Chapter 116

Chapter 116: The Benefactor

The dwarf Taoist priest was still lying on the ground, struggling to get up. Suddenly, a roar echoed from the other side of the stone forest. A streak of green-colored long silk rolled out of the stone forest. A person that was covered in blood appeared, stepping on the long silk in an attempt to lunge forward. If it was not for the half-snapped small script calligraphy brush pen in his grasp, Wen Leyang would not have recognized that the person that was drenched in blood, standing before his eyes, was actually the majestic Leyang Shoujin from the Painting Town.

Leyang Shoujin stepped onto the long silk that was covered in script characters. As he took half a step from the stone forest, he suddenly roared like a tiger. His body jerked backwards in an extremely unnatural manner as if there was an invisible rope that was tightly coiled around his neck, dragging him back to where he appeared. Leyang Shoujin waved his arms madly, trying to grab on to something. In a flash, he was dragged back into the stone forest. He left behind an agonizing muffled scream, which sounded like the last living breath of a person who hanged in himself.

The long silk that rolled out of the stone forest shattered in a loud boom and turned into clusters of green-colored butterflies that dispersed in all directions…

The Gold-consuming Nest became extremely still. In a short while, all the Taoist’s disciples of the Qilian Immortal Sect fled. Other than a few higher ranked disciples that were experienced and steady, the rest of them were all ghastly pale and had fear in their eyes. After all, the giant pangolin had been the divine beast that had been guarding the mountain for the past few millennia. It was their senior ancestor and also the symbol of their superiority and invincibility. Out of a sudden, it was like a beaver that had failed to escape and was dragged back by its tail. Even Leyang Shoujin, who had managed to fight three battles majestically at the stone forest, was covered with blood and could not escape.

The dwarf Taoist priest stood up with the support of his few trusted disciples and roared in exasperation to his people, “Chop! Chop away the stone forest, save the mountain-guarding divine beast!”

The Taoist priests of the Qilian Immortal Sect finally came to their senses. They started casting spells in a flurry. Fiery red-colored long swords converge into a red-colored sword formation and gave out a clear long howl as they surged towards the sky in a rage. After a moment, the formation plunged downwards vigorously, akin to the God’s whip, lashing ferociously at the stone forest with a loud crack.

The stone forest was as smooth as jade and as shimmery as water. No matter how strong the Qilian Immortal Sect’s sword formation chopped and whipped, the stone forest was unharmed. Not even a tiny piece of stone was shaved off.

The dwarf Taoist priest’s gaze was still dispirited but his face was burning with a frenzy of rage as he scolded loudly, “Useless piece of shit, get out of my way!” His less than three-foot-tall body jumped off the ground and shuttled through the air. His ten fingers trembled continuously as he made different types of hand gestures. He finally gave a knife-like sharp howl, “By the order of the Fire Ghost, reveal the fire and reveal the truth. I summon the Molten Metal Fire Bell!”

The moment the incantation was chanted, the dwarf Taoist monk’s beard and hair immediately flew up in rage. His eyes turned into the color of golden-red as if fire was seeping out of his eyes. He was like a raging lion, looking very majestic! The fire snake behind him tossed and turned in the whistling wind, a red-colored giant sword of a few stores tall appeared out of the thin air. Four huge characters in ancient script were engraved in the middle of the sword blade: Molten Metal Fire Bell! The characters were written in bold and vigorous strokes. Every stroke was akin to the raging fire that was surging straight into the clouds, disturbing one’s state of mind such that he could not look straight into the characters.

In comparison to this ‘Molten Metal Fire Bell’, the raging dragon-like Qilian Immortal Sect’s sword formation seemed like a red earthworm only worthy to be a fish bait.

The Qilian disciples had already retrieved their sword formation. They looked up to their master teacher, who was launching his supernatural power in the sky, their face full of admiration and envy.

Wen Leyang gasped in admiration from the bottom of his heart. The cultivation sect’s actual power was truly as stunning as they said. In the right path of cultivation world, the Five Blessings, excluding the big and small demon rabbits, the rest of the supreme leaders were of no match to this ordinary-looking, dwarf Taoist priest with a head full of swollen bumps.

The dwarf Taoist priest’s hands made a sword-control gesture and gave a thundering roar, “Follow the order, suffer!” The giant sword behind him shot upwards in a loud bang, the sword’s sharp edge spun around before it chopped forward!

