After a long while, Yu Mi finally got up from Bao Gu’s arms. She asked, “What are you planning to do about Chief Qu’s carriage?”
Bao Gu said, “Let Wang Ding and Sun Dilong handle it first.
If they can’t manage, we’ll go ourselves.
Right now, the most important thing is securing a foothold for Xuantian Sect.” Jade Shura lost the Soul Chasing Pavillion’s main carriage—many people might think, isn’t it just a carriage? Surely the mighty Soul Chasing Pavillion can make another one? But in reality, it’s like the emperor lending his imperial chariot, a symbol of his status, to the crown prince for a tour, only for the crown prince to lose it as soon as he leaves the palace! What’s lost isn’t just a carriage, but the emperor’s dignity, and it shows the crown prince’s incompetence.
Can someone so incompetent really hold onto the position of heir? Jade Shura lost Chief Qu’s carriage, then snatched the Mirage Dragon Pearl.
If she takes the Mirage Dragon Pearl back to Xuan Yue Ancient City, the Earth Ghost Dragon God will definitely storm the Soul Chasing Pavillion! The Soul Chasing Pavillion’s strength isn’t even half that of the Prince’s Mansion—how could they possibly stand against the Earth Ghost Dragon God? Jade Shura doesn’t dare go back, knowing she can’t keep the Mirage Dragon Pearl, so she can only hide here and ask for her help.
If it were anyone else, Bao Gu would never take this job.
Her Little Martial Aunt learned the true dragon cultivation method from her master’s cauldron, consumed dragon marrow to cultivate dragon qi, and had her soul and body refined by her master’s treasure cauldron.
The Mirage Dragon Pearl would be nice for her Little Martial Aunt, but not having it wouldn’t affect her cultivation.
The matter of the Ascension Road Map has already put Bao Gu and the Chopping Gang in the spotlight.
Even without the Mirage Dragon Pearl and the Earth Ghost Dragon God, there would be other things to stir up trouble.
In the cultivation world, there are plenty of forces who believe in their own strength, used to oppressing others and taking what they want by force.
Countless eyes are on the Ascension Road Map.
Because of the Yuo Kingdom, no one dares to openly demand it from her, but there will be a thousand excuses and reasons for them to make a move.
Even without the Earth Ghost Dragon God and the Mirage Dragon Pearl, someone else would come to cause trouble.
For Bao Gu, not getting involved with the Mirage Dragon Pearl wouldn’t make things much better, and if she does, at least she can help Jade Shura out.
If she goes to confront the Earth Ghost Dragon God now, it’s very likely to drag even more forces into the mess, making it impossible for her to get away.
If she’s going, she has to settle Xuantian Sect’s affairs first.
There’s no way she can let the most important matter of establishing Xuantian Sect’s foundation be delayed again and again for a single Mirage Dragon Pearl.
Besides, if things in the Archaic Mountains drag on, it’s easy for other changes to happen.
After all, right now the Archaic Mountains are only nominally Xuantian Sect’s.
Xuantian Sect hasn’t truly taken possession yet.
If other forces get wind of the details and send elite troops to occupy the Archaic Mountains, with just Xuantian Sect and the Chopping Gang’s strength, there’s no way they could take it back.
After daybreak,
Bao Gu summoned Wu Hu, the Chopping Gang’s branch leader.
She told Wu Hu, “You must ensure Jade Shura’s safety.
If anything happens to her, I’ll hold you responsible.”
Wu Hu replied respectfully, “Yes!” He hesitated, then added, “Master, if Jade Shura leaves the branch and causes trouble outside, what should I do?” The Chopping Gang had heard about the Mirage Dragon Pearl before but didn’t dare get involved.
This woman is only at the Nascent Soul stage, yet she dared to snatch the Mirage Dragon Pearl all by herself.
Her guts and recklessness even scare him.
He really doesn’t know what kind of trouble Jade Shura wouldn’t dare to cause! Right now, all the top figures from various forces are gathered in Cangdu City, and countless eyes are watching the Chopping Gang’s branch.
If Jade Shura leaves, she could easily cause a disaster he can’t handle.
Bao Gu understood what Wu Hu meant.
She said, “In short, as long as Jade Shura is in the Chopping Gang’s branch, you must do everything you can to keep her safe.”
Wu Hu replied, “Understood.”
Bao Gu dismissed Wu Hu and went to the next room to find Jade Shura.
She said to Jade Shura, “I have to leave for a while, at most a month.
During this month, just stay at the Chopping Gang’s branch and don’t worry.
I’ve already given orders—they’ll do everything to keep you safe.
But if you leave the branch, I can’t guarantee your safety.”
