Chapter 44: The Immortal Palace
\nWhen Zuo Meng wished to be found, people located him immediately.
\nLi Yuanyuan, who had originally intended to find Luo San, rushed to Zuo Meng’s little shop upon receiving his message.
\n\u201cMr. Xue, we finally found you!\u201d
\nSeeing Zuo Meng thrilled Li Yuanyuan. Compared to Luo San, he seemed far more reliable\u2014she\u2019d personally witnessed him slay a demon bear in the Black Forest. Even Luo San\u2019s survival there had depended on a wisp of energy Zuo Meng had gifted him.
\n\u201cAmitabha! Benefactor Xue truly walks the immortal path.\u201d
\nJie Nian marveled. During Zuo Meng\u2019s earlier display of power, he and Jie Ming had visited this shop. Yet when Jie Nian later tried returning, the shop had vanished entirely\u2014not forgotten, but concealed by forces beyond his understanding. Remembering how they\u2019d 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.
\n\u201cAh, you two.\u201d
\nZuo Meng nodded without looking up, brush still dancing across paper.
\n\u201cWhat brings you here?\u201d
\n\u201cMr. Xue, we\u2019ve crossed paths with Ask Immortal Pavilion. We beg your aid.\u201d Li Yuanyuan bowed.
\n\u201cCare to learn painting?\u201d
\nZuo Meng rinsed ink from his hands and emerged. His involvement was deliberate\u2014why 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\u2019s group, along with Luo San and Yu Ruyi, were pieces he\u2019d prepared since the world first began shifting.
\nPainting?
\nThe two exchanged glances before understanding dawned.
\nThis was his way of offering protection.
\n\u201cThis disciple greets Master!\u201d
\nWhile Li Yuanyuan knelt readily, Jie Nian hesitated. Though he\u2019d left Cold Mountain Temple, he remained its disciple.
\n\u201cNo master-student bond. Just painting lessons.\u201d
\nZuo Meng\u2019s assurance eased Jie Nian\u2019s mind\u2014no sect betrayal required.
\n\u201cSister Li? What are you doing here?\u201d
\nZhi Hua\u2019s voice chirped from the doorway. After hiding for days following the recent battle, she\u2019d only just dared venture out\u2014and immediately stumbled into this reunion.
\n\u201cLittle Hua?\u201d
\nLi Yuanyuan blinked in surprise. Though never close, she noted how casually Zhi Hua addressed Mr. Xue and adjusted her manner accordingly.
\n\u201cYou know Mr. Xue?\u201d
\n\u201cMr. Xue? You mean Uncle Xue?\u201d
\nZhi Hua frowned. Why would Immortal Cultivators seek her bumbling uncle? \u201cHe\u2019s just slightly better than ordinary people! Useless against those calling the wind and summoning the rain!\u201d
\n\u201cYou\u2019ve wanted art lessons, yes? Join them today.\u201d
\nBefore, Zuo Meng avoided teaching her to limit entanglements. Now committed, he\u2019d train all his chosen pieces\u2014Zhi Hua, these two, Luo San, Yu Ruyi\u2014together.
\n\u201cLearn to paint?\u201d
\n\u201cMaster Jie Nian and I had decided to learn painting from Mr. Xue,\u201d Li Yuanyuan explained.
\nZhi Hua couldn\u2019t wrap her head around it. How did they suddenly switch from seeking help to learning painting?
\n\u201cCome back tomorrow, all three of you.\u201d
\nZuo Meng tossed each person a painting. \u201cTake these back and tell me the hidden meanings in them tomorrow.\u201d
\nHaving finished speaking, Zuo Meng left.
\nBaffled, Li Yuanyuan\u2019s group accepted the paintings and brought Zhi Hua to the Li Family residence.
\nIn the Li Family\u2019s backyard, Li Yuanyuan pressed Zhi Hua for details about Zuo Meng. Learning they\u2019d known each other for seven years deepened her interest.
\n\u201cUncle Xue? A hidden great expert? Some celestial being?\u201d
\nZhi Hua\u2019s jaw dropped, disbelief plastered across her face. \u201cYou\u2019ve got the wrong person!\u201d
\nTo 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 \u201cDoomed Scholar\u201d or \u201cJade-Faced Rogue.\u201d The idea of him being extraordinary struck her as absurd as a beggar becoming emperor.
\n\u201cCelestial or not, he\u2019s no ordinary person,\u201d Li Yuanyuan insisted. \u201cI\u2019ve seen him fight. His power dwarfs common Immortal Cultivators.\u201d
\nZhi Hua began wavering as Li Yuanyuan spoke with conviction.
\n\u201cSo learning painting is just an excuse to seek Uncle Xue\u2019s protection against that… Pavilion…\u201d
\n\u201cAsk Immortal Pavilion.\u201d
\n\u201cRight! Ask Immortal Pavilion!\u201d
\nZhi Hua nodded rapidly.
\n\u201cTheir leader\u2019s true strength remains unknown,\u201d Li Yuanyuan said. \u201cRumors claim he rivals Cold Mountain Temple\u2019s current abbot Master Jie Ming \u2013 both peak Foundation Establishment stage experts.\u201d Government connections had yielded this intel.
\n\u201cFoundation Establishment stage!\u201d
\nZhi 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.
\n\u201cBut we can\u2019t hide with Uncle Xue forever!\u201d Zhi Hua protested. She couldn\u2019t abandon her home indefinitely. If Ask Immortal Pavilion was as dangerous as described, avoidance solved nothing.
\n\u201cI\u2019ll rally cultivators like us through official channels,\u201d Li Yuanyuan declared. \u201cWe\u2019ll form our own clan. Once we grow stronger, even Ask Immortal Pavilion won\u2019t intimidate us!\u201d
\n\u201cForm a clan?\u201d
\n\u201cYes. A clan for Immortal Cultivators \u2013 we\u2019ll call it The Immortal Palace!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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. \u201cMr. Xue, we finally found you!\u201d Seeing Zuo Meng thrilled Li Yuanyuan. Compared to Luo San, he seemed far more reliable\u2014she\u2019d personally witnessed him slay a demon bear\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[3],"tags":[],"fcn_genre":[],"fcn_fandom":[],"fcn_character":[],"fcn_content_warning":[],"class_list":["post-1423","fcn_chapter","type-fcn_chapter","status-publish","hentry","category-dreaming-to-become-a-creator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fcn_chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1423"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_chapter\/1423\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1423"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_genre?post=1423"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_fandom","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_fandom?post=1423"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_character","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_character?post=1423"},{"taxonomy":"fcn_content_warning","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmp.gravitytales.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fcn_content_warning?post=1423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}