Book 2, Chapter 72 - Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery

Yu family house, the room used to entertain guests.

There was a table of delicious food before Zhao Jiuge, including some dishes he couldn’t even name. However, his physique was strong, so even though he was starving, he still remained calm while eating.

Yu Qingshan, his wife, and their three children all watched Zhao Jiuge eat. They didn’t dare to move their chopsticks, but they had to accompany him with a smile.

Perhaps because Zhao Jiuge could not stand the gazes from them, he glanced at Yu Qingshan while still eating and said, “We will head over early tomorrow morning. I can’t wait to see what is causing the problem.”

Seeing Zhao Jiuge’s passion, Yu Qingshan felt a bit of relief in his heart. His three children all doubted Zhao Jiuge because of his age. Although he didn’t show it, he also had some doubt in his heart.

But seeing how eager Zhao Jiuge was, he had to have some skills.

Yu Qingshan relaxed a bit and a smile even appeared on his face, but soon his face became ugly. He noticed Zhao Jiuge looking at him and said, “It's late at night, and Elder Immortal must be tired from traveling. How about you rest tomorrow and we can head to the countryside the day after tomorrow?”

After he finished speaking, he carefully looked at Zhao Jiuge’s reaction.

Zhao Jiuge had some doubts and asked, “Didn’t you just say you have been worrying about this for months? Not that I’m here to resolve this issue, you’re not in a rush anymore?”

Yu Qingshan suddenly felt cold sweat appear on his body, and there were some unspeakable difficulties revealed on his face. On the side, Yu Qiusheng lowered his head and muttered a few words.

“Wasn’t there some Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery that was supposed to come?”

It was better if Yu Qingshan’s youngest son didn’t speak. The moment he spoke, Yu Qingshan sweated even more. An instant later, his face turned pale. A few months ago, Yu Qingshan couldn’t do anything other than seek the nearby Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect. He lived every day in fear, waiting for someone to come resolve this issue, but several months had passed and no one had come. Finally, Yu Qingshan found a teacher and disciple pair that were passing by.

The teacher waas the self-proclaimed Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery, and when facing Yu Qingshan’s plea, he said he could resolve this issue, but he had to go gather energy in the nearby mountain first. They agreed to head to the Yu ancestral home the day after tomorrow. Who would’ve expected Zhao Jiuge to suddenly arrive today? Yu Qingshan was afraid of offending the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect and Zhao Jiuge.

Although everyone in the area knew that the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect protected this area, the mortals didn’t know the real fame of the Mysterious Heaven Sword Sect. Now that his youngest son had spoken the truth, Yu Qingshan could only look at Zhao Jiuge apologetically.

Facing the sly Yu Qingshan, Zhao Jiuge was too lazy to say anything. However, facing the similarly aged Yu Qiusheng, who he had a much better impression of, he gently smiled and asked, “Who is the Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery?”

Yu Qiusheng didn't expect this so-called immortal who was around his age to take the initiative to speak to him. All the unhappiness he felt from when his dad yelled at him disappeared. He stood straight and cheerfully said, “The Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery is a daoist. He has real abilities. The day he came here, I saw…”

The more Yu Qiusheng spoke, the more excited he became. In particular, when he thought about what the daoist had displayed at his home, his eyes were filled with worship. However, he finally seemed to remember his father’s scolding and immediately shut up.

Zhao Jiuge smiled faintly. “Is it because he is not as young as me and therefore seems much more reliable?”

Yu Qiusheng was startled for a moment and then scratched his head before nodding in embarrassment. Zhao Jiuge didn’t mind, and at this moment, his good feeling toward this youth who was similar in age to him increased greatly.

Then everyone became quiet. Only Yu Qiusheng constantly asked Zhao Jiuge questions about the sect, and Zhao Jiuge answered them one by one. As the two of them chatted, Yu Qingshan and his wife would occasionally add a few words. This allowed Yu Qingshan, who was afraid that Zhao Jiuge would blame him for this, to let out a sigh of relief.

The eldest son, Yu Chunsheng, was still as mature as before. Yu Xiasheng stared at Zhao Jiuge with eyes that looked like they could speak. She seemed to want to say something but was hesitant.

After eating and drinking his fill, Zhao Jiuge looked back at Yu Qingshan. “The day after tomorrow is fine. Once the matter is settled, I’ll return to the sect.”

Yu Qingshan smiled while nodding and happily said, “You don’t know how much I’ve suffered in the last several months. I haven’t even gotten one good night of sleep. I was afraid something evil would find its way into the house, but now that Elder Immortal is here, I can finally sleep soundly tonight.”

Zhao Jiuge didn’t feel happy hearing this flattery. Perhaps he was annoyed by how sly and shrewd Yu Qingshan had been from the start.

Zhao Jiuge stood up and slowly walked outside. Then he suddenly stopped and said, “Tomorrow, I’ll stay inside the room to cultivate and won’t come out.” After that, he began moving again and said, “Also, the day after tomorrow, I’d like to see what kind of person the Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery is.”

When Zhao Jiuge’s words echoed, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Yu Qingshan and his family suddenly felt like there were invisible hands choking their necks, making it difficult to breathe.

After Zhao Jiuge left, the heavy atmosphere disappeared and returned to normal. However, the entire family was horrified and stared at each other.

The might the young man had just displayed was nothing like the good-tempered youth from before. This time, the family knew that this young man was not a simple person.

Yu Qingshan felt happy and sorrowful at the same time. He was happy that the matter that had been troubling him for several months was finally going to be resolved. He was sorrowful that two people had come to help him at the same time. He was afraid that the two immortals would get into a fight and mortals like him would be caught in the fight.

