This was the first time Chen Qingshan had ever seen an immortal cultivator.
Yet it was not his first time hearing of them.
According to legends, immortal cultivators could soar through the skies, burrow through the earth, move mountains, and drain seas. With just a flick of their fingers, ordinary mortals would be reduced to ashes.
Chen Qingshan had always felt that immortal cultivators existed in a distant world far beyond his reach, and he had never imagined one would appear right before his eyes.
What is more, this one had come to wipe him out.
A look of panic crossed Chen Qingshan's face as he leaped backward in a sudden bound!
He was terrified!
It was not the young woman before him that frightened him so, but rather the terrifying legends surrounding immortal cultivators.
Seeing the grave expression on Chen Qingshan's face, Ye Qingxuan grew rather pleased.
She gently flicked her palm, proudly displaying her glowing golden hand.
"I really didn't expect that with your innately divine strength, you'd actually possess the might of the Fifth Layer of Body Tempering! Among mortals, you truly have very few rivals!"
"That makes it all the more impossible to let you stay here and bring harm to the world!"
With that, Ye Qingxuan charged straight toward Chen Qingshan.
Chen Qingshan's mind raced!
Since the woman before him was an immortal cultivator, he was undoubtedly no match for her.
Meeting force with force was completely out of the question!
"Have mercy, milady!"
Chen Qingshan abruptly dropped to his knees, threw his arms around Ye Qingxuan's leg, and began loudly begging for his life. This sudden move caught Ye Qingxuan completely off guard, halting her attack in its tracks.
When she finally regained her senses, she hurriedly kicked Chen Qingshan away.
Never before in her life had a man gotten so close to her, leaving Ye Qingxuan somewhat flustered.
"You're the leader of a band of bandits who has committed every conceivable evil, whose crimes are unforgivable, and who deserves to die—yet you still have the nerve to beg for your life!"
Noticing how nervous Ye Qingxuan sounded even as she spoke, Chen Qingshan hurriedly cried out, "Please enlightened milady, look into your heart! I was driven to the end of my rope with no other choice! My family has been dirt poor ever since I was little, and because I eat so much, they simply couldn't afford to feed me. That's why I had to go up the mountain and become a bandit!"
"Besides, this gang of bandits was already here long before I arrived. Ever since I took over, I've only ever robbed the wealthy, so you could say I've been robbing the rich to help the poor!"
What Chen Qingshan said was, in truth, the absolute truth.
It was not that he refused to rob the poor; it was simply that the poor had nothing worth taking.
Even the wives of the poor peasants looked so thoroughly ordinary that he wouldn't even deign to look at them twice.
The people he robbed really were the wealthy—he truly was robbing the rich. It was just that the "poor" he ended up helping was none other than himself.
And in all honesty, he genuinely considered himself a poor man.
Hearing Chen Qingshan put it this way, Ye Qingxuan found herself hesitating.
Having spent her entire life cultivating within her sect, she possessed a pure and innocent mind. Hearing that he robbed the rich to help the poor, she immediately decided that Chen Qingshan's crimes did not warrant death!
Sensing her hesitation, Chen Qingshan instantly knew his chance at survival had arrived.
"Milady, as long as you spare my life, from this day forward I will follow your every command, serving you hand and foot, and even scrubbing your back and washing your feet!"
Ye Qingxuan glared at Chen Qingshan with disgust and snapped, "Puh-lease! Who asked you to scrub my back and wash my feet?!"
"And stop calling me milady! Am I really that old?"
Hearing the lack of murderous intent in Ye Qingxuan's voice, Chen Qingshan knew his life was likely safe. His heart settled, and he grew much bolder in his speech.
"Then how should I address you?"
Ye Qingxuan hesitated for a moment before replying, "My name is Ye Qingxuan!"
"Immortal Ye!"
Chen Qingshan hurriedly shouted with the utmost respect, instantly adopting the posture of Ye Qingxuan's loyal underling.
Seeing Chen Qingshan's honest, smiling face and noting his young age, Ye Qingxuan concluded that this fellow probably had not committed all that many heinous deeds after all!
After a brief moment of thought, Ye Qingxuan called out to Chen Qingshan, "You, and the one lying down over there—come with me!"
