"Senior brother!! The second in the world is coming to challenge you, the number one!!"

On Qingcheng Mountain, a little Taoist boy with his hair tied up stealthily approached another little boy, who was also a Taoist, holding a wooden sword so worn it seemed to have developed a patina.

With his hands on his hips, he said proudly, "Fan Song, have you finished reading the Sutra of Xumi??"

"My master said I don't need to read that! I just need to practice my sword well!!"

"Unethical Sword??"

"……"

"It's Limitless!! Limitless Sword!! You bastard!!"

"Aren't you afraid Master will beat you up? Still calling it Limitless~"

"First, a barrage of Tortoise Fists, then a round of Mad Demon Sword, and I’d feel embarrassed to bully you."

On the little Lotus Peak, Fan Song’s face alternated between pale and red, feeling somewhat embarrassed as the book-reading boy exposed him with a single remark.

The Limitless Sword was the top sword technique of his master, Zhao Yuzhen; no, it should be said it was the top sword technique of their Qingcheng Mountain. How could he possibly learn it at his age!!

Hearing his senior brother's teasing, the little Taoist boy lunged at him with claws out.

"Zhao Shouyi, I’ll kill you!!!"

At the foot of Qingcheng Mountain, in a courtyard, a young Taoist sat casually under a peach tree, a wooden sword inscribed with the characters for "Peach Blossom" stuck in the ground beside him.

In his hand, he held a gourd tied with a red string; the gourd and the red string complemented each other. He shook the gourd in his hand, looked toward the peak of Lotus Peak, and shook his head with a smile.

"The peach blossoms are about to bloom again; I really want to see that sword again!!"

Outside the courtyard, a disciple dressed in a Taoist robe knocked on the gate of this usually quiet courtyard.

"Uncle Master, the sect leader wants you to come over!"

The young Taoist replied softly, "What's the matter?? If it's not something major, I won't go!!"

Hearing this, the disciple outside twitched his mouth; this unreliable little uncle master, although not very old, had a high seniority and often stood up the sect leader, so he was almost used to it.

"Today, an old immortal has come to our mountain. The sect leader said that person has some ties with you and specifically instructed that you should go see him!"

Upon hearing the voice of the disciple outside, the Taoist in the purple robe slowly stood up; he rarely acted on his own whims when it came to significant matters.

He casually tucked the little gourd into his large sleeve, glanced at the wooden sword stuck under the peach tree, and asked nonchalantly, "What’s that old immortal's name??"

The disciple outside thought for a moment and continued, "It seems to be called Qi Tianchen."

After a while, there was silence in the courtyard, and the little Taoist standing outside frowned, wondering if this time his little uncle master would still stand up the sect leader??

But the next moment, a warm voice reached his ears.

"Let’s go!! This old immortal is indeed worth meeting!!"

He looked up and saw that the still handsome little uncle master had only a bit more stubble on his warm, jade-like face; time had left its marks on him.

"Yes~"

The little Taoist respectfully bowed, then led the way.

On Lotus Peak, Li Fansong and Zhao Shouyi leaned against a piece of green stone, watching the shifting white clouds and the misty sea.

Li Fansong, not knowing what he thought of, turned to Zhao Shouyi beside him and said, "Senior brother, I've thought of a good move again; next time, I definitely won’t lose to you!!"

Zhao Shouyi twitched the corner of his mouth, "I told you to follow nature, but you go learn to steal peaches from the monkeys on the mountain. Do you dare to use this move in front of Master?? If you use such lowly tricks again, just see if I don’t beat you up!!"

Hearing Zhao Shouyi's words, Li Fansong chuckled and didn't care at all.

Although Zhao Shouyi was his senior brother, he had never practiced sword techniques, only read the Taoist scriptures and cultivated Taoist methods.

In terms of martial arts, he could actually surpass Zhao Shouyi at the moment because Zhao Yuzhen had already started teaching him swordplay; however, he hadn’t used any of those skills. Their earlier sparring was still Tortoise Fists and Mad Demon Sword.

He enjoyed this way, loved fooling around with Zhao Shouyi; although Zhao Shouyi often talked about being the number one in the world, he didn’t take it to heart. In his mind, Zhao Shouyi would always be the meticulous older brother who led him into the sect, the brother who would cover him with a quilt when he kicked it off.

As for being number one in the world?

Since Zhao Shouyi had that idea, helping him reclaim it wouldn’t be any different, so he would just call himself the second in the world.

Of course, this was just the thought of this little kid at the moment, a fledgling who had not yet experienced the world, lost in free fantasies!

But if the two of them weren't sporting panda eyes, it might be more convincing.

Zhao Shouyi gently extended his right hand, grasping at the air as if holding onto the mountain wind flowing over the peak of Lotus Peak, and his eyes gently closed.

"Fansong, in fact, the paths may differ, but they all lead to the same goal. Whether practicing swordplay or cultivating Taoism, in the end, they will all arrive at that step!"

Fansong looked doubtful; today’s Zhao Shouyi felt somewhat mysterious to him, as if he already knew that he had started practicing swordplay.

But after a moment’s thought, he shook his head in his heart; how could that be? He hadn’t used even a single move or position.

"What is it??"

Fansong casually asked.

Zhao Shouyi opened his hand again, looking at the lines on his palm that hadn’t completely opened, and softly said, "It is said that there are five great sword immortals in this world: the Solitary Sword Immortal, the Angry Sword Immortal, the Confucian Sword Immortal, the Snow Moon Sword Immortal, and then there’s Master, the Tao Sword Immortal. They are all outstanding figures in the carefree heavenly realm, unrivaled in the world. What do you think the state above the mystical realm is like??"

Hearing this, Fansong revealed a wry smile; that state was still too distant for them, and at present, the two of them weren’t even in the stream.

Martial artists are divided into nine ranks; they hadn’t even touched the threshold! Why think about those things? Zhao Yuzhen often taught them not to aim too high, as it would affect their state of mind and could even lead to hasty results and be harmed by obstacles in perception.

Seeing that Li Fansong didn’t respond, Zhao Shouyi didn’t press him. While it was understandable that Fansong didn’t know, he knew that state was called the Immortal Realm.

On the immortal mountain hanging overseas, there exists a true immortal realm. He vaguely remembered that person was called Mo Yi.

That person didn't practice swords but cultivated the Tao.

Coincidentally, the deeply-rooted Qingcheng Mountain also had such a technique; it was this book in his hand, called "Tao Sutra."

Everyone on the mountain knew that he was an oddity who didn’t practice sword techniques, but no one knew that within him, there was an energy that didn’t belong to internal strength taking root in the purple palace.

He gazed into the distance, looking at the sea of clouds, at the peak of the mountain that only had a small section left, and he gently smiled, reaching out to draw in the air, as if tearing through the entire sky.

......