Chapter 44: The Immortal Palace
Chapter 44: The Immortal Palace
When Zuo Meng wished to be found, people located him immediately.
Li Yuanyuan, who had originally intended to find Luo San, rushed to Zuo Meng’s little shop upon receiving his message.
“Mr. Xue, we finally found you!”
Seeing Zuo Meng thrilled Li Yuanyuan. Compared to Luo San, he seemed far more reliable—she’d personally witnessed him slay a demon bear in the Black Forest. Even Luo San’s survival there had depended on a wisp of energy Zuo Meng had gifted him.
“Amitabha! Benefactor Xue truly walks the immortal path.”
Jie Nian marveled. During Zuo Meng’s earlier display of power, he and Jie Ming had visited this shop. Yet when Jie Nian later tried returning, the shop had vanished entirely—not forgotten, but concealed by forces beyond his understanding. Remembering how they’d received their martial arts inheritance from this man, Jie Nian grew certain: Xue Chuan, the scholar hiding in plain sight, held deeper secrets than anyone guessed.
“Ah, you two.”
Zuo Meng nodded without looking up, brush still dancing across paper.
“What brings you here?”
“Mr. Xue, we’ve crossed paths with Ask Immortal Pavilion. We beg your aid.” Li Yuanyuan bowed.
“Care to learn painting?”
Zuo Meng rinsed ink from his hands and emerged. His involvement was deliberate—why else kill the Scar-faced Man to clear their path? Like deities using disciples to sway mortal wars, he required pawns for his game. Li Yuanyuan’s group, along with Luo San and Yu Ruyi, were pieces he’d prepared since the world first began shifting.
Painting?
The two exchanged glances before understanding dawned.
This was his way of offering protection.
“This disciple greets Master!”
While Li Yuanyuan knelt readily, Jie Nian hesitated. Though he’d left Cold Mountain Temple, he remained its disciple.
“No master-student bond. Just painting lessons.”
Zuo Meng’s assurance eased Jie Nian’s mind—no sect betrayal required.
“Sister Li? What are you doing here?”
Zhi Hua’s voice chirped from the doorway. After hiding for days following the recent battle, she’d only just dared venture out—and immediately stumbled into this reunion.
“Little Hua?”
Li Yuanyuan blinked in surprise. Though never close, she noted how casually Zhi Hua addressed Mr. Xue and adjusted her manner accordingly.
“You know Mr. Xue?”
“Mr. Xue? You mean Uncle Xue?”
Zhi Hua frowned. Why would Immortal Cultivators seek her bumbling uncle? “He’s just slightly better than ordinary people! Useless against those calling the wind and summoning the rain!”
“You’ve wanted art lessons, yes? Join them today.”
Before, Zuo Meng avoided teaching her to limit entanglements. Now committed, he’d train all his chosen pieces—Zhi Hua, these two, Luo San, Yu Ruyi—together.
“Learn to paint?”
“Master Jie Nian and I had decided to learn painting from Mr. Xue,” Li Yuanyuan explained.
Zhi Hua couldn’t wrap her head around it. How did they suddenly switch from seeking help to learning painting?
“Come back tomorrow, all three of you.”
Zuo Meng tossed each person a painting. “Take these back and tell me the hidden meanings in them tomorrow.”
Having finished speaking, Zuo Meng left.
Baffled, Li Yuanyuan’s group accepted the paintings and brought Zhi Hua to the Li Family residence.
In the Li Family’s backyard, Li Yuanyuan pressed Zhi Hua for details about Zuo Meng. Learning they’d known each other for seven years deepened her interest.
“Uncle Xue? A hidden great expert? Some celestial being?”
Zhi Hua’s jaw dropped, disbelief plastered across her face. “You’ve got the wrong person!”
To Zhi Hua, Zuo Meng had always been a lazy underachiever who half-heartedly ran his shop. A failed scholar who often skipped meals? A hidden expert? At best, she imagined him as some wandering swordsman with a tacky nickname like “Doomed Scholar” or “Jade-Faced Rogue.” The idea of him being extraordinary struck her as absurd as a beggar becoming emperor.
“Celestial or not, he’s no ordinary person,” Li Yuanyuan insisted. “I’ve seen him fight. His power dwarfs common Immortal Cultivators.”
Zhi Hua began wavering as Li Yuanyuan spoke with conviction.
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“So learning painting is just an excuse to seek Uncle Xue’s protection against that… Pavilion…”
“Ask Immortal Pavilion.”
“Right! Ask Immortal Pavilion!”
Zhi Hua nodded rapidly.
“Their leader’s true strength remains unknown,” Li Yuanyuan said. “Rumors claim he rivals Cold Mountain Temple’s current abbot Master Jie Ming – both peak Foundation Establishment stage experts.” Government connections had yielded this intel.
“Foundation Establishment stage!”
Zhi Hua gasped. This was her first hearing about cultivation levels. Having practiced alone for years, meeting Li Yuanyuan and Jie Nian finally gave her comrades.
“But we can’t hide with Uncle Xue forever!” Zhi Hua protested. She couldn’t abandon her home indefinitely. If Ask Immortal Pavilion was as dangerous as described, avoidance solved nothing.
“I’ll rally cultivators like us through official channels,” Li Yuanyuan declared. “We’ll form our own clan. Once we grow stronger, even Ask Immortal Pavilion won’t intimidate us!”
“Form a clan?”
“Yes. A clan for Immortal Cultivators – we’ll call it The Immortal Palace!”