Chief Guest Elder

"So the wicked wyrm was playing dead. But it was just struck by heavenly lightning three times; now it's a spent crossbow at the end of its draw.

Good, good. Let us hurry and help it reach paradise." The fat Buddhist Cultivation sat down cross-legged where he was and began chanting scripture.

The other four Buddhist Cultivations immediately directed the Law Artifacts in their hands at the Earth Flood Dragon. Scimitars, staffs, alms bowls, and prayer beads all flew toward it at once.

The Earth Flood Dragon twisted and dodged, evading the attacks while spitting fire and water at the Buddhist Cultivations.

The five Buddhist Cultivations paid Tang Yuan no mind at all, and each attacked him.

Tang Yuan smiled knowingly, raised his sword, and slashed at the prayer-bead formation holding the jade box.

When his sword proved ineffective, Tang Yuan hurled talisman after talisman at the prayer-bead formation. As he attacked it, he also kept a constant watch on the five Buddhist Cultivations.

Tang Yuan noticed that whenever a critical moment came, everything around the Earth Flood Dragon seemed to halt suddenly for a breath, and it always managed to evade an otherwise fatal attack. But after each escape, it spat out a mouthful of blood, and its breath grew a little weaker.

In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, Tang Yuan had broken the prayer-bead formation and taken the jade box in hand.

Seeing Tang Yuan take the jade box, the Earth Flood Dragon smiled mysteriously and roared at the Buddhist Cultivations, "Die, all of you!"

In an instant, countless rays of golden light shone from within the Earth Flood Dragon's body.

"This is bad! The Earth Flood Dragon is going to self-detonate its demon core!"

The wind's picking up-let's scarper!" the fat Buddhist Cultivation cried, twisting around and leaping away.

Tang Yuan immediately willed himself into the Mystic Spoon and fled to the Human Realm.

Amid the dazzling white light, Tang Yuan vaguely saw a trace of earthy yellow light follow him into the Mystic Spoon...

...The Human Realm, the Golden Cave Abode on Golden Shell Island.

Tang Yuan took the jade box out of the Mystic Spoon. Only when he saw the Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud inside did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, a trace of yellow light flew out of his Dantian and into the jade box. It swept up a small piece of Dragon Skeleton Jade Mud and flew into the Mystic Spoon in his hand.

Tang Yuan was just about to use his Divine Sense to examine the Mystic Spoon's interior space when the formation plate beside him suddenly began flashing nonstop: cultivators were approaching Golden Shell Island.

"How strange. Golden Shell Island doesn't belong to any immortal cultivation Lineage, and the area for several thousand li around it isn't within any Lineage's sphere of influence, either.

Normally, apart from me coming to Golden Shell Island every year from the eighth to the eleventh month to catch Red Spirit Eels, not even a seabird comes here, let alone a cultivator. Why are cultivators coming today, and at least four of them?" Tang Yuan looked at the formation plate and frowned, intending to put the Mystic Spoon into his sea of consciousness.

But even after three tries in a row, Tang Yuan couldn't put the little dark spoon into his sea of consciousness.

Seeing from the formation that the four cultivators were already very close to Golden Shell Island, Tang Yuan had no choice but to thread a cord through the small hole in the Mystic Spoon and wear it around his neck.

Tang Yuan, wearing the Wall God Robe beneath his clothes, concealed himself and stood inside the formation, watching the commotion outside the cave abode.

A streak of red light skimmed over the sea, drawing closer until it stopped by the shore.

Tang Yuan recognized it as Xi Yunshu's personal spirit boat. Two cultivators, a woman and a man, jumped from it in a sorry state: Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao.

Xi Yunshu put away the spirit boat and led Xi Shanbao straight toward Tang Yuan.

Before the two of them could reach Tang Yuan, another purple spirit boat arrived at the shore. A Buddhist Cultivation and a woman cultivator in purple jumped off it.

"Master Deming, I promised you I wouldn't kill Xi Yunshu, but please act quickly, Master, lest she escape back to the Xi Household." The purple-clad woman's face was full of malice.

"Good, good.

Spare Xi Shanbao as well, and let me take him to my Blissful Purity Temple," the Buddhist Cultivation said with a nod.

"Let's catch the two of them first." The purple-clad woman snorted, picked up her spear, and ran toward them.

Seeing the bald Buddhist Cultivation from afar, Tang Yuan's mouth twitched. Why are these shit-stirring Buddhist Cultivations everywhere?

Judging by her clothes, weapon, and appearance, the purple-clad woman should be Lü Moran, the eldest young lady of the Lü Household in the Western Spirit Ten Thousand Islands Region.

Lü Moran is at the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, and that bald donkey Deming is at the master level, comparable to the Middle Stage of Qi Refinement. I absolutely can't open this protective formation.

The eighteen immortal cultivation Lineages of the Western Spirit Ten Thousand Islands Region had been fighting for nearly four years, and things had long since become a pot of porridge.

Tang Yuan had previously learned from Xi Yunshu that the war had started because a Buddhist Cultivation died.

A Buddhist Cultivation of the Mystic Spirit Continent's Joyful Purity Sect, whose Buddhist name was Dehui, had been a guest elder of the Lü Household, an immortal cultivation Lineage in the Western Spirit Ten Thousand Islands Region. Four years ago, he had died in territory controlled by the Su Household.

The Lü Household went to the Su Household demanding an explanation, and the result was outright war.

The Su Household was on good terms with the Xi Household, which also came out to wage war against the Lü Household. The Lü Household then sought out its big brother, the Wei Household, and the Wei Household joined the fighting... In less than a year, thirteen of the eighteen immortal cultivation Lineages had joined the war.

