Chapter 153: Shizun’s Most Hated Sect Leader

Even if he were to get infuriated, he still had to hurry on his way. After bidding farewell to Mei Hanxue, they ascended from Dai City and walked for over an hour before finally arriving at the world’s greatest sect — Linyi Rufeng Sect. From the name, it was clear that the Rufeng Sect was situated in Linyi, and seventy-two big and small immortal mansions were built in a long stretch within the city. Since the mansions were massive estates and it’d take at least a whole meal’s worth of time on horseback to go from the front entrance to the back entrance. These mansions were matter-of-factly called “cities”. The seventy two cities of the Rufeng Sect each had their own duties, their ranking system clear, and evidently a whole world of difference compared to the measly pot of weeds that was in Sisheng Peak— they stood on completely different levels. Even Xue Meng, who despised the people of the Upper Cultivation World, couldn’t help but be stunned at the entrance to the cities. Rufeng Sect, descendants of the divine. Those words did not describe them falsely. They came to the main city, which was also the largest city in the entire Rufeng Sect. The white walls and tiles, from the top to the bottom, the four corners of the tower, towering high in the sky, southeast and northwest of the four sides of the stone queue of stars, the main city gates painted gold and red, stretched out of the carriage road five feet wide, a long endless road, paved with the top-grade refining stones. You don’t need to do anything with this kind of stone. Just stand on top and you can gather your spiritual power. Although there were not much collection, everyone knows the principle of gathering sand into a tower, so each of these stones could be sold for more than a thousand gold. Xue Zhengyong sighed, “It’s good to be rich…” Madam Wang laughed. “You want to lay down a path of refining stones at the Sisheng Peak even with money?” “No, I will lay down a square of these in every village in the lower cultivation world. This stone is full of spiritual power, and ordinary little ghosts and little monsters will dare to approach it. If we can make one in every village, then if it encounters some demons, our disciples wouldn’t have to rush and would be able to hide in time.” Xue Zhengyong mumbled to himself as he counted with his fingers. He shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, I can’t afford it.” Hearing this, Xue Meng sighed as well. “Sisheng Peak, alas, is a bit poor.” “Yeah.” Xue Zhengyong nodded his head like he was pounding garlic, “We all cultivate Taoism, I wonder where the Rufeng Sect got so much money from.” At this point, Chu Wanning, who had been silent all this time, spoke, “Sect Leader knows that ordinary disciples of the Rufeng Sect eliminate demons. How much does it cost for the people to entrust them?” “I’ve never asked around. How much do you need?” Chu Wanning extended four fingers. “Four hundred silver?” Xue Zhengyong’s eyes widened. “That expensive?” “Four thousand gold,” Chu Wanning replied. “...” “There are a lot of wealthy people in the upper cultivation world. It’s easy for the Rufeng Sect to earn money, but with the Sect Leader’s eighty silver per commission method of earning money, how can we catch up to them? Moreover, sometimes the Sect Leader doesn’t even take a single cent.” Chu Wanning said, but his eyes were gentle, “Let’s go into the city.” Large sects often tend to treat people with absolute respect. The Ceremony Department of the Rufeng Sect had been waiting at the city gate these days. Although they were smiling at everyone, they were clear in their hearts about the guests and the importance of the guests. A small wandering cultivator would accompany them on a tour around the area before bringing them to their residence. As for the smaller sects, they would lead them to see the managing guardian elder, who would then receive them. As for the top of the top ten sects, the Rufeng Sect did not put on any airs and directly invited them to the heated pavilion to rest. After the Rufeng Sect’s head, Nangong Liu, was done with his work, he would come to the Warm Pavilion to meet the esteemed guests. The pavilion was burning with strong ambergris incense and the soft carpet could almost sink half of your foot when stepped on it. Inside the pavilion were alluring and delicate