"Damn it, that Old Scoundrel Buyu runs fast!"
"You lot struck too early! I told you beforehand that we had to wait until he was clear of the Dao Seeking Sect before making a move! But look at you—attacking the moment he showed his face! If it were me, I'd have run too!"
"I couldn't help it. Seeing our nemesis got me too excited; I just couldn't hold back."
"So what do you say we do now?"
"Well, there is a way, but I can't say for sure whether it'll work."
"What way?"
"Don't forget—we're here as marriage-proposal parties..."
...
Recalling that dense barrage of attacks, Daoist Buyu still felt a lingering terror. If he had taken a full round of that, whether he would have merely shed a layer of skin or lost his life was anyone's guess.
"And those people from the chamber of commerce too! Is that any way to treat a customer? I went to buy insurance, and they refused to sell it to me!"
Daoist Buyu was quite indignant, feeling that the folks at the chamber of commerce were utterly unqualified merchants. Turning down easy money when it was handed to them—and he had wanted to buy their most expensive insurance policy, too!
...
"So this is the right way to comprehend the Sword Dao."
Emerging from his sudden enlightenment, Lu Yang felt his grasp of the Sword Dao had risen a level. Young Cult Master Lu, who had fought him to a draw three months ago, would be no match for him now!
He opened his eyes and saw Eldest Senior Sister approaching with a stack of festive red envelopes, which she handed to him.
"What are these?"
"Calling cards from the marriage-proposal parties. They hope to enter the Dao Seeking Sect to discuss marriage arrangements with you face-to-face."
Lu Yang casually picked up one of the invitations. The sender was none other than the first-rank sect, White Horse Temple.
"...Am I really that popular?"
If Meng Jingzhou saw this, he would probably grind his molars to dust out of pure envy.
"Your popularity is one factor, but the main reason is that they want to enter the sect to look for Master."
"Master hasn't left yet?" Lu Yang asked in surprise. He had assumed that with Master's restless nature, he would have taken off the moment he finished teaching him.
No, calling him restless wasn't quite accurate either. When the old man was thrown in prison, he always served his full sentence obediently until the day of his release.
"He originally intended to leave, but people blocked the entrance."
Truth be told, Lu Yang wasn't the least bit surprised by this. On the contrary, it felt entirely natural.
As far as he knew, intelligence on Master's whereabouts sold for astronomical prices on the black market—in fact, there was boundless demand and virtually no supply. Any scrap of information about where he was would be snapped up in an instant, which showed just how 'popular' Master truly was.
By the same token, news of Master returning to the sect had naturally spread in the shortest time possible.
After all, Master's enemies were all in the Body Integration stage, every one of them flying at terrifying speeds. And if any of them were skilled in spatial magic, they would arrive even faster.
He now felt that comprehending the Sword Dao could very well have 'protection' as its purpose after all. Not protecting others, mind you—mainly protecting himself.
"So what should we do now?"
Looking at the thick stack of calling cards, Lu Yang felt a headache coming on. These people had come to propose marriage; if the sect drove them away, the Dao Seeking Sect would be the ones in the wrong.
"There are two options," Eldest Senior Sister said, analyzing the situation as she set the cards aside.
"The first is to reply to them promptly and permit them to enter the sect. Once they find Master, their goal will be achieved."
Lu Yang shook his head. That option was definitely out.
"And the second option?"
"Hand Master over."
Lu Yang: "..."
The second option was even worse than the first.
"Isn't Master an expert in transformation arts? Can't he just disguise himself as someone else and slip out?"
Eldest Senior Sister shook her head, rejecting the idea. "White Horse Temple brought out their temple-protecting treasure, the Demon-Revealing Mirror, which can see through any disguise.
"Furthermore, even if his disguise weren't seen through and Master managed to slip out, they wouldn't know he had left. They would still camp at the gate proposing marriage to you.
"We should just hand Master over."
