“You look decent. Your cultivation is so-so. You’d be just right for a maid or something.”

The entire venue fell silent once again. Decent. So-so. Maid.

Zhao Mengyou’s brain buzzed. She trembled slightly, completely dumbfounded.

Feng Xi glanced at her. “What? Got a problem?”

Zhao Mengyou couldn’t speak anymore. Is that the issue here?!

In the distance, even Gu Han didn’t know what to say. “Senior Sister, this is—”

Zuo Yang was surprisingly calm. “It’s fine. Can’t a divine maiden be a maid? Didn’t I come here to be a chef? Besides, you really do need someone to take care of you right now.”

Gu Han was silent for a moment. “I don’t like her.”

This nearly made Zhao Mengyou completely break down. Even when the dignified Divine Maiden was offered as a maid, they still showed no interest

Di Kan rubbed his chin. “Actually, I don’t like this type either.”

The group of demons exchanged glances. Let’s not even talk about your aesthetic tastes... Tsk!

Elder Li and the other guardians were so angry they could barely form a complete sentence. “What... This is going too far!”

In the air above, the man laughed so hard he nearly fell off his cloud. “Old Man Tiansheng, isn’t this basically a slap to your face? The dignified divine maiden, offered as maid, and they actually don’t like her? You know, I’m not one to stir up trouble, but if this happened to me, I definitely couldn’t tolerate it!”

The Tiansheng hall master said nothing. Zhang Kun was one thing. Even if Feng Xi didn’t deal with that scourge, the hall master absolutely wouldn’t let him off lightly. On the other hand, Zhao Mengyou was the divine maiden of this generation, the face of the Tiansheng Hall.

Feng Xi and Gu Han had basically ripped away the Tiansheng Hall’s pride, stomped on it twice until it was thoroughly shredded, before casually tossing it back. The hall master could tolerate anything else, but not this!

His voice, carrying a trace of saint might, dispersed the pervasive clouds and mists. “Such big talk from a little girl! Not even the Flame Emperor would be this rude!”

Along with this, the Tiansheng hall master landed before the crowd. The shirtless big man hesitated for a moment, then followed him down. He knew their arrival couldn’t be hidden from the old man anyway.

After seeing the burly man, Di Kan quickly bowed. “Old Ancestor, why are you here?”

The burly man waved his hand. “Came to watch the fun. Oh, right. How many pills did you gain from the trip to the Profound Pill Pavilion?”

Di Kan’s smile froze. Old Ancestor, let’s just talk about watching the fun, alright?

After seeing the Tiansheng hall master appear, Zhao Mengyou breathed a long sigh of relief. “Master, I—”

She was still under immense pressure due to Feng Xi. In fact, if the hall master hadn’t appeared, she would really have switched profession to a maid.

The Tiansheng hall master just stared at Feng Xi. “Was it you who said you wanted my disciple to be your maid?”

Facing a Saint realm cultivator, Feng Xi remained calm. “You misunderstood. Not my maid, but my junior brother’s.”

The Tiansheng hall master nearly laughed in anger. Is the issue who she’d be serving?!

His expression turned unfriendly. “Little girl, don’t think you can do whatever you want just because the Flame Emperor backs you. The Eastern Wasteland isn’t your family’s backyard.”

Feng Xi ignored him. “If you say something, you have to bear the consequences. It’s the same for everyone. Even if she’s your so-called divine maiden, she’s no exception.”

The Tiansheng hall master sneered coldly. “My disciple is not for you to discipline!”

Suddenly, a cough sounded, clearly reaching everyone’s ears.

The blind old man said slowly, "You two, come to think of it, we haven’t seen each other for several hundred years. You won’t even spare a greeting?”

Upon hearing this, caution flickered in the eyes of the two.

The burly man laughed heartily. “No, no! It’s not that. I’m just afraid of delaying his matters. Besides, today I’m just here to watch the fun. What happens here has nothing to do with me!”

He quickly distanced himself from the affair.

Unable to gauge the old man’s intent, the Tiansheng hall master had to suppress his rising anger, cupping his hands. “Fellow Daoist, it’s been many years. You still look as impressive as ever.”

The blind old man smiled self-deprecatingly. “Impressive? My body fails me more each day. I don’t have many days left to live. What ’impressive’ is there to speak of?”

The two exchanged a glance, instantly understanding. They had also noticed that compared to several hundred years ago, the old man had aged so much. Clearly, he wasn’t far from his last gasp.

The Tiansheng hall master said impassively, “You’re joking! I still remember your sword strike as if it were yesterday!”

With a single strike, he severed the very foundation of a Saint realm cultivator—an act even more difficult than killing them.

The blind old man waved his hand. “You both said it yourself, that was hundreds of years ago. Now, I can barely lift a sword. I’m just waiting for death.”

The two naturally didn’t believe such words. However, they were quite certain that the old man had significant problems and wouldn’t live much longer.

The Tiansheng hall master’s heart eased slightly. “Fellow Daoist, let me handle matters here first, then we can properly catch up.”

“There’s no need for that. My energy is failing. I’ve been out too long and need to return now. However...” The old man waved his hand again, then changed his tone, pointing at Gu Han. “When the little guy is recuperating, he really needs someone to care for him.”

His point was clear as day. Zhao Mengyou instantly turned deathly pale. The old man’s words carried far more weight than Feng Xi’s.

The burly man gave a thumbs up. “Fellow Daoist, excellent judgment! Old Man Tiansheng, your divine maiden has been pampered for so long, her eyes are practically on top of her head. She really does need someone to discipline her!”

