Chapter 208: The Overbearing Mahayana Fell in Love with Me
“This fellow Daoist, my surname is Meng, I’m the Dean of the Great Zhou Imperial Academy. I enjoy collecting items related to the Human Sovereign Jiang. I wonder if you’d be willing to part with that book and let me have it.”
“Though I may not be as wealthy as you, fellow Daoist, I do possess many collected treasures, all related to the Human Sovereign. I can tell you also admire him. If you’re willing to part with the book, all the items in my collection can be yours.”
After Jiang Li gave that group of noble clan disciples a proper beating, Dean Meng and Wang Bian finally rushed over.
They originally planned to step in when Jiang Li was in danger, save him, and thus earn a favor to ease the following transaction.
Who would’ve thought this seemingly unknown Daoist was absurdly strong—most likely a Soul Formation Stage cultivator.
“This fellow Daoist, I am Wang Bian, a Confucian Envoy. If you’re willing to sell me that book, I can recommend you for a position as a Confucian Sect Elder. How about it?”
Like hell Jiang Li would agree. He immediately flew off.
“Daoist friend! If you’re not satisfied with the offer, we can renegotiate!” Meng and Wang shouted from behind, but Jiang Li flew too fast—his silhouette vanished in the blink of an eye. They could only give up, full of regret.
【Task reward granted: Sword Technique Clearing the Clouds to See the Sun】
Jiang Li skimmed through it. It was indeed a formidable sword technique. Once mastered, a single sword strike could split the clouds and reveal sunlight.
Even for Jiang Li, such a feat required a focused thought.
If one sword could match one of Jiang Li’s focused thoughts, that was already impressive.
【Task reward granted: A Soul Formation Cultivator’s Insight】
The yellowed page contained a Soul Formation cultivator’s insight into breaking through from Golden Core Stage to Nascent Soul Stage.
To the system, this was likely the best reward for Jiang Li, who was currently at late-stage Golden Core.
“Hmm, not bad writing, but a few minor mistakes.” Jiang Li wrote and made corrections on the paper, adjusting all the misconceptions. Then, using a red brush, he marked a “Grade B” in the top right corner.
For Jiang Li to grade something as B-class showed just how remarkable this insight truly was.
As for the system’s reward of one hundred top-grade spirit stones… if it weren’t a system-issued reward, Jiang Li wouldn’t even bother picking them up off the ground.
This was a mandatory task. Jiang Li felt the system was trying to stir up trouble for him—defeating a group of noble clan disciples? As if it would end so simply.
It was obvious there’d be a “beat the young ones, then the old ones come, then the ancestor arrives” sort of scenario. Entire families making enemies with him.
Behind every noble disciple was a Soul Formation elder. The system’s real intention was clearly to make Jiang Li feud with Soul Formation cultivators—pushing him to grow faster under pressure.
This was a script written five hundred years ago.
“Huh? The west?” Jiang Li had been deep in thought, and only now realized he had flown all the way to the western edge of the Nine Provinces—near the Pure Land of the Mortal World and Mount Sumeru.
He wanted to check up on the Mortal World Celestial, so he arrived at the Pure Land.
“Jiang here humbly requests entry.” Jiang Li called out at the edge of the sect’s protective formation.
The formation had an auto-repair feature. A few years ago, Daoist Nun Xuan’ai had stirred up trouble and Jiang Li had smashed it with a single punch. So much time had passed—it had long since repaired itself.
The gatekeeping disciple saw it was the Human Sovereign. After receiving orders from Sect Leader Qingyu, her cheeks blushed red with joy as she eagerly opened the gate for him.
“What are you reading?”
The Pure Land was secluded, rarely visited by outsiders. Being the gatekeeper here was an idle job.
Jiang Li noticed the disciple holding a novel titled The Overbearing Mahayana Fell in Love with Me.
It was a book he’d never seen before, and there was no author name listed either.
Jiang Li figured it might be a new work by the Passionate Desire Teacher.
