Chapter 59: Claiming the Treasured Emolument and Returning to Green Mountains

Wearing a seven-star white jade crown,
Draped in a gilded cloud-patterned robe,
Holding a triple-treasure jade whisk,
He sat serenely upon a cloud-borne jade mirror dais.

The Daoist, resembling an immortal, closed his eyes slightly. A faint wheel of clear light circulated behind his head, appearing partly as a halo and partly as a Dao wheel.

This was the current sect master of Penglai, Master Tianshu.

In truth, Master Tianshu did not refer merely to this specific sect master; every generation’s sect master of Penglai inherited the Dao title "Tianshu".

This generation’s Master Tianshu and Elder Daolingzi were actually disciples of the "Dao" generation.

*Tai, Shang, Qing, Wei, De, Jing, Xuan, Yuan, Shi, Yu, Hao, Dao, Ling, Zhen.*

As the thirteenth-generation sect master, Master Tianshu also possessed the cultivation realm of the Transformation of Void.

Once the new generation of disciples matured, the burdens shouldered by Master Tianshu’s generation could finally be passed down.

"Greetings, Sect Master."
"Paying respects to the Sect Master."

Daolingzi and Jiang Sheng performed their salutes according to protocol.

Master Tianshu slowly opened his eyes. "I am already aware of the purpose of your visit."

"Jiang Sheng, you have done well. Go to the Tianji Peak and collect a fourth-tier precious stipend."

As he spoke, a blue token transformed into a streak of light and flew into Jiang Sheng's hand.

A fourth-tier precious stipend represented natural treasures and resources belonging to the Golden Core realm!

Holding the token, Jiang Sheng saluted once more. "By the Sect Master's decree, this disciple takes his leave."

After Jiang Sheng departed, Daolingzi spoke up, "Senior Brother, you knew all along?"

Master Tianshu nodded. "Grandmaster Jingxuan has already informed me of the entire sequence of events."

"This matter involves the Western region."

Daolingzi let out a cold snort. "The Western region. Are those bald donkeys acting up again?"

Master Tianshu looked somewhat helpless. "Junior Brother, you should still mind your tongue."

Daolingzi's expression turned unkind. "Those bald donkeys actually resort to such underhanded, external tricks, attempting to establish another Daoist domain within the Eastern Wastelands."

"Senior Brother, they have now run over to the Qi State to stir up trouble. This is clearly intended to stick a thorn in our side."

"Just give the word with a decree, Senior Brother, and this Junior Brother will head straight to the Western Domain..."

Master Tianshu looked at Daolingzi. "And then? Are you trying to say you will storm that Great Heavenly Dragon Temple and demand an explanation from that Great Arhat?"

Daolingzi curled his lips and said no more.

Master Tianshu chuckled softly. "These are, after all, petty tricks and cannot affect much."

"Even if we in Penglai were to truly permit them to open a Daoist domain in the Eastern Wastelands, would they dare dispatch a golden-bodied Arhat above the Transformation of Void realm?"

A flash of cold light crossed the eyes of Master Tianshu—a benevolent Daoist who usually appeared gentle, modest, and kind. "Should the Great Heavenly Dragon Temple dare send a golden-bodied Arhat above the Transformation of Void realm to the Eastern Wastelands, there would be no need for our grandmasters to act; the supreme elders of our Dao sect could directly shatter their souls into nothingness!"

"Without beings above the Transformation of Void realm, what does it matter if there are ten, a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand Golden Cores?"

"They are merely a bunch of disgraceful fellows unable to take the stage!"

Daolingzi suddenly asked, "Senior Brother, tell me the truth. Did Grandmaster Jingxuan know about this from the very beginning?"

Master Tianshu closed his eyes once more and said nothing further.

Daolingzi, however, burst into hearty laughter. "I knew it. I knew it."

"A Golden Core that those bald donkeys went to such great lengths to concoct was slain by an inner sect disciple of Penglai before it could even fully mature. Let those bald donkeys fume with anger."

As he spoke, Daolingzi seemed to remember something and asked, "What about that Jiang lad? He looks like he's been targeted by that thing."

With a light chuckle, Master Tianshu drew two jade boxes from Daolingzi. Opening them, he took the bizarre statue and the golden book into his hands.

