At the moment the old beggar made a move, the one who had been keeping an eye on him all this time finally detected some of the old beggar’s aura.

In fact, strictly speaking, there wasn’t much to see: even his Five Elements Qi and the colors of his aura were just like those of ordinary people. However, they were extremely well-balanced, like a bucket of still water. His essence, energy, and spirit were also similar to those of ordinary people, and he even harbored the hidden internal heat of a mortal, but this heat was extremely stable without any fluctuations, and even covered by a faint brilliance.

It was a pity that this light flowed throughout the body, scattered and not condensed solid.

This man was indeed very accomplished in Taoism, and could be said to be the second most accomplished cultivator Ji Yuan had ever seen. But regardless of how strong his spiritual energy was, in terms of cultivation alone, he was still inferior to the Old Dragon.

As for his spiritual energy and his lethality, Ji Yuan felt that, compared to the True Dragon, this old beggar was still far inferior.

Of course, he was definitely much stronger than Ji Yuan himself. If Ji Yuan was still at the stage of cultivating the Five Elements Qi in his body, then this old beggar had already glimpsed the wonders of the Three Flowers stage.

According to the current understanding of the cultivation world, where many people who had achieved one of the Five Elements Qi cultivation methods also claimed to have reached the realm of Returning to Nature, if this old beggar claimed to be a true immortal, there probably wouldn’t be many people who would refute him. After all, if they wanted to refute him, they would have to be able to see the auras of humanity that rose above the clouds.

But Ji Yuan’s perspective in this regard was actually quite consistent with the Old Dragon’s. To be almost there was still not quite achieved — one step short still meant that there was one step to go. The difference between attaining it and having a a slim distance to go could be as large as a chasm.

Without “truth”, there was no “profound understanding.”¹

He believed that any person with a cultivation level similar to that of the old beggar would be even more aware of this.

Compared to the slight understanding that Ji Yuan’s supernatural eyes could provide, the old beggar’s situation was the exact opposite. In his eyes, he couldn’t even feel the fluctuation of spiritual energy when Mr. Ji was performing his spiritual techniques. He just seemed like an ordinary mortal. Although he appeared to be within easy reach, in truth, it felt as if there were entire mountains and rivers that separated them, and Mr. Ji’s attainments seemed to almost vanish in clouds and mist.

However, the old beggar assumed that he himself was unremarkable. Even when he had caught the gray cat, it was without any great airs. It was even more like he was deliberately showing off his skills after seeing Mr. Ji’s moonlight sword-writing dance.

‘The moonlight dances with the sword and becomes writing. It’s truly as beautiful as a dream. My act of reaching out and picking up some object is just a natural action as a result; I am using a small action to achieve a big result.’

The old beggar looked at the Head of the Astronomical Observations Department next to him and discovered that, aside from how he was holding two mooncakes in his hands and glancing ever so often at the gray cat on the ground, his main attention was still on Ji Yuan, who was walking over. The corner of his mouth curled up.

‘You only look at the surface, ignorant of true nature! ’

The old beggar looked into the distance again, only to find that the Land God had disappeared, and didn’t seem to have any intention of coming over to greet them.

Looking at Mr. Ji again, he saw that the other party was holding the Green Vine Sword with his left hand behind his back, his right hand was swinging by his side. He had already approached the edge of the stone platform.

“Mr. Lu’s movements are as quick as plucking a flower, and you use very little force to achieve great results. What a brilliant method!”

Hearing Ji Yuan’s praise, the old beggar couldn’t help but smile. After all, some words could only be said by those who had reached a certain level.

“Mr. Ji, what are you going to do with this cat?”

As the old beggar asked the question, the grey cat, whose head was still pressed down under his hands against the stone stone platform, was still struggling.

“Meow……”

The cat’s meow was shrill as a baby’s cry. Yan Chang standing next to him got goosebumps all over his body, instinctively feeling that it was something evil.

The gray cat’s fur was shining brightly, and it seemed to be swelling up. Its spiritual energy and demonic aura were rising, as if trying to break free from the old beggar’s restraint.

“Hey~ Are you still not honest?”

The old beggar flicked the grey cat’s forehead with his left hand.

With a crisp “thunk” sound, the light on the gray cat’s body dissipated like a punctured bubble, and the entire cat’s body froze even further.

“Five-tailed cat demon.”

Ji Yuan stood on the side and stared at the gray cat on the ground. Although it was just a small cat, the strong demonic energy on its body was quite shocking.

“You evil beast, I’m afraid you must have harmed a lot of sentient beings during your cultivation so far, correct?”

“Yes, in my opinion, there are a large number of evil spirits and resentment entangled in this monster. It will spell disaster if it stays in this world.”

