Chapter 287: Selling Them Together

In Yueluntian, a spirit mountain wreathed in Fairy Qi floats above a sea of clouds shimmering with five-colored mist.

On the spirit mountain are exotic flowers and rare herbs, flying springs and cascading waterfalls; among the mountain forests, auspicious beasts roam, and between the waterfalls, Spirit Sparrows dance.

At the summit of the spirit mountain stands a palace that looks magnificent and ancient.

In a pavilion of the palace's side hall, a plump old man with silver hair and a ruddy complexion lies on his side on a cool couch, five-colored light—gold, cyan, red, white, and black—swallowing and flashing between his mouth and nose; around his body, strands of profound aura circulate ceaselessly.

"Immortal Elder, Immortal Elder, the pool on the observation deck behind us has suddenly become turbulent!"

A young attendant holding a horsetail whisk rushes over to report.

The plump old man slowly opens his eyes and says, "What is there to be so surprised about just because a pool moves? If you disturb my cultivation to become an Immortal Lord, be careful or you'll get a beating!"

The attendant giggles and says, "It's one thing for you to be napping, Immortal Elder, but you're also bragging without even blinking. If becoming an Immortal Lord were so easy, why hasn't one appeared in thousands of years?"

The plump old man's ruddy face seems to turn even redder, and he glares, saying, "You're getting more and more insolent. Tomorrow I'll banish you to the Mortal World so you don't keep chattering in my ear every day!"

The attendant, however, says with a face full of excitement, "Don't go back on your word, Immortal Elder! I've been wanting to go down and play for a long time!"

The plump old man sits up with a start and says, "You think it's all fun and games. If you go down, wouldn't I, a decrepit old man, be bored to death left here alone? Forget it, I'll go with you to take a look. There have indeed been some troublesome matters in the Mortal World lately, and I don't know what the Four Great Sacred Palaces are thinking, not making a single move!"

Muttering, the old man puts on his slippers and, with a shuffling sound, follows the attendant through the main hall, around a side corridor, and into a garden.

The garden is built on the side of a cliff at the mountain's summit. There are not many flowers or plants in the garden—just seven or eight sparse flower and fruit trees—and in the center is a pool about a hundred zhang in circumference. Inside the pool is a rockery, a cluster of clouds and mist circling the waist of the rockery, and a stream trickling down from the top of the mountain.

This water comes from nowhere, appearing out of thin air, and seems inexhaustible; it is extraordinarily magical.

Even more miraculous is that above the pool, the light and shadows of the sun, moon, and stars are constantly flowing and flickering. The area illuminated by the sunlight is incredibly bright, as if it were a clear day, while the places shrouded by the stars and moon are dark.

However, the plump old man and the attendant pay no mind to the rockery, the flowing water, or the sun, moon, and stars, walking instead to the side of the pool.

The attendant points to the water surface, which is constantly splashing, and says, "Look, Immortal Elder, it's this spot. It suddenly started shaking."

The plump old man strokes a handful of snow-white beard, stares at the water for a moment, and says, "Hmm, it's always been fine, why did it suddenly start moving? This should be the Southern Border region of the Divine Continent, right?"

The attendant nods and says, "That's right, this is the Southern Border. The Young Palace Master ordered us to keep a close watch on the pool, and I haven't dared to slack off; I've been eyeing it every day!"

The plump old man cannot help but roll his eyes and say, "Your Young Palace Master doesn't even know where he's run off to, leaving a decrepit old man like me to take the fall. There isn't even a drop of wine to drink in this godforsaken place. One can be bored to death day after day; besides sleeping, what else is there to do? There isn't a soul for tens of thousands of miles in this Southern Border, so what's so strange about it moving a few times? Fine, I'm going back to sleep... er, to practice my arts. Don't come bothering me with such trifles!"

As the old man says this and turns to leave, the pool suddenly lets out a 'Boom—', splashing water several feet high, and then the entire pool begins to shake and ripple, even causing the rockery to sway a few times, with the flowing stream splashing and splattering outside the pool.