Considering that handing Daoist Buyu over carried immense risks, the two first went to Pill Cauldron Peak to find the Seventh Elder.
"Junior Niece Yun, Junior Nephew Lu?" Seeing them arrive, the Seventh Elder was quite surprised. It was rare to see both of them seeking him out together.
"Is something the matter?"
Since this concerned Master, it couldn't be stated too bluntly. Lu Yang carefully chose his words: "Hypothetically... I mean, purely hypothetically... suppose there's a very formidable Body Integration cultivator who happens to have a lot of enemies, all of whom are also in the Body Integration stage. This cultivator has had some bad luck and gotten surrounded by these enemies—roughly fifty or sixty Body Integration experts.
"Is there any pill that could allow him to survive a siege like that?"
Lu Yang hadn't harbored much hope, but to his surprise, the Seventh Elder actually nodded. "Legend speaks of an ancient pill called the Child-Bestowing Pill. Junior Nephew Lu, you've even seen this pill formula before.
"If that unlucky Body Integration cultivator takes the Child-Bestowing Pill and gets pregnant, out of humanitarian considerations, the attackers probably won't deliver fatal blows when beating him."
"...This Body Integration cultivator is a man. Is there any other way?"
"You could also pray that his corpse remains intact. After tens or hundreds of thousands of years, the corpse might develop sentience, which is equivalent to a resurrection. Mind you, that's just a legend; who knows if whoever wakes up would still be him."
"Is there a slightly more reliable option?"
"There is. This Body Integration cultivator you speak of must be guilty of every evil and thoroughly wicked. Report him to the authorities and have him arrested. Though he'd lose his freedom, he'd at least keep his life."
Lu Yang and Eldest Senior Sister thought this was a pretty good idea.
"Oh? There you two are." Daoist Buyu found Lu Yang and Eldest Senior Sister in the alchemy chamber, taking the opportunity to ask the Seventh Elder for several bottles of top-grade healing pills.
"Good timing. I came to let you know that I'm taking off."
Lu Yang was startled. He hadn't even worked up the resolve to place righteousness above family and betray his master, and Master was already leaving on his own?
"Aren't you afraid of the people at the gate?"
"Master certainly can't beat them in a fight, but I have another way."
"What way?"
"I had Eldest Brother leave the Dao Seeking Sect and make some noise in the neighboring province. That will make them think I've already slipped out of the Dao Seeking Sect, causing them to swarm over to the neighboring province. Master can take advantage of the distraction to leave the sect!"
Daoist Buyu beamed with smug satisfaction. He had roamed the world for two thousand years; trying to catch him was pure daydreaming!
Things unfolded just as Daoist Buyu had planned. As the eldest brother among the Nine Sons of the Dao Seeking Sect, the Great Elder didn't do many things to incur hatred on normal days; at the very least, there were none of his enemies in the marriage-proposal parties.
The Great Elder traveled to the neighboring province, masquerading as Daoist Buyu to tell the latest installment: *Legend of the Dao Seeking Sect: Meng Jingzhou Chapter*. It recounted how Young Master Meng, despite possessing immense family wealth, remained pure and self-disciplined, focusing entirely on cultivation and staying away from women—even going so far as to cast a curse upon himself so that for a long time he couldn't even see a woman, a feat worthy of utmost admiration.
Learning that Old Scoundrel Buyu was in the neighboring province, and taking into account his concealment arts, the proposal parties had no doubts whatsoever and immediately set off for the neighboring province.
Daoist Buyu seized the opportunity and smoothly escaped the Dao Seeking Sect.
After Master left, Lu Yang sighed softly. He had thought of this method too—it was arguably the safest way—but he hadn't wanted to offer it to Master.
He couldn't help feeling that letting Master leave the Dao Seeking Sect safely weighed heavily on his conscience.
A few days later, an unexpected visitor came looking for Lu Yang.
"Senior Brother Lu, can you accompany me outside on a mission?" Tao Yaoye invited with a beaming smile.
Chapter 513