While Sage didn’t want to go to any of the Celebratory parties, he was worried that Song Lu Tian might be eager to leave town. He didn’t want to upset him by not meeting with him promptly. At the same time, he had no idea whether he was still wanted by the Tang Clan. A huge gathering like this was the perfect place to get lost in the crowd. Once he met up with Song Lu Tian and Chong Xiezi he could stop by the Zhu Clan and then leave Plum Lantern City.

Thankfully, Sage had two weeks to study the techniques from the Timeless Master’s Library. He’d picked out a simple disguising technique and had just enough time to obtain a modicum of proficiency with it. It had a very imposing name ‘Living Canvas’, but was actually a very simple technique. It didn’t transform the body or create illusions, all it could do was change colors. Hair color, eye color, skin tone, as well as modifying the complexion or smoothness of skin. The advanced level could even function as makeup and other cosmetics to conceal blemishes or add color to the skin, nails, or hair. The coloring was done with Qi so it wouldn’t rub or wash off. It was also such a thin and light amount of energy that it was hard to notice it in use.

Sage used it to change his black hair and eyes into a light brown and blue color respectively. He also gave his skin a brown tan and cut his hair very short. After switching out his loose grey robes for a set of tight blue ones it would be hard to recognize him without a close scrutiny of his face. As he was heading to the location of the celebration he was glad to have worn a disguise. He saw a corner portion of a building pasted with many wanted posters and his own face was staring back at him. Well, he took it as himself. The posters were drawn by hand with ink. They might have taken his image from a Memory Sphere, but the wanted posters were merely drawn from a person’s hand. He didn’t seem to be valuable enough to necessitate more expensive means.

His hair was still a darker color, but at least the style was very different. His skin and eyes were quite different so he was pretty sure the normal members of the populace wouldn’t recognize him easily. It took him some work to get into the large celebratory party. The party was huge, but only powerful or influential cultivators were allowed in. Even with those standards there were hundreds of people filing in. Sage bribed a guard, slipping him a Storage Ring filled with thousands of Spirit Stones. Normally he would never waste so much money, but he didn’t want any attention at this point so he acted like a bigshot, tossing out a big bribe without even talking to the guard. The guard looked inside the ring and then let him through without a word.

Once he was inside, Sage kept away from the groups of powerful and influential looking people. He hit a buffet table and wasted some time. He was watching Song Lu Tian and his two attendants. When Song Heng left the group to fetch something, Sage finally made his move. He slightly bumped into the man and slipped an object into the front of his coat.

“Please forgive me, Sir. I wasn’t watching where I was going and bumped into such an illustrious personage. Please punish me.”

He bowed down low and gave Song Heng a chance to check the object he’d slipped him. It was just a small Formation Plate. Something that wouldn’t stand out too much, but due to the material and formation on it being the exact same as one he’d given to Song Lu Tian, he figured Song Heng would figure it out.

“Don’t worry, it was only a harmless misunderstanding. Get up and go on your way.”

Sage rose back up, smiling at Song Heng, “Thank you so much for letting me off, Great Sir.”

After making himself known, Sage walked over to one of the private rooms and waited at the doorway. He kept his head down so nobody would see his face too clearly, but he sat down on a very high stool so he would stand out from the crowd. Eventually he noticed the three Mount Song Sect members heading in his direction so he stood up and went into one of the smaller rooms. A few minutes later Song Lu Tian and his two attendants walked in and locked the door. Sage smiled and bowed low to them, “Song Lu Tian! It’s so great seeing such a magnificent person like you again. How was your trip, was it dangerous?”

Song Lu Tian snorted at him, “Chh. Stop fooling around, I know you snuck in. Are you trying to use the Chong Clan against me?”

Sage put on a disbelieving look, “What? That’s crazy, I would never plot against you, Sir. You’re already so tyrannical, it’s only a matter of time until you run the world. I want only to forge a deeper relationship with you, why would I plot with the Chong Clan?”

“Hah, slippery words. No need to pretend, I recognized that Beetle Xiezi was riding on.”

“Of course, the Great Song Lu Tian is without equal. I am not plotting with her. My name is Lang Sheng. The Lang Clan was a branch family of the Chong Clan before they were wiped out by Jiang Hua and the Fu Clan. My helping Chong Xiezi is unrelated to my relationship with you and any future cooperation between Holy Flame Sect and Mount Song Sect.”

Song Lu Tian narrowed his eyes before leaning back and staying silent. From the look on the face of the three men, they were probably communicating silently somehow. After a few minutes, Song Heng walked forward.

“Did you mean Skyfire Jiang Hua?”

Sage nodded. Of course he knew the man’s current nickname. The Lang Clan had been destroyed decades ago and the young man who destroyed them had gone on to great heights. The Lang Clan had killed his brother and after Jiang Hua got his revenge his personality changed. From that point on he defeated group after group until finally causing a stir among the royal family of the Dou Kingdom. There was some sort of power struggle and now Skyfire Jiang Hua was one of the highest officials of the Dou Kingdom. Sage missed his Uncle Zhang, the one who raised him for a few years, but it wasn’t enough to declare war on someone far out of his league. Jiang Hua was justified in his revenge, the Young Master of the Lang Clan had killed his brother for a nonsensical reason. Sage was just sad that the whole clan was wiped out. Not everyone was as horrible as that Young Master, nor were they supportive of his choices.

It’s not like I don’t understand. Like they say around here, ‘pulling up a problem by the roots’. You can’t even let an innocent little girl go since she might grow up and harbor vengeance in her heart. Cultivator lifespans are too long around here. Who wants an enemy from something they did a hundred years ago?

The three Songs went quiet and Sage guessed they were speaking again so he interjected, “Please don’t misunderstand. I do not wish to get vengeance, nor am I planning some great conspiracy. The Lang Clan at the time was too arrogant and overbearing, they killed someone for no reason and offended a future hero. I am sad at the loss of family members, but most of the Clan members were not anything worthy of praise. I will one day resurrect the clan, but I have no intention of causing trouble with Jiang Hua. My relationship with you is that of someone from the Holy Flame Sect and not someone from the deceased Lang Clan.”

Eventually, the three seemed to come to an understanding and Song Lu Tian tossed a storage ring to Sage. Sage caught it and bowed deeply to the man.

“Thank you. When you require a new set of Formation Swords, other equipment, or the special services of a Professional, please send a message to the Holy Flame Sect. The same goes for the rest of the Mount Song Sect. The Five Mountain Sword Sect Alliance is famous for their neutrality. The Holy Flame Sect is also a neutral power and I’m sure a closer partnership would be welcome.”

Sage had gone out on a limb, speaking for his Sect in the pursuit of later benefits. The Five Mountain Sword Sect Alliance was made up of five different sword sects each in a different kingdom. They were neutral in political matters, but they were famed as the greatest sword sects in each of their kingdoms which made them a power at the Imperial level, above the Kingdoms. Unfortunately, the Shihu Kingdom was not the home of any of the Five Mountain Sword Sects so they didn’t have as many opportunities to do business with them.