"Hmm?"
Qing Gu glanced at the shepherd in the distance and couldn't help but tremble in his heart. In the next second, Qing Gu's figure turned into a ghostly fire and headed north, the sound of breaking wind intense.
"Fellow Daoist?!"
The shepherd laughed heartily, instantly soaring into the sky. He stepped on a lotus-disc artifact and pursued at an even faster speed than the other party, laughing, "It's been so many years, and I never expected you to still be doing such petty theft and tomb raiding. Don't you remember, this is the human realm!"
"You..."
Qing Gu's figure darted through the air, but the other party was getting closer and closer, impossible to outrun. In an instant, Qing Gu stopped abruptly, turned around, and unleashed a blood-red lantern. With a "buzz," the lantern grew enormous, and countless flames pounced towards the shepherd.
"After all these years, truly no progress."
The shepherd laughed heartily, his five fingers suddenly spread open. A strand of majestic spiritual energy surged forth, directly extinguishing all the lantern flames unleashed by Qing Gu. In the next second, strands of green ghost vines shot out from his palm, instantly binding Qing Gu's body tightly, rendering him immobile!
"Eliminate evil for our human race!"
The shepherd descended from the sky and slammed a palm onto Qing Gu's crown. With a "crack," his skull fractured, and streams of dark red blood flowed out. Qing Gu was an eleventh-realm ghost cultivator, while the other party was a human eleventh-realm spiritual cultivator. He was already no match, and on top of that, Qing Gu had just finished fighting Chu Yu and taken many punches and sword strikes from him, his cultivation damaged and on the verge of falling. Now, with the elder's palm strike, his entire head was wobbling precariously.
"Die!"
The elder grunted and a precious sword flew out of his sleeve, cleaving down. Qing Gu's body was instantly split in half from top to bottom. Without even a cry, his remains began to dissipate in the wind. Various sturdy treasures continuously fell from his remains. This eleventh-realm ghost cultivator had scoured the world for many years and indeed reaped a great deal.
"Tsk tsk..."
The shepherd flicked his sleeve, collecting Qing Gu's hoard into his sleeve one by one. Then, he picked up a wisp of dust, his eyes filled with a faint smile. "The path of ghost cultivation seems to seek the Dao and ascend to heaven, hoping for eternal life. Yet, in the end, isn't it all just a pile of white bones and grey ash?"
On the ground, a group of ghost cavalry, giant-mouthed ghost soldiers, and others scattered in all directions. Their master was dead, and they were free!
The elder paid them no mind, landed back on the ground, and raised his whip to drive the sheep. He looked at the sky and said with a smile, "It's time to go to Xueyu Tianchi. It would be even better if there were a snowstorm."
Saying that, he looked up at the clouds and flicked his finger, sending a magical artifact left behind by Qing Gu flying into the air. He said calmly, "Rain Master, grant me three days and three nights of heavy snow?"
Within the clouds, a figure appeared, caught the artifact, and tucked it into his embrace. He cupped his fists respectfully and said, "As the Immortal Master of Qingliang Sect commands!"
...
Two days later.
Heavy snow began to fall at Xueyu Tianchi. Of course, the construction period had to be extended again. Lin Zhao stood on the southern cliff, pulling his cloak's hood over his head to shield himself from the wind and snow. His eyes looked at the halted construction site not far away, and he couldn't help but frown. At this pace, he didn't know when the teleportation array and the peak villa would be completed.
Shu Zhi stood beside him, looking at Lin Zhao's face. Snowflakes were clinging to his eyelashes, captivating Shu Zhi. "My lord is not only accomplished in both martial and literary arts, but he is also refined and scholarly. He is much more pleasing to the eye than those rough men on the mountain."
"What are you looking at?"
Lin Zhao glanced at her. "Is there a flower on my face?"
"No..."
Shu Zhi quickly lowered her head, her pretty face slightly flushed. "I was just a bit distracted, my apologies, my lord..."
"It's fine."
Lin Zhao looked down the mountain. "It seems someone is coming up the mountain."
"Mm!"
Shu Zhi also narrowed her eyes and saw through the snow. She saw an old man driving a large flock of sheep up the mountain. She frowned. "An old man is driving sheep up the mountain. It seems he's lost in the snow. If nothing unexpected happens, he should be a shepherd from the nearby mountains."
"Oh?"
Lin Zhao frowned.
In the wooden hut at the town entrance, the disheveled man Tang Guangjun sat in a chair he had personally made, his legs crossed on the table, leisurely sipping a cup of goji berry red tea. He, Tang Guangjun, a proud twelfth-realm military sword cultivator, was a man of taste. Even if he were working as a gatekeeper here, his quality of life could not decline.
His gaze flickered towards the mountainside, and he then walked out of the wooden hut.
"Elder!"
Tang Guangjun reached out to stop him and said with a smile, "Xueyu Tianchi is ahead, a vital military location. Mortals are forbidden!"
The old man was startled and repeatedly cupped his fists in salutation, begging, "Young man, you can see for yourself, I'm just a little old shepherd. This snowstorm came too suddenly. I got lost in the mountains, and I've come this far. I haven't eaten or slept for two days and two nights, and neither have my sheep... If we don't find shelter soon, they'll freeze to death. Please..."
Lin Zhao walked forward. "Tang Guangjun."
"Mountain Master!"
Tang Guangjun respectfully said, "Please decide this matter, Mountain Master."
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded. "Elder, Xueyu Tianchi can provide accommodation for you and your flock. However, you must leave once the snowstorm stops. This is a war zone between humans and demons, and it's very unsafe for you here."
