Bao Gu pouted and said, “I’ll talk to Master Chen myself!”
After speaking, she took out the Sound Transmission Compass given to her by Master Chen and sent a signal in his direction.
Soon, Master Chen’s face appeared on the compass.
Upon seeing Bao Gu, Master Chen chuckled and said, “Bao Gu, what do you need me for?”
Bao Gu pouted and said, “Master Chen, Nan Yi has the Ancient Token; he can go there by himself! Look, my senior sister, Little Martial Aunt, and I are all women. It’s inconvenient for him, a man, to follow us. Also, given my current dangerous situation, if I bring Nan Yi along, I’m worried it might endanger both him and me.”
Master Chen said earnestly, “Bao Gu, you are only at the Qi Refining Stage. It’s dangerous for you to enter the ancient ruins alone, which is why I arranged for your senior brother Nan Yi to protect you. Hehe, you’ve given Master Chen so many benefits, it’s only right for me to look after you a bit.”
Bao Gu grumbled, “But I’ve already found teammates.”
Master Chen laughed and said, “Really? Bao Gu, are you planning to take your senior sister and Little Martial Aunt into the ancient ruins?”
Bao Gu looked at Master Chen displeased and asked, “Can they even enter?”
Master Chen replied, “Since your senior sister and Little Martial Aunt can’t enter, among the Foundation Building disciples in Xuantian Sect, Nan Yi is the strongest. Having him protect you is the best option. Bao Gu, why are you reluctant?”
Bao Gu said, “I’m not familiar with him! If it were somewhere else, it would be fine; we could get to know each other slowly. But in the ancient ruins, it’s awkward to be with someone I’m not familiar with.”
Master Chen said, “Bao Gu, your safety is directly related to the rise and fall of Xuantian Sect, which is why I made this arrangement. Don’t be childish. Nan Yi is your fellow sect brother; what’s there to worry about? You’re usually so prudent; why are you being capricious about this?”
Bao Gu clenched her teeth and said, “Little Martial Aunt took me to Taiyin Sect for mining, and I saw too many fellow disciples killing each other. I have a shadow in my heart; I’m afraid he might harm me.”
Zi Yunshu and Yu Mi looked at Bao Gu speechlessly.
She could actually say such things; how much does she dislike Nan Yi?
Master Chen’s face turned green.
Without saying another word, he cut off the conversation with Bao Gu.
Yu Mi pointed forcefully at Bao Gu’s forehead and scolded, “Can you just say anything you like? Master Chen treats Nan Yi like his own son, and he arranged for Nan Yi to accompany us. Saying this in front of Master Chen, aren’t you clearly showing you don’t trust him? And to think I thought you were usually sensible; how could you be so confused about this?”
Bao Gu replied, “How am I confused? You’re familiar with Nan Yi, but I’m not. You trust him, but I don’t. He won’t harm you, but does that mean he won’t harm me?”
Yu Mi exclaimed, “What kind of reasoning is that?”
Zi Yunshu said, “Yu Mi, stop scolding her for now.”
She then turned to Bao Gu and said, “Bao Gu, tell me honestly, what’s the real reason you don’t want to bring Nan Yi?”
With her and Yu Mi accompanying, whether or not Nan Yi came along wouldn’t make much difference.
Why would Bao Gu rather offend Master Chen than bring Nan Yi?
Bao Gu huffed and said, “I’m afraid he’ll steal my senior sister.”
Zi Yunshu: “…”
Yu Mi: “…”
Bao Gu continued to huff and muttered, “What Xuantian Twin Heroes, hmph!”
Yu Mi was speechless.
Zi Yunshu suddenly realized something and looked meaningfully between Bao Gu and Yu Mi.
She smiled and said, “Bao Gu, Little Martial Aunt promises you that Nan Yi won’t compete with you for your senior sister.”
She teased Bao Gu, saying, “He’s Yu Mi’s senior brother and the direct disciple of the next Sect Leader. How could he possibly come to Lingyun Peak to be Yu Mi’s junior brother?”
Seeing Bao Gu’s anxious expression, she added with a smile, “Bao Gu, the way you spoke to Master Chen just now was inappropriate. This is like harboring personal grievances and obstructing fellow disciples. Be careful, or the sect rules might punish you! I’m going to Tianyun Peak, and we still need to bring Nan Yi along.”
