Chapter 59 Mortal Etiquette

Taixuan Back Mountain, Nine Heavens Carefree Immortal Palace.

Since Tantai Jinyue was summoned away, the atmosphere in the Immortal Palace had become extremely eerie.

The once-arrogant Demon Venerable Wanhua was currently squatting by the pond, holding a small toothbrush and scrubbing for his life at that bronze divine weapon fragment which Lin Yuan treated as a "seafood fishing net."

"Old Wan, you're not scrubbing it right."

Eastern Heaven Immortal King floated over gloomily, carrying that Ever-burning Lamp. Although his hands were still wrapped in bandages (broken from the shock when he gave Lin Yuan a scrub last time), it didn't affect his heart that yearned for "progress."

"Fairy Jinyue said before she left that the Young Master wants us to learn 'Mortal Etiquette'."

Eastern Heaven Immortal King summarized with a serious face: "What is Mortal Etiquette? When Mortals drink tea, they care about the state of mind; when Mortals sweep the floor, they care about the rhythm. You're scrubbing bowls and pots as if you're removing rust from a Magic Treasure. Your Killing Intent is too heavy. No wonder the Young Master didn't take you down the mountain!"

Demon Venerable Wanhua's movements stiffened. He lifted his illusory old face, his eyes filled with aggrieved bloodshot streaks:

"I killed countless people back in my day; how would I know anything about Mortal Etiquette? Eastern Heaven, stop making sarcastic remarks. If you understood it, why didn't you go carry the lamp for the Young Master? And you four brothers were constantly thinking about leaving before; why are you so eager to serve the Young Master now?"

"Nonsense! We never thought about leaving the Young Master. The Young Master's towering image has long been deeply engraved in our brothers' hearts."

"The Young Master didn't take us because I haven't fully grasped the true meaning of the six words: 'Behave with your tail between your legs'!"

Eastern Heaven Immortal King looked toward the Void Realm with a fanatical expression: "I've been observing Xing Tian fertilizing day and night these past few days, and I've finally understood! Look at Xing Tian; even though he has no head, if the Young Master tells him to fertilize, he will never kill; if he's told to become small, he'll never dare to grow large. This extreme docility is the highest Realm of Mortal Etiquette!"

Just as he finished speaking.

"Buzz—"

The Void Realm fluctuated slightly, and Tantai Jinyue's voice, carrying a hint of coldness and restraint, rang in everyone's ears:

"The Young Master has decreed: those who wish to accompany him must first Seal their cultivation to the Qi Refining Stage. Only those who have learned Mortal Etiquette may receive orders."

Dead silence.

Then, the entire Immortal Palace erupted in cheers.

"Qi Refining Stage? Forget the Qi Refining Stage, as long as I can serve by the Young Master's side, what does it matter if I become a Mortal!"

Demon Venerable Wanhua was extremely decisive. He slammed his right hand against his chest, and thousands of Demonic Path Restrictions instantly erupted, locking his terrifying Mahayana Stage cultivation layer by layer.

In just three breaths, the once world-shaking Demon Venerable now had a withered aura, turning into an "old servant" at the First Level of Qi Refining who even swayed a bit while walking.

"Haha, I've sealed it! Eastern Heaven, what are you dallying for?"

Demon Venerable Wanhua changed into extremely simple grey cloth clothes and even held a mundane feather duster. With a face full of humble smiles, he looked exactly like an aggrieved old butler who had worked for fifty years in a wealthy Mortal household.

Not to be outdone, Eastern Heaven Immortal King pulled the remaining three Immortal Kings and brutally sealed their own Immortal Essence. The four former overlords of the Immortal Realm instantly turned into four sallow-faced "lamp-bearing servants" at the Qi Refining Stage.

They looked at each other, seeing in each other's eyes that "must-succeed" determination of a sycophant.

...

Qingyun City, a dilapidated small courtyard.

Lin Yuan had no idea how much those big shots in the Immortal Palace were outdoing each other.

He was sitting on a stone bench in the yard, watching Xiao Yuer "pulling weeds."

The so-called pulling of weeds was, of course, no ordinary weeding.

Lin Yuan forbade Xiao Yuer from using Spiritual Qi; she had to use her intent to perceive the "connection points" between the weed roots and the earth.

"Look closely, that spot is the condensation point of the Earth Attribute and also the load-bearing position of the Formation."

Lin Yuan used a blade of grass to pick his teeth, his tone casual: "Pulling weeds isn't about strength; it's about 'deconstruction'. Treat it as a complete miniature Formation, pluck its Qi mechanism from the soil, and the grass will naturally fall."

