“Running away the moment we meet… How boring. What exactly did you do to scare these sword cultivators so much that they’ve become like startled birds?”
I watched as the Dongyang Sword School, which had been aggressive just a second ago, suddenly scattered in all directions. I was somewhat speechless.
“Nothing much. There are 100,000 sword cultivators in the world, and Jiang Ke’er wiped out 99,000 of them.”
“….”
With a wave of my hand, I performed Ground Shrinking, pulling the surrounding space toward me.
The sword cultivators suddenly realized that no matter how they flew, they couldn’t escape the surrounding 100 meters. They were trapped in the palm of my hand.
“How should we handle them?”
“Just kill them. Don’t they fear the Realm of the Dead? Send them straight there for Jiang Ke’er to deal with. Their schemes and the source of their Demonic Arts can also be seen from the Life and Death Register.”
“Alright.”
My five fingers closed with a soft *snap*, and the world fell silent.
We hadn’t intended to meddle in others’ business on this trip; we just wanted to find Jiang Ke’er to have her resurrect Dahlia’s two rivals.
As it turned out, we went to the wrong place.
It seemed we still had to make a call first.
Dahlia contacted Jiang Ke’er this time, and we quickly learned her location.
When we arrived, I realized I actually didn’t need to come along.
Ke’er’s side mission was to have me help her show off, but she had already pulled off a big show on her own.
She had waited too long for her enemies to come and exterminate her sect, so she simply went to them instead.
It just so happened that she heard these people were remnants of Jiexian, so she conveniently sent them to be reincarnated.
“You chose the hard way over the easy way… Next life, be a bit faster when you’re trying to wipe out a sect. Don’t dawdle.”
Jiang Ke’er kicked the opposing sect master into Reincarnation.
It was her way of venting her frustration after waiting for months like a person waiting for a rabbit to hit a tree, only to end up blowing up the rabbit’s nest with an Antimatter Bomb in a fit of rage.
“Did you find the Souls?”
“Found them.”
“Resurrect them in their original forms, or should I add some accessories?” Ke’er asked.
“No need… their original appearance is fine.”
“You got it~”
.
“Let’s go.”
I picked up Cluru, who wanted to watch the Resurrection.
“Waaah, what for?!” Cluru said, her eyes welling with tears. “It’s finally a happy ending! Let me watch! Let me watch! If I don’t, every single one of my tentacles will itch!”
“They’ve been separated for so long. Don’t stay behind and be a third wheel.”
“I want to see! I want to see, I want to see! I can miss anything but the grand finale! Even just seeing a heartwarming scene of them embracing and crying would be enough to warm my heart for a lifetime!”
Cluru completely transformed into a chibi art style, rolling around on the ground and throwing a tantrum.
But this time, I just carried her and flew away.
I’m getting older; I can’t handle such sentimental things.
With Cluru in tow, we returned to the Taiming Sect.
Our bet wasn’t over yet.
Within three months, I had to find evidence that the Taiming Sect was the hidden big villain! Otherwise, I’d have to sacrifice myself to the tentacles.
“Give up already. Jiang Ke’er is from the Taiming Sect’s Lingyin Valley, and Senior Sister Dahlia is also from the Taiming Sect. Most of the people in the Taiming Sect followed Jiang Ke’er into battle everywhere, which is what established the current era of peace and prosperity… Do you really think they could be the big villains?”
“…”
For now, my chances of winning did seem slim.
“I suggest you just surrender,” Cluru said, her tentacles creeping maliciously onto my arm. “Little kitty~~ You were born to be eaten by Elder Sister~~ Ohohohoho~”
“The three months aren’t up yet,” I said, gritting my teeth and refusing to back down.
‘Even another three years or thirty years won’t matter. Admit it, the Realm of Cultivation isn’t the one you once knew. There aren’t that many bad people anymore.’
‘Not necessarily. We just wiped out a nest of Demonic Cultivators today.’
I had originally blocked the path of advancement for Demonic Cultivators, but the world’s cultivation system had changed.
