บท 10: Chapter 10: When Bootlickers Reign
Lu Changsheng summoned his Precious Sword and took to Sword Flight, his Daoist Robe fluttering fiercely. His Flying Sword tore through the sea of clouds like a streak of flowing light, spanning ten thousand miles in a day.
Even so, by the time Lu Changsheng rushed to Liang Kingdom's Zhen Nan Pass, a full five days had passed.
Zhen Nan Pass of the Liang Kingdom was one of the border defenses between Xia State and Huang State, guarded by three hundred thousand soldiers to prevent the tribes of Huang State from invading the Liang Kingdom.
Suddenly, a tall and straight figure descended from the sky and landed on the battle-scarred walls of Zhen Nan Pass.
This figure resembled an unsheathed longsword, commanding attention to the point where it was difficult for others to look directly at him.
"Who are you?"
The surrounding soldiers of the Liang Kingdom, brandishing swords and spears, surrounded Lu Changsheng, tense and on high alert.
Lu Changsheng, capable of Sword Flight, had at least reached the Qi Transformation Realm. The ordinary commanders of the Liang Kingdom were also only in the Qi Transformation Realm themselves!
With a flip of his hand, Lu Changsheng revealed a token made of metal inscribed with the ancient seal characters for "Mount Shu": "I am an envoy from Mount Shu. Where are the people from the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion?"
"So it's an Immortal from Mount Shu!"
"Hurry and report to the Zhen Nan General and the Immortals of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion!"
"Please wait a moment, Mount Shu Immortal."
Seeing the Mount Shu token, the surrounding Liang Kingdom soldiers unanimously cast envious glances at Lu Changsheng.
Mount Shu is the foremost of the Orthodox Sects in Xia State, its lineage stretching over hundreds of thousands of years, and the Ancestral Master of Mount Shu is a legendary figure.
In their eyes, Lu Changsheng, with his Immortal-like presence and Dao Bone, was undoubtedly an Immortal himself.
"I am Yun Tiannan, the defender of Zhen Nan Pass, and I respectfully welcome the Elder of Mount Shu. Elder, please follow me; the Elders from the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion have been waiting for you for a long time."
The Zhen Nan Pass defender was a Loose Cultivator who had reached the ninth layer of the Golden Core Realm. To mortals, he was unfathomably profound, but at Mount Shu, his cultivation wouldn't even compare to the most junior Elder.
As for the Dao Palace Realm Elders of Mount Shu, they might well be figures he would look up to for a lifetime.
Lu Changsheng followed the Zhen Nan Pass defender into the fortress city and entered a resplendent mansion.
The Inquiry Immortal Pavilion party had been waiting there for a long time, about more than twenty people in total. The one leading them was an old man who looked withered and frail, leaning on a walking stick.
Despite his decrepit appearance, Lu Changsheng dared not underestimate him.
Elder Ku Mu, a previous generation Elder of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion, had cultivated for eight hundred years, and the last time he made a move, he displayed the cultivation of the fourth layer of the Dao Palace Realm.
Aside from Elder Ku Mu, there were also two other Elders of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion, one male and one female, both carrying longswords.
The man was fairly handsome with a distinguished air about him; the only issue was his fawning and ingratiating gaze towards the other female Dao Palace Realm cultivator.
A sycophant!
Lu Changsheng inwardly sighed.
It seems even in a world of cultivation, sycophants are prevalent.
Indeed, people are all about appearances.
Lu Changsheng's gaze then shifted to the female Dao Palace Realm cultivator of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion, and he was momentarily startled.
This woman, dressed in white, had a beauty that outshined the snow, a jade-like stature, and hair that fell to her waist, with brows that framed her face like distant mountains and eyes as clear and lustrous as autumn waters.
Even with all the female celebrities Lu Changsheng had seen in his past life, not one could compare to her by even a fraction.
Just in terms of aura, there was quite a shortfall.
Standing there without moving a muscle, the spiritual energy of nature naturally converged into her body, making her appear like a fairy, transcending the mundane world.
No wonder the male Elder of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion had become a sycophant.
However, Lu Changsheng had an Innate Taoist Body, which allowed him to easily suppress his emotions. He was merely awestruck for a moment before he quickly regained his composure.
Just a fleeting instance and Lu Changsheng's expression was calm, "My name is Lu Changsheng, a disciple of the Taiyuan True Immortal, following the command of my eldest senior brother, I have come to assist all of you."