Xiao Yuer's forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat. Her large eyes stared intently at a piece of highly resilient Goosegrass on the ground.

In her eyes, this grass was no longer green but had transformed into a complex mass of rune lines.

She reached out her small hand, her fingertips trembling slightly, and pinched precisely the point where the grass stem met the ground.

"Up!"

Without the expected effort, that Goosegrass, which was rooted several feet deep, seemed to actively detach from the earth, being pulled up by her roots and all with incredible smoothness.

At that moment, Lin Yuan closed his eyes in meditation.

[You quietly observed a child deconstruct all things with the Dao of Formations, gaining insight into the principles of mutual generation and restraint, and the alternation of void and reality.]

[You have comprehended the supreme Formation Divine Ability—"Great Thousand Formation in the Palm"!]

Lin Yuan complained inwardly: This Max-Level Comprehension is really getting more and more ridiculous; I can even come up with a spatial Formation just by watching a kid pull weeds.

"Revered Master, I've finished pulling them!"

Xiao Yuer excitedly held up the grass, only to find an old man pushing a flatbed cart standing at the door at some unknown time.

The old man wore grey coarse cloth clothes, had an old tobacco pouch hanging from his waist, and walked unsteadily.

"This... little immortal child, this old man is a charcoal deliveryman in the city, and I also help people bring some household sundries."

The newcomer was precisely Demon Venerable Wanhua.

To avoid Lin Yuan seeing through him, he had gone so far as to evolve his Origin Devilish Qi into a Mortal "old man smell." Even the baskets of charcoal on the cart were personally chopped by him, axe by axe, in a Mortal forest.

"This old man... is all alone. I see that although this yard is dilapidated, it has Spiritual Qi. This old man doesn't want wages, just some food. I can help you sweep the yard and wash clothes. What do you think?"

When Demon Venerable Wanhua said this, his humble posture practically acted out the words "Mortal Etiquette" to the core.

Lin Yuan glanced at him sideways.

With Lin Yuan's current Realm, let alone Wanhua sealing his cultivation, even if Wanhua turned into ash, Lin Yuan would still recognize him.

"Wanhua, you're playing the part of this old man quite convincingly," Lin Yuan said with a half-smile.

Demon Venerable Wanhua stiffened all over, then immediately knelt on the ground and began to wail while hugging Lin Yuan's leg:

"Revered Master! This old servant missed you so much! Life in the Immortal Palace is not for humans; scrubbing floor tiles every day makes me want to vomit! Please take me in, Revered Master. From now on, this old servant will be a local charcoal-delivering old man in this yard. No matter who comes, I'll say I don't know you!"

Lin Yuan felt a headache coming on and waved his hand helplessly: "Fine, fine. Since you're here, go fill that water vat over there. Remember, no using Spiritual Qi; use that carrying pole."

"Understood! This old servant loves doing physical labor the most!"

Demon Venerable Wanhua was as excited as a two-hundred-pound child. He abandoned the flatbed cart, grabbed the wooden buckets, and rushed toward the old well.

At the entrance of the alley, the four "Qi Refining Stage" servants carrying Ever-burning Lamps and wearing tattered servant clothes were hiding around the corner, their faces full of envy.

"Big brother, Old Wan got in!"

"Don't be in a hurry; we need to find a more natural opportunity. We are the 'ambient lights'; we have to wait until dark to make our appearance!"

That afternoon, the people of Qingyun City noticed that the notoriously dilapidated courtyard in the north of the city had suddenly become lively.

A stunning woman in red was hanging clothes in the yard, a scholar in white was sunbathing, a skinny old man was fetching water, and a little girl was swinging a piece of iron to chop wood.

They looked just like an extremely ordinary, down-and-out family making a living in the Mortal world.

However, no one knew.

Any basin of face-washing water splashed out of this yard at this moment contained a terrifying fortune sufficient to allow a Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator to directly cleanse their marrow and transform their bones.

Night fell.

The four "servants" holding lamps finally knocked on the courtyard door with extreme humility.

"Shopkeeper, the city's night watchmen are passing by. Seeing that this yard is dark, we've come to bring your family some light..."

Lin Yuan lay on the rocking chair, looking at the four Immortal Kings with their extremely exaggerated acting, and sighed deeply:

"You bunch of drama queens, can't you show a little more restraint?"

This night, in the north of Qingyun City.

The originally lifeless slum suddenly emitted an indescribable sacred and auspicious glow.

A paralyzed old man living next door, who had been bedridden for ten years, actually threw away his crutches and ran five kilometers on the spot after smelling a hint of chicken soup fragrance wafting from this yard.