Why do I have so many masters?

On the nearby street, a large group of commoners had already knelt down, praising the names of various immortals.

Suddenly, another whoosh sounded, and the pure white dragon slowly disappeared from sight.

The commoners praised loudly.

Yet Xie Youli's eyes bulged, his legs went soft, and he could no longer hold himself up; thus, he sat down on the ground with his legs awkwardly spread, in a manner unbefitting a scholar.

Just now, everyone on the street was merely bowing their heads and extolling the immortals, but only he had seen a white light shoot out from the top of the Taoist Sect mountain. Calculating the trajectory, it had hit the pure white dragon right in its vulnerable spot, the reverse scale.

The dragon hadn't disappeared on its own, but had been killed by someone in the Taoist Sect from hundreds of yards away.

As this realization hit Xie Youli, an unstoppable shudder ran through his heart.

The longsword at his waist trembled incessantly until, when finally drawn, it was nothing but a bare hilt in his hand; the blade, forged from hundred-refined iron, had shattered entirely.

What was this? A Taoist killing an immortal?

The scholar's face turned deathly pale.

At the foot of the main peak of the Taoist Sect, a tall and burly old man, who looked more like a rugged general than a Taoist, stood beside a pine tree under which a little girl was soundly asleep, shielded from the sunlight. His eyes watched the auspicious clouds gradually dissipate in the sky, his expression betraying neither joy nor anger.

From a distance, a young man levitated toward him, holding a peach wood sword in his hands. The blade was mostly charred black, and as it crumbled, falling piece by piece, the old Taoist remained indifferent. He grabbed the sword, frowned, then casually snapped off the charred half and threw it on the ground.

Qin Fei, standing beside him, seemed to want to speak but held back. The Supreme Elder glanced at him and said,

"Did you see it?"

Qin Fei nodded, and the old Taoist murmured to himself,

"Seeing it means nothing."

"They say it's an external incarnation, but it's not that mystical. It's just like the Yang God technique of our Taoism. Almost everyone above the age of sixty or seventy on the mountain can do it; so can your father. It's the same technique as when the purple Qi comes from the east, yet it can't withstand a Great Grandmaster's casual strike."

Realization dawned on Qin Fei, his heart was still turbulent, but his face remained calm as he asked, "Supreme Uncle-Master, who then is responsible for the spectacle just now?"

"Why would someone use our Taoist Sect's technique at the ancestral site of our sect to perform such an act?"

The Supreme Elder shook his head and replied,

"You ask me, but how would I know? We can't rule out those branches of the Taoist Sect. We practice martial arts and follow the path of Tao, yet there are always those who resort to unsavory means, employing myriad methods, all in pursuit of inextinguishable life."

"The Great Way of Heaven and Earth naturally revolves with life and death, as regular as the sun rises and the moon sets."

"To seek immortality is to act against heaven, and even if achieved, it's no better than becoming an insentient rock or ancient tree, with sealed consciousness, unaware and unthinking. Though their lifespan may be slightly longer than ours, and they claim to avoid disaster and dodge calamity, proclaiming themselves immortals, they are but dry bones in a tomb."

"Yet the Heavenly Dragon Institute seeks its own path, pursuing contentment in the next life with cultivations from this world, which is much like grasping for the moon in water. In my opinion, they are not even comparable to those in Jianghu who sword in hand, live with openness and die with intensity, leaving no regrets in this life."

Qin Fei thought of his master, who had laid the foundation for his martial arts and then observed the ups and downs of the world's energy streams before leaving him behind, and kept silent.

The old Taoist looked up at the clearing mists in the sky and mused to himself,

"Of course, this is just the opinion of an old Taoist like me; you can just listen and laugh it off if you wish. Don't follow my example; just be like your father, that would be good enough."

"Your father claimed that the Tao he sought was entirely within your mother's eyes. He descended the mountain in white to relieve the Taoist ancestors from their predicament, then went on to pursue his own Tao. I don't agree, but neither can I say he's wrong."

Qin Fei's eyes widened as he exclaimed,

"He never mentioned this before."

The old Taoist laughed heartily and remarked, "If not for that, how do you think your mother managed to bring your father back to Tianhe County? At that time, with the demon-dispelling saber in hand, he could kill even a grandmaster; how could he be trapped? With his vast knowledge, barring the Military Family, even ten Wang Tiances tied together would not be his match."

"It's simply because he went to seek his own Tao, naturally ignoring the slanders of the world."

"While others in this world seek immortality as the Great Way, our Taoist Sect's founder sought non-interference, our Second Ancestor desired carefree freedom, and I seek my own ease. If I am not at ease, then even longevity deserves to be cut down. Emotional entanglements and the dust of the world are minor roads, yet in your father's eyes, they rank several tiers higher than carefree freedom and tranquil inaction, which is quite extraordinary."