A scorching red, raging fire burned through everyone’s eyes in a flash. The divine flames filled every inch of space available in the surroundings. The entire Gold-consuming Nest shook with a sorrowful cry. A scorching thunder burst through the heaven and earth, the giant sword ‘Molten Metal Fire Bell’ chopped down ferociously! Where the huge sword dropped, the metal ground was akin to a boiling pot of water, erupting in countless gas bubbles in a ghastly manner, rapidly softened and dissolved. The power of a sword smelt through the metal rock!

There was only silence, no cheering, no screams of surprises. The dwarf Taoist priest returned to the ground and stayed silent for a moment. He then stretched out his hand and rubbed his eyes, his expression appeared to be slightly puzzled.

The stone forest that was a few meters away from the huge sword stood firm.

Wen Buzuo blinked his eyes and looked towards Wen Leyang standing by his side, looking as puzzled as him, “Maybe he chopped at the wrong angle?”

The dwarf Taoist priest’s expression remained unchanged as if nothing had ever happened before. He stepped forward, made the sword-control gesture, shouted the incantation and started waving his giant sword around…

Only then, Wen Leyang nodded and answered Wen Buzuo, “Yes, he chopped at the wrong angle!”

A Qilian disciple explained softly to the junior brother disciple next to him, “Master teacher struck too heavily just now…” As he was saying that he flicked his finger slightly and pointed secretively towards the few swollen bumps on the dwarf Taoist priest’s head.

The swollen bumps were bruised and glimmering in purple, akin to fully-ripened plums, making people have the urge to go forward and pluck it.

The dwarf Taoist priest chopped four strikes in one go. The power of ‘Molten Metal Fire Bell’ was horrifying. Every chop of it rippled in a violent and raging flame wave but the stone forest still remained unharmed. It was like a piece of self-contented cobblestone, no matter how the river water flowed around it, it would still look towards the sky beautifully from the beginning to the end.

The dwarf Taoist priest finally stopped in dejection. He looked towards the stone forest absent-mindedly. His old face dimmed as he sat on the ground in a daze. The disciple, who was holding the tree branch earlier, walked forward and roared loudly towards the junior disciples behind him, “The Qilian Sword Formation, crash the stone forest once again!”

The red-colored sword formation surged up to the sky again. With its awe-inspiring mannerism, it started pounding onto the stone forest’s prohibition spell but it was a futile effort.

The dwarf Taoist priest stared blankly for a moment. He roared loudly towards his disciples, “Everyone, stop!” Following that, he walked in quick strides towards Wen Leyang and the rest. After he adjusted his direction for a few attempts, he finally walked in front of them and asked in a straight-to-the-point manner, “Can all of you really unlock the prohibition spell?”

Wen Leyang nodded in determination. Before he could speak, the Three-inch Nail Wen Bushuo that hated talking, took a step forward to the front of the dwarf Taoist priest. With his upper body slightly leaned forward, his forehead almost touching the plums, he squinted his eyes in a solemn expression, “Taoist priest, what is there within the stone forest?”

Wen Leyang’s only intention was to capture the giant pangolin to find out about Chang Li’s whereabouts. The Three-inch Nail seemed to have a slightly different thinking from him.

The Three-inch Nail Wen Bushuo felt that, depending on Wen Leyang’s Art of Poison, Wen Xiaoyi’s big-muzzled weapon and the ‘Yin’s Error Yang’s Mistake’ that had passed its expiry date, they could deal with any danger within the Gold-consuming Nest. They would also dare to attack the stone forest also because they had the confidence to deal with Leyang Shoujin.

However, there must be something even more terrifying within the stone forest that could trap both Leyang Shoujin and the giant pangolin. If they enter without careful consideration, it was similar to seeking their own deaths…

Between the information of Chang Li’s whereabouts and the lives of Wen Leyang and Wen Xiaoyi, the Three-inch Nail Wen Bushuo would naturally pick the latter. However, it was not that they no longer cared about the giant pangolin, such that they would leave immediately. At the very least, he wanted to clarify what was happening before they could plan the next step.

The dwarf Taoist priest did not speak. His gaze swept past on the few of their bodies over and over again as if he was considering if the Three-inch Nail was telling the truth. He did not answer the question but asked in reply, “How long will it take for all of you to break the prohibition spell?”

Bushuo and Buzuo simultaneously looked towards Little Chi Maojiu. They chuckled as they nodded in his direction, signaling him that it was fine for him to answer honestly.

Little Chi Maojiu spoke in hesitation, “I will need to take a look before I can tell any further!”

Wen Buzuo roared with laughter as he patted on Little Chi Maojiu’s forehead, “Take a look then. Let’s go together.”

