Proof of Identity

A gust of wind blew, causing the bamboo forest to sway and rustle. A few purple bamboo leaves swirled between the two. Seeing Yue Qianchou's unpleasant expression, the woman in Ziyi seemed to sense his displeasure but couldn't discern his cultivation level. She bowed and said, "This is indeed the South Sea Purple Bamboo Forest. My master is used to being carefree and speaks without restraint. If he has offended you in any way, I apologize on his behalf. I hope you will not take this to heart."

The beautiful woman's apology immediately quelled half of Yue Qianchou's anger. Besides, since this was the Purple Bamboo Forest, the powerful cultivator at the mid Spirit Transformation stage must be there, leaving him with nowhere to vent his anger. Remembering that Bi Changchun had mentioned that Master Mr. Nongzhu had a female disciple, he assumed this woman was the one before him. So he shook his head and said with a wry smile, "Since this is the South Sea Purple Bamboo Forest, you must be Mr. Nongzhu's disciple. The one who spoke earlier was Mr. Nongzhu."

"Indeed, it must have been Elder Bi who mentioned it." The woman in Ziyi smiled faintly. "My name is Ziyi. May I ask your honorable name, sir?"

"Ziyi!" Yue Qianchou looked her up and down, then cupped his hands and said, "Miss, you are indeed as beautiful as your name suggests, dressed in Ziyi. My name is Yue Qianchou."

"Your name is Yue Qianchou?" the Ziyi suddenly asked. Yue Qianchou was taken aback and replied, "Has the woman in Ziyi heard of me before?"

Ziyi shook her head slightly and said calmly, "I seem to have heard my master mention this name before, but that person's reputation in the Cultivation World is not good. It must just be someone with the same name as you, sir. How could Elder Bi accept someone with such a bad reputation as a disciple?" Then she raised her hand to lead the way and said, "My master is currently at 'Zhulang Blessed Land' in Xiaotian. Please follow me, sir." After speaking, she walked gracefully ahead and led the way.

Yue Qianchou followed behind, his face full of suspicion. He muttered to himself, "In the Cultivation World, besides myself, is there anyone else named Yue Qianchou? Damn! Such an unusual name can be shared, and it's not even well-known. No way, I must get rid of this person when I get the chance, lest he ruin my reputation, especially in front of beautiful women."

A narrow path, about a meter wide, winds its way through the bamboo forest, seemingly paved with pebbles, leading deep into the bamboo sea. Walking along the path, the dense bamboo groves on both sides almost completely block out the sun. Occasionally, a sliver of sunlight filters through, dappling the thick layer of bamboo leaves, creating a unique and beautiful scene. Scattered purple bamboo leaves drift down into the bamboo groves on either side as the woman in Ziyi passed by.

Upon first seeing such a strange sight, Yue Qianchou couldn't help but look around. The purple, crisp bamboo was indeed beautiful. Some were slender and graceful, some were tall and upright, and some were like the belly of a Buddha. They must all be rare varieties. He thought he should find an opportunity to transplant some to Utopia.

Just as I was thinking this, we passed through the bamboo forest, and suddenly the view opened up before us. Deep within this sea of bamboo, a secluded courtyard appeared—a purple courtyard, crafted entirely from purple bamboo. Several houses were linked together, interspersed with a few bamboo pavilions, the layout revealing thoughtful consideration and an air of serene elegance. Surrounded by a purple bamboo fence, the gate leading to the path bore a dark purple plaque inscribed with "Zhulang Blessed Land," presumably made from a section of an old purple bamboo split in half.

Within the bamboo courtyard, a faint purple mist swirled, truly giving it the air of a secluded paradise. Some unidentified birds chirped leisurely within, unafraid of people. Suddenly, Yue Qianchou noticed a middle-aged man leaning lazily against the doorway of the main house, his gaze fixed intently on Yue Qianchou, scrutinizing him from head to toe. Yue Qianchou also looked him over; his first impression could only be described with one word. "Handsome." Although he appeared middle-aged, he was undeniably a handsome man.

Tall and slender, neither too thin nor too plump, dressed like a scholar, a dark purple bamboo flute hung from his waist. A turban bound his hair on top of his head, his hair black and glossy. His eyes were bright and dark, and his sword-like eyebrows added to his heroic air. He had a straight nose, thin cheeks, and a slight smile on his thin lips, with two dimples faintly visible on either side of his face. The weathered look on his face was captivating, but it was unfortunately ruined by the languid air he exuded. However, this unique masculine charm was undeniable. Combined with his outstanding appearance, he was a truly handsome older man, a super handsome man, not just pretty, but the kind of handsome that even men couldn't deny.

Yue Qianchou felt a pang of sorrow. How could there be such a handsome man in the world? How could other men survive? A man like this would be a menace, the kind who preys on innocent women and young girls. Women would probably be smitten at first glance. What a menace! A huge menace! And yet, his cultivation level was frighteningly high. It was truly speechless.

The Ziyi raised her hand and pointed, saying, "This is my master." Yue Qianchou stepped forward and bowed respectfully, saying, "Junior Yue Qianchou greets Mr. Nongzhu."

"No need for formalities." Nong Zhu waved her hand casually, a charmingly lazy smile on her face. But then her smile froze, and she asked in surprise, "What did you say your name was again?"

Yue Qianchou scratched his head and bowed again, saying, "This junior's name is Yue Qianchou."

