Chapter 684: Fairy, can you say it earlier next time?

Jiulong City in Yuzhou was a moderately developed city, where the City Lord, an early Incarnation stage cultivator, held the highest cultivation.

It was said that a secret realm lay hidden outside the city, but no one had ever found it, gradually reducing it to a mere legend.

Additionally, there were the three renowned local sects: the Hunyuan Ancient Sword Sect, the White Day Ascension Sect, and the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace, each with a Nascent Soul grand ancestor presiding over it.

With their Soul Formation stage cultivation, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou could swagger through Jiulong City unopposed. However, they were not troublemakers. They were here on a mission, tasked with discreetly observing someone to ascertain their character.

"It should be in this direction," Meng Jingzhou said, leaving their old horse in the stable as he and Lu Yang set out to find the person.

"The intelligence states that Xie An is an orphan and lives in a dilapidated temple outside the city."

Following the intel, the two arrived at the rundown temple. Its archway was crumbling, the lettering illegible. It was impossible to tell when the temple was built or why its monks had relocated.

The tiny temple was drafty, its lotus platform empty, not even a Buddha statue remained. In front of the lotus platform, dried grass lay on the ground with an extinguished bonfire in the center. Xie An was nowhere to be seen; only an old beggar lay lazily on the ground, propped on one hand, scratching lice with the other.

"Should we reveal ourselves and ask the old beggar where Xie An is?" The two communicated telepathically, not daring to appear abruptly. If the old beggar knew Xie An, Xie An would become aware of their presence, which would hinder their discreet observation.

Lu Yang analyzed, "Let's wait a bit. Look, the bedding is neatly folded. It's definitely not the old beggar's doing; it's very likely Xie An's. This suggests that even if Xie An left, he hasn't gone far."

Sure enough, by evening, a grimy Xie An was being helped into the temple by a little girl.

Seeing them, the old beggar gloated, "What's wrong? Did you go to the Hunyuan Ancient Sword Sect? I told you they wouldn't want either of you!"

Xie An remained silent, but the little girl supporting him spoke up indignantly on his behalf: "It's outrageous! They didn't even test Brother Xie's root bone! They just looked at his shabby clothes and said he definitely had no cultivation talent, then threw him out of the sect!"

The little girl was dressed in rags, as if she'd just emerged from a mud pit. Lu Yang could tell that if she were cleaned up and dressed nicely, she would be a budding beauty.

The old beggar yawned, "Root bone stones are expensive and have limited uses. It would be a miracle if they agreed to test your spiritual roots."

Xie An frowned, still saying nothing.

"Alright, stop sulking. Look at what I found today." The old beggar, as if performing a magic trick, produced three large steamed buns. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had been observing all day, and the old beggar hadn't moved from his spot.

"Buns!" The little girl's eyes lit up at the sight of the buns.

The old man and the two children ate the buns by the fire, quiet and content.

Halfway through their meal, Xie An suddenly said, "Sister Qiao'er, I'll try the White Day Ascension Sect tomorrow." His gaze was resolute.

"Okay, I'll go with Brother Xie."

The old beggar sneered, seemingly mocking Xie An's futile efforts.

After eating, the old beggar excitedly pulled Xie An's hand, clearing the dried grass to reveal a Go board scratched into the stone ground. He pulled out a handful of small black stones and another of small white stones. "Come on, kid Xie, play a couple of rounds with me."

Xie An agreed, and the old man and the young boy engaged in a battle on the board, with the little girl named Qiao'er watching from the side.

After five games, Xie An won every match, leaving the old beggar full of regret.

The next morning, while the old beggar was still asleep, Xie An took Qiao'er to the White Day Ascension Sect, with Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou secretly following.

At the entrance of the White Day Ascension Sect, Xie An stated his purpose, hoping to have his root bone tested. However, the two outer disciples on duty at the gate scoffed at him. "Scram, you little beggar! Where did you come from? How could someone like you possibly have spiritual roots?"

"Even the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace, whose Nascent Soul grand ancestor went missing, wouldn't accept you."