After saying this, she left the courtyard and headed towards Lingyun Peak.
“Ah, Little Martial Aunt…”
Zi Yunshu called back from midair, “Don’t worry, Master Chen won’t mind your childish behavior.”
Bao Gu was so frustrated she felt like spitting blood.
She angrily bit her lip and sulked in her chair.
One reason she was reluctant to bring Nan Yi was that she didn’t like him.
The things she told Master Chen weren’t without reason; she had treasures on her that had once caused so many Nascent Soul cultivators outside Nanshan to kill each other.
If word got out, the consequences would be unimaginable!
The more people who knew the secret, the less secret it became.
She could tell that Zi Yunshu and Yu Mi seemed to trust Nan Yi, but to her, Nan Yi was just a stranger from the same sect, not from her Lingyun Peak lineage.
If something happened, the variables were too great.
Yu Mi knocked on Bao Gu’s forehead and scolded, “What are you fantasizing about now?”
Bao Gu sighed quietly, feeling that cultivating was even more tiring than doing business.
She wanted to live quietly and cultivate with her senior sister in the small courtyard, but her cultivation required a lot of spiritual treasures.
With Taiyin Sect coveting them, even if they didn’t provoke Taiyin Sect, the sect wouldn’t leave them alone.
She felt like she was rowing against the current, unable to afford any slack.
Yu Mi sat down next to Bao Gu and said softly, “Bao Gu, the troubles we’ve caused recently are getting bigger and bigger, and I have a bad feeling about it. After we return from the ancient ruins, the gains from Taiyin Sect combined with what we obtain from the ruins should be enough for your cultivation for a long time. Then we can peacefully cultivate at Lingyun Peak.”
Bao Gu felt this suggestion aligned with her wishes and her mood improved slightly.
She smiled and said, “Okay. Senior sister, if we bring Nan Yi, what about the matter with the super-sized storage bag?”
Yu Mi laughed and said, “Are you worried about that? The items are on you; even I can’t pry them off, let alone him. Don’t worry, you have so many debts now, what’s one more? You have so many things on you that attract people, one less won’t make a difference. Oh, Granny Protector is here. Granny, please come in.”
She quickly got up to greet her.
Granny Protector stepped into the courtyard and exchanged greetings with Yu Mi before approaching Bao Gu and handing over the earnings from selling wine and the account book.
Bao Gu accepted the earnings and said, “Granny, there’s no need to balance the accounts every month; once a year is fine. Is the wine selling well?”
Granny Protector replied, “Recently, with many events in the sect, all peaks have come to buy wine. As soon as I arrived at the wine shop, the wine was sold out, and the elders from all peaks have requested more.”
Bao Gu thought to herself, “Selling too much will devalue it. If everyone has stock, it won’t be valuable. Moreover, so many people buying wine—are they planning to work the little monkey to death?”
She said, “Monkey Wine is limited in production. If it’s all sold at once, there might be none available when it’s urgently needed. Currently, the peaks have plenty of spiritual treasures, so the demand for Monkey Wine isn’t as urgent.”
She smiled and said, “Using the spiritual treasures I gave them to buy my wine seems a bit…”
Granny Protector nodded and said, “I understand.”
Bao Gu handed Granny Protector a storage bag.
Granny Protector accepted the storage bag and peeked inside, asking, “What’s this?”
She thought it was for her, but was afraid of causing another mix-up like the last time with the Monkey Wine, especially since there were too many spiritual treasures inside.
Was she supposed to sell them on behalf of Bao Gu?
Bao Gu said, “This is for you.”
Granny Protector was shocked and hurriedly said, “This can’t be done, this can’t be done. With so many valuable items, how could I accept them?”
Bao Gu said seriously, “Granny, please take them and use these spiritual treasures to cultivate well. Only if our Lingyun Peak grows stronger can we stand on our own. Otherwise, no matter how many spiritual treasures I get in the future, I’ll have to give them away. Granny is one of us at Lingyun Peak, and I don’t mind giving these treasures to you.”
Granny Protector looked at Bao Gu hesitantly, not daring to accept.
Yu Mi looked deeply at Bao Gu, thinking, “How generous are you?”
She persuaded, “Granny, please accept it.”
Granny Protector took out a small portion and said, “This much is enough for me!”
Bao Gu said, “I’ve heard that Granny uses the beasts and spirits of the mountains as informants. I suppose the beasts and spirits of Lingyun Peak obey Granny’s commands, right?”
