The Master Descends the Mountain

The valley master of Mulberry Wood Valley led a group of disciples into the market district of Ling Xu Grotto-heaven. A plump, portly middle-aged man came with them. He wore a kind smile, the fat on his face layered in rolls, while his clothes glittered with jewels and gold. He looked exactly like a nouveau riche from the Mortal World.

The moment Zhong Yan saw him, she sensed that something was wrong.

She recognized the man's attire. It belonged to Treasure Aura Pavilion, which stood right beside Ling Xu Grotto-heaven—a force that specialized in the cauldron trade. This fat man was Treasure Aura Pavilion's chief shopkeeper, a Late Void Return powerhouse.

"Shopkeeper Bao?"

Zhong Yan's expression darkened.

She had originally intended to find out who was backing the people of Mulberry Wood Valley, but she had not expected the other side to come to her of its own accord.

Before Master Ling Xu broke through to the Dao Integration Realm, he had once ruined one of Treasure Aura Pavilion's deals. Zhong Yan had been rescued by Master Ling Xu during that transaction. Later, Master Ling Xu had fought Treasure Aura Pavilion's pavilion master twice, and both times the latter had returned with feathers ruffled. Since then, the two sides had never gotten along particularly well. That was normal enough; factions in the Immortal Cultivation World were bound to have friction. There was no such thing as a force that was one hundred percent harmonious with every other.

Only Rogue Cultivators who possessed nothing had no enemies.

When news of Master Ling Xu's Tribulation Transcendence and advancement to Soul Transformation Cultivator had spread, Treasure Aura Pavilion's pavilion master had been so terrified that he fled afar to the Outer Regions, not even daring to return home. Yet now, he had actually