Five Immortals Mountain.
Clouds and mist lock the mountain.
The mountain terrain here is extraordinarily unique, with lush forests.
Enveloped in mist year-round, its true face is hard to glimpse.
If a rustic villager were to wander deep inside, they would see a different kind of paradise.
Mist and clouds scatter colors, the sun and moon sway with light.
A thousand ancient cypresses, their verdant hues rising halfway into the rainy sky; ten thousand segments of tall bamboo, their deep green mist filling the valley.
Outside the gate, exotic flowers are spread like brocade; by the bridge, fragrant jade grass wafts its scent.
Jagged stone cliffs are moistened by green moss, while long emerald lichens hang high from the overhangs.
Clop, clop.
The sound of horse hooves gradually rises, crushing the otherworldly tranquility of this place.
Dozens of fast horses come from afar.
Until they reach the foot of the towering mountain.
"Whoa—"
The elderly man at the head jerked the reins, flipped off his horse, and looked up at the ancient stone steps leading straight to the clouds.
A trace of bitterness slowly curled at the corner of his mouth.
As a Mountain Gazing Realm Martial Venerable.
Looking across the world, he was a powerhouse in his own right. At this moment, he should have been standing in the Jiannan Circuit, slaying demons and devils.
But now... he had to be like a stray dog, bringing generous gifts and using his cultivation as a stepping stone to knock on the door.
He took a deep breath, suppressing the thoughts in his heart.
Five Immortals Mountain was no ordinary place.
Without the cultivation of the Mountain Gazing Realm to back him up, the other party might not even pay him any mind.
"Elder Cheng... are we... really going to..."
Behind him, a Demon Suppression Deputy General called out in a low voice, tightly clutching the prepared State Documents in his hand.
The rest of the words could not be spoken.
Elder Cheng turned his head, his gaze scanning the people behind him.
"Put away those thoughts of yours."
"We are not here today for personal honor or disgrace."
"It is for Your Majesty, for the Great Tang, for... the millions of living beings still in dire straits within the two circuits!"
Having said that.
He turned around and didn't look at the crowd again.
He straightened his clothes and brushed the dust off his sleeves.
He cupped his hands in a deep bow toward the empty mountain path.
"Cheng Buxiu, Enshrinee of the Great Tang Ministry of War!"
"By order of my Emperor, I have come specifically to pay my respects to the mountain—!!!"
Rumble—
The voice, carried by the powerful Mountain Gazing Qi, startled the birds in the forest and caused pine needles to rustle down.
The echoes rang out, lingering for a long time.
However.
Ten breaths passed.
The mountain wind remained, and the mist did not dissipate.
"..."
Let alone the legendary Immortals who ride the wind.
Not even a single figure appeared.
Only a few white cranes swept across the clouds, letting out a clear cry, as if mocking the overconfidence of these Mortals.
Immortal Sect, Immortal Sect... has it reached the point where they can't even be bothered to show their faces now?!
Elder Cheng straightened his back, his body swaying slightly.
There was no anger on his face; he took another deep breath, sinking his Qi into his Dantian.
"Cheng Buxiu of the Great Tang."
"Requests an audience with the Immortal Masters of the Immortal Mountain!"
The waves of sound rolled, crashing into the mountain forest once more.
This time.
There was finally some movement.
"Where did this stray dog come from? Not only did you disturb the peace of the mountain gate, but you also dare to shout and bawl here."
As the voice fell.
A child of seven or eight years old, with delicate features and red lips against white teeth, wearing an ill-fitting, oversized robe, appeared cross-legged on a green pine tree jutting out from the cliff side.
The expressions of the crowd changed abruptly.
Even the most patient person has limits.
They were all members of the Demon Suppression Division who had risked their lives for the Great Tang; when had they ever suffered such humiliation?
A Deputy General could not contain himself and stepped forward: "Who are you calling a stray dog?!"
"Stop!"
Cheng Buxiu barked sharply.
He turned around abruptly and slapped the back of the Deputy General's hand.
"Step back!"
The Deputy General clutched the back of his swollen hand, his face full of resentment, but seeing Elder Cheng's sharp gaze, he finally lowered his head and retreated back into the ranks.
