Before long, Bao Gu felt that the injuries within Yu Mi were healing rapidly.
Seeing Yu Mi’s condition improving and knowing that her life was no longer in danger, just as their master had said, she would recover soon, Bao Gu felt relieved.
Only then did she realize she was nearly frozen stiff, so she hurriedly took a few sips of the third-grade Monkey Wine to warm herself up and adjusted her state to its optimum.
The Nascent Soul Realm magical treasures that Zi Yunshu had refined for her were all destroyed, and she was only wearing a few ordinary clothes that barely covered her body, unable to block even the most basic spiritual sense detection.
Fortunately, Bao Gu’s extra-large storage bag still contained many items given by the elders of the various peaks of the Xuantian Sect.
Although these items were not of high grade, any one of them was at least a treasure of the late Golden Core or Nascent Soul Realm, and all were considered useful by the elders.
In fact, Bao Gu did indeed need them.
She rummaged through the pile of items given by the elders of the Xuantian Sect and quickly assembled a set of Nascent Soul Realm magical treasures to wear.
Although the treasures she now wore were not as convenient and practical as the Nascent Soul Realm magical treasures Zi Yunshu had refined for her, at least she no longer felt cold and did not feel as if she was naked outside.
Bao Gu sat cross-legged next to Yu Mi to protect her while keeping an eye on the surroundings.
She noticed that the scattered cultivators who had filled the sky were all gone, and even the aggressive people from the Taiyin Sect had disappeared without a trace.
Only the people from the Xuantian Sect and Qingfeng Pavilion were searching back and forth from heaven to earth.
Occasionally, bursts of combat fluctuations and the brilliance of magical treasures colliding would erupt in the distance, followed by people from the Xuantian Sect and Qingfeng Pavilion rushing over.
It wouldn’t take long for the direction of the combat fluctuations to calm down again.
Bao Gu sat for a good half hour, and her senior sister’s injuries had also healed by half when their master finally came to her side again.
Zhuo Wangchuan checked Yu Mi’s injuries and looked at Bao Gu.
He coughed lightly and said earnestly, “Bao Gu, why did you slap that talisman given by your grandmaster so recklessly?”
Bao Gu was startled, then remembered that she had slapped the talisman given by her grandmaster on the head of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator from the Taiyin Sect when she had just escaped, but it seemed to have been disrupted and slapped wrongly.
She guiltily asked, “Master, that… that talisman… I slapped it towards the Nascent Soul Realm cultivator who captured me, but… but I think I slapped it off target. Where did it end up?”
She guessed it must have hit something else it shouldn’t have, otherwise her master wouldn’t say she “slapped recklessly” but would say she “wasted it.”
Zhuo Wangchuan said, “It wasn’t too far off, it just exploded right between your Little Martial Aunt and Gou Wuming, injuring Gou Wuming but also severely injuring your Little Martial Aunt.”
It was fortunate that his master cherished his daughter and bestowed many treasures upon her; otherwise, his little martial sister would have perished under the high-level Nascent Soul Realm attack talisman drawn by his master and the attacks from that old thing, Gou Wuming.
Bao Gu muttered, “Is Little Martial Aunt alright now?”
Zhuo Wangchuan replied, “Her life is not in danger, but her injuries are severe and will require a long period of seclusion to heal.”
Bao Gu immediately felt so guilty that she couldn’t lower her head any further.
She then remembered something and asked, “The Nascent Soul Realm cultivator from the Taiyin Sect who captured me, was he one of the Three Great Celestial Venerables, the Nameless Celestial Venerable? What happened to him? He didn’t escape, did he?”
Zhuo Wangchuan sneered and said, “Escape? Your Uncle Feng and I, along with Old Master Lü from Qingfeng Pavilion, ambushed him secretly and openly. Plus, you and your Little Martial Aunt unexpectedly slapped those two talismans given by your grandmaster, directly killing him on the spot. Of the three Nascent Soul Realm Celestial Venerables of the Taiyin Sect, only two remain now. The Eternal Celestial Venerable is stationed at the Taiyin Sect and dares not leave rashly, and the Dragon Roar Celestial Venerable can only tuck his tail and roll back!”
Although his master had just broken through to the Nascent Soul Realm and was not as powerful as the Dragon Roar Celestial Venerable, his master was stationed at the Xuantian Sect with a mountain-protecting formation to rely on, and he had refined a masterful technique of talisman drawing.
Over these days, he had prepared a large number of talismans.
