Returning from the Immortal World

Tang Xiu himself was unaware of Gu Changmin’s plans as he was now observing the guests who kept coming in from the outside, many of whom were familiar faces. It made him secretly look forward to the following auction. In all likelihood, the items being auctioned in such high-profile auctions were very valuable and there may be a couple of things that might be useful to him.

“Quite a lot of people came to this auction.”

Although Ouyang Lulu also similarly saw a lot of her acquaintances, she didn’t get up to greet them as she similarly also didn’t want to talk with others.

“Well, there are also some business world celebrities from several nearby cities attending,” replied Tang Xiu smilingly. “Also, some from the Occult Sect have arrived, and they seem to have some abilities to boot.”

“Ehh? People from the Occult Sect are also here?” Ouyang Lulu was surprised. “Are there any magical weapons being auctioned here, by chance?”

“Who knows?” Tang Xiu lightly smiled. “If anything, those Occult Sect people are hiding in the midst of the urban crowd. They live the same life as ordinary people and only reveal their identity in some special circumstances. Such people generally have quite amazing abilities.”

“True that.” Ouyang Lulu nodded. “The Occult Sect people do have strange techniques. They also have their own means and channels if they want to seek wealth and could obtain quite a fortune with slight efforts. Further, some of them engaging in business also have some kind of win-win cooperation with all walks of life to make profits.”

“So you say, just like your Ouyang Family?” commented Tang Xiu.

“Yup. When the Ouyangs just started, we resorted to many means to not be exposed to light.” Ouyang Lulu smiled and said, “But after the continuous growth of the family, we slowly washed our hands and formally became a family of merchants. Still, most of the underground world of Jingmen Island is still controlled by the Ouyangs until now.”

Tang Xiu smiled and was about to reply when he suddenly spotted a familiar face in his line of sight. It was Ji Mu of Changxi City.

“What’s up?”

Ouyang Lulu noticed Tang Xiu’s unusual expression and immediately followed his gaze and asked at the same time.

“Well, just spotted a friend of mine from Changxi,” answered Tang Xiu.

“You’re on good terms with him?” asked Ouyang Lulu.

Tang Xiu thought about it and replied, “Not bad, I think! He has a good character and a temper much to my liking. This boy is also a cultivator, but I never thought that he’d be able to reach the mid-stage of Qi Refining in such a short time.”

“Hmph. Just mid-stage of Qi Refining.” Ouyang Lulu snorted and curled her lips. “I can kill him with the flick of my finger.”

Tang Xiu couldn’t help laughing and rebuked her. “He started cultivating later than you, Lulu. Besides, you’ve been aided by the cultivation resources I gave you, whereas he never had any. All he’s relying on is his own efforts, yet he’s been able to cultivate a bit of True Essence energy.”

Ouyang Lulu immediately nodded after hearing it and no longer looked at the man with a contemptuous attitude.

“Alright, I’ll call him to sit here with us.” Tang Xiu smiled and said.

Immediately after, his lips slightly moved and he transmitted his voice over.

At the auction venue, Ji Mu was respectfully accompanying a silver-haired old lady. Suddenly, a voice passed into his hears. He was stunned and stared blankly before turning and looking around. He then found a somewhat familiar face waving at him, but he couldn’t remember where he had seen the person, making him puzzled.

Who’s this guy?

Ji Mu thought about it. He then approached the silver-haired old lady and asked in a whisper, “Grandma, would you like to find the seat first? I’m going to see someone.”

The silver-haired old lay looked gentle and kind. She smilingly nodded and replied, “You youngsters have your own circle, so you don’t need to keep me accompany. Also, I’m going back to the North after the auction today.”

Ji Mu was shocked and he asked with a bit of reluctance, “Can’t you stay for some more time in Changxi, Grandma? I’ve benefitted a lot by following and learning from you these days, especially in my knowledge about cultivation. I feel I haven’t taken care of you well enough all this while.”

The old lady smilingly replied, “All kinds of meetings have their own farewell, Sonny. I haven’t seen your grandma for more than a decade, and I never thought we’d have been separated just like that of man and Heaven already. Besides, I’ve been staying in Changxi for some time, so it’s time for me to return to the North, else those bunches of boys at home will definitely create a ruckus.”

Ji Mo helplessly nodded and whispered, “Then I’m going to go greet my friends first, Grandma. I’ll be back to you later.”

“Off you go, then!” the old lady slowly nodded and replied.

Ji Mu slightly bowed and turned to walk towards Tang Xiu’s direction. Although he really wanted this formidable grandma cultivator to stay, he could only bear his own reluctance to bid farewell since she insisted on leaving. However, that voice just now was very strange. It just directly entered his ear instead of calling out to him normally, which made him secretly startled and scared.

And yet, he really didn’t know who that familiar person was, neither could he remember where he had seen him!

“Are you the one calling me, Friend?”

Ji Mu came to Tang Xiu’s front and cupped his fists first while asking. However, his pupils suddenly shrunk when his eyes fell on Ouyang Lulu next to Tang Xiu.

