Chapter 97: Can the Human Sovereign Hall Really Be Heading to the Same Place as Us?
“Do you want to check out that tomb?”
Jiang Li casually brought it up when he returned to the Tian tier room, not expecting the Mortal World Celestial to be so interested in the Soul Formation cultivator’s tomb.
She was delicately enjoying the food Jiang Li had brought back, taking small bites with her cherry lips, savoring each mouthful.
Seeing that the food was getting cold, Jiang Li discreetly warmed it up.
“Immortal beasts are all adorable. I want to see the Immortal Beast Compendium.” The Mortal World Celestial had a fondness for small animals, and in her eyes, all immortal beasts—whether ferocious or auspicious—fell into the category of adorable.
“Especially the Dijiang. It’s the cutest.”
In the Pure Land of the Mortal World, she had read books about immortal beasts, and the depictions had piqued her interest.
Jiang Li, however, failed to see how a bright red, six-legged, four-winged creature with no ears, eyes, mouth, or nose could be considered cute.
To him, the Dijiang looked like a red-skinned egg with legs and wings—a truly bizarre sight.
“Why not just wait for Li Nian’er to bring it back?”
“You don’t understand.”
For once, the Mortal World Celestial wasn’t bundled up like a zongzi in layers of robes. Her breathtakingly beautiful face was fully revealed as she raised a slender, jade-like finger and gently waved it.
“When it was in that Soul Formation cultivator’s hands, it was a first-hand book. Once it reaches Li Nian’er, it becomes second-hand. By the time it gets to me, it’s third-hand.”
“I may not be able to see the original, but at least I should settle for the second-hand version.”
Jiang Li didn’t even try to understand the thought process of what was essentially a three-year-old child in mentality. Following the principles of caring for children and not arguing logic with women, he simply decided to go along with her reasoning.
“Alright, we’ll go tomorrow.”
The Mortal World Celestial nodded gracefully, making a deliberate effort to act with the demeanor of a senior.
She was very satisfied with Jiang Li’s attitude—he agreed to anything she said. Unlike her unfilial juniors, who wouldn’t even let her go outside, let alone eat a single immortal peach.
What, were they afraid she’d get pregnant from eating a peach?
Meanwhile, across town…
A servant who had previously fled from the inn returned timidly to his master.
His master was a pale-skinned young man, so unnaturally white that it seemed eerie. The attendants around him were exceptionally deferential, yet it was clear they feared him. They kept a careful distance, not daring to get too close.
The nervous servant spoke cautiously. “Young Master, should we find another inn?”
The pale-skinned youth—better known as “Poison Young Master”—had a simple principle: he hated inconveniences. If he could stay in one place, he wouldn’t bother moving.
He frowned. “Why? Isn’t there a Tian tier room available there?”
“There is, but it’s occupied.”
“Then have the guest vacate it.”
His tone was utterly matter-of-fact. As a Golden Core cultivator, and more importantly, a notorious Poison Cultivator, in a small town where not even a single Nascent Soul expert resided, he was free to do as he pleased.
Poison Cultivators refined their bodies into poison furnaces, cultivating countless venomous creatures within themselves. Their bodies were perpetually eroded by toxins, until they ultimately became living embodiments of poison.
With his reputation, he was certain that a casual “conversation”—perhaps involving a demonstration with some cute centipedes and scorpions—would be enough to persuade anyone to voluntarily give up their room.
The servant hesitated before muttering, “Sir, the Human Sovereign Hall’s Commander and the Dharma Body Sect’s Envoy are staying there.”
Without breaking stride, Poison Young Master walked past the inn without hesitation.
His servants, still frozen in place, were stunned by his sudden decision.
He turned back and snapped at them. “Why are you standing there like idiots? If this inn is full, just go to the next one!”
Eventually, they found another inn and booked all the Tian tier rooms.
One of the servants, however, remained troubled. “Young Master, I heard the Human Sovereign Hall has been searching for tombs all over the Great Wei Dynasty. Could it be that they’re looking for the same place as us?”
At this, the other servants burst into laughter.
Even Poison Young Master, who rarely laughed, couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Ah Liu, you overthink things.”
Feeling amused by his subordinate’s ignorance, he patiently explained:
“The Human Sovereign Hall is an immense force. Do you really think they’d go to the same place as us?”
“All of their Commanders are at least Soul Formation Stage cultivators. One of them is even at the Tribulation Stage. And above them all, they have the Mahayana Stage Human Sovereign, Jiang Li.”
Poison Young Master spoke with absolute certainty:
“If they’re looking for a tomb, it must belong to either a Tribulation Stage powerhouse or an Immortal.”
He continued confidently, “I’ve heard that the Great Wei Dynasty was once the Han Dynasty, and its founding ancestor supposedly beheaded the immortal beast White Serpent with his sword. Perhaps they’re searching for that beast’s tomb.”
The surrounding servants nodded in agreement, praising their master’s vast knowledge—even though they also knew this information.
“We, on the other hand, are merely heading to a Soul Formation Stage cultivator’s tomb. Even if this cultivator was exceptionally talented, there’s no way they’d attract the Human Sovereign Hall’s attention.”
One of the servants, Ah Qi, still felt uneasy. “But that Soul Formation cultivator was a once-in-a-millennium genius. What if that alone was enough to pique their interest?”
Poison Young Master shook his head. “Sure, he was talented—for a Soul Formation cultivator. If not for my ancestor poisoning him, he might have reached the Soul Formation Stage at most.”
The tomb’s owner was once a renowned genius, dazzling a thousand years ago. His Beast-Taming techniques were extraordinary, allowing him to command rare and exotic creatures in battle. Even great cultivators had once praised his potential, saying that he had the potential to reach the Soul Formation Stage.
But talent alone wasn’t enough.
Poison Young Master’s ancestor had poisoned him, cutting short his ascension.
Now, Poison Young Master intended to acquire both the cultivator’s unique cultivation method and his Beast-Taming techniques. If he could combine Beast-Taming with his Poison Arts, he could potentially control venomous creatures even more effectively.
“Enough talking. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we set off for the tomb.”
The next morning, as Li Nian’er was preparing to depart, she was surprised to find Jiang Li leading a mysterious, veiled woman.
“You’re coming too, Your Majesty?”
Jiang Li, with a completely straight face, lied effortlessly:
“Yeah, it’s hot. Just looking for a cool place.”
Li Nian’er was a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, and she obviously knew that cultivators at their level were immune to heat and cold.
But Jiang Li had said it so seriously that she assumed there must be a deeper meaning behind his words.
“I see… I must remember this. On this day, Human Sovereign Jiang personally demonstrated the meaning of ‘returning to simplicity’.”
She glanced at the veiled woman beside Jiang Li. “And she is…?”
“You can think of her as an ordinary person with no cultivation.”
The Mortal World Celestial’s voice was ethereal and distant as she introduced herself. “You may call me Hong.”
Meanwhile, Zhang Konghu was still asleep—because, unlike most cultivators who replaced sleep with meditative cultivation, he firmly believed that nothing beat the comfort of actual sleep.