I Really Wasn't Destined to Take a Master

Chen Ganliu did not expose her lie, but asked, "What's the excitement at the Chen Household?"

The girl said with a giggle, "Chen Family Village has been plagued by a zombie lately. This family is the wealthiest, so they paid a bunch of monks and Daoists to come vanquish demons and evil. Didn't you come along with your master to join in the fun?"

Chen Ganliu had just broken through to Qi Refining Layer One. His true qi still could not be controlled at will or concealed without a trace. The girl knew that among the people invited by the Chen Household, only Spiritual Gate had any cultivation, and seeing that he was no ordinary mortal, she mistakenly assumed he was a disciple of a Spiritual Gate Daoist.

The girl was lively by nature, but her mouth was full of utter nonsense. Eight or nine out of ten things she said were lies.

Reminded by the girl, Chen Ganliu hazily recalled that there had indeed been such an incident.

In his previous life, after transmigrating here, he had only wanted to study and make a name for himself so he could escape his predicament as quickly as possible. After plagiarizing seven or eight poems in succession, his reputation had soared. Before even a month had passed, a great Confucian scholar had taken notice of him, personally come to his door, and brought him to another region to study.

This incident had happened several years after he left his homeland, so he had happened to miss this part of the story.

By his calculations, the monks and Daoists invited by his father must have had some ability and eliminated the zombie. Otherwise, there probably would not have been a living soul left in his homeland by now.

After all, he had lived three lifetimes and possessed an immeasurable breadth of miscellaneous learning. He exchanged a few words with her and made the girl laugh sweetly.

But Chen Ganliu felt rather hesitant about being mistaken for a disciple of a Spiritual Gate Daoist. He did not know how to explain it.

He had lived three lifetimes and cultivated in two of them, so he could not help being cautious. He had not explained earlier, and it would be awkward to explain now without a reason.

The girl's body suddenly stiffened. She glanced at the courtyard and said, "Your master sensed me. I have to go."

Chen Ganliu could not help asking, "Will we still be able to meet again?"

The girl had intended to leave, and her petite figure was already poised to go. At his words, she looked back and smiled. "I'm a fox immortal, you know. Aren't you afraid I'll suck out your vital essence?"

"Then go! There's no need for us to meet again."

Chen Ganliu blurted out, "Leaning idly against the railing, the days grow long; the short flute, heartless, rends my sorrow. If only my body were light as a swallow, I could ride the wind with ease to your side."

The girl's body paused slightly. Then she soared into the air. While suspended high above, she stole a glance back, mulling over those lines of poetry. She could not help thinking to herself, He is quite a talented young man.

After a few rises and falls, her figure vanished without a trace.

Chen Ganliu watched the girl disappear, regret welling in his heart. He thought, That girl must be a cultivator. I wonder if she might take me as her disciple?

He was wondering whether the poem he had just plagiarized had left enough of an impression on her and how he should explain his identity the next time they met, when he saw a young Daoist approaching with a horsetail whisk in hand. His face was as handsome as jade, and he was elegant and scholarly. Seeing Chen Ganliu in the tree, he asked with a smile, "Young brother, have you seen anyone pass by?"

Chen Ganliu replied, "I haven't seen anyone pass by."

"This is already a courtyard wall, not a road. Where would anyone pass by?"

The young Daoist smiled and thought, I sensed true qi erupting in this direction. It should have been a fellow cultivator passing by, but I wonder how a trace of his aura leaked out.

Still, this child is an ordinary person. It is only natural that he noticed nothing.

Chen Ganliu's heart suddenly stirred. He thought, That's right. The girl just said this young Daoist sensed her. Doesn't that mean he must have considerable cultivation?

If I ask him to take me as his disciple, wouldn't entering the Dao Path be much easier?

In his previous life, he had never found a good master. In this life, whenever he encountered a cultivator, he wanted to seize the opportunity. Since the girl had no such fate with him, this Daoist would do as well. He immediately jumped down to the ground with all his might and called out, "Daoist Priest, you must be an immortal. Would you be willing to take me as your disciple?"

