Safe Return

The female immortal Qing Su merely hummed in acknowledgment, then fell silent.

She had already washed away the bloodstains and restored her original appearance—truly ice-clear jade bones, a heavenly immortal's visage; it was just that her temperament was too indifferent, making her feel difficult to approach.

This long-distance escape was, for Li Ping'an, a kind of extraordinary trial.

After all, not every Light Condensation Realm minor cultivator could command an Origin Immortal to rescue a quasi-Heavenly Immortal...

In any case, this experience left Li Ping'an feeling quite surreal.

If not for Steward Wei Yanzi being by his side, Li Ping'an would most likely have made a Dao salute to this female immortal and then swiftly fled.

--The main reason Li Ping'an stayed to help was actually the Myriad Cloud Return Sect Token in his hand.

This female immortal was also quite interesting.

Her temperament wasn't cold, but rather a kind of indescribable "naivety about the world."

She wouldn't cling to her high cultivation level, nor would she utter any mystifying words;

After taking the Golden Immortal Life-Preserving Pill and being able to execute escape techniques, Qing Su actively became "Wei Yanzi Number Two," always following Li Ping'an's commands.

Even when answering, she would occasionally use simple interjections like "oh" and "mm."

Li Ping'an recalled the sect texts he had read, where a senior once evaluated the Pure Heart Dao's cultivation method:

[Follow Nature and True Self, Pure Heart Selfless.]

Immortal Qing Su was more or less like that.

After brief contact, Li Ping'an quickly realized that Qing Su was currently on the verge of a breakthrough.

What the heavy treasure Qing Su had seized was, she herself didn't say, and Li Ping'an and Wei Yanzi naturally didn't dare to ask too much;

Li Ping'an speculated that the heavy treasure was likely some kind of great tonic, already fully fused with Qing Su's Primordial Spirit, which was the main reason pushing her to break through the Heavenly Immortal barrier.

This was what they called a great opportunity.

Truly, wealth and honor sought in danger.

Whenever Li Ping'an thought that his old man carried great fortune, and that when his father cultivated to True Immortal and descended the mountain as a Heavenly Immortal, he would likely stumble upon some great opportunity every few steps...

Li Ping'an immediately made up his mind.

From now on, whenever his father was going out, no matter where, he would follow!

Qing Su suddenly opened her eyes: "You, do you have any other wishes?"

Li Ping'an: ...

When those words came out of her mouth, why did it always give him the feeling he was being told to settle his final affairs?

Li Ping'an smiled: "My father, Li Dazhi, has taken Ancestor Kongming as his master."

"I've heard of it."

Qing Su's eyes held a hint of confusion:

"I'm asking if you have any wishes, all of which I can help fulfill."

"Senior, what I mean is, I don't lack for cultivation resources."

A trace of dejection crept into Li Ping'an's eyes:

"My only wish now is to take a master, someone who can guide me along the path of cultivation.

"It's just that my father's seniority is too high, and the sect's immortals are also wary of this, so no one has taken me as a disciple yet."

Qing Su nodded lightly, made no further comment, and closed her eyes to concentrate.

Li Ping'an was truly uncertain...

He had laid the groundwork right here; shouldn't this elder sister say something like "I have a few friends" or "I'll recommend you when we return to the mountain"?

Li Ping'an waited for a long while, then decided to shift from hinting to stating outright.

He said in a low voice: "I don't actually hope to take a Heavenly Immortal as my master. If I could get a True Immortal as my teacher, that would be excellent too."

Qing Su opened her eyes again to look at Li Ping'an.

Her face was cold and clear, with no emotional fluctuation in her eyes, as if she had seen through Li Ping'an's thoughts at a single glance.

Li Ping'an praised inwardly...

Qing Su's pressure was several times stronger than Elder Yan Sheng's or Elder Xiao Yue's!

"I need to consider this matter."

Qing Su said softly, then fell silent.

Li Ping'an didn't want to make a fool of himself, so he didn't bring it up again.

Although this great power at the peak of True Immortal, having recovered sixty percent of her strength, was by his side, Li Ping'an's own faint spiritual sense still spread out, carefully observing everything around.

Not far away, at Li Ping'an's suggestion, Wei Yanzi, disguised as a middle-aged female cultivator, hurried over with several figures.

