Legend of the Great Sage

Chapter 1392: Horrible News

The top of the Department of Heavenly Dwellings was littered with pavilions, small bridges, and streams. It was like a great big garden.

Pi Yangqiu sat among the lush vegetation and overlooked Myriad city leisurely.

Li Qingshan went up to greet him. Pi Yangqiu smiled. “Junior brother Li, it’s been a while.”

Li Qingshan was slightly surprised before clasping his hands. “I got carried away in the moment, so I’ve gone a little too far. Please forgive me, senior brother.”

Pi Yangqiu waved his hand. “How can a proper man suffer at the hands of a mere scoundrel? If these guys just ask for bribes usually, then so be it, but they’re actually learning how to secretly work for others now. They’re really going too far.”

Li Qingshan and Pi Yangqiu had only seen each other once, so Li Qingshan never expected him to be so reasonable. He thought, Sure enough, the boss is always easy to deal with, while the subordinates are difficult.

“How is it? Is staying in the Hundred Herbs garden comfortable?”

“Senior sister Ruan has been very nice to me.”

“Of course. If she’s not, then you wouldn’t be in this kind of trouble.”

Li Qingshan furrowed his brows. “So it is Shen Yushu!”

“He’s just a mere scoundrel. He’s not worth mentioning. There’s probably still some trouble ahead of you. Do you need any of my help?”

Li Qingshan said in surprise, “Senior brother, why are you showing so much care for me?”

“Do you know how many formal and inner disciples there are among the Myriad sect?”

“A lot, probably around a few thousand!”

“Among them, you are the one with the greatest chance to become a direct disciple. Speaking of which…” Pi Yangqiu smiled. “I don’t want a trifle like this to affect you and leave Le Tian feeling a little too complacent!”

Li Qingshan said seriously, “Fair enough.”

Pi Yangqiu was slightly surprised. “Hah. Kid, you aren’t humble at all!”

Li Qingshan smiled. “Since that’s the truth, why act like it’s not? I trust your judgement, senior brother. However, Shen Yushu is a member of the Hundred Herbs garden after all, so I don’t need to bother you for now, senior brother.”

“Alright, fair enough.” Pi Yangqiu smiled. “My judgement is obviously not too bad. Le Tian wouldn’t casually give a thousand Green Jade bookmarks to any person either. You’ve already seen the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance and chosen a heavenly tome, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve already begun practising it. It’s called the Heavenly Tome of Liberty.”

“Sigh, so it really is that heavenly tome.” Pi Yangqiu brought his hands together and sighed. “The lord of the māra Maheśvara’s path is it?” His eyes narrowed. “Actually, I’m very curious about why the spirit reverend summoned you.”

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“That… can I not answer that?”

Pi Yangqiu smiled. “Yeah, that works too. I will choose a good dwelling for you, or perhaps… a very bad one.”

“This…”

“Hah, I’m just kidding, but I’m just too curious. You’ve basically left me racking my brains. The spirit reverend has always submerged himself in books. He dislikes secular affairs. Even for direct disciples like me, we’re rarely summoned by him. Some of us have never even been summoned by him before. You’ve only just joined the sect, and your cultivation isn’t particularly high either, so just which part of you is worthy of notice?”

Pi Yangqiu circled around Li Qingshan as if he was trying to peer into his heart. He and the other direct disciples found him worthy of notice because of his performance in Magnetic Field mountain, as well as his chances to become a direct disciple. However, that alone was not enough for him to be summoned by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance. Even if he became a direct disciple, the spirit reverend might not necessarily want to see him.

Li Qingshan thought, This senior brother Pi is probably on good graces with me because of this!

He thought about it and said, “I can tell you, but the dwelling…”

Pi Yangqiu patted his chest. “Leave it to me!”

The black rabbit in his sleeve, as well as a certain first senior sister, both pricked up with their ears. With the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance’s status in the Myriad sect, even if he was a shut-in to the bones, everything he did was enough to raise the attention of direct disciples.

Li Qingshan said, “The spirit reverend wanted me to leave the Myriad sect.”

Pi Yangqiu was stunned. The black rabbit blinked its eyes, while the certain first senior sister took a gulp of alcohol slowly. She was extremely curious.

“Why?”

“Not too sure. I think he feels like I am a threat to the Myriad sect!”

Pi Yangqiu gulped. “A threat?”

He basically suspected Li Qingshan was lying, except even lies would not be so preposterous. It was exactly because it was far too absurd that it was somewhat believable. However, just how great of an entity was the Myriad sect? How could it be threatened by a mere Soul Nascence cultivator? However, he did not dare to question the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance’s judgement either.

Throughout the entire Myriad sect, apart from the mysterious Elder of Heavenly Tomes, no one could match him when it came to divination and calculations.

