“You are Commander Zhang from the Human Emperor Palace?”
“And you are the current Envoy of the Dharma Body Sect?”
Zhang Konghu and Li Nian’er both hadn’t expected the other’s identity. The two looked at each other with surprise and mutual respect, knowing full well the standing of the other’s faction. However, Li Nian’er’s surprise was greater.
The Human Emperor Palace and the Dharma Body Sect had always maintained cordial relations. Strictly speaking, Zhang Konghu was her senior.
“Boss, give me one Earth-Class room,” Zhang Konghu said, slapping a few spirit stones onto the counter with casual dominance.
The amount he gave was exactly enough for one night—no more, no less. The innkeeper immediately rubbed his hands nervously.
“How could I dare take your money, sir? For someone of your status… You’d prefer a Heaven-Class room, yes? I’ll have one cleared right away!”
The innkeeper knew that a Commander of the Human Emperor Palace was at least a Union Stage expert—someone a mere Qi Refinement cultivator like him could only look up to from afar. He still vividly remembered that time when a Spirit Transformation cultivator stayed here.
The man had been polite enough, yet because the innkeeper hadn’t taken the hint to refuse payment himself, the guest had grown slightly displeased and casually “disciplined” him. He’d ended up bedridden for three months. This time, he had learned his lesson.
The moment he saw a big figure, he made sure to offer the room for free so no offense could be taken.
“How can I not pay? Running an inn and hosting guests is not charity,” Zhang Konghu frowned, forcing the spirit stones into the innkeeper’s trembling hands.
“And aren’t all the Heaven-Class rooms already taken?”
“There will be one right away!” the innkeeper replied hastily, glancing toward the door where a young man stood eating candied hawthorns.
He quickly moved toward Jiang Li, planning to ask him to vacate his Heaven-Class room and shift to an Earth-Class one.
In fact, had Zhang Konghu and Li Nian’er not shown up and scared off another guest earlier, the innkeeper had already been planning to do that—to throw out the boy and free up a Heaven-Class room for the esteemed visitor. Jiang Li’s appearance had changed somewhat, and so Zhang Konghu failed to recognize him.
But when the innkeeper moved toward Jiang Li, Zhang Konghu extended a hand and stopped him.
“First come, first served. How could you drive away someone who already checked in? Is that how you see the Human Emperor Palace—abusing power and acting arrogant?”
The innkeeper froze.
“If you insist on that attitude,” Zhang Konghu continued, his voice cold, “I’ll simply stay elsewhere.”
Jiang Li walked in, still munching on his candied hawthorn, and said with a faint smile, “It’s not that the Human Emperor Palace has a bad reputation; it’s just the innkeeper has been bullied by high-ranking cultivators one too many times.” He tossed out several spirit stones.
“No need to change inns. We’ll stay here. Boss, two Earth-Class rooms—count them under my name.”
The tone and manner of speech instantly made Zhang Konghu realize who the youth was. The one eating candied hawthorn was none other than Brother Jiang.
“Konghu, Niece Li, come up,” he said.
Li Nian’er didn’t yet know that this was the Human Emperor Jiang himself, but seeing Zhang Konghu’s respectful attitude, she followed him to the room that had just been prepared.
“You’re the daughter of Li Er?”
Jiang Li asked.
“Yes, my father is Li Er, Sect Master of the Dharma Body Sect.”
Li Nian’er met Jiang Li’s eyes and felt an inexplicable pressure weigh on her chest—heavier even than when she faced her own father.
Li Er.
The name wasn’t a nickname but his proper title—Sect Master Li Er of the Dharma Body Sect.
“Li Er has a family?”
Zhang Konghu asked, a bit startled. He’d known Li Er for years but had never heard of him being married.
“Seems he kept it quiet,” Jiang Li said with a soft chuckle.
“This is the first time I’ve learned that Li Er took a wife.”
Jiang Li looked around.
“There’s no outsider here—you should recognize me. My name is Jiang Li.”
He revealed his true appearance. Li Nian’er’s bright eyes widened slightly.
“Y-you’re… Human Emperor Jiang!”
