5: Chapter 5: Only by kowtowing and apologizing will it count; a new, unparalleled path to immortality be forged!

Li Xuan's plain and unremarkable voice fell within the great hall, yet it was no less than a thunderclap.

Elder Wu Dai's old face flushed purple, his lips trembling, unable to squeeze out a single word for a long time.

He wanted to retort, he wanted to rage!

But the authentic Qi Refining Stage Nine cultivation on Senior Sister Xia Zhuyan, along with that wisp of strange fire aura that made even him feel palpitations, blocked all his words.

Inside and outside the hall, ten thousand pairs of eyes scanned back and forth between him and Li Xuan.

The feeling was as if he were being roasted repeatedly over a fire, searing his old face and the dignity of a Nascent Soul Elder until it sizzled.

Outside the crowd, Li Yuan, who had once led the mockery of Senior Sister Xia Zhuyan, felt his legs go weak, collapsed to the ground, and turned ashen-faced.

"It's over."

These two words were all that remained in his mind.

Senior Sister Xia Zhuyan was back, so he...

Elder Wu Dai gritted his teeth, sweat beading on his forehead. If he knelt in front of ten thousand people in the Sect, how could he ever show his face in the Sect again?

It would even affect his Dao Heart.

He hadn't intended to stir up trouble; decades ago, in a Secret Realm, they had vied for an Opportunity.

Li Xuan had been there too. He had been defeated, and the Opportunity had been snatched away by Li Xuan. For all these years, he had held a grudge.

Elder Wu Dai rolled up his sleeves, stood up, and walked toward Li Xuan, struggling to squeeze out a smile: "Fellow Daoist Li Xuan, we met before in the Martial Combat Small World, it can be considered fate!"

"Today, I was also just worried about my Disciple and acting according to the rules, so my words were a bit extreme. I hope you can forgive me!"

"Now I'm a Fellow Daoist?" Li Xuan heard this, raised an eyebrow, and glanced at him. This old dog changed his face quite quickly:

"I have been to countless Secret Realms; I really don't remember who you are!"

He was not lying. Over the past hundred years, in order to fight for resources for the Sect, he had traveled to thousands of Secret Realm Small Worlds and encountered countless Cultivators. He truly had no impression of this Elder Wu Dai.

Seeing Li Xuan answer this way, Elder Wu Dai immediately said: "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, the Ziyang Grass will definitely be presented with both hands, not a single year of its age will be missing!"

"Heh! Is that possible? Elder Wu Dai." Li Xuan's eyes showed disdain as he shook his head slightly: "With so many Qingxia Sect Disciples watching, do you want to teach them to go back on their word?"

"You..." Elder Wu Dai's face flushed red instantly. He pointed at Li Xuan and said hatefully, "You just happened to stumble upon a lucky break! This matter was purely a fluke!"

As an Inner Sect Elder with high status and power, making him kowtow to a Mortal in public? That was more painful than killing him!

At the end of the day, this kid was just a Mortal! Did he really think he was still that high and mighty Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarch of the past?

A wave of Nascent Soul Stage pressure quietly pressed toward Li Xuan, hoping to make him retreat in the face of difficulty.

But Li Xuan didn't even twitch an eyebrow, as if that pressure were merely a gentle breeze.

Old dog! Still trying to renege when death is at your doorstep.

He was not a soft-hearted person; since he dared to gamble, he had to accept the result!

Ignoring Elder Wu Dai's death throes, Li Xuan turned to Sect Master Wang Buyu on the main seat and bowed slightly.

"Sect Master, you personally bore witness."

With one sentence, the ball was cleanly and decisively kicked to the Sect Master's feet.

Sect Master Wang Buyu's heart was churning like a stormy sea. He re-evaluated Li Xuan; the value of this "Mortal" far exceeded his imagination.

He knew better than anyone what it meant to win back a Prodigy with a top-grade single Spiritual Root.

Forget three kowtows; even thirty would be worth it!

Besides, this bet was something Elder Wu Dai had rushed to make himself. Losing face was his own business; what did it have to do with the Sect?

In an instant, Sect Master Wang Buyu made his decision.

His expression darkened, and he sternly shouted at Elder Wu Dai: "Elder Wu Dai! The bet has been made, how can you go back on it!"

"Do you want to make my Qingxia Sect become known as a group that goes back on its word in front of our peers in the Northern Region?!"

The Sect Master speaking personally was like the final straw that crushed all of Elder Wu Dai's chances.

He had absolutely no way out.

Under the slow torture of tens of thousands of gazes, Elder Wu Dai trembled all over, and with a humiliated "thud," he fell heavily to his knees.

He clenched his fists, swallowed hard, and toward Li Xuan—this "Mortal" in his eyes—he kowtowed for the first time.

Thud!

The sound was dull, as if it had shattered all his dignity as a Nascent Soul Elder.

Thud! Thud!

Two consecutive sounds, and he felt a crack appear on his Dao Heart.

After finishing the kowtows, he looked as if his spirit and energy had been drained. Trembling, he took out a shimmering purple Spiritual Plant from his Storage Pouch.

A five-hundred-year-old 'Ziyang Grass'.

He presented it with both hands, his head lowered, not daring to look at Li Xuan.

But the shame and anger on his face, and the viciousness in his eyes, were so intense they could almost drip water.

The other Elders were already keeping their eyes on their noses and their hearts on their hearts, remaining silent.

Especially those who had just spoken words of ridicule; they didn't even dare to glance at Li Xuan.

A Heavenly Monarch is still a Heavenly Monarch; even if crippled, he still has methods beyond their imagination!

