Baiyun Ancient City.
Inside an inn.
Ye Ping and the two of them were sitting in the middle of a pavilion.
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was seated opposite Ye Ping, looking rather troubled. He didn’t take a single bite of the food on the table as he was in a bad mood.
Xia Qingmo more or less ate some.
On the other hand, Ye Ping didn’t eat anything at all. After all, his master had told him not to eat too much grains, lest he affected his constitution.
“Princess Qingmo, I thought about it. Sending you to Lizhou is not going to work. The Fiendcelestial Cult is watching you, I’m afraid if we go to Lizhou now, we’ll face lots of danger along the way.”
That was Ye Ping’s concern. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to escort Princess Qingmo to Lizhou, but rather, he felt that the Fiendcelestial Cult would definitely ambush them along the way.
They would be sending themselves to an early grave if they went over now.
“However, if you’re willing, you can seek refuge in my sect. I’m not bragging but the Senior Brothers in my sect are all peerless experts, and even if the Fiendcelestial Cult disciples come over, they won’t be able to cause any trouble.”
Ye Ping revealed his plans to Xia Qingmo as sending her to Lizhou was impossible.
However, he could bring Xia Qingmo to Qingyun Dao Sect.
That was Ye Ping’s plan.
“Peerless experts?”
Xia Qingmo and the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon were surprised.
“Yes, peerless experts.”
Ye Ping answered very confidently.
“What peerless experts? How incredible are they? Exalted Immortal, you probably don’t know how strong the Fiendcelestial Cult is.”
The most curious one was the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon. Frankly speaking, he was extremely confident in Ye Ping’s abilities. He had never seen the golden hoop before. Hence, he naturally believed what Ye Ping said.
“How much of an expert are they?”
Ye Ping drank a sip of wine before answering, “My eldest Senior Brother is a peerless Sword Immortal. He can cut through the sun, moon, and stars with a single blade of grass. Isn’t that impressive?”
Ye Ping said with unparalleled certainty.
After he said that, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon’s eyes were filled with shock.
‘Cutting through everything in the universe with a single blade of grass?’
Perhaps for Qi Refinement cultivators, cutting through everything in the universe with a single blade of grass seemed to be a vague concept but they would find it very powerful.
However, for a Nascent Soul realm powerhouse, there was a lot to imagine.
A Nascent Soul realm cultivator could make the mountains crumble in a fit of anger.
If he went all out, he would be able to shatter the mountains and rivers. With the flick of a finger, he would be able to annihilate a nation.
Besides, cutting through everything in the universe with a single blade of grass was something that was impossible for him to do. Even if he had another immortal artifact, he would not be able to do that.
Perhaps, only immortals could do it.
However, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon soon could not help but frown.
It had been thousands of years since an immortal appeared in the world of immortal cultivation. Although there would be some rumors from time to time about a certain person becoming an immortal, they were only rumors and no one had ever seen someone transcending the tribulation to become an immortal.
He didn’t believe it.
However, after taking a look at Ye Ping, he had doubts again.
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon remained apprehensive.
On the other hand, Xia Qingmo’s beautiful eyes glistened and she completely believed what Ye Ping said.
He managed to condense the Blood and Qi Furnace in his early twenties, as well as the supreme Sword Dao, peerless array formations, and the Golden Wheel of Expiation, all of which could only be nurtured by peerless experts.
To be honest, the Great Xia Dynasty probably could not produce such a genius.
“In short, everything will be fine when we reach the clan.”
Ye Ping affirmed once more.
Seeing Ye Ping’s confidence and the look of certainty on his face, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was even more curious about Ye Ping’s Senior Brothers.
However, at this moment, a familiar voice rang in Ye Ping’s ears.
“That examiner is just prejudiced against me. He disqualified me before I finished refining the pills, he really doesn’t have a discerning eye.”
His tone was full of anger.
It was familiar, very familiar. ‘Isn’t this Second Senior Brother’s voice?’
Ye Ping immediately got up, walked out of the pavilion with an agitated expression, and then stood at the stairwell, only to see Xu Luochen.
In the middle of the hall, there was another young man opposite Xu Luochen.
“Second Senior Brother.”
Ye Ping said with a gleeful expression.
As he spoke, Xu Luochen immediately looked shocked and hurriedly looked over, only to see Ye Ping.
