The Primordial World.
Kongtong Mountain was a beautiful place, rich in spiritual energy—a rare blessed land.
In Yuanyang Cave lived an enlightened immortal named Grand Master Lingbao, a disciple of the Saint Venerable Primordial and one of the Twelve Golden Immortals of Chan Sect.
If True Person Huang Long was a "Four-Nothing Immortal," then Grand Master Lingbao was a "Three-Nothing Immortal."
He had no disciples and no achievements, just like Huang Long, but he was even more forgettable.
During the entire Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, he only played the tiniest role when he suggested borrowing the Wind-Calming Pearl from his friend True Person Du'e to break the Ten Ultimate Formations.
True Person Huang Long might have been the weakest, but at least he charged into every battle, hollering at the top of his lungs.
Though he lost every fight, he certainly made himself memorable.
That was why he ranked ahead of True Person Huang Long on Ye Changqing's list.
After all, how could someone called Grand Master Lingbao not have one or two spiritual treasures?
Boom!
A deafening crash came from Yuanyang Cave on Kongtong Mountain, startling every living creature on the mountain.
They stared at the source in disbelief and terror.
Someone was forcibly breaking the protective formation around Yuanyang Cave!
In their eyes, Grand Master Lingbao was a Saint's disciple, an exalted figure. Who could be bold enough to provoke him?
Curiosity urged them to take a look, but their instincts warned that going there would cost them their lives.
Torn between curiosity and survival, they chose the latter.
Still, a tiny handful of bold creatures entertained some ulterior motives.
They had seen Grand Master Lingbao rise into the clouds some time ago, and he hadn't returned. He must have gone to Kunlun Mountain's Jade Void Palace to listen to the Saint's lecture.
This was an opportunity that came once in a lifetime.
If they followed the group and picked up a few scraps, they could still gain quite a lot.
The bold grew fat while the timid starved. That was one of the laws of the Primordial World.
"Can you hurry up?"
"Look at you, sneaking around like that. You're clearly not cut out to be bad guys."
Watching San Xiao, Zhao Gongming, and the Ten Heavenly Lords skulk around like a pack of stray dogs made Daoist Duobao's blood boil.
They had lived for so long, yet this was their first time doing something like this. They were practically giddy with excitement.
"This is also a chance to temper our Dao hearts... Ah!"
Zhao Gongming had just begun to speak with profound solemnity when Daoist Duobao kicked him in the rear.
He slammed into the stone gate of Yuanyang Cave, shattering it to pieces.
"Get to work already!"
Daoist Duobao gritted his teeth in frustration. These fools were utterly hopeless. No wonder Senior Disciple Brother had sent him to lead them and give them a little training.
As soon as the stone gate gave way, more than a dozen people cheered and rushed into Yuanyang Cave.
"Take everything you can carry, and don't leave anything behind that you can't."
"Our Jie Cult's motto is: leave no bird behind when a bird flies by, no beast behind when a beast departs—dig three feet down and leave not a blade of grass!"
After giving the order, Daoist Duobao got to work.
Yuanyang Cave held plenty of spirit herbs and immortal plants cultivated by Grand Master Lingbao, along with many materials for refining spiritual treasures.
They took everything they could get their hands on.
In the alchemy room, a furnace steamed, filling the room with the fragrance of immortal pills.
Zhao Gongming not only took the furnace, but also drew in a deep breath, making sure not to leave so much as a trace of that fragrance for Grand Master Lingbao.
In the blink of an eye, everywhere they had passed in Yuanyang Cave had been stripped bare. They even pried the decorative murals off the walls.
The group circled the whole cave abode several more times, then knocked on the walls and floors, but found no sign of a hidden chamber or treasure vault.
"Withdraw!"
At Daoist Duobao's command, the crowd charged out of the cave abode. In the blink of an eye, they scattered like startled birds and beasts, vanishing without a trace.
Not long after they left, the creatures who had been entertaining ulterior motives cautiously poked their heads out. One by one, they hurried into Yuanyang Cave.
But the next moment, they were dumbstruck, tears streaming down their faces.
It was spotless!
Spotlessly clean!
They hadn't even gotten a sip of soup—the thieves had taken the pot, too.
The entire cave abode had been stripped down to the ground. They hadn't even left the soil in the spirit herb garden...
Whoever had done this was clearly a gang of professionals. How had they never heard of them?
This was no place to linger. If Grand Master Lingbao mistook them for the culprits, they might end up taking the blame for someone else.
At the thought, the creatures, drenched in sweat, hurried out of Yuanyang Cave.
At Jade Void Palace on Kunlun Mountain, Grand Master Lingbao opened his eyes while listening intently to the lecture. He had a vague feeling of unease.
He sensed that something bad was about to happen.
He hurriedly performed a divination, but came up with nothing.
That only made him more anxious. He quickly took his leave of Venerable Primordial and headed back to his own abode.
Grand Master Lingbao rode his cloud in a frantic rush, but three figures suddenly blocked his path.
"This mountain is ours, and we planted these trees. If you want to pass, pay the toll!"
Three burly men surrounded him and shouted their robbery slogan.
Grand Master Lingbao furrowed his brow, but soon relaxed it again.
The three men were burly, but their magical power was weak. They were only at the True Immortal realm.
Grand Master Lingbao gave a disdainful snort and swept out his sleeve, intending to send them flying.
The attack looked casual, but it was powerful enough to reduce the three of them to dust.
Bang!
But his supposedly effortless strike didn't even ruffle their clothes. It vanished without a sound.
"Not good!"
"I underestimated them..."
By the time Grand Master Lingbao had that thought, it was already too late for regrets.
Before he passed out, he vaguely heard a few people talking.
"I think that sword of his is pretty nice."
"I think the seal at his waist is pretty nice."
"I think his clothes are pretty nice, too..."
By the time Grand Master Lingbao woke again, it was already deep into the night. He was hanging from a tree, with nothing on but his trousers.
His Dragon Tiger Seal and Demon Slaying Sword were long gone.
Grand Master Lingbao forced himself to calm down, and only then managed to keep his Dao heart from collapsing.
He tried to reach the two spiritual treasures he had refined, but his attempts sank into a void, like stones dropped into the sea.
Pfft!
Someone had forcibly erased his Primordial Spirit imprint from the treasures. He couldn't help spitting up a mouthful of blood.
"Who was it?"
"Who did this?"
Grand Master Lingbao's furious roar rang across the sky.
Several thousand miles away, on a small hill, the three burly men transformed into three fairies.
One was a mature beauty, one was a young woman, and one was a little girl. Who else could they be but the Three Fairies of Sanxiao?
Senior Disciple Brother had said that when doing bad things, they had to hide their true identities and leave no clues behind.
They weren't even supposed to let anyone know their sex, let alone let their target become familiar with their voices.
Senior Disciple Brother had also said they should act weak before their enemies, then hit hard when their opponents let their guard down.
Senior Disciple Brother had also said not to keep shearing the same sheep. They had to learn to make their schemes sustainable.
Yunxiao, Qiongxiao, and Bixiao felt as though a door to a whole new world were slowly opening before them.
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