After Bao Gu returned to the Envoy’s Estate, she thought over Jade Shura’s trip to the Flame Saint Sect to collect the debt. Then she took out detailed formation diagrams for Daluo Red Gold warships of various specifications and sizes, along with dozens of formations for attack, defense, retreat, spatial leaps, and more, and sent the Duobao Spirit Monkey to deliver them to Jade Shura.
The Mad Demon had left, and Bao Gu was short on people who could command armies and wage war. Jade Shura had been a killer by trade and did not know how to fight a battle. That was fine. Bao Gu could use this opportunity to train her.
When Jade Shura received the storage pouch from the Duobao Spirit Monkey and swept it with her divine sense, she immediately understood Bao Gu’s intention, and a sudden warmth surged through her heart. If this incident had happened to any other commander in the Hatchet Gang, forget Bao Gu personally coming to save them. Bao Gu would have directly replaced the commander of the hundred-thousand-strong army and left the one who had been abducted from their own camp to fend for themselves. Even if that commander managed to escape back alive, they would likely still not escape military punishment. Yet Bao Gu had not dealt with her on the spot, and had even sent her these things. Not only was she giving Jade Shura a chance to make up for her mistake, she was continuing to cultivate her. No matter how close Jade Shura was to Yu Mi, she was ultimately someone from the Soul Chasing Pavilion, not from the Xuantian Sect or the Hatchet Gang. But Bao Gu had never treated her like an outsider.
Jade Shura’s emotions were written all over her face, so of course Yu Mi noticed.
“What’s wrong?” Yu Mi asked.
“Nothing,” Jade Shura replied, then handed the storage pouch to Yu Mi.
Yu Mi probed the pouch with her divine sense, then smiled and patted Jade Shura on the shoulder.
“The road is long and the burden heavy. Take care.”
Then she crooked a finger at the Duobao Spirit Monkey crouching nearby.
“Little monkey, come here. I have something to tell you.”
The Duobao Spirit Monkey landed on Yu Mi’s shoulder and squeaked, as if asking, “What is it?”
Yu Mi told the Duobao Spirit Monkey about the Coiling Dragon Enlightenment Sacred Tea Tree going to the Flame Saint Sect. She and the Duobao Spirit Monkey had been partners for hundreds of years and had long since developed perfect understanding. As soon as she mentioned the tea tree, the Duobao Spirit Monkey understood what Yu Mi wanted it to do. Its eyes lit up at once. It squeaked and nodded rapidly.
Yu Mi smiled and stroked the Duobao Spirit Monkey’s head.
“Go on. Help Jade Shura and Bao Gu win back their dignity.”
With that, she sent the Duobao Spirit Monkey out of the command ship.
The moment Jade Shura saw Yu Mi send out that thieving monkey again, she knew what Yu Mi intended to do. She immediately cried out, “That is way too improper! We already agreed to turn hostility into peace and stop fighting, and now you’re actually sending the Duobao Spirit Monkey to loot them. I like it!”
Yu Mi merely smiled again, then looked at Qu Yirou.
“I still have a lot of miscellaneous matters to handle, so I won’t disturb you two any longer. Pavilion Master, please go easy on her later.”
Then she asked Jade Shura, “Do you need me to activate a domain gate and send you back to camp?”
Jade Shura waved her off.
“Go, go. I’ll go back myself.”
Yu Mi looked at Jade Shura and said, “Then I need to fly the command ship back to Qingzhou.”
Hearing the dismissal in Yu Mi’s words, Jade Shura did not argue. She hurried to Qu Yirou’s side and waited for Yu Mi to send the two of them out of the command ship.
Yu Mi pointed at the teleportation array beside them.
“You think the whole ship is a teleportation array? Stand over there.”
Jade Shura’s eyes widened.
“I saw Bao Gu vanish right where she stood, so I thought this Daluo Red Gold command ship could teleport from anywhere.”
After saying that, she pulled the rather unhappy Qu Yirou toward the teleportation array.
Qu Yirou stepped onto the array and gave Yu Mi a slight nod.
Yu Mi sent Qu Yirou and Jade Shura away from the command ship, then activated the vessel and headed back to Qingzhou.
Jade Shura and Qu Yirou appeared outside the command ship, beyond Flamefire Holy City. Now that only the two of them remained, Jade Shura called out rather guiltily, “Master.”
She lowered her head and admitted her mistake.
“This time, I underestimated the enemy and was careless.”