Reinforcements had arrived.

Convinced.

At this moment, Wei Yanzi was utterly convinced by Li Ping'an, this minor cultivator of the Light Condensation Realm!

Wei Yanzi only felt that these past three days and two nights had been more 'thrilling' than his thousand years in the mountains!

Initially, the various arrangements Li Ping'an made took effect one after another, which established Li Ping'an's subsequent 'absolute command authority'.

Those immortals pursuing Qing Su included Heavenly Immortals of the righteous path who hid their identities, evil path experts exuding evil aura, and even great demons transformed into human form.

These experts' tracking methods were diverse—some relied on divine abilities, some on their noses, and some on divination.

And Li Ping'an's countermeasures left Wei Yanzi dazzled.

Using the turbid qi of mortal cities to confuse the Qi cultivators' aura, waving a map back and forth to avoid their ambush circles, setting up fake caves to deceive the strong enemies' sight, pulling out the spherical treasure that had rendered great service, and a myriad of military strategy theories...

What Wei Yanzi found even more incredible was Li Ping'an's unconstrained thinking and meticulous planning.

The three of them had once hidden in a crevice of stone, with several experts searching back and forth a thousand zhang away. Li Ping'an's Dao heart did not waver in the slightest; instead, he firmly and powerfully grasped this Origin Immortal Daoist's arm.

They had also quietly returned to the burned-down Daoist temple, hiding in the cellar beneath the ashes, 'going against the grain' to evade the sharp edge of the immortals, going back and forth to that temple four times.

They had even actively tailed a pursuer—while the enemy searched ahead, they followed closely underground, and by this extremely bold method, they smoothly escaped the heavenly net and earth snare laid by those strong enemies.

These two days seemed thrilling, but in reality, most of the time it was danger with no harm.

Wei Yanzi had not known about the matter of hundreds of Myriad Cloud Sect experts crossing southward;

Because at that time, the three of them had already left the Linzheng Immortal Dynasty and quietly headed for the coast of the Eastern Sea, their destination being a market town near the location where an ancient relic was about to emerge.

All of these action plans were the work of Li Ping'an.

Wei Yanzi sighed inwardly...

Although escaping alive this time relied on his cultivation plus Li Ping'an's schemes;

In reality, he was just a laboring Origin Immortal. If another Origin Immortal Daoist could listen to Li Ping'an's commands, the result would be more or less the same.

After returning to the sect, regardless of whether Ping'an objected, Wei Yanzi would report all his experiences on this trip to the Sect Leader and the various Inner Sect Elders.

How could the sect not value such a disciple?

Arriving before the market town's inn, Wei Yanzi halted his steps, his expression somewhat dazed.

Behind him, Xiao Yue and Yan Sheng, two Outer Sect Elders, simultaneously stepped forward half a pace, while two other elderly women warily looked left and right.

As luck would have it.

Xiao Yue and Yan Sheng, two True Immortals of the Myriad Cloud Sect, had rushed to aid the coast of the Eastern Sea one after another. After several group battles among immortals, both had sustained some injuries and stayed behind in this market town to hold the line along with several other immortals from the sect.

—The ancient relic had attracted many Qi cultivators to try their luck, and a third of this market town was Myriad Cloud Sect property, which couldn't be left unattended.

Xiao Yue frowned and asked, "Is it here?"

"Elder, wait a moment," Wei Yanzi said. "I have an agreement with Ping'an. I need to wait for his signal before entering, or else they will immediately flee far away."

"What?"

Xiao Yue, wearing a veiled bamboo hat, gave a cold snort: "Does he not trust even me?"

Elder Yan Sheng, who had been injured earlier and had not yet recovered, spoke with a somewhat hoarse voice: "Ping'an has always been cautious in his actions. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for him to lead Wei Yanzi and Qing Su to escape alive."

Xiao Yue lifted the curtain of her bamboo hat, her gaze darkly fixed on Elder Yan Sheng.

Xiao Yue sighed: "Elder Yan, you are highly respected and enjoy a pure reputation within the sect. There are not many elders in our Myriad Cloud Sect who want to manage affairs, can manage affairs, and know how to manage affairs. You are one of the best. How could you, how could you stoop to such lengths just to curry favor with Li Dazhi?"