Wen Buzuo and his Three-inch Nail brother had similar thoughts, but he had a deeper consideration. Even though he did not know what was hidden within the stone forest that was so important to the Qilian Immortal Sect, now that the Qilian sect’s living ancestor was trapped in it, if Wen Leyang’s group refused to break the prohibition spell, the Taoist priests would become angry from embarrassment and would pull out their swords and fight them to death.

The red-colored sword formation was impressive. The dwarf Taoist priest’s ‘Molten Metal Fire Bell’ was even less fun to mess with. As the Taoist priest seemed to be no longer dizzy, it was estimated that the possibility of him chopping at the wrong angle would be lowered. The giant sword’s strike was no less frightening that Xiaoyi’s Thunder Heart Sand.

The Qilian Immortal Sect’s disciples made way for them to walk in front of the stone forest. Wen Buzuo did not shun from the Taoist priest but he laughed as he said, “You should be extra careful not to accidentally break the prohibition spell.”

Every single disciple of the Qilian Sect scowled at him. Wen Buzuo was cheerful as he puffed up his chest in arrogance.

Little Chi Maojiu had an attentive expression. He did not listen to Wen Buzuo’s words at all. His lips were humming continuously, muttering something unknown. He waved his arm once and a golden-colored vital fire appeared suddenly, burning soundlessly. Akin to molding plasticine dough, Little Chi Maojiu pinched out an inch of witch fire from the twisting bonfire and carefully wiped it onto the stone pillar. He then inserted his other unoccupied hand into his vital fire and closed his eyes with a solemn expression.

The flame on the stone pillar did not extinguish immediately, but it was like an earthworm that lost its way, crawling onto the stone pillar strenuously as the muscles on little Chi Maojiu’s face wriggled along with the flame and shook gently.

Wen Buzuo was afraid that he would disturb Little Chi Maojiu executing his witchcraft. He pulled Wen Leyang on one hand, while his other hand was placed on the dwarf Taoist priest’s shoulder. Pulling both of them away by two steps, he chuckled as he asked the Taoist priest softly, “Actually, what is in the stone forest?”

The Taoist priest looked a little helpless, “Why is there a necessity for all of you to deliberately ask something that you already knew.”

Wen Leyang gave a forced smile, “Why is there a necessity for us to feign all this if we truly know what it is?”

The dwarf Taoist priest looked incredulous. He shook his head and spoke solemnly, “I will tell you something concrete then. Once all of you broke the prohibition spell and retreat out of the Gold-consuming Nest immediately, you will be the intimate friends of the Qilian Immortal Sect. If all of you attempted to enter the stone forest, you will be our mortal enemy!” As he was saying that, he stopped for a moment and spoke in a grave tone with sincerity, “All of you put in painstaking efforts, moved and traveled stealthily all the way, even bringing along a weird child that could break the prohibition spell. There is really no need to hide your true purpose. To be an enemy or a friend, it is up to you.”

The Three-inch Nail Wen Bushuo burst out in a contemptuous sneer from nearby.

Wen Xiaoyi followed suit, she sneered contemptuously as well, but it was actually not that contemptuous…

Wen Buzuo waved around his hand impatiently, his tone of speaking was uncourteous, “Taoist priest please use your brain to think properly, all of you can bombard this stone forest for the next three months and it still will not open. If we are truly here for the stone forest, we will at least appear after all of you are exhausted from all the bombarding, it is correct that Leyang Shoujin really entered. If he does not die in there, sooner or later he will come back out. By then, all of you must be well prepared, as another battle will certainly happen again. The most unfortunate part is that we will raid then too, depending on our divine thunder, to make the utmost profit out of this situation. I don’t think that is a difficult matter at all.”

Wen Leyang laughed virtuously and sincerely, he had since learned to lie, “We came to the Gold-consuming Nest for…” He lowered his voice pretentiously, “For those two ants!” Let alone the dwarf Taoist priest, even Wen Buzuo had goosebumps all over from his feigned mysterious mannerism.

Wen Xiaoyi suddenly screamed out in surprise!

The one-inch gold-colored flame that was wiped onto the stone pillar by Chi Maojiu had unknowingly turned into the color of emerald green brimming over with vigor and vitality. It started spreading madly all of a sudden, layers upon layers of it surrounded the stone pillar. After a while, the green-colored enchanting flame coiled around the entire stone pillar was akin to a green-colored huge serpent that winded around the pillar as it flickered continuously towards Little Chi Maojiu!