Granny Protector nodded and said, “I’m a demon cultivator; those youngsters naturally listen to me.”
Bao Gu placed the storage bag in Granny Protector’s hands and said, “When I was a child, I read in ‘Mountain and Wilderness Chronicles’ that there are good demons. Seeing Granny, I believe it. Granny, from now on, our Lingyun Peak will have a lineage of demon cultivators!”
Granny Protector looked at Bao Gu in shock, her eyes reddening.
Yu Mi was also startled and thought to herself, “Bao Gu, you’re too bold! Such a big decision, and you dare to make it on your own!”
She asked, “Bao Gu, you didn’t go through the Sect Leader, the elders, or your master to decide this, how could you do it on your own?”
If it weren’t for considering Granny Protector’s feelings and not wanting to embarrass her, she really wanted to ask Bao Gu, “Aren’t you afraid of causing a disaster?”
Granny Protector bowed her head.
Demons have a very low status in the cultivation world, especially in cultivation sects, where they can only serve as demon servants.
Even though she was a great demon at the end of her transformation stage, her status was still lower than that of an inner disciple.
Bao Gu looked at Yu Mi and replied, “Would the Sect Leader, the elders, or my master agree?”
Granny Protector said, “Bao Gu, I appreciate your kindness, thank you very much, but I’m afraid it might bring trouble to you.”
Bao Gu smiled and said, “There’s no trouble. Since I dare to let Granny do this, I have my reasons. Granny, you can freely recruit and train the demon cultivators you favor, and consider them under my sect. If anyone questions it, tell them to come to me!”
She paused and said, “However, Granny, you must agree to a few conditions.”
Granny Protector said, “Please tell me.”
Bao Gu said, “You must follow the rules of Xuantian Sect!”
Granny Protector replied, “Of course.”
Bao Gu continued, “To avoid trouble, the demon cultivators cannot leave Lingyun Peak.”
Granny Protector nodded again.
Not to mention other small demons and spirits, even she had sworn a blood oath not to step half a step out of Lingyun Peak.
Bao Gu added, “You must not harm people.”
Granny Protector nodded.
Bao Gu said, “I’m not a peak master, so I can’t promise Granny freedom in the future, nor can I promise you anything, but I hope I can be responsible for the demon cultivators under my sect.”
Granny Protector replied, “I will extract a strand of essence, soul, and spirit from the demon disciples I recruit and condense it into a blood oath contract to hand over to you. From then on, their life and death will depend on your single thought.”
Bao Gu shook her head and said, “That’s not necessary. I’m not training them to be demon slaves or servants. You just need to assure me that if the demon cultivators cause trouble, you must be able to clean up promptly.”
She thought for a moment and said, “Senior sister, how about we use the method of binding soul lamps when we entered the sect?”
Yu Mi dared not agree.
Such a big matter, if handled according to the sect rules, would mean abolishing cultivation and expelling from the sect.
She exclaimed, “Bao Gu, you’re too bold!”
Bao Gu raised her eyebrows and said, “Each peak has received such generous gifts from me, can’t I take a little advantage? Besides, I’m doing this to strengthen Xuantian Sect and Lingyun Peak.”
Yu Mi gritted her teeth and said, “I can’t agree to this. We must wait for Little Martial Aunt to return and discuss it further.”
Bao Gu snorted and said to Granny Protector, “Granny, I’ve given you the spiritual treasures, do as you see fit.”
She made a face at Yu Mi and said, “Once the rice is cooked, another powerful force in Xuantian Sect will rise, hmph…”
Yu Mi laughed and said, “Do you think cultivating demons is that easy?”
Bao Gu looked at Yu Mi inscrutably and smiled at Granny Protector, “Granny, you can go ahead with your work. Remember, if other demon cultivators appear in Lingyun Peak, they are also under my sect.”
Granny Protector knelt down and gave Bao Gu a deep bow before turning to leave.
Yu Mi stared blankly at Granny Protector’s departing figure, thinking, “What does Granny Protector mean by agreeing to Bao Gu? Isn’t she afraid of the sect rules?”
She then stared wide-eyed at Bao Gu and exclaimed, “Are you crazy? Aren’t you afraid of being expelled from the sect?”
Bao Gu took out a gourd of Monkey Wine and slowly said, “I’m not afraid!”