The young Daoist smiled faintly and said, "I have not yet left my master's tutelage, so I cannot take disciples."

He did not want to entangle himself with this child and turned to leave.

Chen Ganliu was deeply disappointed. He stood forlornly for a long while and thought, I really wasn't destined to take a master.

The girl who had snatched Chen Ganliu's steamed bun stood atop a grave mound, her brows slightly furrowed. She muttered to herself, "Someone cultivated an Evil Cultivator technique and stirred up a zombie. I should have taken action, but since Spiritual Gate of the He Shan Sect has come, I'll let him put in some effort instead."

"Hee-hee, that disciple of Spiritual Gate is rather interesting, and quite clever too. What a pity he already has a master. Otherwise, I would have taken him back to serve as a mountain-guarding page."

The girl lightly stamped her foot. The grave mound did not react in the slightest. She did not care, merely patted her little hands, and with a sway of her body, vanished in an instant.

After half an incense stick's time, a muffled groan suddenly came from within the grave. The earth heaved, and a black-robed Daoist crawled out. His chest and abdomen were caved in, his hair hung loose, and his face was deathly pale. His eyes bulged with rage, flames of fury burning within them. But his injuries were too severe. No sooner had he emerged than he opened his mouth several times to curse, only to spray great mouthfuls of blood, unable to force out even a complete sound.

Daoist Spiritual Gate returned to the front courtyard and saw Master Chen already directing people to pile up dozens of bundles of firewood. He no longer thought about what had just happened and shouted, "This zombie cannot move during the day, but at night it will come out to eat people. Once I set the fire and burn this demon, the disaster threatening Chen Family Village will be averted."

Chen Ganliu's father's forehead was covered in sweat, and he secretly rejoiced as well. This Daoist Spiritual Gate truly had some ability. None of the other monks and Daoists had been of any use. After going out and walking around for a few rounds today, he had found the grave where the zombie was buried. Once they dug down, they had indeed unearthed a big one.

The zombie had still struggled at the time, but Spiritual Gate had casually struck it with a Lightning Fire, leaving it rigid and motionless. Only then had he ordered people to carry the zombie back, intending to burn the evil creature to ashes in front of every villager in Chen Family Village.

Spiritual Gate could tell that this zombie possessed extremely deep cultivation. It should have been an evil creature produced by someone cultivating an evil art and refining it through sacrifice, rather than something born naturally. He had not placed much hope in that Lightning Fire. He had only wanted to blast it once before using a protective magical treasure. Unexpectedly, the zombie had been unable to withstand the blow and had gone rigid after a single Lightning Fire. He knew that his attainments in thunder techniques were too shallow to possibly have blasted such a zombie into immobility, and he was quite suspicious. But since matters had come this far, he could only go with the flow.

Hearing that the zombie was about to be burned, the villagers watching the spectacle grew even more excited.

Daoist Spiritual Gate casually used a fire talisman to ignite the woodpile, earning another round of astonished exclamations from the villagers.

The firewood kindled by the talisman burned hotter and hotter. Flames also arose on the zombie's body, scorching it and releasing a foul, unbearable stench.

Suddenly, a roar rang out. The zombie, which had already been set ablaze, began convulsing all over. Its body curled up like soft dough, shuddering without pause. It was eerie beyond description, as though it wanted to leap up and wreak death and destruction, provoking cries of alarm from the onlookers as they scattered in all directions.

The villagers ran some distance away, but when they saw that the zombie seemed utterly unable to rise, their courage returned. Someone picked up a branch and even wanted to go poke it a couple of times.

Spiritual Gate frowned slightly but did not stop the villagers. He secretly thought, This zombie suddenly becoming agitated is probably because the Evil Cultivator who refined it is driving it with a secret technique.

This Evil Cultivator refined the zombie and then allowed it to harm people in Chen Family Village. He certainly would not be willing to abandon it just like this. Most likely, he will make a move.

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I'll work hard today as well...

The new book Mortal Immortal is quite good too...