Chapter 349: Arrival at the Holy City

A trace of anticipation flashed through Fu Young’s dark eyes.

Unfortunately for him, no opportunity arose to display that overwhelming strength.

The moment the city guards heard that the newcomers belonged to the Eternal Prosperity Sect, the expressions of the leading cultivators immediately changed and they forced a smiles appeared on their faces.

They put aside the pride of being Spirit Transformation cultivators and respectfully cupped their fists.

The middle aged cultivator with the highest cultivation spoke in an exceptionally courteous tone. "So you are fellow Daoists from the Eternal Prosperity Sect. What honored guests. May I ask if Young Master Xiao has also graced us with his presence?"

"Are you referring to me?" Xiao Shou was surprised by how polite and respectful they were.

Was this really the lofty Holy City described in the original story?

Then he heard them address him as "Young Master Xiao."

Recalling how the cultivators from the Alliance of Myriad Celesia had addressed him in front of Tushan Qing, he immediately realized that his disciple had indeed been farsighted.

The Nine Great Sects that backed the Holy City clearly respected Tushan Qing’s overwhelming strength and did not dare show Xiao Shou the slightest disrespect. With that thought, Xiao Shou stepped out of the flying ship and stood calmly in midair before the group.

Fu Young immediately flew out beside him.

Yao Ming naturally remained close to his master and followed after him.

Nearby, Gou Guangming saw that Fu Young and his spirit pet had both come out, so he hurriedly followed as well. He then landed behind Xiao Shou together with Fu Young, standing to either side of him like loyal guards protecting their Sect Master.

Looking at Xiao Shou’s face, which perfectly matched the image recorded in the projection jade, everyone respectfully cupped their fists before speaking. "Greetings, Young Master Xiao. Your granduncle has already arranged accommodations within the Holy City for you and your disciples. If you would permit us, we will first help you dock your flying ship before escorting you to your residence."

"There’s no need to dock the ship."

Granduncle?

Where did another granduncle suddenly come from?

What happened to Tushan Qing?

Although Xiao Shou was not particularly eager to see Tushan Qing wearing that youthful face while acting like a kind old elder toward him, Tushan Qing was still the grandfather of this body’s original owner.

Xiao Shou felt no guilt toward him. Knowing Tushan Qing’s personality well, he had never been afraid of him. Still, this newly appeared granduncle left him puzzled.

There were countless members of the Tushan family and there were also many elders of Tushan Qing’s generation. More than a dozen of them had appeared in the original story alone.

Xiao Shou had no idea which one this referred to. However, judging from the respectful attitude of these cultivators, it did not seem to be anything bad.

As he casually shrank the Frostheart Fleeting Battleship until it was small enough to rest in his hand, he instructed Baobei to continue flying beside him. Then he asked, "Which granduncle are you referring to?"

"I heard that senior now goes by the name Tushan Shanhe," the leading cultivator answered respectfully.

As expected of descendants from the Upper Realm, that enormous silver battleship is actually a spatial flying treasure.

A flying spiritual treasure capable of freely changing its size while leaving everyone inside completely unaffected was far more precious than ordinary flying treasures.

Items like that were practically impossible to purchase regardless of price. It could even pass directly through barriers and judging from the rows of cannons along its hull, its offensive capabilities were probably extraordinary as well. No one knew whether even the Nine Great Sects possessed something comparable.

At least, they had never seen anything like it before. The other cultivators clearly shared the same thoughts. They watched in astonishment as the gigantic silver battleship rapidly shrank.

The people still standing aboard the deck shrank together with it until they became nearly invisible to the naked eye. Even then, they continued walking about normally upon the deck.

The people aboard the ship merely looked slightly surprised. The spectators outside, however, were utterly dumbfounded.

Seeing the city cultivators behaving as timidly as frightened quails, Fu Young secretly ground his teeth in annoyance.

Once again, they were only treating his master with such respect because of someone else.

When will everyone around us bow respectfully to Master because of me instead?

The thought left him rather dissatisfied, and his expression darkened.

Meanwhile, Gou Guangming quietly let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had followed Fu Young out of the flying ship just now. Otherwise, he would certainly have been among the people who had been shrunk together with it.

Just imagining himself standing on that tiny deck, looking through the protective barrier at passing cultivators who appeared like towering giants, made him feel that the psychological trauma alone would have been enough to cover the entire Heaven Origin Mountain.

"Oh, it’s him. Why is he in this world?"

It took Xiao Shou a moment to remember who Tushan Shanhe was. He seemed to be a member of the Celestial Fox Clan and belonged to the same generation as Tushan Qing.

He enjoyed provoking Tushan Qing, yet every challenge ended in defeat. His presence in the original story had been fairly insignificant.

As for his contribution to the plot, he had once led a group into the lower realms to capture and hunt down Xiao Ran. However, while passing through another lower realm called the Tushan Realm, he unexpectedly discovered the reincarnation of an important figure.

The child had just been born into the Tushan Clan, but the infant was so frail that death seemed imminent. Unable to leave the baby behind, Tushan Shanhe abandoned the pursuit of Xiao Ran and immediately returned to the Upper Realm with the child.

After that, he never appeared again. Ironically, the infant eventually grew into an important character.

In the final Chapter of the original novel, just before Xiao Ran and her three companions ascended, there was a brief scene in which Tushan Qing merged with his Dharma Form, transformed into his true Terrestrial Fox body to infiltrates the residence of an Immortal Emperor.