The First Immortal of Destiny

”Tai 26 misunderstood Senior. Thank you for saving my life! I will repay Senior’s kindness even if I have to shatter my body into pieces.”

This Gold Man, after seeing the images transferred into his mind, knelt before Shen Mo with a THUD. He made hand gestures resembling a seal while expressing his gratitude in a deep, resonant voice.

Shen Mo understood the meaning of the gestures. He nodded slightly and, with a sweep of his sleeve, helped the Gold Man before him to his feet.

”Twenty-Six, how did you cross the tens of millions of li of the Immortal Burial Sea to arrive here?”

Among the alien Gold Man race, newborns of the same generation take a type of spirit gold ore as their surname and are named according to their birth order.

For example, the Gold Man Shen Mo rescued from Golden Light Ridge was named Zi 75. He would be considered of the generation of an uncle to the Gold Man before him, though their ages were not significantly different.

In the forbidden land of the Gold Man race, calling out ”Twenty-Six” might elicit responses from several Gold Men of different generations. However, right now, Tai 26 was likely the only Gold Man in the entire Heaven Patrolling Zone, so Shen Mo addressing him this way was not improper.

”Reporting to Senior, about a year ago, by order of the clan elders, I went to Yuanji Mountain, three hundred li east of our clan’s territory, to mine gold ore...”

After a series of inquiries, Shen Mo found that his previous speculations were mostly correct.

Tai 26 had indeed been captured by envoys from a Daoist temple who were visiting the Red Flame Zone. The one who acted should be the elder of that cultivator from Thousand Cranes Mountain whom Shen Mo had encountered earlier.

Due to the Gold Man race’s unique life form, after Tai 26 was abducted to the Heaven Patrolling Zone, Thousand Cranes Mountain treated him as a piece of ”spirit gold” that could regenerate. They continuously carved flesh and bone from his body to refine magic treasures!

He originally possessed a burly physique, three zhang tall, but Thousand Cranes Mountain’s relentless exploitation caused his body to continually shrink.

More recently, his origin power was severely depleted. After shrinking to about one zhang in height and being unable to quickly restore his Dao Body, he was sent to Tianyin Valley to be sold, to extract his final value.

Tai 26’s initially fierce reaction was because he mistakenly believed Shen Mo also intended to use his flesh and blood to refine treasures.

As for Flower Fairy Ami, he had mistaken her for a Spirit Pet that Shen Mo had forcefully subdued.

Tai 26 wasn’t very clear about further details of the visit.

On the return journey to the Heaven Patrolling Zone, he was kept exceptionally well hidden. Apart from the visiting Golden Core cultivator from Thousand Cranes Mountain, he hadn’t seen any other Daoist temple envoys.

This visit was originally a friendly initiative, driven by the faction within the Heaven Patrolling Temple that advocates for contact with cultivators from other realms and Outer Zone creatures.

To abduct an Outer Zone creature from the moderate faction for one’s own selfish gain... such a matter naturally shouldn’t be known by others...

Shen Mo mused internally.

He couldn’t help but feel it was a pity that he couldn’t obtain more information from Tai 26.

However, he had now befriended a group of Golden Core Realm experts from this domain, many of whom hailed from major immortal sects and could enter the Heaven Patrolling Temple for cultivation.

After more interactions, he should be able to find out what he wanted to know from them.

Moreover, Shen Mo was planning a trip to the Ancient Vine Sect next; perhaps he would gain something there.

Although Tai 26 had been rescued, he was alone and without support in the Heaven Patrolling Zone. If he left just like that, he might be captured by other cultivators who would take his flesh to refine treasures.

Therefore, Shen Mo let him stay in the Golden Flowery Realm. As long as he didn’t trample the spiritual plants, Mi wouldn’t randomly strike him.

...

The Ancient Vine Sect was located in the southernmost part of Caiyi Country, nestled within a beautiful and spiritually auspicious mountain range. It was just over a thousand li from the ancient battlefield of immortals and demons.

With Shen Mo’s current escape speed, he arrived in the time it takes to brew and drink a cup of tea. After his escaping light descended, he stated his identity and purpose to the disciple guarding the mountain gate.