Xie An was pushed to the ground again, silent and unmoving, guarding his composure, biting his lip. *This humiliation today, I will surely repay a hundredfold!*

By evening, Xie An was once again being helped back by Qiao'er. The old beggar still wore his gloating expression. "I told you long ago, no one would want someone like you."

It was the same routine: eating buns and playing Go. The old beggar continued to lose.

Just as he was about to lose the fifth game, the old beggar suddenly asked, "Kid Xie, do you truly wish to cultivate immortality?" Xie An nodded vigorously. "And you, little girl? You were rescued by kid Xie from robbers and have been following him ever since. Do you also want to cultivate immortality?"

"Wherever Brother Xie goes, Qiao'er will follow!"

The old beggar stared into Qiao'er's eyes, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Good, good, good! I knew I wasn't mistaken about you two! You are naturally gifted seedlings for cultivation!"

The old beggar, as if by magic, pulled out a token and tossed it to Xie An.

"This is...?" Xie An's eyes filled with confusion.

"Tomorrow, take this token to the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace. I'd like to see who dares to refuse you!" With that, the old beggar's figure dimmed and gradually vanished.

"Wait, who exactly are you?" Xie An tried to grab the old beggar but only caught a wisp of white smoke.

"When you join the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace, you'll naturally know who this old man is, hahahaha." The old beggar disappeared.

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou remained silent.

How could that have been a mere beggar? This was clearly the missing Nascent Soul Grand Ancestor of the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace, who had coincidentally met Xie An here and decided to take him as a disciple.

If they didn't reveal themselves now, Xie An would become a member of the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace, and the Dao-Seeking Sect certainly couldn't stoop to snatching a disciple from such an insignificant minor sect.

Space twisted, and the two emerged, their brightly colored clothes clashing starkly with the dilapidated temple.

"Who are you two?!" Xie An vigilantly watched Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, secretly shielding Qiao'er behind him.

Lu Yang smiled, "Don't panic. We are disciples of the Dao-Seeking Sect..."

Inside the spiritual space, Immortal Fairy suddenly exclaimed, "Oh, this kid is disguised as a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator!" Lu Yang's smile froze. *Fairy, could you perhaps tell me these things a bit sooner next time?*

"You even saw him at the sect's celebration. I recall he was Venerable Wuji, the Grand Elder of the Super-grade sect, Wuji Gate." *You bigshots just enjoy pretending to be mortals all day, don't you?*

Upon learning Xie An's true identity, Lu Yang understood the entire situation:

Based on the current scenario, if he hadn't interfered, Xie An would have joined the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace. The disciples there would have humiliated Xie An, perhaps even suspecting the token was found by chance. Then, Xie An would have diligently cultivated, proven his strength to all the disciples, and astonished everyone. He would progress from an outer disciple to an inner disciple. Due to various interests, the elders would try to frame Xie An, and the Sect Leader, being weak, couldn't protect him. At that point, the old beggar would appear, take Xie An as his disciple in front of everyone, shocking them all. Afterward, Xie An would lead the Qiankun Purple Cloud Palace to conquer the other two major sects, making it the strongest sect in Jiulong City. He might even find the secret realm hidden outside Jiulong City, gain a fortuitous opportunity, and find new reasons to grow stronger. From then on, he would soar to great heights.

While Meng Jingzhou was still cordially asking Xie An if he wanted his root bone tested, Lu Yang suddenly interjected, "Are you Venerable Wuji?"

Meng Jingzhou's body stiffened, and he quietly retreated. He knew that in matters like this, Lu Yang wouldn't make a mistake in judgment.

Xie An's face turned cold. "As expected of a disciple taught by Yun Zhi, to be able to discern my true form."

Speaking of Yun Zhi, Lu Yang suddenly remembered what his third senior sister had mentioned: some powerful individuals, after suffering setbacks and having their Dao hearts shattered, would restart from a mortal life, acting weak to humble and surprise others, in order to regain their Dao hearts.

Was Venerable Wuji in this situation? No, that didn't make sense chronologically.

Lu Yang cautiously asked, "You should have already regained your Dao heart, right? Why are you doing it all over again?"

Xie An revealed a cruel smile. "I'm addicted."