Demonic Cultivators were no longer restricted by the fact that their Demonic Arts couldn’t achieve Jindan Formation, so they had made a comeback.
Fortunately, they were extinguished just as they were starting to resurface.
“Even with the deterrent of the Realm of the Dead, there are bound to be some lunatics desperate for eternal life. They’d rather commit countless sins during their lifetime just to increase their chances of immortality and escape the shackles of Reincarnation… So the world isn’t that peaceful after all,” I lamented.
Ke’er’s method wasn’t a permanent solution.
But it was much better than before.
This little girl was quite admirable…
‘But I always feel that things aren’t that simple. There’s still a time bomb that could blow all this peace and harmony to the heavens at any moment.’
Yuwen National Preceptor!
During the Tribulation Crossing, that kid clearly recognized me, yet he still ordered Di Jiang to kill me at any cost.
‘I am certain that the decision to kill me wasn’t an act.’
‘He truly wanted to kill me.’
‘He feared me, feared me so much he was willing to trade Di Jiang’s life for mine… but what exactly was my existence interfering with?’
‘Were his arrangements solely for Correcting History?’
“Tomorrow is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Emperor Li Shimin is holding a grand assembly and inviting old friends. It’s said that many famous figures from the textbooks will be there…”
Cluru rubbed her tentacles in anticipation. “Let’s go see Li Bai!”
“What’s so great about a drunkard?”
“It’s not just to see him,” Cluru said, shaking her head.
“He wrote so many poems that people have to memorize them until they go bald. I have to give his butt a good kick…”
“…”
‘So you’re actually going for revenge?’
“…And then I’ll pay my respects, because while memorizing poems is annoying, his poetry is actually really cool,” Cluru added.
That was true.
That’s why he was called the Exiled Immortal.
“Alright then. We came here to travel, after all.”
Returning to our residence on Yihe Peak in the Taiming Sect, we switched to the second Virtual Machine and continued pretending to be rookie Junior Sisters of the Yi Yuan Realm.
No more words were spoken that night.
The next day, we headed to the imperial palace’s banquet venue.
We didn’t have invitations, so we weren’t allowed in.
But that wasn’t a problem for us.
Cluru took two pieces of paper and used her versatile Transformation Power to fabricate two invitations.
The banquet hall was bustling. On a high platform in the center, a man and a woman were performing a sword dance.
“Excellent sword technique.” I found myself dazed for a moment.
This wasn’t just for show. The sword dance performed by the man and woman on stage was not only magnificent but also formidable in actual combat.
The sword intent was so intense that even I felt a chill from its sharpness.
“Good! Excellent!”
“I had long heard that Gongsun’s sword dance was unrivaled under heaven, but it turns out that when combined with General Pei’s sword dance, it truly becomes a match made in heaven—a perfect sword dance!”
The applause was deafening.
Not far from where the two were dancing, a young man in white clothes raised his wine cup with a smug expression.
If he had a tail, it would surely be sticking straight up in the air.
‘That’s my master! As Li Bai’s master, how could they not be incredible?’
Me: “…”
Cluru: “…”
The prestige of this Exiled Immortal seemed a bit low.
‘I think history really needs to be corrected. Maybe I should go help Xiao Yuwen.’
Of course, I was just joking—just making a comment…
“Think on the bright side. At least people in the future won’t have to be tortured by ‘Hardship of the Road to Shu…..’ right? Or maybe he’s already written it?” Cluru asked hesitantly.
Most of Li Bai’s masterpieces stemmed from his unrecognized talent and his lack of opportunity to serve his country, which led him to use poetry to vent his frustrations sarcastically.
But the current Li Bai was living a very comfortable life.
Why would he write poetry? Ever since his Master was resurrected twelve years ago, he couldn’t be bothered to write anymore!
“With so many important figures present, I have a feeling something is going to happen today.”
Even though the scene before me was one of peace and prosperity, I had a slight feeling of unease.
It was the danger perception of a Xianren after their Earthly Ascension.