"Eh, that's a bit interesting!"

The plump old man stops and turns around, looking at the pool with a face full of surprise.

The attendant wipes the water droplets from his face with his sleeve, looking somewhat panicked as he says, "It's over, it's over. Something big must have happened in the Mortal World; even the water has splashed out."

The plump old man glares and says, "What are you panicking about? Splashing a bit of water is no big deal. However, for the Southern Border to shake so violently, I fear something has truly happened. Hmm, let this Immortal Elder perform the Profound Heaven Boundless Great Technique to see what exactly is causing trouble."

After speaking, the old man chants something, moves his hands left and right as if practicing Tai Chi, and then presses them lightly into the pool. A five-colored dazzling light ripples across the water surface, and where the pool was turbulent, the phantom of a vast and boundless continent emerges, which then rapidly enlarges and zooms in, as if a verdant, towering mountain wilderness is rushing toward them.

The young attendant watches, mesmerized, and claps his hands in excitement, cheering, "The Immortal Elder is so powerful, you can even activate the observation deck!"

The plump old man almost face-plants into the pool and says huffily, "Can you speak or not? If you can't speak, then don't. Any Immortal can activate this observation deck, alright!"

The young attendant pouts and says, "I was just cheering for you, Immortal Elder. My good intentions are being treated like a donkey's lungs."

The plump old man is speechless with anger, but he is too lazy to bicker with the young attendant. Instead, he focuses his attention on the constantly enlarging light and shadow, frowning as he stares at several places filled with Black Mist: "It looks like the leakage of Nether Qi is becoming more and more severe. Is there really no one to manage it?"

The young attendant's expression also turns serious, and he points with his whisk to a place where the Black Mist is thickest: "Immortal Elder, this place looks very close to the areas where mortals live!"

The plump old man says huffily, "This Immortal Elder isn't blind. But this matter isn't for us to manage. I'll first see what caused the Southern Border to shake."

As the plump old man lightly brushes his hands over the light and shadow of the mountains and earth rushing toward them, an area shrouded in white mist is magnified and presented.

At this moment, this white-mist area is shaking violently, and waves of light halos are surging in all directions. During this, several auras expand from time to time, and a moment later, a black shadow like a flood dragon flashes through the churning clouds and mist. A moment after that, a figure like a giant bear leaps out of the sea of clouds, but it is quickly submerged by the surging white mist.

"They are just a few sixth-rank little Demon Beasts... eh, no, this aura is very strange..."

The plump old man mutters while observing, staring closely at the Demon Beast figures that flash and disappear, pulling at his handful of snow-white beard, feeling very surprised in his heart.

In his view, the strength of these three Demon Beasts is about the same as a crawler, but their auras are somewhat unfamiliar; they do not seem to be normal Mortal World creatures. He concentrates and ponders for a moment before suddenly exclaiming, "These are Ancient Beasts."

The young attendant is also watching intently and asks curiously upon hearing this, "Immortal Elder, what are Ancient Beasts?"

The plump old man says, "Ancient Beasts are beasts from the ancient times. They are creatures from the same era as the Ancient Immortals, and they are not quite the same as today's Demon Beasts."

"Oh, then what's the difference?" The young attendant is even more confused.

The plump old man says, "The difference is huge. Ancient Beasts are pure beasts, but they don't need to devour spirit items; they can become incomparably powerful just by growing on their own. Like the ancient Immortals, they don't need to cultivate to fly, burrow, or roam the nine heavens."

The young attendant cannot help but mutter, "Isn't what the Immortal Elder is describing an Immortal Beast?"

The plump old man waves his hand and says, "It's not an Immortal Beast, but a more peculiar species. It's just that Ancient Beasts, like the ancient Immortals, have long been extinct. How could they suddenly appear in the Mortal World?"

