The Child of Destiny Descends the Mountain, the Lord of the Demon Sect Successfully Crashes the Party

Layer upon layer of peaks rose in splendor, brimming with spiritual grace. This was Sword Peak of Sword Disciple Mountain.

Standing atop Sword Peak and looking down at the rolling emerald sea amid veiling clouds and swirling mist, Long Zhangyuan still felt as though he were in a dream.

The encounters of recent days had simply felt too unreal.

He had once lived in a fishing village, relying on each other with his aunt and making a living from a modest pancake shop. After paying forty percent of their earnings in taxes to the officials and another thirty percent to all manner of local interests, the meager thirty percent left over had barely been enough to get by.

Then one day, a group of people suddenly arrived and told him that he was the bloodline left among the common folk by the Dragon-Controlling Crown Prince, who had failed in his struggle against the Diyi Era Emperor for the throne!

After that, the group brought him to Sword Disciple Mountain.

Elder Chen, who oversaw punishments at Sword Disciple Mountain, then took him as a disciple and guided him into cultivation. And Master Chen had truly treated him well, giving him all kinds of treasures left behind by their predecessors.

As a result, Long Zhangyuan, who had cultivated for only three months, directly obtained twenty years' worth of cultivation power!

And that was only because he had yet to fully absorb those treasures of the predecessors.

"My father was the Dragon-Controlling Crown Prince..."

"Does that mean I am the true Son of Heaven?"

All at once, such a thought could not help rising in Long Zhangyuan's mind.

Just then, footsteps sounded. Long Zhangyuan followed the sound and smiled when he saw who was coming. It was a somewhat mischievous little girl, hopping and skipping all the way over. Yet upon seeing Long Zhangyuan, she immediately stopped, then slowly walked toward him. Scratching her head, she said, "Martial Uncle Chen is looking for you."

"Junior Sister Qingqing, why are you here?" Long Zhangyuan asked happily.

This little girl was named Yi Qingqing. She was the disciple of Nangong Yishuang, the Dao companion of the Alchemy Swordmaster Zhao Chenyang. The Alchemy Swordmaster couple were on good terms with Sword Disciple Mountain, so the disciples of Sword Disciple Mountain and those of the Alchemy Swordmaster couple addressed one another as fellow martial siblings.

Ever since meeting Yi Qingqing once two months ago, Long Zhangyuan had taken a great liking to this lively, impish little girl.

After all, who would not like someone pretty and cheerful?

"My martial uncle brought me here." Yi Qingqing did not actually want to pay Long Zhangyuan much attention. They had only met twice, but this fellow acted as though they were very familiar, which left her somewhat uncomfortable.

"Martial Uncle Zhao came too? Oh, Master is looking for me, so I need to hurry over." As he spoke, Long Zhangyuan grabbed Yi Qingqing's little hand.

Yi Qingqing's little face instantly went flustered. She tried to pull free, uncomfortable with this, but Long Zhangyuan was already dragging her away. With no other choice, she could only follow.

After all, this was Sword Disciple Mountain's territory, and she had heard that Long Zhangyuan was highly valued by Sword Disciple Mountain. Even Zhao Chenyang, Nangong Yishuang's husband, had to treat Long Zhangyuan with courtesy.

So he was not someone she could afford to offend.

Yet the moment this thought arose, Yi Qingqing could not help thinking of that fellow who had bought her ten pill furnaces. She remembered very clearly what he had said at the time—at her age, she did not need to bow her head for the sake of worldly relations.

"Oh, right, Junior Sister Qingqing, I've already learned how to use a flying sword!" Long Zhangyuan said excitedly. Without asking whether Yi Qingqing wanted to ride his flying sword, he raised a hand in summons. With a humming sound, a crystalline longsword flew before him.

"Let's go. We'll ride the sword over—it'll be faster!" Long Zhangyuan said again as he stepped onto it.

Yi Qingqing glanced at the flying sword. Unlike Long Zhangyuan, who could not recognize its value, she had read extensively since childhood and immediately recognized that it had been forged from gui-water essence blended with Great Unity refined gold.

A magical artifact made from materials of such quality was undoubtedly a spirit-attuned magical artifact.

In other words, this was an exceptional flying sword.