Tang Xiu pointed to the vacant seat near them and smilingly said, “It’s me, Ji Mu. I don’t want anyone to recognize me, so I changed my appearance.”

Ji Mu looked happily surprised. After nodding to Ouyang Lulu, he quickly took a seat at Tang Xiu’s other side and excitedly said, “I truly never thought I’d bump into you here, Brother Tang. Your face-shifting technique is truly amazing, honest! I felt that you looked somewhat familiar, but I really didn’t recognize you.”

“It’s just minor trick,” replied Tang Xiu with a smile. “It’s you who’s great! To think that you’ve broken through to the mid-stage of Qi Refining is simply unexpected. Anyhow, if my guess is correct, that old lady next to you should have given you some pointers, yes?”

“Yeah!” Ji Mu nodded. “Grandma Zui Ying has given me guidance and I benefitted quite a lot.”

Nearby, the silver-haired old lady randomly found a vacant seat and took it. But when her tranquil eyes glanced at Ji Mu’s direction and she was about to take back her vision, her expression slightly shifted all of sudden and her eyes fixedly stayed on Tang Xiu and Ji Mu.

“That person is…”

The old lady focused more on her observation and her body slightly trembled a few seconds after. But she looked overjoyed and nearly didn’t hesitate to get up and head to the Tang Xiu’s direction. After she came to his front, she ignored Ji Mu who stood up and ceremonially greeted. “Aren’t you Mr. Tang?”

Tang Xiu stood up and smilingly said, “Ah, it seems you can recognize me. Have you just returned from the Himalayas?”

The silver-haired old lady excitedly said, “I’ve been here for a while. The operation has been progressing smoothly over there, so I thought to take advantage of it to have a trip outside of my home in the Northern region. I went to Changxi to visit my old sister, but… I never thought that this old sister of mine has passed away a few years ago.”

“Please don’t be that cautious. Have a seat first and chat!” Tang Xiu smilingly said.

“Alright!”

The old lady shifted to the dumbfounded-looking Ji Mu and said, “Can I take your seat?”

Ji Mu woke up from his stunned state and hurriedly let her take the seat, saying, “Ah, yes, you can. Please have a seat, Grandma.”

After the old lady took a seat, she spoke in a low voice, “I thought it would be very difficult to see you again after we left the Himalayas, Mr. Tang. I never thought that I’d happen to encounter you in this place. That group of old fogies will definitely be envious of me. That’s for sure.”

Tang Xiu waved and said, “That’s all right. We’re all fellow Daoists who walk on the cultivation path, so it should be easy for us to meet each other. I just didn’t expect that you’re with this kid, Ji Mu, though.”

“I and Ji Mu’s grandma were old sisters who grew up together.” The old lady explained, “It was the reason why I came to Changxi—to visit her.”

“If my guess is correct, then Ji Mu’s grandmother was also a cultivator, yes?” asked Tang Xiu with a smile. “But there’s something I feel strange, however. How come none of the later generations of the Ji Family inherited her legacy?”

The silver-haired old lady shook her head and said, “I have no idea about the specific reason, either. Old Sis perhaps thought that only this grandson of hers who is quite outstanding in the Ji Family, so she only taught her cultivation technique to him!”

Ji Mu, who sat next to her, hurriedly interjected. “Grandma, it was not my grandmother who taught me to cultivate, but Brother Tang.”

The old lady was stunned and immediately blurted out in amazement. “It was Mr. Tang who taught you to cultivate? Your relationship with him…”

“I and Ji Mu are friends,” said Tang Xiu smilingly.

Ji Mu was struck with a sudden shock immediately after hearing it. How could he not witness that the grandmother he admired the most turned out to act very respectful toward Tang Xiu, as though she regarded Tang Xiu as her elder? It was precisely this reason that Tang Xiu’s position was elevated by several levels in his heart.

The old lady nodded smilingly. Then, she turned to look at Ji Mu and sighed. “Little Mu, you can have a friend like Mr. Tang is definitely a blessing accumulated from your past lives. Do keep in mind that you must seek Mr. Tang for more advice in the future. He’ll surely mold you much better and more brilliantly.”

“Understood!”

Ji Mu shot a fervent look at Tang Xiu, but then he asked the question he had been harboring, “Haven’t you been out of the North for a short time? How did you get acquainted with Brother Tang? You also said things happened in the Himalayas, what exactly happened there?”

The silver-haired old lady shifted her focus to Tang Xiu and silently shook her head.

Tang Xiu lightly smiled and explained, “Nothing happened, in fact. It’s just we fought side by side in the battle against some demonic beasts. Your current strength is still too weak, so don’t ask more questions about it, okay? You can go there to experience it yourself when you’ve reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, or better—the Golden Core Stage!”

Demonic beast?!

Ji Mu was shocked again. He was perfectly aware of how powerful Tang Xiu and Grandma Zui Ying were. He never knew about Tang Xiu’s cultivation level and only knew that he was very powerful. But Grandma Zui Ying was at the late-stage of Foundation Establishment and was definitely a very strong expert in existence.