Qu Yirou said, “It is fortunate that the one you faced was the Flame Saint Sect, which only wanted to smooth things over and take a small advantage. Tell me, if you had faced someone with Bao Gu’s temperament, would you, this army of one hundred thousand, and those one thousand Daluo Red Gold ships still exist?”
She raised a finger and jabbed Jade Shura in the forehead.
“Even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. How many times have I told you to plan before acting? When will you change that reckless, careless nature of yours?”
Jade Shura lowered her head and said nothing.
Qu Yirou lifted Jade Shura’s chin, making her look at her.
“Ah-Guai, the tides of the cultivation world have already changed. I do not know how much longer I can protect you.”
When Jade Shura saw the way Qu Yirou looked at her, her heart stirred and ached. She raised her arms and pulled Qu Yirou into her embrace, calling softly, “Master.”
She had already been very earnest and worked very hard. She knew she could not compare with Yu Mi and Bao Gu, but in the cultivation world, how many people like Yu Mi and Bao Gu could there possibly be?
Qu Yirou patted Jade Shura’s hand.
“If anything goes wrong again with this matter, no one will help you.”
Jade Shura gave a soft hum of acknowledgment, but still held Qu Yirou tightly without saying a word. Her master’s delicate, gentle appearance, along with the way she doted on Jade Shura so much, always made Jade Shura’s heart ache. She just wanted to hold her master and never let go.
She asked quietly, “Master, are you afraid?”
Qu Yirou sighed softly.
“How could I not be? The larger the world becomes and the broader one’s horizons grow, the more one discovers how tiny one is, like an ant. No matter how hard one tries to grow, one cannot keep up with the changes of this world.”
Jade Shura understood that Qu Yirou was talking about the changes in the Heavenly Dao of this realm, as well as her worries about the ten realms of heaven and earth and the upper realm. Bao Gu wanted to build a realm-breaking domain gate and open a connection to the outside. Their little bit of strength, compared to the outside world and the upper realm, was nothing. Those Earth Immortals, High Immortals, and True Immortals could crush them as easily as crushing ants. Those who were timid might even want to maintain the current state of things. But maintaining the current state meant cutting off the path to immortality. Without becoming immortal, one could not attain longevity, and in the end, one would still age and die. Even if they wanted to stay where they were, others were advancing. If they did not work hard to move forward, they would only be left far behind until they were reduced to dust.
She was now a Void Tearing stage cultivator. For a cultivator, reaching the Void Tearing stage at her age was as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. It could be considered quite remarkable. But when she looked back at the fellow disciples she had known when she was seven or eight, back then they had all been children, all standing at the same starting line on the path of cultivation. Now, she had advanced to the Void Tearing stage and was still in the prime of youth, while those childhood companions who had never reached the Nascent Soul stage had already died of old age. Those who had fallen along the way had long since turned to dust and vanished into the yellow earth.
None of them wanted to one day become a cup of yellow soil on the road someone else looked back upon.
Qu Yirou withdrew from Jade Shura’s embrace.
“Return to camp. There is no need to rush the debt collection, but you must protect yourself and handle the matter properly. Remember, haste makes waste. In everything, plan first and act afterward.”
Jade Shura answered with a firm hum. She pressed a kiss onto her master’s soft lips before taking out a teleportation platform and leaving.
After Jade Shura left, Qu Yirou raised her fingers and lightly touched the lips Jade Shura had kissed, her gaze deep and distant. Considering Jade Shura’s age and aptitude, reaching her current cultivation realm was already quite impressive. Qu Yirou had never expected Jade Shura to grow as rapidly as Yu Mi and Bao Gu, because to gain that kind of growth, one had to place oneself between life and death, constantly throw oneself into desperate situations, and force out one’s potential. Only then could one advance so quickly. The price and the risks were both too great. Bao Gu and Yu Mi had both endured too much suffering and hardship. Qu Yirou did not want Jade Shura to experience or bear those things.
She had originally intended to protect Jade Shura for a few hundred more years, wait until Jade Shura reached the Tribulation Crossing stage, and only then let her go out to struggle and fight on her own. Thinking about it now, had she protected Jade Shura too well?
Qu Yirou could not help thinking of Qingying. She was the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, with combat strength so formidable that even Xueqing was wary of her. Yet because she had been protected too well, she was innocent and naive, to the point that she had fallen into a state where Bao Gu had to protect and raise her. A few words had been enough to trick her into the void. If Bao Gu had been someone sinister, who knew what kind of situation Qingying would have ended up in?