camellias, one with eight flowers of different colors to the same plant, which were called the “Eight Immortals Cross The Sea”, another with the white petals and small scarlet dots on it called as the “Vibrance in Nude”, and one more with its petal veins dyed in strings of red called the “Frail Beauty Leaning”. Xue Meng did not understand. Seeing that one of the tea cups was so lovely with a pair of black spots on it, he felt it to be fun and reached out his hand to touch it. Chu Wanning said, “Don’t touch it.” “Why?” Chu Wanning didn’t say anything and just shook his head. Madam Wang sighed and said, “Such a precious item is only kept for the sight. It would sell for more than ten thousand taels of gold.” “...” With a ghastly face, Xue Meng retracted his hand and slumped into the cushions of the taishi chair. [TL/N: Taishi chair is also used to denote the high standards of the owner.] He thought back to the ranking list he had seen in the bookstall before. Back then, he was angry because he wasn’t among the top 100 young elites of the cultivation world, but now, he felt that that book was sincerely not deceiving him. A huge black character was printed on his forehead: Poor. But having thought about it, he didn’t know where the book had gone. He hadn’t even finished flipping through it before he’d lost it… After a while, the curtains made of red coral and freshwater pearls creaked. Two delicate and dainty ladies, dressed in snow-white gowns in the Rufeng dressing style, arrived and lifted the curtains, dropped their eyes and bent their knees, their voices like the warbler’s. “The Sect Leader has arrived.” With that, a man in his forties walked in with a smile. His appearance was ordinary and somewhat boorish, like someone who would immediately drown if thrown into a crowd of people. Other than his fair skin, there wasn’t anything special about him. However the moment he opened his mouth, Mo Ran who was sitting there, almost squirted out his tea—— “Aiya, Sect Leader Xue, Sect Leader Xue, I was anticipating the stars and moon, hoping that you could come to Rufeng Sect soon. Look at you, extremely handsome and imposing. A hero of the world, who can compare to you! Great, great, how humble and flourishing! Great! Great!” [TL/N: Here Nangong Liu addressed himself as 区区, which means “a nobody”.] Xue Meng: “...” Mo Ran: “...” The dignified head of the number one sect in the world, facing the last ranked dead leader of the top ten sects, he was actually sparing no effort and giving praises without restraint. Each of the three “great” words he spoke was more generous than the last. [TL/N: The “dead” actually doesn’t mean dead here. It’s to emphasize the last position in the ranking.] He praised Xue Zhengyong so hard that Xue Zhengyong, of course, enjoyed the praise he gave to him. He smiled and said, “No, not at all. Sect Leader Nangong Liu is being too polite.” “I am not being polite, I envy Master Xue from the bottom of my heart. Master Xue is a generation of heroes, awe-inspiring, and teaches people to worship. And look at me, people in middle age are not interested in listening to me, who is already like a dead meat, empty fat, really ashamed to be inferior.” Nangong Liu’s words were filled with enthusiasm. Xue Zhengyong originally wanted to hold back but the tail of a peacock couldn’t be held in and it started to unfold: “I don’t dare, I don’t dare to. Haha, hahahaha, Sect Leader Nangong Liu is too humble.” In his previous life, Mo Ran had never interacted with Nangong Liu before. When he was slaughtering his way through the Rufeng Sect Gate, this person just quickly ran away. Mo Ran couldn’t be bothered with him, such a miscellaneous person. He didn’t care if he died by his sabre, spear, stick or escaped and hid his identity for the rest of his life. This was the first time in his life that he had such a close meeting with Nangong Liu. However, when he heard his tone, Mo Ran disliked it. He lowered his voice and said, “It turns out that the head of the world’s number one sect, the magic is in his mouth.” Xue Meng heard what he said, he seldom agreed with him. He said in a low voice, “That’s right, the moment he opened his mouth... he truly has a sharp tongue on him. I can’t even smell the fragrance of flowers in the room anymore. Tsk tsk, what’s left is only the sweet talk coming out of Nangong Liu’s mouth.” After Nangong Liu