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Duanmu Ren was in a very good mood.

For no apparent reason, he had crossed a black-robed Daoist of unknown origins and astonishing abilities, and it had taken considerable effort to dissuade the Daoist from forcibly taking him as a disciple.

What a joke.

He had spent half his life fighting for the power and status he now enjoyed. He would have to be mad to believe that nonsense and go cultivate immortality.

To appease the black-robed Daoist, Duanmu Ren had gritted his teeth and pushed through the redevelopment plan for the Lijiawa Subsidence Area, drawing fierce attacks from his political enemies.

Fortunately, he had a backer of his own, and had managed to scrape through, though at no small cost.

"Once my father-in-law succeeds in arranging it and takes up a post in the capital, I'll be able to escape this whirlpool."

Duanmu Ren felt refreshed. "If I can't afford to offend him, can't I at least hide from him?!"

"Sir."

Secretary Bai jogged over, his expression somewhat odd, and said in a low voice, "Daoist Li has arrived."

"Mm."

Duanmu Ren got out of the car, glanced at the dazzling sunlight, and asked casually, "What's wrong? Why do you look so flustered?"

"...Daoist Li brought someone with him."

Secretary Bai seemed a little dazed, and his tone was complicated. "...A woman."

Duanmu Ren was baffled. He shook his head and scolded him. "What's wrong with that? Haven't you ever seen a woman?"

Secretary Bai hesitated, wanting to explain himself, but ultimately gave up.

Duanmu Ren quickened his pace. He was already planning to start laying the groundwork for his transfer today, lest he anger the Daoist. He rounded a corner and saw the familiar black Daoist robes by the water, their wearer's back turned to him.

A woman in white stood beside him.

The woman in white seemed to notice his gaze and turned to look at him.

"This is..."

Duanmu Ren was no stranger to the pleasures of romance, yet he was stunned to the spot. In that instant, he understood Secretary Bai's strange behavior. Only one thought remained in his mind: Even a fairy descended to the mortal world could be no more beautiful than this.

"Sect Master..."

Hua Chunning looked away and said quietly, "He's here."

"Mm."

Li Chengxuan nodded and glanced back.

Even with Duanmu Ren's deep self-control, shock still lingered on his face as he cautiously studied Hua Chunning out of the corner of his eye.

Ever since learning that Li Chengxuan came from Li Household Hollow, Duanmu Ren had scoffed at this so-called cultivation of immortality, taking him for nothing more than a swindler who had mastered a few crooked tricks.

But seeing Hua Chunning today was a very different matter.

She wore a long ancient-style dress, her features were breathtakingly beautiful, and her bearing was ethereal and unworldly. She truly had an immortal air visible to the naked eye.

A beauty like her belonged only in a xianxia drama.

Her appearance at the construction site before him was utterly out of place, as though she and everything around her were on different layers.

"Daoist Li..."

Suppressing his shock and doubts, Duanmu Ren asked cautiously, "Might I ask who this is...?"

Hua Chunning stepped forward, her voice cool and clear. "My name is Hua Chunning, a Registered Disciple of Supreme Mystery Mountain. By the sect master's decree, I have come to oversee this Grotto-Heaven."

"Large pearls and small pearls falling upon a jade plate..."

For some reason, that line of poetry surfaced in Duanmu Ren's mind. He nodded repeatedly. "So you're Fairy Hua... I'm Duanmu Ren, the county head of Stone Ridge County."

He was merely an inhabitant of the Grotto-Heaven.

Hua Chunning nodded slightly and said no more.

Li Chengxuan said, "From now on, you'll handle mundane affairs, chiefly overseeing the construction of the Supreme Mystery Mountain Lower Court. There's no need to go to great trouble; a place to stay will suffice."

Hua Chunning bowed. "Chunning obeys."

Duanmu Ren's feelings were complicated.

If this really was a scam, there had been no need for so much groundwork beforehand.