Qu Yirou decided that from now on, she would no longer interfere in Jade Shura’s affairs. She would let Jade Shura go out and make her own way.
Then another thought came to her. What if Jade Shura encountered danger again? What if someone killed her? A few hundred years ago, the strength of the Void Tearing stage had been enough to wander the cultivation world on one’s own. But now, in struggles between powers of this level, Void Tearing strength was truly not enough to look at.
Qu Yirou struggled with herself for a long while before finally compromising.
She decided to give Jade Shura a sacred artifact, then let Jade Shura fend for herself outside. Even if Jade Shura cried and screamed for Master to save her, she would ignore her!
Jade Shura had just returned to camp and reorganized the army and fleet when she heard a subordinate report that the master of the Soul Chasing Pavilion was requesting an audience. She hurriedly ran out.
“Master, why are you here?”
She rushed up to her master and took her hand, intending to lead her into camp.
Qu Yirou lifted her hand, and a bow as clear and lustrous as jade, with precious light flowing through it, appeared in her palm.
Jade Shura’s eyes instantly lit up. Her lips parted in disbelief.
“Wow!”
Overjoyed, she took the bow in her hand and cried happily, “Master!”
In the Soul Chasing Pavilion, the intact sacred artifacts could be counted on one hand. Four of them had long since been divided among the elders, and this one was in her master’s hands.
Jade Shura looked at Qu Yirou with a face full of delight.
“Are you giving it to me to use?”
Qu Yirou said, “I am far away in Qingzhou. If something happens to you, I cannot protect you. I am giving you a sacred artifact to guard yourself with.”
Jade Shura thought for a moment, then asked, “If you give me the sacred artifact you use to protect yourself, what will you do if you encounter a powerful enemy?”
She knew very well that almost all the experts at her master’s level now came from major powers. Even if not every one of them had a sacred artifact, their forces at least had one. Among those in the Tribulation Crossing stage, possessing a sacred artifact or not could almost directly determine life and death. Jade Shura dared to say that if Bao Gu had not possessed an immortal weapon from the upper realm, there was absolutely no way she could have cleaved the Bearded Ancient Demon to death with one sword.
Thinking of this, she stuffed the sacred artifact back into Qu Yirou’s arms.
“I don’t need it!”
She might covet it, but she could not take something her own master relied on to protect her life.
Qu Yirou said, “If I encounter an enemy strong enough to kill me, whether or not I have this sacred artifact will make no difference. If you take this sacred artifact, then when you encounter Tribulation Crossing stage experts in the future, you will at least have the strength to protect yourself. I will no longer protect you. From now on, you must resolve matters on your own.”
She paused, then added, “Do not disappoint the expectations Bao Gu and I have for you.”
She placed the jade bow into Jade Shura’s hands.
Jade Shura understood Qu Yirou’s intention. She thought about it seriously, then returned the sacred artifact to Qu Yirou again.
“Master, I will protect myself. Yu Mi doesn’t have a sacred artifact either, and she hasn’t been chopped into pieces by anyone, has she?”
Qu Yirou thought to herself, Yu Mi may not have a sacred artifact, but she is covered in spiritual treasures, and she also has the immortal treasure Xueqing gave her to protect herself.
Jade Shura had a stubborn nature. If she said she did not want it, then she did not want it. She turned and ran back to the flagship, leaving Qu Yirou absolutely furious.
As a master, she had no dignity left at all. She had bestowed a precious treasure, only for her disciple to refuse it, abandon her, and run off.
Qu Yirou put away the sacred artifact and left.
In her heart, she swore that even if Jade Shura cried and howled for Master to save her, she would not pay any attention. Absolutely not. Even if Jade Shura was badly injured, she would not pay any attention!
Qu Yirou was also quite annoyed with herself. She was the dignified master of the Soul Chasing Pavilion, yet in front of her own disciple, she acted like a meek little wife. Where was her authority?
Qu Yirou was angry with Jade Shura and angry with herself. Unconsciously, the aura around her began to spill outward.
When the disciples of the Soul Chasing Pavilion saw their pavilion master return from outside with anger in her eyes, her entire body exuding an awe-inspiring and murderous pressure, that invisible force intimidated them so much that they did not dare move. They kept silent as cicadas in winter, feeling only that as their pavilion master’s cultivation realm rose, her presence became ever more terrifying.
A steward who had just delivered a batch of supplies saw Qu Yirou’s furious appearance and stood trembling to the side, not daring to step forward and report.
He thought to himself, If only the young pavilion master were here.