She removed the protective jade pendant from her neck, and with a wave of her hand, the illusion she’d been shrouded in dissolved. Before Zhang Konghu and Jiang Li now stood not an ordinary girl but an absolutely stunning woman—golden-haired and blue-eyed, her figure slender and enticing, with curves both graceful and proud.
Yet it was the pair of small dragon horns on her head that drew all the attention. A dragon maiden.
“So that’s why Li Er never mentioned…”
Zhang Konghu began, but Jiang Li shot him a sharp glance that stopped the words dead in his throat—specifically the half-formed, “Turns out he married a True Dragon.” He immediately realized the inappropriateness of his remark. It was fine to tease Li Er about such a thing in person, but definitely not his daughter.
The union of humans and spirits wasn’t rare in the Nine Provinces, but many still weren’t entirely comfortable with it. Even if they didn’t scorn it, people often treated it as something worth remarking upon—just as Zhang Konghu had almost done. If such unions became fully commonplace, there would be no teasing, only a casual nod—nothing special at all.
“The jade pendant was given to you by your mother?”
Jiang Li asked.
“Yes.”
Li Nian’er nodded softly. She seldom revealed her true appearance before others and was visibly uneasy doing so. No wonder I didn’t sense the illusion at all, Zhang Konghu thought.
If a True Dragon forged a pendant to veil her daughter’s aura, even a body cultivator like him wouldn’t spot it with a glance. Jiang Li, however, happened to recall that a female True Dragon—sister of the Western Sea Dragon King—was particularly skilled in illusion arts.
“Konghu,” Jiang Li said, turning his attention to the commander, “have you found suitable sites yet?”
“I have.”
Zhang Konghu waved his hand, projecting the shadow of a map into the air. More than ten red marks dotted it—each signifying a location beneath a cliff where the tomb of a Spirit Transformation cultivator lay. Jiang Li resisted the urge to sigh.
What was it with Spirit Transformation cultivators and burying themselves under cliffs? Was it good geomancy or just some fad? And this was just what one commander had gathered.
The others had found just as many. Fortunately, the Nine Provinces had plenty of cliffs; otherwise Jiang Li would’ve worried they’d soon run out of space to bury future Spirit Transformation experts. He could already imagine how it might go in the future.
“Fellow Daoist, your tomb looks wonderful—quiet spot beneath the cliff, quite serene. Mind if I build mine right next to yours? Silence means consent, eh?”
“Hmm,” Li Nian’er said, pointing at one of the red-marked spots.
“I was just about to head to this one.”
Zhang Konghu frowned.
“I just came back from there. There’s only one Spirit Transformation cultivator buried at that site. What business do you have there?”
For ordinary cultivators, a Spirit Transformation tomb was a mixture of boundless peril and unimaginable fortune. But for an envoy of the Dharma Body Sect like Li Nian’er, such tombs were merely of academic interest—half-useful, half-worthless.
“Hehe, Senior Zhang, you might not know,” Li Nian’er said with a playful smile.
“That Spirit Transformation cultivator was from the Beast Taming Sect. He was said to have left behind a volume titled ‘Atlas of Immortal Beasts.’
“If one studies that atlas, one can perceive the forms and majesty of various Immortal Beasts. It’s not of much use to other sects, but to our Dharma Body Sect, that’s a rare and valuable treasure.”
“I only recently managed to learn of this.”
“I see.”
Zhang Konghu nodded in understanding. The cultivation methods of the Dharma Body Sect were indeed unlike any other sects. Their practice revolved around shaping one’s Dharma Body, using the act of visualization as the foundation.
They observed and visualized all things between Heaven and Earth, drawing upon the strengths of all beings to shape their own unique Dharma Body. Yet one couldn’t visualize something vastly beyond one’s own level—Li Er, for instance, often visualized Jiang Li himself, hoping to someday craft a Dharma Body as mighty as him.
But to this day, what Li Er managed to visualize could hardly be recognized as“human.” The images in the Atlas of Immortal Beasts represented Immortal Beasts at less than one ten‑thousandth of their true might—perfect for safe visualization. The Dharma Body Sect possessed similar records but had not included all species of Immortal Beasts.
Thus, Li Nian’er intended to visit that Spirit Transformation cultivator’s tomb, hoping to fill in the missing details for the Sect’s collection.
(End of Chapter)