Qin Fei felt embarrassed.

The Supreme Elder did not dwell on the topic further and, looking up at the purplish aura and red twilight, muttered,

"I just wonder which long-extinct master from one of the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands has once again appeared, pretending to be an immortal. If I see him again, it won't end with just severing one of his spirit incarnations."

"If one desires to be an immortal, then I'm willing to scatter his soul."

The peachwood sword, broken in half, was raised in his hand, and his body carried the soaring sword intent, grand as the vast sky, shattering the auspicious clouds above, leaving only the vast pure qi. However, the girl beside him had woken up, rubbed her eyes, and mumbled sleepily that she was hungry and wanted some honey.

Just after raising his hand to slay a dragon, the heroic and unrestrained old Taoist ancestor turned around with a smile plastered on his face, amiably uttering a greeting, and casually tossed the peachwood sword to Qin Fei. Then he took the black bear, which was scared half to death, to knock down beehives up the mountain.

All notions of grandeur, immortality, and the airs of Jianghu were thrown to the back of his mind.

Qin Fei, holding the broken half of the peachwood sword, smiled without speaking. The old Taoist led the young girl deeper into the woods, then turned back after a few steps to look at the young man in the blue and white Taoist robe and said:

"After today, you should leave the mountain."

"Go and see the world, there's no rush to return to your Tianhe County. Jianghu is vast, and there are novelties everywhere; walk slowly, and look carefully."

Qin Fei was momentarily stunned, then bowed respectfully and asked:

"Then when should the disciple return?"

The old Taoist waved his hand and said you can return whenever you feel it's time, not waiting for Qin Fei to process this somewhat tongue-twisting phrase, the old Taoist had already led Zhang Tingyun far away.

Qin Fei gazed at the wooden sword in his hand, lost in thought.

.........

The excitement on the face of the nun outside Wanling City only lasted a moment before it disappeared. She sat with the bamboo rod, her expression somber as she waited for a long time. Then her brows began to droop, the bamboo fishing rod was placed beside her, and with a look of worry on her face, she muttered softly.

"Lost it?"

"How could it be lost..."

"Why did it get lost?"

"It shouldn't be like this..."

When she came to her senses, Lv Chun was already standing in front of her, eyes fixed on her. The nun's body stiffened slightly, then she slowly turned around, reached for the bamboo rod beside her, lifted it bit by bit, and returned to the posture of fishing, her eyes gradually becoming vacant and expressionless.

The young Taoist furrowed his brows, unable to restrain himself anymore, he snatched the bamboo rod.

The white fishing line dangled and wrapped limply around a rock.

The nun's face was filled with regret, while the young Taoist Lv Chun gritted his teeth.

"Keep pretending, and you'll get no food!"

The nun tried to defend herself, "I am an immortal!"

Lv Chun chuckled coldly, pointed at the yellow-orange incense burner in the Taoist temple with a flick of his wrist:

"Immortal? If you're really an immortal, try not eating and just smell the incense instead!"

The nun opened her mouth, then a look of defeat spread across her face.

.........…

On the Southern Sword Trail of Great Qin, located southwest of the empire, a group of people left Fufeng County. Since they weren't those brewers carrying their fine wines to the wine convention in Liangzhou, they didn't need to travel covertly overnight but proceeded normally.

At most, during the hottest and most poisonous times around noon, they sought shaded spots to rest, to avoid the sun. In recent days, some rain had made the weather oppressively hot, almost like being in a steam basket.

Wang Anfeng and his companions, relying on their martial arts, were unconcerned about the climate changes of the outside world. Lin Qiaofu and Lv Baiping, while lesser in martial arts, cultivated the Taiyin Internal Force that was uniquely passed down from Qingfeng Edge, which made them particularly resistant to the heat.

On the other hand, the two from the Fei Family Martial Arts School and the martial artists from the Divine Martial Mansion's caravan practiced the external kung fu that honed their physical strength; abundant with qi and blood, they were even more prone to sweating profusely in the heat and had to gulp down chilled herbal tea to relieve the heat in their stomachs.

Just as everyone stopped at a tea shop to cool off, on the scorching side of the road, there were two young martial artists who seemed unaffected by the heat, each holding a weapon, confronting each other.

One of them, dressed in black vigorous attire, wielded a longsword, while the other, who had a more appealing appearance, wore a dark blue robe and held not a sword but a clear jade flute. He wore a smile on his face, exuding a dashing elegance.

Sikou Tingfeng set down his chilled tea and said indifferently:

"A disciple of the Confucian Sect."

PS: Today, a double chapter is offered...

I would like to thank the alliance leader reward from book reader elephantZYL. I only saw it when updating, sorry... Extra chapters will certainly come...