Chapter 441: Forced Marriage of a Different Sort
Invincible Sect suffered a pretty big loss this time. In the whole sky palace, everything except the back palace and several peripheral palaces were destroyed. More importantly, many disciples suffered serious injuries. Several disciples even hurt their fundamentals. It would be difficult for them to have any advancement in cultivation at all after that. Sky palaces of other places suffered even more serious losses.
Lonemoon joined the post-war recovery work as soon as he returned to the sect. Over several days, he was so busy that they didn't even see him. Shen Ying and Yi Qing actually started idling away in the back palace every day. Perhaps thinking that these two couldn't be counted on anyway, Lonemoon didn't even have the desire of dragging them over for labor.
Perhaps because Shen Ying had half recovered, she started eating lesser and lesser after a great meal on the day of return. Her five meals a day changed to three a day. She actually started sleeping more, sometimes even as she was eating she'd start yawning. Yi Qing was very worried at first, but after a few days, he realized that she wasn't going dormant, but simply getting sleepy after eating, and then became assured, and just let her be. Only that every time she leaned asleep on the table, he'd carry her back into the room carefully.
But after he had done this many times, there were inevitably several times in which Shen Ying woke up mid way. And the look that she gave him was very weird. Yi Qing vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what. But after that, Shen Ying kept asking him the same question.
"Chef, take off your pants, I won't laugh at you!"
"Chef, take it off, my sister didn't kill you the other day, maybe it was alright!"
"Chef, it is quite hot today, maybe I can help you take off your pants to cool off?"
"Chef, take it off, I'll just take one look, okay?"
"Chef, don't go back tonight. Sleep with me. The kind with your pants off." Yi Qing: "…"
Chef trembled in fear of a Master who wanted to take off his pants all the time.
And she actually bore the completely serious look every time, like it was all business. Every day, she thought of all kinds of ways to achieve her aim, staring at his pants the whole time.
Shen Ying thought, he everyday secretly carried her onto the bed, secretly kissed her several times, but never making the move. Hmm, she was sure that he must have gotten beaten up by Big Sister to the point of mental trauma. So pitiful…
Shen Ying's such behavior continued for a whole half month. Seeing that a certain someone getting more and more impatient and was already planning to make the move, Yi Qing had to make a concession. He said, unsure, "If Master… is willing, after Father Niu finished his work, we will… we will get married… How about that? After we are married I will… will…"
"Huh?" Shen Ying was stunned. Get married… married! She flushed. So the boyfriend was asking for her hand? But, it's not like it was impossible. As the saying goes, all relationships that don't have the purpose of marriage are hoodlum behaviors.
"Okay!" She thought about it, and nodded hard, only then climbing down from Chef's body, and releasing the hand which grabbed his pants. "I don't behave like hoodlums!"
Yi Qing, "…" Didn't you just now?
"Then I will go to Father Niu to discuss it first thing tomorrow morning." Yi Qing stood up from the bed immediately. "Rest early, Master."
With that said, he walked out like escaping, but his footsteps were very messy, as though he'd trip and fall any moment. He walked all the way out of the yard, before the suppressed emotions finally burst out. His heartbeat was so loud that he felt like he'd explode. A wild ecstasy spread over his body, making his standing a bit unstable momentarily. He squatted down and pressed his hands against his burning face, and a curvature appeared at the corners of his mouth which had never been there before. Was he dreaming? Master… Master really agreed!!!
——————
Before Chef went to look for Father Niu, he came by himself. As though there was some matter he wanted to discuss, he came early in the morning. He looked at the table which was laid full of breakfast dishes but with nobody sitting on it, and then at Yi Qing who came out of the kitchen.
"Chef, where's Shen Ying? Still not woken?"
"Not yet." Yi Qing replied casually. Master was getting up later and later these few days.
"What time is it already? And she's still not awake!" Did she mean to just eat brunch? The corner of his mouth twitched, and he walked towards the room subconsciously. "I have matters to discuss with her." But when he reached the door, he suddenly paused, as though remembering a certain person's annoyance upon being awakened. The hand which lifted just didn't manage to knock. Yi Qing walked over as well. Just as he was about to speak, the door suddenly opened from inside with a crack, showing Shen Ying who wore very messy hair. She looked up at the two, and lifted a hand in greeting, "Morning!"
"What morning'? This is almost noon!" Lonemoon said resentfully.
Yi Qing at the side stiffened, and he looked straight at the person in front of him. His eyes went wider and wider. He stepped forward and said hurriedly, "Master, you…"
"Chef, I'm so hungry!" Shen Ying said straightaway.
Yi Qing was stunned momentarily, and then he spoke subconsciously, "Breakfast is ready." And soon lunch will be, too.
"Alright, I have matters to discuss with you guys!" Lonemoon grabbed Shen Ying's hand and dragged her to the side of the table. Perhaps it was his illusion, but he felt that Shen Ying was somewhat heavier. She must have eaten too much these few days!
Lonemoon sat down by the table, took a look at the person opposite him who already started nibbling at a steamed stuffed bun, and then at Chef who was handing her more. He hesitated for a long while before saying with a deep voice, "There's a problem that has been on my mind for a long time. This time, Invincible Heavenly Palace suffered quite a great loss, and several disciples suffered quite serious injuries. Those were intruders, after all, it was normal that they couldn't fight them! In general, they suffered because of us." Those people came for them.
He sighed, and frowned, before continuing, "There will be more of such things in the future, I'm afraid that… So I'm thinking, maybe it is time for us to let go."
The master and disciple were stunned for a second, and they both looked up at him.
What do you mean? "I don't want the sect that we built together to be involved in plane matters every time." It was their responsibility to guard this plane. It was unnecessary to involve Invincible Sect every time. He can't promise to keep them safe every single time. "Even without us, it would be enough to have Yu Hong, Lan Hua and Little Black they all to guard this sect, seeing the Immortal Realm as it is right now."
"You've made up your mind?" asked Yi Qing. Though this sect was built together by the three, in actual fact, the whole sect was pretty much supported by Lonemoon alone. They merely provided token support by showing up for important events.
"Yup." nodded Lonemoon. Ever since this intrusion, he had understood that guarding a plane wasn't as easy as it seemed on the surface, and they couldn't possibly look out for Invincible Sect 24-7. And in those 3000 years, they did a good job, didn't they? "Not like we leave straight away, just that we try to not intervene in matters of the sect in the future."
The Master and disciple exchanged a look. After a long while Shen Ying replied, "Oh."
The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched. What was 'oh' supposed to mean? Yi Qing actually started to explain immediately, "You can decide it. Both Master and I have no objection."
"Alright, then it is settled." Lonemoon looked at Shen Ying. "Yu Hong took charge of the sect for 3000 years in the past, it is most suitable to hand Invincible Sect to her. I'll go and arrange right now. A few days later there will be a Handover Ceremony, Shen Ying, you will formally pass the position of sect master to her."
"Me?" Shen Ying was stunned, tilting her head.
"Yes!" Lonemoon nodded. Remembering something, he gave her a stare. "Can you have f*cking forgotten that you are the sect master."
"Oh…" Shen Ying took a bite of the bun, and replied lazily, "So troublesome!"
"What troublesome!" Lonemoon rolled his eyes. "That's settled. I'll go first." With that said, he got up and took two rapid steps, but then he remembered something, and his feet paused.
Wait, troublesome?
Σ(°△°|||)
He turned back abruptly, and looked unbelievably at the figure who leaned on the table nibbling at a bun, soft as wet mud, his eyes widened….
Holy shit!
"SHEN YING!!!!"
Chapter 442: Handover to Disciples
"Hey, Father Niu!" Shen Ying waved a hand in greeting habitually.
"To hell with 'hey'!" The corner of Lonemoon's mouth twitched, as his whole person blew over like a wind. He looked at the person in front of him up and down. Indeed, she was taller than a few days ago, and especially with that familiar laziness all over her, this was the real Shen Ying indeed. Yes. "Would it hurt you to tell me earlier!"
Well, you didn't give me an opportunity to speak. Shen Ying laughed, handing over a bun, "Wanna eat?"
"To hell with eating!" Lonemoon grabbed it forcefully and stuffed it into his mouth like it was his way of releasing anger. He looked like he was gonna burst out, but his eyes actually glanced over the person in front of him many times, unsure. "When did you recover?"
"Just now." She simply had a sleep, that was all. "You're totally fine?"
"Yup." I was fine to begin with.
"You won't shrink or something, anymore?"
"Uh… that'd be difficult."
Lonemoon stared straight at her for a long while, before he let out a sigh of relief. "Good that you've recovered." He had thought that it'd take her a few more years, but it was actually so fast. Though it was a good thing that the Shen Ying with her cheat-like abilities was back, why did he feel a deep sense of displeasure? Especially when he thought that he could never see three-year-old Little Ying again, he disliked the annoying person in front of him even more.
"Next time, can you notify us early if anything like this happens." If it happens a few more times, they'd really not be able to take it. "Don't so concerned over these small details."
What small details!
He took a few deep breaths, suppressing the angst in his heart. "The handing over of position, it has to be soon." They can't drag Invincible Sect down with them.
"Oh."
"Don't you have anything to say?" At any rate, YOU are the sect master.
"One." Shen Ying finally put down the steamed bun in her hand, and said with a look of complete seriousness, "Father Niu, if you're no longer in charge of Invincible Sect, will you… still be giving us living allowances?"
Lonemoon, "…" Yi Qing: "…"
"Get lost!!!!"
——————
Lonemoon thought at first that the matter of handing over was just an ordinary matter of sect heritage. He didn't expect that when it came to it, Yu Hong was unwilling. She forcefully refused to take the position of Sect master. No, not only Yu Hong, but the whole sect looked like they'd refuse this decision till death.
"Master Lonemoon, are you testing me? Whatever the case, I will never accept the position of sect master, and nobody in the sect will."
"Elder Lonemoon, in my heart there is only one sect master of Invincible Sect. Alive, we are sect master's disciples; dead, we are sect master's dead disciples. Right now, sect master is still here, how can we be treasonous and go against our superior?" "Elder Lonemoon, you don't need to persuade me any more. If I am Sect master's disciple for a day, I'm her disciple forever."
