Translator: Fate Translation Checker: Silavin “Hiding in the shadows, are we? Let me see who you are.” The middle-aged man’s eyes gleamed with golden light, seemingly flashing with divinity as he stared at the void nearby. With a cold snort and a wave of his sleeve, a terrifying aura flew out, making the area shudder as if to toss out the person who was hiding. He would not have noticed a cultivator spying on them if his Founding Ancestor had not picked up on it and glanced in that direction. Thus, the middle-aged man felt furious. He found it embarrassing. After all, he was on the verge of becoming a True Daoist. Yet, he almost failed to detect the cultivator who was hiding in the shadows in this remote village. Furthermore, it happened in front of his Founding Ancestor, which only added to his sense of humiliation. All of the villagers were frightened by the middle-aged man’s actions. Their faces paled as they trembled while on their knees. They did not know what the middle-aged man meant, but felt great terror at his strength. “Why are you behaving this way in front of ordinary mortals?” The Master Elder disapproved of the middle-aged man’s actions. He frowned and chided. Wang Xiaoniu had also turned pale from fright. The only cultivator he had ever interacted with was the Master Elder, so it made him assume that all Immortals were as kind and approachable as the Master Elder. He did not think that the middle-aged man would be this terrifying. “Yes, Founding Ancestor.” After being reprimanded, the middle-aged man’s expression shifted and he quickly reined in his intimidating aura. Nevertheless, he continued to glare at the nearby void with a cold gaze. “Is this the behaviour of cultivators? Showing off your power in front of ordinary mortals?” Just then, a silhouette appeared in the nearby void. It was a woman in white with a veil around her face. She spoke calmly with an indifferent expression. She did not care about the middle-aged man, no matter how powerful he was. She was Lady Su whom the villagers of Green Mountain Village considered a living Bodhisattva. “Lady Su…” “Lady Su…” As soon as the woman in white appeared, the villagers were overjoyed. Some could not resist calling out to her. Chen Erya cried out excitedly too. In their eyes, Lady Su was a powerful cultivator, but she was good-hearted and gentle. She also treated everyone with equal kindness. Over the years, she had helped them out with many things. Meanwhile, even though the middle-aged man was also a powerful cultivator, he made them feel terrified and uneasy instead. The two were incomparable. “Lady Su!” Wang Xiaoniu could not resist exclaiming excitedly too. He did not expect the woman in white to show up here. In the past, she would always return to her residence once class was over. It was hard for others to get the chance to see her. Therefore, it was a surprise to see her showing up here today. “I never thought that such a breathtaking beauty could be found in a remote village like this. What an unexpected surprise.” The middle-aged man was startled when the woman in white appeared, but his eyes soon flashed with admiration. He was even more shocked by the woman in white’s cultivation. Though she did not seem that old physically, she was already in the Quasi-Nirvana Realm. Even though they were currently living in a rare era where the environment was exceedingly suitable for cultivation, Quasi-Nirvana Realm Masters were not all that common. They were powerful enough to rule a territory and start a Sect of their own. Yet, after seeing her now, it was as if Quasi-Nirvana Realm Masters could be soon at any random place in the world. The Master Elder was unsurprised by the woman in white’s presence. He had merely glanced at her before withdrawing her gaze. If this had been any other era, perhaps a Quasi-Nirvana Realm Master could have caused a stir and have meant more. However, in these chaotic times, even True Daoists and True Immortals were mere cannon fodder, let alone a Quasi-Nirvana Realm Master. The woman in white was not worth his attention. “It did not occur to me that a Quasi-Nirvana Realm Master would appear in this remote village either. It is indeed unexpected.” The woman in white responded coolly. Most of her attention was on the Master Elder whom she could not get a read on. Even though the middle-aged man was in the same cultivation Realm as her, she did not care about him. No one of the same cultivation Realm as her could stand a chance against her. She was just that confident in herself. It was surprising that these