finished praising the elders, he came to praise the young ones. “Aiyo, isn’t this the pride of the heavens, Young Master Xue?” The poor Young Master Xue Meng was indeed quite poor. He cupped his hands in an indifferent manner: “Sect Leader Nangong Liu.” “Truly a young and handsome hero! So powerful! Look at this nose, these eyes, tsk tsk, amazing! The spirit! As expected, a tiger father doesn’t have a dog son!” Xue Meng: “...” Nangong Liu turned around and said to Xue Zhengyong, “Brother Xue, I am truly envious of you. Look, across the entire world, which Young Master has half an inch of air for a son as you? Speaking of me, in such a vast cultivation world with so many outstanding youths, if your son is ranked second, then no one can be considered as number one!” Xue Meng originally held it and hated him, but Nangong Liu didn’t seem to see the alienation on Xue Meng’s face at all. He threw a basket full of warm praises at Xue Meng, causing the perfectly fine Young Master Xue to feel like fainting. When he once again whispered to Mo Ran, he said, “Cough, this Sect Leader Nangong Liu, although he is exaggerating a bit, he is speaking the truth.” “What’s the truth?” Mo Ran found this funny. He squinted his eyes and said, “Saying that if you’re number two, no one would dare claim to be number one?” “What’s wrong, I’m from the Spirit Mountain Great Assembly…” “That was a competition, and many rogue cultivators did not participate. Do you think that the heroes of the realms can truly compete in that small arena?” “...” Xue Meng’s face flushed red. After a while, he muttered indignantly, “Forget it, I know you’re envious of me.” If they were still young, Mo Ran would definitely mock him again but the words that were about to come out of his mouth didn’t. He felt that with Xue Meng’s competitive and narcissistic temperament, there was nothing to argue about. Thus, he nodded and smiled, “Okay okay okay okay, I envy you, you’re the best.” However, when he looked at Nangong Liu again, the smile in Mo Ran’s eyes disappeared. In this world, there were many types of villains. Some people were unscrupulous and their sins would reach the heavens. The entire world wished to kill them and get rid of them as soon as possible. However, there were some people who were extremely powerful with their sharp tongues. These types were able to flatter others. They were clearly rotten to the core yet they were not despised by the crowd. In his previous life, Mo Ran was the first type, but he didn’t hate the good people who went against him. He neither hated Mei Hanxue nor Xue Meng. He even admired Ye Wangxi. What he hated the most were people like Nangong Liu. As long as there was anything they could use, they would kneel on the ground and lick other people’s hemorrhoids. Damn, carbuncle and hemorrhoids sucker. Ever since Nangong Liu came in, Chu Wanning had been standing by the window, watching the neat and magnificent scene outside the Rufect building. The wind was blowing strongly from high up, causing the fragrant curtain covering the window to become hazy. Chu Wanning stood in the mist, Nangong Liu’s face was filled with warmth for a moment before he quickly tidied himself up and walked towards the window. “Chu-zongshi…” Chu Wanning didn’t look at him. With an indifferent expression, he said, “Sect Leader Nangong Liu, you and I have known each other for long.” The muslin that was as soft as spring water blew against his face because of the east wind, causing Chu Wanning to become impatient. He raised his hand to block the annoying thing and said, “No need for pleasantries.” Nangong Liu smiled and said, “I have no other intentions for being a mere proper person. I’ve not seen Zongshi for so many years and so wanted to greet you, that’s all. Zongshi, why do you always keep people at arm’s length?” “I’ve come here for Nangong Si.” Chu Wanning still did not turn around, “Not for you.” “No matter what you came for, I’m still very happy to see you. Si’er will also be very happy to see you. Although you didn’t take him in as your disciple, you have shown him great kindness and enlightened him. After you left, he would often tell me that he misses you.” [TL/N: Si’er here is being addressed to Nangong Si.] “...” Seeing that Chu Wanning finally did not retort, Nangong Liu continued to speak, “Zongshi, when the Cai Die Town was facing the massive sky split, you