"Elder Lonemoon, if I have done anything wrong, please give me a heavy punishment, but please don't place me in the position of injustice, ingratitude and disloyalty."
Yu Hong spoke in all righteousness, and her expression was dead serious. The key was that the disciples around them looked like it was the most natural thing. They even gave him frequent looks of condemnation.
Lonemoon, "…"
Holy shit, what did he do? He just wanted to pass on a position, hello? Isn't that very normal in Immortal sects? Where the hell did this they-would-die-before-accepting- another-sect-master look come from? He must have built a cult of heretics instead of a sect over all these years.
In the end, Lonemoon still compromised. The next best thing would be to change the concept, and choose a new Elder, instead of Sect master. In name, it was to take over from him and Chef, but it was equally to take charge of the management of the whole sect. At any rate, Shen Ying the sect master was no more than a mascot.
This time, she accepted without hesitation, and expressed a willingness to do all she could to promote Invincible Sect.
Lonemoon, "…" Do you guys have some misunderstanding about the sect master? And what was that feeling of grievance?
Eventually, Lonemoon chose two Guardians. Yu Hong, the Left Guardian, would manage all matters of the sect. The Right Guardian was Si Yu, who would teach the disciples cultivation.
Since Si Yu came back from preaching in the lower realms, she seemed to have new understandings. Not long ago, she successfully went through her Tribulation and her cultivation rose to Young Emperor. She was also the first to reach the level of Emperor among this batch of disciples.
And with Lan Hua, seeing that he had paid rent for so many years, and had made the most contribution in rebuilding the Heavenly Palace, Lonemoon finally settled his problem of residence. He formally became a member of the Invincible Sect, the kind that didn't need to pay rent.
In excitement, Lan Hua dug his storage bag empty once more. This time not because of Good Heart, but of his own willingness.
It was difficult, the life of a foreigner. In fact, he stayed in Invincible Sect for all these years because, besides him being used to the place, it was also the only place in the whole Immortal Realm that could provide unlimited materials such as talismans and array objects for his usage, research and wastage.
Because of the whole sect being body cultivators, nobody had any use of those materials, and nobody would fight with him for it. Besides, with his good friend Radish, any kind of immortal herb could be planted, and any type of weapon refinement material could be found. As an all-rounded cultivate-holic, how could he find a better place than this? He'd be silly to leave!
So Lan Hua had firmed up his wish to stay here since long ago and had finally become a member of Invincible Sect after thousands of years of hard work. Hmm, life was perfect. He only seemed to have forgotten the fact that Lonemoon robbed his storage bag every once in a while, and he was still penniless now thanks to that.
Because of the change of position, the original handover ceremony became a promotion ceremony. And with Si Yu's sudden imperial ascension, Lonemoon just decided to settle both matters at one go.
The continents were respectful as always, and all of them attended despite their losses from the previous intrusion. Lonemoon passed the positions of Elders to Yu Hong and Si Yu under the witness of everyone and announced that he would retire from managing the affairs of the sect from then on. He passed the jade flute that he had used for years to Yu Hong as a token.
From now on, he was no longer involved in the affairs of Invincible Sect. He even threw out the account books and all, totally letting go.
Shen Ying looked at a dish of pastry which was almost finished really soon and took away the last two pieces rapidly. And then, she finally expressed objection to this, "Father Niu, maybe, you should still take back the account books."
"Why?" Lonemoon turned to glance at her. Remembering something, he said with a bit of relief, "Now you know how difficult it is to manage a sect, and feel heartache for me?"
"Uh…" Shen Ying looked at the empty dish on the table. No, she felt heartache for the pastries. "Anything else from you?" The person whom she may not see for days in the past had already sat there for a long time.
Lonemoon was stunned briefly. He looked at Shen Ying, and then at Chef beside her. Suddenly he thought of something. His mouth twitched, and he said with some disdain, "Are you two thinking that I'm intruding on your privacy and that's why you wanted me to go? A grown woman can't be kept in the family indeed."
"…"
"Oh yeah, Chef." He remembered something and turned towards Chef. "I kept forgetting to ask you: what was the matter that you suddenly sent voice transmission to me saying you had to discuss with me?"
Yi Qing's face paled, and the hand which was pouring tea trembled. The tea spilled out immediately. A bit of panic flashed across his face. He hurriedly said, "Nothing!"
"Hmm?" Lonemoon was stunned. "Your tone from that day didn't sound like it. Didn't you say it was about you and Shen…"
"Father Niu!" He suddenly interrupted him aloud, and the panic in his eyes grew even greater. He grabbed the empty dish on the table and said, "The pastries are finished, I will go make some more." With that said, he turned and plunged into the kitchen. Even his footsteps sounded a little messy.
Lonemoon, "…"
What was it with these guys?
He couldn't help but turn towards a certain foodie, "What did you do this time?"
"…"
Chapter 443: Can We Get Married?
"Huh?" Shen Ying stared blankly at him. What has that got to do with me?
"Huh what?" Lonemoon rolled his eyes. "Can't you tell that Chef has not been himself for the past few days?" He's been in a daze. Sometimes he would even zone out while staring at Shen Ying. How could she say this had nothing to do with her?
"Er… really?" She really could not tell.
"Am I wrong?" Lonemoon glared at Shen Ying, as if she was blind. "I think it was about what happened that night. It must be! It was what happened the night before you recovered. He sent me a message in the middle of the night and told me that there was something he wanted to talk to me about. He even sent me four or five messages after that, so that I could not even sleep a wink the entire night. Tell me - what happened that night?"
Shen Ying tilted her head. Something flashed across her eyes. A moment later, she said, "Nothing huge." She glanced at the fruits on the table and poured herself a cup of tea. She handed a cup of tea to Father Niu while she was at it, then continued, "He proposed to me that night."
Pui…
Lonemoon spat out a mouthful of tea.
Coughing, he said, "What did you say?!" Propose?! Had their relationship developed to this stage? How was a proposal not a big deal? "And did you… agree?"
"I did," Shen Ying answered matter-of-factly. "I was only 15 then afterall. I hadn't seen enough of the world."
"Holy shit!" No wonder Chef was so out of sorts. The thing he wanted to discuss with Lonemoon about was his wedding with Shen Ying?
"Wait!" Lonemoon pursed his lips and scanned Shen Ying from head to toe. "You didn't go back on your word, did you?" "Am I that unreliable?" Shen Ying glared at him.
"Yes!" Lonemoon answered almost immediately.
"…" The corners of Shen Ying's mouth twitched. She sighed, then slumped on the table. "Ai, this is so troublesome!"
"Troublesome my ass!" Lonemoon glared at her. "Given the current situation, he probably thinks you regret your answer. What are you planning to do now?" It's been so many days - she should at least clarify herself with him, shouldn't she? She could not allow Chef to continue being this depressed.
Shen Ying tilted her head and stared at him. As if having made up her mind, she sat upright. "Alright!" She turned and shouted in Chef's direction, "Chef!"
"Master?" Chef, who had been busy in the kitchen, immediately looked over at Shen Ying. He walked over, a dish of pastries in his hand. "Master, what did you call me-" Before he could finish speaking, Shen Ying pulled downward onto his collar, and then planted a firm kiss on his lips. Two seconds later, she said hurriedly, "Chef, once it gets dark, come into my room."
Clang!
Chef's hands trembled and the dish of pastries dropped all over the floor. He was still bent over, hovering close to Shen Ying. He looked like his entire body had turned to stone.
Yi Qing: "…"
Lonemoon, "…"
"Hey, I'm still here!" Could they take care of their own image?
Could they spare a thought for his feelings?
"Eh, you haven't left?" Shen Ying turned and glanced at him. Lonemoon's lips twitched. "Why should I leave? This is a public place!"
Shen Ying narrowed her eyes. "That makes sense. Then we will leave!"
Once she finished speaking, she stood up, pulled onto the stone-like Chef, and walked into the house. Some things did not have to wait till dark to be done!
Lonemoon, "…"
Shit!
Was Lonemoon forced to watch their public display of affection, or had he asked for it?
Why did he have to get himself involved in matters like this? ——————
Shen Ying pulled Chef into the room and pushed him firmly onto the bed. It was then that Chef finally snapped back to reality. His entire body was flushed red.
"Master… Master, you…" He moved to get off the bed, but his hands were pulled up above him and held in place with just one of Shen Ying's hands. There was no way he could move anymore. He looked up realized that Shen Ying had already sat atop him. Her eyes no longer reflected the usual laziness that she felt. Instead, they were twinkling with something else. It made him feel warm all over.
"Chef…" Shen Ying leaned in and Chef felt a warm breath against his ear. Chef shuddered. It was just one simple word, but he could hear a thousand different meanings behind it. "I suddenly recalled that when I was 15, there was something I didn't do. Why not we… get it done today?"
"Wh… What?" Yi Qing's mind was a blank. He stared back at Shen Ying and felt the fire building up from inside his gut. Yet, there was a cool breeze next to his ear. Shen Ying raised her hand and tore off a piece of his dharmic robe. She scanned his body from head to toe, seemingly accidentally lingering at a certain private part.
"Master!" Yi Qing exclaimed, his eyes widening. He struggled to get up. Suddenly, he felt a warmth on his lips. Shen Ying's soft lips against his. This time, it felt different from before. Something soft moved along his lips, causing him to want more. His own lips slowly parted, and he felt something enter his mouth. The sweet taste flowed straight into his heart. Suddenly, the entire world seemed to be spinning. Chef felt a satisfaction like never before. It was as if he had just taken over the entire world.
He automatically reacted. He wanted to stay right where he was, but he wanted more at the same time.
"Mas… Master… Master…"
"Good… The familiar voice spoke into his ear. "I will be gentle." She trailed her hand downward and was just about to reach an unspeakable area. Yi Qing shuddered once again. Suddenly, he became alert. With a certain strength that seemed to come out of nowhere, he freed his arms and pulled Shen Ying's hands away. "Master…" his face was flushed, and he was panting. Still, he stubbornly asked the person atop him anxiously, "Are you… Are you still going to marry me?"
