Lu Fan was somewhat bewildered when Lishan Laomu addressed him as "Master." The joke was too much; he wouldn't even believe it if someone claimed he was Tongtian Jiaozhu. Could he truly be Tongtian Jiaozhu?
"Master! Jinling Shengmu, Sanxiao Niangniang, and my two senior sisters have already confirmed that you are our Master, Tongtian Jiaozhu. I have helped them awaken their past-life memories and confirmed they are indeed my two senior sisters! Moreover, they reincarnated precisely to find you, Master. Now, we have finally found you," Lishan Laomu explained to Lu Fan.
"Yes! Master! Back then, during the Investiture of the Gods calamity, our Jie Sect suffered a crushing defeat. Less than two to three hundred disciples remained, and most of them defected to the West. Meanwhile, the Chan and Dao sects squarely blamed you for everything, leading to Grandmaster Hongjun sealing you in Biyou Palace, forbidding you from leaving. Now that we have reincarnated, this time we must avenge our past shame and the calamity of the Investiture of the Gods," Zhantai Ruomei stepped forward and declared loudly. Her tone was entirely different from that of the young girl she once was.
"Ahem! Little girl! You're a bit precocious!" Lu Fan's face was a mask of disbelief. Could it be that what they were saying was true?
"Alright! Give me some time to accept this!" Lu Fan turned and left the grand hall.
"Master! You will cultivate in this grand hall from now on..."
"I'd rather go back to my little room!" Lu Fan fled before Lishan Laomu could finish speaking.
"Silly boy! Why are you running? This is such a great opportunity! You finally have your own faction, and you can do whatever you want from now on!" the disheveled old Taoist called out as he chased after him.
"So, if I admit I'm Tongtian Jiaozhu, what do I need to do?" Lu Fan suddenly asked.
"Do what? Then... what's there to do? Live a life of luxury! You're Tongtian Jiaozhu, what else do you need to do!" the disheveled old Taoist pouted.
"Alright! Give me a day to adjust!" Lu Fan said, then entered his small courtyard and closed the door with a bang.
"This rascal! What is he hesitating about with such a great opportunity!" the disheveled old Taoist grumbled outside, shaking his head as he walked away.
Lu Fan returned to his room and sat cross-legged. He closed his eyes slightly, and the trigram of the Heavenly Mystery Wonderful Words appeared in his sea of consciousness. He slowly began to deduce...
The next day, Lu Fan slowly walked out of the courtyard.
"Master!"
"Master!"
...
Lishan Laomu and the others were waiting outside the courtyard gate. Seeing Lu Fan emerge, they all called out in unison.
"Mm," Lu Fan nodded and stepped out of the courtyard.
"Master! Your cultivation is still shallow. Please do not leave Lishan easily for now. Cultivate in my grand hall temporarily, and I will contact our fellow disciples to come to Lishan to protect you," Lishan Laomu said with a bow.
"Very well," Lu Fan nodded, straightened his back, and strode towards the Laomu Hall.
"Master! You... you look a bit scary like this! I liked you better before!" Zhantai Ruomei quietly walked up to Lu Fan and whispered.
"Aren't I just going along with you all because you're all like this?" Lu Fan rolled his eyes.
*Pfft...* Zhantai Ruomei burst into laughter.
Entering the grand hall, Lu Fan sat down to practice his cultivation, with Zhantai Ruomei sitting beside him. The others had already left.
"Ruomei! Tell me, what have you remembered now?" Lu Fan asked in a low voice.
"Master! I haven't remembered anything! I just know you are my Master!" Zhantai Ruomei also replied in a low voice.
"Then why are you joining in the fun? And why do you say I'm Tongtian Jiaozhu!" Lu Fan asked indignantly.
"Lishan Laomu, my junior sister, told me all of this! She said I am Jinling Shengmu, and that Senior Sister is Sanxiao Niangniang! She also said we need to gather your former subordinates and then fight our way back to Biyou Palace, kill Yuanshi Tianzun and Daode Tianzun to avenge you," Zhantai Ruomei said.
"Ruomei! Shall Master take you out to play tonight?" Lu Fan suddenly said.
"Okay! Hee hee!" Zhantai Ruomei suddenly giggled.
Sitting in the grand hall, it seemed like it had been a long time since he had such leisure. He could truly cultivate with peace of mind.
As night quietly descended, Lu Fan quietly opened his divine sense. The entire mountain was quiet, with not even the sound of anyone walking about. Lu Fan concealed his aura, made a slight gesture with his finger, and a silver sword appeared before him. He gently took Zhantai Ruomei's small hand, signaling her to be quiet, and then the two of them stood on the treasure sword and slowly flew out of the hall.
The two of them quietly arrived at the foot of Lishan Mountain.
"Master, what are we going to do?" Zhantai Ruomei finally asked, her eyes wide.
"Find our way home! Are we going to stay here and be toyed with like monkeys?" Lu Fan said.
"Master! You're not a monkey, you're the Great Sage Equal to Heaven!" Zhantai Ruomei said, puffing out her nose.
"That's still a monkey! Let's go!" Lu Fan pulled Zhantai Ruomei along and headed towards the path they had come from.
"Hahaha! You little turtle, you're finally not a shrinking coward anymore! Humph! Let's see where you run today!"
They hadn't gone far when a wild, booming laugh suddenly echoed. Immediately after, a large group of people rushed out from the side, surrounding Lu Fan and the girl in an instant. It was the Fourth Elder of Zixiao Mountain, leading Mo Jiu and hundreds of others.
"Master! See, I told you you're not a monkey, they're calling you a little turtle!" Zhantai Ruomei said, twitching her nose.
"Then beat him!" Lu Fan said nothing more, drawing out a silver greatsword and charging towards the Fourth Elder.
He knew, of course, that if he wanted to leave, he had to defeat this group first. Otherwise, with these people lingering, Lishan Laomu would surely find out. However, he dared not use the golden greatsword carelessly anymore; trouble always stemmed from that greatsword.
"Attack! Beat him hard!" Mo Jiu shouted from the side, pointing at Lu Fan.
*Bang bang bang...* Hundreds of people rushed towards Lu Fan, and countless blows were directed at him.
Lu Fan had no intention of wasting time on these people. He poured his strength into his treasure sword and unleashed a barrage of attacks on the crowd. *Bang bang bang...* Figures were sent flying, either dead or injured. Lu Fan's figure directly charged towards Tie Lao Si, the Fourth Elder.
Tie Lao Si was clearly taken aback by Lu Fan's ferocity; hundreds of people couldn't stop him. His face contorted with ferocity. It seemed he had no choice but to act himself. Humph! He swung his treasure sword and attacked.
*Whoosh...* Tie Lao Si's treasure sword cleaved down towards Lu Fan.
Lu Fan suddenly raised his hand and swung his silver treasure sword. *Bang...* Tie Lao Si's treasure sword flew out of his hand.
Tie Lao Si was startled and turned to flee.
*Whoosh...* *Pfft...!* Suddenly, a figure flew past, followed by a cold glint. Tie Lao Si fell directly to the ground, his head rolling to the side.
"Master! You are indeed mighty! You killed Tie Lao Si with one sword!" Liu Jinding stood before Lu Fan and said calmly.