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

Chapter 258 Ascending the Immortal Path (Part 2)
"Oh? This is the 'Celestial Fate Gift'?"

As the group confronted each other, another figure suddenly emerged from the thick fog.

When Shi Yizhi saw the figure, his eyes widened in surprise and delight: "Brother Gao?"

"Brother Yi? What a coincidence!"

Gao Wencai seemed quite relaxed. He walked up to the "Immortal's Gift" without any hesitation, then picked up the wooden box in front of everyone, and then placed it in his hand to cushion it—

This series of actions terrified Shi Yi, who feared that someone nearby might object and try to snatch it away.

However, everyone seemed quite cautious, and no one made a move rashly. On the contrary, Gao Wencai himself, after adding weight to the wooden box, hissed and put it back in its original place.

Shi Yizhi was puzzled: "Brother Gao?"

Gao Wencai curled his lip and said frankly, "This thing is too heavy and hard to carry. I just tried to put it in my Qiankun bag, and it won't fit. It's obviously just deliberately placed here to cause trouble! I, Gao Wencai, am not stupid. Why would I fall for this trick? Let's go! Brother Yi, it's better to go to the White Stone Immortal Sect as soon as possible. Why bother with these damn 'Immortal Fate Gifts'!"

Upon hearing Gao Wencai's words, Shi Yizhi felt as if he had taken a reassuring pill, and his mind calmed down inexplicably. He cupped his hands and said, "Brother Gao is absolutely right. Then let's meet again at the White Stone Immortal Sect!"

Gao Wencai waved with his back turned, then disappeared into the thick fog without looking back, leaving behind only two words: "Let's encourage each other!"

With Shi Yizhi and Gao Wencai setting an example, although many others were envious of the so-called "gift of immortality," and some even imitated Gao Wencai by picking it up and feeling its weight, they all shook their heads and gave up on taking it.

Zhang Chengdao, who was sitting in the square in front of the main hall of the Baishi Immortal Sect from "God's perspective," nodded with satisfaction when he saw this scene.

These ten or so people seem to be quite determined. I imagine this Immortal Fate Gathering will be able to recruit quite a few cattle and horses... cough, no, I mean quite a few disciples.

However, while some atmospheres are harmonious, others are not.

On another golden platform, three people were fighting fiercely, exchanging blows back and forth, creating quite a spectacle.

As they fought, the three men kept shouting—

"Brothers of Black Dragon Stronghold, please give me a hand! My Nine Rings Sect will surely repay you handsomely in the future!"

"Bullshit! What kind of third-rate gang is the Nine Rings Sect? Does it even deserve to be treated like royalty by my Black Dragon Stronghold?"

"You bandits and street thugs think you can steal the 'Celestial Gift'? If you know what's good for you, you'd better back down. Don't make me waste my energy fighting you!"

Amidst the swearing, a child's innocent voice suddenly rang out: "Big brother, why are they fighting?"

Pei Zhao, holding onto Pei Xiaoman who was riding on his shoulders, patiently explained, "Because they all want that wooden box, but there's only one, so they have to fight it out and wait for a winner to decide who gets the box."

Pei Xiaoman became increasingly confused: "What is that box? Why does everyone want it?"

Pei Zhao replied, "A-Da doesn't know what it is either. Maybe it's something delicious, maybe it's a magic pill, maybe it's something else."

Pei Xiaoman asked again, "If you don't know what it is, why would you still try to steal it?"

Pei Zhao replied again, "Because although no one knows what's inside, everyone is certain that what's inside is extremely precious."

How precious is it?

"Very precious."

"How precious is it?"

"It's very, very precious."

"Oh……"

Pei Xiaoman watched the three fighting silently for a while, then, losing interest, she lowered her head and asked, "Ah Da, where's Mother? Why don't we go find her?"

Pei Zhao coaxed, "Mother is here too, but she got separated from us. Maybe we'll run into her soon!"

Pei Xiaoman pouted: "I don't want to watch a fight! I want my mother!"

Pei Zhao quickly replied, "Alright, alright, then let's go find Mother! Ah Da will take you to find Mother!"

As Pei Zhao spoke, he picked up Pei Xiaoman and prepared to continue walking forward. Unexpectedly, as soon as Pei Xiaoman saw him continue up the steps, she struggled and pointed behind her, saying with a pained expression, "Go look over there! Don't go upstairs, it hurts so much!"

Pei Zhao was startled by what he heard and quickly took several steps back, almost bumping into the three people who were fighting.

Although he felt a tightness in his chest as he stepped onto the next step, he didn't feel any pain...

But Xiaoman's pained expression didn't seem fake, so Pei Zhao could only guess that Xiaoman was just an ordinary child who couldn't withstand the effects of the "Ascension to Immortality".

Although Pei Zhao did harbor the hope that "Xiao Man might also be able to pass the Immortal Fate Assembly," he didn't intend for her to force herself. So, whenever Xiao Man felt unwell, Pei Zhao carried her back. However, as they passed the three people locked in combat, someone's hand trembled, and a whip accidentally struck Xiao Man's foot. Her pale yellow leather boots were instantly scorched with true energy, leaving a large mark. Xiao Man cried out in pain from the whip's blow—

"what!"

then--

"Waaah—I want my mommy! I want my mommy!"

Pei Xiaoman's stormy crying made Pei Zhao's face turn red with anger. But to his surprise, the person who accidentally hurt Xiaoman not only didn't apologize, but also said in a harsh voice, "Get out of here! Don't get in my way!"