"Er…" Shen Ying hesitated. She looked like she was being put in a spot.
Yi Qing's heart sank. The passion that he felt a second ago disappeared all at once as a dull pain in his chest intensified. The disappointment he was feeling caused his eyes to well up.
"Chef, you know things aren't that simple."
"…" So… it's a no?"
"We definitely can't get married now," Shen Ying sighed. In a heavy tone, she continued, "The key is whether you can survive the beating that my older sister is sure to give you - the kind that would be out to kill you." Huh?
Yi Qing paused, his eyes widening. "Master, you're saying…"
"You've witnessed my older sister's strength. Given your current cultivation, how high do you think are the chances of surviving a beating from her?" It's almost certain that he would be flattened by her and killed.
"So Master, you're actually… willing!" He could not help but reach out and grab her hand, looking desperately for confirmation,
"Mm?" Shen Ying stared blankly back at him, not understanding what he was saying. "Didn't I agree a few days ago?"
Yi Qing was overjoyed. He reached out and hugged her close. He was so excited that he could bounce around for hours. "Master, Master…" That's great! Master was willing! "…" So they could continue?
"Master!" Yi Qing rolled around so that Shen Ying was trapped between him and the wall. Just when Shen Ying thought he was going to make a move, he sat up and said determinedly, "I will try my best to defeat Elder Shen. Master, wait for me. I… I am going to train right now."
He got off the bed. Not even concerned about his torn robes, he picked up his pants and disappeared inside the house, leaving behind a certain confused woman.
Shen Ying, "…"
A cold gust of wind blew past her.
Was it too late to break up with him?
This was why she was so tired of dating! (╯°Д°)╯(┻━┻
Chapter 444: Chef's Cultivation
The management of Invincible Sect had officially been handed down to Yu Hong and her batch of disciples. In the beginning, Lonemoon offered certain instructions and reminders from time to time. Slowly, as things began to gain momentum, Lonemoon finally let go and acknowledged that it was time to leave.
He had everything planned. Now that Shen Ying was completely well, he had nothing more to worry about with regard to the rear hall. However, the Three Realms were not as normal as they appeared to be on the surface. There were tons of problems inside. Be it Hong Meng or Song Ren, or the problem with the mushroom realm - all of these were not small problems.
Shen Jing was absolutely right before. The Godfiend left behind a mess for them to clear up. Now that they took the bait, they realized that it had been a trap all along. There was no way any of them could sit back and relax any further. To prevent another manager from invading the plane, and before anything irreversible happened, they had to take the initiative to clear up the mess. That was why they had to go to each and every small world to check. On the one hand, they would be able to learn about this plane inside and out. On the other hand, they would be able to spot any traps that were lying in wait for them. Lonemoon even did a search and for all the delicacies around the Three Realms and compiled them into a book, just in case Shen Ying suddenly felt too lazy to go on the trip. Shockingly, before Shen Ying could even object, Chef suddenly said he was quitting. He wanted to go into isolation to raise his cultivation level.
Lonemoon thought he had misheard Chef at the start. What was he saying?! This little cheat needed to increase his cultivation level? He was already an assistant of the plane, and at the peak of the powers that this world had to offer, especially now that they had figured out how to make full use of their assistants' authorities. Cultivation in their eyes was just data that could easily be adjusted. Why would he still need to increase it? That was unless they met yet another invader like the previous one. Otherwise, Shen Ying and him were the most capable of winning against everyone.
But Chef was determined. No matter what Lonemoon said, he would not change his mind. The next day, he took his sword and mounted the stage in the sect, focused on training his sword techniques. Then… with one move, he broke the entire stage with his sword. -_-|||
He did not seem to realize his destructive powers. In the next few days, he either destroyed halls with his sword Qi or used his fire-elemental techniques to burn down whole palaces.
Lonemoon's chest tightened. Faintly, he could hear the sound of immortal stones flowing right out of his pocket.
"Control him!" Unable to hold back any longer, Lonemoon pulled over the only person who had the ability to stop Chef.
Shen Ying glanced at him lazily, then slumped, like she could fall asleep at any moment. "I'm hungry - I have no energy to control him."
"Didn't you freaking just eat?" Lonemoon glared at her
She scanned him from head to toe with a strange expression, so that Lonemoon began to feel goosebumps all over his body. Shen Ying shook her head and sighed. "Sigh, innocent single man. You wouldn't understand."
When Lonemoon heard this, he felt like a dagger had been pressed through his chest.
"What are you talking about? Make yourself clear!"
"Don't worry, it's nothing!" Once again, Shen Ying looked at the man who was training his sword techniques. Soon, he will realize that there was no use in training this hard. That was if he had not destroyed the entire Invincible Heavenly Palace by then.
Lonemoon frowned. "Speaking of which, what did you tell Chef the other day?" Why did he become like this?
"Nothing." Shen Ying sighed, but she was thinking of something else. She didn't make it in time, did she? "All I said was if he wanted to marry me, he should expect to be killed by my older sister." Lonemoon paused. That was highly likely indeed.
"Ai, isn't love unpredictable?"
"…" Hey! Watch your words! Are you trying to recite a poem?
"I didn't say anything about his lack of status, but he insists on us doing things the right way." Marriage is only a sort of permit. What's more, he was not even from that plane. The most they would be able to get was probably a fake marriage certificate. "Actually, I'm not too concerned about whether we get married or not."
"…" It sounds like you don't want to give him a status!
"Father Niu." Shen Ying turned to him with a serious expression. "Are all sword cultivators so stubborn?"
Lonemoon pursed his lips and then retorted, "Are all body cultivators so casual?" "…"
"Shen Ying, tell me honestly!" Lonemoon patted her shoulder and said seriously, "Do you like Chef? Or just Chef's body?"
"…." Why can't I like his cooking?
"Chef, Elder!" Just as they were speaking, Lonemoon flew over from afar. She seemed to know that Yi Qing was somewhere nearby training his sword techniques. She had a defensive array around herself to protect herself from getting hurt accidentally. She bowed and said, "The country emperor of East Tsui has been waiting in the Heavenly Palace for a long time. He said he has an important matter to bring to your attention."
Lonemoon frowned. "Yu Hong, I said that you and Si Yu can handle the matters for the sect. You don't have to come and ask me about these things. You can handle it."
"No." Yu Hong turned to glance at the man not far away. Then, she continued, "He wants to see Elder Yi Qing. I already asked what this was about, but he refused to tell me. All he said was that this matter is urgent, and he had to see Celestial Emperor Yi Qing personally."
"He's looking for Chef?" Lonemoon paused. Then, he recalled that apart from the ten Celestial Emperors, others saw Yi Qing as the person who controlled the Heavenly Palace. He was the official Celestial Emperor of the Bo Sea. "East Tsui? Why does that name sound so familiar?"
"The country emperor of East Tsui is Yu Cang," Yu Hong reminded Lonemoon. "He was the one who arrived late at the last immortal meeting."
"Oh. The one who played the villain?" Lonemoon knew who he was now. He was the one who said that he supported Lan Hua and opposed to Yi Qing being the country emperor.
Suddenly, he wanted to laugh. When those country emperors tried to play tricks on them and cause conflicts between Yi Qing and Lan Hua, they completely failed. Instead, their plan backfired, and they began to have internal strife because of the Immortal Contest Pills. Later, Lonemoon and the others lost interest in the country emperors. But from time to time, they would hear from the disciples about news regarding them. They even heard that about half of the 15 country emperors had later been fired.
"He's still a country emperor?" While Lan Hua refined more than a hundred Immortal Contest Pills, Lonemoon only handed to them about 15. Later on, he quietly let a few more enter the market, so that the country emperors got angry. Afterall, the people who consumed the pills the other day were the close confidant of the country emperors. Yu Cang was the only one who played the villain and stepped up to cause trouble. Whether they supported him in silence or not, the other country emperors were sure to keep their distance from them. By right, the country of East Tsui should be in trouble by now. Why hadn't Yu Cang been fired? What was more unbelievable was that he would come to look for Chef and not Lan Hua when he had problems.
"East Tsui is more special," Yu Hong explained. "I heard that the various immortals who are in charge of various parts of East Tsui are called City Lords. Most of them came from the same lower realm. Among them, most are Yus. In the lower realm, they were known as one of the aristocratic families that trained hard toward immortality. It is rare that they are still one family in the upper realm today. Perhaps because they were all from the same lower realm, they're especially united." "That's rare!" Lonemoon paused. But few cultivators from the lower realm ascended to immortality. Although there were many immortals in the immortal realm, they came from all over the 3000 worlds. What's more, "3000 worlds" did not really mean there were only 3000. In fact, there were probably many more worlds than that. How could so many immortals come from one lower realm? It must be that that particular lower realm was filled with thick spirit Qi.
It was no wonder that Yu Cang was still sitting comfortably in his seat. He had such an advantageous support system behind him. Lonemoon was curious as to what was so urgent that Yu Cang would run here and look for Chef. Suddenly, he was excited. He nodded at Yu Hong. "Since the country emperor came here personally, we cannot refuse to meet him. Yu Hong, lead him to the front hall. We will be there in a moment."
"Yes!" She turned and flew out.
Lonemoon nudged Shen Ying beside him, who had been drifting in and out of sleep. He pointed at Chef and said, "Hey, get to work. Call him over."
"Oh." Shen Ying looked at Chef in the distance and shouted lazily, "Chef!"
In a flash, the sword Qi in the air disappeared and Chef appeared beside Shen Ying. His eyes were twinkling as he gazed at her. "Master, you called?"
"Someone wants to see you," Lonemoon said. "Stop training for now. Let's go to the front hall."
Chef frowned. It was obvious he was unwilling. Yet, he stole one glance at Shen Ying and followed them, anyway.
The three of them began to walk toward the front hall. After taking just two steps, Yi Qing could not control himself any longer. He turned to gaze at Shen Ying, clenching his fists by his side. A moment later, he reached out stealthily and grabbed Shen Ying's hand. He gently tightened his grip on her hand. Seeing that Shen Ying had no reaction, he broke into a silly grin and flushed.
