High above the clouds, Master Shangqing was traveling at an incredible speed, covering millions of miles in the blink of an eye. At this rate, the two of them would reach Kunlun Mountain in just a few days.
This was Lin Fan's first time venturing out into the world after taking human form, so everything in the Primordial World fascinated him. Moreover, this was the wild and boundless Primordial World, born not long after the splitting of heaven and earth, radiating an aura of ancient desolation everywhere.
"Master! Master! Stop, stop quickly!" Lin Fan's sudden shout startled Master Shangqing, who was leading the cloud, causing him to stumble and nearly lose his balance.
Once Master Shangqing steadied the cloud, he cast a gloomy look backward, demanding an explanation from Lin Fan. But when he looked behind him, there was no sign of Lin Fan at all.
Master Shangqing was stunned for a moment. He scanned the surroundings and finally spotted Lin Fan down below, standing on a mountain tens of thousands of feet tall.
Yet not looking would have been better; at the sight of him, Master Shangqing's face turned livid with rage. Veins thumping on his forehead and fists clenched tight, he instantly felt the urge to eliminate this disgraceful wretch from the sect once and for all.
Lin Fan was holding a million-year-old heavenly treasure, beside himself with joy, laughing foolishly.
A moment later, he happily trotted over to Master Shangqing like a child presenting a prized possession and said, "Master, look! Your disciple has found a wonderful treasure!"
Looking at this seemingly naive disciple, Master Shangqing had nowhere to vent his towering fury and could only forcefully comfort himself in his mind.
"It's fine, it's fine. It's my disciple's first time out; it's completely normal that he doesn't recognize such common garbage."
"Once I bring my disciple back to Kunlun Mountain and he sees millions and tens of millions of years old heavenly treasures scattered everywhere, that will broaden his horizons enough."
Master Shangqing continually consoled himself, while not forgetting to comfort his disciple: "Well, not bad. As long as you like it, my boy."
"These things have no owner. For them to catch the eye of a disciple of the Three Pure Ones is their good fortune."
It was precisely this single sentence that would later make Master Shangqing regret it to his core, wishing he could slap himself twice across the face.
Before Master Shangqing even finished speaking, Lin Fan dashed back toward that mountain, his eyes gleaming with gold, drool dripping from his mouth, and his hands rubbing together incessantly.
Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Lin Fan was looking at a peerless beauty lying naked on a bed, ready for the taking.
Little did they know, that mountain held far greater attraction for Lin Fan than any peerless beauty ever could.
Under Master Shangqing's astonished gaze, Lin Fan began his diligent and conscientious plundering.
Not a single heavenly treasure that caught his eye escaped his ruthless hands.
As he dug, he laughed out loud, "Mine, mine, they're all mine!"
"Ah, this one won't do. But no matter, I'll find a place to replant it later; with a little cultivation, it can still be useful."
"This one is pretty good."
"That one's not bad either."
"Wow, holy crap, even the dirt is treasure! No more talk, start digging."
Lin Fan truly possessed the traits of a rat—digging three feet into the ground, leaving behind not a single blade of grass or a scrap of armor wherever he passed.
Even a rat, upon seeing this, would have to concede defeat and bow to Lin Fan as its founding grandmaster.
Master Shangqing's face cycled from white to red, red to cyan, and cyan to black, shifting constantly like a painter's palette.
He pointed a trembling finger at Lin Fan, too furious to speak for a long time, looking as though he had contracted Parkinson's.
Inside, he wailed and roared, "What a monstrous debt of karma! Why on earth did a sudden impulse and a hot head lead me to take in such a short-sighted wretch?"
"He treats objects more affectionately than his own mother and grandmother! And here I was thinking this disciple was innocent?"
"This bastard is nothing but a Pixiu!"
"If the people of the Primordial World ever find out I took in such a creature? The reputation of the Three Pure Ones is ruined in the hands of this wicked disciple."
Yet Lin Fan cared nothing for any of that. What good was saving face? Getting good things into his own embrace was what truly mattered.
Lin Fan knew very well that practitioners in later generations would fight tooth and nail over a thousand-year-old heavenly treasure. Some even went as far as turning master against disciple, brothers falling out, stabbing each other in the back, plotting in secret, and casting aside all bonds of affection.
Right now, these items were worthless trash that nobody wanted. But in later generations, after several kalpas had passed, once the Primordial innate spiritual Qi dissipated and acquired spiritual Qi took over, these would all become priceless treasures.
Besides, these things were currently ownerless. Even if Lin Fan didn't collect them, once the great calamity arrived, they would simply be destroyed in the cataclysm anyway.
