"We were on Floating Cloud Mountain..."
Li Chenyuan then told Xu Changfeng and his wife everything they had experienced, leaving nothing out.
The couple were both deeply shocked.
"An otherworldly master lives in seclusion on Floating Cloud Mountain?"
Xu Changfeng found it somewhat hard to believe.
He had been to Floating Cloud Mountain many times.
An ancient restriction on the summit prevented anyone from approaching, and countless people throughout the ages had wanted to investigate.
Yet no one had ever made any progress.
He had never expected that restriction to have vanished now.
And someone actually lived on the summit?
It truly was rather inconceivable.
"Father, Mother, everything eldest senior brother said is true. I saw it with my own eyes too!"
Xu Jing'er spoke up beside them.
Xu Changfeng and his wife, Shen Qiulan, exchanged a glance.
"If that is indeed the case, this person must be a mysterious master of unfathomable depths."
Xu Changfeng offered his assessment.
Li Chenyuan and the other two nodded repeatedly.
Shen Qiulan's face lit up with delight.
"Husband, with these heavenly treasures, never mind the Three-Sect Martial Meet-even becoming the greatest sect in the Heavenly Martial Dynasty is well within our Mystic Sword Sect's hopes!"
"Indeed. This Azure Origin Grass in particular can put out the fire burning at my brows."
All the worry vanished from Xu Changfeng's face. His spirits lifted, and he seemed ten years younger.
"The three of you have done very well. Not only did you bring back these heavenly treasures, you also forged a connection that offers our sect a tremendous opportunity."
Xu Changfeng looked at Li Chenyuan and the other two with gratification.
"It was only our duty as disciples!"
Li Chenyuan said with a smile.
Xu Changfeng bestowed one Barrier-Breaking Pill on each of them.
The three were overjoyed.
A single Barrier-Breaking Pill was enough to raise their current cultivation by one level.
"Thank you, Master!"
The three bowed in salute.
Taking the Azure Origin Grass, Xu Changfeng hurried off to refine pills.
With the Three-Sect Martial Meet being held ahead of schedule, he had to seize every moment to refine the Azure Origin Grass into a pill that would help him break through to the next realm.
He also made up his mind that once the Three-Sect Martial Meet was over, he would personally visit Floating Cloud Mountain to pay his respects to that reclusive master.
Floating Cloud Mountain.
Ye Qingyun gazed at the pond in his backyard, feeling that something was missing.
"I'll buy some fish fry down the mountain and put them in. Let's see if I can keep them alive."
Leaving Damao to watch the house as usual, Ye Qingyun went down the mountain alone to browse the market not far from Floating Cloud Mountain.
After Ye Qingyun left, Damao yawned and lay beside the courtyard gate, basking in the warm sunshine. Soon, snores rang out.
Meanwhile, the rabbit pretending to nibble a radish in the corner finally revealed its true colors.
It gave a wicked smile.
Heh heh!
My chance has come!
It was no ordinary rabbit, but a great demon of the lands for hundreds of miles around.
It even had something of a reputation among demonic beasts.
In its own words, it was a rising star of the demonic beast world.
The rabbit glanced at the large golden-haired dog that had already fallen asleep.
"Hmph! A mere dog demon dares bully this king? Outrageous!"
A vicious look crossed the rabbit's face, and it spat fiercely at Damao.
"Your cultivation is just a little higher than mine. What's so great about that? Once this king has gobbled up all the heavenly treasures here, I'll skin you and tear out your tendons, you rotten dog!"
"I'm going to eat dog meat stew!"
At the thought, the rabbit gave a cold chuckle, then lunged straight toward the seven-leaf vermilion fruit in the courtyard.
But just then, Damao rolled over.
The rabbit trembled all over in fright and hurriedly shrank back into the corner.
It waited a while.
Finding that Damao was still asleep, the rabbit breathed a sigh of relief.
"Rotten dog, just stay asleep like a good boy. Don't spoil this king's plans!"
The rabbit crept stealthily toward the seven-leaf vermilion fruit again.
But before it could act, a streak of white light suddenly shot out of the house.
It struck the rabbit squarely.
Before the rabbit could even react, the white light sent it tumbling several times.
Quite a bit of its white fur was knocked off as well.
The rabbit was stunned.
"What was that just now?"
It looked into the house and saw a mirror hanging on the wall, flickering with white light.
The rabbit froze.
"Could this mirror be a treasure?"
Greed immediately stirred within it.
The rabbit glanced back. Seeing that Damao was still asleep and had shown no reaction, it immediately dashed into the house.
The moment it entered, another streak of white light came at it.
The rabbit went flying out.
This time, another large clump of fur fell off, exposing its tender pink skin.
The rabbit felt a little dizzy.
It focused its gaze on the room. What had emitted the white light just now was not the mirror, but a writing brush resting on the desk.
"Another treasure?"
The rabbit was astonished.
But it did not give up.
Once again, it charged into the house with its head held high and spirits soaring.
Pfft!
Another streak of white light.
The rabbit flew even farther.
Barely any fur remained on its body.
The rabbit staggered to its feet, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.
Could everything in this house be a treasure?
How terrifying.
Inside the house.
The mirror hanging on the wall.
The writing brush resting on the desk.
The broom standing on the floor.
All flickered faintly with white radiance.
A gentle breeze passed through.
The many objects inside the house all swayed with the breeze.
The rabbit no longer dared enter.
It felt that if it went in again, it might well lose its life.
This place was too terrifying.
"I'm out of here!"
The rabbit was just about to flee.
The moment it turned around, it spotted Damao lying right in front of it.
"Mommy!"
The rabbit nearly went into convulsions from fright.
Damao grinned and stuck out his tongue to lick the now-bald rabbit.
The latter trembled.
"Since you've entered my master's courtyard, you'd better stay here and behave from now on."
Damao spoke in a kindly voice.
The rabbit shed silent tears.
"What sin did I commit to deserve this?"
Ye Qingyun returned.
He glanced at the rabbit huddled in the corner, trembling.
"Huh? How did you go bald?"
The rabbit shuddered, looking utterly aggrieved.
Ye Qingyun turned to Damao.
"Were you bullying it?"
He patted Damao's head.
Damao obediently rubbed against Ye Qingyun's hand.
Ye Qingyun went to the pond and scattered the fish fry into it.
Soon, the water in the pond began to surge.
This gave Ye Qingyun quite a fright.
"What's going on?"
He hurriedly backed away.
With a sudden boom, water shot skyward from the pond.
The fish fry grew rapidly in the water, their growth visible to the naked eye.
In just a few breaths, they had grown into plump, long-bodied carp.
Ye Qingyun gaped, dumbfounded.
"What the hell? How are they growing so fast?"
Once the pond settled down, Ye Qingyun cautiously approached its edge.
He reached into the water.
There was nothing particularly special about it.
Curious, Ye Qingyun leaned forward to look into the water.
A huge eye was gazing up at Ye Qingyun from beneath the surface.
"Holy shit!"
Scared shitless, Ye Qingyun hurriedly scrambled far away.
At the same time, inside an ancient palace a thousand miles from Floating Cloud Mountain.
A pair of eyes suddenly opened.
"Dragon Qi soaring into the heavens in the southwest?"