suddenly stepped forward, causing the world to sigh in admiration. Later on, you were saved by master Huai Zhui who was guilty and you returned to Yuanyang. Rufeng Sect has specially prepared twenty top-grade Soul Nurturing Pills for you to help immortal scholars of the world to express their goodwill towards Zongshi. I hope that Zongshi can accept them —” “Nangong Liu.” Chu Wanning finally looked back at him, but the way he addressed him had changed. He withdrew his arm from the muslin and suddenly turned around, his slender figure seeming to merge with the sunlight. His eyes were like fiery lightning, his brows were furrowed in cold frosty expression, and his gaze was extremely sinister. “Don’t put me on such a high pedestal that cannot be climbed down from. How can the Rufeng Sect like this thank a mere me on behalf of all the Immortal warriors in the world? Who gave you the face to do so?” “...” The corner of Nangong Liu’s mouth twitched but his charming smile did not fall. After a while, he said, “Why do you think that…” Xue Zhengyong knew that the relationship between Chu Wanning and Nangong Liu was not good, and the entire cultivation world knew that when Chu Wanning was fifteen years old, Nangong Liu acknowledged him as a guest of honour. He ate well, drank well and lived as well like a god. But a few years later, Chu Wanning suddenly fell out with Nangong Liu in front of everyone. The two of them were talking about Jin Cheng Chi, Godly Martial Arts, the requests of the monsters at the bottom of the lake, the morals and the long illness of the Rufeng sect and some madam. The bystanders were all completely confused by what they heard. However, everyone knew that in the end, Chu Wanning was unable to contain his rage and stood up in anger. At that time, he was paid ten thousand gold coins and received over a thousand spiritual stones and talismans every month but he didn’t take a single penny, he didn’t want to. He stood in front of the hall and untied the cosmic bag at his waist, returning all the remaining money. Then, with a dark face and no words, he took down the jade crown that Nangong Liu had previously given to his guest, the top-grade Shizun Jade Crown. His long hair was scattered about, and he returned the jade crown to the ceremonial officer of the Rufeng Sect. This was part of the story that many storytellers of the lower cultivation world loved to talk about. Nangong Liu had ugly expressions at that time, but still tried to make a round of it, so he said to Chu-zongshi, “Since Immortal Elder Chu has worked in our sect for so long, even if you have to leave now, we still have to settle the score. The Rufeng Sect does not want to have any words that would take advantage of usual.” However, Chu-zongshi replied, “Back in the day, I only served the Hall to repay Madam Rong for a single meal. Now that Madam has passed away, I have no intention of staying. There’s no need for money, I’m ashamed of my salary.” With that, he closed his eyes and turned around, bidding his farewells to the Rufeng Sect. At first, Xue Zhengyong thought that the storyteller was exaggerating, so he tried to ask Chu Wanning how the Rufeng Sect had offended him. However, Chu Wanning didn’t like to talk about people behind his back, so he could only shake his head and never go into detail. But from the looks of it, Mr. storyteller’s words might actually be true. When Madam Wang saw the tense atmosphere, she couldn’t help but step out to smooth things over. She said softly, “Elder Yuheng, don’t be angry. What if you ruin your health?” Then, she turned around and bowed towards Nangong Liu, “Nangong Xianjun, we appreciate your kindness but Sisheng peak does not lack spiritual stones and precious medicines. We cannot accept your Soul Nurturing Pills…” “Haha, Madam Wang is right. It’s just a mere miscalculation.” Nangong Liu picked up his steps before speaking in a friendly manner, “Elder Yuheng, please don’t be offended. Please do not take it to heart.” Mo Ran watched on from the side and thought to himself, “This person was just splashed in the face with cold water by his Shizun and yet could still smile so calmly. Truly amazing.” As he thought of this, he lowered his head and took a sip of the Sunshine Snow Green Tea. Who would’ve thought that just as he was drinking his tea, Nangong Liu had already arrived before him with a smile on his face.