Therefore, in his heart, Lin Fan truly believed he was rescuing these heavenly treasures, unable to bear the thought of them perishing in the calamity.
He was doing a good deed, which made his digging all the more justified and vigorous.
When those people of later generations fought and killed each other for a few heavenly treasures, they would just have to envy Laozi for chewing on these treasures like cabbages!
So thought Lin Fan.
After a long while, Lin Fan had stripped the entire mountain bare. Only then did he return to Master Shangqing in high satisfaction. Feeling the oppressive atmosphere radiating from Master Shangqing, Lin Fan acted completely oblivious.
He said, "Master, your disciple is done with his business, let's go!"
He said it with such righteous confidence, with such an air of entitlement.
Master Shangqing now just wanted to flee this place as fast as possible. If he happened to run into an acquaintance, he would truly lose all face before the entire world.
As for his disciple, it wouldn't be too late to return to Kunlun Mountain, lock the doors, and properly discipline him.
Yet while Master Shangqing's intentions were good, reality was cruel.
Before they had gone far, Lin Fan's voice rang out behind Master Shangqing once again.
Under Master Shangqing's gloomy glare, Lin Fan had spotted a new target and begun a brand-new round of diligent labor.
***
Several years later, the master and disciple finally arrived at Kunlun Mountain.
Looking at Kunlun Mountain standing right before his eyes, Master Shangqing felt tears welling up in his eyes after years of holding a dark, gloomy expression.
He thought to himself, "It hasn't been easy! We're finally back!"
Heaven knows how much frustration Master Shangqing had bottled up inside, having taken years to complete a journey that should have taken only a few days.
Every time he looked at his hardworking disciple, Master Shangqing asked himself countless times: "Why did I ever let a momentary impulse make me take in such an evil disciple?"
Still, the disciple he had taken in was one he had to endure, even through tears.
Lin Fan, however, felt quite different. He felt his journey had been richly rewarding and was immensely excited. The only regret was that time had passed too quickly and he hadn't found any truly impressive treasures.
Now, looking at Kunlun Mountain not far away, his eyes gleamed with even greater brilliance. He thought, "This is the ancestral vein of the Primordial World! There must be countless good things here. But I can't do it right now, or else my cheap master might actually go berserk and purge the sect."
"Oh well, there's plenty of time. Slow and steady wins the race. Laozi lives right here now; I can harvest little by little. Grab a bit today, pluck a few plants tomorrow. On such a huge mountain, I can do it without a sound. Perfect," Lin Fan mused.
Master Shangqing turned back and saw the expression of drool practically dripping to the ground on Lin Fan's face, and he instantly knew what this wicked disciple was thinking.
He thought to himself that if this wretch were to strip his own Kunlun Mountain bare, he would truly have to find a crooked tree on Kunlun Mountain and hang himself out of sheer embarrassment.
If this scoundrel succeeded, how could he ever face his two elder brothers, and how could he face all the living beings on Kunlun Mountain?
A proper celestial blessed land, the ancestral vein of the Primordial World, ruined by his own wicked disciple—wouldn't the spines of all living beings on Kunlun Mountain pierce right through him with their condemnation?
At the mere thought, Master Shangqing shuddered. It was too terrifying.
Thinking of this, Master Shangqing hurriedly snapped, "You wicked disciple! This is Kunlun Mountain, the Daoist sanctuary of myself and your two senior martial uncles. You must not act recklessly! Erase all those rebellious thoughts from your mind right now, or else don't blame me for expelling you from the sect."
Lin Fan rolled his eyes and replied, "Relax, relax, Master. Your disciple is going to live here from now on, how could I possibly harvest my own home?"
Inwardly, however, he thought: "I'll just dig a little every few days, a little every few days. Besides, isn't this going to be Jiejiao's territory eventually? Not taking advantage of free gains is a waste, and weakening the enemy is strengthening oneself."
"Perfect!"
Of course, Lin Fan couldn't say these words out loud; otherwise, Master Shangqing would definitely strike him down with a divine thunderbolt until not even ashes remained.
With Lin Fan's repeated guarantees, Master Shangqing, harboring deep mistrust and anxiety, finally let Lin Fan go find a place of his own to carve out a cave dwelling, while he himself went off into seclusion.
After all, Master Shangqing had traveled the Primordial World for tens of thousands of years and had harvested many gains that needed seclusion to digest.
Furthermore, his two elder brothers, Taiqing and Yuxing, were also in seclusion, leaving no one to introduce Lin Fan to them, so he had to let the matter rest for now.
However, before leaving, Master Shangqing still transmitted the method of cultivation to him.
He exhorted Lin Fan to cultivate diligently and not grow lazy.