"Your mission is to go to Nameless City and uncover the truth behind the demon creature. If it is within your power, destroy it. If the situation proves beyond you, remember not to push yourself. Your safety comes first. Send word back to the mountain at once, and I will send someone to support you."
Li Xiaoyu took the letter and map, and a surge of heroic ambition rose in his heart.
An adventure down the mountain!
This was exactly what he had dreamed of!
Building a cart behind closed doors, after all, was a narrow path.
Only true combat could test his strength, and only in the vast world beyond could he find more "food" for the Immortal-Slaying Gourd.
"Your disciple accepts the mission!"
He answered solemnly, without the slightest hesitation.
Shang Zhengliang nodded in satisfaction.
Then he took a brocade pouch from his storage bag and handed it over.
"Inside are some pills and talismans I prepared for you, along with some silver. You may find them useful while traveling below the mountain."
"And this is a Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission Talisman. If you encounter an emergency, crush it, and I'll know your location and situation at once."
He gave the instructions with great care.
"Thank you, Master."
Warmth filled Li Xiaoyu's heart. He carefully put away the pouch.
"Go."
Shang Zhengliang waved a hand. "Leave the mountain today and avoid tomorrow's trouble."
"This disciple takes his leave."
Li Xiaoyu bowed once more, then turned and headed down the mountain.
Shang Zhengliang stood at the cliff's edge, watching his disciple's retreating figure. For a long time, he did not move.
"Tian Buyi, Tian Buyi. For the sake of one Qi Hao, you gave up a peerless gem like my disciple."
He muttered to himself, a cold smile appearing on his face.
"Just wait. It won't be long before you regret today's decision until your guts turn green!"
Li Xiaoyu made his way down the mountain without stopping.
He changed into an ordinary blue outfit, wrapped his Autumn Water Sword in cloth and carried it on his back, while the inconspicuous Wine Gourd still hung at his waist.
He looked like a wandering swordsman.
When he reached the foot of Green Cloud Mountain, he looked back. The seven majestic peaks appeared and disappeared amid the clouds and mist.
He drew in a breath, inhaling the mountain's spiritual energy into his lungs.
Then, without hesitation, he turned and strode toward the mortal world below.
His first stop was Heyang City.
He needed to replenish his supplies in that bustling city and learn more about Nameless City.
More importantly, he wanted to experience the human bustle, so different from life on the mountain, where people were filled with every kind of passion and desire.
His path lay on the mountain, but it lay below it as well.
Green Cloud Mountain towered high; ordinary people needed several days to climb it.
For a cultivator like Li Xiaoyu, the descent took only half a day.
Li Xiaoyu's feet touched solid ground, far from the mist-shrouded splendor of an immortal's abode.
A wholly different atmosphere washed over him: the fragrance of earth, the vitality of plants and trees, and the lively bustle of the human world.
He followed the main road at an unhurried pace.
Travelers began to appear along the way.
There were peddlers carrying shoulder poles, farmers driving ox carts, and merchant caravans riding tall horses.
Their faces all bore expressions unlike those of the cultivators on the mountain.
There was the weariness of struggling to make a living, the hope of a better future, and the joy of chatting with family.
Li Xiaoyu's heart, dormant for six years, suddenly leaped.
On the mountain, he had faced barriers to advancement, the scorn and alienation of his fellow disciples, and the dull monotony of cultivation day after day.
Li Xiaoyu's world had been narrow and stifling.
Now, he felt like a drop of water merging into a river.
The sensation was new, and it put him at ease.
In the afternoon, a grand city appeared at the edge of the horizon.
Heyang City.
The most prosperous city within a hundred li, Heyang City nestled between mountains and water. Its walls stood tall, and its grandeur was imposing.
The city gate teemed with people and carts, a scene of bustling prosperity.
Li Xiaoyu entered through the gate with the crowd.
The clamor enveloped him.
Shops lined both sides of the street. There were restaurants, teahouses, pawnshops, cloth shops—everything one could want.
Peddlers called out their wares, children played, and wheels rumbled. All kinds of sounds mingled together, brimming with life.
Li Xiaoyu walked along the broad street paved with bluestone, curiously taking in his surroundings.
At a street corner, he saw someone selling steaming buns. Their fragrance made passersby stop to look.
Beside the road, a storyteller was recounting the Green Cloud Sect's Seven Meridians Martial Arts Tournament. He embellished the tale, but still drew rounds of applause.
Li Xiaoyu also saw several young women in a cosmetics shop choosing jewelry, their faces bright with smiles.
On the mountain, everyone pursued the Great Way by casting off emotion.
Below the mountain, the human world was full of affection.
Li Xiaoyu's state of mind was transformed.
He no longer felt like a Green Cloud Sect disciple burdened with the labels of genius and failure.
He was simply a traveler newly arrived in the mortal world, marveling at everything around him.
Li Xiaoyu found a room at an inn called the Mountain Sea Pavilion.
The Mountain Sea Pavilion was the finest inn in Heyang City. They said it had powerful backing, and even the city lord had to show it some respect.
Li Xiaoyu asked for a room by the window, then ordered a pot of clear tea and a few small dishes.
He did not rush to ask about Nameless City. Instead, he sat quietly by the window, watching the crowds below and listening to the guests at the next table talk animatedly.
"Have you heard? Tian Buyi's daughter from Big Bamboo Peak is holding her coming-of-age ceremony today. What a spectacle! Tsk, tsk. They say Senior Brother Qi Hao from Dragon Head Peak went in person to congratulate her!"
"Senior Brother Qi Hao? He's one of the leading lights of the Young Generation in our Green Cloud Sect! Looks like the Tian family is going to arrange a marriage alliance with Dragon Head Peak!"
"Isn't that the truth! I heard Tian Ling'er used to have a fiancé—the Li Xiaoyu from Morning Sun Peak."
"Li Xiaoyu? That good-for-nothing who was still stuck at the second level after six years of cultivation? His engagement was called off ages ago, wasn't it?"
"You're behind the times! I just came down from the mountain. I heard Li Xiaoyu had a sudden enlightenment and reached the fourth level of the Jade Purity Realm."
"And at Morning Sun Peak's minor tournament, he defeated Shen Tiandou with a single move and became the new head disciple!"
"What? Is that for real?"
The conversation at the next table reached Li Xiaoyu's ears.
He lifted his teacup and took a sip, a knowing smile on his face.
Li Xiaoyu hadn't expected his story to become a topic of discussion in the teahouses below the mountain.
But he felt no stir in his heart.
To him, all that talk was no more than fleeting clouds.
His mission was what mattered now.
Li Xiaoyu listened to the merchants chatting in the inn.
Before long, he picked up some useful information.
"Old Zhang, be careful on your trip to the northwest to sell goods. I heard there've been demon creatures causing trouble in Nameless City, near the Wilderness. It's a real mess!"
"Yeah, I heard that too. Several merchant caravans have gone missing around there, and the officials they sent never came back either. These days, hardly anyone dares travel that trade route."
"Demon creatures? I bet it's the Demon Sect's people causing trouble! That area borders the Wilderness—it's the Demon Sect's territory, after all."
At that, Li Xiaoyu raised an eyebrow.
The situation was even worse than his master had described.
It seemed his trip to Nameless City would not be an easy one.
Before you continue