The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 76 Return to the Mainland
When Jiang Yuan flew to the edge of the continent, he was certain that he had arrived in the Lingnan region, and the nearest major sect was Mount Luofu.

Why not go and explore the Luofu Immortal Market as a rogue cultivator and see if you can snag a bargain?

The two suppressed their cultivation to the early stage of Foundation Establishment, disguising themselves as ordinary rogue cultivators, and swept through the entire Luofu Immortal City.

However, they didn't buy much. Luofu Immortal Market was indeed only a low-level immortal market, mainly catering to independent cultivators from Lingnan, and very few items were available for those above the Foundation Establishment stage.

Jiang Yuan understood that although Chu Yunfei had put in a lot of effort, he hadn't addressed the root of the problem.

For a sect as large as Mount Luofu to only allocate forty spirit stones a year to an outer sect disciple in the early stages of Foundation Establishment is simply outrageous. In such a vast immortal market, at least several million spirit stones must pass through its hands annually; anyone in charge of managing the immortal market would inevitably be corrupt.

Well, Lao Lu might be an exception, but someone like him can't stay in Luofu Mountain; everyone would ostracize him.

Returning to this familiar place evoked many emotions in Qinghe. Being a low-level cultivator was not much better than being an ordinary person; both were oppressed by the powerful and influential.

After leaving Luofu Immortal City, Jiang Yuan and his companion did not fly away. Instead, they disguised themselves as mortals and traveled along the official road. Along the way, they encountered many mortals fleeing from disaster. Was something big about to happen again?
Jiang Yuan did not use his magic to calculate; he only deduced from his memories of his two previous lives that the empress originally reigned for only fifteen years before being overthrown, and the Li family resumed the Tang Dynasty.

In this life, the empress seized power a few years earlier than expected, and has now been on the throne for over twenty years. It seems she can no longer hold on, and it appears another catastrophe is about to befall the mortal realm.

Now that we are both Golden Core cultivators, true immortal cultivators, it's best not to meddle in mortal affairs.

Having already left Luofu Mountain, Jiang Yuan and Qing He boarded a flying magical artifact and headed straight for the Five Ridges.

Seeing that the entrance to the cave had been repaired, he deduced that Lao Lu and Jing Xuan were inside. So he sent a message using a talisman, and soon Jing Xuan opened the barrier to greet him. He was both happy and worried.

Qinghe saw that Jingxuan had already established her foundation and said, "Congratulations on successfully establishing your foundation, Senior Sister Jingxuan."

Jingxuan blushed, "Don't tease me, your senior sister hasn't even congratulated you two on forming your golden cores yet!"

Is Master still in seclusion?

"I've been in seclusion under the Spirit Spring for the past few years, but haven't made much progress. I was worried about that, but thankfully you two have returned."

Old Lu naturally sensed the change in the cave's restrictions and came up shortly afterward.

Jiang Yuan saw that Old Lu did not show any signs of declining health and was much better than when he came out of Luofu Mountain, but his cultivation level had indeed not improved at all, so he must have encountered a bottleneck.

Qinghe bowed respectfully, "Greetings, Master!"

Old Lu shuddered in fright, how could he dare accept such a grand gesture from a Golden Core cultivator? "You still call me master? This old man is ashamed!"

"I formally became your disciple in front of hundreds of people. Do you not acknowledge me as your disciple anymore?"

"Stop talking about that. Rumors are circulating that the two of you killed five Golden Core cultivators from the Laoshan Dao Sect. Is that true?"

Seeing Qinghe hesitate, Jiang Yuan answered himself, "It is true. Your disciple killed four Golden Core cultivators with two arrows and said that all those major sects deserved to die!"

Old Lu was so frightened that his face turned pale. Although he had been hiding and dared not go out for the past few years, he still couldn't believe that even if Cui Qinghe had formed a Golden Core, she couldn't possibly kill a Golden Core cultivator from the Laoshan Hall of Affairs. Who knew it was true!
Qinghe gave her husband a playful glare, "Master, don't worry, we will definitely find a way to resolve this matter!"