The young attendant wants to ask more, but the plump old man says with a grave expression, "Ancient Immortals are a taboo topic. Don't ask; even if you ask, this Immortal Elder doesn't know. It's all cloudy and misty here, so I can't see clearly, but it looks like a large place. It should be a great formation left over from ancient times..."

Just as he is speaking, a burst of spirit light suddenly explodes within the churning and surging white-mist formation, followed by a ripple interwoven with gold and black. Several human figures break free from the sea of mist, and after flickering a few times in the Void, they flee toward the northeast in the blink of an eye.

The plump old man exclaims in even greater surprise, "There are actually Mortal World cultivators inside! One of them looks quite strong; they are already about to reach Void Breaking and become an Immortal, and they have even comprehended the power of the rules of space. It seems another Immortal will soon be added to some spirit mountain. It's just that the auras of these little fellows are not quite right; they are ghostly and don't seem like good people."

The attendant cannot help but curl his lip and say, "The Immortal Elder is starting to disparage people again. Among mortals who can cultivate to the realm of Void Breaking and becoming an Immortal, which one isn't a dragon or phoenix among men? How are they 'ghostly' and 'not good people'?"

The plump old man glares and says, "You know nothing! These little fellows have heavy Yin energy on them; they are clearly practicing Ghost Dao Technique. Ghost cultivation is the lowest of arts, and I have never seen a ghost cultivator who could reach Void Breaking and become an Immortal."

The young attendant says, "Then isn't Beiyin Dijun one?"

The plump old man chokes, his face seeming to flush, and he turns to rage, "Can Beiyin Dijun be the same? He has a natural ghost body and was a ghost who cultivated to become an Immortal. This is completely different from mortals practicing the Ghost Dao. How can you lump them together? If you ask such messy things again to disturb my observation, be careful or this Immortal Elder will beat you!"

So the young attendant quickly shuts his mouth, though he continues to mutter to himself for a long time.

The plump old man pretends not to hear, staring at the light and shadow of the Mortal World floating and rippling in the pool for a moment. Finding no further major changes, he flicks his sleeve, and the light and shadow dissipate. The pool quickly returns to its original state, with only a few slight waves and splashes remaining in one spot, though the ripples are becoming smaller and smaller.

"Immortal Elder, should we notify the Young Palace Master about this?" the young attendant asks cautiously.

The plump old man strokes his handful of snow-white beard and ponders for a moment, saying, "You should report it, but he will definitely be too lazy to care. I actually think some people might be interested in these few Ancient Beasts; they could sell for a good price!"

The young attendant giggles and makes a face, saying, "The Immortal Elder is shameless, actually wanting to get rich."

The plump old man flicks his sleeve and glares, saying, "What's wrong with getting rich? Dumping such a troublesome, bitter chore on me—not only is there no wine to drink, but they are also stingy with the Immortal salary. Go, help me brew a pot of Immortal tea. I'm going to negotiate a deal in a moment. Once successful, you'll inevitably get some benefits too."

"Really!" The young attendant is full of surprise.

"That's natural. One Ancient Beast is worth at least seventy or eighty pieces of Immortal Jade. Selling three Ancient Beasts is half a year's salary for me. By the way, don't notify the Young Palace Master about the pool yet; I'll find someone to sell those ghost cultivators along with them."

The young attendant is stunned and asks, "Immortal Elder, how can you sell mortal cultivators?"

"You know nothing! A ghost cultivator about to reach Void Breaking is rare in the world. Right now, the Four Great Sacred Palaces are all short of manpower. Such good news will inevitably interest someone. Alright, go brew the tea; I'm going to send out a few invitations now!"

After speaking, the chubby old man opened his plump palms, and a mass of white mist rose up, quickly transforming into several immortal cranes over a zhang in size; after flapping their snow-white wings and circling the old man once, each let out a long cry, transformed into several streaks of immortal light, pierced through the five-colored, misty clouds, and headed off in all directions.

(End of chapter)