Jade Shura knew she’d caused a big mess this time and nodded obediently.
She glanced at Bao Gu guiltily and asked, “Can you handle the Earth Ghost Dragon God?” Last night, she’d received a message from her Grandmaster, the great elder, who scolded her bloody and also told her how terrifying the Earth Ghost Dragon God was.
The Earth Ghost Dragon God’s territory, the Youjiang Waters, is infamous for its brutality.
In the cultivation world, it’s the first place desperate demon cultivators, evil cultivators, and criminals flee to.
Qianlong Abyss is a gathering place for the most vicious, who commit every crime imaginable and are extremely powerful.
They have over a thousand warships, three hundred thousand elite soldiers, a hundred and eight demon generals at the late Nascent Soul stage, called the “Hundred and Eight Fierce Dragon Generals,” thirty-six “Void Tearing Dragon Protectors,” and seventy-two “Heavenly Demon Dragon Riders.” Qianlong Abyss is basically a den of pirates and bandits.
When they go raiding, their warships and troops blot out the sky.
Cities the size of Xuan Yue Ancient City and forces like the Soul Chasing Pavillion—Qianlong Abyss has destroyed countless of them.
All the cities and sect strongholds along the Youjiang Waters have been taken over by Qianlong Abyss.
Qianlong Abyss isn’t one of the top ten forces in the cultivation world, but even the top ten don’t want to mess with them.
Bao Gu saw Jade Shura’s worry and said calmly, “Don’t worry about it.”
Jade Shura saw how calm Bao Gu was, not the least bit afraid of Qianlong Abyss, and her eyes lit up.
She asked, “You have a way to deal with the Earth Ghost Dragon God?”
Bao Gu said, “No.”
Jade Shura let out an “uh.”
Bao Gu said, “When the boat gets to the pier, it’ll straighten itself out.
When the cart gets to the mountain, there’ll be a road.
Since I dared to take this on, I’m confident I can handle it.”
Seeing Bao Gu’s attitude, Jade Shura felt a bit more at ease.
Bao Gu said, “I have things to do, so I’ll be off.” She returned to her room, called Yu Mi, and used the Chopping Gang’s teleportation array to go straight to the Archaic Mountains.
The Archaic Mountains are full of restrictions and formations.
No matter how bold Bao Gu is, she wouldn’t dare teleport directly into the depths, so she could only go to the foot of the mountain first.
As soon as she and Yu Mi stepped out of the teleportation array, they saw signs of people nearby.
The two of them almost simultaneously activated the stealth bracelets on their wrists.
Bao Gu took out the veil her Little Martial Aunt made for her and put it on, then released her wood spiritual energy, drawing in her aura, instantly appearing as a wood spiritual root cultivator at the Golden Core stage.
Yu Mi’s stealth treasure concealed her body’s Divine Transformation stage aura, making her look like a weak second-stage Qi Refining cultivator.
Only her elegant bearing and skin as flawless as fine jade hinted at something special.
She had techniques to maintain her youth and had taken Snow Beauty Pills, so she looked just over twenty.
A cultivator just over twenty at the second stage of Qi Refining—no matter how good her bearing, how smooth and fair her skin, or how beautiful her looks, she was still a nobody.
With their cultivation levels disguised and their faces covered, and all their flashy treasures put away except for a few protective ones, plus their plain clothes, if they walked down the street in a cultivation city, no one would give them a second glance.
Here in the dangerous Archaic Mountains, this might actually make them stand out more, but even so, it was still less attention-grabbing than their real identities.
In a place like this, having Divine Transformation stage strength would be best, but Yu Mi’s soul had been scattered and her cultivation crippled, so she couldn’t release that kind of aura.
As for Bao Gu, her cultivation was only at the Golden Core stage, not even able to release a Nascent Soul stage aura.
If she really wanted to show off her strength, the only thing she could do was release the full power of the fused Xuantian Sword, but that kind of aura would tear the sky apart and basically announce to the world that Bao Gu was here.
Bao Gu wanted to see who was active in the Archaic Mountains, so she didn’t mind drawing a little attention.
With their low cultivation, both Bao Gu and Yu Mi had weak spiritual senses.
Any Nascent Soul stage cultivator’s sense would be stronger than theirs, so before they noticed anyone else, others had already spotted them.
Luckily, Bao Gu was very sensitive—whenever a spiritual sense or gaze landed on her, she could almost always sense it immediately.
Not long after they appeared, several gazes fell on them.
Two Nascent Soul stage cultivators flew over on the wind, stopping about ten feet away and hovering three feet above the ground.
Yu Mi and Bao Gu exchanged surprised glances when they saw the clothes these two were wearing.