Elder Yan Sheng was caught between laughter and tears: "What would I gain from currying favor with Martial Uncle Dazhi? For the way he always shouts 'Old man, you're slacking off' when he drinks?"

"Then why?"

"Alas," Elder Yan Sheng said, clasping his hands behind his back as he looked up at the tall inn before them. "Elder Xiao, if you have nothing to do normally, try to interact more with Little Friend Ping'an. You might gain quite a bit."

Xiao Yue pursed her lips and frowned. Just as she was about to lower the curtain of her bamboo hat, a clear male voice rang in her ears.

It was Li Ping'an, borrowing Qing Su's immortal power to transmit his voice to several people at once:

"Elder Yan, Elder Xiao, Deacon, we've switched inns. Walk three hundred steps east and you'll find us."

The corner of Wei Yanzi's mouth twitched slightly. He suddenly recalled the scene when Chen Gongmin had left earlier, and a few black lines appeared on his forehead.

This kid really was cautious enough!

Two hours later.

Several white-haired Peak Master-level experts of the Myriad Cloud Sect arrived together to escort Qing Su and Li Ping'an back to the Myriad Cloud Sect's mountain gate. Elder Yan Sheng returned with them, while Elder Xiao Yue had to stay behind in this large market town to oversee matters.

The immortals of the Myriad Cloud Sect, who had spent two days in the mortal world, now returned directly to the Myriad Cloud Sect from the mortal realm.

On the clouds heading back.

Li Ping'an and Wei Yanzi, the weakest in cultivation, hid behind the other immortals. Wei Yanzi used voice transmission while Li Ping'an used lip reading, muttering to each other.

Wei Yanzi's face fell: "I thought it would be a great merit, but I didn't expect to be scolded and punished when we get back."

Li Ping'an was puzzled: "Why?"

"What else could it be," Wei Yanzi sighed. "The sect's immortals mobilized in force to rescue Qing Su, expending so much manpower and resources, only to be led around by the nose by the three of us. Don't the senior seniors in the sect need to save face?"

"Haha."

Li Ping'an couldn't help but laugh out loud.

A few immortals ahead glanced over curiously, and Li Ping'an instantly resumed his gentle and refined demeanor.

Wei Yanzi looked completely deflated, like a frostbitten eggplant: "But it's not all bad—we rescued Immortal Qing Su, so that's a favor owed by Colorful Cloud Peak... By the way, Ping'an, do you know Colorful Cloud Peak's rules?"

"Junior Sister Mu isn't cultivating at Colorful Cloud Peak, right?"

Li Ping'an smiled and said:

"Colorful Cloud Peak only accepts female disciples—at least a thousand female cultivators. Every peak in the sect has to show them some respect, because many immortals across the peaks have dao partners who once trained at Colorful Cloud Peak."

Wei Yanzi blinked, stroked his beard, and murmured: "Then, Ping'an, would you say this Deacon is in the prime of his life right now?"

"Tsk," Li Ping'an sized up Wei Yanzi from head to toe, "Before your ascension, Deacon, you were withered with age, but now you've cultivated to Carefree Origin Immortal, with a long lifespan—like a mortal in their youth."

Wei Yanzi transmitted his voice in a mutter: "So, what do you think about me finding a dao partner, cultivating together, and pursuing the Great Dao side by side?"

"Deacon, are you... having your first taste of romance?"

"Bah!"

Wei Yanzi's old face flushed, and he transmitted:

"The mortal world is full of emotional entanglements; the dao heart finds it hard to stay calm. This trip to the mortal realm with you has stirred my dao heart involuntarily. I suspect it's my cultivation tribulation arriving—I need to pass through this love tribulation to remain unscathed."

Li Ping'an calmly glanced at the sky.

As expected of an Origin Immortal daoist—he could make finding a wife sound so refreshingly refined!

Li Ping'an said: "I'll have Junior Sister Mu ask around when we get back, see if there's an immortal from Colorful Cloud Peak who matches your conditions."

Wei Yanzi smiled: "Much obliged, much obliged. Don't make the cultivation level too high—it's fine if they haven't become an immortal yet. True Unity Realm would do. Age shouldn't be too young or too old. Though we Qi cultivators believe the face reflects the heart, it'd be best if they're within three to four hundred, or five to six hundred years of me."