“Little Junior Brother?”
Xu Luochen was a little surprised as he did not expect to meet Ye Ping here.
‘That’s not right, didn’t Ye Ping go to the Jin Nation Academy?’
‘Why is he here in Baiyun Ancient City?’
“Little Junior Brother?”
The man sitting directly across from Xu Luochen could not help but look at Ye Ping as well.
However, at this moment, Ye Ping hurriedly walked down the stairs and stood in front of Xu Luochen.
“Greetings, Senior Brother.”
Ye Ping had been lofty and aloof in front of others, and would keep a distance from them. However, he was naturally amicable towards his Senior Brothers in Qingyun Dao Sect.
He had already treated them as his family.
“Ye Ping, why are you here? Didn’t you go to the Jin Nation Academy?”
Xu Luochen was a little surprised as he also stood up and looked at Ye Ping with amazement in his eyes.
As soon as the Jin Nation Academy was mentioned, everyone in the entire restaurant couldn’t help but look at Ye Ping.
Most of them were surprised and envious.
There were also people who seemed to be in disbelief. However, after seeing Ye Ping’s aura followed by Xu Luochen, they somehow believed it.
“Senior Brother, I came back this time because I wanted to see you,” Ye Ping explained. He had indeed come over this time to look for Xu Luochen. He didn’t expect to run into him here.
“Look for me? What for?”
Xu Luochen was a bit flustered. ‘Why am I involved? Did you get into some trouble?’
For a moment, Xu Luochen was a bit confused.
“Senior Brother, let’s talk about this later. What are you doing here? Who’s this?”
Regarding the matter of the non-poisonous pills, Ye Ping did not state it explicitly because there were too many people around.
“Oh, I’m busy with some things.”
“Ye Ping, let me introduce you, this is Senior Brother’s Fellow Daoist, Liu Wen.”
Xu Luochen said and introduced Liu Wen.
“Greetings, Senior Brother Liu.”
Ye Ping instantly bowed, appearing courteous and polite.
The latter also immediately returned the greeting and said, “You’re being too polite. Ye Ping, I’ve always heard about you. You are the pride of Baiyun State.”
Liu Wen was extremely excited as he looked at Ye Ping.
Now, every cultivator in the entire Baiyun Ancient City knew that the Qingyun Dao Sect had produced an elite. Having their disciple selected by the Jin Nation Academy was a glorious thing for the ancestors.
The Jin Nation Academy was a top academy, and those who could get a place in the Jin Nation Academy were destined to have an outstanding reputation in the future.
“You flatter me, Senior Brother.”
Ye Ping chuckled, but soon, Xu Luochen spoke to Liu Wen.
“Liu Wen, I’ll go look for you in a few days. I’ll catch up with my little Junior Brother for now.”
The fact that Ye Ping had suddenly returned from Jin Nation Academy made Xu Luochen a little uneasy, so he was curious to know why Ye Ping had come back this time.
“Sure, I’ll see you in a few days then.”
Liu Wen knew that the two of them had something to discuss and hence got up to leave.
After Liu Wen left, Xu Luochen said, “Ye Ping, let’s go back to the sect and talk.”
“Yes.”
Ye Ping nodded. It was best to go back to the sect to discuss such matters.
However, Ye Ping didn’t forget Xia Qingmo and the Ghost King.
“Senior Brother, I have two more friends. Please wait a moment.”
After saying this, Ye Ping hurriedly went upstairs.
In the middle of the pavilion, Xia Qingmo and the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon were still pondering about life.
However, as Ye Ping appeared, the two couldn’t help but look at Ye Ping.
“Princess Qingmo, my Senior Brother is downstairs. Everything will be fine with him around.”
Ye Ping’s words made Xia Qingmo look gleeful.
At this moment, Ye Ping couldn’t help but look at the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon.
“You better not talk nonsense later. These Senior Brothers of mine are all from an orthodox sect. If you speak nonsense, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”
Ye Ping reminded the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon not to court death.
Hearing his words, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was a little scared.
“Exalted Immortal, why don’t I just not go with you? Remove my golden hoop, I promise to be a good ghost in the future. I’m a man of my word. Besides, with your Senior Brother around, I dare not do anything.”