They were dressed in Xuantian Sect inner disciple uniforms!
Bao Gu and Yu Mi both glanced at the men’s waists, noticing the high-quality defensive jade pendants hanging there.
The two men looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, both with decent looks and bearing.
The Nascent Soul cultivator on the left barked, “This is Xuantian Sect territory.
Outsiders keep out.
You don’t belong here—leave now.”
As he spoke, both men’s spiritual senses swept over Bao Gu and Yu Mi again and again.
Yu Mi was speechless.
Bao Gu asked, “Who are you?”
The Nascent Soul cultivator who spoke earlier snorted, “Can’t you recognize Xuantian Sect uniforms?”
Bao Gu glanced at the two of them, looking them up and down, and was speechless.
Even though Xuantian Sect now had over a hundred thousand inner and outer disciples, the only ones out and about were her, Zi Yunshu, and the two guest elder demon saints.
The rest were all in Bao Gu’s giant storage bag.
Yu Mi silently looked at the two men, thinking, “You really think you can pass for Xuantian Sect disciples just by wearing imitation uniforms?” At first glance, their clothes looked like Xuantian Sect inner disciple uniforms, but on closer inspection, there were fundamental differences.
Xuantian Sect no longer used those materials for uniforms. Now, the uniforms were made from ice silkworm and fire silkworm silk, mixed with dozens of special materials to create a unique, water- and fire-resistant fabric, crafted with special techniques into magical garments.
The patterns on the clothes weren’t just decoration—they were talismans inscribed on the robes.
Xuantian Sect uniforms weren’t for looks, but were lightweight battle gear.
Also, neither of them had an identity token at their waist.
Every Xuantian Sect member’s token was specially made, inscribed with their aura, master, origin, and position.
For example, Yu Mi’s token had her aura and the words “Xuantian Sect Young Master, Cloud Sea Forest Lord Yu Mi.” When showing their identity, Xuantian Sect disciples always displayed their waist token.
If you wore the uniform, you had to wear the token! Even core and inner disciples, second and third generation disciples, all had to show their tokens when identifying themselves.
If you didn’t, others could refuse to acknowledge you.
Even on official business, if you didn’t show your token, others could ignore you or even claim self-defense if you caused trouble.
If you killed a fellow disciple without showing your identity, at most you’d be punished for excessive self-defense—one hundred lashes, three years’ salary docked, and three years’ confinement.
Bao Gu snorted and said with a laugh, “Since when do Xuantian Sect disciples dress like you two in these rags?” Knowing this was Xuantian Sect territory and still daring to impersonate Xuantian Sect members—do they really think Xuantian Sect is dead? People coveting the Archaic Mountains and impersonating Xuantian Sect disciples, running wild here—Bao Gu wasn’t about to let them off.
Her expression turned cold, and with a single step, she crossed the ten-foot gap.
As she reached them, she raised her palm and struck.
The two men, seeing Bao Gu’s reaction and then her sudden disappearance, immediately sensed danger.
One instinctively summoned a protective treasure, the other tried to run, but Bao Gu was too fast.
Before they could move, her palm landed on their chests.
With a dull “bang,” both men crashed to the ground, spitting blood, their qi and blood in turmoil, their auras thrown into chaos, unable to muster any strength.
One of them coughed up several mouthfuls of blood before managing to say, “You actually hid your aura and suppressed your cultivation!”
Bao Gu snorted, “The Archaic Mountains are extremely dangerous.
You think this is a place for Golden Core cultivators?” As she spoke, she sensed movement nearby.
Looking up, she saw two Divine Transformation stage cultivators leading a group of Nascent Soul cultivators rushing over.
The two Divine Transformation cultivators looked all too familiar—one looked exactly like her Grandmaster Zi Tianjun, the other just like her Wind Martial Uncle.
Not only did their faces look like her Grandmaster and Wind Martial Uncle, but even their clothes were similar—except her Grandmaster and Wind Martial Uncle were rich now and didn’t wear such shabby clothes anymore.
Yu Mi’s eyes went wide when she saw “Zi Tianjun” and “Feng Yi” appear! She glanced at their waists—no identity tokens, and their auras were off.
Fakes again!
“Zi Tianjun” said coldly, “Who dares act so brazenly in Xuantian Sect territory?” The twenty-some Nascent Soul cultivators behind him surged forward, instantly surrounding Bao Gu and Yu Mi.
Bao Gu rubbed her forehead and said, “You’re impersonating Master Zi, and your disguise pill isn’t bad, but could you at least change your outfit? You think the Xuantian Sect leader would dress like that? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
“Feng Yi’s” face darkened.
“Who are you?”
Bao Gu said, “That’s what I should be asking you!”