One of Little Chi Moajiu’s hand was stuck in his vital fire. His eyes were still closed as he shouted towards the people around him, “Don’t move everyone!” His voice was hoarse. It was utterly unlike his usual crisp child voice and made everyone uncomfortable upon hearing it.

The green-colored fire serpent explored about twice before scurrying out ferociously as fast as lightning and coiled around Chi Maojiu’s little body in a short while. Chi Maojiu shouted towards those who attempted to step forward to rescue him, “No one is allowed to move!”

Wen Leyang then saw a figure swayed once before his eyes. Little Chi Maojiu surprisingly appeared next to him. Covered with densely-dotted sweat, he exhaled a long breath “Good fellow, you’re so powerful!”

Wen Leyang was startled, there were two Little Chi Maojiu. One was in front of him covered in sweat, while the other one was dripping with oil from burning within the green fire in front of the stone pillar.

Wen Xiaoyi rubbed her eyes in disbelief. She ran over and stretched out her hand to pinch onto Little Chi Maojiu’s cheek.

After a long while, the Little Chi Maojiu in front of the stone pillar suddenly gave out a shrill scream and disappeared within the sound of a pop. The green-colored demon fire slowly extinguished, leaving behind an iron doll the size of a thumb that was charred on the ground.

Little Chi Maojiu explained in a simple manner, “This is the curse of exchanging lives. It is not easy to refine this on usual days but it can be used to save lives on crucial moments.” He picked up the iron doll and used a white-colored hide to wrap it meticulously before placing it into his chest pocket. Following that he nodded in determination, “This is a witchcraft spell alright!”

The dwarf Taoist priest frowned as if he was pondering about something and then heaved a sigh abruptly for no reason before asking, “Can it be broken?”

Little Chi Maojiu gave an irrelevant answer, “The thing that killed the Taoist priests is really The Great Celandine, but the thing that almost burned me to death earlier was a witchcraft-protective curse. It is used specifically to deal with those who attempted to break the tyrannical spell. In order to break the witchcraft spell one must first break the witchcraft-protective curse, there is an entanglement of wood log curse, gold knife curse and backwater curse within the witchcraft-protective curse.” As he was saying that, he gave the dwarf Taoist priest a forced smile, “I am really not seizing the opportunity to take advantage of you over here but I must thoroughly understand the sequence of events that took place within this stone forest here before I can find the correct way to solve the problem.”

Wen Leyang was stunned for a moment. He then burst out laughing. Ignoring the Taoist priests’ ghastly gazes, he gave little Chi Maojiu a big thumb up, “Good fellow, you’re smart!”

As Wen Leyang and Wen Buzuo had been discussing about it for a long while earlier, with the final pester of little Chi Maojiu, the dwarf Taoist priest no longer hesitated, “Since all of you are aware of the Qilian Immortal Sect, naturally you should know that, two thousand years ago, the Qilian Immortal Sect is not the broken-down sect as you see today.”

Wen Buzuo laughed in a rather wretched manner, “The Qilian Mountain’s Exquisite Ice was destroyed, the mountain lost its treasured weapon capable of accumulating spiritual vitality. It turned from a scenically blessed place to a mortal world, it is truly a waste…”

The dwarf Taoist priest did not bother having small talks with him, “After the Exquisite Ice was gone, the mountain could not conceal itself from the sharpness of the metal element, and the Gold-consuming Nest was revealed. However, the phrase ‘sharp metal generates water’ is certainly correct. Since the Gold-consuming Nest could grow the first Exquisite Ice, it could, of course, grow the second one…”

Wen Buzuo sniggered, “Taoist priest, how can you not be embarrassed to say that?”

The disciples of Wen Bucao had a rather profound understanding of the five elements principles. For such an extraordinary precious like the Exquisite Ice, it was not as easy as planting onions. It would require an extremely lucky opportunity before it would grow. It has to be cultivated by the Gold-consuming Nest’s sharp mannerism, enshrouded for unknown millennials, before finally taking form.

The dwarf Taoist priest’s expression turned savage for a moment. “The first ancestors did not think this way in the beginning. They only thought of how they could capture the chief culprit that destroyed the Exquisite Ice, peel away her skin and pull out her muscles, disembowel her and tear out her heart…”

Wen Leyang was startled, he hastily interrupted, “We got carried away, got carried away…”

The Qilian Immortal Sect was helpless in the face of the demon cat Chang Li, let alone that the grand master Tuo Xie was also there. In the end, both the grand masters made enemies with the master cultivators in the world. They retreated calmly and were nowhere to be found. The greatest enemy, the Qilian Immortal Sect, was left unsettled.

