Li Er’s expression was rather unsightly. He even began to question his own existence, considering how well he had treated the three sisters. He had guided their cultivation, pointed out their shortcomings, and was even prepared to reveal their lineage, yet all he received in return were the words ’a tortoise chanting scriptures.’ Too heartbreaking.
Sha Chen hurriedly interjected, "Don’t talk nonsense! Even if you don’t want to know your lineage, you shouldn’t resort to insults."
"The Saint is a Saint! How could you call him a tortoise?"
Li Er shot a glance at Sha Chen. "Sha Chen, you’re cursing now, are you!?"
Sha Chen quickly replied, "A misunderstanding, Saint! It’s truly a misunderstanding! You are a Saint; this junior wouldn’t dare curse you even if I had ten thousand tis the courage."
Li Er snorted coldly. He knew Sha Chen was definitely unhappy about his arrival. However, unhappy or not, he had co.
"If you don’t want to know, then so be it. However, the lineage of you three sisters is untainted. I hope that in this lifeti, you do nothing to bring sha upon your ancestors."
The three sisters retorted with a cold snort, "As if we would!"
They seed to harbor a strong aversion to Li Er, sensing that he was constantly trying to drive a wedge between them and Sha Chen.
Sha Chen sensed it too and was equally displeased. He had painstakingly built his fatherly authority and a stable father-daughter relationship with the three sisters over several decades. Yet, Li Er was here to sabotage it. This fellow is even worse than Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad!
However, Li Er was a Saint, and the most powerful one at that, leaving Sha Chen with no recourse. Not only could he not lash out, but he also had to pretend he was oblivious to Li Er’s intentions.
Li Er dropped the subject of their lineage and said, "This old man is hungry. Sha Chen, could you prepare sothing to eat?"
Sha Chen quickly went to prepare a large al with both at and vegetable dishes, though none were particularly lavish.
Looking at the table laden with ordinary, simple fare—so vegetable dishes, so at—Li Er actually smiled.
"You truly are a calculating one. This old man has eaten here before, and you never missed out on benefits, yet now you try to fob off with such common dishes."
Li Er reached out, patted Sha Chen’s head again, and said, "If that head of yours contained a bit more substance, you wouldn’t resort to such things."
Sha Chen hurriedly exclaid, "You wrong , Saint! Truly, even the landlord has no surplus grain. This junior has been cultivating here, and resources are depleted. Moreover, after hosting several people for over half a year, we’ve long been short of food and drink."
"Even this al was scraped together through ticulous saving, practically taken from our own mouths. Otherwise, there would be nothing to eat at all."
Li Er was just about to pick up his chopsticks when Sha Chen’s words made him pause, unable to lower them. He eventually put his chopsticks down, looked at Sha Chen, and remained silent for a mont.
Then he asked, "Sha Chen, you’re doing this deliberately, aren’t you?"
Sha Chen feigned ignorance. "Saint, this junior is not being deliberate, but sincere. Is sothing amiss?"
His innocent act nearly made Li Er lose his composure and strike him again. But, a Saint was a Saint, after all.
He resud eating and then said, "Sha Chen, don’t think this old man is unaware. You don’t welco my presence and deliberately prepared these dishes to try and drive away."
Sha Chen quickly said, "It’s truly a misunderstanding, Saint. You’ve misunderstood ."
Li Er retorted, "Do you think this old man can’t even discern such a simple situation?"
Sha Chen knew he could no longer feign ignorance. Since Li Er clearly knew everything, denial was pointless. He decided to be direct.
"You are correct, Saint. If you were truly an honored guest, this junior would welco you with open arms. However, you started trying to undermine the mont you walked in, so naturally, this junior is not pleased."
Li Er replied, "Since you’ve accused of undermining you, if this old man doesn’t actually do so, wouldn’t I have been wrongly accused by you?"
Sha Chen was stunned. Is the Saint really this audacious?
Li Er looked at Sha Chen and said, "This old man has taken a liking to your daughters. I intend to accept them as my disciples and have them cultivate by my side. Do you agree or not?"
Huh!? Sha Chen was taken aback. He didn’t co for him, but for the three Phoenix sisters!?
Before he could utter a word, the three Phoenix sisters were the first to object. They rushed into Sha Chen’s embrace, crying and pleading with him not to agree.
"Daddy, we don’t want to leave you! Don’t agree to his request!"
"He’s not a good person! We don’t like him! Daddy, we don’t want to leave you!"
"Daddy, don’t you want us anymore? Let’s drive this old man away! He’s a horrid old man!"
Li Er stood to the side, his expression unchanging, though inwardly he was speechless. Who was he!? He was the sage Laozi, Li Er, the strongest Saint in all the lands. In his master’s absence, he was the strongest! Bar none. Even though the Tongtian Hierarch was renowned for possessing the Qingping Sword and the four Swords of Immortality, capable of setting up the Sword Array of Immortality to contend with three Saints. But a Saint didn’t have to charge into the formation. Could the Tongtian Hierarch really stay inside the Sword Array of Immortality for his entire life!? Moreover, setting up an array required sufficient manpower. The Tongtian Hierarch hadn’t trapped several Saints by himself; he had thrown the entire Sect of Interpretation into the effort. In the end, it wasn’t a mutual destruction with four Saints; rather, he was defeated by the four Saints, and the array was broken.
Li Er, the most powerful Saint, was being repeatedly called an "old man" and a "horrid old man," a "not good person," by the three Phoenix sisters. Even his composure was beginning to fray.
