What on earth are you learning from him

"Something seems off ahead?"

Standing atop the clouds, Li Mo frowned, sensing an inexplicable unease.

With his heightened six senses, any anomaly triggered an instinctive foreboding.

Sure enough, a swarm of figures emerged in the distance—no fewer than a hundred, each mounted on flying exotic beasts.

"Riding clouds and mist? What kind of technique is that?"

"Probably someone who’s comprehended an inner world related to mist. Just two of them, and they don’t seem like Dharma Bodies."

"Just returned from the Rare Treasures Bazaar, eh? Bet they’ve got some loot to squeeze out."

"Playing mahjong every day is so dull."

"Yeah, right now, we’re bandits. If we don’t rob someone, I’ll forget what we’re supposed to be doing."

Their voices carried on the wind.

Li Mo: "?"

Unless he was mistaken... he was being robbed?

[Name: Luo Yexian]

[...]

[Evaluation: After the Summoning Demons Sect committed earth-shattering deeds in the Imperial Capital, they were hunted down by the Great Yu’s Sky Patrol Guards. Forced to scatter, Luo Yexian disguised himself as a bandit to avoid detection.]

[Recent Activity: Noticed the Rare Treasures Bazaar had concluded and decided to fulfill his bandit duties.]

Li Mo never expected this.

Of all the people to run into during a robbery...

Though the opposition was numerous, Li Mo remained utterly unfazed. His inner realm thrived on numbers—the more, the merrier.

"But..."

Li Mo glanced back.

Elder Qian hadn’t fully stabilized his cultivation yet, and as a newly ascended Outer Realm practitioner, he was far weaker than Luo Yexian. In a direct fight, the old man might not survive.

"Elder Qian, don’t speak later. I’ll protect you."

So said Li Mo, the Qingyuan Sect’s Inner Realm disciple, now draped in the Veil of Formless Radiance.

"Got it."

The Outer Realm elder obediently complied.

In the blink of an eye—

"Hold it right there!" Luo Yexian charged ahead.

"This mountain belongs to us, these trees were planted by us! To pass through— Wait, aren’t we in the sky?"

"We’re robbing people here, stay focused!"

"Tch, ever heard of the fearsome reputation of our... our All Greens Gang?"

"Listen up. Under Great Yu law, banditry warrants crippled cultivation, lifelong revocation of martial rights, and exile to the Northern Wastes. We’re risking all that—so you better understand how ruthless we are."

Clearly, the demonic sect members were new to this.

They weren’t exactly professionals.

Truth be told, they looked down on ordinary bandits, considering themselves in a league of their own.

"Enough! A gang only needs one boss. What’s with all this rambling?"

After scolding his subordinates, Luo Yexian turned back, ready to flash a menacing grin.

But before his lips could curl, they froze mid-air.

Before him, the mist dispersed, revealing a familiar figure wreathed in immortal aura, his presence towering and unshaken by the sudden ambush.

"B-Black Earth Immortal?!"

Luo Yexian shuddered.

Li Mo sighed, his gaze pitying. "I merely went into seclusion, yet you’ve fallen to such straits?"

He seemed genuinely surprised that the Summoning Demons Sect—once his allies—had resorted to banditry.

Under his gaze, the demonic sect members flushed with shame.

"We... ah, it’s a long story... So you were in seclusion! No wonder we never got your reply."

Luo Yexian’s eyes welled up as he poured out his grievances.

Qian Bufan: "?"

Since when was Li Mo so chummy with demonic sect members? And why did he sound like their leader?

Hadn’t the kid claimed he didn’t follow Shang Wu’s path, forging his own twisted way instead?

But Li Mo had warned him to stay silent, and sensing the opponents’ auras, Qian Bufan swallowed his words.

Yet, against his hopes—

Luo Yexian spotted him and frowned. "Isn’t this the Qingyuan Sect’s Qian Bufan? Rumor has it he went to the Rare Treasures Bazaar with Li Mo and caused quite a stir."

Qian Bufan: "!"

Damn.

Li Mo had disguises, but he didn’t. Were they about to be exposed?

But Li Mo remained unperturbed. "Indeed. I captured him and have Li Mo imprisoned nearby."

"Eh?" Qian Bufan blinked.

He was a prisoner now?

"Immortal, you’re...?"

"Infiltration into the Qingyuan Sect, naturally."

"Whoa..."

Luo Yexian sucked in a breath, excitement gleaming in his eyes. He’d stumbled upon the Black Earth Immortal’s grand scheme!

As everyone knew, when an immortal acted, it was never ordinary.

"Enough. I have other matters to attend to. We’ll stay in touch via token."

"Could you hand Li Mo over to us?"

"If you can find him, be my guest."

Li Mo patted his shoulder and soared away on his clouds.

Let them search for a man who was already gone.

The demonic sect members waited until they were far off before whispering among themselves.

"Boss, was that the immortal you mentioned?"

"Such divine bearing! Do you think his order to find Li Mo was..."

"A test?!"

Luo Yexian’s eyes lit up. The more he thought about it, the more it made sense.

Otherwise, why mention the token?

And why pat his shoulder three times?

"The immortal is testing our insight! Spread out and search!"

The demonic sect scattered like startled birds.

---

"They shouldn’t follow us, right?"

After speeding away on his Somersault Cloud, Li Mo took a few detours just to be safe.

Yet before long—

That foreboding sensation returned.

What now? One wave after another?

"No, this aura... it’s not the demonic sect," Qian Bufan muttered, his chubby face grave.

"Right, it’s not," Li Mo agreed, deactivating his Heavenly Destiny Eye.

"Then who—?"

"The Spirit Thread Sect."

"They’re a righteous sect! Why would they...?"

Qian Bufan’s eyes widened as he spotted the approaching bandits.

Before he could finish, a translucent veil draped over him—Li Mo’s artifact for masking auras, now shielding him from detection.

"Me, an elder, relying on a disciple’s protection?!"

Qian Bufan fumed, ready to fight despite his unstable cultivation.

Then he saw the three thousand-strong horde ahead... and quietly sat back down. His fury lasted all of a second.

"Keh keh keh! This mountain belongs to us, these trees were planted by us—"

"...Could you at least change your lines?"

Li Mo couldn’t hold back anymore.

"And for the last time—WE’RE IN THE SKY!!"