"Your name is Yue Qianchou?" Nong Zhu's eyes lit up. She left the doorframe she was leaning against, walked down a few steps, circled Yue Qianchou twice, and asked, "There's another Yue Qianchou the Cultivation World. He betrayed his sect twice and caused quite a stir. I heard he even cultivated a fire technique, so he's quite Cultivation World. The Cultivation World calls him a 'Scum of the Cultivation World.' I've secretly looked for him a few times, but that kid is elusive. Even I haven't seen him. Do you know him?"

Yue Qianchou's face grew darker and darker as he listened. Yue Qianchou with a bad reputation that Ziyi had mentioned earlier was himself, and the person he wanted to get rid of was himself! Damn it! Was my reputation really that bad that it had spread all the way here? Yue Qianchou replied with a twitching expression, "I'm afraid the Yue Qianchou you're talking about is me."

"You're Yue Qianchou?" Ziyi exclaimed in surprise, her expression turning somewhat disdainful as she looked at Yue Qianchou. Yue Qianchou was speechless. He seemed to have repeated his own name several times already; this sounded rather odd.

"Doesn't seem like it." Nong Zhu shook his head and looked him over carefully. "Doesn't seem like that legendary Scum of the Cultivation World? Besides, Old Man Bi is used to being serious and would never take Yue Qianchou as his disciple. What evidence do you have to prove that you are Yue Qianchou?"

"I..." Yue Qianchou's neck stiffened, but then he deflated, hanging his head dejectedly, and said, "I don't know how to prove it. Does it really matter whether I am Yue Qianchou or not?"

"Of course it's important. I've been searching for Yue Qianchou everywhere, but now he's come to me on his own. Of course I have to verify his authenticity." Nong Zhu stroked her chin and said, "I'll ask you a few questions to test you. Only if you pass them can I prove that you are Yue Qianchou."

"I..." Yue Qianchou was dizzy. How could he have run into such a person? He looked respectable, but was he out of his mind? He wanted to find a place to bang his head against a wall.

Nong Zhu said in a serious tone, "I'm asking you, which master is Old Man Bi to you?"

"The third one," Yue Qianchou replied weakly. The woman in Ziyi beside him frowned, her eyes filled with disgust as she looked at Yue Qianchou.

"Yes, you answered that question correctly." Nong Zhu nodded and then asked, "Which sect did you first join?"

"Qingguang Sect".

"Yes, you got it right. Which sect did you join the second time?" "Fu Xian Island."

"Hmm, not bad. After you joined your second sect, did you do anything to offend your first sect?" "No."

"Wait, something's not right. Didn't you beat up the first sect leader's grandson?" "I did."

"Didn't you kill the first grandson of the sect leader?" "Yes, I did."

"That makes sense. So you must have killed the first sect leader too? I heard there were a bunch of other fellow disciples as well." "I killed them."

"Tsk tsk! Abandoning their sect to join another, then turning around and killing their former sect members, even the former sect leader. Doesn't doing this count as betraying their original sect?"

Yue Qianchou was speechless. Originally, it was Qingguang Sect wronged him first, and he never felt that there was anything wrong with what he did. But after this guy asked him, even he felt like he had done something outrageous, let alone in other people's eyes. Forget it, there's no common ground with this lunatic, and there's no need to explain. He shook his head and said, "No, it doesn't count."

Ziyi frowned again, and simply stopped looking at Yue Qianchou altogether.

Nong Zhu nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining, and said, "Now I believe you are that scum of the cultivation Scum of the Cultivation World. The facts are right in front of you, yet you still dare to lie through your teeth. You truly deserve to be called Scum of the Cultivation World. But wait a minute!" He suddenly asked doubtfully, "Didn't you tell Old Man Bi about what you did? Otherwise, why would he have accepted you as his disciple?"

"Uh..." Yue Qianchou really wanted to grab this guy and beat him up, but he knew that if he started fighting, he would definitely get beaten up in return. So he gritted his teeth and replied, "I have told my master about these things in detail. I have not hidden anything from him."

"That's a bit strange. Could it be that Old Man Bi has changed his ways?" Nong Zhu asked curiously. After thinking for a while, he shook his head, probably still not understanding. He then said, "I heard that you have cultivated a domineering fire technique. Could you show it to me? This is also the best way to verify that you are Yue Qianchou."

Yue Qianchou couldn't take it anymore. Even with such high cultivation, there was no need to torment him like this! He took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, word by word, "Mr. Nongzhu, what exactly do you want? Have I offended you in some way?"

"Hmph!" The woman in Ziyi sneered, "This isn't Shuntian Island. Nobody will be polite to you. They'll just tell you to do what they say and then do it. Don't make yourself uncomfortable."

"It's alright, it's alright, Ziyi, don't talk nonsense." Nong Zhu smoothed things over, saying, "Yue Qianchou, I didn't mean anything by it. I just heard that you used your Core Formation stage cultivation to perform a fire technique and actually scared away Tribulation Transcendence stage. I'm really curious and want to see what's so special about your fire technique. I really don't mean anything by it. Why don't you try it out and see?"

When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head! Yue Qianchou's face was ashen, and he said indifferently, "This junior obeys."

As soon as he finished speaking, with a "whoosh," his entire body erupted in swirling blue flames, turning the surroundings a vibrant blue...

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