two men had shown up in Green Mountain Village and were specifically asking to see Wang Xiaoniu. The woman in white was puzzled. She had been living in Green Mountain Village for several decades now and knew the villagers better than anyone. Wang Xiaoniu was unsuitable for cultivation. He did not have the necessary cultivation root in him. They would need to pay a heavy price to help him transform his body. Instead of using up all those resources, it was better to just look for another promising talent. Therefore, the woman in white could not help but suspect that the two had ulterior motives. “Qilins can be found deep in the mountains, so it is not surprising at all, especially since you’re also living in this village, right?” After seeing that the woman in white had the same cultivation as he did, the middle-aged man no longer displayed scorn and contempt. He placed his hands behind his back out of habit, giving off a slightly imposing aura as he spoke up. “I am from Hidden Immortal Kongtong Sect. May I know your name?” “The Immortal Kongtong Sect?” The woman in white’s eyebrows raised ever so slightly. She had no memory of this Sect. She never even heard of them before. Since there was the word Immortal in the name, there was a high chance that they had a True Immortal among their ranks. Upon seeing that the woman in white did not answer, the middle-aged man frowned in displeasure. However, the Master Elder seemed to have sensed the middle-aged man’s impending outburst, so he waved his hand and curtly said, “We did not come here to throw our weight around.” The middle-aged man’s expression changed at once. He quickly responded courteously, “Thank you for your guidance, Founding Ancestor.” The woman in white’s gaze stiffened. The middle-aged man addressed the Master Elder as Founding Ancestor, and since the Sect was related to Immortals somehow, it was likely the Master Elder was a True Immortal. In this great era, True Immortals were not uncommon. Even during her time in Green Mountain Village, she heard quite a few rumours about True Immortals. Lately, there had been many unusual occurrences in numerous places. Many of the ancient Founding Ancestors of various Forces were emerging, and they all possessed unfathomable strength. Some were even mightier than True Immortals. [So, a Master Elder who seems to be at least a True Immortal, if not more powerful, has suddenly appeared here in Green Mountain Village specifically looking for Wang Xiaoniu?] No matter how she looked at it, the situation seemed strange. “I mean no harm. I simply wish to groom this child as a cultivator. You don’t need to worry, young lady. Even if I wish to harm him, you can’t stop me.” The Master Elder seemed to have deduced what was on the woman in white’s mind, so he stroked his beard and faintly smiled. He was a lot more pleasant than the middle-aged man. The surrounding villagers could see that too. The Master Elder had to be an extraordinary person for even Lady Su to be extremely wary of him. However, he looked kind and did not show any malice, so many of the villagers relaxed and grew even more envious of Wang Xiaoniu. “Since you’ve said so, I feel a lot more at ease.” The woman in white nodded. The Master Elder was right. Even if he harboured ill intentions, she was not powerful enough to stop him. Her arrival allowed the villagers to exhale in relief. Initially, Chen Ya and her parents came over to Wang Xiaoniu’s Family in the hopes of convincing them to put in a good word for them, so that the marriage could happen. They did not expect to run into this situation. Both Chen Ya and Chen Erya were truly envious of Wang Xiaoniu. If given the chance, who would not choose to become an Immortal and live forever? Alas, they were not as lucky. Wang Xiaoniu was a young boy. He was scared of the middle-aged man at first, but after seeing the Master Elder’s kind and easygoing attitude, his fear dissipated. His curiosity got the better of him and he began to ask many questions. The Master Elder answered patiently, so all the villagers gained new knowledge too. They did not understand what the Master Elder meant by a Sword Body. All they knew was that there was an ancient and powerful Force behind the Master Elder and the middle-aged man. The Master Elder was an extremely ancient being too. He was known as the Drunken Sword Immortal who was an Ancestor to this ancient Force. The middle-aged man was merely a descendant of the Master Elder, Still, he was also an Elder who held great power in the Sect. “The Hidden Immortal Kongtong Sect…” The