With two loud thuds, Wang Qi and Liu Sizhe collapsed onto the low table, their wine jars slipping from their hands—each having only managed to drink a third.
After all, it was the diluted version of the famous Jiujin Yuyong Jia Ren Mei.
Liu Yan’er let out a soft breath, flashing a grateful smile at Ling’e.
But she didn’t seem in a hurry to leave.
“Senior Sister Yan’er, I have an idea that might help you make a decision,” Ling’e said with some helplessness, motioning for Liu Yan’er to lean in. She then whispered a few words in her ear.
Liu Yan’er frowned. “Will this work?”
“It’s just to make Liu Senior Brother give up,” Ling’e said, blinking. “If he can even accept someone else’s child, then we can think of something else. But make sure to tell Wang Qi Senior Brother first and have someone bear witness, so your reputation isn’t harmed.”
“I understand! If this works, I must thank you!”
Overjoyed, Liu Yan’er stood up and made a formal bow. Lan Ling’e quickly waved her off.
Soon, the senior sister conjured two clouds to carry the drunken duo into the sky, heading toward Dulin Peak.
“Seriously, why does everyone always come to my senior brother for help?
Does my Xiaoqiong Peak’s senior brother have nothing better to do?”
Unaware of the trouble she’d just stirred up, Lan Ling’e let out a soft humph, picked up a cloth, and took the battered low table to the lakeside for a careful cleaning.
Should she invite her master to Dulin Peak to watch the drama unfold?
…Better not. No need to stir up trouble. Otherwise, when Senior Brother returns, he’ll scold her again.
“Stupid Senior Brother, why couldn’t you take me with you to sever worldly ties? I could’ve even bowed alongside you!
Hmph!
Fine then—when it’s my turn to sever worldly ties, even if you don’t want to go, I’ll drag you with me!”
—
Two thousand miles southwest of the Duxian Sect’s main gate, in a secluded valley near the sect’s sixth-ranked spiritual vein…
“I wonder if Ling’e has caused any trouble.”
Li Changshou awoke from meditation, murmuring to himself, his gaze calm and steady.
His cultivation realm was stabilizing, and though his overall level hadn’t increased, his strength was improving at a visible rate.
After checking the web formations and warning arrays he had set around him, Li Changshou moved to another cave and continued his secluded cultivation.
Before he knew it, a year had passed since he had arrived outside the sect.
Even though he was just outside the mountain gate, he didn’t want to return too soon. Aside from the three years he had promised to guard a grave, he also had to consider travel time and make sure he was doing what a fourth-stage Void Return disciple should be doing.
After more than three years away from the sect, the top disciples of each peak had probably advanced by a small realm or two.
As long as he presented himself as a fourth-stage Void Return cultivator, he’d blend in with the mainstream disciples—just enough to enjoy most of the sect’s benefits without drawing too much attention.
The closer he got to his return, the more irritated he felt.
As the saying goes, “Even a penny can stump a brute.”
His current wealth was completely mismatched with his cultivation realm.
It was like playing a game in his past life—getting a level-boosting package but having no decent equipment to use.
Where could he find some valuable materials?
Upgrading Xiaoqiong Peak’s grand formation required a massive amount of resources.
Enhancing his combat techniques also demanded a significant amount of materials…
If only he had an endless supply of spirit stones!
Li Changshou rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
He had previously considered an underhanded idea—digging a small side vein near the Duxian Sect’s spirit mine to siphon off some resources.
But in the end, he dismissed the thought. It felt too unethical.
The Duxian Sect had nurtured him for so many years. Even if he didn’t want to serve as the sect’s enforcer, outright mining its spirit stones for personal gain was going too far.
That wasn’t just milking the sect—it was straight-up butchering its livestock.
“Should I take a trip to the nearest market town and sell some poison pills or elixirs?”
He pondered for a moment but decided against it.
He was beginning to suspect that he had a “trouble magnet” physique.
During his tribulation, he miscalculated how the Heavenly Dao would miscalculate, leading to two rounds of lightning tribulation—then came a heavenly punishment for good measure.
Injured by the divine retribution, he fled west by hiding inside a fish—
—Because he had sensed figures approaching his tribulation site from the east.
And yet, somehow, that very fish ended up being caught by mortals and dragged ashore!
A random encounter with a barbarian tribe resulted in him gaining the title of Sea God.
At the time, he had been using his real appearance since his disguises were obliterated by the tribulation. A year ago, the tribe had even erected a statue of him in his true likeness…
If he wandered into a market town filled with all sorts of shady characters, wouldn’t he just end up causing even more chaos?
Wait… shouldn’t his statue have been toppled by now?
He hadn’t revealed any divine manifestations—it had to be gone by now.
Li Changshou calculated with his fingers, his face suddenly stiffening before dark lines spread across it.
What the…?!
Ahem, a refined cultivator doesn’t curse.
What the hell was going on?!
His divine statue… had multiplied to over a hundred?!
And his accumulated incense merit had unknowingly surpassed what he had gained from slaying a great demon?!
What kind of nonsense was this?!
He hadn’t even tried to compete with the Western Sect for incense merit—would they believe him if he said so?
What poison could take down a Saint?
At this point… was he already halfway doomed?!
Li Changshou tilted his head, his mouth falling open as a tiny phantom shadow floated out—his soul nearly leaving his body from shock—before he hurriedly sucked it back in.
He needed a plan. Fast!
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 50.1