Old Lu didn't know what to say; his mind went completely blank!
Jiang Yuan glanced at the spiritual spring and knew that his previous prediction was correct. The spiritual spring here had begun to dry up. The water flow had not decreased, but the spiritual energy was gradually thinning.

Qinghe used her Rejuvenating Spiritual Eyes to examine Old Lu's meridians, but found that he still had too few acupoints open. Since he couldn't use physical techniques to break through his barriers, he could only go overseas to refine some Dragon Power Pills, which might allow him to form a core.

Jiang Yuan hadn't planned to stay in the Five Ridges anyway, so he told Lao Lu, "I've found a propitious place overseas, and I'll invite you to move there in a few days." Lao Lu had no choice but to follow his disciple, who was a jinx who even dared to kill a Golden Core cultivator from Laoshan.

Jiang Yuan planned to go to Mount Hua to check on Yang Chan's seal, visit the Divine Sword Sect, and then buy a batch of medicinal herbs at Wanmiaoxuan on Shennong Peak before taking Lao Lu and Jingxuan overseas.

Qinghe took out several high-level storage bags and told Senior Sister Jingxuan to prepare them slowly.

This trip may take two or three months, by which time the small herb garden under the Lingquan spring will have to be moved.

There are always unexpected events. Jiang Yuan also left Lao Lu a sea chart indicating the approximate location, as well as a talisman for contacting Shen Wangzhi. If the two of them did not return in a year or two, Lao Lu was to take Jingxuan and go out to sea on his own.

Thus, Jiang Yuan and Qing He left the Five Ridges Cave and headed straight for Mount Hua.

Cui Qinghe's lotus flying boat was too conspicuous and too fast, so she simply boarded Jiang Yuan's cloud boat. After his cloud boat was reforged, it was completely different from the previous cloud. Even if the cultivators of Laoshan saw it, they would not make any connection.

They arrived at Huashan that night. The river source could see lights, but Cui Qinghe still couldn't.

Jiang Yuan went up the mountain alone to search, only to find the same thing again: the mountain looked luminous from afar, but was shrouded in darkness up close. It seemed the time was not yet right. If the Golden Core realm wasn't enough, then he would have to try again at the Nascent Soul realm.

The Divine Sword Sect is not far from Mount Hua, located on a small mountain a few hundred miles east of Luoyang.

The two of them certainly didn't go straight in to ask where Li Shouzhong was. They hid and looked around first, but they didn't expect that the Divine Sword Sect hadn't even opened the mountain gate's restrictions.

After walking a few more steps, Jiang Yuan discovered that there were two Laoshan disciples standing in front of the mountain gate, both of whom were in the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

That happened several years ago, why are they still harassing the Divine Sword Sect?
Jiang Yuan felt a surge of disgust. Laoshan really was determined to fight to the death!

With their invisibility talismans and Weak Water Technique, Jiang Yuan and his companion were confident that even late-stage Golden Core cultivators wouldn't be detected. They completely ignored the two Foundation Establishment disciples and swaggered past them.

The scene inside the Divine Sword Sect was quite extraordinary, with about thirty male and female disciples kneeling in the square.

Three Golden Core cultivators from Laoshan sat swaggering at the head of the hall, while two white-bearded old men from the Divine Sword Sect stood meekly at the foot of the hall.

"...Every word I said is true. When the incident occurred on Tamna Island, Li Shouzhong and his companion went to Tianshan to hunt metal-type demonic beasts in preparation for forming their core."

"Has not returned for five years?"

"Never returned."

"Is there no way to contact them?"

“Your sect’s affairs hall has come five times already. Last year, they even took the sect’s talisman and tested it on the spot. The two of them may have already perished outside, and there was no response at all.”

The Golden Core cultivator from Laoshan's killing intent surged. "Hmph, do you think there are too many of us?"

Jiang Yuan had already seen clearly that the leader of Laoshan was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, with two early-stage Golden Core cultivators beside him. He was no match for them in a real fight. It was impossible for him to always be so lucky, with his opponents automatically walking into the red line.

Moreover, they cannot take action at the Divine Sword Sect. If they do, the people from Laoshan will surely wipe out the Divine Sword Sect completely.

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(End of this chapter)