MSBITRS Chapter 72 V1

“Nephew Qi Yuan, where are you off to?”

It was another warm, breezy day. Daoist Qi Yuan, dressed in long robes and holding a horsetail whisk, floated from the Little Qiong Peak to the mountain gate.

Hearing the mountain guardian’s question, Qi Yuan respectfully saluted and replied,

“Just heading out for a walk, nothing serious. I’ve been feeling a bit uneasy lately.”

“Good.”

The old True Immortal guarding the gate didn’t probe further. He simply smiled kindly and opened the mountain gate, allowing Qi Yuan to ride his cloud out into the sky beyond.

Due to his experience with resolving a Turbid Immortal’s tribulation, Qi Yuan had gained some notoriety within the mountain. However, his reputation wasn’t always favorable—at times, people would bring up the matter as a joke at his expense.

Meanwhile, Li Changshou had just finished refining a batch of pills. He waited another four months before his master finally emerged from seclusion for a stroll.

After discussing with his master, Li Changshou suggested that he stay outside a few more days, giving the Paper Daoist more time to operate. He also repeatedly reminded his master not to stray too far from the sect.

To help his master conceal his presence, Li Changshou offered him the second version of the Turtle Breath and Steady Qi Technique, ensuring that he wouldn’t be easily detected or schemed against while waiting.

Li Changshou himself remained within the sect. If anything happened to his master, he would be able to sense it and come to the rescue.

He had already decided that both his master and his junior sister would have equal access to his plans.

After placing the box down, Qi Yuan silently left.

The Paper Daoist reappeared, noticeably “plumper” than before. His shoulder bag had been replaced with a backpack.

This time, Li Changshou had taken on the guise of an elderly Daoist and decided that he would continue to use this persona for selling pills in the future.

Utilizing the Earth Escape Technique, the Paper Daoist quickly made his way to Linhai Town.

Half a day later, Li Changshou took a detour eastward before looping back west, deliberately altering his route from an exclamation mark to a question mark. Finally, he emerged from an unoccupied forest to the west, riding a cloud with a sword strapped to his back, heading toward the grand market town ahead.

The sword on his back had a new hilt, scabbard, and a restriction to block divine sense detection.

Of course, the core function remained unchanged.

Though it looked like an ordinary sword, it was a concealed poison-dispersing artifact. Without a sound, it could release a colorless, odorless poison that would infiltrate an enemy’s soul and lungs, increasing the chances of silently taking down a True Immortal.

Naturally, such an item couldn’t be found anywhere else. Like the Luo Tian Umbrella, it was one of Li Changshou’s inventions.

This time, he had also prepared a second similar artifact—a flute.

When played, it could release poison through its holes. However, there was one risk—

He had to be mindful of his breathing, or he might accidentally inhale the poison himself.

Otherwise, it would end up being like, “This blade of mine is highly toxic—one touch is death, one scratch is fatal… sniff”—utterly ridiculous.

The town had four large entrances through its protective formation, resembling the gates of a mortal city. However, instead of walls, the entrances were simply gaps in the formation.

Security was maintained by the Linhai Sword Sect, a prominent Daoist sect in the Eastern Continent, which followed the standard prehistoric rules—charging an “entry fee” at the formation’s gates.

The fee could be paid with spirit stones, rare materials, or medicinal herbs, as long as the offering had some value.

A market town of this scale brought significant revenue to a sect, but maintaining order required stationing many experts there, making it a venture only major sects could sustain.

The Du Tian Sect had once attempted to establish its market town, but due to poor location and management, it lost popularity among itinerant cultivators and eventually failed, resulting in heavy losses.

Li Changshou could understand why.

After all, the sect practiced the Way of Non-Action, and its disciples preferred peace and quiet. Any energy they had was mostly spent on “matters of companionship.”

Smirking at his sect’s quirks, Li Changshou had the Paper Daoist reveal the cultivation level of a late-stage Earthly Immortal and queued up behind a dozen others.

Nearby, cultivators continuously flowed out, most of them riding low-hanging clouds.

Exiting required no fee, but entering meant lining up and paying.

Just as it was almost Li Changshou’s turn to enter, he noticed a group of seven or eight cultivators about to leave the town.

Among them were two elderly Daoists, three middle-aged Daoists, and three young disciples—two men and one woman.

They were flying slightly higher than the others, about to pass through the upper part of the formation’s gap. Two squads of Linhai Town’s patrolling immortal soldiers escorted them, emphasizing their importance.

Li Changshou’s gaze was drawn to one particular youth in the group.

The young man… had horns on his head, but no tail behind him…

Ao Yi?

Why do I keep running into this little dragon?

Li Changshou found the situation amusing. Was this fate?

But more importantly—why did Ao Yi still look the same as when Li Changshou had last beaten him? Hadn’t he grown at all?

Perhaps dragon physiology had a much longer development period than humans. A few years probably wasn’t enough time for noticeable growth.

Retracting his gaze, the Paper Daoist stepped forward to pay the entry fee.

Li Changshou handed over a spirit stone to the female immortal at the desk.

She smiled and asked, “You look unfamiliar, fellow Daoist. May I ask what brings you here?”

Li Changshou gave a fake name and claimed he was there to trade medicinal pills and herbs. After making a brief record, the female immortal allowed him entry.

As this happened, Ao Yi and the two young disciples followed the five Golden Ao Island True Immortals, flying right over the Paper Daoist.

The five True Immortals were in good spirits, discussing whether to return to Golden Ao Island or visit another sect for tea and philosophical debates.

Li Changshou overheard one of the elderly Daoists praising,

“Ao Yi, you’ve only been cultivating for how long? And you’ve already reached the Earthly Immortal realm? Truly remarkable—worthy of a dragon king’s bloodline.”

Junior Brother?

So, Ao Yi had officially joined the Sect of Interception—and was likely apprenticed to a high-ranking second-generation disciple.

At a glance, this Ao Yi appeared much more composed than before. His gaze was calm, his face reserved.

Despite his youthful appearance, he now carried an air of experience as if tempered by fate.

Still… that had nothing to do with Li Changshou.

The Paper Daoist stepped into Linhai Town, flying over rooftops and stone buildings toward the district where medicinal pills were sold.

“Looks like I’ll be competing with my own sect’s business again.”

Li Changshou sighed inwardly.

The Du Tian Sect also had a shop here, specializing in medicinal pills.

But since he only visited once every few years and stayed for a short time, he figured he wouldn’t be impacting the sect’s business too much.

After all, he was just a small independent vendor.

Even if his products were cheaper, higher quality, and in greater quantity…

Because Ao Yi had performed exceptionally well in several recent Dao debates, easily defeating the Yuan Immortals sent by various sects,

And because he held the same seniority as the five Golden Ao Island Heavenly Immortals accompanying him, they found it inappropriate to offer him direct rewards.

So, instead, they took Ao Yi to Linhai Town and picked out numerous gifts for him.

Ao Yi, in turn, distributed these gifts to the two young female disciples beside him, bringing wide smiles to their faces. This gesture was also well received by the Golden Ao Island Heavenly Immortals.