Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

"Flowers flutter in the spring city."

"Snakes and bugs chase 'round everywhere."

"Fear not the demons that come."

"For my Dao boasts divine might."

Humming a tune from his hometown, Yi Chen walked along the mountain path.

This was already his sixth day since leaving Dragon Tiger Mountain, and it had been smooth sailing without any strange occurrences.

To avoid any trouble that might be tailing him, he decided to take a detour through Jiangbei Circuit to Fengyun County, curving around the Daze Prefecture with many snaking twists and turns.

"Hee hee hee, surely with such caution, they couldn't get me," Yi Chen couldn't help but let out a strange laugh amidst the wilderness.

At this moment, a two-meter long over-mountain viper suddenly leapt out from the forest at the side of the mountain path, and, as if possessed, launched a disgraceful sneak attack at Yi Chen's ankle.

However, Yi Chen stood unmoved, not the least bit panicked.

The speed of the over-mountain viper was indeed fast, but Miao Zi's was evidently faster.

Without any need for Yi Chen to act, a black shadow flashed by, and the two-meter long over-mountain viper was caught in Little Miao's jaws with a snap and pinned to the ground, instantly killed.

Little Miao, wagging its black tail, came over with a spicy strip in its mouth, seeking accolades from Yi Chen.

"Good child, you're rewarded with half a strip of barbecued spicy strip."

"Of course, you eat the latter half, and the tail counts as part of the length."

Yi Chen patted Little Miao's head in approval, and took out a fragrant pill, pushing it into Little Miao's mouth.

This was a Pei Yuan Dan he had obtained from Zhang Hu, a lower-quality mysterious pill especially good for nurturing spirit beasts, promoting their growth at an accelerated rate.

After consuming two of these pills, Miao Zi's body indeed grew another two centimeters longer— the effect was not bad.

But when Yi Chen wanted to take Miao Zi for a test ride, Miao Zi collapsed after not even a hundred steps; although Miao Zi had grown, after Yi Chen reached the tenth level of the Pure Yang Dragon Tiger True Technique, he had become too heavy, and Little Miao could not bear his weight at a sprint, forcing him to give up once again.

The man and his cat started the fire, spread charcoal, and sprinkled spices—a process as seamless as flowing clouds and water, seemingly practiced many times over. In no time, the fragrant aroma of roasted snake filled the air.

After sharing their meal, Yi Chen continued on his journey.

With the passage of time, another two hours went by and the mountain path came to an end; suddenly, the view opened up, revealing a wide plain before him.

A long and straight official road stretched directly toward the horizon.

The willows on both sides swayed gently, their forms elegant and graceful.

Beneath the trees lay lush green grass interspersed with nameless wildflowers, adding a touch of charm to the wilderness.

Behind the willows, there stood a small tea shop.

Named "Xishi Tea Shop," its sign was no more than a worn plank with five characters hung upon the willow tree—as simple as that.

Calling it a shop was an overstatement already.

"Daoist, come drink a cup of tea. It's very cheap and won't take much time," a crisp voice of a young woman called out.

Xishi Tea Shop had no customers at the moment; a beautiful woman accompanied by a child as tall as a cartwheel was standing beside the stall.

The fair woman seemed to be around twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a voluptuous figure to the extreme, plump in all the right places, and quite the looker.

As for the child—better left undescribed—he was simply humanoid and wore a red bellyband.

Seeing the expression on Yi Chen's face, Little Miao meowed, "Father, I'm thirsty."

Yi Chen nodded in approval, "We should help the widow and orphan. Let me take you for a drink of refreshing tea."

"Shopkeeper, give me the most expensive tea in your shop~" Yi Chen called out loudly.

Hearing this, the beautiful woman's face brightened with a joyous smile, and she began to boil water with efficiency.

At this moment, her child, as mischievous as a monkey, suddenly began to cry loudly for no apparent reason. The young woman immediately stood up to comfort him, but the boy paid her no mind. Appearing somewhat irritated, she smacked the boy's bottom twice, then sheepishly smiled at Yi Chen before returning to tend to the stove.

Yi Chen found it amusing, but suddenly his brows slightly furrowed as he felt the sensation of being watched. He turned his head to look around, but only saw the vast expanse of heaven and earth. Apart from the three of them, there wasn't even a shadow of a ghost. Yi Chen could only let it go.

