“I am a worldly traveler from the Taiyin Sect, and I came to Shu Mountain specifically to find you.”

The woman in black… well, the gender-ambiguous figure in black spoke to Chu Liang.

A worldly traveler from the Taiyin Sect is akin to the chief disciple of Shu Mountain, representing the face of the sect and handling affairs outside, usually the best among the younger generation.

Chu Liang and Lin Bei were both taken aback because the person in front of them clearly had a purely feminine appearance, but when they spoke… it was rather rough?

“You…” Chu Liang looked at the other party, about to ask about this matter.

But then they spoke again in a deep and robust voice: “My name is Luo Xiaoyong.”

Well, no need to ask anymore.

No one has ever heard of a girl with that name.

“I’m sorry, Brother Luo.” Chu Liang sat down and apologized first, “My friend previously thought you were… a bit presumptuous, but your appearance is indeed very deceptive, I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s not the first time this has happened.” Luo Xiaoyong said indifferently, but then changed the subject: “However, among the many lecherous people I’ve met, there aren’t many as presumptuous as him.”

“Hehe.” Chu Liang could only laugh awkwardly.

“But…” Lin Bei still had a trace of doubt, “Isn’t the Taiyin Sect only accepting women? How did you join?”

Luo Xiaoyong said: “I’m here to investigate, I don’t think I need to explain this to you.”

Lin Bei scratched his head, his eyes full of longing.

The only male disciple in the Taiyin Sect, which is full of beautiful women… that sounds too good to be true.

Chu Liang asked: “May I know what Brother Luo came to ask me?”

“A few days ago, a man who claimed to be the Whale Riding Immortal came to the Taiyin Sect, wanting the coffin of our ancestor in the forbidden area of our sect. Of course, the elders in the sect would not agree. He broke into the tomb that night and stole the ancient coffin of Xuanbing.” Luo Xiaoyong said: “Now our sect has issued a worldly kill order, hunting this person across the four seas. I heard that you had an encounter with this person in the South Sea before, I wonder if you could provide some clues.”

“Whale Riding Immortal…” Chu Liang pondered.

Was it the person who was suspected to be Sister Jiang’s father?

Speaking of which, the lantern fish he caught at that time could also be considered as the tomb of a Heavenly Immortal, and now he went to rob the tomb of the Taiyin Sect… Could this person be a professional tomb raider?

If he told everything, indeed there was some information that could be given to the Taiyin Sect, such as the mysterious little girl he was with, and his connection with Sister Jiang… But of course, Chu Liang couldn’t tell everything.

He needed time to think.

So Chu Liang asked back: “Before I answer this question, I actually want to know how you joined the Taiyin Sect, Brother Luo?”

Luo Xiaoyong looked at him strangely.

“Everyone knows that the Taiyin Sect only accepts women. With the doubts about your identity, Brother Luo, I really don’t know if I should answer your question.” Chu Liang said.

“…” Luo Xiaoyong pondered for a moment, then said: “Actually, it’s no harm telling you.”

He recounted: “My family was originally a landlord in a mountain village in the north. My parents thought I was intelligent and didn’t want me to waste my life, so they hoped I could embark on the path of cultivation. My father spent a lot of money to buy a cultivation method from the black market, which was said to be from the Nine Heavens Immortal Gate, and brought it home for me to practice.”

“I figured it out myself and cultivated to the peak of the third realm.”

Hearing this, Chu Liang was slightly surprised.

You should know that without any guidance or cultivation resources, if you just give a cultivation method to someone, out of ten thousand people, probably nine thousand nine hundred of them would not be able to get started.

Those complex and difficult cultivation paths, ordinary people might not even understand them, let alone practice them. But Luo Xiaoyong figured it out himself and not only got started, but also cultivated to the peak of the third realm!

It’s simply shocking!

This talent can almost be described as monstrous.

“After a few years of cultivation, I also noticed something was wrong. My appearance was becoming more and more feminine, and my temperament was becoming more and more indifferent. It seemed that this cultivation method was changing me.”

“But I had never been out to experience the world, and I knew almost nothing about the cultivation world. It wasn’t until I had cultivated to the end of the method that I thought about going out to find the fourth realm cultivation method. After wandering in the Jianghu for a while, I also joined some small sects. But soon I found that no matter which sect’s cultivation method could not match the one I had practiced before.”

Chu Liang vaguely guessed what had happened.

Usually, those mixed cultivation methods can be practiced, and even most of the non-mainstream cultivators are mixed. Unless it’s a more extreme cultivation method, it’s hard to match the next realm cultivation method, such as Taiyin, Taiyang…

“After a while, I found out that the cultivation method my father bought was indeed from the Nine Heavens Immortal Gate… but it was from the Taiyin Sect!”

“Pfft.” Lin Bei couldn’t help but laugh, and immediately stopped.

“What are you laughing at?” Luo Xiaoyong glanced at him.

“Nothing, I just thought of something happy.” Lin Bei quickly explained.

Luo Xiaoyong ignored him and continued: “So I went to Yinhuashan in the north, hoping to get the next realm cultivation method from the Taiyin Sect. It was only after I arrived that I found out that they only accept women… The elders in the sect were very surprised that I could cultivate to this point, and they were even more surprised that I was a man… Especially surprised that a man could cultivate the sect’s cultivation method to this point…”

“Pfft.” Chu Liang couldn’t help but laugh.

It’s really pitiful.