Before long, Elder Ge Qing and a female cultivator at the middle-stage of the Golden Core Realm personally came out of the mountain gate to welcome him.

”It’s been several months, fellow daoist Shen! You’re as impressive as ever!”

With a warm smile on his face, Ge Qing, after a brief exchange of pleasantries, introduced the person standing next to him. She was Qin Wenzhen, the current Law Master of the Ancient Vine Sect.

This Sect Master Qin looked to be only in her early thirties, still possessing a graceful charm. However, one couldn’t judge a cultivator’s age by appearance alone. If she didn’t possess some profound magic to preserve her youth, her actual age was likely around three hundred years.

”May your fortune and longevity be boundless, fellow daoist Qin!” Shen Mo said, offering Qin Wenzhen a salute.

Qin Wenzhen, the Law Master of the Ancient Vine Sect, immediately returned the salute and then enthusiastically welcomed him into the sect.

...

Shen Mo stayed at the Ancient Vine Sect for the better part of a day. When he emerged, he carried an additional Token identifying him as a Guest Elder. The corresponding robes and ceremonial cap had been stored in his Universe Bag, not worn.

The Ancient Vine Sect indeed already knows my true identity. It seems I won’t be able to use this sect to enter the Heaven Patrolling Temple!

However, the conditions fellow daoist Qin offered are quite good.

When he expressed interest in the position of Guest Elder, Qin Wenzhen and Ge Qing were overjoyed.

For the current Ancient Vine Sect, recruiting a Guest Elder whose combat strength was comparable to the peak of the Golden Core Realm offered numerous self-evident benefits!

When discussing the terms, Qin Wenzhen demonstrated great sincerity. She offered vast amounts of Spirit Stones, top-tier spiritual items, Enlightenment Tea Leaves, access rights to the sect’s spiritual lands, and more—privileges almost comparable to those of her own position as Law Master of the Ancient Vine Sect.

However, she bluntly refused his prospect of entering the Heaven Patrolling Temple as a sect Elder in the future.

It turned out that after Zhu Zhao of the Taiyi Sword Alliance suffered a major setback, he had publicized Shen Mo’s true identity within the Heaven Patrolling Temple.

Now, most sects with Golden Core Realm cultivators practicing in the Heaven Patrolling Temple knew that ”Shen Qingyun of Wangxian Mountain,” who had recently gained much prominence, was actually Shen Mo of the Riverside Sect from the Red Flame Zone.

Since he was a cultivator from the Red Flame Zone and a Supreme Elder of a major immortal sect, he naturally couldn’t enter the Heaven Patrolling Temple as an Elder of the Ancient Vine Sect.

This was unless Shen Mo took a Dao oath, truly defected from the Riverside Sect to become a rogue cultivator, and then joined the Ancient Vine Sect in that capacity...

If the Ancient Vine Sect hadn’t known his identity and had registered him, Shen Mo wouldn’t be considered to be ”betraying his master and annihilating his ancestors.” He would merely be an ”undercover agent” infiltrating another sect, a common occurrence in both the Red Flame Zone and the Heaven Patrolling Zone.

However, once such an oath was made, he would truly sever all ties with the Riverside Sect. He would also face the scorn of other cultivators, his ill repute lasting for millennia.

Shen Mo, of course, would not do such a thing, and his interest in serving as a Guest Elder for the Ancient Vine Sect dwindled significantly.

Noticing his attitude, Qin Wenzhen and Ge Qing discussed privately and offered him extremely generous terms.

As long as Shen Mo was willing to serve as a Guest Elder, the Ancient Vine Sect would not impose any restrictions on his actions.

Furthermore, for a period of ten years, if the Ancient Vine Sect made any requests, Shen Mo would only need to act on their behalf three times, provided the requests were within his capabilities.

If Shen Mo felt that what the Ancient Vine Sect was asking of him exceeded his capabilities, he could directly refuse!

As a reward, aside from the many previously promised benefits, the Ancient Vine Sect also pledged to mobilize their connections within the Heaven Patrolling Temple to help him rescue Yuan Jing, a cultivator from the Riverside Sect who was under house arrest there.

Of course, Qin Wenzhen could not offer an absolute guarantee that Yuan Jing would ultimately be rescued.