Sha Chen was even more worried about angering the Saint. If Li Er were to fly into a rage, it would spell imnse trouble. He wouldn’t believe that the Saint, having taken an interest in the three Phoenix sisters, would extend his love to him and grant him leniency. He certainly wouldn’t believe that the Saint would take a fancy to him and show him great tolerance. That was impossible. Sha Chen was no fool; he wouldn’t delude himself into thinking that just because he had a few fortuitous encounters, everyone, including Saints, would revolve around him. The actions of Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad were still vivid in his mory. To outsiders, it had seed the greatest honor for Sha Chen when the Saint lingered at Flowing Sand River for three months. But in fact, those three months had been torturous for Sha Chen; Lord Lao Zi had found excuses to tornt and beat him for the entire duration! Afterward, he had rely left behind a Tai Chi Diagram and departed without a second glance! Lord Lao Zi of the Great Monad was so petty; Sha Chen didn’t think the sage Laozi would be much more magnanimous.
Or rather, it wasn’t that these Saints were necessarily magnanimous. It wasn’t that after living for countless eons, they hadn’t beco enlightened. It was precisely because they had lived for so long, and were powerful enough, that they believed everything should revolve around them. And since they possessed the strength and status, whatever they did was considered natural and justified. Asking you for soone was giving you face. If you refused, you weren’t giving face; you were ungrateful and ignorant of what was good for you. This was easy to understand. The wealthy were often arrogant and haughty, treating ordinary people with a commanding air, expecting them to co when called and go when dismissed. If their orders weren’t followed, it was deed the ordinary person’s fault. To ordinary people, it would be: we are born free, by what right do you lord over us, by what right do you order us about!? But, they were accustod to their lofty positions.
It had been like this in Sha Chen’s previous life, let alone in this world where strength was revered, where the strong ruled and their word was law. It was like how Sha Chen himself treated followers like the Black Bear Spirit—essentially at his beck and call. To him, it seed normal, and the Black Bear Spirit also found it normal. Outsiders, however, might not see it as normal. They might feel indignant for the Black Bear Spirit: We bears are born free, by what right do you treat bears so unfairly!? Fairness was built on a foundation of equal strength. Without equality, there was never any fairness to speak of. Before a Saint, Sha Chen had no claim to fairness; he could be struck down and killed at their whim.
Therefore, Sha Chen had always been exceedingly cautious and careful, terrified of inadvertently offending a Saint and giving them an opportunity to deal with him! Although Saints wouldn’t specifically target him, if they happened to cross paths, who could say what might happen due to a mont of carelessness? Sha Chen was a prudent person. Furthermore, because he had been spreading the "Tao Te Ching" everywhere, he arguably had a guilty conscience, making it even more impossible for him to directly oppose Li Er! Confronting a Saint wasn’t just being crazy; it was being brainless.
Sha Chen took a deep breath and cald the three sisters. Then, he looked at Li Er and asked, "Does the Saint truly wish to take them as disciples?"
Li Er nodded. "Their Phoenix Clan bloodline is the purest. Even that pair at Kunlun Mountain under the Queen of the West cannot compare to their purity."
"Following you, in one hundred thousand years, they would at best reach Peak Daluo Jinxian. Don’t disbelieve it; your Phoenix Trees are insufficient to cultivate them to a higher level."
Sha Chen nodded. He knew Li Er spoke the truth. It might seem that the three Phoenix sisters had advanced rapidly, nearing the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm in just a few decades. But that wasn’t the full picture. Their swift progress to their current realm was due not only to the Phoenix Trees and the Elixir of the Immortal Fields but primarily to their pure Phoenix Clan bloodline, and also the Yuanfeng True Secret that Sha Chen had given them. However, upon reaching the Da Luo Golden Immortal Realm, their rate of improvent would slow dramatically—and very quickly at that!
Sha Chen felt that Li Er’s estimate of one hundred thousand years to cultivate them to Peak Daluo Jinxian was an underestimation. However, even if he poured all his efforts into their cultivation, it would still take several tens of thousands of years for them to possibly reach Peak Daluo Jinxian! To many, reaching Peak Daluo Jinxian was already incredibly impressive. Yet, for three Phoenixes of such pure bloodline, this was exceedingly slow, far from truly impressive.
Li Er continued, "Entrust them to this old man for cultivation, and they will have far greater prospects than by following you. Of course, you will still be their father, and this old man will be their master."
Sha Chen’s expression turned a little peculiar. By that calculation, he and Li Er would be of the sa generation!!
"The host has been requested by the sage Laozi to have his daughters beco disciples. You have the following options:"
"Option one: Agree to the sage Laozi’s request and allow the three Phoenix sisters to beco his disciples. Reward: Ten drops of [Yuan Feng’s True Blood]. Yuan Feng’s True Blood: The true blood of Yuanfeng, one of the instigators of the Dragon Han’s First Calamity, containing infinite phoenix power and boundless life-giving force."
"Option two: Refuse the sage Laozi’s request and question why he wishes to take your daughters. Reward: The [Universal Diagram]. Universal Diagram: A Magical Tool belonging to the sage Laozi, possessing infinite might, once used to sweep away Yunxiao and suppress her beneath Qilin Cliff."
GASP!
Sha Chen’s eyes practically bulged at the sight of the rewards. These rewards were too generous, weren’t they!? If he agreed, he would receive ten drops of Yuan Feng’s True Blood. If he refused, he would get the Universal Diagram—the Universal Diagram, an artifact comparable to the Sword of Immortality!
But, to obtain the Universal Diagram, it wasn’t just a simple refusal; he also had to question Laozi!? What the hell!!? The system wants to harm !!!
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