139: Chapter 139 Encountering an Old Friend at the Border

A few days later.

Xu Changsheng rode Ink Shadow, speeding along at a low altitude until he arrived at Three Realms Mountain.

"Is this the border of the three kingdoms, Chu, Yue, and Wu?"

The mountain wasn't particularly high, but it stretched so far that the end was nowhere in sight.

Looking up from the foot of the mountain, one could only see halfway up the mountainside; further up, mist made everything hazy and mysterious.

From time to time, muffled beast roars echoed from within the mist.

He returned Ink Shadow to its Spirit Beast Bag; it was best to avoid being too conspicuous for the rest of the journey.

He stepped out of the dense forest.

The view suddenly opened up, revealing a gentle slope covered in colorful tents.

Although it was called the Hundred Sects Trial, only twenty or thirty Sects had actually come. He could see the banners of the Jinyang Sect fluttering a few miles away.

He quietly walked toward the Jinyang Sect's encampment.

This time, he was assisting the Jinyang Sect as a Loose Cultivator to guard their Qi Refining Disciples. Crimson Rainbow had already arranged for Disciples to meet him.

He followed a pebble path up the mountain.

Just as he was nearing his destination,

A voice called out from the side.

"Eh? Isn't this Fellow Daoist Xu?"

Turning his head, he saw a familiar figure standing by a large tree not far away.

Dressed in a black robe, the man had an honest and sincere face.

It was his old neighbor—Li Hongxuan.

He stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Fellow Daoist Li, what a coincidence. You're here too?"

He scratched his head. "Yes, I'm here to take care of some business."

"Business? Could it be that Fellow Daoist Li is also here to guard the Hundred Sects Trial?"

"I'd like to, but they didn't want me, so I just came to take a look."

"I see."

Xu Changsheng looked at the Jinyang Sect encampment nearby. "It seems the business Fellow Daoist Li wants to attend to is related to the Jinyang Sect. Why not go inside?"

His face looked slightly awkward. "I... I can't get in."

He rubbed his nose. "What's the matter? Could Fellow Daoist Li tell me about it?"

His simple face became even more uncomfortable. "I... I just want to see someone, but I suspect she doesn't want to see me, so I'm just waiting here."

Seeing his expression, Xu Changsheng seemed to realize something.

With a half-smile, he sized up Li Hongxuan. "I didn't realize Fellow Daoist Li had such deep feelings, to chase her all the way from Yellow Ox Immortal City to Three Realms Mountain."

He hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, she and I have only met once."

He thought to himself, "Then it's no wonder she won't see you. This is just unrequited love."

Li Hongxuan continued with an infatuated expression.

"She is the most beautiful Fairy I have ever seen. When I saw her at the Stall Market in Yellow Ox Immortal City, I knew instantly that she was the love of my life."

"Is it that cheesy?"

Xu Changsheng's smile stiffened into a strange, twitching curve. "I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Li to be such a hopeless romantic."

"Not really, not really. If Fellow Daoist Xu saw her, you might act even worse than me."

"Er, well, I happen to have business in the Jinyang Sect encampment. If Fellow Daoist Li doesn't mind, why not come in with me to see your beloved?"

Xu Changsheng considered it. When he was undergoing Foundation Establishment that day, Li Hongxuan had personally come out to guard him. He still owed the man a favor.

Although he had used several second-rank talismans to repay the favor at the time, the latter was clearly unsatisfied.

"How could I..."

"Why the pleasantries between us? I've always remembered the kindness Fellow Daoist Li showed by stepping in to help during my most difficult moment of Foundation Establishment."

Li Hongxuan immediately understood the meaning behind those words. The other party wanted to completely repay that favor now.

He felt conflicted and undecided.

A slight curve appeared at the corner of Xu Changsheng's mouth. "Well? Has Fellow Daoist Li decided?"

"Fine. I'll have to trouble Fellow Daoist Xu then," Li Hongxuan said, enunciating each word.

He had finally managed to establish a connection with a Second-Rank Talisman Master like Xu Changsheng and had intended to save this favor for a critical moment.

"Then Fellow Daoist Li, please follow me."

Xu Changsheng naturally understood Li Hongxuan's reluctance. He was secretly pleased that simply bringing someone along would resolve a potentially troublesome obligation.

"Alright."

Li Hongxuan hurried to catch up. Beneath the tree where he had just been standing, five fingernail marks an inch deep had appeared at some point.

...

After only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two arrived at the front of the encampment.

Looking from here, a set of stone steps inside the encampment pierced straight into the clouds. Coiled Dragon Stone Pillars stood every hundred paces on both sides, their tops burning with eternal golden flames.

The flames danced in the wind, dyeing the entire stone staircase a warm gold.

At the end of the stone steps, a massive Archway was faintly visible. It had a golden roof and vermillion pillars, with three large characters on the plaque—Jinyang Sect.

Countless gold and red banners swayed in the breeze.

As expected of a Nascent Soul level Sect; they had made the encampment so grand in just a few short months.

Two Disciples at the Qi Refining Great Perfection stood guard at the entrance.

Seeing Xu Changsheng and Li Hongxuan, they remained neither humble nor arrogant, crossing two spears to block them. "Senior, please stop. No outsiders are allowed into the Jinyang Sect encampment."

Xu Changsheng stopped and pulled a wooden plaque from his robe, handing it over. "Loose Cultivator, Xu Changsheng. I was invited to protect your Sect's trial Disciples."

The guard took it and looked at it for a while, a flash of surprise appearing in his eyes.

"And what about this Senior behind you?" he asked, pointing at Li Hongxuan.

"He is a friend of mine. Don't worry, he will leave today."

One of the guards scanned Li Hongxuan, hesitating as if he wanted to say something.

Just then, the other guard gave him a look, forcing him to swallow his words and letting the two pass.

Only after the two had walked far away did they communicate via Divine Sense.

"That Senior Xu just now... was the wooden plaque in his hand really...?"

"Absolutely. It bears the Grandmaster's verbal command. I was afraid he'd detect our Divine Sense transmission, so I didn't dare say more to you."

"Strange. That Senior Xu looks quite ordinary, and I've never heard of such a person in the Sect. How could he have such a significant connection?"

"Say less. These matters aren't for us Disciples to worry about."

At the same time.

Li Hongxuan followed closely behind Xu Changsheng, his mind also full of suspicion.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, why were those two juniors looking at us so strangely?"

"How should I know? I've fulfilled my promise to bring Fellow Daoist Li inside. Why are you still following me?"

Li Hongxuan's old face turned red as he stammered, "I don't know where she is..."

Upon hearing this,

Xu Changsheng looked helpless and continued to see his guest off. "Then Fellow Daoist Li might as well wander around the encampment. You might just have a chance encounter."

"Where do you plan to go, Fellow Daoist? I'm just wandering anyway; I might as well follow Fellow Daoist Xu and have some company."

"...Suit yourself."

Their friendship wasn't deep, and this was the first time he realized this man was also the thick-skinned type.

"I'm going to the Martial Arts Arena. Follow if you like."

The contact person Crimson Rainbow had arranged was at the Martial Arts Arena.

"Great, I'll go to the Martial Arts Arena too."