The Six Great Orthodox Sects had all chosen Spirit Veins of Heaven and Earth as the sites on which to found their sects. They were truly blessed paradises.

Lu Changsheng immediately sat down to cultivate, absorbing the insights he had gained from fighting Xia Ningxue.

Lu Changsheng had spent a long time cultivating in seclusion on Mount Shu and had little practical combat experience. A match with a peerless genius like Xia Ningxue was a rare opportunity, and he had benefited greatly.

Before he knew it, night had fallen by the time Lu Changsheng opened his eyes.

Outside, however, it was anything but quiet.

Lu Changsheng extended his Divine Sense to perceive what was happening outside.

A group of Ask Immortal Pavilion elders and disciples had gathered outside the houses where the Mount Shu party was staying, chattering nonstop.

Several elders, including Zhao Wuyan, had stopped them.

Could they have come to cause trouble for him and stand up for Xia Ningxue?

Lu Changsheng used the Ten-Thousand-Mile Tracking Technique, separating a wisp of Spiritual Qi to listen in on what the Ask Immortal Pavilion elders were saying.

"Ahem. Although I, Zhao Wuyan, am a prominent figure who made my name long ago—and while I wouldn't dare claim that the Demon Sect elders who have died under my Wind-Chasing Sword number in the double digits, there have been at least seven or eight—and I am certainly very charming, propriety must be observed between men and women. Fairies, if word got out that you visited the lodgings of us Mount Shu elders at night, it would inevitably stir up some gossip and damage the reputations of both Mount Shu and Ask Immortal Pavilion..."

Facing the female elders and disciples of Ask Immortal Pavilion, Zhao Wuyan spoke at length.

Zhao Wuyan had cultivated on Mount Shu for three hundred and twenty years, descended the mountain many times for training, and was one of Taiyuan True Person's personal disciples. He was somewhat well-known among the Six Great Orthodox Sects, so these female elders and disciples of Ask Immortal Pavilion had most likely been drawn here by his charm.

"Elder Zhao, we didn't come to see you."

"That's right. We came to visit Elder Lu."

"Elder Lu, the one who sparred with our Saintess during the day~"

The female elders and disciples of Ask Immortal Pavilion spoke in sweet voices, chattering like orioles and swallows.

Ask Immortal Pavilion had the most female disciples of the Six Great Orthodox Sects.

Boundless Temple went without saying. It was full of Senior Buddhist Monks and accepted no female disciples.

The Martial Dao Alliance was a group of body-refinement fanatics. Although it had female disciples, there were not many.

The Artifact Refinement Sect was similar to the Martial Dao Alliance.

Mount Shu and Crouching Dragon Temple taught all without distinction, and their male and female disciples were roughly equal in number.

Because every Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion had been a woman, yin flourished while yang declined.

So this group of female elders and disciples from Ask Immortal Pavilion had come to see him?

Could they be dissatisfied with the day's outcome?

When Zhao Wuyan heard that the fairies had not come to see him, his old face immediately turned red with embarrassment. "Since you've come to see Junior Brother Lu, I have even more reason not to let you in. The match today was fair and just, and our Junior Brother Lu was the better fighter. You can't refuse to accept that and come looking for trouble with him again."

Zhao Wuyan really was a good senior brother!

Watching in secret, Lu Changsheng was deeply moved.

"Elder Zhao, who said we came to cause trouble for Elder Lu?"

"We want to discuss questions about cultivation with Elder Lu~ Please don't block the way, Elder Zhao~"

"Elder Lu is so handsome~ And his cultivation is so high~ He can surely point us through the maze~"

"Pfft!"

Zhao Wuyan nearly spat out a mouthful of old blood.

They had come here to discuss the Dao in the middle of the night?

More likely, these female elders and disciples of Ask Immortal Pavilion had taken a fancy to Junior Brother Lu during the day's match.

Junior Brother Lu had cultivated for more than two hundred years. For a Dao Palace Realm cultivator with a lifespan of a thousand years, he really was young and promising—the equivalent of a mortal in his twenties.

"Well... that depends on what Junior Brother Lu wants. I'll go in and ask him."

Zhao Wuyan had no choice but to go inside and tell Lu Changsheng about it.

Lu Changsheng, who had been watching in secret, already knew the whole story. He said calmly, "Senior Brother Zhao, please be the villain and turn them away."

Lu Changsheng had no interest in the female elders and disciples outside, so he had Zhao Wuyan send them away.

"Junior Brother Lu, a man with a full belly truly doesn't know a hungry man's hunger. The female elders of Ask Immortal Pavilion are beauties who could topple cities and kingdoms. They've always been the best choices for dao companions."

Zhao Wuyan was intensely envious, but the many female elders and disciples of Ask Immortal Pavilion had set their hearts on Lu Changsheng, who had stolen the spotlight at the Six Paths Assembly, not Zhao Wuyan.

"Junior Brother Lu is cultivating in seclusion. Fairies, please go back."

"Elder Lu really is diligent. No wonder his cultivation is so high."

"Sisters, let's go back."

"We'll come again tomorrow~"

The fairies of Ask Immortal Pavilion did not press the matter and left.

It seemed being too popular wasn't necessarily a good thing either.

Lu Changsheng shook his head helplessly.

Come to think of it, he wondered how Xia Ningxue was doing after suffering the backlash from the Supreme Forgetting Emotions Art.

With the Pavilion Master of Ask Immortal Pavilion there, Xia Ningxue probably would not be left with any hidden trouble because of it.

The night had grown late, and Lian was sleeping soundly in the room next door. Even in her sleep, her Martial King Divine Physique continued to devour the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi of Misty Peak.

Having gained some insight, Lu Changsheng left the house and went for a walk in a nearby bamboo grove.

Moonlight lay like frost, and bamboo shadows swayed.

Suddenly, Lu Changsheng faintly heard the soft sound of someone reading several hundred paces away.

[Ding, the system has searched for suitable disciple candidates for you... One has been found.]