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was terrified. If he really met a just and righteous cultivator, he would be doomed.
Initially, he was not afraid, but he soon got flustered mainly because Ye Ping had bragged too much about his Senior Brothers.
“Stop dreaming, if I let you off, you will harm others. Besides, I have to give you a name, or I won’t know how to introduce you.”
“How about Xu Bao?”
Ye Ping asked.
‘After all, I can’t call him the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon. I have to give him a different name.’
“Xu Bao? Exalted Immortal, what do you mean? I’m so powerful and you’re giving me such a name?”
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was confused. He was still a menacing ghost, and yet he was given such an odd name.
“How about Da Xu?”
Ye Ping said.
“That’s strange too. Exalted Immortal, if you don’t know how to choose a name, forget it. What kind of strange names are these?”
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was nauseous.
“Cut the crap and choose either Da Xu or Xu Bao. If you continue nagging, I’ll chant an incantation.”
Ye Ping did not have the time to talk crap with the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon.
“Da Xu then.”
As soon as he heard the threat, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon panicked and had no choice but to make do with that name.
“Okay, Princess Qingmo, Da Xu, let’s go.”
Ye Ping did not waste any time and brought the both of them downstairs.
Outside the inn.
Xu Luochen bathed in the sunlight and quietly waited for Ye Ping.
However, at this moment, Xu Luochen was not thinking about why Ye Ping had returned from the Jin Nation Academy, but about the test that he had taken today.
Yes, he had taken part in the preliminary test of the alchemy master assessment today, but he ended up failing and was even expelled from the examination hall.
Thinking about this, Xu Luochen was furious.
There was a written rule that candidates were given ten hours for the assessment.
He hadn’t even stayed for four hours before he was expelled from the examination hall for disturbing the order of the examination hall.
Xu Luochen just couldn’t understand.
‘How did I disrupt the order in the examination hall?’
‘Why can’t I refine any pills with water?’
‘Does alchemy have to be done in a step-by-step manner?’
The more he thought about it, the more angry Xu Luochen got.
Ever since he ate the pill paste made by Ye Ping that day, his cultivation realm had broken through to the tenth level of Qi Refinement.
The first thing Xu Luochen thought about was to sit for the assessment.
In order to impress others, Xu Luochen bought another pot and the rainwater that he had painstakingly collected over several months over.
After coming to the examination hall, he performed his superb alchemical skills, but he was soon kicked out again.
He had only been refining for four hours, and yet he was kicked out. To be honest, Xu Luochen felt that he was about to refine a pill.
Yet, he was interrupted.
How could Xu Luochen not be angry? How could Xu Luochen not be upset?
His attempt to impress and shock the entire world of immortal cultivation caused him to be disqualified by the examiners.
He was furious and his heart was already burning with fury.
At this moment, Ye Ping’s voice sounded behind him.
“Second Senior Brother.”
Xu Luochen immediately turned around, and soon two unfamiliar faces were reflected in his eyes.
One was absolutely beautiful and in terms of looks, she was on par with Xiao Muxue and Chen Lingrou.
On the other hand, the other one was rugged. Most importantly, the golden hoop on his bright and shiny bald head seemed strange.
“Senior Brother, these two are my friends, Qingmo and Da Xu.”
Ye Ping briefly introduced them.
“Oh, are they also from the Jin Nation Academy?”
Xu Luochen was a little curious.
“No, I just met them on the way and felt that we were fated, so I invited them to our sect.”
Ye Ping did not reveal Xia Qingmo’s true identity. After all, God knows whether the Qingyun Dao Sect had a grudge against the Great Xia Dynasty or not. Hence, he thought that it would be better not to talk about it.
“Oh, that’s fine.”
Xu Luochen nodded and did not care much but returned to the Qingyun Dao Sect.
Soon, the four of them disappeared.
They walked towards the sect.
On the way, Ye Ping and Xu Luochen were walking side by side, seemingly talking about something.
Behind them, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon and Xia Qingmo were gawking at Xu Luochen from time to time.
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon, in particular.
The more he looked, the more he felt that something was amiss.
‘Just with this?’
“Peerless expert?”
‘A peerless expert at the tenth level of Qi Refinement?’
‘Are you lying to me?’
Although the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon did not know that there were greater experts out there in the world, the problem was that Xu Luochen did not seem like a peerless expert at all.
