Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

Beixuan City.

Unlike the bustling Qingzhai Bookstore, Mohen Bookstore is peaceful and serene.

After buying the new book, Wu Yu, some people couldn't even wait to go home and immediately started reading it.

People don't have high expectations for silence.

Even if it's just relying on past glories, readers still buy into it.

It's nothing more than the same old formula: a series of fortuitous encounters, advancements in cultivation, or rebirth with powerful allies by one's side. Although it's become commonplace in recent years, Wu Yu's writing is just different!

"Hey! Wuyu has come up with another new idea!"

In the very first scene, Chen Ke is about to carry a hoe to farm when he suddenly finds an old man on the road.

The old man sat by the roadside, panting heavily, seemingly exhausted. When he saw Chen Ke approaching with a hoe, he trembled, and the shock in his eyes puzzled Chen Ke.

Little did people know that this old man was known as Tianxiangzi.

Having finally managed to snatch the token that had been lost in the cultivation world, Tian Xiangzi broke into the Heavenly Mystery Realm. Just as he discovered a "medicine field" brimming with spiritual energy, he suddenly saw someone carrying a "divine weapon" on their shoulder.

This person strolled leisurely under the oppressive aura of the Heavenly Mystery Realm.

The hoe-shaped divine weapon on his shoulder must be a top-tier magical artifact in the world, yet the newcomer casually carried it on his shoulder.

Upon closer inspection, it was astonishing!

Tianxiangzi was most skilled in physiognomy and divination. When he saw Chen Ke's appearance clearly, he was extremely shocked. This young man actually had the appearance of a top-level sage or god-king in the world. He was blessed with great virtue, and his purple aura was like a dragon soaring into the sky. Moreover, his cultivation was so profound that his realm could not be discerned.

Tianxiangzi was speechless with shock.

Until Chen Ke took the initiative to strike up a conversation:

"Hey, what's wrong? Got heatstroke? I'll cut you a melon, just don't die yet!"

Seeing his dazed look, Chen Ke assumed the old man was exhausted from the journey and was afraid he would collapse.

He quickly threw down the hoe.

When they got to their own vegetable garden, the one where they grew melons and fruits, they brought over a big watermelon.

Then, under Tian Xiangzi's incredulous gaze, he threw the spiritually radiant Golden Jade Spirit-Nourishing Melon to the ground. As the melon shattered, the spiritual energy of the melon stuck to the soil quickly escaped and returned to the earth.

Tian Xiangzi felt heartbroken seeing this and instinctively went forward to pick it up.

Just as Chen Ke picked up a piece of melon that wasn't covered in soil and muttered, "It's even yellow inside," he saw the old man pounce on it like a vicious dog, trying to pick up the broken pieces of melon from the ground.

He quickly handed what he was holding forward.

Are you really that thirsty?

Tian Xiangzi looked at the melon being offered to his mouth, then came to his senses and realized that he had encountered an extraordinary person. He asked somewhat cautiously:

"Is this melon for me?"

Chen Ke nodded matter-of-factly, and then saw Tian Xiangzi eagerly start munching on the melon, asking as he ate:

"Sage, do you still want those melons on the ground? Can I pick them up?"

stranger?

Chen Ke didn't think of the word "sage" as meaning "sage" or "newbie," but rather thought it meant "stranger" or "greenhorn." He also felt that the old man was quite impolite.

But seeing that he was old and rather pitiful, he nodded and said:

"What are you talking about? If you can't finish it, take it with you. Are you going to get you something fresh?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Xiangzi immediately stood up and shook his head.

Could this strange sage in the Heavenly Mystery Realm be angry?

That's right... He gave me a piece of golden jade spirit-nourishing melon because he saw that I had gone through so much trouble to get here and my spiritual power was unstable. He used this item to help me regulate my spiritual power.

How could I possibly push my luck?

Chen Ke's words were interpreted completely differently by Tian Xiangzi, who translated them as: "Shameless! I kindly gave you the spiritual melon, and you still want to take the blame? Why don't I just give you the whole garden?"

What followed was Tian Xiangzi's trembling with fear, while Chen Ke was completely baffled.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Only those who are currently reading "Pretending to be a Reclusive Master" know what's really going on!

"Hahahaha, I'm dying of laughter!"

"So these two people have erected a thick wall between them, each talking to themselves and neither understanding the other."

"Chen Ke was inexplicably mistaken for a reclusive master, and with these spirit melon seeds and the magical hoe, he felt that he was just cultivating the fields, but in other people's eyes... he was terrifying!"

"It's just that it's a little... um... a little offensive to a real immortal..."

"Come on, give me a break. If we really encountered an immortal in real life, we would naturally be extremely respectful. But this is just reading a storybook, imagining ourselves as Chen Ke and being mistaken for a master by others. It's just for fun!"

"This is so exhilarating... especially thinking about those people who are usually so high and mighty... cough!"

"..."

This is something Zhu Wuyao overlooked during the writing process.

Novels of the "Everyone is Dihua" type were not uncommon in my previous life. The protagonist was usually an ordinary nobody, but by a twist of fate, he was mistaken for a big shot, and everyone else felt that the protagonist's actions must have a deeper meaning.

However, she overlooked the fact that there really were immortals here.

However, her article, to some extent, lowered the image of immortals.

Whether it's Chen Ke, who is mistaken for a master but actually has no cultivation, or Tian Xiangzi, who is a true immortal but still treats others with utmost respect, they are both subtly tearing away the veil of mystery surrounding "immortals."

This is equivalent to, during the imperial era when monarchs were deified, suddenly a book comes out saying that the emperor is nothing special, just an ordinary person who can make mistakes, get angry, and be confused, just like your neighbor Erdan.

But Zhu Wuyao was completely unaware of the problems with his book.

Neither her past life experiences nor her current life, which had just begun and quickly led her to become a cultivator, had instilled in her a sense of awe for "immortal authority."

Naturally, no one sees "immortals" as someone to be revered who cannot be teased, joked about, or exposed.

She didn't mean it that way, but some people are good at "Dihua" (a derogatory term for a certain type of person).

They believe that there must be a deeper meaning behind the silence.

"Ordinary storybooks are mostly the wild speculations of mortals, like ants trying to figure out how far an eagle can see."

It's like writing that an emperor tills the land with a golden hoe and eats meat every day; a true cultivator would just laugh it off.

"But this story is different."

"If ordinary people saw this too often, they might wonder—is this cultivator in front of them also like Chen Ke, seemingly powerful but actually not very capable? Does the cultivator in front of them find it very satisfying to be so respectful to him?"

"Won't this cause trouble...?"

After hearing Zhou Fa's concerns, Li Fuwei shook his head and said:

"How could that be? At most, book lovers think of themselves as Chen Ke and just have some fun. But real cultivators aren't so easygoing. If they get angry, they really will kill someone."

"Besides, it's just a funny story; who would think about such things?"

"Besides, we've already been low-key enough. We're letting Qingzhai Bookstore take advantage of us. Aren't we just afraid that if we become too famous, our stories will be over-interpreted?"

The voice just fell.

Li Fuwei's consciousness stirred slightly, and he uttered a soft "Hmm?" as he muttered:

"Why does it seem like a lot of people are heading towards Ink Trace Bookstore?"