Just looking at this Registered Disciple's beauty and bearing, even if he knew it was a scam, an immortal jump, he would still be willing!

Could an immortal really have descended into the world?!

For a moment, Duanmu Ren could no longer tell. He got through the encounter on bureaucratic instinct, and after taking his leave and returning to his car, he made a call. "Dad, there's no rush to transfer me to the capital. I still have some things to take care of."

By the pond.

Li Chengxuan asked, "What do you think of this world?!"

"In answer to Sect Master."

Hua Chunning thought for a moment before replying, "This world is vast and has many mortals. Unfortunately, it has no Spiritual Qi, so cultivation is impossible."

"Correct."

Li Chengxuan nodded. "This world has hundreds of millions of inhabitants and is of no low order. Though it has no Spiritual Qi, Manifestation can still be gathered here."

"For example, the man just now with the compound surname Duanmu was someone with abundant Manifestation."

Hua Chunning considered herself clever and highly gifted, but her lack of Manifestation alone had barred her from the path of immortality. Hearing this, she was overjoyed. "This Grotto-Heaven actually has such a marvelous use?! Your disciple thanks Sect Master for his compassion!"

Li Chengxuan chuckled. "I've shown you the path. As for how to gather Manifestation and make up for what your fate lacks, you'll have to find a way yourself."

With that, his figure flickered and gradually vanished. "If you encounter any difficulties, call to me in your heart."

"Take care of yourself."

Hua Chunning became a beautiful sight at the construction site.

Even knowing they might be cursed out by the foreman or even have their pay docked, many people still went out of their way to catch a glimpse of her, then returned, thoroughly satisfied, to brag about it to others.

Though it was only a small county town, cosplay was hardly an unfamiliar term.

Still, someone wearing ancient dress to supervise a construction site was quite a rarity.

Hu Shihao heard about her too.

At first, he didn't believe it, but when he came to see for himself, he was stunned. Rather than being overcome with lust, however, he hurried away.

A great beauty like that was absolutely not someone an ordinary person could covet.

Even looking at her one extra time might offend some important figure.

After hearing about her, Li Jiabao and Liu Lidan also made a special visit.

Li Jiabao was fine.

But Liu Lidan's eyes lit up, her thoughts racing. Isn't this a perfect chance to take the madam route?!

If she grew close to Miss Hua, she would no longer have to watch Li Jiabao's expression in everything she did. There were many things she would be able to handle directly herself!

In her early years, Hua Chunning had been a figure akin to a saintess in Rejuvenation Valley. The courtesy she received when she visited the mortal world had not been much different from what she received now, so she felt no difficulty adjusting.

Only when she learned that the two before her were the sect master's mortal blood relatives did she make an effort to pay attention.

Immortals and mortals were different.

And with the sect master devoted entirely to seeking the Dao, he might not take his mortal blood relatives in the Grotto-Heaven to heart.

Even so, as a Registered Disciple of Supreme Mystery Mountain, she was in no position to look down on the sect master's family.

"It can't be easy for you to stay at the construction site all the time, Miss Hua."

Liu Lidan was eager to win her favor. Seeing Hua Chunning's amiable manner, she plucked up the courage to say, "Why don't we take you into town to buy some daily necessities and a change of clothes?"

Should I go and explore the mortal world?!

Hua Chunning had already seen the construction machinery not far away and assumed it consisted of this world's puppets, though she didn't understand how they were powered without Spiritual Qi. This was a good chance to find out. After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. "Then I'm sorry to trouble you both."

Supreme Mystery Mountain.

Li Chengxuan still hadn't given up on Duanmu Ren and was continuing to read through texts concerning the High Shaman Dao lineage.

Continue Lost Teachings was an Immortal Foundation oriented toward teaching and enlightenment.

To fit its imagery, he too needed to be well versed in the High Shaman's teachings on the Dao.

"Hm?!"

A thought stirred in Li Chengxuan's mind. He put down the Jade Slip in his hand and looked east. "Liu Zhijian has returned."