Relying on the mountain-protecting formation and talisman formation, holding out for a few moments or half an hour while waiting for reinforcements was not a problem.
Bao Gu scratched her head and said, “Master, I guessed that Old Master Lü might come to protect me, but… weren’t you and the two Celestial Venerables of the Xuantian Sect restrained at the front of the Xuantian Sect’s mountain gate? How did you come here so quickly?”
She guessed that before she left, the Taiyin Sect had anticipated that she might go to the ancient ruins, so they dispatched two Nascent Soul Realm cultivators to attack the Xuantian Sect, forcing the Xuantian Sect’s Nascent Soul Realm experts to return to defend and unable to escort her.
The Taiyin Sect then ambushed her on the way, which would have been an easy task.
In fact, the Taiyin Sect was very cautious, and to ensure nothing went wrong, they even sent one of the Three Great Celestial Venerables, the Nameless Celestial Venerable, to capture her.
Zhuo Wangchuan said, “The conflict between the two sects has now reached a critical point with you at the center. The Taiyin Sect played a trick of making a feint to the east while attacking in the west, and we responded with a strategy of luring the snake out of its hole and playing the mantis stalking the cicada, with the oriole behind. By capturing you, they would have gained the upper hand, reaching a decisive moment. Naturally, the Taiyin Sect spared no expense!”
He snorted heavily, his face showing both pain and relief.
Bao Gu asked, “Did you catch the spy?”
Zhuo Wangchuan hummed affirmatively and said, “We had already captured several disciples who showed signs of unusual activity based on a message from Brother Fan.”
After finishing, he also reported the names of those people.
Bao Gu didn’t hear any familiar names, nor the name of Nan Yi.
She asked, “Master, was it deliberately arranged by you that Brother Nan Yi exposed my whereabouts?”
Zhuo Wangchuan asked in slight surprise, “What about Nan Yi exposing your whereabouts? Oh, right, your Uncle Chen also asked me to inquire about Nan Yi’s whereabouts; he can’t sense Nan Yi’s aura anymore.”
Bao Gu then realized that her master and the others had not arranged for Nan Yi to play such a foolish act to expose her whereabouts, and she immediately told Zhuo Wangchuan about the abnormalities with Nan Yi after she came out of the teleportation formation.
Zhuo Wangchuan frowned and said, “Nan Yi also has problems? How is that possible? Bao Gu, you can’t talk nonsense about this, otherwise your Uncle Chen will seek your life, and I can’t stop him.”
Bao Gu angrily hissed and exclaimed, “Master, your two direct disciples were almost killed by Uncle Chen’s direct disciple, and you still side with Uncle Chen? Even if my sister and I were picked up by you and you don’t care about us, you can’t just ignore our lives and deaths and turn your elbow outwards towards Uncle Chen, can you?”
Zhuo Wangchuan, hearing Bao Gu’s harsh words, immediately darkened his face and scolded, “What are you talking about?”
Bao Gu angrily stood up and shouted, “Master, I consider myself not ungrateful to the sect. The sect used me as bait without consulting me. Even if you didn’t consult me, a heads-up to let me be prepared would have been fine, right? No! I went to the ancient city of Xuan Yue, facing numerous dangers, and against my will, you forcefully assigned a traitor and spy to follow me. If it weren’t for my good fortune, if it weren’t for my sister risking her life to protect me, Master, the one lying on the ground now would not be my sister but my corpse!”
Her eyes reddened as she spoke, “Master, today’s events have chilled my heart! Even among bandits, they take people’s money and provide protection fees but still settle matters for them. They wouldn’t let the victim go out as bait while also paying and risking their lives!”
Zhuo Wangchuan, angered to the point of turning pale, shouted loudly, “Nonsense, comparing a respectable cultivation sect to bandits! This is a cultivation sect, where everyone has a responsibility to protect the sect, not something comparable to bandit transactions! Didn’t you see how many fellow sect members were injured or killed in this conflict with the Taiyin Sect? Not to mention you, even your Little Martial Aunt was severely injured and on the brink of death. If it weren’t for the precious treasures given by her master and the timely rescue by the legendary demon saint, she might have… Your Little Martial Aunt, me, your Uncle Feng, even your grandmaster, and fellow disciples from various peaks, who isn’t risking their lives? Don’t ever say such nonsense again! I know you are annoyed with Nan Yi, so I won’t pursue this matter with you this time. Listen clearly, if it’s confirmed that Nan Yi is a traitor, even if he flees to the ends of the earth, everyone in the Xuantian Sect will still execute him.”