Pei Zhao laughed in anger, shouting "You scoundrel!" He then supported Pei Xiaoman with one hand and channeled his spiritual energy with the other. Suddenly, a scorching fireball appeared in Pei Zhao's palm and flew straight out, smashing into the three of them. It exploded with a bang, and one of them, who was already at a disadvantage in the fight, was blasted away a meter away, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

One of the men wielding a knife, seeing that Pei Zhao's cultivation level was not right, hurriedly said, "Brother, the one who injured your child was clearly that villain from Black Dragon Stronghold. How could you hit me without distinguishing right from wrong!"

"None of you three are innocent if you fight here!"

Pei Zhao sneered, conjured another fireball in his hand, and hurled it at the three of them.

The large fireball Pei Zhao conjured wasn't actually some kind of magical technique, but rather a method he developed himself based on the principles of spiritual energy within the body explained in the "Basic Treatise on Guiding Qi into the Body," combined with his previous martial arts training.

Not only can it create fireballs, but it can also create water balls, earth balls, or even dig up stones to throw at people, which can also cause great damage. However, fireballs and water balls are easy to deal with, but earth balls and stones require soil and rocks to be around them.

In addition, the water ball is obviously less lethal than the fireball, so he used this self-created "Great Fireball Technique" to hit people.

To make the "giant fireball" even more lethal, Pei Zhao cleverly wrapped a layer of spiritual energy inside the fireball, so that it would explode when it hit someone—he had even used this method to kill a wild boar once!

These three martial artists were certainly not as tough as wild boars. Although one of them was quick-witted and immediately activated his protective qi, the explosion of spiritual energy was definitely not something that mere martial arts qi could withstand. So, under Pei Zhao's series of steady, accurate, and ruthless "Great Fireball Explosion Art" attacks, the three martial artists were quickly seriously injured and fell to the ground. Each of them looked more miserable than the last, with their hair and clothes burned and torn, making them look like beggars.

"Hmph, it's like a horse that doesn't know how long its face is, and an ox that doesn't know how thick its skin is. They don't even know their own limitations, yet they run rampant here. It's truly absurd!"

After Pei Zhao blew the three people up so they couldn't get up, he didn't kill them all. Besides the fact that the three didn't deserve to die, he was also worried that if any of them died, the scene would be too bloody and frighten his daughter. So he just made a sarcastic remark, picked up the box on the ground, and left with Pei Xiaoman.

Even so, Pei Zhao was still somewhat indignant—

Forget about any "celestial affinity gift" or anything like that, just consider it Xiaoman's medical expenses!
Having only climbed about thirty steps, Pei Zhao and Pei Xiaoman quickly exited the "Ascension Steps," and in fact, they were among the first to do so.

After walking for a while, Pei Xiaoman forgot why she had been crying. She was only thinking about Madam Yang. Even when Pei Zhao held her in his arms and they sat in a wooden pavilion built by the Ye family, Pei Xiaoman still asked in a pitiful voice, "Where did Mother go? Why can't I find her?"

Pei Zhao coaxed, "Mother went to participate in the Immortal Destiny Assembly. Shall we wait for her here?"

"How long do we have to wait?"

"We'll get it after three meals!"

"It'll take so long! Can't we do it all at once?"

"Ah Da's opinion doesn't count..."

Pei Zhao was getting a little helpless trying to coax Xiaoman, as he was really struggling to keep up with her endless questions. An old man with a white beard stroked his beard and, seeing Pei Zhao's flustered state, chuckled and pulled out a small cloth bag, saying, "Hehehe, your daughter is really lively. Here, this is some dried peach that I brought. Your daughter can have some to chew on to pass the time."

Pei Zhao quickly declined, saying, "How can this be! This stuff isn't cheap!"

Although the dried peaches had long since flowed from the White Stone Immortal Sect into the outside market, and could even sometimes be obtained from the Huiyou Escort Agency, they were still "immortal food" and were quite expensive. If you really wanted to buy them, the market price would be several tens of strings of cash per catty!

The white-bearded old man insisted on stuffing the small cloth bag into Pei Zhao's arms, and thoughtfully took out a piece of dried peach and put it into Pei Xiaoman's small hand, saying, "It's alright, this is a gift from the younger generation of my family. Your daughter has such a big appetite, she won't eat me out of house and home!"

Seeing that the old man was genuinely offering the gift, Pei Zhao thought it would be pretentious to refuse again. So, supporting Pei Xiaoman, he awkwardly cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Then thank you very much, sir!"

Pei Zhao tore the peach preserves into small pieces so that Pei Xiaoman could easily hold and eat them herself. With something to chew on, Pei Xiaoman's tears stopped. She forgot her mother and what had been said earlier, and just kept her head down, focusing all her attention on the peach preserves.

Pei Xiaoman stopped asking questions, and Pei Zhao finally had a moment to introduce himself politely to the old man: "I am Pei Zhao, and this is my daughter Xiaoman. She is still young and doesn't know much, so please forgive her, sir."

"Hehehe, your daughter is elegant and beautiful, what's there to laugh at?"

The old man praised her, his eyes full of affection, as if he really liked Pei Xiaoman. He then returned the compliment, saying, "My surname is Qi, my name is Qi Ang, and my courtesy name is Delong... To be honest, I am quite old and should be enjoying my retirement. However, I was asked by the younger generation to come and witness the legendary Immortal Destiny Assembly, and also to send the younger generation in for a try."

“Qi…Qi Ang, Qi Delong, you, you are…”

Pei Zhao had been listening with a smile, but when he heard the old man's name, he suddenly froze, then stared intently at the old man, increasingly feeling that the man's kind face and extraordinary demeanor made him seem unlike an ordinary person, and that name...

He swallowed hard, his voice trembling with excitement: "You could be... you could be Grand Tutor Qi of Xiao Kingdom, the legendary Grand Tutor Qi who single-handedly defeated two opponents and drove back the 500,000-strong army of Southern Chu for over 400 li!?"

(End of this chapter)