Lonemoon, who had seen the entire process: "…" Motherf*cker! He had to endure seeing their public displays of affection even when walking!
Wait a moment!
"Where are the two of you headed? It's there!"
Chapter 445: No One Ascends
By the time the few of them arrived at the front hall, the country emperor of East Tsui, Yu Cang, was already inside waiting for them. When he saw the three of them walking in, he immediately got to his feet and bowed toward Yi Qing. "Yu Cang greets the Celestial Emperor." He was unbelievably humble. Nobody would have guessed that he was the same man who was filled with such righteous anger before.
The three of them ignored him and continued walking straight. Shen Ying took the main seat as she slumped down on her chair, one arm resting on the armrest. Yi Qing stayed by her side and retrieved pastries for her to munch on out of habit. He placed it on the side table beside Shen Ying.
Lonemoon, on the other hand, took a seat closest to him on the lower platform. He glanced at the uncomfortable Yu Cang and smiled. "Young Emperor Yu, to what do we owe this honor? Did your disciples misinform us? Were you looking for Celestial Emperor Lan Hua?" He mentioned this on purpose. "How about I ask him to come over now?"
"No, no, no!" Yu Cang was perspiring. He quickly denied it. "Young Emperor, you're mistaken. I… I came to look for Celestial Emperor Yi Qing."
"That's strange…" Lonemoon smiled. "If I'm not mistaken, didn't Young Emperor Yu announce in front of all the country emperors and immortal friends from other continents that you only knew Celestial Emperor Lan Hua, and not Celestial Emperor Yi Qing?"
"Yes… Yes, I did remark indiscreetly. Please forgive me, Celestial Emperor." Yu Cang's legs turned to jelly, and he fell to his knees. "No matter how the Celestial Emperor wants to deal with me, I will accept my punishment."
Lonemoon paused. Logically, if he could afford to cause so much trouble before, he should be quite a proud person. Why was he giving in so easily? What's more, he fell to his knees to admit his wrongs without much more. Suddenly, Lonemoon realized that what Yu Cang was about to ask of them was not going to be simple.
"But all of these was a folly on my part. It has nothing to do with the people of East Tsui, nor with the people of the Bo Sea." Yu Cang raised his head and looked very seriously at the man who was now handing more food over to Shen Ying. Yi Qing did not even spare him a glance. Yu Cang hesitated, then turned toward Lonemoon instead. "The matter I am here for today is extremely important. It concerns the entire immortal realm. I have no choice but to ask Celestial Emperor Yi Qing for help."
"Oh?" Lonemoon was getting curious now. "What is it that Che- I mean, Yi Qing can handle that I cannot?"
Yu Cang's expression changed. As if he thought about something, he hesitated and lowered his voice. "Reporting to Celestial Emperor - my East Tsui is located on an island further east of the Bo Sea. It's considered a more prosperous piece of land compared to the other countries'. There are many immortals there. But in recent years, no more immortals have been ascending. At the start, we did not know the reason. We thought that the cultivators in the lower realm were just not training adequately."
He looked up and glanced at the three of them, then he lowered his gaze again and continued. "Recently, we received a letter from one of the City Lords, City Lord Chang Qing. He said that his nephew in the lower realm had great potential as a cultivator. In fact, the City Lord had already calculated his fate and discovered that his nephew was bound to ascend to immortality. Yet, for some reason, while he was going through the tribulation, his cultivation level fell. He was stopped from ascending. It was only then that I realized that this entire situation was strange."
Lonemoon frowned and studied Yu Cang. "Cultivators are going against the course of nature after all. Any tiny change - even a hint of a mental demon in one's heart - would affect a person's ascension. How can he say that his nephew is fated to ascend?" That was of course apart from Shen Ying, the cheat. "What's more, many people were stopped mid-way while ascending. That's considered a common occurrence. What's so strange about it? Even if nobody ascends in a few years, that's…" Normal.
"No, there must be something wrong in the lower realm," Yu Cang replied anxiously. He had not finished. "The East Tsui has never before seen a couple of years go by without anyone ascending! And listen to me…" He stole a glance at Yi Qing, gritted his teeth and continued, "I heard that a strange blue realm gate appeared recently between the immortal realm and demonic realm. I also heard that it has something to do with the lower realm. So… may your subordinate boldly guess that there are problems with the realm gate connecting the East Tsui with the lower realm? That's probably why cultivators from the lower realm cannot ascend." "Realm gates?" Lonemoon fell silent as he felt his chest tightened. He turned around to face Chef.
"There are no problems!" Chef seemed to have guessed what Lonemoon was about to ask him. He shook his head, and said, "I've checked." Then, he poured a cup of tea for Shen Ying. The last time he repaired the plane tree, he checked that realm gate. There was nothing out of the ordinary with it.
"Celestial Emperor Yi Qing, City Lord Chang Qing's nephew must have fallen for another reason," Yu Cang tried harder to explain when he noticed that Yi Qing was not believing him. "Sacred Arrival Realm, where he's from, is always filled with Spirit Qi. Many immortals in East Tsui came from that particular realm. But in recent years, no cultivators have ascended. Although a few years isn't long,,, one day in the immortal realms is equivalent to 100 years in the lower realm. That means that tens of thousands of years have passed, yet nobody has ascended. How can you say that's normal!"
All of this sounded very logical, but…
"Young Emperor Yu, you seem to have forgotten that the location of the immortal ascension stage is not fixed, even if there are cultivators ascending. Your East Tsui might not have any new cultivators ascending, but for all we know, they've been ascending to other continents." This was not like childbirth after all. Nobody could decide where they wanted these cultivators to ascend. Lonemoon narrowed his eyes and studied Yu Cang. "Or are you saying… Young Emperor Yu is sure that there's something wrong with the lower realm because you regularly receive news about where these cultivators are ascending to?"
Yu Cang paled. He immediately looked guilty. Eyes darting about, he gritted his teeth and cupped his fists. "Please forgive me, Celestial Emperor. Your subordinate… indeed has his methods."
He raised his head to look at Lonemoon, then glanced at Yi Qing, who still did not spare him even a single glance up till then. Guiltily, he said, "When your subordinate was in the Yu Lin Immortal Territory, I came across an ancient array which could form a sort of connection between cultivators who were from the same realm. I set up this array in each of the cities in East Tsui, to allow those cultivators who just ascended to meet with their own people as soon as possible. It's also because of this… that East Tsui has always been doing so well." Lonemoon scanned him from head to toe. Was this the reason why he has not been fired?
"Celestial Emperor Yi Qing!" Yu Cang pleaded with him. "Our powers are weak compared to yours. We have no means to investigate the reason behind this phenomenon. This is an extremely important matter and you are of a divine race. I am sure you would know a thing or two about it. Please, would the Celestial Emperor come with me to East Tsui to look into-"
"No!" Before he could finish speaking, Yi Qing turned him down. He still had to train himself to marry Master. Why would he go!
"Celestial… Celestial Emperor?" Yu Cang trembled. He did not think that Yi Qing would turn him down so decisively. He turned to Lonemoon for held. "Young Emperor Lonemoon…"
"Why don't you return back first?" Lonemoon made no promises. "We will see what we can do about this matter."
"But I…" Yu Cang wanted to plead even further. But Lonemoon had already turned around and waved his hand. "Someone, come and send Young Emperor Yu out."
Yu Cang had no choice. He scanned the three of them once more and then walked out reluctantly.
Only after he exited the Heavenly Palace did Lonemoon face Chef. "Chef, what do you think?"
Yi Qing frowned. He peeled a fruit as he replied, "His story was full of gaps and he did not tell us the complete truth. But there really might be such a problem."
"I think so too." Lonemoon nodded. "This Yu person is definitely hiding something. The strangest thing is his posture toward the lower realm!"
Yi Qing finally looked up at Lonemoon.
"By right, after one ascends to immortality, he should be nonchalant about whatever happens in the lower realm." Lonemoon frowned. "People who have gone through the tribulations themselves before ascending to immortality would have first completed everything they wanted to do in the lower realm, to ensure a smooth journey into the immortal realm. Or they could have the ability to bring theirs along with them, just like Roasted Chicken Gal and her spouse."
"Eh? Is that so?" Shen Ying raised her head as she munched her fruit.
"I'm not talking to you. Shut up!" Cheats should not get themselves involved in discussions involving normal people. "Eat your fruit."
"…" Oh. Go on.
"In other words…" Lonemoon turned back to Chef. "Most of the immortals in the immortal realm would not be so concerned with matters involving the lower realms. They would not even bother about whether people from the lower realm are ascending. What's more, the array he was talking about seemed strange to me. Chef, on this plane… is there really such an array that can control where people ascend?" "Yes!" Chef answered confidently. "The Mystic Spirit Array can temporarily open a realm gate, connecting the two realms. But this is an array belonging to the divine race. I don't think immortals have enough power to conjure such an array. There's no doubt, however, that this array can control the position where the realm gate appears."
Lonemoon's expression darkened. He thought of something, then summoned Yu Hong in to give her some instructions. A moment later, Yu Hong brought a name list into the hall.
"Elder Lonemoon, this is the list of earth immortals who have recently ascended to the Bo Sea in these ten years."
"Mm." Lonemoon opened the roll and looked at the data for the last five years. Indeed, there were about the same number of earth immortals ascending to each of the countries - each country received about ten or so new immortals each year. Only East Tsui's column was empty. They did not have even one new immortal. "What Yu Cang said about there being no cultivators ascending to East Tsui was true. Could it be because of the invaders?" Lonemoon frowned and glanced at the foodie. "Shen Ying, what do you think?" Shen Ying stared blankly back at him. Suddenly, she stopped chewing and pointed at the name list in his hands.
"Er, I'd look from the start."
Huh? What did she mean?
He looked down at the top of the name list, then his eyes widened.
"Holy shit!"
