Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 113 Threesome

After listening to the gossip for a while, Tang Xiaoyu roughly figured out that this Immortal Baishi's surname was Zhang, his given name was Chengdao, and he had three disciples.

The eldest disciple is named Chang Ping'an, who is said to have defeated Mu Feng, the grandmaster of Xiao Kingdom, with a single sword strike.

The second disciple is Princess Xing of Xiao Kingdom. Her name is unknown, but she is the fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl who just looked indifferent.

The third disciple is the most famous. Before joining the sect, he was Ye Shuyun, the seventh young master of the Ye family in Jiangnan, who was quite famous in the martial arts world. It is said that after joining the immortal sect, he not only cured his blindness, but also abandoned martial arts and followed the path of immortality. He can ride immortal beasts to fly in the sky and escape into the earth. He is very capable!
Of the three disciples of the White Stone Immortal, Ye Shuyun was the easiest to talk to and had the best temper. He had repeatedly ordered the Ye family to send rice and flour to the foot of White Stone Mountain to sell at extremely low prices, thus stabilizing the market that was on the verge of collapse.

Most importantly, it's said that although these disciples of the White Stone Immortal Sect possess incredibly powerful immortal techniques, and their techniques can indeed refine true energy, but...

Refining...

It doesn't seem to be absorption?

"Is it really just refining true energy? Or is it being absorbed for your own use?"

Tang Xiaoyu pressed Huang Wudao for answers.

Huang Wu scoffed, mocking, "You little girl, you're really ignorant! What's the use of absorbing it? Immortals use immortal power and immortal techniques! What's the use of true energy?"

Tang Xiaoyu said, "Legend has it that more than a thousand years ago, the Blood Demon cultivated a demonic art that could absorb other people's true energy!"

Upon hearing this, Huang Wu became so angry that his nostrils flared wide, and he shouted, "What?! Are you crazy? Immortal Bai Shi is a real immortal! What Blood Demon? Never heard of him! Don't spout nonsense!"

Tang Xiaoyu quickly waved her hand and said, "I just remembered, it doesn't mean anything!"

Zhu Ye whispered, "The Blood Demon... was trapped and died in the Qin King's Tomb. It seems that the White Stone Immortal Technique is quite different from the Blood Demon Technique... Besides, I haven't heard of the White Stone Immortal using any beads, so it shouldn't have much to do with the Blood Demon."

Huang Wu's eyes widened in surprise: "There really is such a person as the Blood Demon!?"

Tang Xiaoyu glanced at Zhu Ye sideways: "Use beads? What do you mean?"

Zhu Ye closed his paper fan, stared at Tang Xiaoyu, and replied, "Legend has it that the Blood Demon cultivates the Blood Demon Technique because of a secret treasure called the Blood Demon Pearl. Only with the Blood Demon Pearl can one absorb the true energy of martial artists for one's own use..."

Huang Wu was even more shocked: "There's such a treasure? If I get this treasure, wouldn't I be able to continuously absorb other people's true energy and become invincible?"

"That's exactly right. The Blood Demon once dominated the world with the Blood Demon Pearl. Records show that tens of thousands of martial artists died trying to trap and kill him. Among them, eighteen Grandmasters and hundreds of Second-Rank Grandmasters died. That's why martial arts are in such a state today..."

Zhu Ye sighed softly and continued, "It was also because of the lack of successors at that time that the leader of the Martial Arts Alliance established an unwritten rule that anyone who breaks through to the Grandmaster level should convene a Martial Arts Conference to invite martial artists from all over the world to compete and exchange skills in order to promote martial arts."

Huang Wu was genuinely unaware of these historical origins and listened with great interest: "So that's how the Martial Arts Tournament came about! Mr. Zhu really knows a lot. I thought you were just a pedantic scholar!"

"Hahahaha," Zhu Ye laughed heartily upon hearing this, then snapped open his folding fan and fanned himself gently, saying, "I make my living from all sorts of information, and information in history books is information too!"

"No matter what, I've sold everything in my house; I'm determined to seek the path of immortality!"

