The Young Swordsman: The Taoist Priest of Qingcheng Has Descended the Mountain

Qi Tianchen naturally knew about this, after all, he and Lü Suzhen had been old friends for many years.

Upon hearing this, he chuckled and said, "Your Majesty, he has already descended the mountain."

"Oh? It seems that the five thousand people at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain are all good-for-nothings. Such a big matter, and I haven't heard a word about it."

In the Grand Preceptor's opinion, will this world be subject to repeated upheavals?

Emperor Mingde did not seem particularly surprised by this. If a master like Dao Jianxian were to come down the mountain, could the five thousand elite soldiers at the foot of the mountain really defend against him?

Their existence is simply waiting for an answer, an outcome.

Now, the outcome seems clear.

Qi Tianchen conceded defeat, saying, "Your Majesty's chess skills are superb, far surpassing those of this old minister. I have lost."

This old minister told Your Majesty long ago that Zhao Yuzhen was not a person of destiny.

It doesn't matter if he goes down the mountain.

Because Zhao Yuzhen's destiny with Qingcheng was severed.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Mingde's eyes sharpened: "Oh? Who is it?"

What Lu Suzhen couldn't do back then, someone has now accomplished.

"He is... a prodigy, a peerless genius, an invincible person."

Suddenly a gentle breeze swept by, causing the light and shadows to sway, and a figure appeared beside the chessboard.

The man, dressed in blue, was unrestrained and carefree. He pushed Qi Tianchen aside without any regard for his image and sat down with a thud.

Emperor Mingde's hand trembled slightly as he picked up the chess piece, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead, but he ultimately made no further movements, not even uttering a sound.

He possessed the composure to remain unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him.

As for Qi Tianchen, he looked at the guy who suddenly appeared with a look of horror and subconsciously protected his beard.

They say you shouldn't talk about people behind their backs, and sure enough, he got his comeuppance. How did this wicked person end up here? You should know that when he was only seven years old, he dared to set fire to his own beard.

No, that's not right. How did this wicked creature come about? When did it come about?

After so many years, this wicked creature's cultivation has actually reached such a level.

The Northern Imperial Palace was heavily guarded and filled with experts, yet this wretched creature appeared so brazenly that even he hadn't noticed it beforehand.

"Old man, that's going a bit too far."

"I should at least call you 'Senior Uncle,' so isn't it disrespectful of you to talk behind my back, talking about me, a junior?"

Qi Tianchen chuckled twice: "Nephew, you jest."

Upon hearing the way the two addressed each other, Emperor Mingde secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but he leaned back slightly and even made a subtle hand gesture.

There were shadowy figures moving about, but it quickly fell silent.

"Imperial Preceptor, who is this gentleman?"

Emperor Mingde already had a guess in his mind, and his heart was filled with even more apprehension.

Qi Tianchen smiled wryly and apologized to Emperor Mingde: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. This is the senior brother of the current head of Qingcheng Sect, and the founding disciple of the old headmaster, Lü Suzhen."

Zhou Zhenhuan, whose Taoist name is Xiaoyao.

"No one on Mount Qingcheng can surpass him in the dual cultivation of Daoist arts and swordsmanship."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhen chuckled twice and casually bowed to Emperor Mingde.

"Zhou Huanzhen, an unknown soldier, greets Your Majesty."

The pastries here are delicious, Your Majesty. Please take some with me when I leave.

There are some children; let them try some too.

Emperor Mingde was taken aback, and felt both amused and exasperated.

I just learned from Qi Tianchen that this person is probably the one who severed Zhao Yuzhen's destiny. Such a master, yet he acts like this.

That's really...interesting.

"Oh? So you are a Daoist immortal from Qingcheng. If you like it, Master Zhou, I will have some made more."

"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty." However, there was little sense of reverence in his words.

Before Emperor Mingde could give any instructions, he was horrified to find that the pastries that were originally in the imperial kitchen were now arranged in order on the small chessboard in front of him.

Such methods are beyond the comprehension of gods and demons.

Then, watching in astonishment, Zhou Zhen stuffed the pastries into his sleeve one by one. After stuffing them in for a long time, his sleeve remained unchanged.

Seeing Emperor Mingde staring at his sleeve, Zhou Zhen kindly offered an explanation.

"Your Majesty, please do not be fooled by the rough appearance of my Taoist robe. I have cast a spell on the sleeves, which is called 'Universe in the Sleeve'."

The sleeves may not be large, but they can hold a lot.

Emperor Mingde was greatly shocked; at this moment, he was no longer nervous.

He understood that Qi Tianchen's presence here without making a sound meant that this person would at least not pose a threat to him.

Qi Tianchen's cultivation is closely related to the fate of the Northern Li Kingdom.

They would never allow him to be in danger.

Even Emperor Mingde became interested: "Master Zhou, I still have quite a few fine wines in my palace. Please, Master Zhou, have a taste?"

He wanted to see just how much stuff this person could fit in his sleeve.

Zhou Zhenhuan accepted all offers and filled over a hundred jars before finally stopping.

"I'm not installing anymore. I need to leave some space for other things later."

This humble Taoist thanks Your Majesty for the reward.

Emperor Mingde was truly amazed by what he had seen today, and laughed, "It's nothing. Only after meeting Master Zhou today have I realized how profound the Dharma is."