“Well, what do you thin, Mr. Lu?”

Ji Yuan and the old beggar seemed to be in accord.

“Don’t think I’m holding it lightly right now. I’m using the Mountain Suppression Method to restrain it. If I let go, the cat will immediately turn into demon and fight to the death.”

The old beggar squinted his eyes at the cat demon. In fact, now he could now clearly feel that the powerful demonic aura and spiritual energy contained in the cat demon were constantly trying to break out of its “cage.”

“Among those gathered for this Assembly, this monster’s rank must not be all that low. How about we take it to the Tongtian River right now and use the Black Water Method to lead it to the river and drown it?”

This time, the old beggar’s tone was not joking whatsoever. He truly wished to kill this monster. Hearing this, the cat demon’s fur stood on end, the struggle became more intense.

“Meow… meow…”

“Look, even now, it still shows its vicious side. Mr. Ji, it’s a five-tailed cat demon; not even we can deal with it easily.”

Just a moment ago, Ji Yuan was still staring at the gray cat’s rising and flickering demonic aura and murderous intent, but when he heard the old beggar’s words, he couldn’t help but think of his own True Fire of Samadhi, and his expression became a strange one, half smiling.

‘If I were to use these flames to attack you, it wouldn’t be such a pleasant experience!’

The subtle change in Ji Yuan’s expression naturally couldn’t escape the old beggar’s eyes, but he was not privy to Ji Yuan’s thoughts,² so he didn’t understand why Mr. Ji’s expression was so amused.

“There’s no need for drowning!”

A slightly stern voice sounded faintly from afar, and another man walked out onto the platform. It was the Old Dragon Ying Hong, sporting a long beard and moustache.

The Old Dragon approached them step by step. Even though he did not reveal any power, or divine light, he did not conceal his aura, which made the old beggar frown. He looked at the visitor and then at Ji Yuan, unable to determine who this visitor was.

The Old Dragon naturally also noticed the old beggar and Yan Chang. The former had a serious look on his face, while the was pretending to be calm with an inexplicable look of surprise and excitement.

“Mr. Ji, happy Mid-Autumn Festival!”

Although dragons and flood dragons had no care for mortal events, the Old Dragon knew that his friend still cared a lot for these folk festivals, and seemed to truly enjoy joining in the fun.

“Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Oh, by the way, I still have two mooncakes. I’ll give you one.”

Ji Yuan casually handed one over. After the Old Dragon took the moon cake, he naturally looked at the old beggar’s pocket, and Yan Chang’s hands over to the side, then back to Ji Yuan.

Although he didn’t speak, how could Ji Yuan not know what he meant?

“Don’t look at me, I didn’t know you were coming. It’s good enough that you came in time.”

“Let’s dispose of this evil first!”

When the Old Dragon said this, his head suddenly turned into a blur. At this moment, the old beggar felt a sudden lurch in his heart, and couldn’t help but let go of where he was holding the cat demon, thinking to himself that something was wrong.

“ROOOAR–“

A faint dragon roar sounded.

“Crack…”

The long, stretching blur that was the Old Dragon returned to normal, as if everything just now was merely an illusion. The cat demon had disappeared.

“Uh… Mr. Ying, did you eat it?”

​​

Ji Yuan stared blankly at the Old Dragon. He hadn’t figured out what was going on with the cat demon yet. Wouldn’t it be inappropriate to just directly eat him?

“Hahahaha… Mr. Ji is finally mistaken, for once. I swallowed it, I didn’t eat it. There’s a difference.”

Alright, Ji Yuan understood. The Old Dragon still had a sense of measure. However, the taste and sensation in the dragon’s stomach was probably unpleasant.

Facing the Old Dragon, the old beggar’s expression was a little strange, and he couldn’t help but blurt out a word in astonishment.

“You, you… you are the Dragon Lord of the Tongtian River!?”

“Hmph, who are you to stir up trouble in my Dazhen?”

The Old Dragon narrowed his eyes and looked directly at the old beggar, making the latter feel a great pressure. However, when he caught a glimpse of Ji Yuan beside him, he showed no fear.

Ji Yuan hurriedly took a step forward.

“Tonight is the night of the full moon for the Mid-Autumn Festival. It must be fate for us to meet here. Mr. Lu Niansheng is not like any ordinary immortal cultivator, so he definitely didn’t intend to offend Mr. Ying.”

Only then did the old beggar come back to his senses. Why was be being so stupid as to fight a True Dragon?

He also bowed to the Old Dragon.

“I greet the Dragon Lord.”