Gradually, the Lü Household was almost wiped out, and its territory was divided up. At that point, the Joyful Purity Sect sent people to mediate and stop the fighting.

But people from the Lineages involved in the war had already died, and those who had gained nothing were red-eyed with envy of those who had profited. So they all kept fighting under one pretext or another...

"Sister Yunshu, why are we stopping on Golden Shell Island instead of hurrying home?" Xi Shanbao looked exhausted. Once I get home safely, I'm going to slap Second Brother across the face a few times.

"Although my spirit boat is extremely fast, it can't keep running for too long.

We've been fleeing for three days and three nights. My spirit boat needs to rest for a shichen or two. Tang Yuan, our Xi Household's pill refiner, often comes here to fish for Red Spirit Eels. He once told me he'd built a cave abode here with a protective formation.

I thought we could rest for a shichen or two before setting off again." Xi Yunshu's brows were tightly knitted as she reached the entrance to the Golden Cave Abode.

"Found it. Brother Tang really didn't lie to me." Xi Yunshu let out a long breath and began knocking on the formation. "Brother Tang, open the door!

I know you're in there. Hurry and open the door for me!"

Hidden in the shadows, Tang Yuan had black lines all over his face. He somewhat regretted telling Xi Yunshu he had built a cave abode here.

To put it bluntly, he was merely a contract worker for the Xi Household. The Xi Household and the other Lineages were killing each other for profit; it was nothing more than dogs biting dogs and getting a mouthful of fur.

Hating the crows on the roof along with the house, he disliked Xi Shanbao to begin with. Besides, he was at the first layer of Qi Refinement, while Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao were both at the second. Even if the three of them joined forces, they couldn't beat the bald donkey Deming alone, let alone the Lü Household's young lady.

After considering it for three breaths, Tang Yuan decided to stand by and watch.

Lü Moran could also see that Xi Yunshu wanted to escape into the cave abode, but its owner was either away or unwilling to open the door. So she was no longer in a hurry to seize Xi Yunshu. Instead, she gave a cold laugh and sat cross-legged on the ground to recover her Law Power.

"Brother Tang, hurry and open the door!" Xi Yunshu's voice was tearful as she pounded on the formation, her voice growing somewhat hoarse from shouting.

"Sister Yunshu, are you sure Tang Yuan is in this cave abode today?" Xi Shanbao joined her in pounding on the formation.

"Brother Tang said he spends the first half of every month refining pills on our Xi Household's Ten Thousand Snakes Island, and the second half here on Golden Shell Island catching Red Spirit Eels and cultivating to improve his cultivation.

Today is the twenty-fourth day of the third month, so Brother Tang should be in his cave abode on Golden Shell Island.

He might be immersed in a cultivation cycle and unable to hear us. I'll knock harder." Xi Yunshu channeled her Law Power and began hammering at the formation.

But no matter how Xi Yunshu shouted or wept, Tang Yuan remained determined not to open the door.

Seeing Lü Moran's Law Power gradually recovering, Xi Shanbao had a sudden idea. "Sister Yunshu, men only care about money, beauty, and power.

For immortal cultivators, it's wealth, companions, methods, and land.

I've heard Alchemist Tang isn't short of Spirit Stones, either. Why don't you promise to give him our Spirit Mystic Jade Flow Scripture?"

"The Spirit Mystic Jade Flow Scripture is our Xi Household's highest Cultivation Method. I don't have the authority to promise it to anyone." Xi Yunshu shook her head.

"Silly girl, can't you trick him into opening the door first?" Xi Shanbao sighed softly and continued, "Or, Sister Yunshu, could you make a sacrifice and promise to become Alchemist Tang's dao companion?"

"Even if I agreed, Alchemist Tang might not." Xi Yunshu's face turned scarlet. "Brother Tang has a mortal wife and family. He loves his wife very much."

"Can't you say you'll be his concubine, and trick Tang Yuan into opening the formation first?" Xi Shanbao shook his head helplessly.

"I've got it, Brother Tang...

Brother Tang Yuan, as long as you open the formation, I swear a Mystic Spirit Incantation Oath that I'll make my father agree to make you the Xi Household's chief guest elder." Xi Yunshu immediately formed a hand seal and swore the oath.

"Chief guest elder?

Now that's something." Tang Yuan, hidden in the shadows, couldn't help smiling knowingly.

A chief guest elder of the Xi Household not only had a personal island and spirit residence, but also a monthly stipend and a status second only to the household head and the elders.

If Tang Yuan became chief guest elder, members of the Xi Household and its spirit workers would have to cup their hands in greeting when they saw him and respectfully address him as "Elder Tang."

Tang Yuan didn't care about the status or the monthly stipend. Rather, once he became the Xi Household's chief guest elder, he would have a chance to obtain its recommendation to become a disciple of a major immortal cultivation sect such as the Purple Sword Sect, the Golden Yang Sect, or even the Holy Cardamom Sect or the Heavenly Sword Sect.

Once he became a disciple of a major sect, he could obtain a fourth-grade Cultivation Method.

Cultivating with a lower-tier sixth-grade Cultivation Method improved his cultivation far too slowly. Over the past three years, Tang Yuan had dreamed several times of becoming a disciple of an immortal cultivation sect like the Purple Sword Sect.

"All right, he's not going to open the formation. Are you two going to surrender without a fight, or suffer a little before you're captured?" Lü Moran sneered and drew her keen blade.

"I, Tang Yuan, will protect these two!" Tang Yuan revealed himself, opened the formation, and pulled Xi Yunshu and Xi Shanbao into the cave abode...