Chapter 446: The Realm Gate Is Locked
Lonemoon stretched out the name list in his hands, becoming more surprised as he read on, he hadn't noticed it earlier, but looking at the name list from several years ago right now, there were chunks of names following behind East Tsui, at first count, there were actually up to a hundred of them, almost ten times and more of the other countries.
"Isn't this way too exaggerated?!" Anyone could tell that this name list was problematic, even if East Tsui was some valuable paradise, it's impossible to have more than a hundred Earth Immortals ascend in a year. Moreover, whether they ascend or not, depends entirely on the cultivators themselves, it has nothing to do with the location in the immortal world. Could it
be that, that array formation, could really stole all those ascended immortals and send them to East Tsui?
Lonemoon could not help but looked closely at the name list in his hands and specially took note of the circumstances of the other countries but realized that there weren't any trends of a significant decrease. Then, what was going on?
"Yu Hong, how much do you know about this East Tsui?" He turned to look at the person beside him. Yu Hong thought for a moment before replying, "I don't know much about the situation regarding the situation of the Bo Sea countries either, I've only heard that East Tsui, on top of being located in the extreme East, the country is made up of some scattered small islands. A few years ago, there were still very little immortals settling down there, but later on, after Yu Cang became the emperor, all these small islands united together and built many immortal towns, and it's been progressing, at present, its capability isn't inferior to any of the other countries."
"The recent years?" Lonemoon frowned. "You're saying that East Tsui had only developed recently." Seems like it really has something to do with that array.
"Yes!" Yu Hong nodded. "When the disciples of the sect do business, um… no, when they complete tasks from the sect, they often head towards the various immortal towns of East Tsui. The level of prosperity there is not in the least inferior to the other countries."
Lonemoon frowned, finding it increasingly problematic as he listened on, he thought for a moment before turning to Yi Qing and saying, "Seems like I really have to go take a look personally. Chef, you ought to recognize the array formation, come along with me to the immortal town to confirm it."
"But… I still got to practice cultivation." Yi Qing frowned, looking slightly dissatisfied.
"How's that cultivation? What you're doing is demolishing alright? Proper business before anything else!" With that, he turned towards Yu Hong again. "Yu Hong, we'll be away for some time, I'm not sure when we'll be back, I'll leave all matters of the sect to you."
"Yes."
"We're going." Lonemoon opened the passage through space and was about to step into it.
Shen Ying immediately waved. "Father Niu, all the best."
Lonemoon paused in his step, turned around and hollered towards the top. "You're coming along too!" "Huh?" Shen Ying's claw instantly dropped. "So troublesome."
"Shut up!"
With that said, he turned, grabbed and stuffed a certain lazy bum into the passageway, and while at it, also pushed Chef, who had his mind completely filled with thoughts of demolition in.
Within seconds, the few of them appeared on a small island, from far, they could already see a small immortal city floating midair.
"Chef, are you able to sense that array formation?" Lonemoon asked.
"There are numerous array formations in this immortal city, especially when there are defense array formations outside of the city, it's very difficult to differentiate which is the Mystic Spirit Array from the outside." Chef shook his head, then something flickered in his eyes as he questioned, "Shall we split it open to take a look?" A great opportunity to practice his sword too. "Scram!" Lonemoon's mouth twitched, you wastrel.
"Yu Cang did not speak the truth, seems like he is intentionally trying to hide something. Taking the chance that he's still on the way back, we'll enter and figure out the situation." It would take at least a 10 day journey from Invincible Heavenly Palace to East Tsui, even if he flew on his sword, they'd arrived by tearing through the void and naturally would've made it before Yu Cang. After some thought, he also produced a hand seal, suppressing his cultivation to that of a Golden Immortal.
He then turned towards the two people behind him and instructed, "Chef, suppress your cultivation, hide your true appearance, don't let yourself be recognizable." After all, he was the Celestial Emperor of the Bo Sea, there would be portraits of the emperor everywhere in Bo Sea. "And Shen Ying you too… Never mind!" Anyway, other people can't see her too.
Shen Ying: "…" Son of a b*tch!
The few of them prepared for some time, before flying on their swords, heading into the immortal city above. Yu Hong was right, this immortal town of East Tsui was indeed very crowded, they'd entered only a small town on the northern side of East Tsui, but the town was filled with cultivators, not any less than those former large immortal towns.
Lonemoon casually glanced across and realized that most were low level cultivators, amongst them most were earth immortals. Instead, there were very little mystic immortals and Stygian immortals, it was impossible to find even one within several streets, not to mention any Exalted immortals.
Yi Qing had sensed the position of the Mystic Spirit Array the moment they entered the town, holding Shen Ying's hand tightly, they headed in that direction together with Father Niu, The odd thing was that this Mystic Spirit Array wasn't hidden away, but carelessly set up on a piece of empty land in the east city and there weren't anyone keeping watch either The immortals in the town seemed to know what that was and were completely unbothered.
Lonemoon was stunned for a moment, Yu Cang was snatching people so brazenly, wasn't he afraid that the other countries would have objections? But after thinking it through in detail, he understood. If this array could only change the locations of the people ascending from the lower realm, other countries might really not be bothered. After all those who had just ascended only had the cultivation of earth immortals, no matter how much potential they had, it would only matter a few thousand years after.
Then what exactly was Yu Cang trying to do, taking great pains to set up such an array formation? Could it really simply be making it convenient for people's search for their families?
"Chef, how is it?" Lonemoon looked towards Chef who was studying the array formation in detail,
Yi Qing then retracted his powers that he was using to survey the array formation, frowning, he said, "There's no problem with the array formation, nothing abnormal with the realm gates either, and there are also remnants of Spirit Qi here. If I am right, this array formation has been activated within the last three months."
"What?" Lonemoon was shocked. "Wasn't it said that there hasn't been anyone ascending into East Tsui for five years already?" "I'm not very sure either." Yi Qing shook his head. "But someone has indeed ascended through this array recently."
Lonemoon fell silent for a moment, thinking for a moment before said, "We'll go take a look in the other immortal towns.
Hence, they went to more than ten immortal towns in a row, and found that the array formation in every immortal town was the same, no signs of any damage and amongst them, there were remnants of Spirit Qi near two of the array formations, indicating that someone had ascended.
Why would Yu Cang spread such a lie that would be exposed with one look? And even if he intentionally hid the fact that there people had ascended, or even if Yu Hong did not manage to find this piece of information, could it merely be to make them believe that there are problems with the realm gates?
"Can we eat now?" Shen Ying who had been dragged along everywhere couldn't help but ask. "It'll be dinnertime in another four hours, Father Niu, why don't we head to the city where the city lord lost his grandson for our meal?" There must be lots of good food there. "Eat your…" Lonemoon habitually wanted to retort her, but faltered. Hold on, lost his grandson? He met eyes with Yi Qing who was beside him and exclaimed in unison.
"Chang Qing City!"
Previously Yu Cang had indeed specially mentioned that, the nephew of the city lord of East Tsui's first immortal town, City Lord Chang Qing had failed his immortal ascension and even wanted to invite Chef specially to check it out, could it be that it was only Chang Qing City's array formation that was problematic?
The two exchanged a look and immediately set off for Chang Qing City. Where it differed from the other immortal towns was that, Chang Qing City's Mystic Spirit Array wasn't as obvious as those in the other immortal towns, instead, it was set up in the City Lord's Abode.
They turned themselves invisible and infiltrated the abode, spending some efforts before they found the array formation. Just as they were about to go nearer for a closer look, Yi Qing suddenly stopped in his steps and looked at the array formation before them with slight surprise.
"What's wrong?" Lonemoon also stopped walking.
"This array…." His expression darkened. "Actually has death Qi surrounding it."
With a wave of his hand, a few swirls of spirit Qi gathered towards it, and sure enough, bits of black Qi appeared, floating above the array, but they disappeared in seconds.
"Holy shit!" Lonemoon was also shocked, death Qi surrounding the array, doesn't that make it a killing array?
Yi Qing stepped forward and placed a hand on the array, sending a trace of power over but it was rebounded back within moments, even carrying a very domineering aura, but dissipated the moment it touched his palm. "The realm gate here has indeed been closed." He stood up then, frowning before he corrected himself. "No, I should say… it's been locked."
Lonemoon, "…"
What?
(⊙_⊙)
Chapter 447: Try Again
"Did you previously say that there were no problems with the realm gate?" Lonemoon could not help questioning.
"There are no problems with the other realm gates in the Three Realms." Yi Qing frowned and continued in a low voice, "Only in the little world where the death Qi in this array came from, it seems like there is something blocking the way which is stopping the realm gate from being opened."
"You're saying that it's just the realm gate of that little world has been locked?" Lonemoon's heart sank, why was this situation becoming more like the mushroom world from the previous time. "Are you able to find out where that is?"
Yi Qing shook his head. "Not here."
Lonemoon snapped back to his senses. "Then we'll return to the divine realm first." And he immediately opened the portal back to the divine realm. Three of them instantly returned to the familiar night sky, the golden plane tree was right before their eyes. Chef took a step forward and placed a hand on the tree trunk, closing his eyes, he began to sense for the same aura from the earlier array formation.
Lonemoon had thought that it would take a long time. Unexpectedly, Chef opened his eyes after less than fifteen minutes and pointed high up above their heads, saying, "It's there!"
He instinctively looked up towards the top of the plane tree. As they were too far, it wasn't very clear to them, they had to take a few steps back before they could spot the little world that Chef had pointed to. It was a piece of golden leaf that wasn't anything different from the other little worlds. It even appeared to be healthier than the others. He subconsciously swept across that little world with his divine perception, but did not sense any aura that did not belong to this plane. Seems like there's no problem!
Wait a moment!
Lonemoon took a closer look and only saw that there seemed to be a light layer of white air vaguely surrounding that piece of leaf, his heart fell, with a wave of his hand, an enlarged plane map appeared before his eyes. Detailedly looking at the surrounding of the little world, sure enough, that was a layer of white air around it.
The plane tree was a bright gold color. In addition, it was too large, and this little world was right at the top of the tree, that was why they did not notice this layer of white air. Right now, the layer of white air had surrounded the entire little world, as if having isolated something.
