Chapter 4: Village in the Mountains? Holy Land?

Chapter 4: Village in the Mountains? Holy Land?

Li Fan returned to the small mountain village and delivered the firewood he had chopped to Elder Zhao’s home.

"Little Li, really, you shouldn’t have bothered!”

Elder Zhao said with a smile.

"It’s no trouble. I’ll split the wood for you as well.”

He swung his axe and began to split the firewood.

...

At the same time,

Two streaks of rainbow light flashed, and three figures appeared in front of the small mountain village.

"Girl, is that senior powerhouse living here?”

"It doesn’t seem like it.”

Wei Yushan’s face showed confusion.

He didn’t sense too powerful an aura, in fact, it could be said... it was utterly ordinary.

Looking at it, this was just an average small mountain village.

"I’m not sure either, but that senior mentioned he was going back to his village... It seems this is the only village around here.”

Mu Qianning was also uncertain.

"That’s normal.”

Yu Qishui, however, said,

“True experts often play amongst the mortals or seclude themselves in the mountains and forests!”

"The saying ‘tigers and leopards hidden in deep mountains, kylins found in the fields,’ speaks to this very truth!”

Wei Yushan immediately shivered, thinking the words were very true, and said,

“It is Yu Shan who is confused.”

How can such a powerful being be measured by common sense?

"Let’s go take a look.”

Yu Qishui waved his hand and led them inside.

"Oh, three guests, where have you come from?”

Just as they entered the village, they were greeted by Auntie Wang.

Wei Yushan scanned Auntie Wang and communicated with his divine sense,

“A mere mortal.”

But Yu Qishui’s eyes suddenly turned towards Auntie Wang’s hoe, and a trace of astonishment flashed through his aged eyes!

"That hoe... there’s something about it!”

He stepped forward, bowed slightly to Auntie Wang, and asked,

“Excuse me, Auntie, may I take a look at your hoe?”

Auntie Wang was puzzled. What were these people up to?

"A broken hoe, what’s there to see?”

Still baffled, Auntie Wang set down the hoe.

Yu Qishui took the hoe but instantly became excited!

"The essence of the Tao, this hoe is filled with it!”

"This hoe must have been used by an exceptional expert, leaving behind a trace of their presence!”

He exclaimed,

“To leave behind such essence of the Tao... It seems our ancestor truly succeeded in his rebirth. He could have very likely made a breakthrough... at least to the Hollow Void Realm, or perhaps even the Mahayana Realm?!”

Mu Qianning and Wei Yushan were instantly shocked.

Mahayana Realm!

— Golden Core, Nascent Soul, Soul Divide, Hollow Void, Mahayana, Integration!

These are the cultivation levels of the Xuantian Realm—beyond Integration, one treads upon the path of the immortals.

In the entire Fire Country, there are but a few at the Mahayana Realm; they are the exalted giants.

If a Mahayana Realm expert were to protect this place, what of Fiery Mountain? They would be but ants!

"It seems that the mighty figure... no, our ancestor, might truly be here?”

Wei Yushan murmured.

"May I ask, which senior has used this hoe?”

Yu Qishui asked Auntie Wang nervously.

"Just me, oh... and Little Li often helps me with weeding too.”

Auntie Wang replied nonchalantly.

Little Li?

"Li Fan helped me build this house; his craftsmanship is very good. If you folks need to build houses, you can find Little Li,”

An stooped old man said with a smile. Li Fan often helped them, and his skills were excellent, but in this mountain village, there was little money to be made, so he wanted to take this opportunity to advertise for Li Fan.

Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, and others once again had complex expressions.

"Let’s go, I can’t help it anymore. The ancestor’s cultivation level must have reached a terrifying realm. Our Lihuo Sect will surely prosper greatly!”

Yu Qishui was wide-eyed, immediately asked for the direction of where Li Fan was, and pulled Wei Yushan and Mu Qianning as they hurried off.

At that moment,

Li Fan was almost done splitting firewood, and due to years of exercise, he didn’t feel tired.

"Little Li, it’s not good! Our village has just been visited by three beggars!”

At this time, Auntie Wang suddenly came running with a group of villagers.

"Beggars?”

Li Fan was puzzled.

Auntie Wang then explained what happened just now.

"Even the sight of a hoe and a patch of vegetables makes them drool, and they can eat weeds... If they’re not beggars, what are they? They must have come here to beg. But that girl is quite pretty... Why don’t you marry her? It’s pitiful for her to be wandering about...”

Auntie Wang said with vivid detail.

"That’s right, Little Li, those people were also staring at the fruit tree you planted for me, even though the fruits aren’t even ripe! A bunch of Starved Ghosts...”

"There’s something off about them, they seem to be here for you, you should be careful...”

The villagers were all speaking out, kindly warning him.

Li Fan thought about it, the girl they were describing sounded a lot like Mu Qianning, whom he had met in Hongye Valley...

But he wasn’t worried, what could they want from him, when he had nothing?

"May I inquire if Mr. Li is present here?”

Just then, a voice rang out.

Everyone turned around to see Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, and Mu Qianning from the Lihuo Sect walking up the road toward them.

"Little Li, it’s them!”

Auntie Wang pointed out.

Li Fan looked up and saw Mu Qianning, he couldn’t help but smile, it really was this girl.

However, they didn’t look like beggars.

"Sect Masters... he, he is that senior,”

Mu Qianning whispered.

Upon hearing this, Yu Qishui took a serious look at Li Fan but didn’t sense even the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power!

Just like an ordinary person!

Yu Qishui gasped in shock. Even a Mahayana Realm expert should emit a trace of aura, yet this man before him was perfectly reclusive. Could he be above the Mahayana Realm?

That would be horrifying; such a person would surely be well-known throughout the entire Xuantian Realm!

"Master... look!”

Wei Yushan pointed at the

“pile of firewood” by the side!

Yu Qishui looked over, and instantly, they were all fixated on that pile of

“firewood”!

"It’s really Xuanhuo Wood... and with such an old age...”

"Any one of these, if found in the outside world, would cause a scramble. Here, it’s really just firewood...”

Yu Qishui was astonished. What kind of person would burn Xuanhuo Wood as firewood?

"Master, what do you think, is the Soul Mark Plaque showing any sign of activity?”

Wei Yushan immediately followed up with a question.

To confirm the identity of the ancestor, they had brought a Life Plaque sealed with a strand of the ancestor’s soul mark. If it was truly their ancestor, the Soul Mark Plaque would respond.

Even if a cultivator underwent nirvana, their soul would never change.

Yu Qishui also hurriedly checked, but immediately, his face froze, saying,

“No response.”

"Have we... mistaken someone else?”

Wei Yushan’s face became extremely unpleasant.

Disappointment!

Utter disappointment!

If it were their Lihuo Sect’s ancestor, then their sect’s future would be endlessly glorious!

But now, it seemed they might have found the wrong person...