"But where does Master Zhou come from? He'll certainly stay in my Tianqi for a few days to see its splendor."

"Your Majesty, there's no need to test me. I'm really just here to freeload; I have no other purpose."

Besides, my senior brother is making fun of me, so His Majesty should see for himself that I, Zhou, am just a man with two eyes and a nose, not some kind of monster.

Oh, by the way, it's not easy for Beili to train elite troops. People from the foot of Qingcheng Mountain, let's just leave.

They've endured so much hardship in Qingcheng for so many years; it's time for them to come back and reunite with their families.

As for my junior brother, Your Majesty, rest assured, his destiny has already been severed by me. He's just an ordinary little sword immortal.

We've eaten and finished talking, so I won't bother you any longer.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty. I must be going now, or I'll miss seeing the celestial maiden."

Zhou Huanzhen stood up and bowed to Qi Tianchen: "Uncle-Master, please visit Master when you have time. He must be quite lonely."

Hmm? There seems to be something wrong with that statement.

"Uncle-Master, I'm not asking you to go keep Master company. Just visit Qingcheng sometime."

Qi Tianchen was both amused and exasperated. He waved his whisk, pretending to strike, but Zhou Zhenhuan laughed heartily and vanished like a breeze right in front of Emperor Mingde.

Emperor Mingde finally relaxed completely, but then suddenly remembered something and became tense.

Before Qi Tianchen could speak, a burst of laughter came from outside.

"The gathering of the five Grand Eunuchs is truly a great honor for me, His Majesty. He is far too hospitable."

Chapter 17: Zhou Zhenhuan defeats the Five Great Supervisors with only half a move.

Zhou Zhenhuan's voice was fleeting, as if a momentary surge of sword intent passed through it, and then everything returned to silence.

A moment later, a series of noisy footsteps came from outside.

The five guards arrived together—no, they walked in supporting each other, each with a bloody welt on the back of their hand.

His external injuries weren't serious, but the sword energy within his body was surging wildly. If he weren't in such a hurry to meet the Emperor, he should have found a place to suppress it right now.

That person's sword aura was quite strange.

Once inside the body, it is not domineering, but rather like a persistent, persistent rain, a maggot clinging to the bone, impossible to drive away, and endlessly regenerating. What is even more terrifying is that the sword energy is constantly devouring their internal energy, thereby forming new sword energy.

Qi Tianchen immediately understood what was going on, quickly got up, apologized to Emperor Mingde, and hurriedly left.

Emperor Mingde did not stop him, but his outward gentleness vanished, replaced by a somber expression.

The five chief eunuchs looked at each other, their faces full of bitterness, and then knelt down at the same time.

"Your Majesty, half a move."

Emperor Mingde's expression darkened further: "You five only used half a move?"

"No, Your Majesty misunderstands. That person only used half a move and even held back. Otherwise, the five of us would probably be dead by now."

Emperor Mingde was shocked!

"He's actually that strong?"

"Your Majesty, this man is as the Imperial Advisor said; we must not make him our enemy!"

Emperor Mingde's face was pale. After a long while, he sighed and waved his hand: "Go and recover from your injuries. What happened today must not be told to outsiders."

Also, those people from Qingcheng, please withdraw.

With such a demon in Qingcheng, I'm afraid they can't suppress it.

After the five chief eunuchs had left in a disheveled state, Emperor Mingde subconsciously stroked his beard.

Are there really immortals in the world?

The existence of such people is truly unsettling.

But then I thought, if I could win over someone like that…

Emperor Mingde was tempted.

On the official road, in a horse-drawn carriage, there were four people: three men and one woman, plus a coffin.

Sikong Qianluo wiped her spear and yawned, looking somewhat bored.

"Senior Brother, are we really going to Sangu City?"

Tang Lian felt a deep sense of powerlessness. He was certain that he had never revealed his destination to anyone.

But is that person truly infallible?

Three visits to the city, to the beauty village.

Tang Lian knew that she had to go there to find her contact.

That was the only way to reach Biro.

Seeing Tang Lian's expression, Xiao Se nodded with some admiration: "It seems that Senior Zhou's calculations were accurate again."

Outside the carriage, Lei Wujie, who was driving, asked, "What kind of place is Sangu City?"

"Three visits to the city, three visits from the beauty. One visit could topple a city, a second visit could topple a nation, and three visits could topple my heart."

Beauty Manor was the most famous brothel in Sangu City. Merchants used to spend lavishly here, making it a veritable den of iniquity.

Besides the beauties, the most famous thing about Meirenzhuang is its gambling.

Because the wealth flowing through there daily was enormous and could not be measured in ordinary currency, transactions there were generally conducted using the finest pearls.

Tang Lian gave her junior brother a lecture, leaving Lei Wujie dumbfounded.

"There is such a place in this world."

Xiao Se leaned lazily against the car wall, his hands behind his head.

"You blockhead, you've only been in the martial world for a few days? The martial world is so big, what's so strange about a place like this?"

Lei Wujie was clearly unconvinced: "So, you knew?"

Xiao Se was speechless, realizing that his momentum had weakened by three points. He turned his head away and snorted coldly: "What a joke, how could I, the dignified owner of an inn, go to such a place?"

"I thought you had been there."

Listening to the two bickering, Sikong Qianluo clearly grasped the key point.