Chapter 334: Mount Jiuxuan! The Clinic! The Apothecary! Not Seeking Fame!?

It was late at night, and the bright moon hung high.

Outside Wei City, the streets were empty and still. The once-boisterous

jianghu

seemed to have quieted.

After his daytime conversation with the old Celestial Master, that increasingly immortal-like old Daoist had smiled so wide his face nearly split. He hadn’t truly expected Li Yanchu to gain an immortal’s inheritance and just held a faint hope in his heart, though he offered a few words of encouragement to the junior he valued.

After all, with both Danyangzi and Ye Hongyun entering the Blissful Land of the Jade Altar this time, the old Daoist felt gratified. He drank himself into a merry stupor with his cheeks glowing red, and retired to his room early.

Li Yanchu, however, made his way to the Taiping Inn. Seated at a table, the inn’s innkeeper sat opposite him, gazing into his eyes.

She was, indeed, a woman of breathtaking beauty. She had arched brows, bright almond-shaped eyes, and a delicate oval face. Her lips were full and exquisite, like a ripe peach that seemed to invite a bite at first sight.

The moment Li Yanchu arrived here, his heart felt much calmer. It was as if her presence carried a quieting, soothing power.

Perhaps appreciating a beautiful woman really does bring joy, eh?

Her features were flawless, growing more enchanting the longer one looked. Of course, her most captivating quality wasn’t her face, nor even her figure, but the air of mature grace she exuded.

The innkeeper, too, was studying Li Yanchu. Looking into his eyes, she laughed softly and teased, “No wonder so many women fall for you at first sight. With looks like yours, what woman wouldn’t?”

Li Yanchu answered seriously, “In my heart, none of them compare to you.”

The innkeeper rolled her eyes, sighing. “After the Jade Altar affair, your name will spread across the world. Won’t even more young girls throw themselves at you then?”

Li Yanchu could only smile bitterly and said helplessly, “I don’t want fame. If I’d known it would come to this, I might as well have stayed away from the secret realm altogether.”

He had cultivated the Sun Veil to obscure fate itself, precisely so he wouldn’t draw too much attention!

Hearing this, the innkeeper laughed, her figure swaying with the motion. Watching her, he found the scene before his eyes utterly mesmerizing.

“I want to build a clinic here in Wei City... and also a private school.”

As he spoke, Li Yanchu pulled a thick stack of silver notes from his robe before laying them on the table.

Seeing this, the innkeeper looked surprised. “What’s got you thinking about something like that?”

Li Yanchu smiled faintly. “Just looking for something to keep me busy.”

“All right, leave it to me,” she replied.

This sort of thing was second nature to her.

She shot him a sidelong glance, her tone a little reproachful as she said, “You came running over here in the middle of the night just to talk about that?”

Li Yanchu froze for a moment, then he burst out laughing. He then stepped forward and swept the alluring innkeeper into his arms. Her clothes were thin, and her smile was brimming with warmth as she gazed at him. When he lifted her up, her slender hands clasped tightly around his neck, her laughter rippling like blossoms swaying in the wind.

***

The next morning, Li Yanchu awoke refreshed, his spirit bright and clear. Beside him lay a graceful figure, her curves delicate and enticing.

Just then, he donned his robe and walked to the window. Gazing at the eastern sky turning pale, he couldn’t help but feel a surge of vigor.

The innkeeper was like a piece of flawless white jade; she was gentle, warm, and soothing. She helped him quiet his mind and still his thoughts. Every time, he felt that lingering, oppressive killing intent within him dissolve away.

Slaying demons and eradicating evil earned him merit, but if he ever lost control, he could easily fall into the heart demon of excessive slaughter.

Fortunately, he was protected by the radiance of accumulated merit, and cultivated the

Yellow Court Classic

, allowing his spirit platform to remain clear and unshaken.

From this venture into the Blissful Land of the Jade Altar, he had gained 14,000 points of merit. But his greatest rewards were the immortal inheritance of the

Fire Official’s Sacred Edict

and the Southern Ember Sword.

Of the five divine artifacts once wielded by Luo Xuan in myth and legend, three were already in Li Yanchu’s hands! The

Heaven-Illuminating Seal

, the

Five-Dragon Wheel

, and the

Ten Thousand Crows Urn

were ready for use, and were steadily nourished to deepen his bond with them.

At this point, he could already be called a “Duobao Daoist[1].”

The Eight Trigram Mirror, the Radiant Gem Ruler, the Gengjia Skyneedle, and the Big Dipper peachwood sword were also nurtured daily.

After a round of reflection, Li Yanchu realized that only the Lightning Pool Sand remained sealed, its restrictions yet to be broken, and thus still unusable.