“Then how did you stay?”

“Since I’m a threat, of course, you have to keep me under your watch to feel a little safer!”

Li Qingshan was a little ambiguous. After all, the true details of their conversation that day was simply too shocking. If it were not for the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance’s absolute rationality, it basically sounded like a threat—If you don’t let me stay, I’ll definitely come back for revenge in the future!

Pi Yangqiu could tell he had blurred some details, so he gazed at Li Qingshan with deep meaning. Whether he had been viewed as a threat by the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance or he had managed to persuade the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance into changing his mind, both were unbelievable.

What exactly were his origins and what kind of a future lay ahead of him?

“I understand. I know how to choose now.”

“Choose what?”

Pi Yangqiu smiled. “Which side to bet on, of course! Your gamble with Le Tian had already spread among the direct disciples. Le Tian has set up a new gamble and pulled a lot of people into it. I’m one of them.” He patted Li Qingshan on the shoulder seriously. “That’s going to be a big wager. Don’t disappoint me!”

Li Qingshan was speechless. He cursed Le Tian inside. “So I’m still the dark horse!”

Pi Yangqiu said, “Since I’m gambling on you, that means I believe you’ll become a direct disciple and stand beside me, so how have I treated you as just a dark horse? Even dark horses are better than inferior horses that no one cares about or wild dogs on the streets. And don’t worry, I will help you.”

“How?”

“Like choosing a very fine dwelling within the range permitted by the rules of the Myriad sect, like the risks and opportunities in the Heavenly Tome of Liberty that you currently practise…”

Li Qingshan said, “What risks? What opportunities?”

“You’re the first one to practise the Heavenly Tome of Liberty, so the risks go without saying. However, if you manage to pave a risky path and record your experiences and the lessons you’ve learnt from cultivation before offering them up to the Pavilion of Heavenly Tomes, you’ll earn quite a lot of contribution and bookmarks. That is where the opportunity lies.”

“Thank you for your advice, senior brother.”

Li Qingshan came to a realisation. To the Myriad sect and the Spirit Reverend of Ocean Returnance, he was the “first experiment” for a heavenly tome. He possessed very high experimental value, and they might even be able to complete the Heavenly Tome of Liberty through his experiences. Future cultivators could learn from him, and they might even specially pay a sum of bookmarks to buy studying resources!

As it seemed, being treated as a dark horse did not come without benefits. However, the issue was…

“Senior brother, are there a lot of people wagering that I’d lose?”

“What do you think?” Pi Yangqiu smiled.

If he had not personally obtained direct information regarding the bet, he would be crazy to bet on him. Even after witnessing Li Qingshan’s performance in Magnetic Field mountain, he needed repeated confirmation before he was bold enough to place this bet.

Then Li Qingshan asked, “Then… will they target me like Shen Yushu?”

Pi Yangqiu said seriously, “Junior brother Li, what kind of people do you think we direct disciples are?”

The moment Li Qingshan relaxed, he heard him continue, “If even any casual direct disciple decides to work against you, not even seriously, even a hundred Shen Yushus come nowhere close, let alone an entire group of direct disciples.”

Li Qingshan felt pained.

Pi Yangqiu smiled. “But you don’t have to be afraid. I will protect you.”

Li Qingshan said, “I’m just afraid you’ll be outnumbered, senior brother.”

Pi Yangqiu grabbed Li Qingshan’s shoulders enthusiastically. “Don’t worry. They all think you’re going to lose right now, so they won’t be in such a hurry to take action. We’ll take them by surprise!”

Li Qingshan was even more speechless now. Depending on the enemy to be careless had never been particularly reliable in the first place.

“Senior brother, something’s happened!”

At this moment, an inner disciple rushed in. He glanced at Li Qingshan in surprise before bowing towards Pi Yangqiu.

“What happened?”

“Senior Ao Xuan has attacked the Dragon’s Pool dwelling.”

Li Qingshan’s expression changed as his eyes suddenly narrowed. Had the worst really happened?

Pi Yangqiu glanced past Li Qingshan’s face, but he was not surprised. “Sure enough, that damned dragon has run out of patience. Hehe, our first senior brother Lin is not returning anymore. His Xuanming dwelling will be returned to the Myriad sect now!”

“Did senior brother Lin fail?”

“If reincarnating and cultivating again from scratch was that easy, the world would be filled with immortals. The intangible will of the heavens has numerous trials and tribulations to shatter a foolish thought like that.” Pi Yangqiu seemed to show disdain and lament at the same time.

Li Qingshan had already calmed down, even calmer than usual. He asked, “Senior brother Pi, if you reclaim the Xuanming dwelling, can I buy it?”