The Old Dragon didn’t speak, but he still returned a symbolic bow. Ji Yuan smiled and looked at Yan Chang off to the side.

“This is the Head of the Astronomical Observation Records Department, Lord Yan Chang.”

“Oh, you are from the Imperial Astronomical Department?”

The Old Dragon saw that Yan Chang did seem to give off any aura, but the latter did not dare to be negligent, and bowed respectfully.

“I, Yan Chang, greet the Dragon Lord!”

Yan Chang was a smart man. Although he didn’t understand what was happening, he could infer some astonishing pieces of information from these few sentences. This newly-arrived old man in front of him might truly be a dragon.

This night was truly like a dream for the Head of the Astronomical Department. Everything he had observed had been exhausting, especially Ji Yuan’s sword dance…

. . .

“Good Minister ³Yan, good Minister Yan… Good Minister Yan!”

A majestic voice sounded three times in succession from above. An official on good terms with the minister nearby grew very anxious, and couldn’t help but reach out and poke Yan Chang, who was in a daze.

“Ah?”

Yan Chang seemed to have just woken up from a dream. He looked around, only to find that he was in the imperial court. When he looked up, Emperor Yuan De’s expression was gloomy.

“Your Majesty!”

All of a sudden, Yan Chang hurriedly kowtowed, holding the jade tablet in his hand, and a cold sweat broke out on his body. Just now, because he was listening to the discussion about the Land and Water Assembly, he had unknowingly “returned” in his mind to that night of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The crucial point being that he didn’t even know what the Emperor had just asked him.

“Good Minister Yan, it seems that you have been working hard for the Assembly. Do you wish to take a rest for a while?”

Hearing Emperor Yuan De’s seemingly concerned words, Yan Chang’s sweat grew even hotter down his spine. The Emperor’s thoughts had been changing in recent years, and he couldn’t tell whether this concern was genuine or faked.

In a panic, Yan Chang hurriedly took out a silk bag from his arms.

“Your Majesty! This humble minister could not sleep yesterday, so I went to the Assembly Platform to enjoy the moon. I was fortunate enough to see an immortal dancing with a sword and making the moonlight sway. This immortal presented me with a mooncake and flew away. When I came back to my senses, it was already dawn. I could only rush to attend the morning court. I didn’t sleep all night, and was exhausted. I was a little absent-minded just now; I dare not hide this mooncake or keep it to myself, so I offer it to His Majesty!”

Emperor Yuan De narrowed his eyes at Yan Chang down below. He had some understanding of the man’s character, and he was curious about the brocade bag.

“Bring it up.”

“Yes!”

The eunuch next to him walked down to retrieve the silk bag. When he returned, he carefully opened it for the emperor. The small but not very delicate mooncake was presented to the Emperor’s waiting hands.

Looking at this mediocre and even slightly rough mooncake, a trace of anger appeared on the old Emperor’s face.

“Is this a gift from an immortal?”

“That’s right, this minister does not lie! In fact, if you take a basin of water and let it settle to stillness, then suspend the mooncake above it, the reflection in the water will no longer be of the mooncake, but instead of the bright moon!”

Yan Chang said all of this in one breath, not even daring to wipe the sweat off of his face. He was very lucky to have accidentally discovered this when he had been eating the other mooncake last night.

“Oh? Is there such a thing?”

Emperor Yuan De suddenly became interested, and immediately ordered someone to fetch a copper basin.

When he stretched out his hand to suspend the mooncake above the basin, he saw a bright moon reflected in the basin. The eunuchs who were watching to the side were all dumbfounded.

Many of the ministers below are also looking up, wanting to gather around and take a look.

“It’s true! Is it truly a gift from an immortal? Ah…”

Emperor Yuan De was so excited that his fingers shook, and he couldn’t hold the mooncake tightly enough. He reached out in a panic to grab it, but his hand only just brushed past the moon cake.

“Plop…”

As soon as the mooncake hit the water, the reflection of the bright moon shattered, and the entire mooncake melted instantly like sugar in boiling water.

“This… I… this…”

This scene made the hall fall silent. Yan Chang also stared blankly, not knowing what to say.

T/n: Man, the emperor keeps getting dunked on.

I am moving to a new apartment next week! Wooo! Unfortunately that also means no updates next week. Sorry friends!

1. T/n: from what I understand, he’s essentially saying that the more you know, the more you realize you don’t know, and the further away “Truth” or True Immortality feels.
2. Lit. “he was not a worm in Ji Yuan’s stomach”
3. 爱 (ài): to love/to be fond of/affection, 卿 (qīng): high ranking official. Could be translated to “my dear minister” but I translated it as “good minister” like how one might say “my good man”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Aunomay Read