"Then why don't you tell Junior Sister Mu yourself?"

"How could I? To Mu Ningning, I'm a senior. A senior has to act like one!"

"Fine, fine," Li Ping'an laughed as he took out a jade talisman, "I'll ask for you. Any other conditions, just say the word."

Wei Yanzi squinted and chuckled, utterly pleased with himself.

Neither of them paid any mind to the scolding they'd face upon returning to the sect.

In the underground secret chamber of the Myriad Cloud Sect's outpost at the East Sea Market Town.

Xiao Yue reclined sideways on a soft couch, her thin gauze dress draping over her fiery figure. Her beautiful face seemed troubled, as if she were wrestling with some difficulty, her mind churning.

In her arms lay a spirit cat with pure white fur, her slender fingers gently stroking its back, lulling it into closing its eyes in comfort.

Beside her stood several strikingly beautiful young female cultivators, silent and barely daring to breathe.

"Ling'er?"

Xiao Yue suddenly called out.

Wen Ling'er quickly stepped forward, lowering her head and bowing: "Ling'er is here."

"How long have you been cultivating with me, your master?"

"Forty-two years," Wen Ling'er said softly, "and three months."

Xiao Yue asked again: "How has your master treated you?"

"Extremely well," Wen Ling'er's dao heart trembled slightly, "If not for you, Master, rescuing Ling'er's family from the cage of the mortal world, our family would have been ruined. I could never have reached the position I have today."

Xiao Yue nodded slightly, thought for a moment longer, then let out a soft sigh.

Wen Ling'er quickly said: "Master, if you have any troubling matters, please tell your disciple. I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

"This time, I went to make trouble for Li Ping'an on orders from Vice Sect Master Mo Yi within the sect."

Xiao Yue said calmly:

"Though I'm not afraid of the Vice Sect Master's censure, in the end, I failed to get the job done, and I can't explain myself to those seniors."

Wen Ling'er couldn't help but ask: "Master, if I may be so bold, why would the Vice Sect Master want to trouble a disciple at the Light Condensation Realm?"

"Li Ping'an's father, Li Dazhi, is a disciple of the Myriad Cloud Sect's Founding Ancestor.

"The current Sect Master has held the position for ten thousand years and has already reached the Heavenly Immortal Ninth Heaven. He's on the verge of an opportunity to break through to Golden Immortal, and will soon step down to focus on seclusion for cultivation."

Xiao Yue smiled:

"I don't know why they all covet the Sect Master's seat—I suppose men love fighting over such power and fame.

"Being Sect Master isn't just exhausting and troublesome; when disciples are bullied, you have to step forward and defend them... Anyway, let's not dwell on that.

"Ling'er, what do you think—are Li Dazhi's chances of becoming Sect Master high?"

"This... Ling'er wouldn't know."

"Of course you wouldn't," Xiao Yue stretched her willow-like waist, slowly sat up, and gently beckoned to Wen Ling'er. "Come, let your master take a good look at you."

Wen Ling'er lowered her head and stepped forward. Xiao Yue took her soft hands and gently rubbed them.

"I'm sending you to cultivate at our Myriad Cloud Sect's main mountain gate. Are you willing?"

Wen Ling'er was also stunned.

Myriad Cloud Sect, Back Mountain of the Main Peak.

The moment the acting Sect Master's transmission fell, a hint of a smile crept onto Daoist Master Kongming's lips.

So it was little Ping'an who saved Qing Su?

And he had toyed with all the immortals chasing Qing Su, as well as those sent by the sect to rescue her, spinning them around in confusion?

But now, what mattered was...

"Dazhi, Ping'an has returned."

Within the formation ahead, Li Dazhi, who had been frowning slightly all along, felt his Dao Body tremble gently. His brow slowly relaxed, the corners of his mouth lifting into a faint smile, and the lotus behind him instantly sharpened into clarity.

Li Dazhi seemed to hear Li Ping'an's laughter.

A trace of Immortal Light surged from around him, transforming into blossoms of Green Lotus.

A beam of five-colored Rosy Clouds rose from his forehead, shining toward the heavens.

Daoist Master Kongming swept his sleeve to summon boundless spiritual energy, then flicked his finger to disperse the nascent heavenly phenomenon before it could fully form, concealing the scene of Ascension taking place here.