woman in white did not leave. She began to make speculations regarding this Ancient Sect. [It is most likely a Sect that had remained in seclusion from the rest of the world and has only emerged now.] The Master Elder patiently answered all of Wang Xiaoniu’s questions. He planned on waiting until the boy had severed his ties with mortal life before taking him back to the Sect to begin his cultivation journey. He had faith in his abilities and was certain he could groom Wang Xiaoniu into a peerless Sword Immortal in less than a century. Wang Xiaoniu was no ordinary person either. The Master Elder was able to deduce a person’s past and the future. Yet, he was only able to see a hazy fog. Everything had been shrouded by Chaos Qi. Someone of his calibre could easily see the past and future of powerful cultivators, let alone an ordinary being. In other words, the life of anyone apart from those as powerful as him was like an open book. He could see anything he wanted about them. They were like texts he could flip through and even amend if he wanted. However, he saw nothing but fog when it came to Wang Xiaoniu. He could not discern the boy’s past or future. The Master Elder was thrilled. He knew he found a rare treasure. Perhaps Wang Xiaoniu was a legendary anomaly. He could even be the reincarnation of an ancient powerful cultivator, one whose peak cultivation was no weaker than his. The present era was one where the Heavenly Secrets were in chaos. The Great Dao had been obscured and anomalies could arise because of the calamities descending upon the world. In the previous epochs, it was almost impossible for someone to possess such abnormal talents. Everything had to align just right for such an occasion. It would need to be accumulated over a long period of time. Hundreds of millions of different things needed to collide together before it could happen. The future of someone with abnormal talent could not easily be deduced. They could easily break through conventions and escape the shackles of the world.” Therefore, in the eyes of the Master Elder, Wang Xiaoniu was a promising talent who could reach the Dao Realm. The Master Elder felt a sense of awe as he figured that Wang Xiaoniu could be the Fated One born in the chaos of the present. Perhaps he would one day bear the responsibility of standing against the outsiders and saving all the living beings. Meanwhile, Wang Xiaoniu’s Father, Wang Erniu, was making his way back to the village with his cart. All of the villagers who ran into him greeted him with envious eyes. Gu Changge, who was behind Wang Erniu, was wearing a straw hat and carrying a basket on his back filled with the fruits they did not manage to sell. They arrived at the market a little late today, so they missed out on the crowd and failed to sell everything. Wang Erniu did not mind. He had a far easier time today since he had help. Most importantly, many young women came to talk to Gu Changge under the guise of wanting to buy the fruits, and they did end up buying some. Still, Wang Erniu felt bad about it. He was an honest man, and he thought that such situations would only cause trouble for Gu Changge. He had no choice but to buy Gu Changge a straw hat to hide his face. However, that did not change anything. Even though his face was covered, it was impossible to miss his tall figure and noble air. Many young women heard the news about a wandering nobleman who ended up in Green Mountain Village. He was said to be as handsome as a deity. The news spread far and wide, causing quite a stir in the surrounding area. “Father…” Wang Xiaoniu was standing by the village entrance and talking to the Master Elder. When he spotted Wang Erniu pushing the cart along, he immediately cried out excitedly to share the good news with his Father. “He has a filial heart. That’s good.” The Master Elder smiled and stroked his beard. After their conversation, he gained a better understanding of Wang Xiaoniu. The young boy was honest and had a childlike innocence. He had not been moulded one way or the other yet, so he was suitable to be taught. Chen Ya and her Family were a little dazed as they took in the Master Elder’s explanations. However, upon seeing Wang Erniu’s return, their eyes lit up. They did not have the fate to become an Immortal, but when it came to marriage, fate was in their hands. “Young Master Gu…” Chen Ya clutched her dress nervously as she stared at the other figure behind Wang Erniu. The woman in white also stared into the distance. [How could this be!?] Her reaction was even greater than Chen Ya’s.