Cheng Buxiu took a deep breath, turned around, and cupped his hands to the child on the tree again.
"Forgive us, Little Immortal Master. My subordinate is a mere martial artist who doesn't know the rules and has offended your Immortal presence."
"I have come this time with a matter of extreme urgency that concerns the fate of the Great Tang and the common people of the world. I hope the Little Immortal Master will make it convenient and pass on the message."
The child sneered and leaped down from the tree.
His figure was light, landing without a sound.
He walked up to Cheng Buxiu with his hands behind his back.
Although his height only reached the old man's waist, his expression was as if he were looking down at a group of ants.
"Great Tang? Oh... I remember now. That Mortal Dynasty at the foot of the mountain?"
Without waiting for a response, the child said indifferently, "What fate of the nation, what common people? That is the business of you Mortals. What does it have to do with my Five Immortals Mountain? Go back to where you came from!"
After saying that.
The child waved his wide sleeves and turned to walk toward the stone steps.
"Wait!"
Cheng Buxiu's heart grew anxious, and he took a step forward, blocking the child's path.
"Little Immortal Master!"
"Now that the demons of Spirit Mountain have invaded, the people of the Jiannan and Longyou Region circuits are suffering, becoming food for the monsters. The Great Tang is in imminent danger!"
"The Founding Emperor once made a pact with Five Immortals Mountain: the Great Tang would guard the Mortal realm, and the Immortal Mountain would lend a helping hand in times of Great Tang's peril..."
"Stop, stop, stop!"
The child stopped abruptly: "You're already at such an age, how can you still be so naive? All things in this world have their time of birth and death, their measure of rise and fall. The change of dynasties is merely the Reincarnation of the Heavenly Dao, just like the growth and withering of plants or the life and death of autumn insects. If Spirit Mountain is coming, then it means your Great Tang's fortune has run out..."
"Since your fortune has run out, then follow the mandate of heaven and die obediently. Why struggle at death's door and add to your Karmic Obstructions?"
Cheng Buxiu's body shook violently.
His old face turned bright red, his hair and beard bristling.
Follow the mandate of heaven?
Die obediently?
In the eyes of these high-and-mighty Immortals, the lives of tens of millions of people and the blood-soaked mountains and rivers were just a casually mentioned 'life and death of autumn insects'?
"Little Immortal Master's words..."
Cheng Buxiu gritted his teeth: "...are far too heartless!"
"Heartless?"
"Hahahahahahahahahahaha..."
The child doubled over with laughter.
A long time passed.
The laughter gradually subsided.
The child straightened up, the smile on his face completely gone.
"So, you care a lot about this Great Tang, huh?"
Cheng Buxiu said expressionlessly, "Although I, Cheng, am a mere martial artist, I know what is important. For the millions of common people in those two circuits, for the sake of the Great Tang's territory..."
Before he could finish.
The child had already interrupted him: "Since you care so much about the common people and keep mentioning them, if my Five Immortals Mountain insists on not opening the gate, it would seem as though we are being unreasonable."
A flicker of hope lit up in Cheng Buxiu's eyes.
"Has the Little Immortal Master agreed?"
The child shook his head: "It's not hard to get me to pass on the word, but this sincerity of yours, expressed only with words, is truly a bit untrustworthy."
"How about this..."
The child crossed his arms, looking down from his metaphorical height: "If you are willing to kneel down and bark like a dog a few times in front of this mountain gate, what harm is there in me passing on the word for you?"
As soon as these words were spoken.
The entire field fell into a deathly silence.
The dozens of Demon Suppression Guards behind Cheng Buxiu even thought they had misheard.
To make a Martial Dao Venerable of the Mountain Gazing Realm kneel and bark like a dog?
"You—!!!"
After the brief, deathly silence came a towering rage.
Clang—!!!
Dozens of Horizontal Sabers were unsheathed half an inch in unison.
The Deputy General who had been scolded earlier now had bloodshot eyes, and the veins on his temples were bulging.
If his comrades beside him hadn't held him back firmly, he would have already rushed forward to cut down this arrogant child.
"This is too much!"
"This is simply too much—!!!"
"We represent the dignity of the Great Tang! How dare you, a mere child, humiliate us so!?"