A true genius of the world, because of a mistake in cultivation, embarked on the path of Taiyin… It’s indeed a bit sad to think about it. With Luo Xiaoyong’s talent, if he practiced the cultivation method of Shu Mountain, his progress would probably not be less than Xu Ziyang’s.

But it’s also funny.

This laugh might cost ten years of merit.

“What are you laughing at?” Luo Xiaoyong glared at him again.

“I also thought of something happy.” Chu Liang propped up half of his face with his hand, no longer showing his expression.Luo Xiaoyong continued, “They deliberated for a long time and finally decided to let me stay and teach me to form the Taiyin Golden Elixir. I didn’t disappoint my elders. My cultivation quickly surpassed my peers, and no one in the sect could match me. Thus, I was chosen as the representative of this generation.”

This was not surprising.

From Luo Xiaoyong’s perspective, if he wanted to change his cultivation method at that time, he would have to abandon all his cultivation and start over from body forging. But that would be equivalent to destroying his foundation, and it was very likely that he would never be able to form the elixir in this life. A genius of this era would be cut off.

From the perspective of the Taiyin Sect, it was a good thing to keep a genius.

Even if it was a male genius.

But what about it?

Times have changed, and men and women are the same.

Pfft.

……

“Brother Luo, your experience is truly shocking and can be described as a peerless genius.” Chu Liang adjusted his mood and complimented seriously.

“Now that I have told you about my background, I hope you can answer my questions truthfully.” Luo Xiaoyong said.

“Alright.” Chu Liang nodded, “I indeed met the Whale-Riding Immortal…”

“Previously, I went to the Immortal Swamp to find the Ascension Grass. Because I wanted to save a little girl who fell into the water, I jumped into the depths of the swamp and accidentally entered an ancient tomb in the belly of a fish, where I found the Ascension Grass.” Chu Liang slowly recounted his carefully prepared words: “Not long after, when I escaped from the belly of the fish, I found that I had arrived at the South Sea. It was that man who caught the big fish. He called himself the Whale-Riding Immortal. He then took the little girl away, and I returned to Shu Mountain. There wasn’t much interaction between us.”

What Chu Liang said was basically the truth, except he omitted the part about Sister Jiang. If he hid too much, the story wouldn’t be coherent, and Luo Xiaoyong would notice. It’s better to tell the truth and just omit some parts.

Luo Xiaoyong nodded and suddenly asked, “Do you know the identity of that little girl?”

“No.” Chu Liang immediately answered, “I was just wondering how a little girl could appear in the Immortal Swamp. I thought she might be a transformed evil spirit, but she wasn’t. That’s why I jumped in to save her when she fell into the water.”

“So you followed that little girl into the ancient tomb in the belly of the fish. You accidentally entered, and she did too?” Luo Xiaoyong continued to ask.

Chu Liang felt a bit of pressure. This man was indeed sharp. He didn’t dwell on his shallow impression of the Whale-Riding Immortal, but instead asked about the details.

He answered truthfully, “She probably didn’t. It seemed like she intended to enter.”

This was a very conservative answer. In reality, the little girl seemed to be returning home. Chu Liang didn’t want to reveal that the tomb owner was from the Jiang family and the secret origin of the Ascension Grass, so he was a bit reserved.

“Do you know who the owner of the tomb is?” Luo Xiaoyong asked again.

“I don’t know.” Chu Liang shook his head.

A ripple seemed to spread in Luo Xiaoyong’s eyes. His heart was as clear as a mirror, and he immediately said, “You’re lying.”

Chu Liang immediately realized that the other party must have a method similar to the Heart-Reflecting Candle.

Previously, he had omitted key parts, and the rest of his experiences were true, so he wasn’t found out. But now that he had told a lie, he was immediately caught.

So he chuckled and said, “Because this matter involves the origin of the Ascension Grass, it’s a very important secret, but it has nothing to do with the identity of the Whale-Riding Immortal. So I didn’t think it was appropriate to tell Brother Luo. Please forgive me.”

Luo Xiaoyong nodded slightly.

Chu Liang openly admitted that he was lying, which dispelled his doubts. After all, he was here to ask for help, not to interrogate a criminal. The other party had no obligation to tell him everything, especially when it involved the interests of the sect.

“You said he caught that big fish, so the fishing rod he used must be a magical tool, right?” Luo Xiaoyong suddenly asked, “Do you remember what it looked like?”

What a tricky question.

But Chu Liang immediately understood why he asked. Because fishing rods are rare magical tools. Unless it’s a tool he made himself, it’s not hard to find out its history. Following this history, it’s possible to investigate his identity.

Trying to catch a powerful figure in the world is harder than reaching the sky. But if you find out his identity and history, you’ll have a clue.

Chu Liang didn’t hide anything and described it roughly: “It was a white rod with a golden line. It looked quite valuable.”

“Good.” Luo Xiaoyong said, “That’s about it. Thank you for your cooperation.”

As he got up to leave, Lin Bei suddenly asked, “Brother Luo, I actually have one more question.”

“Hmm?” Luo Xiaoyong turned to look at him.

His eyes seemed to say, I’d like to see what ivory can come out of your mouth…

Lin Bei asked sincerely, “Actually, I want to ask, since your Taiyin Sect has accepted the first male disciple and broken the rules, is there a possibility of accepting a second one? I… I don’t have to practice the sect’s cultivation method, I can just contribute… Because I’ve had a dream of joining the Taiyin Sect since I was a child…”

Luo Xiaoyong looked at him and once again uttered that word in a deep voice: “Scram.”