Things that appeared terrifyingly ominous on Jiang Sheng became utterly docile in Master Tianshu's hands, showing not the slightest ripple no matter how he toyed with them.

Examining the tiny statue, Master Tianshu smiled. "It is merely a resonance of aura within the statue. It is of no consequence."

"If this Heavenly King Jiamoke truly comes to the Eastern Wastelands, wouldn't that be even better?"

Hearing this, Daolingzi could not help laughing as well. "Indeed, indeed."

Master Tianshu placed the statue back into the jade box and returned it to Daolingzi. "It just so happens I must trouble Junior Brother to make a trip and deliver these items into the hands of the sect masters of the Qinghua Dao Sect and the Tianhe Dao Sect."

Daolingzi was startled. "Senior Brother, you want me to run so far?"

"Just go. Consider it a way to relax. Weren't you just complaining that staying in Yuanqiao was boring and wishing to go out for a stroll?" Master Tianshu smiled.

Helplessly, Daolingzi put away the jade box containing the statue. "By the Sect Master's decree."

Watching Daolingzi depart, Master Tianshu looked down at the golden book in his hand. "The Moke Reincarnation Technique. They certainly spared no expense."

With a thought, the golden book exploded in Master Tianshu's hand. An entity hidden within the book abruptly emerged, but before it could flee, it was seized by Master Tianshu.

A wisp of illusory spirit struggled and trembled continuously, desperately attempting to escape Master Tianshu's grasp.

The next moment, Master Tianshu made a grasping motion with his right hand, and the illusory spirit was instantly annihilated, leaving not a trace behind.

Following that, the grand hall returned to tranquility.

The Daoist closed his eyes once again, the wheel of clear light behind his head flickering faintly.

Meanwhile, Jiang Sheng had traveled all the way to Tianji Peak.

Tianji Peak was the place responsible for distributing the Dao sect's stipends and rewards.

It was said that several supreme elders of the Dao sect resided in seclusion here year-round, though their exact whereabouts were unknown.

Arriving at the main hall, Jiang Sheng presented the blue token to the duty-bound disciple. "Greetings, Senior Brother. By the Sect Master's decree, I have come to collect a fourth-tier precious stipend."

The duty-bound disciple took the token, verified it, and put it away with a smile. "Junior Brother Jiang must have rendered great service on his trial abroad. With a fourth-tier precious stipend, it seems it won't be long before Junior Brother gathers the great medicine, forges a superior Golden Core, and attains the status of a true successor of our Dao sect."

"Senior Brother, do not jest. With this meager cultivation of mine, how could I dare speak of becoming a true successor of the Dao sect?" Jiang Sheng smiled.

"Why must Junior Brother be so modest? Everyone knows that Junior Brother Jiang possesses exceptional innate talent and bone structure, and your comprehension is even more rare. As early as the Foundation Establishment stage, you were bestowed with a spirit artifact, and I don't know how many senior and junior brothers are drooling over that dharma sword." The duty-bound disciple smiled as he handed a jade box to Jiang Sheng.

"A fourth-tier precious stipend. Inside are a bottle of Azure Jade Heart-Refining Pills, a bottle of Golden Skin and Jade Bone Pills, a bottle of Profound Origin Asking-Dao Pills, a piece of Illusory Gold Stone, a piece of Spirit-Condensing Jade, and a piece of Geng Gold."

"Since Junior Brother cultivates the *Heavenly One Water Scripture*, there is an extra piece of Millennium Mysterious Water Jade and a piece of Three-Star Stone."

"Aside from these, there is also a Bodhi fruit. Junior Brother may inspect them."

Spiritual materials could be used to forge magic treasures after reaching the Golden Core stage; pills could temper the vital energy, essence, and spirit prior to forming the Golden Core; while the Bodhi fruit helped maintain clarity of the spiritual platform during the formation of the Golden Core.

The rewards of a fourth-tier precious stipend were indeed lavish!

After completing his inventory, Jiang Sheng stored the jade box into his storage bag.

Bidding farewell to the duty-bound disciple of Tianji Peak and stepping down the mountain, Jiang Sheng spotted Daolingzi standing there with a troubled expression.