Was this the reason for the realm being locked?
"What is that?" Lonemoon pointed to that layer of white air as he questioned.
"I've never seen this before either, but it is indeed what is blocking the opening of the realm gate." Yi Qing also shook his head as he replied.
Lonemoon's expression darkened, this white air looked to be slightly unfamiliar but surprisingly held a familiar aura, but it wasn't very strong either. "No matter what, since it is blocking the realm gate, then let's dispel it before anything else." He directly conjured a seal and was about to cast a spell.
"Hold on." Shen Ying who had been nibbling on a fruit beside him suddenly grabbed his hand as she said, "Don't be so rash, Father Niu."
Lonemoon was taken aback for a moment and turned to look at her. "You recognize this thing?"
Shen Ying cocked her head to a side before answering, "Um… I guess?"
What "I guess"?
"Then just what is it?"
"Authority." She retracted her hand and took another bite of fruit before saying, "It's what you all call… Heavenly Dao." The two of them: "…"
What?
Lonemoon and Yi Qing were both stunned, what the heck was Heavenly Dao? The realm gate of this little world was sealed by the Heavenly Dao!
Both of them met eyes for a moment, ever since grasping the ability of assisting the Truth, they naturally knew what was up with the so-called Heavenly Dao. That was all the rules and regulations that existed on this plane, just like the most precise program that controls the entire world, it safeguards the normal operations of the plane. As major as to when the sun rises, which direction the river waters in, how Spirit Qi is formed; and as minor to how many bolts of lightning one had to endure during cultivation and more, the existence of all these were due to the rules of the Heavenly Dao.
And the assistants and managers were people who controlled and managed the rules. All that they did was to safeguard the stability of the Heavenly Dao. If abnormalities surfaced in the plane, then the rules will turn disorderly and that would mean havoc with the Heavenly Dao, it would definitely trigger a chain reaction and pull the entire plane in.
Lonemoon used his divine perception once again, this time round, he didn't examine that little world directly, but the white air around it. As expected, he did not encounter any resistance, instead the white air seemed to have met their family and fought to come close to his divine perception, a little urgent as it sought to bring him into the little world, as if… complaining?
The corner of his lips twitched, as he retracted his divine perception. Those auras were similar to the assistant energy in his body, and was extremely familiar, he had sensed it each time he adjusted his cultivation. Shen Ying was right, it was indeed an authoritative energy. Heavenly Dao would only generate such intimacy with people who manage and created it.
Then here comes the question, why did Heavenly Dao seal the realm gate of this little world?
Lonemoon indistinctly felt that this was related to the little world, yet the Heavenly Dao had no consciousness and could not speak to him directly. "With the exception of the realm gate, there are no problems with the other regulations." Yi Qing also examined the little world, reincarnation is unaffected, the only issue was that people cannot ascend. "The sealing of the realm gate is definitely related to the cultivators of this world, seems like we have to make a trip there to find out the reason."
Lonemoon had thought the same way too, nodding, he said, "We shouldn't delay any further, let's go!" After contemplating for a while, he added, "The realm gates cannot be opened for now, we can only tear through the void and head over together, the rules of this world have already become disorderly, do be careful." With that said, he glanced at a certain, as if emphasizing himself. "Especially you!"
Shen Ying was speechless. Meow meow meow?
(⊙_⊙)
"It would be dinnertime soon, try throwing that one more time?" Dinner!
"No problem, Father Niu!" She immediately patted his chest and made a guarantee.
Why was he feeling more worried now?
"You stand in the middle!" He pulled her to his side, after giving it some thought, he still couldn't be put at ease and pulled out a piece of white silk and turned it into an artifact. He first bound a few rounds around Shen Ying and Chef's tightly clasped hands then forcefully tied a dead knot, turning around he grabbed her other wrist, before he was finally reassured.
"Let's go!"
The three walked in, darkness fell before their eyes as they vaguely felt some squeezing from their surroundings, in a moment, the world lit up again. Next, they'd arrived in a bustling land. This seemed to be a marketplace, there were many people all around. Seeing them suddenly appear on the streets, they could not help but gathered around. Examining them with surprise and curiosity, their eyes also held some… excitement?
Lonemoon was taken aback. "Shen…" He instinctively turned his head to look towards Shen Ying but unexpectedly faced Chef's blank face. The person who was originally supposed to be the center had disappeared. And his right hand that was holding hers tightly earlier, was securely interlocked with Chef's left hand, several rounds of the white silk artifact bounded around their hands, even displaying a large butterfly knot.
Yi Qing: "…"
Lonemoon, "…"
Heh heh, what's with this old joke that didn't feel surprising at all?
Earlier on he thought of what he had said warningly: You try throwing that one more time? He told her to try and she really did goodness!
(╯°Д°)╯(┻━┻
"Master…" Chef was the first to react, riding his sword right away to begin the search.
"Hold on… Holy shit!" Lonemoon had yet to come back to his senses and his entire being had been dragged into the air like a kite.
Did you think you were hanging sausages! Let go of my hand!
(๑ŐдŐ)b
Chapter 448: Picking Up A Fatty
A few hundred miles away, a certain empty land.
Shen -professional in getting lost- Ying was seated on a large rock, a hand under her chin as she looked opposite at the… shabby looking, huge fatty, who'd just crawled out from the pile of weeds, sweating profusely.
Seeming like he didn't expect to encounter someone, the man was stunned even his few hundred pounds physique froze, on the features that had already been squeezed together, a panicky and bewildered expression surfaced. He stood rooted to the ground, a piece of yellowed weed was still swinging before his forehead.
The two met eyes for a good while,
"Hey, good afternoon." Shen Ying greeted.
"… Hi?" The man instinctively replied. Yet Shen Ying had looked away, seeming not very interested and habitually pulled out a pack of pastries to munch on. The man remained unmoved, his entire body tense, his eyes filled with inquiry, as if recalling something, his eyes fixed onto her sleeves.
No… no drawing.
Looking to be reassured then, he heaved a deep sigh of relief, even his waistline instantly grew wider, making him appear even rounder. Thank goodness, thank goodness, she's not part of the pursuing troops. He lifted his hand and wiped the perspiration on his forehead, his expression that was still stiff earlier gradually eased, relaxing his entire body, he dropped to the ground and panted.
All at once, the relatively small area of land was left with the sounds of his panting and the chewing sounds of a certain person. The aroma of the pastries drifted faintly in the air, causing the man to look towards the other's hand.
Perhaps because his appetite had been whetted, the longer he stared, the stronger the aroma seemed to be, causing his mouth to water as if he had been possessed, his eyes remained glued. Yet he was too embarrassed to ask the young lady for some and could only stare, as the pastry in her hands lessened piece by piece, he subconsciously swallowed, letting out a very loud- gulp.
Shen Ying faltered and looked over with some questioning in her eyes, he instantly turned red, embarrassment flashed across his eyes, not knowing what to say for a moment.
Shen Ying narrowed her eyes, picked up the last piece of pastry and handed it over on an outstretched hand. "Want this?"
The man's eyes lit up, staring right at that piece of pastry, he gave a hard nod, he hadn't eaten for a few days already. Instinctively reaching out to receive it, he replied, "Mm mm mm, then…"
Before he finished his sentence, Shen Ying suddenly retracted his hand and stuffed it all into her widely opened mouth, with a speed twice as fast as earlier, she swallowed it all in a few seconds and even dusted off her hands at the end. "I've got none left too." Heh heh, I refuse to give it. The man was speechless.
His entire being was dazed, his outstretched hand was still frozen midair, and remained so for a long time.
He only came back to his senses moments after she'd done it on purpose. A hint of grievance flashed across the face that was as big as a basin, but there wasn't any anger,.After all, the food belonged to her, he had misunderstood her, meekly retracting his meaty hands, he rubbed them together slightly embarrassed.
Appearing to have gotten enough rest a while later, he lifted he looked up at Shen Ying, saying, "Miss… are you not a cultivator?" Cultivators do not need to eat.
Shen Ying who was now munching on some fruits cocked her head to one side. "I'm not!"
"Oh." He seemed to be even more relaxed as he forced out a good-natured smile, then reminded after seeming to have recalled something, "Demon beasts have always been spotted in this forest, Miss, you have no cultivation and all alone, you better not stay here, leave as soon as possible."
"It's fine." Shen Ying shook her head, completely nonchalant. "I'm waiting to be picked up."
"…." What does waiting to be picked up mean?
The man was baffled, seeing that she had no intention of getting up, he could only stand up and prepare to leave. After taking just two steps out, he was still worried and turned back to suggest, "Miss, why not you leave with me, on top of demon beasts, there are also disciples of the Imperial Sacred Sect patrolling this forest, if they find you, they won't let you off."
"Imperial Sacred disciples?" Shen Ying tilted her head.
"Yes, this is the Sacred Nether Forest, forbidden territory of the Imperial Sacred Sect, people have been prohibited from entering all along."
"Oh." "Don't dismiss me so easily, even the regular disciples who patrol here are all of Golden Core cultivation and above, if they see you here, they won't listen to your explanation."
"The Imperial Sacred disciples that you're referring to, are they those dressed in white, with several circles drawn on their sleeves?"
"Those aren't circles." The man corrected. "That is the Sacred Fire weave."
"Oh." Shen Ying suddenly lifted her finger and pointed to her right front. "Like those two?"
The man was stunned, then abruptly turned back, before he spotted two black dots far in the sky, flying in their direction. He instantly turned pale, terror slowly filled his eyes. He reached out and tugged Shen Ying off the rock. "Quickly hide!"
With a turn, he hid both of them behind the rock, the cold sweat on his forehead flowed out like a shower head, his entire being started to tremble. Moments after, he stood up again, as if knowing that such a small rock wouldn't being to hide them from the sight of the two people approaching, and definitely wouldn't be able to block their search using divine powers. His expression became more frantic. "What do we do? What do we do? They're gonna spot us in a second, they would definitely find us."
Looking all around, he realized that it was a huge rock wall behind them, yet they were being forced to retreat when there was absolutely nowhere to retreat to. Watching as the two people came closer and closer, he hammered the rock helplessly. "Why isn't there a place to hide at all!"