Hearing that Ye Qingxuan intended to take him along, Chen Qingshan hurriedly asked, "Immortal Ye, where are you taking us?"
Ye Qingxuan replied coldly, "Don't ask questions about things that don't concern you!"
With that, Ye Qingxuan leaped gracefully onto her horse.
A white horse paired with white robes!
Ye Qingxuan looked even more like an immortal maiden than ever.
Noticing that Wang Dahai was still sprawled out on the ground, Chen Qingshan hurried over and gave him a kick.
"Get up, stop playing dead! Immortal Ye told us to come with her!"
Wang Dahai had heard Ye Qingxuan mention the person lying on the ground, but the truth was, he had zero desire to follow her.
That woman Ye Qingxuan was not someone to be trifled with.
Wang Dahai had always considered his martial arts quite formidable, yet he had been sent flying by a single kick from Ye Qingxuan while trying to launch a sneak attack.
Furthermore, before Chen Qingshan had come up the mountain, Wang Dahai was the chieftain of the stronghold.
Later on, Chen Qingshan had usurped him.
If Chen Qingshan was taken away by Ye Qingxuan now, he would finally be able to reclaim his position as chieftain.
"Chief, she beat me up so badly I really can't get back up!" Wang Dahai said with a pained expression.
Chen Qingshan replied indifferently, "Is that so? Well, what a terrible pity then. Following Immortal Ye might just give you a chance to embark on the path of immortality!"
The moment he heard the word "immortality," Wang Dahai scrambled agilely to his feet.
There was not the slightest trace of injury left on him!
Chen Qingshan let out a look of disdain and smiled.
He knew all too well the little schemes hatching inside his deputy chieftain's head.
Seeing that Ye Qingxuan's horse had already started moving, Chen Qingshan and Wang Dahai hurried to keep up.
They followed behind Ye Qingxuan, heading east for three full days, before finally entering the depths of a towering mountain range.
Gazing at the grand mountain gates rising before them, both Chen Qingshan and Wang Dahai wore expressions of intense excitement.
Xuanyang Sect!
They had heard of this sect before!
This was a renowned and righteous sect located in Dongzhou.
It was also a famous immortal cultivation sect.
It was said that many people spent their entire lives searching everywhere for immortals simply to find the Xuanyang Sect.
Never had they imagined they would arrive here with such ease.
Although they were utterly exhausted from running at the horse's heels these past few days, Chen Qingshan and Wang Dahai pushed their fatigue aside and hurried after Ye Qingxuan toward the mountain gates of the Xuanyang Sect.
However, just as they reached the entrance, two disciples dressed in immortal robes blocked their path.
Clearly, they were not going to be allowed in.
Chen Qingshan quickly shouted, "Hey, what are you doing? We came here with Immortal Ye!"
Yet the two gate-guarding disciples completely ignored him.
Chen Qingshan hurriedly raised his voice, "Immortal Ye! They won't let us in! We were brought here by you—this is completely disregarding your face!"
The expressions of the two gate guards shifted slightly.
Stopping Chen Qingshan was merely a matter of enforcing sect rules; it had nothing to do with disrespecting Ye Qingxuan.
Ye Qingxuan's voice drifted back from the distance.
"Take those two to the quarters for menial disciples and register them!"
The two gate guards cupped their fists and shouted, "Understood, Senior Sister Ye!"
Just as Ye Qingxuan had ridden some distance away, she turned back and added, "And don't say those two were brought by me! They have nothing to do with me!"
Hearing this, Chen Qingshan hastily protested, "How can you say we have nothing to do with you? You're my milady!"
Without paying him the slightest heed, Ye Qingxuan rode straight into the inner grounds of the sect.
Chen Qingshan felt a pang of disappointment.
He could tell that Ye Qingxuan held a rather high position within the Xuanyang Sect.
Now that she had severed ties with them, he had just lost a powerful patron here.
Before he had time to dwell on it, one of the gate guards said with evident disgust, "Follow me to the backyard for the menial disciples!"
Chen Qingshan and Wang Dahai exchanged glances.
A glimmer of anticipation still lingered in their eyes. Even if they were only menial disciples, they were finally members of an immortal cultivation sect.
From now on, they, too, would be immortal cultivators.
And they had certainly heard tales of how lofty and powerful immortal cultivators truly were!