When the Exquisite Ice was destroyed, the spiritual mountain turned into a mortal mountain in a night. The mountain could no longer accumulate the primordial spirit in the world on behalf of cultivators. The Qilian Immortal Sect disciples’ progress became exceedingly slow, not much stronger than any ordinary sects. The cruel enemies that they once provoked were akin to evil wolves that picked up blood scent, getting restless waiting for the chance to seek revenge.

In less than a few years, the Qilian Immortal Sect was inflicted with heavy losses continuously. It was already at its downfall, with the senior generation of disciples killed or suffering severe injuries. There was also no upcoming promising disciple. They could only watch helplessly as their sect would soon be doomed. Suddenly, a stranger ascended the mountain and requested to see the supreme leader. He brought along an ice pearl for them. It was the remaining soul of the Exquisite Ice.

Once the Exquisite Ice had taken form, it was capable to accumulate all the primordial spirit in the world. However, the remnant Ice’s soul was similar to as any ordinary ice chunks, whether it was for the sky and the earth and the mountains, or for the people engaged in cultivation, it was utterly useless.

The dwarf Taoist priest suddenly stomped his foot in rage as he diverted from the topic of discussion once again, “We cannot understand, even until today, we have never had any ill feelings towards that demon cat. Why would she destroy our Exquisite Ice? Once the Exquisite Ice was shattered, it would lose all its potency, there was utterly no advantage towards her at all!” A crack appeared on the metal rock ground underneath his feet.

Wen Leyang and Wen Xiaoyi gave a forced smile as they gazed into the eyes of one another. They were thinking in their hearts that even if you could understand why it would only make you angrier.

Little Chi Maojiu’s thoughts were all fixated on the witchcraft spell on the stone forest, he stared with wide eyes as he questioned closely, “What is the purpose of that person bringing the remnant Ice’s soul?”

Wen Buzuo’s brain was also constantly pondering the Taoist priest’s words. When he heard of little Chi Maojiu’s question, he answered, “My guess is to plant it, to plant the Exquisite Ice!” As he was saying that he could not help but to put on the maniacal smile on his face. A manmade Exquisite Ice, he wondered if this event could make it to the CCTV News.

On the other hand, the dwarf Taoist priest nodded in all seriousness, “That is correct, with the possession of this remnant Ice’s soul, we could originally plant it in the Gold-consuming Nest and grow a new Exquisite Ice! However, the Gold-consuming Nest had already pushed out the mountain’s mannerism, the sharpness of metal element started to grow. It was afraid that even this stretch of Gold-consuming Nest would be barren, it was not enough for the remnant Ice’s soul to grow here.”

After the Exquisite Ice was destroyed, the Gold-consuming Nest was akin to a plant that was left unattended. It grew madly like weeds in a short period of time and pushed out of the ground. The tyrannical energy of metal element overflowed in all directions. However, with time and when the utmost metal mannerism was exhausted, the Gold-consuming Nest would be destroyed as well.

Hence, with the help of this stranger, the first ancestors of the Qilian Immortal Sect connected the water veins between mountains, circled flowing water around this stretch of Gold-consuming Nest, such that the Gold-consuming Nest no longer grow madly as before. They also made sure that the sharp metal force within the Gold-consuming Nest no longer overflowed before finally planting this remnant Ice’s soul into the ground.”

Wen Leyang’s expression was dumbstruck with amazement, he could not help but to inquire closely, “Who is that person actually?”

For the sake of planting the Ice’s soul so the Gold-consuming Nest could grow into a new Exquisite Ice, the Qilian Immortal Sect, with the help of the erudite stranger, diverted the water veins in the mountain forcefully, surrounded the Gold-consuming Nest. They blocked the overflowed metal element and completely sealed off the sharp mannerism of the metal element to hasten the growth of the Exquisite Ice as soon as possible.

Their intention was rather amazing. However, cultivators were still human after all and not god, their supernatural powers were not necessarily sharper and more incisive than a drill tip. The project that lasted two thousand years was an almost impossible matter. Wen Leyang suddenly had a keen interest towards this ‘erudite brother’.

The dwarf Taoist priest laughed, it was as if he did not acknowledge Wen Leyang’s question, “Ever since the project was completed and the remnant Ice’s soul was planted, the Qilian Immortal Sect no longer dwelled with the matters of the mortal world. We retreated into the Gold-consuming Nest and waited silently for the rebirth of the Exquisite Ice. That person departed, leaving behind not even a single word. He will always be the great benefactor of our Qilian Immortal Sect!” The Taoist priest pronounced the word ‘benefactor’ in a ferocious manner, his enmity was akin to countless steel needles hidden within his tone of speaking, piercing into the depth of everyone’s eardrums soundlessly.