"Good! Good!"
The old man nodded repeatedly, his eyes full of warmth. "Young Mountain Master... this old man is not ungrateful. As long as you take me in and protect my sheep, I am willing to give you five sheep. You have quite a few people here, and drinking some lamb soup in the winter will warm your bodies."
Beside him, Shu Zhi thought, "My lord, this is a good thing. The mountain is indeed short of food and clothing, especially food. Meat has been consumed greatly these past few days. If we really have five sheep... it could improve everyone's meals."
"Alright."
Lin Zhao said, "Arrange accommodation for him. However, Shu Zhi, keep an eye on him."
"Ah?"
Shu Zhi was surprised. "My lord doesn't trust him? This old man... has no trace of aura. He shouldn't be a cultivator."
"Not necessarily."
Lin Zhao frowned. "In any case, obey my words and keep an eye on him."
"Yes!"
Shu Zhi nodded.
Lin Zhao watched the old man drive his sheep into Xueyu Tianchi, to a courtyard just built by the craftsmen of the Great Merchant. He narrowed his eyes, indifferent. "I'd like to see what you intend to do and what your purpose is."
Thinking of this, he glanced at Tang Guangjun again. Was this gatekeeper hiding his strength, or could he truly not see any trickery? Lin Zhao was not entirely sure about this.
"Mountain Master, I..."
Tang Guangjun felt a prickle under Lin Zhao's gaze, not knowing what he had done wrong. At this moment, just a glance from Lin Zhao made him feel that this young man was quite formidable. To be fellow disciples with the God of War, none of them were easy to deal with. Thinking of this, he looked back at the retreating figure of the shepherd. That's strange, he clearly had no cultivation aura at all, just an ordinary shepherd. What trickery could he possibly have?
What did the Mountain Master's gaze mean?
For a moment, this twelfth-realm military sword cultivator felt uneasy. He would likely not sleep well tonight.
...
On the site of the former Tianchi Town, courtyards for people to live in reappeared. The supervisor Liu Xingshu kept his word and deployed all his remaining manpower to rebuild the rudimentary form of Tianchi Town for Lin Zhao. In one of the courtyards, the shepherd had driven his sheep into a house, then given them water and started a fire for warmth.
At this moment, he felt a secret sense of satisfaction. The Twin Dragon Seal was indeed an ancient treasure. It had managed to hide his aura so that not a trace was revealed, not even the eleventh-realm sword immortal Shu Zhi noticed. In this way... perhaps he could achieve his goals without bloodshed, and even leave Xueyu Tianchi without anyone noticing.
"Dong dong~~"
With a knock on the door, Mu Zha stood at the door with two cavalrymen. He brought the shepherd a large bowl of hot soup, several large flatbreads, and a pile of firewood. After delivering the items, the Tianyuan-realm martial artist revealed a shy smile. He conveyed the agreement between Lin Zhao and the old man. After getting the old man's consent, he led away five of the fattest sheep.
Watching Mu Zha and the others lead the sheep away, the old man's lips twitched. "They're all people who won't do anything without profit. Since that's the case, it's not unreasonable for me, an old man, to take something or someone from your Xueyu Tianchi."
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel secretly pleased again. After drinking the hot soup and eating the baked flatbread, he lay comfortably on the bed, brewing his plan in his mind.
The old man's name was Zhao Chuqin, an eleventh-realm human cultivator and one of the elders of the "Qingliang Sect," the foremost human sect in the Northern Territory, renowned throughout the land. Such a distinguished identity coming to this barren place, Xueyu Tianchi, naturally had a purpose. His purpose was that naturally born sword immortal embryo, the maiden with the pure Yin body.
"Humph!"
Zhao Chuqin sneered. "What Tong Yu? The Qingliang Sect's intelligence network permeates the entire Northern Territory. Wouldn't they know about this trick? The girl who claims to be Tong Yu is actually the daughter of Prime Minister Lu Su of Dongwu, known as Dongwu's number one beauty, Lu Tong. Lu Tong is Lu Su's precious jewel. Clearly a one-in-a-million sword immortal embryo, but Lu Su couldn't bear for her to suffer hardship learning swordsmanship. Now that Dongwu has been destroyed, Lu Tong has disguised herself as Tong Yu and is hiding in Xueyu Tianchi. If I can obtain her, she would be an excellent cauldron for my cultivation!"
Thinking of this, Zhao Chuqin was filled with pride. If this plan succeeded, he could truly aspire to the twelfth realm. How many twelfth-realm cultivators were there in the human world?
...
The next morning, light snow still drifted from the sky.
The Xueyu cavalrymen were once again training their battle formations on the grand parade ground. In the distance, the thunder of horses' hooves echoed. On a small hill, Mu Zha was practicing boxing with Chen Ben. Mu Zha taught diligently, and Chen Ben learned diligently.
Further in the distance, a beautiful figure appeared under a pine tree, holding a wooden sword, practicing sword stances and nurturing her sword intent. It was Tong Yu. Lin Wanhua had only taught her the basics of swordsmanship and sword intent once, and she was already quite proficient.
Dozens of meters away, the old man drove his sheep out to breathe some air. He sat on a piece of bluestone, his hands tucked into his sleeves, looking like a genuine farmer. He would watch the cavalrymen practicing thrusts on the parade ground, then watch Mu Zha practice boxing, and then look at Tong Yu.
Lin Zhao sat on a wall dozens of meters away. He glanced at the shepherd and his brows furrowed even more deeply.