Painting of the Nine Immortals

The Sun was hanging high in the sky, and it was noon exactly.

Ling Xian and Huang Er were strolling around slowly on a busy street.

When they reached a relatively empty alley, Ling Xian suddenly stopped his footsteps. Then, an emotionless and cold statement left his lips.

“Your excellency have followed me this entire way. Are you not planning on showing yourself?”

Afterwards, there was no response. The entire surrounding was silent, and the only thing noticeable was Huang Er’s questioning gaze.

Seeing this, Ling Xian’s expression fell, “Your excellency, if you are not planning on showing yourself, then don’t blame me for making a move.”

“It is no wonder that you are a powerhouse that even the Mu Clan is mindful of. You sure do have sharp senses.”

A rusty voice arose, then a purple round plate emerged in midair. It emitted a mysterious wave of energy that engulfed the entire alley.

Then, a man wearing a giant black robe walked over in a slow and steady pace. Every step he took, his Qi strengthened. By the time he was 10 steps away from Ling Xian, it became apparent that his Qi was reaching the beginning stage of the completion level.

“You possess a treasure with inhibition abilities, and you are a cultivator at the beginning stage of the completion level.” Ling Xian softly smiled. His expression calmed like usual without any trace of irregularity.

Seeing Ling Xian was able to remain calm and did not get flustered, the man in black frowned, “You are young but your mentality is calm. This entire area has been sealed by my treasure, yet you are not scared?”

“Why would I be scared?”

Ling Xian chuckled, “A mere inhibition treasure is nothing to me.”

“You sure are full of confidence,” The man in back had a cold voice and a trace of killer’s intent exuded out of him, dropping the temperature of this place.

However, Ling Xian remained collected without showing any nervous, “Are you here for the Fire Taming Pearl?”

“That’s right,” The man in black nodded, “However, I have another reason for finding you.”

“Oh? What is it?” Ling Xian raised an eyebrow and his expression revealed how interesting he found all of this.

“The first reason, if you are no opponent of mine, then I will take the Fire Taming Pearl,” the man in black said slowly, “If I am no opponent of yours, then I want to ally with you and plot out a grand plan.”

“You sure are an interesting character.”

Ling Xian’s lips curled into a faint smile. He didn’t think there would be reasons as to why he was here. If that man lost, then he would get the treasure, if he won, then he wanted to form an alliance. It was the first time for Ling Xian to encounter such an interesting character.

“Same with me as well. I find you very interesting.” The man in black mumbled.

“It is the first time I have met someone so interesting. Oh well, since you have no intention of killing me, then I’d like to fight a few rounds against you.” Ling Xian gently smiled, feeling too lazy to waste more time talking to him.

“Hmmph, come at me.”

The man in black hissed. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you though. My inhibition weapon is very powerful. Under its magnetic field, your cultivation level is lowered to equal mine. I have never lost to someone of the same level.”

“I can feel it. This object of yours truly has the ability to suppress your opponents.” The corner of Ling Xian’s lips curled up and he made an extremely presumptuous statement.

“It can only suppress others. It cannot suppress me.”

Then, Ling Xian aggressively marched forward one step. Terrifying spiritual energy rolled out of him and rattled the entire space.

Immediately, the expression of the man in black drastically changed. What was revealed was pure astonishment and overwhelm.

Astonishment was because he didn’t think Ling Xian’s capabilities would be this terrifying – enough to be at the advanced stage of the completion level. Overwhelm was because he didn’t expect Ling Xian to be completely unaffected by the inhibition spell.

“Impossible. You are inside the boundary set by my treasure. How can you not be dragged down to my level?” The man in black kept on yelling, his tone full of disbelief.

“Like I said, your treasure is of no threat to me.” Ling Xian spoke softly. In a flash, he dashed in front of the man in black and threw a heavy punch.

HOMMMMMMM!

An infinite amount of prowess expanded in all directions. The expression of the man in black drastically changed once again as he realized how terrifying this throw was. Therefore, he didn’t dare to be reckless and quickly displayed all the defensive techniques he knew.

Pity though, the gap between his capability and Ling Xian’s was far too large at two stages apart. Even if they were of the same level, he would still be no opponent to Ling Xian.

Therefore, the moment the punch landed on the man in black, he began to puke out mouthfuls of blood as he flew backwards.

The magnetic field surrounding the two collapsed as well.

It was obvious that the winner and loser had been determined within such a short moment.

This made the man in black feel extremely tardy. He really didn’t expect Ling Xian’s capabilities to be terrifying to this extent. However, very quickly, the tardiness he felt turned into joy.

Compared to a Fire Taming Pearl, he was more willing to find a useful ally.

“You are interesting as a person, but your capabilities are not.” Ling Xian shook his head in disappointment, “Since you didn’t intent on killing me, I won’t kill you. Leave quickly.”

He then turned around to leave.

Seeing Ling Xian was about to go, the man in black panicked. Ignoring his injuries, he shouted, “your excellency, please wait.”

“What more do you want?” Ling Xian didn’t even turn his head.

“Like I said, if I lose to you, I want to form an alliance with you. Don’t you want to know what I want?” the man in black said in a hurry. His voice subconsciously revealed his desire.

Sensing this hopefulness and desire, Ling Xian’s brows furrowed together, realizing that this person probably had a favor to ask. If this was any other circumstance, he might stop and listen.

