Fellow Daoist?
In the cultivation world, strength brought seniority. To be called in such a way would be something one would call an equal.
Wu Tianmo walked forward with his sheathed blackwood sword in hand, his red robes bearing the insignia of Wu plain to see.
The Elder, who was sitting atop a large floating broadsword looked him up and down.
There was something off about this young man,
"Fellow Daoist.. Wu is it? What brings you to this mountain?"
Wu Tianmo walked forward along the white stone path, the Zhang clan members all in disbelief that the village's new Meridian Opening realm cultivator had shown up.
Among their ranks were many of the Zhang clan that Wu Tianmo hadn't seen before. Even more troubling, they were all cultivators of the peak Body Reforging realm. With one of them even at the Meridian opening realm!
Wu Tianmo's gaze fixed on the elder floating atop the broadsword,
He's floating on that broadsword... This person must be in the Core Forming realm.... Does my bloodline really hide my cultivation from his sight?
Wu Tianmo clasped his hands towards the elder sitting atop the flying broadsword,
"This Junior is Wu Tianmo. I--"
The elder's eyes widened when he heard "Junior" then he began stroking his long beard,
"So it's Junior Tianmo"
"It appears this old man has made a mistake."
Realizing he had misjudged Wu Tianmo's cultivation level, embarrassing himself, he gave a fake smile,
"Leave!"
His voice carried his Core Forming aura forcing Wu Tianmo back a few paces.
Wu Tianmo was filled with displeasure and his hand gripped his sheathed sword tightly, yet he had to keep his composure.
He walked back toward the elder as if nothing had happened,
"Elder, this mountain belongs to the Thousand Serpent Sect and is claimed by no force."
The elders face turned grim, he had already been merciful by not killing this youngster, how dare he disobey?
It was then that the pressure from the elder started to increase, Wu Tianmo who now felt the weight of a mountain upon his shoulders winced but didn't fall to his knees.
The elder smirked,
"Interesting"
It was then that his smile turned sour, a familiar aura was felt from Wu Tianmo.
"You...you...you"
He was lost for words,
"Why do you have that token!"
Wu Tianmo caught his breath and looked back to him confused,
"Senior what token do you-"
He suddenly recalled his time in the gorge, where he first met a member of the Azure River Sword Sect.
He retrieved the token from his storage ring and questioned the elder,
"Do you mean this?"
The elders face turned pale upon seeing the token,
How does this brat possess the external protectors token, could he be a distant relative? A child?.... wait... He doesn't seem that old, could he be a dao seedling that the protector chose?
Some of the Azure River Sword Sect disciples began whispering amongst themselves, but one of them stood out. A woman, in a long azure dress with golden trim. The thin sword rested on her shoulder passively.
Her face was naturally pale like polished jade, her eyebrows were thin and pure black as if they were painted on by a brush. Her long black hair cascaded down her back tied with an azure jade pin.
She walked forward to the elder,
"Uncle Xuan, isn't that the token of the external protector? Should we not call--"
The elder looked back at her,
"Young miss? Call? That guy! Absolutely not, if he found out that we found an unclaimed spiritual land in his territory... "
His face turned even paler he could only imagine his senior brothers' scoldings and the beating that would befall him.
The young lady who spoke up, sighed and walked ahead of her distracted elder,
"Lin Qingxue greets Senior Brother Wu."
Wu Tianmo looked her up and down, she was beautiful, but her bearing was sharp like that of a sword.
She's perceptive.
The blood-colored fruits within his divine space stirred.
This is becoming troublesome.
Wu Tianmo felt a rush after looking at this woman, his dragon bloodline was quite.... forward. After reaching the Meridian Opening realm two more blood-colored fruits appeared in his divine space. On the night of his wedding, one of those fruits had been consumed, allowing him to conceive his first child.
This is becoming more and more of an issue... I'm supposed to rebuild my clan but this is a bit extreme!....
He inwardly coughed and composed himself.
Wu Tianmo nodded affirmingly towards her yet kept his internal desires hidden.
"Miss Lin, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Wu Tianmo, patriarch of Heimu Village's Wu clan."
She felt a slight displeasure after realizing he was simply the patriarch of a frontier village's clan.
How could this young man in a major realm higher than me not be from some esteemed sect?...
To most cultivators, belonging to a sect carried a certain prestige, yet Wu Tianmo paid her and her sect no mind. Truly puzzling her...
He then looked back at the elder,
"This Junior met the external protector while traveling in the Blackwood Forest. He said if I crushed this token he would come quickly. Would you like me to bring him over here to discuss..?"
The elder's face soured then quickly he forced an apologetic look,
"Young master Tianmo.... that is not necessary. Since we're all here we should explore the mountain together. There is a certain safety in numbers."
Wu Tianmo grinned,
"Absolutely, let us continue--"
Finally one of the Zhang clan members couldn't hold in their shock. A large man, who appeared in his 50's walked towards Wu Tianmo with an angered pace. Yet he remained composed and didn't lash out.
"Zhang Guoshan greets the Wu Patriarch."
Wu Tianmo looked him up and down and sighed,
"It seems Zhang Guowei has many secrets."
Zhang Guoshan bit his lip in anger then said,
"Senior Wu, It seems you have been here before to arrive so quickly. I must ask, did you visit the pavilion at the second gate?"
His eyes grew large with greed,
"You wouldn't have found something within? It was quite empty when we arrived."