Zhao Jiuge returned back to the room the Yu family had arranged for him and looked around. He was satisfied. It was a simple and clean room that wasn’t extravagant or tasteless. Zhao Jiuge sat down on the bed and cleared his mind.

He didn't know the specifics of this task, so he would have to wait until he arrived to know the details. With this Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery suddenly jumping out of nowhere, wasn’t this just delaying his effort to earn sect contributions?

He would have to see what cultivation level this Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery was at. Also, Yu Qingshan was so sly, Zhao Jiuge felt uncomfortable just thinking about it.

Zhao Jiuge let out a mouth of foul air and threw aside all the unhappiness in his heart. He was ready to start cultivating when he suddenly heard something that made him look toward the window. There was a shadow tiptoeing outside, then it stopped motionless outside the window.

Sensing who it was, Zhao Jiuge couldn’t help but smile. Out of Yu Qingshan’s three children, his elder son, Yu Chunsheng, was the most similar to Yu Qingshan—smooth and steady. His remaining daughter and son were much more lively.

Zhao Jiuge coughed softly. “Since you are here, come inside.”

The door slowly creaked open and a beautiful girl walked inside. She didn’t look embarrassed at all after being caught. She looked around and smiled before staring at Zhao Jiuge. “I just want to see how people like you cultivate. Exactly how are you different from ordinary people like us?”

When she spoke, she seemed to be trying to strengthen her own resolve.

Zhao Jiuge couldn’t help but roll his eyes and angrily say, “How different can we be? We still have two arms, two legs, two eyes, and a mouth. The only difference is that we cultivate with spiritual energy. You won't understand anything else.”

Yu Xiasheng’s eyes cleverly turned and she said, “Fine, so it turns out immortals like you also need to eat. Doesn’t everyone say immortals don’t marry or have children and don’t need to eat?”

“Big Sister, that’s only for monks. Only Buddist and Daoists care about those things. As for us who specialize in the sword, we only care about the sword. As for why I need to eat, that’s because… my cultivation isn’t powerful enough to not eat.” At the end, Zhao Jiuge’s words got stuck for a bit.

Yu Xiasheng looked at Zhao Jiuge’s appearance and began to laugh. She didn’t have the elegance of a lady at all, and her chest trembled with her laughter. Even Zhao Jiuge couldn’t help but take a few peaks.

“So it turns out your cultivation is lacking. Compared to the Lord of the Qing Feng Monastery, which one of you is stronger?” Yu Xiasheng was like a curious baby waiting for any kind of gossip.

Zhao Jiuge pondered a bit and said, “Before I meet him in person, I won’t know which one of us is stronger. Also, we aren’t in the same faction, so just comparing cultivation levels is useless. However, he went into the mountain to gather energy and will be back the day after tomorrow. By my estimation, even if his cultivation level is higher than mine, it's not by much, because for a Daoist, gathering energy is merely the beginning. If his cultivation level was high, he wouldn't be here in the mortal world. Generally, only when one begins cultivating does one travel the mortal world. Once you reach a certain cultivation level, you won’t bother.”

“Haha, Little Brother, then I have faith in you. Don’t lose and make me look bad. However, the old family home is simply too terrifying. I don’t know if you can handle it—my father says it's haunted.” At first she was laughing, but when she said the word “haunted,” fear filled her face.

Zhao Jiuge replied, “Hmph, I won’t lose, or else I would’ve come for nothing. I wouldn’t be able to earn any sect contributions and I would lose out big time.”

Then he added, “If it is really just haunted, it is simple. What I fear is if it's something else. The unknown is the most terrifying.”

Yu Xiasheng suddenly seemed to forget about all this scary stuff and exclaimed, “That’s right, you said you specialize in the sword. However, I see others with beautiful and colorful swords, but I don’t see yours.” Afterward, Yu Xiasheng innocently blinked.

This suddenly poked at Zhao Jiuge’s sore spot. He wanted a powerful sword more than anyone else. He felt a bit embarrassed but didn’t show it on the surface. He snorted, “You will know the day after tomorrow.”

Yu Xiasheng didn’t give him any face and looked at him with contempt. Then she continued to ask Zhao Jiuge about this and that. Zhao Jiuge was idle, so he patiently answered her, and in the end, the girl clearly lost interest in cultivation.

Then she exclaimed once more and her tender, little hand slapped her forehead. “Oh, it's getting so late, I have to get back. If my mom knew I was alone in a room with a man at night, she would scold me.”

After she finished speaking, she quickly left without even saying goodbye to Zhao Jiuge. While leaving, she muttered to herself, “What’s so good about cultivating? It's so boring.”

This time, it was Zhao Jiuge who was stunned. He originally thought Yu Xiasheng was more mature because she was so quiet at the table and only Yu Qiusheng was lively. However, now it seemed like she was even more of a handful.

After Yu Xiasheng left, the room suddenly quieted down. Thinking about what Yu Xiasheng had said, Zhao Jiuge revealed a self-deprecating smile and muttered to himself.

“That’s right, what's so good about cultivating? Most of your time is wasted on cultivating, just to improve your cultivation level to gain a few hundred years of life span. Then the cycle continues until one day you can’t progress and quietly wait for death. In the end, it's all empty. If you can’t become an immortal, you won’t have eternal life. It is like trying to fetch water in a bamboo basket.

“It turns out that I was blind. I always thought everyone would be like me and be happy to step into the world of cultivation. Only after encountering Yu Xiasheng today did I understand. While the so-called cultivators look down upon mortals, the common mortals also look down upon the lives of these so-called immortals.”

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