The female Dao Palace Realm cultivator of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion was instead slightly startled.
It was the first time a male cultivator had seen her and managed to maintain a blank expression on his face.
The man before her was no ordinary person.
This was her intuition.
The young Elder of the Dao Palace Realm from Inquiry Immortal Pavilion frowned, "Lu Changsheng? If I recall correctly, he was the last direct disciple recruited by Ancestral Master Taiyuan, who entered the Nascent Soul Realm just a century ago. Could it be that you have not yet reached the Dao Palace Realm? This mission is no trivial matter; do not hold us back."
It seemed that the senior brother had not yet informed the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion about his breakthrough to the Dao Palace Realm.
Or was it that the senior brother deliberately concealed his cultivation?
After all, the less the other party knew about one's own capabilities, the safer one was.
Being in Inquiry Immortal Pavilion was not like being in Mount Shu; Lu Changsheng might not fully trust the former.
Thinking this, Lu Changsheng purposefully sighed, "Alas, my cultivation is not profound. A hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye, and now my cultivation is merely at the ninth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm."
The sycophantic Elder of the Dao Palace Realm revealed an expression as if to say, 'So it is', "Once we enter Huang State, you can just act together with our disciples."
"Luo Feng, do not be rude! Li Changye has arranged for Elder Lu to assist us, and there must be a deep meaning behind it," retorted Elder Ku Mu, scolding the sycophantic Dao Palace Realm Elder.
Li Changye's reputation was renowned across the six Orthodox Sects and four Demon Sects among the young generation of Elders.
Having cultivated for five hundred years, Li Changye had already reached the ninth layer of the Dao Palace Realm, while Elder Ku Mu, despite eight hundred years of cultivation, was only at the fourth layer, uncertain whether he would be able to make it to the fifth layer in his remaining years.
Elder Ku Mu almost worshiped Li Changye, who was younger yet more advanced in cultivation, convinced that someone sent by him could not be wrong.
"Hmph, after two hundred and fifty years of cultivation I'm only at the ninth layer of the Nascent Soul Realm, perhaps destined to be stuck there for life. At this age, I had already entered the Dao Palace Realm. It seems that Mount Shu is nothing special after all," Luo Feng said dismissively, trying to belittle Lu Changsheng and highlight his own talent to catch the attention of a female Elder of the Dao Palace Realm.
Pathetic, a sycophant, ends up with nothing despite all the fawning.
Lu Changsheng muttered to himself inwardly, completely ignoring Luo Feng.
He had seen many such people before.
Elder Ku Mu coughed lightly, "These two are Elders of the Inquiry Immortal Pavilion and also two disciples of our Pavilion Master, Luo Feng and Xia Ningxue."
"Hmph."
Luo Feng crossed his arms and snorted coldly.
The Dao Palace Realm Elder named Xia Ningxue, however, nodded in acknowledgment.
Inquiry Immortal Pavilion sent an Elder of the fourth layer of the Dao Palace Realm and two direct disciples of the Pavilion Master?!
Lu Changsheng looked over the people present, in addition to the three Dao Palace Realm powerhouses, there were more than twenty Elders or Inner Sect Disciples from the Nascent Soul and Golden Core Realms.
With the cultivation levels of these twenty-some people, the group was almost like a nation-destroying squad.
The fact that Inquiry Immortal Pavilion dispatched such a lineup to the borderlands of Huang State suggested that the issue was probably far from simple.
[Ding, the system is searching for suitable candidates to become your disciples... One has been found.]
As Lu Changsheng pondered, the cold voice of the Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator echoed within his Sea of Consciousness.
Oh? Is there a suitable candidate for a disciple nearby?
Lu Changsheng was taken aback once again.
He had not expected to come across a suitable disciple so soon after leaving Mount Shu.
[Ding, the disciple candidate the system has identified is named Xia Ningxue.]
"???"
Lu Changsheng was stunned.
This, this wasn't right, was she not a direct disciple of the Fairy Pavilion Master?
Was he supposed to poach from another institution?
Lu Changsheng looked towards Xia Ningxue, and as the Disciple Apprenticeship Simulator in his Sea of Consciousness burst into dazzling golden light, he could see that her aptitude was not inferior to his senior brother's.
But how was he to take such a person as his disciple?
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