In terms of looks and aura, Xu Luochen might be handsome and refined but good looks did not have practical purposes.
Who could rely on their good looks to become immortal?
Besides, no matter how he looked at it, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon felt that Xu Luochen was a good-for-nothing.
His realm was average.
So were his Qi and blood.
He didn’t seem like an expert at all.
“Girl, do you really think he’s a peerless expert? He seems strange.”
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon couldn’t help but ask Xia Qingmo, wanting to see if Xia Qingmo was thinking the same thing as him.
“Don’t talk nonsense, Benefactor’s Senior Brother is naturally a peerless expert.”
“I know what you’re thinking, it’s just the realm is off, but as a Nascent Soul cultivator, you should also know that things like realm can be altered and disguised.”
Xia Qingmo was also a little bit surprised. After all, Xu Luochen did not behave like a peerless expert at all and instead just looked like an ordinary cultivator.
She was not apprehensive about it and even found it normal after thinking about it. After all, it would be obvious if he was a peerless expert.
“No, girl, hear me out. Although the realm can be changed, Dharmic powers cannot be changed.”
“Look at me, although I can suppress my realm to the Qi Refinement realm, my Dharmic powers are still different, but his Dharmic powers are scarce and not even as good as Exalted Immortal’s.”
The more the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon looked at it, the stranger it seemed to him.
“I had some suspicions before you mentioned it, but now that you have, I’m even more certain that he’s a peerless expert.”
Xia Qingmo said while glancing at Xu Luochen with her beautiful eyes.
“Why?”
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was dumbfounded.
“That’s very simple. Only a true supreme expert can disguise himself so well.”
“It’s stated in Mahayana’s record that there are some real supreme powerhouses who go through various experiences and return to the real mortal world in order to become immortals. They would forget everything and sever all karma.”
“Maybe this Senior Brother is that kind of peerless powerhouse. In order to become an immortal, they choose to become mortal first.”
Xia Qingmo nodded and said, almost fooling the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon.
“No, no, no, no, transforming into a mortal is not like that. There is definitely something wrong, I feel that Exalted Immortal may have been cheated.”
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon kept shaking his head. He was very certain that Xu Luochen was not some peerless expert, but rather a conman.
Thinking of this, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon couldn’t help but be tempted.
In an instant, the terrifying power spread and turned into an invisible blade that slashed Xu Luochen. He wanted to test whether Xu Luochen was a peerless expert or not.
If he was, he would definitely react immediately.
If not, he wouldn’t.
The power was extremely terrifying. It was the power of Dao that only the Nascent Soul realm cultivators could detect.
Hence, even Ye Ping could not sense the danger within.
That was the effect of a drastic difference between realms.
However, as the invisible blade almost chopped Xu Luochen’s neck, he still hadn’t detected it.
At this moment, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was certain.
Xu Luochen was lying.
There was absolutely no way that he was some peerless expert.
“Good.”
‘Very good.’
After confirming that, the Great Purgatory Resentful Demon laughed.
He wanted to tell Ye Ping of that news so that he could take credit for it and then ask Ye Ping to let him off the hook. They would both benefit from it.
‘Good, very good, wonderful. Hahahahahaha.’
The Great Purgatory Resentful Demon was overjoyed.
Two hours later, Xu Luochen and Ye Ping had arrived in the middle of the Qingyun Mountain Range.
They chatted along the way, but Xu Luochen hadn’t asked Ye Ping about the reason he decided to return. It wasn’t that he didn’t dare to but because there were two people behind him.
Ye Ping didn’t take the initiative to speak either. He wanted to wait until the two of them were alone before stating the reason.
When the four of them were walking in the mountains, the two figures suddenly appeared in front of them.
“Eldest Senior Brother!”
“Ye Ping, is that your eldest Senior Brother?”
Xu Luochen asked as he looked into the distance.
“It’s Eldest Senior Brother. Eldest Senior Brother.”
Ye Ping saw Su Changyu’s figure at a glance.
All of a sudden, Ye Ping was even happier.
Not far away, Su Changyu stopped.
In the next moment, he could not help but look at Ye Ping and the others.
“Little Junior Brother?”
In an instant, Su Changyu’s eyes were full of exhilaration.