The Tiansheng hall master’s expression darkened. “Shut up! Fellow Daoist, what is the meaning of this?!”

The blind old man waved his hand. “Nothing. Don’t misunderstand, it’s purely a personal suggestion. Whether you listen is up to you.”

The Tiansheng hall master took a deep breath. “Your suggestion is truly—”

Before he could finish, a furious voice came from the distance. “How dare you touch the Wu family! Let me see, just who is the sacred being that committed such a vicious act?!”

A humanoid figure dozens of zhang tall, composed purely of primal qi with a blurred face, appeared before the crowd. “Who killed Wu Qian! Who killed the tens of thousands of members of the Wu family! Whose methods are so vicious and cruel? I will not forgive any of them!”

The string of accusations, wrapped in layers of saint might, swept toward them. Without hesitation, Zuo Yang and Gu Tian shielded Gu Han. In his current state, being hit by this saint might would mean death.

The Tiansheng hall master’s pupils constricted as the words slipped out. “An avatar? So strong!“

The big man also looked extremely wary. Even as just an avatar, its cultivation was already much stronger than theirs. What level of cultivation must the main body be?

The humanoid figure bellowed again, full of intimidating power, “I’ll ask once more! Who did it?! If you don’t speak, I’ll kill everyone!”

Everyone’s hearts sank. This newcomer didn’t seem like someone who could be reasoned with.

Suddenly, a sigh sounded once more. Though the sound was soft, it completely suppressed the avatar’s might.

The old man tapped the ground with his wooden staff, his eyelids trembling slightly. In an instant, an unmatched, overbearing sword intent fell upon the scene.

The clouds and mists that had been completely dispersed by the Tiansheng hall master gathered again. As the wind and clouds rolled, they condensed into a hundred-zhang-long giant sword.

The humanoid figure instantly sensed something was wrong. “What... Which Fellow Daoist is this? T-there might be a misunderstanding!”

For several li around, everything was filled with sharp and piercing intent. The giant sword pierced the humanoid figure, dissolving it into nothingness. Yet it didn’t stop. The sword shot into the distance, seemingly seeking out the main body.

The Tiansheng hall master was speechless with shock. Such a powerful expert was gone just like that? Judging by the situation, the main body was also in for serious trouble. Instinctively, he looked at the old man. He was still stooped, unchanged, save for a slight increase in the wrinkles on his face.

He really wanted to retort, “Like hell you can’t lift a sword!”

Seemingly sensing his gaze, the old man asked, “By the way, what were you just about to say to me?”

The Tiansheng hall master’s expression turned solemn. “Fellow Daoist, your suggestion truly speaks to my heart. Mengyou has been pampered since she was a kid, never lacking external things for cultivation. I’ve enabled her. She needs to suffer a bit to understand the hardships of cultivation.”

Zhao Mengyou was baffled.

The blind old man smiled. “I just hope you won’t blame me for meddling in your affairs.”

The Tiansheng hall master waved his hand. “Not at all! This is truly a golden saying! Mengyou, take good care of him... ahem, and don’t throw any more tantrums!”

The burly man didn’t mock the Tiansheng hall master for once. He looked at the old man, then at Gu Han, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. “Di Kan, maybe you should also—”

Di Kan was very taken aback. “Old Ancestor, don’t you get any strange ideas! I like things with fur, he probably doesn’t. Besides, look at me, do I look pampered and spoiled?”

The burly man pondered for a moment. He gave up on this unrealistic idea. Though he clearly understood the hall master’s intentions, he wasn’t shameless enough to bring himself to do it.

The old man had no intention of staying longer.

“Enough. I will head back now.” He sighed softly. “Kid, I hope we still have a chance to meet again.”

Gu Han simply bowed deeply to the old man.

Having watched enough excitement, the burly man grandly waved his hand, departing with Di Kan and the others. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

Zhao Mengyou bit her lip, looking at the hall master. “Master, you...”

It was her one last struggle.

The hall master smiled. “Mengyou, it’s not far. I won’t see you off.”

Zhao Mengyou was speechless. Is that what I was talking about?

Zuo Yang sighed. “Junior Brother, your condition is too severe. We need to get back quickly too. Strange... Where did those two go?”

Of course, he was talking about Shen Xuan and Murong Yan. Logically, since Ah Sha returned alone, the two should have followed. Although they couldn’t fly, they should have made it back by now, given how much time had passed. However, there was no sign of them at all.

***

“Run, bitch, run! I dare you! Yuan guy, today I’m going to kill you for sure!”

Deep within a forest far from the Border Wasteland, Murong Yan and Shen Xuan were chasing after the severely injured Yuan Gang. The man seemed to be at his wit’s end.

Earlier, the two had been about to chase after Ah Sha when they happened upon the fleeing Yuan Gang. With Murong Yan’s fiery temper, she chased after him immediately. Though Yuan Gang used every trick he knew, the two still caught him in the end.

Even Shen Xuan’s eyes held no trace of pity anymore. “Finish him!”

Yang Ying’s death had greatly increased his hatred for Yuan Gang.

Suddenly, a gentle voice came from not far away. “Junior Brother Yuan, why are you in such a mess?”

Yuan Gang showed a flash of ecstasy in his eyes. “S-Senior Brother Luo, save me!”

Instantly, Murong Yan and Shen Xuan became alert.

The next moment, Luo Wushuang appeared before them. He dressed in pure white, not a speck of dust on him. A warm smile spread across his face.