As for Daoist arts... Li Yanchu set his mind to focus on cultivating the

Methods Section

of the

Yellow Court Classic

. At present, he lacked no methods of slaughter, so he decided to spend more time studying profound Daoist arts.

The spirit pills of Mount Qingcheng, the Spirit-Concentrating Pills, and the Azurewood Immortal Vine were all treasures that greatly nourished the primordial spirit. It was truly a bountiful harvest!

***

Time flowed quietly by. In the blink of an eye, a month had passed. During that time, the innkeeper had purchased three medical clinics and one private school in Wei City on Li Yanchu’s behalf. She hired well-respected senior physicians and upright, virtuous scholars.

Of course, all of this was handled by the innkeeper herself. After passing through several hands in secret, no one had the faintest idea that the true patron behind it all was Daoist Master Li of Qingyun Temple.

In Wei City, school-age children could now attend the private school for free, and the medical clinics offered treatment at extremely low cost. It wasn’t that he possessed the lofty ambition of saving the world; he simply wanted to do a few small good deeds.

Since the innkeeper managed these affairs, he spared little thought for them. Each day, he trained and recited scriptures at the temple, immersing himself in cultivation.

For the time being, he did not continue enhancing new martial manuals. Having already reached the stage of Martial Dao Manifestation, his martial attainment could be said to stand at its peak. Li Yanchu intended first to temper his foundation, to masterfully grasp this realm.

From time to time, he accompanied the old Celestial Master out, helping with common folk’s weddings, funerals, and ceremonies, sometimes driving out ghosts and subduing evil. It was worth mentioning that Fang Qinglan, the cold and aloof heroine of the

jianghu

, resigned from her post at the magistrate’s office on the very day after Li Yanchu entered the Blissful Land of the Jade Altar. She packed her belongings, and departed Wei City, heading toward a famous mountain range in Beifeng Prefecture, Mount Jiuxuan!

By the time Li Yanchu returned from the Jade Altar, Fang Qinglan had already left. Thus, the two never crossed paths.

The duties at the magistrate’s office remained in the hands of Head Constable Wang, and lately, crime in the vicinity of Wei City had noticeably decreased. Even the incidents of malevolent spirits harming and devouring people were far less frequent than before. This was likely connected to the closure of the Blissful Land.

Many heretical cultivators, especially those who killed and preyed on others, had departed the area.

Moreover, with the old Celestial Master, a Daoist spiritual master, residing in Wei City, ordinary spirits and specters hardly dared to cause trouble here. As for Li Yanchu, this young Daoist priest, he alone suppressed experts of both the righteous and Demonic Daos within the Blissful Land of the Jade Altar. He effortlessly slew such strange figures as Master Tietou and the corpse bearer, as well as severed the arm of Chen Tianyuan of the Suspended Sword Sect, and struck the foreign frontier prodigy Murong Longcheng, whose fate was now unknown.

Even Danyangzi, who had previously suppressed all the other prodigies, was beaten into a desperate retreat by Li Yanchu. It could be said his fame blazed brighter than anyone’s.

Later, word of Li Yanchu’s deeds at the Jinguang Temple gradually spread like a pebble dropped into a still pond, stirring waves a thousand layers deep. The Sect Master of the Thousand Illusions Sect was said to have also perished at the hands of this seemingly unremarkable young Daoist!

Fortunately, news of him eradicating the remnants of the Xinyi Dao overnight and slaughtering the twenty-four heretics of Feiyun Prefecture had not leaked out. Even so, Li Yanchu’s name had already caused a sensation in the cultivation world of the Kingdom of Qian!

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

To this, Li Yanchu could not help but sigh softly. The Sun Veil was meant to obscure his fate, so that others could not divine or deduce it. It also served to conceal his aura, allowing others to overlook him, lowering his presence.

Yet who would have thought that after one venture in the Blissful Land and one battle at the Jinguang Temple, he would gradually become famous across the realm. This might have been the dream of many young geniuses in cultivation, but Li Yanchu found it uncomfortable.

I truly do not want fame

, he thought to himself.

He would have to find a solution.

1. 多宝道人 Duobao Daoist appears in Xu Zhonglin’s classic mythological novel Investiture of the Gods (Fengshen Yanyi). He first appears in Chapter 72, “Guangchengzi Visits the Biyou Palace Three Times.” He is one of the four disciples of the Jie Sect’s leader, Tongtian Jiaozhu, and has disciples of his own, including Huoling Shengmu and a grand-disciple, Hu Lei.

多宝道人 also means “Daoist of multiple treasures.” ☜