To hide?
Shen Ying glanced at the fatty who was spinning around like a moving meatball, then swept a look at the rock wall and narrowed her eyes. Then looking up, she lightly slapped the rock wall, her form similar to how the fatty had done so earlier.
In the next moment, a loud rumble sounded, the entire rock wall instantly sank in, a crack extended downwards, even the ground had been split open, just like an earthquake, the entire world shook. A crack more than two meters wide appeared by their feet, as if it was about to rip the entire forest up, it continued to extend forward.
The man was speechless.
What was going on?
(⊙_⊙)
"Oh, I found a cave!" Shen Ying pointed at the collapsed entrance and exclaimed in all seriousness.
"…"
Are you sure it was found, this obviously something that you smashed and created?!
"We can hide now, let's hide!" Shen Ying crawled directly into the cave. After creating such a loud din, was there still any use in hiding now?
The man wanted to cry but had no tears, turning back to glance at the two figures in the air that seemed to have stopped moving, he gritted his teeth, deciding to throw everything to the back of his head and turned to follow her into the cave, then, he was… st… stuck…
His tummy had been caught in a circle of rubble, his upper half was in, but his lower half wouldn't move no matter how he tried to push. He forcefully kicked his feet against the ground to boost himself but still failed. He could only reach out to the person inside. "Miss… p.. pull me."
"Oh." Shen Ying turned back and glanced at him, then reached out, held his wrist and tugged lightly. Following another rumble, he made it in and the entrance had also collapsed, the broken stones fell and blocked the hole.
The man realized that the interior of this rock wall was hollow after entering, it was very spacious. Recalling what had just happened, he looked at the lady before him with disbelief, what happened to not being a cultivator?
As he was about to speak, a whoosh came from outside, shivering as the terror in his eyes grew he did not even dare to budge an inch. He even wished he could stop breathing.
Sure enough, sounds of landing came from outside in the next moment, coupled with two unfamiliar male voices.
"Did Senior Brother manage to trace his presence?"
"No. My searching spell suddenly had no reaction, I wonder where he is hiding?"
"That's odd, we followed him all the way, how did he disappear? Has it got to do with the strange earthquake earlier?"
"It's possible, let's continue to search around nearby." With that, two swords riding away sounded from outside.
Shen Ying turned to look towards fatty but saw him hurriedly making a shushing gesture, indicating for her to keep quiet.
As expected, in less than five minutes, the two male voices sounded again.
"Could it be that he really isn't hiding near here? But for a person with no cultivation, the furthest he would be able to walk would be here."
"Senior Brother, just in case, let us go back the same way and search again, who knows he might not have made it here."
"Mm, you're right, let's go!"
The duo left again, but fatty still did not dare to move, looking nervous as he continued to listen on for any sounds from outside. This time, more than ten minutes passed before the two voices sounded again, cursing with exasperation.
"Damn it, I didn't think we really let him escape!"
"What do we do, with him leaving, Yu Uncle-Master…"
"It's impossible that he managed to escape by himself, he must have had help, we'll go back and report this to Sect Master before anything else!"
With that said, these two people finally left, fatty who had stood stiff for a good half an hour finally exhaled, his entire being seeming as if he had gone through a battle, sprawled on the ground as he panted heavily.
Shen Ying stole a look at him before continuing to nibble on her fruit. The crunching sound was especially resounding in the stone room.
"They should have left." the Fatty panted for a long while before pushing himself to sit up, he sent a grateful smile to her, but ending squeezing his face such that the flesh on his face shook. "If it wasn't for you, we would have been caught."
"Oh." Being caught might be a little hard, being lost would be easier.
He looked around and continued, "They might still be standing guard outside, we can't leave through the original path, this stone cave is huge, there must be other exists, why don't we search around."
"Mm." Shen Ying had no objections.
Fatty then stood up and said merrily, "Oh yes, my name is Hui Ze, may I know how to address you?"
"Shen Ying."
"So it's Miss Shen." He cupped his fists politely, his eyes slightly bright, he hesitated for a moment before he sighed. "Miss Shen, were you… born with this divine power?"
Shen Ying paused in her steps, turning back to glance at him, her eyes narrowed. "That's not divine power."
"Then?"
"I am an immortal."
"…"
Chapter 449: Gathering Outside The Valley
Hui Ze felt that this young lady named Shen Ying might be a little problematic in the head, why would anyone call herself an immortal? But that she was willing to leave with him to search for an exit still made him heave a sigh of relief, after all the Sacred Nether Forest was really too dangerous. Though he did not know why she appeared here, but she had no cultivation and was a lady, even if she did have some divine power, she might not be able to escape from the claws of high level demon beasts.
He seemed to have thought of something and reached into his clothes, pulling out a pearl the size of a fist. Shaking it forcefully, the pearl released a white light after a moment and lit up the entire cave which was originally in darkness. After some thought, he then pushed the pearl to Shen Ying.
"Miss Shen, please help me hold on to it."
"Alright." Shen Ying took it. Yet he began to dig around again, perhaps because he was too fat, though his entire body was squatting, he still did not manage to pull anything out for a long time. He could only draw his hands out then hugged his bulging belly like he was hugging a watermelon then lift it up at once and then jump up and down a few times.
Following a clatter, items fell out from under his belly skin one after another, forming a pile on the ground. There were artifacts, talismans, spirit stones, everything.
Shen Ying was speechless. Is there a cosmic bag under your belly?
"I found it!" Hui Ze delightfully picked up a crumpled piece of paper by his side and opened it up carefully. That seemed to be a map, there were crooked thin lines that were hard to read on it.
He stared at the map for a long time, then did some calculations while rifling his fingers and muttering to himself, joy creeping onto his face. As expected, he was right, he only needed to make it past the defenses outside the forest and he would truly be free. "Miss Shen, where we are right now is not too far from the border of Sacred Nether Forest, if I have guessed correctly, this caves runs through the entire rock mountain, the exit should lead to the outside of the forest."
Shen Ying's countenance remained unchanged, but she still nodded and replied unconcernedly, "Oh."
Whereas Hui Ze continued happily, "Although this cave is huge, the terrain doesn't look to be very complicated, it should be rather easy to find an exit."
"Alright, let's go then!" Shen Ying turned and walked forward.
Hui Ze hurriedly picked up all the items on the ground, with Shen Ying around, he was too embarrassed to stuff them all back into his belly and could only hug them in his arms while quickly catching up.
He had calculated the distance earlier, they weren't far from the border, no matter how complicated this cave was, at the most, they ought to find the exit in half an hour's time, of course, that is in the situation where nothing crops up.
Two hours later.
"Miss, I think we were here just a while ago."
"Oh, then let's go the left side."
"We've already went there six times."
"Then the right?"
"We've gone to the right nine times already."
"What about the back?"
"The back is a dead end and we've just come from there." "Err…" Shen Ying paused for a moment, then turned around and tapped her teammate's shoulder. "Fatty Hui! I think it's pretty cooling here, why don't… we just wait here for someone to pick us up?"
Hui Ze: "…"
I'm guessing you just don't recognize the paths? Also, what the heck is Fatty Hui? You are the one who will become fat[1], your whole family will become fat!
"Miss Shen…" Hui Ze helplessly exhaled deeply. "Why not we exchange roles, you can first return the illuminating pearl to me, let me lead the way."
"Mm." Should have said that earlier, Shen Ying stole a look Hui Ze who was hugging a large pile of items and reached out to place the only illuminating pearl in his hands on top of that huge pile, to prevent it from falling, she even specially used the talisman to hold it in place, then briskly moved behind him. "Done." Hui Ze who was waiting for her to help carry the items: "…"
Were all the young ladies in the world like this?
He paused for a second, then accepted his fate and continued forward, discern the directions through the gaps between the items with great difficulty.
The two of them moved around the cave for another 15 minutes before a white light finally appeared before them, vaguely refreshing.
"It's the exit!" Hui Ze was overjoyed and quickened his steps in that direction.
After taking a few steps out, he stopped again, as if having thought of something. He placed everything in his hands down, then a bunch of talismans and pushed them to Shen Ying, saying, "It's the border of the Sacred Nether Forest outside of the exit, there will definitely be cultivators keeping guard there. Quick! Paste the talismans on, this way they won't discover us." With that said, he grabbed a few pieces of talismans and pasted them all onto his body, putting dozens on all at once, almost turning himself into an electricity pole. Turning back to see Shen Ying wasn't moving, he rushed again, "Quickly paste them, if we are found we won't be able to escape anymore."
Shen Ying glanced at the crookedly drawn, peculiar talismans in her hands, how ugly! She really couldn't bring herself to paste them on.
"I'm not using them." There was really no need to.
"Don't underestimate these, they're very useful, I managed to escape because of these…" He stopped midway, then continued to rush her. "Really, I won't harm you, as long as we have them… Huh? Where are you going? Hold on, Miss Shen!"
Seeing that Shen Ying was already moving towards the exit, Hui Ze panicked and grabbed everything on the ground in one go, not caring whether some had dropped or not and trotted forward to catch up. "Miss Shen, be…"
Before he could finish his sentence, she'd already stepped out of the cave, in the next moment, two white figures suddenly appeared from the sky, thick Spirit Qi surrounding them as they stopped before them. Hui Ze was shocked, they've indeed caught up! It was already too late for him to grab Shen Ying, instead in his panic, his foot twisted and he fell forward, about to fall on his face in the next second.
But Shen Ying suddenly reached out and grabbed his collar, pulling him back.
"Don't worry." As if knowing what he was worried about, Shen Ying added, "The people to pick me up are here!"
Pickup? Hui Ze faltered, lowering his head to peek at the sleeves of the two before them, he did not find any familiar looking drawings, were they not…
"Hey, Father Niu, Chef!" Shen Ying then walked out and greeted, waving her hand. "Hey my ass!" Lonemoon angrily glared at her, suppressing the urge to beat her up. Turning around, he swept a glance at fatty and the already dark expression, turned worse. "Who's this ball with broken strips of paper all over him, where did you pick him up from again?"
