In Xianxia With The Investment Return System, Starting My Journey by taking Demon Empress as a Disciple

Chapter 115: The limping man’s Identity, Arrival at the Holy Mountain

Above a valley in the Eastern Region—

“Heh, you three have been following this old cripple for quite some time. Isn’t it about time you showed yourselves?”

The limping man, who had been captured by Chen Daoxuan earlier, suddenly stopped in midair and spoke with a smile.

As soon as his voice fell, three figures emerged from the void behind him in unison.

They were none other than the three Void Return cultivators of the Eastern Region.

“Sir, your generosity earlier was truly a sight to behold,” one of them said, clutching a qin in his arms.

“However, unlike you, we three aren’t as wealthy, and we’ve suffered great losses today.”

“We can’t just let you leave the Eastern Region so easily.”

Another man, smiling amiably, added, “We won’t ask for much—forget about the 5,000 supreme-grade spirit stones. However, each of us will need a Heavenly-grade artifact as compensation.”

“As long as you agree, we will immediately step aside and not trouble you any further.”

The last man, who carried a large saber on his back, nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, same for me!”

Although all three of them were at the Third Layer of the Void Return Realm, the limping man was at the Fifth Layer.

But three against one? They were confident in their chances!

“Hahahaha! You three sure know how to joke around with this old cripple.”

“Forgetting for a moment that you willingly handed over those Heavenly-grade treasures to that senior earlier—”

“—Just look at me—I’m practically penniless. Asking me to give up three Heavenly-grade artifacts? You might as well ask for my life!”

The limping man burst into hearty laughter as if he had just heard the funniest joke in the world.

“If that’s how it is, then this won’t be easy to resolve…”

Hearing his refusal, the three cultivators exchanged glances and nodded secretly.

Before the old cripple could say another word, they attacked simultaneously, trying to catch him off guard!

They didn’t believe that someone who could casually hand over Heavenly-grade treasures wouldn’t have a few valuable artifacts on him.

As the three of them struck, each unleashed their strongest technique, hoping to either kill him in one blow or at least cripple him!

“Aiya, how could you attack without even saying anything first?”

“If this old cripple dies here, you Eastern Region folks will be in big trouble…”

The old man pretended to be utterly shocked, but he neither dodged nor defended. Instead, he casually pulled a token from his sleeve!

The token was pitch-black, made from a rare type of meteorite iron, and bore two characters:

[Heaven’s Plume] 

The moment the three Eastern Region cultivators saw the token, their eyes widened in horror.

It was as if they had just witnessed something truly terrifying.

Their pupils shrank violently!

“Pfft—!”

Without hesitation, all three immediately spat out blood!

Not because the limping man had attacked, but because they had forcefully interrupted their own techniques, causing their blood energy to backfire and injure themselves!

“Y-you’re a member of the Heaven’s Plume Army of the Central Region?!”

“Why didn’t you say so earlier—”

“This was our mistake! We’ll step aside immediately!”

One of them wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his expression filled with resignation.

“Cough— If you had revealed your identity earlier, we wouldn’t have dared to make a move against you!”

“Same here!”

The other two also looked at the old man’s token with bitter smiles, hurriedly wiping the cold sweat from their foreheads.

This old cripple  was truly devious!

He had deliberately withheld his identity as a member of the Heaven’s Plume Army of the Central Region, only revealing it at the last possible moment.

If he had said so earlier, who would have dared to attack him?!

It turns out the limping man was right—if a member of the Heaven’s Plume Army were to die in the Eastern Region, it would be a massive problem!

The Heaven’s Plume Army was the personal guard of the General’s Mansion in the Central Region.

The minimum requirement to join was the Boundless Realm, and the higher one’s cultivation, the greater their status and benefits.

These three cultivators simply could not afford to offend the Heaven’s Plume Army.

“Heh, this old cripple never expected you three to attack so suddenly,” the old man chuckled, seeing their misfortune. With a casual wave, he put the token away.

“But since you’re from the Heaven’s Plume Army, why did you even bother paying a price to avoid disaster?”

“Had you revealed your identity earlier, even that senior from before wouldn’t have dared to make a move against you, right?”

The musician among them suddenly asked, his face full of confusion.

The other two also seemed puzzled.

Why would someone with such a powerful background go out of their way to appease that mysterious senior?

No matter how strong that person was, could they really be stronger than the General’s Mansion of Central Region?

“Haha, no need for you all to worry about that,” the limping man replied with a faint smile.

“But since we’ve met, let me give you some advice—do not provoke that person.”

With that, he ignored their reactions, turned around, and limped away.

Despite his limping gait, his speed was astonishingly fast.

As he traveled, he couldn’t help but glance back at the Ren Family's eRegion.

“This cripple was once fortunate enough to witness the General unleashing his divine technique to suppress powerful enemies…”

“But… that senior’s divine technique—its might seemed on par with the General— No— perhaps even stronger!”

“Where did such a terrifying powerhouse even come from…?”

The old man murmured to himself while looking toward the Ren Family’s direction.

Shaking his head, he hurried on his way.

After the cripple left, the three Eastern Region cultivators exchanged bitter smiles.

“Well, that’s that. Let’s just go home.”

“We can’t afford to mess with that senior, and we definitely can’t afford to mess with the General’s Heaven’s Plume Army.”

“Sigh… what a mess.”

“We just wanted to watch the excitement, and now we’ve lost 5,000 supreme-grade spirit stones and a Heavenly-grade artifact.”

“Such bad luck…”

As Void Return realm powerhouses, they had reigned supreme in the Eastern Region for over a thousand years without ever suffering a setback.

Yet today, in just a short span of time, they had been humiliated twice.

One could only imagine how stifled they felt.

In the end, they parted ways and went home in defeat.

<+>

Holy Mountain

Under the guidance of two elders, Leng Yanan and Li Yurong soon arrived at the foot of the Holy Mountain.

“Senior Sister! When I was staying on the Holy Mountain before, I used to live right there!”

Li Yurong suddenly pointed excitedly at a tiny house at the base of the mountain.

Hearing this, Leng Yanan turned her gaze toward the small house—and immediately frowned.

The Holy Mountain itself looked grand, yet why was her junior sister placed in such a remote and shabby location?

Especially that little hut—it was crooked, misshapen, and downright ugly.

Even a village farmer’s house would be better than this.

Calling it a house was generous—it was barely more than a pile of stones stacked together.

Before Leng Yanan could voice her displeasure, the Grand Elder had already anticipated her thoughts.

The moment her expression darkened, he knew she had completely misunderstood.

“Ahem— My young friend, we actually prepared a grand hall for Yurong up on the mountain.”

“After all, she is the Saintess of our Holy Mountain.”

“Though she isn’t as famous as her elder sister, we would never treat her unfairly.”

“This little hut… well, she built it herself.”

“She mainly wanted a place where she could sneak out to explore the outside world…”