"The tea is ready." The beautiful young woman brought over the tea, and as she leaned forward, a deep 'scar' was revealed—enough to suffocate a man.

This Xi Shi tea stand indeed had its unique skills. Yi Chen couldn't understand why it would be opened in such a remote location.

"Perhaps it's because this secluded spot has fewer people to exploit it," he pondered, sniffing the fragrance of the tea. He gently blew on the foam and, with a smile brimming with meaning, asked, "Owner, how much for a cup of tea?"

"Daoist master, this tea isn't worth much, twenty coins a cup. I'm just earning a meager income," the beautiful woman said as she finally freed her hands to pick up the child and gently pat his back to comfort him.

"Twenty coins, that's cheap."

Yi Chen blew on the tea again and, under the woman's eager gaze, set it back down on the table.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Daoist master, please drink quickly. The tea won't taste good once it cools," urged the woman's voice, seemingly filled with anticipation.

"No rush. Look at your little treasure crying. I have some understanding of magic, I have a way to stop his crying. Call him over and let me hold him," Yi Chen said, his voice as refreshing as a spring breeze, extraordinarily gentle.

"This… alright then."

"Daoist master, why aren't you drinking?~ Mother can buy me toys with the money she earns," the child sobbed as he approached Yi Chen, "Daoist master, please drink. It's really tasty."

"I…."

"Drink your mother's big-headed ghost, Dragon Tiger Overwhelming Power~"

Suddenly, thunder erupted from the clear sky.

Yi Chen exploded into action, his daoist robe bursting apart, and pieces of cloth fluttered across the sky, revealing tattooed images of dragons and tigers that made a shocking display.

Centered around him, energy surged forth and the entire tea stand was blown away, creating a hole more than three feet deep in an instant.

He shot up in stature, instantly transforming into a towering figure of two and a half meters tall. A giant figure of pale gold appeared on the ground, with a frigid gaze, bare-chested, back covered in tattoos, and surrounded by a faint golden aura.

These dramatic changes might take long to describe, but they occurred in the blink of an eye. Yi Chen's expanding pale golden fist ferociously smashed towards the child.

At this moment, the complexion of the beautiful woman and the child changed drastically, not knowing when their flaws had been exposed by Yi Chen.

The woman and the child screamed, their cover no longer maintained as they unleashed their powerful presence with full force, revealing an aura even stronger than that of a fairy swordsmaster.

Both clasped their hands together, then stretched one palm to the sky, summoning a speck of grey light at the center of their palms. It rapidly expanded into a grey circular barrier.

Yi Chen's pale golden fist smashed into the grey barrier instantly, hammering half of it into the ground, the overpowering force causing ripples to emanate across the surface.

"Taoist, how did you see through our ruse?" the woman trembled, shrieking.

This unexpected turn of events greatly shocked them. They were guest experts from the great Yan Family, tasked with dealing with a young top-ranked fighter from the Dragon Tiger List. They assumed he would be weak, but to be safe, they had planned to poison the tea with a mechanically triggered poison before taking action.

Not only had their poisoning attempt failed, but they were preemptively attacked by Yi Chen. The one they had assumed to be frail and weak proved to be a powerful Daoist covered in dragon and tiger tattoos, resembling a humanoid tyrannosaurus.

Yi Chen grew angry thinking about it.

His pale golden fist rained down on the grey barrier like droplets in a storm, as he cursed loudly, "I curse your mother."

"You're selling tea leaves worth two hundred taels per jin out in the wild for twenty coins a cup. Holding a golden rice bowl yet begging for alms, do you think I can't afford good tea, or do you take me for an imbecile?"

"!@#%"

Upon hearing this, the beautiful woman and the child's faces turned pale, never expecting this to be the issue.

"Wife, how did you manage the tea," the child with the gruff voice of an adult asked.

"I asked the butler for it, saying I needed the worst tea leaves from the mansion. He said these were the worst, only meant for lowly people to drink..."

At this revelation, the three fell into a moment of sudden silence.

"Faced with death, and you still dare to insult me? You clearly don't take me seriously at all!!!"

"True Yang Spirit, Dragon Tiger State, activate!" Yi Chen's voice suddenly rose eight octaves.

A four-meter tall pale golden Daoist shadow emerged above the ground, with indifferent pale golden eyes that looked down upon the woman and child inside the grey barrier, as if beholding pigs and dogs.