The First Immortal of Destiny

At the Xianyan banquet, Shen Mo met many old acquaintances from the Heaven Patrolling Zone!

Such as Fu Jianghuo and Peng Lexiao from the Clear Heart Sect, the siblings Peng Lexiao, who once joined Shen Mo and Lady Scarlet to explore the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons;

Such as Elder Yan Dacheng from the True Martial Hall, who once competed with Shen Mo for the Gold Man Tai 26 at the Tianyin Valley trade fair;

And Xu Nan from the Profound Invisible Sect, Hu Xiaodie from the Divine Heaven Sect, and Mei Lihan from the Taiyi Sword Alliance...

The most surprising for Shen Mo was seeing Uncle Ma and Ma Pingkang, the uncle-nephew duo, at the banquet.

These two were rogue cultivators scavenging at the River of the Dead when Shen Mo first crossed the river and arrived in the Heaven Patrolling Zone, they were the first ones he met.

With such a connection, during his later stay at Wangxian Mountain under the identity of Alchemist Shen Qingyun, he even rewarded Ma Pingkang with an Elixir to open up his Spirit Sea, unexpectedly they also made their way to the Universal Realm, and appeared at the "welcome banquet" at the Heaven Patrolling Temple.

Decades have passed, Uncle Ma remains as sly as ever, only appearing somewhat timid among a group of "big figures";

While Ma Pingkang has also opened up his Spirit Sea, now a late-stage Spirit Sea Realm cultivator, also feeling somewhat uneasy!

"You are quite thoughtful, fellow Daoists!" Shen Mo smiled slightly and raised his glass towards the several Immortal Masters of the temple beside him.

From Lady Scarlet contacting the Li Mountain Elixir Sect, it had only been a little over a month, in such a short time, the Heaven Patrolling Temple had dug deep into Shen Mo’s past experiences in the Heaven Patrolling Zone, otherwise they wouldn’t have invited even the uncle-nephew duo Ma Pingkang, who only had a brief acquaintance with him.

The Divine Bridge Realm figures from sects like True Martial Hall, Profound Invisible Sect, Celestial Lotus Sect, and others drank every drop of their wine with smiles.

Their "getting to the bottom of things" approach, firstly was to demonstrate to Shen Mo the temple’s control over its subordinate sects and rogue cultivators, subtly warning him not to cause trouble through Lady Scarlet and the Li Mountain Elixir Sect; secondly, there was a layer of goodwill, perhaps they heard from Lady Scarlet that he once slew a Class VI (Formless Realm) great demon, hence they "invited" Uncle Ma and Ma Pingkang, Shen Mo’s "old acquaintances"!

It seems contradictory, but actually conceals scheming.

Shen Mo did not feel displeased about this, he was no longer the Yuan Dan Cultivator who had to use a pseudonym while traveling through the Heaven Patrolling Zone, regardless of the temple Immortal Masters’ intentions, he could handle it calmly.

He rewarded Uncle Ma and Ma Pingkang with a cup of spiritual wine each, after they expressed their thanks, they went to the last seat as if relieved!

While Shen Mo was about to call forward Qin Wenzhen, the Law Master of the Ancient Vine Sect, to discuss matters regarding the Enlightenment Tea, the Law Master Jiang Ye and Elder Zhu Zhao of the Taiyi Sword Alliance stepped out first.

Only to see Elder Zhu Zhao with a fluctuating expression, finally sighing and kneeling before Shen Mo.

"Eh... Isn’t this Elder Zhu? What is your intention?" Shen Mo had spotted this "former enemy" Zhu Zhao among the cultivators welcoming him at the city gate, but he hadn’t paid much attention.

"Zhu once had a conflict with Qingyun Immortal Master at the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons. Even recklessly pursued the Immortal Master... Knowing my sins are undeniable, today I specially plead before Qingyun Immortal Master, hoping for the Immortal Master’s mercy, to spare my life." At this moment, Zhu Zhao’s head was bowed to the ground, no longer carrying the violent manner he showed at the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons.

He is a peak Golden Core Realm cultivator, with his cultivation, temper, and status within the Taiyi Sword Alliance, not even Law Master Jiang Ye could force him to bow his head.