But the person in front of him sealed the area at first meeting and attempted to steal the Fire Taming Pearl. Not killing him was already too generous on Ling Xian’s part, why would he accept this man’s suggestion?

Therefore, he tauntingly smiled and slowly uttered out two words.

“Not interested.”

At that, the man in black almost puked blood from anger. However, he understood that it was him who provoked Ling Xian first. Therefore, for Ling Xian to spare his life was already plenty kind.

He also knew that Ling Xian wasn’t necessarily completely refusing to listen but waiting for him to speak of it first.

“You are a young Heaven’s Favorite. Other than being so capable, how is your mentality also so mature?” The man in black sighed silently. Then, he removed his bamboo hat, revealing a somewhat handsome face.

He was around 40 years old in age and there were grey hairs by his ears and wrinkles on his face. His two dark eyes however, were especially shiny. It was just that at this very moment, they were looking especially helpless.

“Your excellency, if I am not wrong, you have formed a rivalry with the Mu Clan. I, too, have deep hatred against the Mu Clan. Therefore, I believe, there is a chance for us to cooperate.”

Hearing this, Ling Xian stopped his feet from moving, however, his head remained unturned. He smiled lightly, “Did you already forget what happened at the auction? The Mu Clan has already apologized to me by allowing me to take three treasures. There are no more rivalry between us.”

“You must not be aware of what the Mu Clan is used to doing. Even if they did apologize first, it was just a temporary act. One random day, the Mu Clan will send an entire army in your way, and they will sneak attack you at a time when you are most relaxed.”

A wave of rage flashed across the middle aged man’s face. He continued, “Back then, I was deeply hurt because of a similar situation. Therefore, no matter what, you have to trust me.”

Ling Xian revealed a gentle smile. What he said just now was to test this person. It was obvious that the anger the man felt was genuine and not fake. This confirmed the fact that he truly had deep hatred against the Mu Clan.

“If you tell me in detail the hatred you have against the Mu Clan, then maybe I will consider.”

Smiling faintly still, Ling Xian turned around his body. His two eyes pierced through the man like sharp swords.

Under the stare of the sharp and focused eyes, the middle aged man subconsciously lowered his head and fell into silence.

He finally sighed a long sigh after a while and began to tell the story between him and the Mu Clan.

Just like every rivalry between different forces and people, his story was very much old fashioned. This person here was named Chu Zhong Tian, who was one of the direct descendant of the Chu Clan.

The Chu Clan had been the sole controller of the City of Sin a few centuries ago.

Then, because they had wrongly trusted the Mu Clan’s ancestor, they had been completely wiped out by the alliance between the Chu Clan and the other two forces. Only one man, Chu Zhong Tian, had managed to escape.

The man didn’t speak of the details, but even without him saying it, Ling Xian already had a general idea of what had happened.

“So you are saying, you and the Mu Clan – or rather, you and the three controlling forces will fight until one side dies.” Ling Xian gently smiled.

“That’s right.”

Forced to remember the agonizing past, Chu Zhong Tian’s anger was once again ignited. He said in a rage, “The three forces destroyed the Chu Clan and ended hundreds of lives of my Clan. If I don’t avenge my Clan, then I don’t deserve to be human!”

“Then we do have a common target. However, to cooperate, we need more than a common target.” Ling Xian softly grinned, “We also need similar capabilities. Without me having to say it, your capability is of no help to me.”

Chu Zhong Tian’s face turned red, knowing that Ling Xian was completely right. He was a little embarrassed, and after thinking about it for a while, he said, “Your excellency, even though I am of no help in terms of battling capabilities, I have very thorough knowledge of the Mu Clan.”

“Oh?”

Ling Xian’s eyes brightened. This was just what he needed, “Then tell me. If you are useful, then maybe I will accept your proposal of forming an alliance.”

Chu Zhong Tian was overjoyed, “Back then, the Mu Clan formed an alliance with two other completion leveled cultivators, which were the Supreme Headmasters of the other two controlling forces. The three of them destroyed our Chu Clan and acquired all the treasures we had at the time. Out of everything, three treasures stand out.”

“If I am not wrong, the Mu Clan had stolen the body of a puppet. This puppet possesses the battling capabilities of someone at the peak of the completion level and has extremely dominating abilities.”

Chu Zhong Tian said softly, “The only disadvantage is that the puppet can only unleash its abilities within its home base, which means it cannot fight outside that range. I believe that is the most powerful weapon the Mu Clan is relying on.”

“A puppet with the abilities of those at the peak of the completion level, but cannot leave its home base,” Ling Xian frowned slightly. The suspicion he had finally faded.

He was still a little suspicious just now as to why the Mu Clan would swallow the humiliation he caused rather than attacking him right away. After hearing what Chu Zhong Tian just said, everything made sense now.

Because their most powerful soldier could not fight outside the Clan, which was why the Mu Clan would rather swallow their humiliation. It was also because they had someone at the peak of the completion level, did they find the guts to provoke Ling Xian.

“I wonder, I wonder if your excellency is willing to form an alliance with me?” Chu Zhong Tian stared deadly at Ling Xian, his eyes full of high expectations.

“That problem… I won’t answer until after I have our current situation solved,” Ling Xian softly smiled and began to march forward in giant steps.

The situation he was hinting at was the traps set by the three treasures.

That was the most urgent issue at the moment.