Even Zhao Chenyang, Nangong Yishuang's husband, despite bearing the title Alchemy Swordmaster, did not possess a flying sword of this grade.

Thus, she could only follow him aboard.

An exceptional flying sword was undoubtedly incredibly fast. Before long, Long Zhangyuan brought Yi Qingqing down near Elder Chen's cave abode.

Outside the cave abode, Elder Chen was smiling as he chatted with a refined-looking middle-aged man.

That refined middle-aged man was none other than Zhao Chenyang.

When Zhao Chenyang saw Long Zhangyuan and Yi Qingqing—especially when he saw Long Zhangyuan holding Yi Qingqing's hand—the smile on his face became even brighter. "Qingqing and Martial Nephew Long have arrived."

"Greetings, Master! Greetings, Martial Uncle Zhao," Long Zhangyuan stepped forward and said.

"Greetings, Elder Chen. Greetings, Martial Uncle," Yi Qingqing called out as well.

"Zhangyuan, since you are here, there happens to be something I need you to do. Earlier, when Martial Niece Qingqing passed through Clear River City, she competed in pill refinement with several disciples of Rainbow Cloud Valley. Those Rainbow Cloud Valley disciples stole their elders' pills to win, then used that to cheat Martial Niece Qingqing out of her magical artifact. Go there on your master's behalf!" Elder Chen said.

This was really just a pretext, one that had been arranged long ago, including what those Rainbow Cloud Valley disciples had done. For this matter, Rainbow Cloud Valley had deliberately accepted several disciples of poor character years in advance.

The purpose was to ensure that when the Chosen One descended the mountain for the first time, he would have a just cause!

"What? Junior Sister Qingqing's magical artifact?" The moment Long Zhangyuan heard that it concerned Yi Qingqing, he became both anxious and furious. "Master, Martial Uncle Zhao, rest assured. I will certainly retrieve Junior Sister Qingqing's magical artifact!"

Hearing this, Elder Chen could not help smiling. Sword Disciple Mountain's grand plan for the righteous path could finally begin.

At this moment, he thought of an old friend.

He had met this old friend at Cape of Heaven, beyond the Zixuan Dynasty. Though they did not interact much ordinarily, upon reflection, the other party should also have reached the level of a hundred years of cultivation.

His old friend had somehow learned of their grand plan for the righteous path and wished to seek a share of the merit.

Thus, Elder Chen said, "Before heading to Rainbow Cloud Valley, you may first visit a fellow Daoist at Flint Mountain. With that fellow Daoist accompanying you, this journey will go much more smoothly."

Flint Mountain was the temporary cultivation grounds his old friend had found after coming from Cape of Heaven.

A hundred years of cultivation was useful no matter how one looked at it. Although Sword Disciple Mountain did not lack manpower, having one more person to deal with unforeseen changes would do no harm.

Tan Shuchang slowly walked along the road.

Though each step carried him dozens of zhang, at this pace, reaching Luo Province in under one or two months was out of the question.

After all, now that he knew plenty of troublesome matters awaited him ahead, why would he hurry to Luo Province at full speed?

By deliberately dragging things out, Tan Shuchang intended to complete Fierce Ghost Lifting Lotus once or twice along the way.

"Come to think of it, Rainbow Cloud Valley is far away in Luo Province, and Luo Province itself possesses ten great spirit mountains, with abundant heavenly treasures and earthly materials. Why had those Rainbow Cloud Valley disciples who appeared in Clear River City gone there to buy things? And why had they been so interested in competing with others in pill refinement?"

As Tan Shuchang walked, carefully considering the various forces of Luo Province, such a question suddenly arose in his mind. The territory of Jian Gorge Sect in Yue Prefecture had quite a few heavenly treasures and earthly materials, but Luo Province was famed as a land of treasure. Cultivators proficient in pill refinement, or those wishing to learn it, were basically all in Luo Province.

After all, in the Jia Five Realm, the demand for pills had always exceeded supply.

Rainbow Cloud Valley, moreover, was the sacred land of pill refinement in the Jia Five Realm. If a disciple of Rainbow Cloud Valley needed any medicinal ingredients, they need only speak up. People would naturally deliver them to their doorsteps, asking for no compensation and seeking only a favorable connection. Why would they need to personally go out and purchase them?