Lu Xuan carried the Fish Basket, walking side-by-side with Yang Erlang. With every step he took, though it seemed to cover only a meter, he bizarrely traversed from one end of the street to the other.

Yet this disjointed scene didn’t attract anyone’s attention. Passersby paid it no mind, as if it were perfectly natural.

Although he couldn’t use the [Human Saint Position] while walking in the Great Heaven and Earth, at his level, with his Cultivation having reached the Grand Grade and his Primordial Body’s training initiated, he could manipulate Cause and Effect.

Even with the universally recognized face of Saint Lu, and even when using Shrinking Inches in a bustling market, as long as he didn’t wish it, no one would feel anything was amiss. They would subconsciously ignore it.

As he walked, Lu Xuan pondered. ’If I’m not mistaken, the Bronze Deep Mountain must be the other half of the Bronze Fragment.

’That Bronze Fragment, possessing the Profound Mysteries of Time that allowed me to travel freely back and forth to Ancient Times, was intercepted by a figure calling himself Taiyi. He took half of it, then threw it into the Current World, where it transformed into a Bronze Divine Mountain...

’What exactly does Taiyi want to do?

’The Bronze Fragment is connected to Time and its Years, so the Bronze Divine Mountain should be as well. Interesting...’

Lost in thought, he had already arrived in front of a store. After a moment’s consideration, he stepped inside.

"How much for this basket of fruit and this case of milk?"

He asked the cashier with a smile.

"The milk is high-quality pure buffalo milk, that’s 120. The fruit is 100."

"Alright."

After handing over a total of 220 yuan in cash, Lu Xuan gave the Fish Basket containing Ben Bo’Erba to Yang Jian. Then, under the other’s astonished gaze, he picked up the milk and fruit basket and walked out of the store.

"What is this... for?"

Yang Jian was a little puzzled.

Lu Xuan just smiled calmly.

"Where I’m from, there’s a custom. You should always bring something when visiting an elder. The things I could offer probably all look the same to someone like that. I might as well just bring a case of milk and a fruit basket."

"Huh??"

Three question marks popped up over Yang Jian’s head.

Lu Xuan paid it no mind.

"It’s just basic etiquette. Come on, let’s go."

As they spoke, the two had already left Wutong City. Using Shrinking Inches, they rapidly approached Gouxian Town and soon drew near the Kongtong Mountain Range.

...

Dragon Tiger Mountain, Celestial Master’s Mansion.

A young woman with crystalline skin and an unparalleled face lay peacefully atop a block of Ningyu. Her eyes were shut tight, her chest rising and falling rhythmically with each breath.

Spiritual World.

"Who are you?"

Xiaoyan looked blankly at the Heaven-Reaching peach tree, and at the young woman beneath it who looked exactly like her.

"I am you, and you are me."

Standing under the peach tree, the young woman was covered in sword and saber wounds. Her Armor was shattered, and blood flowed unceasingly. In some of the deeper wounds, one could even see the stark white of bone.

She chuckled softly.

"To be precise, I am the memories of your past lives. You sealed me here many, many years ago."

"Is that so?" Yan Jiangxue wasn’t alarmed, only asking curiously, "You’re the memory of my past life? Then why did I seal you away?"

"The reasons are complicated. It’s hard to explain."

The battle-scarred young woman stood calmly beneath the Heaven-Reaching peach tree, letting the peach blossoms drift down upon her.

A look of anticipation suddenly appeared on her face as she asked:

"In this life, have you met him?"

"Met who?" Xiaoyan was a bit lost.

"Lu Xuan," the young woman said, coughing up blood as her Armor continued to crack.

"I have, I have!"

Yan Jiangxue’s eyes curved into crescents. As intelligent as she was, she had already grasped a great deal of information from just those few words.

’Xiaolu was Lu Zi in his past life. It seems I was with Xiaolu in my past life, too.’

"Mhm." The young woman smiled lightly and nodded, seeming to breathe a sigh of relief.

Yan Jiangxue then asked another question.

"Since you’re my past memories... are we supposed to become one again?"

"It is not yet time."

The young woman waved a hand, and the Heaven-Reaching peach tree behind her trembled slightly, showering Yan Jiangxue with a sky full of blossoms.

The peach blossoms engulfed Xiaoyan. The girl in Armor smiled and said:

"When you wake up, go to the summit of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Go there."

...

"ROAR!"

In the forests of the Kongtong Mountain Range, a tigress let out a mournful cry, its bloodshot eyes staring at the few humans before it, on the verge of weeping tears of blood.

"Interesting, interesting."

A flamboyantly dressed youth beheaded another tiger cub right in front of the mother.

The tigress let out another whimpering cry and struggled frantically, but she was pinned to a tree by a sword held by another youth with red hair, unable to move.

"There are still four cubs left." The flamboyant youth chuckled merrily. Beside him, a scantily clad girl chimed in with a matching smile.

"Brother Chen, you really know how to have fun... What should we do with these four little cubs?"

"No rush. We’ll kill them one by one." The youth surnamed Chen licked the tiger blood that had spattered onto the corner of his mouth. He looked at the weeping tigress and smirked.

"Nothing to be done. If you want to blame someone, blame that person who set the so-called ’new rules’. There’s just no fun to be had anymore."

The tigress struggled madly. Blood poured down the blade of the longsword in the red-haired youth’s hand. She whimpered and sobbed as if begging for mercy.

