Chapter 1053: I Am the True Her!
A peerlessly beautiful female immortal walked through a bustling street, carrying a vegetable basket. Strangely, no one paid her any attention, as if they couldn’t see her at all.
The female immortal reflected on the intelligence she had just received, her mind drifting as unease slowly crept in.
“A mysterious immortal self-detonated in the Buddhist Kingdom, and that kid Lu Yang was right there at Xitian Temple. There’s no way it’s such a coincidence. That mysterious immortal must be Lu Yang!
“How? How? How could that boy have an Everlasting Incipient Dao Fruit? How did he obtain it?
“His cultivation realm isn’t high enough, so he certainly didn’t condense it himself. That means someone gave it to him!
“Everlasting...it must be that Everlasting has been resurrected. Only she could be capable of that!
“This is terrible... Qing He...”
At this thought, Hui Doudou stopped imitating mortal life. She warped space and instantly arrived at the obscure little eatery.
Carrying her vegetable basket into the kitchen, she saw Qing He still flipping through a cookbook and breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing Hui Doudou return in such a hurry, Qing He closed the cookbook and calmly spoke the words Hui Doudou least wanted to hear.
“You have probably heard about the mysterious immortal appearing in the Buddhist Kingdom. I’m going to find him.”
“No! From now on, you’re not going anywhere!”
Qing He looked directly into Hui Doudou’s bright, furious immortal eyes and enunciated each word. “I. Will. Go!”
Hui Doudou flew into a rage. She instantly teleported to Qing He’s side and grasped her wrist. Qing He was no match for her and was pinned against the wall. A cacophony broke out in the back kitchen as pots, bowls, and other kitchen utensils clattered to the floor.
“Qing He, don’t force my hand! Know your place! I’ve kept you around only because I wanted someone to accompany me. I can replace you anytime!”
Watching Hui Doudou gnash her teeth, Qing He let out a laugh instead, which only made Hui Doudou more agitated.
“What are you laughing at?!”
“At first, I only suspected that the mysterious immortal in the Buddhist Kingdom had some connection to the Mistress. But now, seeing your abnormal reaction, I’m certain my guess is correct.”
Burning with fury, Hui Doudou snorted coldly and released Qing He’s wrist.
“Everlasting, huh? I will kill her and prove that I am the true her!”
~~~
Pushing open the door to Lu Yang’s cave abode, Meng Jingzhou immediately saw Lu Yang’s pretentious smile. “Old Lu, how are you able to come back? I heard you were carried off by a Nian Year Beast during New Year’s.”
“The Nian Year Beast simply took a liking to me and gave me a tour of the Buddhist Kingdom. Why wouldn’t I be able to come back?”
“You ran off to the Buddhist Kingdom again?” Thinking of that nation covered in sand, Meng Jingzhou felt a pang of pity for Lu Yang. He’s been gone for a few months. He must have suffered a lot before making it back.
The Nian Year Beast truly deserves its reputation as an auspicious beast—always doing good things.
“Let me tell you. The Buddhist Kingdom is a wonderful place. When you go there in the future, your brother will look after you!” Lu Yang pounded his chest in assurance, speaking with absolute conviction.
“You are that capable?” Meng Jingzhou looked at him skeptically. I feel like I shouldn’t have asked.
Lu Yang shook his head and sighed with exaggerated modesty. “This humble one, though not particularly talented, became an immortal in the Buddhist Kingdom.”
“Tch. Old Lu, your lies are getting less and less believable.”
“No matter. I knew you wouldn’t believe me, so I kept some evidence.”
Lu Yang gleefully whipped out the recording orb and played the first-person footage of his battle with the Timekeeper Divine Lord. Let me graciously lower myself to explain things to Meng Jingzhou.
“This is the Great Qian’s Timekeeper Divine Lord. He doesn’t have many other abilities, just an Epoch Incipient Dao Fruit that lets him control time. Even Master Mingyu, the abbot of Xitian Temple, was defeated at his hands.
“But hey, talk about a coincidence. I resurrected the Everlasting Immortal Fairy, which counted as great merit and just happened to let me become an immortal.
“I saw that the situation was turning dire, so I reluctantly became an immortal and took this fellow down. See, here’s the Midheaven Emperor-Lord’s clone appearing, and even he was no match for me...
“Later, I even encountered the Epoch Immortal. He praised me as the strongest of the future.”
Meng Jingzhou’s eyes turned green with envy. My character is not at all inferior to Old Lu’s. Why can’t such good fortune come to me?
“Why do I only ever run into minor situations?”
“What minor situations have you encountered?”
“That was about two months ago. I went out on a mission and had intended to keep a low profile. It just so happened that a young lady older than me thought I looked decent and said her grandfather was terminally ill and about to celebrate his birthday. She asked if I could pretend to be her Dao partner, so her grandfather could have a good last birthday.
“Her family was an inconspicuous little ancestral clan—oh, they’re considered a large clan locally.
“I’m always happy to help, so I agreed. Considering it was her grandfather’s birthday, I couldn’t go empty-handed. I casually selected a top-grade Warm Sun Jade from my identity jade tablet.
“Her older cousin didn’t recognize its value and insisted my gift was fake. He claimed he knew people in the imperial city and couldn’t be mistaken. He also said that his cousin had poor eyesight for choosing a Dao partner like me.
“When her grandfather came out, I saw right away that it wasn’t an illness at all—it was just a congenital deficiency of yang energy.
“Just as I was about to reveal my identity, someone from the imperial city arrived to offer birthday greetings. I can’t remember exactly who he was, only that he was someone’s attendant. However, he recognized me and knelt on the spot, addressing me as ‘Eldest Young Master Meng.’ He immediately disassociated himself from the male cousin and declared that he would only do business with that lady in the future.”
Lu Yang was speechless.
How is this worse than my experience? I didn’t even dare reveal my real name at Xitian Temple, yet you could openly flaunt your status!
~~~
Lu Yang handed over the spirit fruits given by the Epoch Immortal to Tang Chuanwu, instructing him to eat them in the dedicated order. Only then did he return to Heaven’s Gate Peak.
“Second-in-Command, you’re back?” Yun Mengmeng smiled happily at the sight of Lu Yang. She trotted over and placed a garland she had just woven on his head. “When you were taken away by the Nian Year Beast, I got such a fright. I thought something terrible might happen to you. I’m so glad you’re back safe.”
“Aiya, what could possibly happen to me? By the way, here are the Buddhist Kingdom specialties I promised.” Lu Yang produced a cubic sand sculpture from behind his back. It was intricately crafted, with attention to every detail.
He had forged it as a magical treasure on his way back, while he still possessed the immortal body. Although he wasn’t exactly skilled in artifact refinement, with the boost from the immortal body, even his casual efforts produced magical treasures of remarkably high quality.
Somehow, two voices echoed in Lu Yang’s mind: one said that the Everlasting Immortal Fairy had already brought Buddhist Kingdom specialties to Yun Mengmeng on his behalf, and another told him that no such thing had happened.
After a moment of internal conflict, Lu Yang decided he should bring her a souvenir from this trip after all.
“Thank you, Second-in-Command!” Yun Mengmeng smiled sweetly and carefully stowed the sand sculpture away, afraid of damaging it.
“Second-in-Command, where is this sand sculpture from?”
Lu Yang explained earnestly, “Due to some special circumstances, if you go to the Buddhist Kingdom now, it’ll be hard to see the Xitian Temple in its complete form. The sand sculpture in your hand shows the Xitian Temple in its most complete state. Just treat it as though you’ve been there.”