“Nine hundred years ago, a spring of clear water grew out from the spot where the Ice’s soul was planted!” As he was saying that, the Taoist priest stretched out his hand and pointed towards that stretch of stone forest, “Five hundred years ago, the spring water coagulated into an ice pond. Two hundred years ago, the Exquisite Ice reappeared in the mortal world!”

Wen Leyang gave a ‘wow’, it was a surprise that the Exquisite Ice grew. “The Exquisite Ice is in the stone forest?”

The dwarf Taoist priest shook his head. He stretched out his hand and pointed towards the stone forest once again, “This entire stretch of stone forest, every stone pillar was once an Exquisite Ice!”

Wen Leyang could not even scream out ‘wow’ in surprise this time. He stared at the soaring stone pillar that towered into the clouds before his eyes, “The Exquisite Ice…is so huge?” Ever since the first time he heard of the name, he had always thought that the Exquisite Ice was something retrieved out of the refrigerator, something that was still puffing with cold smoke similar to a coral reef. He had never thought that the Exquisite Ice was surprisingly just a nickname.

The dwarf Taoist priest was not taken aback at Wen Leyang’s amazement. He rapidly explained to him, “After the Exquisite Ice has taken form, its ice core will form into a coral-like Ice’s soul. Its name came from this Ice’s soul bloom itself!” As he was saying that he shook his small-sized Taoist robe, a delicate ice flower was embroidered onto the lower hem of the robe. That should be the shape of an Ice’s soul.

Wen Buzuo always inquired when he did not understand as he had never feared that people would make fun of his lack of knowledge, “Since the Exquisite Ice has grown, why are all of you still staying idle within the Gold-consuming Nest?”

“It is true that the Ice has grown, but not fully grown. By the time the ice pillars covered the entire Gold-consuming Nest, formed into a gigantic glacier, and bore into the Ice’s soul. Only then, it is fully grown. The day our work is brought to a successful completion was also the time the Qilian Immortal Sect will reappear in the mortal world. From the day the Exquisite Ice was born until it was fully grown, it would take thousands of years. I know that I will not live to that day, I only hope that in my living days, I can watch as the Exquisite Ice grows with each passing day, covering more and more Gold-consuming Nest then I will be fully satisfied.” The Taoist priest’s voice sounded very relaxed.

Wen Buzuo raised his head and looked at the stone forest before his eyes, he spoke honestly, “Is this ice? Why does it look the same as stone?”

The dwarf Taoist priest became deranged in the blink of an eye, he was almost jumping around as he roared with rage, “It was originally ice! Transparent, icy-cold, cannot be melt by fire, glimmering with colorful radiance under the sunlight! But now it has already turned into this hideous thing here!” As he was saying that, he leaped into midair as if he was venting his hatred, he summoned the ‘Molten Metal Fire Bell’, and struck hard and ferociously onto the stone forest!

Conscientiously, the stone forest was gentle and spiritually easing. Not only was it not considered hideous, it should even be described as being uniquely beautiful. However, even if the stone pillars were replaced with a hall full of Miss World’s right now, the Taoist priest would still be shouting all kinds of abuse.

Wen Buzuo spoke to Wen Leyang softly, “That strange person helped the Qilian Immortal Sect in cutting mountains and diverting streams for no apparent reason to regrow the Exquisite Ice may not be their best gain.”

Over two thousand years ago, the demon Chang Li created troubles all around the world just for the entertainment of the pickle jar. It was a great misfortune that the Qilian Immortal Sect was dragged into that as well. Decades later, as the Qilian Immortal Sect was soon to diminish, a strange person came and helped them to dig through the mountains and divert streams, sealing off the sharp mannerism of the Gold Nest, so they could plant the Exquisite Ice’s soul seed once again.

The Qilian disciples were originally filled with doubts towards this stranger person. They did not understand his purpose. However, after two thousand years, the Gold-consuming Nest became sharper as the days passed. The Exquisite Ice quietly grew, the descendant Taoist priests finally dispelled their misgivings and worshipped this strange person like a deity.

Nonetheless, it was as if the dwarf Taoist priest finally understood what had happened. As he spoke about the stranger, his tone was filled with enmity that was seeping out of his bones.