"Near the cave." Shen Ying answered.
Lonemoon's mouth twitched and retorted directly, "You lost item can you have some self-awareness, you've just been lost for few hours, please don't casually pick up some random thing please?" He would be the one raise him at the end too!
The random Hui Ze: "…"
"Master…" Yi Qing ignored the cranky Father Niu and stepped forward to hold Shen Ying's hand and examined her carefully from top to bottom. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Shen Ying shook her head, then added after some thought, "I just haven't had dinner." "I'll make dinner right away!" Yi Qing immediately turned around and used an earth element spell, instantly building a stove, then pulled out pots and pans and all sorts of seasonings as well as various fruits, vegetables and meats from the storage bag. Summoning a ball of fire, he began to skilfully stir fry vegetables.
Hui Ze: "…"
(⊙_⊙)
Wh… what was going on? Weren't they supposed to quickly escape? Why were they suddenly making dinner? The mood changed too quickly, he totally couldn't react in time!
Looking up at the other person, he questioned, "Both of you are… Miss Shen's friends?"
"No!" Lonemoon retorted right away, his expression darkening. "She's the creditor!" Children were all nuisances demanding their debt! "…" Huh?
"I'll settle things with you later." Lonemoon ignored fatty and turned to give Shen Ying a glare, but habitually pulled out a table, chairs and cutlery, placing them right at the entrance of the cave. As if seeing that the ground wasn't very flat, he even used an elemental earth spell to even it out.
"…" Who were these people?
"Miss Shen…" He could only looked towards Shen Ying with a questioning look.
Yet he saw that she had already shifted to the Chef's side and was questioning him in a low voice.
"Chef, on your way here, did you pick up all the little animals?"
"Don't worry Master, all is good! Didn't even miss one out!" With that said, he even patted the storage bag beside him. "Great Chef, put a big one on the grill."
"Yes Master, no problem Master!"
"Fatty Hui, I'll treat you to dinner tonight!"
Hui Ze: "…." My name is Hui Ze!
Lonemoon: "…"
Damn! Turns out all those demon beasts on the way had been hunted for her? He was wondering why Chef insisted on going down to pick them up!
[1] The Chinese terms for 'Fatty Hui" and 'become fat' have the same intonation, there is a wordplay on his name to mean that he will become fat.
Chapter 450: Sensible Fatty
Hui Ze's voice of reason told him that, in the current situation, they ought to leave quickly. After all this area wasn't far from the entrance of the Sacred Nether Forest, the guards may discover them at anytime, and due to the chaos that he had created earlier, there ought to be the least guards here. On top of that, it was getting late, if they wait till the sky completely darkens, they would easily meet high level demon beasts, so it was best to leave right now.
But his thoughts were just thoughts, the actual situation was…
He looked down at the bowl in his hands, why had he somehow sat down and was having dinner! Though the food smelled delicious and there were many dishes laid out on the table and he'd been starving for a long while, but.. .what's with the fact that he completely couldn't snatch any dishes for himself?
ლ(°△°)ლ
The moment the dishes were placed on the table, he only saw chopsticks flashing before him and before he could react, the plate was already empty. There was still the aroma of the dish floating in the air, he'd sat at a side for half an hour and did not manage to pick up a slice of meat all, the gravy remaining were also taken away by the person who cooked to wash the dishes.
He glanced at the white rice in his hand again, what happened to treating him to dinner? Was she really only treating him to 'rice'[1]?
Yet the two other people happily snatching the food beside him were still very seriously making civil remarks.
"Do eat, do eat, it's very delicious."
"Everything has been served, why are you still standing on ceremony, eat your fill! Damn, Shen Ying you're so shameless, it's already in my bowl and you still took it!"
Hui Ze: "…" Well I would love to eat too! (ಥ_ಥ)
Why is he suddenly feeling that it's not too big a deal if he'd been captured earlier on?
——————
Two hours later.
The sky was completely dark now, the few people who had eaten and drank their fill finally had the time to take a look at a certain ball of living organism.
"Imperial Sacred Sect?" Lonemoon turned the fan in his hand while he looked Hui Ze up and down. "Is this sect very formidable?"
"Fellow Daoist you must be joking." Hui Ze explained, "Imperial Sacred Sect is the head of all immortal sects in the world, all the other various immortal sects look up to them, of course they are formidable!" "Are you also part of the Imperial Sacred Sect?"
"I'm… not considered to be." He paused and glanced at each one of them before continuing, "I'm merely an outer sect disciple in charge of miscellaneous affairs in the Imperial Sacred Sect, and I'm also someone with a Maimed Spirit Root, I can't draw any Qi into my body at all, so… I can't be counted as an official member of the Imperial Sacred Sect."
Lonemoon narrowed his eyes, as he continued to question, "Oh, then why are you in a hurry to leave?"
"Um…" His eyes fluttered for a moment before he gritted his teeth and said, "To be honest, I offended a Golden Core manager in the sect, I'd accidentally ruined one of his artifacts. This manager had always been bad-tempered, I was afraid… so I escaped to this forbidden territory in the Sacred Nether Forest." He seemed to recall something and looked at the two, saying tentatively, "Fellow Daoists, as the saying goes, to meet is to be fated, can I ask that you all bring me out of here?"
Lonemoon swept a glance at him, then replied after a moment, "That we can…" Hui Ze's eyes lit up, but heard a change in the other party's reply.
"Pay us money and it'll be a yes."
"…" What happened to being fated?
Hui Ze's mouth twitched, then he looked around him as if having thought of something and turned back to pull out a bag from the pile of items that he was holding earlier, handing it over. "I have a few pieces of spirit stones here, I wonder if it'll do?"
In the next second, with a clatter, seven to eight pieces of superior-grade spirit stones were emptied from the bag.
Lonemoon's eyes narrowed into a slit, his cold expression instantly became a friendly and amiable one, patting Hui Ze's shoulder, he said, "Brother Fatty you're right, to meet is to be fated, isn't it just giving you a ride? No problem at all, Brother Fatty!" Mm, this is a sensible fatty. "Err… my name is Hui Ze."
"Alright, Brother Fatty Hui, it's about time, why don't we leave now! We'll still be able to make it back to the nearest immortal town." With that said, he put away the tables and chairs, together with the spirit stones on it with a wave of his hand.
"Right… right now?" Hui Ze was startled and became slightly hesitant.
"What's wrong? Could it be that Brother Fatty hasn't have your fill? You want to eat more." White rice will be charged separately too!
"Fellow Daoist you've misunderstood." Hui Ze hurriedly explained, "It's already late, on top of that, with the chaos from the day, I'm afraid there would be lots of cultivators keeping guard outside the forest. This is also forbidden territory, if we were to be found… why not we wait till midnight, when they change shifts to leave?" "There's no need, don't worry, they won't find us." Lonemoon shook his head and refuted his suggested. No matter where this was, with their level of cultivation, no one would be able to find them easily… moreover he turned to glance at a certain cheat, with Shen Ying's presence, it would be difficult even if they wanted to be found. "This forest isn't very big, we can just fly out directly."
Hui Ze was still a little worried after thinking for a moment, he immediately turned back and picked up the pile of items that were on the ground, drew out a stack of talismans and walked over. "Then why don't all of you paste this one, makes us safer."
Lonemoon and Yi Qing had piles yellow slips of paper pushed to them at once.
"What's this?"
"Aura-Concealing Talismans! They can hide a person."
Lonemoon looked at the talisman in his hand that was messily drawn, with no specific pattern to be seen. This is an Aura- Concealing Talisman? You kidding me?
"Who drew this talisman?" Such talismans that has no Spirit Qi flowing through them were probably drawn using one's foot?
"It… it was me." Fatty scratched his head a little embarrassed.
"You?" Lonemoon looked him up and down. "Aren't you unable to practice cultivation?" There was no sign of any Spirit Qi on him at all, he probably had never practiced cultivation.
"These were drawn while copying the other disciples, they can be used!" He said with a serious expression. "Though they're very weak, but you just have to put a few more for the same effect, really!"
"…" Was this why he had pasted so many all over himself that he looked like a mop?
"Brother Fatty's talismans are truly… unique!" Lonemoon's mouth twitched, for the sake of the boss. "Thank you then, Brother Fatty." With that, he threw the fan in his hand out, it instantly expanded and floated before them. "Let's go!" Grabbing Fatty's collar he threw him on with some force.
Hui Ze had not reacted in time, losing balance, he almost rolled off the fan and could only hug his pile of items tightly and remain seated right in the center.
At his side, Yi Qing lowered his head and looked at the talismans in his hand, his eyes darkening.
"Father Niu…"
"I know." Lonemoon turned back and gave him a glance, nodding nonchalantly. "It's fine, we'll talk after we get out of here."
Lonemoon leapt on board, giving the two other people beside him a look, he then flew them in the direction of the marketplace where they'd been earlier. Hui Ze was originally still slightly worried, though these two people where Miss Shen's companions and were cultivators, but one look showed that they had yet to reach the level of practicing Grain Liberation, at the most they were only in the foundation establishment stage, those outside were all Golden Core cultivators. If they were found, not one of them would be able to escape.
He could not help but be on tenterhooks, but what was amazing was that nothing happened the entire way. Don't mention disciples intercepting them, even a low level demon beast didn't appear. They left the Sacred Nether Forest peacefully, flying all the way to an immortal city. And openly entered the town, very much like sauntering in. The guards of the city gates who were originally tight on defense didn't even question them.
Hui Ze was slightly dazed, he'd made it out… just like this?
The few of them stopped in the middle of a street, Lonemoon turned towards Hui Ze with a bright smile. "We've fulfilled what Brother Fatty asked of us, we still have important matters to attend to, we shall part ways here." With that said, without waiting for his reaction, he grabbed the two wastrels and left without the slightest hesitation. Go quickly, go quickly, any longer and they might even have to pay for his lodging.
Hui Ze: "…"
Yi Qing: "…"
Shen Ying: "…"
[1] Dinner, rice and meal all share the same Chinese character.