Li Xuan calmly reached out and took the Ziyang Grass, not even glancing at it before casually handing it to Qi Jingshu beside him.

Right in front of Elder Wu Dai, he said, "Elder Wu Dai's good intentions, Jingshu, keep it safe for me, don't waste it."

"Ah?" Qi Jingshu was stunned. This was a five-hundred-year-old rare Spirit Medicine, worth a fortune.

She subconsciously wanted to decline, but meeting Li Xuan's expression that brooked no argument, a warm current surged into her heart, and she silently put the Ziyang Grass away.

This scene left everyone present dumbfounded once again.

Such a precious treasure, given away just like that?

Countless female Disciples outside the hall looked at Qi Jingshu's back, their eyes turning red with envy.

Old Ancestor Qi is not only powerful, but who would have thought her ability to handle men is also so impressive!

Once the matter was settled, Elder Wu Dai flicked his sleeves and fled, leaving Li Xuan with only a malicious glare.

He swore that he would definitely kill Li Xuan, no matter what background this beast had or what close friends he had!

He would use the most cruel methods to skin Li Xuan, pull out his tendons, and extract his Divine Soul to refine into an artifact!

"Hahahaha!"

Sect Master Wang Buyu laughed loudly, breaking the awkwardness in the hall. He walked down from the main seat quickly and enthusiastically grabbed Li Xuan's hand.

"Fellow Daoist Li is truly a Divine Being! The position of Guest Elder belongs to no one but you!"

"From today on, you are the Chief Guest Elder of my Qingxia Sect, with a status equal to a Grand Elder!"

Li Xuan pulled his hand back smoothly and bowed: "Sect Master, your kindness is too much, I am unworthy. I only ask for a quiet Immortal Cave; I do not like to be disturbed by outsiders."

"Easily done! Easily done!"

Sect Master Wang Buyu immediately agreed and made the decision on the spot, assigning the "Tingxue Cottage," which had the densest Spiritual Qi and the strongest Restrictions in the Sect, to Li Xuan, and bestowed upon him an Elder token representing the highest authority.

"Sect Master, please be careful with your words! Tingxue Cottage is the Immortal Cave of our founding Ancestral Master and holds extraordinary significance. While Fellow Daoist Li Xuan has indeed made great contributions, there are other blessed lands in the Sect; I hope the Sect Master will reconsider."

Elder Xu Changqing, an Inner Sect Elder on the side, hurriedly tried to stop him.

A trace of joy flashed in the depths of Sect Master Wang Buyu's eyes; Elder Xu Changqing still understood him. He immediately stiffened his face:

"Foolish! Fellow Daoist Li is the source of the Sect's good fortune. Never mind the Ancestral Master's Immortal Cave, even if he wanted my own Immortal Cave, what of it!"

He paused, then raised his voice again, loud enough for the ten thousand onlookers to hear.

"The Qingxia Sect is not like some ungrateful Sects. From now on, seeing Fellow Daoist Li Xuan is the same as seeing me. Do you understand!"

The group of Elders stood up one after another, with Elder Xu Changqing standing at the front: "The Sect Master is right. Fellow Daoist Li Xuan will be our honored guest from now on. We will certainly not be like some Sects..."

Li Xuan smiled faintly and nodded inwardly. This Immortal Master Xuanyang and this Elder Xu Changqing were truly a pair of interesting characters. He naturally understood what they meant.

"I am now a Mortal, yet I have received such generous treatment. Thank you. In the future, if there is anything I can help with, I will certainly do my utmost."

Wherever there are people, there is Jianghu! It is just the way of the world.

At this time, Senior Sister Xia Zhuyan had also recovered from the mysterious state of her Breakthrough.

She withdrew the Formation, walked quickly to Li Xuan, and without the slightest hesitation, knelt on both knees to perform the grand ceremony of apprenticeship.

"Senior, for your grace in recreating me, Zhuyan has no way to repay you! Please, Senior, take me as your Disciple!"

She looked up, and in those eyes that were once numb, there now remained only endless gratitude and fanatical worship.

The Senior was indeed a master from the outside world; her previous doubts had been rude.

Li Xuan, however, did not reach out to help her up.

Having been deeply hurt by those three ungrateful wretches, he was already extremely averse to taking on Disciples.

He now had only one ultimate goal: to ascend to the Immortal Realm and seek eternal life. He cared about nothing else.

"Our fate is for another time," he said in a plain voice. "First, stabilize your cultivation. Do not waste this Opportunity."

This refusal, rather than disappointing Senior Sister Xia Zhuyan, instead made her feel even more that the Senior before her, though only in a Mortal body, must be profound and unfathomable. She admired him even more in her heart.

The matter was settled.

Accompanied by Qi Jingshu, Li Xuan walked toward Tingxue Cottage.

Along the way, every Qingxia Sect Disciple who saw him bowed and saluted. In their expressions, there was full of awe and fanaticism, with no trace of contempt left.

Zhao Lin, who had previously blocked the road to question him, hid to the side from far away, not even daring to raise his head.

People love to gossip, and Cultivators are no exception.

This explosive news quickly flew out of the Qingxia Sect and spread throughout the entire Northern Region.

The former Spirit Transformation Heavenly Monarch Li Xuan, though his Spiritual Root was destroyed, possessed unfathomable abilities—turning stones into gold and guiding a Trash back to the Peak in a single day!

Countless Sects heard this, and upon thinking of how the Yunxiao Sect had driven such a figure out of their Sect, they all mocked them in secret.