When everyone realized they had pursued the wrong person, the Wine Immortal had already taken Xu Mu far away.
Without any hardship, they survived that night, and then they vanished as if evaporated from the earth, disappearing for a full three months.
Three months and three days later.
Below Tianshi Mountain, there is a road called Huanjiang Dao, and the river water is named Canglan.
The people living on both banks of the Huanjiang Dao are entirely different from those in Jiangnan. They are naturally more bold in their bones, so the local customs are very fierce, and it is common for blood to splash three feet in the street.
There are Peace Inns everywhere in the world, but of course, Peace Inns are not actually called that.
In Huanjiang Dao, the name of the Peace Inn is Qianniao Pavilion. Regardless of any grievances, fighting is not allowed within the pavilion; those who surround it will be immediately killed by force, leaving no room for mercy.
The reason Qianniao Pavilion could establish such a tyrannical rule and stand for decades in Huanjiang Dao was because the force behind them was the Daqian Qingquan Sect.
And this Daqian Qingquan Sect happened to be in opposition to Tianshi Mountain, and there were frequent frictions between the two sides.
Therefore, Xu Mu chose this place as his first stop.
Inside Qianniao Pavilion, in a damp, dark, and slightly cramped lower-class room by the downstream of the riverbank, lived two people.
One of them was disheveled, wearing tattered clothes, and without any fluctuation of spiritual energy, appearing like an ordinary person.
The other was wrapped in a white cloth robe, meticulously standing in front of a mirror, combing his graying hair, with a ruddy complexion.
The old man stood before the mirror, his eyes closed, as he was internally examining his body, checking his injuries one by one.
After a moment, the old man smiled gently.
"The medicinal bath you prepared for me is indeed effective. Even my depleted origin has been mostly replenished, and my injuries are healed."
The Wine Immortal Daoist said, then turned around and looked at the boy sitting on the ground like a beggar, with a look of disdain.
"I'm not saying this, but can't you take some time to wash yourself? You've started to smell."
"Xu Mu, listen to this old man's advice. Although you are now being hunted by the world and living in obscurity, you don't have to live like a rat. At least you should pay attention to your image."
The Wine Immortal said earnestly, and then Xu Mu, who had been sitting on the ground with his brows furrowed, opened his eyes.
Although he was disheveled and messy, the moment these eyes opened, the air in the room seemed to have become a bit cleaner.
Xu Mu's eyes were clear, and he looked at the pile of dirty clothes in front of him, saying speechlessly,
"Before you say that, can't you wash your dirty clothes?"
The Wine Immortal shook his head and said seriously,
"Someone lost a bet and promised to wash my clothes."
Xu Mu took off his top and walked into the bathroom, saying lazily, "I promised to wash clothes, but I didn't say I'd wash garbage."
Wine Immortal: "..."
A moment later, Xu Mu came out of the bathroom, wrapped in a cloth robe. His long black hair dripped with water, and the excess beard had been trimmed, leaving only stubble.
The boy's delicate face now looked somewhat handsome.
The Wine Immortal, who had just finished washing and hanging the dirty clothes, opened the door and saw this scene, and couldn't help but give a thumbs up:
"This is what a young person should look like."
Xu Mu looked at himself in the mirror and was also slightly lost in thought. For the convenience of disguise, he hadn't shaved for three months, and had rarely even bathed, all in order to transform himself into another person.
Because now, the whole world knew Xu Mu, the one who killed Viritan in the Mysterious Night Domain, abducted Ye Que of the Ye family, rescued the human slaves in Alfheim, and finally won second place in the Ten Thousand Races Assembly.
His name was known throughout the world.
This was certainly not a good thing.
The enemies of the Golden Silver Merchant Guild and the Hundred Clans wanted to kill him, and even those unrelated to him wanted to snatch the nonexistent Heavenly Book from him, so he had to hide carefully.
Now, three months had passed, and the storm outside had gradually subsided. No one could find Xu Mu, and no one knew that he was still in the territory of the Hundred Clans Alliance, and was hiding at the foot of Tianshi Mountain.
"Is the news correct? Did the people from the Golden Silver Merchant Guild really withdraw from Tianshi Mountain?"
Xu Mu brushed the dust off the wooden window, opened this dark window for the first time in three months, and asked with a slightly solemn expression.
As far as he knew, the only forces still relentlessly pursuing him in the world were the Golden Silver Merchant Guild and the Ye family. All other forces had long given up hope, assuming he had entered a forbidden area.
The Wine Immortal heard this and said with a chuckle,
"Don't worry, they left three days ago."
"And even if they hadn't, you don't need to worry. The Golden Silver Merchant Guild isn't here for you this time."
"In a few more days, Tianshi Mountain will hold a ceremony for the change of leadership. At that time, a new Tianshi will appear, and all the forces in Canglan River and its surroundings, as well as those far and wide that can be named, will participate."
"The Golden Silver Merchant Guild smelled a business opportunity within it, so they are just here to conduct business, not to target you."
Xu Mu smacked his lips and said nothing more. He just looked out the window at the dim daylight, took one last breath of the damp, turbid air, and then opened the door and walked out of the room.
"Let's go, let's move to a better room."
Tianshi Mountain is the ancestral court of the Taoist sect, inheriting the arts of medicine, destiny, physiognomy, and divination, without adhering to any specific sect, branching out and spreading.
Over the countless years of inheritance on Tianshi Mountain, many true immortals traveled the world and casually established temples, thus giving rise to one branch sect after another.
For example, Quanzhen Sect, Zhengyi Sect, Wudang Mountain, etc. Of course, the most famous among them is Baiyun Taoist Temple.
Baiyun Taoist Temple is one of the world's super forces, with countless domain masters and profound heritage. Even if all the other Taoist forces in the world were combined, they might not be able to match the strength of the Taoist temple lineage.
The reason for this is that the true immortal who left Tianshi Mountain back then was too powerful, and the disciples and grandchildren he took in were too outstanding, which gradually developed into the current scale.
However, while Baiyun Taoist Temple is powerful and has a deep heritage, the true ancestral court of the Taoist sect is ultimately on Tianshi Mountain, where the ancient and unfathomable inheritances lie.
As a Taoist priest of Baiyun Taoist Temple, although one could visit Tianshi Mountain frequently, one was not qualified when it came to truly crucial secrets.
Therefore, Chongming Zhenren wanted to integrate Tianshi Mountain into the Taoist temple. A unified Taoist sect would be good for everyone. However, it could not be done by force, so he found Xu Mu.
On the street, Xu Mu walked along Huanjiang Dao, looking at the Canglan River, and listening to the Wine Immortal tell these stories, he nodded slightly.
Just as he frowned and was about to say something, he suddenly heard a commotion ahead.
Then, he looked into the distance and saw a middle-aged man covered in blood.