Upon seeing Jiang Sheng, Daolingzi still looked somewhat listless. "Oh, it's you, Jiang lad. Have you finished collecting your stipend?"

Jiang Sheng nodded. "This disciple has already collected the stipend."

"Good. I'll escort you back to the Eastern Wastelands," Daolingzi said.

Hearing this, Jiang Sheng quickly replied, "This disciple lacks virtue and ability, how could I dare trouble the Elder..."

"Enough of this useless talk. I am merely heading that way and dropping you off along the route. Did you really think I made a special trip just for you?" Daolingzi cast a sidelong glance at Jiang Sheng, then scooped him up and dashed straight toward the formation outside the immortal island.

Above the boundless East China Sea, Jiang Sheng flew toward the Qi State with a helpless expression.

Ever since leaving Yuanqiao, Daolingzi had taken him seven steps that covered seven thousand miles, after which Daolingzi turned directly southward and left.

The remaining one thousand miles, naturally, required Jiang Sheng to fly back himself.

Flying over this boundless East China Sea, looking out in all directions revealed only clear skies and azure waters, and the scenery was quite pleasant.

Now that the sense of tension in his heart had receded, Jiang Sheng was finally able to relax for a rare moment.

After flying across the sea for about five hundred miles, a multi-storied vessel appeared ahead.

The vessel was roughly a hundred zhang long and twenty zhang high. Adorned with carved beams, painted pillars, vermilion pavilions, and lattice windows, faint sounds of men and women playing and frolicking drifted from within.

Jiang Sheng glanced at the vessel and prepared to alter his course, but someone within the vessel loudly called out, "To have friends come from afar, how delightful! Would the young master be willing to board and share a moment of conversation?"

The person speaking was remarkably a cultivator of the Golden Core realm!

In this boundless East China Sea, although Golden Core cultivators were countless, running into one so casually still made Jiang Sheng highly vigilant.

"Thank you for the senior's kind invitation. This Daoist should naturally accept, but unfortunately, there are matters at home, so please forgive me, Senior."

Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Sheng bypassed the vessel and flew toward the Qi State.

Aboard the vessel, a handsome man dressed in brocade floral robes reclined comfortably on a jade bed, being waited upon by several pretty women draped in translucent gauze garments.

Fine wine and immortal fruits were constantly brought to the man's lips for him to enjoy at his leisure.

A humpbacked old man waiting nearby watched Jiang Sheng fly away and asked, "Your Highness, should this old servant bring him back?"

The man glanced sideways at the old man. "Since he is unwilling to come, can we force him?"

"Besides, there will likely be other opportunities to meet in the future; why rush this single moment?"

"If we were to anger him now, it would hardly be pleasant."

The old man said nothing more and quietly stepped back.

The man smiled. "Roaming the azure sea and getting drunk on a spring day, lying high on a jade bed while tasting fine wine."

"Is the joy shared with many, or enjoyed alone?"

Amidst joyous laughter and chatter, the multi-storied vessel vanished from sight.

Meanwhile, Jiang Sheng spared no spiritual power as he sped along without stopping.

Though he could not possess the innate divine ability of Daolingzi to cover a thousand miles in a single step, Jiang Sheng was still fully capable of crossing five hundred miles of coastal waters to reach the Eastern Wastelands within half an hour.

Flying straight toward the Green Screen Mountain, Jiang Sheng was still pondering the multi-storied vessel he had encountered at sea.

"Although the distance was somewhat far, that vessel looked as though it was built from the East China Sea's Zhaoming wood."

"If I remember correctly, Zhaoming wood in the East China Sea cannot be used by anyone except the dragon princes of the Dragon Palace. Presumably, that Golden Core being should be a dragon prince of the East China Sea, though I wonder which palace he belongs to."

As his mind wandered, Jiang Sheng could not help smiling. "No matter which palace's dragon prince he is, what does that have to do with me?"

"Now that the matter is settled, I can finally practice in peace at Green Screen Mountain."

Unawares, the twelve-hundred-mile-long Green Screen Mountain had already appeared within his line of sight.

At this moment, Jiang Sheng had only a single thought: Return to the Daoist domain and enter seclusion to cultivate diligently!