"These ferocious beasts that have gained a sliver of intelligence are the most fun," the red-haired youth also said with a grin. "Although we can’t watch the underground fights or make commoners fight beasts to the death anymore, playing like this isn’t so bad..."

"This tiger hasn’t gained intelligence," the flamboyant youth retorted with a pout. "It’s just protecting its cubs. Ferocious beasts with true intelligence are hard to find..."

The girl beside them had a realization and smiled.

"It’s maternal instinct. Even if these animals haven’t gained intelligence, they still have fragments of instinct."

"Exactly."

The flamboyant youth grinned and stomped on the cub’s head he had just severed. The cub’s eyes were wide open, a trace of iridescent light remaining in them, filled with confusion.

Then, as if kicking a ball, the flamboyant youth sent the cub’s head flying with a heavy kick. The tigress cried out in sorrow once more.

The small head rolled and rolled, then suddenly stopped.

The three dandies, whose Cultivation was quite impressive as they had all entered the Jade Tower realm, glanced over in surprise. They saw a rustic-looking man carrying a Fish Basket and a youth with a cold expression.

"What... are you doing?"

The youth asked coldly.

"Playing." The scantily clad girl said with a grin, chewing bubblegum. "Want to come play with us, little brother?"

Beside her, the flamboyant youth also waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Just two commoners, forget it... Here. Meeting is fate. I’ll give you a tiger cub. Kill it for fun!" 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

As he spoke, he picked up a terrified young cub and tossed it over. The cold-faced youth caught it. While soothing the frightened cub, he said with a grim expression:

"I don’t understand. Torturing and killing its young in front of the mother... Why?"

"Didn’t I say we’re playing? The tigress wailing in sorrow, blood gushing everywhere, isn’t that fun?"

The flamboyant youth was getting annoyed.

"What fucking bad luck. Why’d two idiots show up? What, you sympathize with this animal? This is only because of the times. A month ago, this Old Master would’ve thrown you all in the beast cages!"

The red-haired youth also waved his hand impatiently.

"Get lost. Don’t be an eyesore, or else..."

Before he could finish, a sliver of aura emanated from Lu Xuan, kicking up a ferocious gale that knocked the three of them to the ground. The tigress also broke free from the sword and, with tears streaming down, ran to her cub’s corpse, continuously licking its already cold body.

"A Grandmaster... no, a Celestial Human!"

The flamboyant youth’s expression changed drastically, but he quickly returned to normal. He climbed up from the ground, dusted himself off, and said with a sycophantic grin:

"Our apologies. We had eyes but failed to recognize Taishan, not realizing a Celestial Human was in our presence."

Lu Xuan stared at them coldly.

"Why did you do it?"

"To answer the Celestial Human Lord’s question," the red-haired youth also said with a grin, speaking as if he were completely in the right, "we’ve already said it twice. For fun."

As he spoke, his smile faded, and he crossed his arms.

"What, is the Celestial Human Lord thinking of killing us? We already apologized, so it doesn’t count as an offense. If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll call for that Daoist Temple, you know."

Rage flared in Lu Xuan’s heart, but it was quickly extinguished, replaced by an icy coldness.

Beside him, Yang Jian, holding the Fish Basket, sighed softly and explained:

"Some people are fundamentally evil. Now that the new rules restrain them, they can’t vent their malevolence, so they inflict it on innocent animals, killing for entertainment... We should have anticipated this, really."

Lu Xuan looked at the tigress who, ignoring her own injuries, continuously licked her cub’s corpse while whimpering softly. He let out a soft sigh.

"It shouldn’t be this way."

He looked up coldly. Dao Generating One activated naturally, allowing him to perceive the past karmic sins of the three. He saw many brutal scenes.

For example, throwing living people into beast cages, kidnapping girls from small towns, killing wantonly...

All for entertainment.

"You deserve to die," Lu Xuan said coldly.

The three now sensed something was wrong. The flamboyantly dressed youth leading them took a step back, but he wasn’t afraid. He even began to taunt Lu Xuan.

"Celestial Human Lord, things aren’t like they used to be..."

As he spoke, his expression turned solemn, and he chanted:

"Praise! Profound Origin Fusheng!"

The words had just left his mouth when ripples appeared in the void. A simple, ancient Daoist Temple materialized out of thin air, hovering above the edge of the mountain range.

The ancient Daoist Temple looked dim and mysterious. The most profound Dao and principles ebbed and flowed around it, accompanied by wisps of Chaos Qi, making it hazy and indistinct.

"Celestial Human Lord, you may leave now." Seeing the Daoist Temple appear, the red-haired youth visibly relaxed. A mocking grin returned to his face.

"You wouldn’t dare try to kill us in front of this Daoist Temple, would you? How about... you give it a try?"

As he said this, he even looked somewhat expectant, licking his lips.

Yang Erlang shook his head in pity, while Lu Xuan simply raised an eyebrow and looked toward the Daoist Temple.

The next moment, the Daoist Temple trembled slightly. To the astonishment of the three youths, the main gate of the Daoist Temple abruptly swung open.

"Hey, this part of the process never happened before," the red-haired youth said in surprise, but he quickly fell silent when he saw a towering figure slowly walk out from within.

"Greetings, Saint Lu!!"

The three of them prostrated themselves on the ground as if by reflex, their minds reeling in shock. ’What is going on today?’

Under the three’s respectful gazes, Profound Origin Fusheng walked out. He glanced at them, then, to their terrified and dumbfounded shock, he bowed to Lu Xuan.

"Fellow Daoist."

Lu Xuan returned the courtesy.