Such a plea for forgiveness clearly showed that the temple Immortal Masters had given him immense pressure!

The initial cause of Shen Mo’s conflict with him was due to Yang Chengxiong (Horse Groom Lv), but Shen Mo did not suffer any losses, and even snatched his Samadhi True Fire sought for hundreds of years, leading to Elder Zhu Zhao’s fury and relentless pursuit, and later even summoned the mountain-guarding treasure Taiyi Spirit Sword, which ultimately ended up in Shen Mo’s possession.

Shen Mo simply savored his wine, allowing Zhu Zhao to continue kneeling on the ground, while the Law Master of the Taiyi Sword Alliance remained bowing and saluting.

"Darling..."

Zhao Lingyin, who attended together with Shen Mo, softly called out.

She wasn’t trying to plead for Zhu Zhao either, but noticed the five existing Divine Bridge Immortal Masters of the Heaven Patrolling Temple all had solemn expressions, understanding that this act of carrying a burden to plead for forgiveness was a test from them, she wanted to remind Shen Mo to act with awareness!

Shen Mo seemed to be drawn back by Zhao Lingyin’s call, raising his brows, and took out Senior Gu Song’s portrait from the Sword Zone space.

"This is the Ancestral Master Scroll, it fell into my hands back then, today it returns to its owner!"

"I have a connection with Senior Gu Song, besides this painting, I also comprehended the Sword Path from the indestructible sword Qi he left, and even gained recognition from his lifebound magical artifact, the Taiyi Sword. Benefiting from him so greatly, I shouldn’t slay Elder Zhu Zhao due to past grievances..."

"Stand up, I’ll spare you!"

The Law Master Jiang Ye of the Sword Alliance quickly received the Ancestral Master Scroll, then helped Zhu Zhao up from the ground, revealing a grateful and tearful expression.

However, he did not immediately retreat, instead hesitating, appearing as if wanting to speak further.

Shen Mo showed a smile and asked, "Is there anything else? Do you perhaps want to reclaim the Taiyi Sword?"

As he spoke, a spirit light flashed in his palm, and with the flow of mana, the Taiyi Sword residing within the Dantian suddenly appeared in his hand, exuding an imposing and extreme sword intent that made the Divine Bridge Immortal Masters and the Golden Core Realm cultivators from the Heaven Patrolling Temple change their expressions!

Shen Mo naturally saw through the test of the five temple Immortal Masters, his heart held no ill intent, but if he were overly soft, he might be deemed easy to bully, which would make it much more troublesome when asking the Ancient Vine Sect for the Enlightenment Tea.

Therefore, although he spared Zhu Zhao, he seized the opportunity to take out the Taiyi Sword, intimidating everyone with the sword intent!

"Not at all, not at all! It is the fortune of Taiyi Sword senior to follow Qingyun Immortal Master..." The Sword Alliance Law Master Jiang Ye hurriedly waved his hand repeatedly, then retreated together with Zhu Zhao.

Shen Mo retracted the Taiyi Sword, smilingly stated, "Since today carries the intention of settling old accounts, it seems I must ask the Ancient Vine Sect for a long-delayed Enlightenment Tea."

Upon his words, the Law Master Qin Wenzhen and Elder Ge Qing of the Ancient Vine Sect immediately came forward, saluting Shen Mo, Lady Scarlet, and the other five temple Immortal Masters.

"I hope fellow Daoist Qingyun can forgive us. We encountered numerous difficulties during our descent to the Immortal Realm, and later the temple launched a large-scale battle against demons at Dayu Mountain, greatly consuming various spiritual items... Regrettably, we did not retain the Enlightenment Tea that should have been given to the fellow Daoist!" Qin Wenzhen said with a troubled expression.

"Years ago, I risked a bloody fight with Lin Zhaozai, the evil Dao Immortal Master, for Qin Daoist’s promise, making enemies of that formidable opponent. When I erected the Divine Bridge, he even incarnated as an enlightenment tribulation to slay me. I’ve paid such an immense price, yet today Daoist tells me the Enlightenment Tea rightfully mine was used up?"