Chapter 69: The Fire Dragon Immortal

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Yu Zhao had anticipated the possibility that Shopkeeper Qian and Wang You Cai might fail to bring back the portrait. However, she hadn’t foreseen that despite her efforts to avoid suspicion, she would still be dragged into this troublesome affair.

With a soft sigh, she set down her teacup.

In the next moment, the courtyard was filled with the clamor of hurried footsteps and loud shouts.

Over twenty constables stormed into the inner courtyard with blades in hand. At the back of the group were Wang You Cai and Shopkeeper Qian, restrained and battered, their faces mottled with bruises and dried bloodstains.

A man dressed as a scholar stepped forward from the group and barked sharply, “Where did this audacious swindler come from? How dare you impersonate an immortal to deceive the public? Confess your crimes at once!”

At these words, Wang You Cai widened his bloodshot eyes and looked toward Yu Zhao with hope.

He couldn’t be mistaken.

This was the immortal.

The county magistrate—no, that mangy dog of a county official—had accused him and Shopkeeper Qian of collusion and spreading heresy. Such ignorance! Such shortsightedness!

Just wait. Soon, the immortal would punish them with divine wrath, ensuring that the county magistrate and his lackeys met a terrible fate!

Yu Zhao’s gaze swept coolly over the middle-aged scholar, her eyes landing on his sleeve. She raised an eyebrow in amusement.

So, that’s how he was so confident in accusing her of impersonation. He had received guidance from a so-called “expert.”

“It seems you won’t drink the toast and insist on drinking the forfeit,” the scholar sneered, pulling a pale yellow talisman from his sleeve. “Today, I’ll show you what real immortal techniques look like!”

But before he could finish the word “technique,” the talisman was snatched from his hand by an invisible force.

He watched in shock as the talisman floated through the air, drifting gently into the slender fingers of the young woman across from him.

The scholar’s pupils contracted as he stared at Yu Zhao in terror.

Casually, Yu Zhao glanced at the talisman.

A low-grade fireball talisman.

Judging by the spiritual energy it contained, it could likely produce three or four fireballs the size of fists when torn.

The maker of this talisman seemed to be at the third layer of Qi Refinement.

With a flick of her fingers, Yu Zhao sent the fireball talisman spinning into the air before reducing it to ashes, which rained down on the scholar’s face.

The man froze for a long moment before collapsing weakly to the ground, his eyes vacant.

The Fire Dragon Immortal has deceived me!

This… This was the real power of an immortal!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The constables, having witnessed the scene, dropped their blades to the ground and fell to their knees, begging for mercy.

Some were so terrified that they wet themselves on the spot.

Yu Zhao, naturally, did not bother to stoop to their level. Her curiosity lay instead in the identity of the Qi Refinement cultivator stationed at the county office.

Expanding her divine sense like a sweeping wave, she quickly encompassed the entire small town.

Then she extended it further, beyond mountains, rivers, and villages… until it reached a bustling county city.

Yu Zhao smiled faintly.

Found him.

…

At the County Office.

Magistrate Jia stood at the entrance of the main hall, occasionally peeking outside, his forehead glistening with nervous sweat.

“Magistrate Jia, please calm down.”

A middle-aged man with a gloomy expression sat leisurely on the grand chair to the left, idly playing with a string of prayer beads.

Magistrate Jia forced a smile. “With the Fire Dragon Immortal present, I am, of course, not worried.”

Pausing for a moment, he added, “But if that person truly is an immortal, what should we do?”

The accounts from Wang You Cai and Shopkeeper Qian had been so convincing that Magistrate Jia couldn’t help but feel a little fearful.

The Fire Dragon Immortal sneered disdainfully. “This place is so barren of spiritual energy that no immortal would linger here.”

Magistrate Jia silently mocked him in his heart. You’ve stayed here, freeloading off the county office, so it’s entirely possible that other immortals might think the same way.

The Fire Dragon Immortal seemed to see through Magistrate Jia’s thoughts, and his expression darkened. “With me stationed at the county office, what are you afraid of?”

The County Magistrate Jia pondered for a moment and realized that made sense. If that person wasn’t a true immortal, it wouldn’t matter. But if they were, it wasn’t his place to intervene—it would be better to leave negotiations to Fire Dragon Immortal.

With the advanced talisman of Fire Dragon Immortal in hand, surely the other party wouldn’t dare to act rashly.

Thinking this through, Magistrate Jia finally felt a bit more at ease, his heart that had been in turmoil now somewhat calmed. However, as he prepared to take a seat below Fire Dragon Immortal, an invisible pressure descended from above, forcing his plump body flat to the ground in an instant.

For a brief moment, Magistrate Jia’s mind went blank. When he finally regained his senses, he struggled to lift his head, intending to seek help from Fire Dragon Immortal.

Yet, when he managed to turn his head with great difficulty, what he saw nearly made him bite his tongue. Fire Dragon Immortal was prostrating on the ground in the same manner, his face flushed a deep liver-red, and veins bulging like a spider’s web covered his forehead.

Magistrate Jia’s heart skipped a beat. Fire Dragon Immortal looked even worse off than he did.

Magistrate Jia hadn’t achieved his position as a county official by sheer luck—he wasn’t entirely witless. He quickly realized the situation wasn’t unfolding as he or Fire Dragon Immortal had expected. This wasn’t an ordinary dispute. The other party wasn’t just any immortal; they were clearly far superior to Fire Dragon Immortal.

It dawned on Magistrate Jia that they’d bitten off more than they could chew, like old men tying their noose—they were courting death.

He inwardly cursed his misfortune. Fire Dragon Immortal, you’ve doomed me this time!

“P-predecessor… p-please… hear me out…”

Fire Dragon Immortal stammered his plea, his voice broken and halting. The regret in his heart matched, if not surpassed, Magistrate Jia’s. He could strut around these mortals without spiritual roots, but in the cultivation world, he was a mere ant.

His spiritual roots, comprehension, and even his luck were all inferior. Any unreasonable cultivator could crush him with a single step. Thus, he’d chosen to hide in a remote county with sparse spiritual energy to enjoy the rare luxury of being revered.

But fate seemed bent on mocking him. Even after distancing himself from the world of cultivators, he’d stumbled right into the jaws of disaster.

Fire Dragon Immortal could only hope the formidable figure would spare him out of mercy for his sincere repentance.

At that moment, the suffocating pressure on his neck seemed to lighten slightly. He hurriedly raised his voice, shouting, “Predecessor, I… I didn’t know it was you who sought the painting. It was never my intention to offend! I beg your forgiveness for my ignorance and am willing to offer my entire fortune as a token of gratitude for your mercy!”

Magistrate Jia, who had been formulating an impression of the unseen immortal, revised his estimation upward upon hearing Fire Dragon Immortal’s obsequious plea. His heart grew increasingly heavy with fear, sweat dripping relentlessly until it formed a human-shaped stain beneath him.

“Where is the painting?”

A cold, detached female voice echoed in Fire Dragon Immortal’s ears.

Fire Dragon Immortal exhaled a breath of relief. Since the other party was willing to speak, they might not be a merciless killer. It seemed half his life was spared already. As for the other half, he just needed to cooperate earnestly.

“The painting is in my storage pouch,” he quickly replied.

His original plan had been to wait until the predecessor withdrew their pressure. He would then retrieve the painting from his pouch and present it with utmost reverence.

But the other party had no need for his cooperation. A wisp of their divine sense swept away his mark from the storage pouch, severing his connection to it.

In that instant, Fire Dragon Immortal froze. Was he facing… a Foundation Establishment cultivator?

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