Huang Wu spoke with a resolute expression, then grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, and asked Zhu Ye, "Mr. Zhu, you don't seem to be here to seek immortality, but rather to gather information!" Zhu Ye nodded slightly and replied frankly, "Perhaps part of that! After all, if I fail the trials and cannot obtain the opportunity to become an immortal, I will still have to return to my old profession to make a living."

Huang Wu turned to Tang Xiaoyu, who hadn't spoken until now, and asked, "Little girl, what about you? You came all the way from Sichuan alone? Where are your family?"

"What's there to say? They're all dead!"

Perhaps because she was asked about something painful, Tang Xiaoyu looked rather unhappy and said impatiently, "Since you've come here, you must be here to join the White Stone Immortal Sect. I'm quite curious about what this White Stone Immortal looks like!"

"Who wouldn't be curious? To be honest, I actually saw it from afar a couple of days ago!"

Before Huang Wu could finish speaking, he saw Tang Xiaoyu looking at him and immediately boasted with a smug expression, "No wonder they say he's a god! Do you know what happened? With a wave of his sleeve, all that pile of wood on the ground disappeared! It vanished in an instant! It's amazing! I heard someone say that this is a god's supernatural power, it's called... oh right, it's called 'Universe in the Sleeve'!"

"Disappeared in an instant?"

Tang Xiaoyu was initially surprised, but then frowned, as if she had endless worries on her mind.

The three were chatting when a commotion suddenly broke out in the distance.

"Old Huang! Come quick! The Ye family is here selling sesame cakes again!"

"Come here!"

Someone who seemed to know Huang Wu called out to him from afar before hurrying into the crowd. Huang Wu responded and turned to Zhu Ye and Tang Xiaoyu, saying, "The Ye family has been selling flatbreads every other day for the past two days. They're only one coin each, and three coins for those with meat. It's cheaper than buying flour and meat to make them at home! They're specially made for people like us!"

Tang Xiaoyu asked curiously, "So cheap! Aren't you afraid someone will buy them all at once?"

"Don't worry! The Ye family has stipulated that each person can only buy ten, whether vegetarian or meat-based. Once you buy one, you have to put your fingerprint on it. If you put your fingerprint on more than ten, you won't be allowed to buy any next time. Nobody wants to go through that kind of trouble for a few coins! Besides, the pancakes are big; they can easily last two days. If it were you..."

Huang Wu looked Tang Xiaoyu up and down, his short stature swaying as he said dismissively, "She's like a cat. She could probably eat for three days straight!"

Tang Xiaoyu couldn't stand Huang Wu's mouth the most. He would even mock the dogs that passed by. It was only thanks to the simple and honest folk customs and the tolerant and generous people of this place that she was able to live to this age safely!
Zhu Ye and Tang Xiaoyu had brought some dry rations, and since their cultivation levels were not low, they didn't join the crowd to buy sesame cakes. Instead, they headed into the neighboring mountains, intending to hunt some wild game to repay Huang Wu for taking them in. Baishi Mountain wasn't just a bare mountain; it was part of the northernmost part of the Daxing Mountains, with the other peaks of the Daxing Mountains stretching to the south. So, they weren't worried about not having a place to hunt.

Huang Wu's wooden shed is still very rudimentary; it will probably take another day or two to fully erect it...

However, there were still more than half a month until the Immortal Destiny Conference. If they were to find a place to live on their own, it would be a real headache. Therefore, they had to accept Huang Wu's favor no matter what.

This is also why Tang Xiaoyu and Zhu Ye tolerated Huang Wu's foul mouth.

So the three of them temporarily and harmoniously squeezed into a shed separated by wooden planks, and stayed there for a month.

Tang Xiaoyu slept on one side of the wooden board, while Zhu Ye, on the other side, had to tolerate Huang Wu's farting, burping, teeth grinding, and sleep talking. After a month, he was exhausted and worn out. Finally, the Immortal Fate Assembly arrived, much to his delight.

(End of this chapter)