That author’s books sold so well—they’d even reached the Pure Land of the Mortal World. Jiang Li was impressed.
“A novel. It’s pretty popular here in the Pure Land lately.”
“Where did you get it? Who wrote it?”
“No idea. We all just woke up one day and found a book by our pillows.”
“Human Sovereign Jiang, welcome.” Sect Leader Qingyu came out to greet him.
Though she had once killed the man she secretly loved, and though Jiang Li had saved the Pure Land, her attitude toward Jiang Li was now much gentler.
“Oh, no need to welcome me. I’m not here to see you.”
Sect Leader Qingyu clenched her fists, resisting the urge to hit Jiang Li, repeating to herself over and over in her heart:
He’s a benefactor of the Pure Land. You must forgive him. He’s a benefactor of the Pure Land. You must forgive him…
Jiang Li had said that on purpose—just to annoy her.
He really couldn’t stand how Sect Leader Qingyu was an old cow eating tender grass.
You’re eight hundred years old. Wuzhi is, what, a teenager? And you still had the nerve to make a move?
“You’re here to see Jingxin? Then wait a bit, she’ll be here soon.” Sect Leader Qingyu spoke warmly. She tried to see it in a positive light—if this big dummy had finally figured it out and came to see her disciple, that would be great.
By all rights, when Jiang Li came to visit, Holy Maiden Jingxin should’ve been the first to greet him.
But she was still in her room, dressing up in front of the mirror—wanting to present her best side to Jiang Li.
“I came to see the Mortal World Celestial, check how she’s doing, whether anything’s changed.”
That was something Sect Leader Qingyu couldn’t help with. After all, she herself couldn’t resist the Celestial’s allure—she couldn’t take Jiang Li there herself.
So she called over a disciple who was a descendant of the Mortal World Celestial and had that disciple lead Jiang Li to the Immortal Peach Tree.
After Jiang Li left, she went to Holy Maiden Jingxin and told her Jiang Li had already gone to see their grandmaster.
When Jiang Li found the Mortal World Celestial under the disciple’s guidance, she was swinging beneath a peach tree. Her voice rang clear and sweet. Her white feet swayed gently, evoking a desire to touch. Pink peach petals fell around her like rain, as if all the beauty in the world had gathered in this single moment.
Even Jiang Li, usually unmoved by such things, had to admit—it was beautiful.
In his heart, he sighed. As expected of the incarnation of the Dao of “Beauty.” Any cultivator who pursued the Dao could hardly resist this allure.
Still, it wasn’t enough to make him lose his mind.
“Celestial, long time no see.” Jiang Li stepped forward to greet her.
The Mortal World Celestial lit up upon seeing Jiang Li. She flipped up into the tree, picked a peach, and handed it to him.
“Here, eat. The best stuff.”
An Immortal Peach—truly a good item. Eating it could increase cultivation, cleanse the meridians, and had no side effects, no dregs left behind. It was better than any pill.
Jiang Li didn’t dare accept it.
Who knew if eating this peach would make a man pregnant.
The Immortal Peach Tree was the real deal—a proper immortal tree. Anything with “immortal” in the name couldn’t be judged by normal standards.
“Better if you eat it your—wait, no, you better not eat it either.”
“It’s a pity this peach tree can’t develop intelligence or take human form. If it could, it would probably ascend the moment it did,” Jiang Li said as he stroked the bark of the peach tree.
In the Nine Provinces, living beings were broadly categorized as humans or demons.
Someone like Commander Liu, a sentient willow tree, was neither human nor demon—but a spirit creature.
Spirit creatures were born of nature, full of spiritual essence, but they couldn’t reproduce. They couldn’t form a “race”—only exist as individuals.
Commander Liu’s original body was an old willow tree—nothing special, just old enough to develop sentience and transform.
But this peach tree was different. It was overflowing with immortal essence.
Letting something like this gain sentience and a humanoid form would be far too heaven-defying—something the Heavenly Dao wouldn’t allow.
Even the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal had trouble awakening it.