Bao Gu was rendered speechless by Zhuo Wangchuan’s scolding.
She calmed her mind and thought about it; her words indeed had some improprieties.
She knelt down and said, “Disciple spoke out of turn, please punish me, Master.”
Zhuo Wangchuan raised his hand to lift Bao Gu up and said, “It’s understandable that you have grievances in your heart, after all, this conflict with the Taiyin Sect is a confrontation at the peak of power. None of the disciples below the mid Foundation Building stage were mobilized, and you, being only at the ninth stage of Qi Refining, were made to take this risk, which is indeed unfair to you. However, as the source of the conflict, it was unavoidable. Although we didn’t tell you about the ambush on Gou Wuming, we did consider your safety. Not to mention anything else, just the protective talisman your grandmaster gave you is worth several hundred top-grade spirit stones, plus that attack talisman. Not to mention the great amount of energy and spiritual qi your grandmaster spent, just the materials for the talisman are extremely rare. There are only three of these protective talismans in total. Knowing the danger of your journey, all three talismans were given to the three of you.”
Bao Gu was so ashamed she couldn’t even lift her head.
She had always thought that as long as one’s cultivation level was high enough, one could draw as many talismans as needed, but she had overlooked the fact that drawing talismans required materials, and the higher the grade of the materials, the rarer they were.
Even the high-grade talismans of the Nascent Soul Realm could not be bought in the market, not even seen in auction houses.
Zhuo Wangchuan, seeing Bao Gu’s ashamed expression, did not continue to scold her.
He changed the subject and said, “Prepare yourself, after dawn you will go to the ancient city of Xuan Yue. Old Master Lü will come out of seclusion to protect you, and no one will dare to touch you under his watchful eye. Once you get to the ancient ruins, be careful on your own. Once you enter, even if you encounter danger, we won’t be able to protect you anymore.”
He paused, suddenly remembering something, and looked at Bao Gu with a strange expression, asking, “Do you have a treasure on you that can hide living people without being detected by the spiritual sense of a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator?”
Bao Gu guessed that her openly releasing Little Martial Aunt and her sister had attracted attention, and she nonchalantly said, “Master, have you forgotten about the Duobao Spirit Monkey?”
Zhuo Wangchuan nodded, believing Bao Gu’s words.
That broken monkey could hide in the void, and in terms of cultivation, it was not inferior to Old Master Lü.
It hiding from Gou Wuming’s spiritual sense detection and carrying Yu Mi and Zi Yunshu in the void next to Gou Wuming was not difficult.
Zhuo Wangchuan, seeing that Yu Mi’s healing was slow, sat down next to Yu Mi, who was lying in the snow with her eyes tightly closed, and used his own spiritual qi to assist Yu Mi in healing.
In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yu Mi had recovered and stood up.
She bowed to Zhuo Wangchuan and said, “Disciple thanks Master.”
She then glared fiercely at Bao Gu.
Zhuo Wangchuan waved his hand and said, “This place is not far from the ancient city of Xuan Yue. Take your junior sister to the ancient city of Xuan Yue.”
He then said to Bao Gu, “After entering the ancient city of Xuan Yue, just go into the ancient ruins. I need to return to the Xuantian Sect to take care of some matters. I’ll come to the exit of the ancient ruins to meet you in a few days.”
Bao Gu bowed and said, “Yes!”
She watched Zhuo Wangchuan leave, then approached Yu Mi and asked, “Senior sister, are you alright?”
Yu Mi raised her fist and smashed it on Bao Gu’s forehead, her face full of anger as she glared at Bao Gu.
Bao Gu covered her sore forehead and cried out, “Senior sister, why are you hitting me?”
Yu Mi glared at Bao Gu, gasping with anger, yet unable to scold her, and shouted, “You know what you did!”
Bao Gu lowered her head and said, “I know I shouldn’t have let senior sister risk her life to save me, but senior sister, you saved me, you were only seriously injured, and you recovered in a while. If you hadn’t saved me, I would have died.”
Yu Mi rolled her eyes in frustration, almost spitting blood and fainting again.
She grabbed Bao Gu by the neck, unable to bear it any longer, and shouted, “You could have just opened the cap of the Monkey Wine and poured it directly into my mouth, I could have drunk it, but what did you mean by feeding me with your mouth? What did you mean by pouring the wine mouth-to-mouth and then sucking on my lips?”
