Bao Gu left the palace and didn’t let the attendant who escorted her continue any further.
She went straight back to the Kan Gang branch hall and saw that the formation army that had besieged the place before had already withdrawn.
She arranged for Zi Yunshu, Yu Mi, and the Demon Saint to stay at the Kan Gang branch, and ordered Wang Ding to assign extra guards to ensure their safety.
The next day, the Queen of Yue sent her imperial carriage to fetch Bao Gu to the palace, and the imperial edict of reward arrived at the same time as the Queen’s carriage.
Bao Gu and her group weren’t citizens of Yue, so naturally they didn’t have to kneel to receive the edict.
But when they heard the Queen’s decree and saw the six carts piled high with rare treasures, Zi Yunshu, the Demon Saint, Yu Mi, Wang Ding, and the others were all stunned.
Zi Yunshu opened chest after chest, and the dazzling light from the treasures almost made her dizzy.
She looked Bao Gu up and down and asked, “What’s going on?”
Bao Gu said, “What else could it be? She wants to win over Xuantian Sect, tie Xuantian Sect and Yue together.
The Ascension Road Map is worth this much.” She casually pointed at one of the carts of treasures and said, “Wang Ding, take this cart to reward the soldiers who fought yesterday.” Then she called over a Kan Gang guard and told him to take some high-grade spirit stones from the treasure chest to give to the attendants and guards who had come to deliver the edict and escort her to the Yue palace.
She said, “Senior Sister, Little Martial Aunt, save two chests for Grandmaster, the rest you all can split.”
Wang Ding had seen the rare treasures in the Xuantian Mountains, and in recent years had been sending cultivation resources to Bao Gu with Sun Dilong, so he knew Bao Gu was as rich as a nation and wouldn’t care about this stuff.
But to just wave her hand and let everyone around her split up so many rare treasures—this kind of generosity was jaw-dropping.
The attendants and guards who came to deliver the edict and escort her were completely dumbfounded.
Bao Gu walked up to Yu Mi and said, “Senior Sister, I’ll go to the Yue palace to finish carving the Ascension Road Map and come right back.
If you’re interested, you can go check out the Daoist field the Queen of Yue granted us.
Setting up an outer sect base there wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Yu Mi replied with a simple “Mm,” and reminded her, “Be careful.”
Bao Gu nodded, signaling Yu Mi not to worry.
She also told Wang Ding to arrange two thousand guards to protect Zi Yunshu, Yu Mi, and the Demon Saint.
After making all the arrangements, she finally walked toward the Queen’s carriage.
As soon as she set foot on it, she heard Zi Yunshu muttering, “Seeing all this, why do I get the feeling the Queen of Yue is taking Bao Gu as her consort?” Bao Gu turned and glared at Zi Yunshu, only to see Yu Mi half-squinting at her and saying, “Yeah, it really does look a bit like that.” Bao Gu rolled her eyes and stepped onto the Queen’s carriage.
Zi Yunshu watched the carriage and procession disappear into the distance and said, “The Queen of Yue actually sent her own imperial carriage to pick up Bao Gu.
Jeez, that foxy face of hers better not attract the Queen’s attention!” She turned to Yu Mi and asked, “You want to go to the palace too?”
Yu Mi replied calmly, “Don’t you know what kind of person Bao Gu is?”
※※※
Bao Gu was brought into the palace by the Queen’s carriage and settled in a rather elegant palace courtyard.
As soon as she got off the carriage and stepped through the gate, a group of palace maids and attendants greeted her at the door.
All these maids were at the Golden Core stage, and their clothes were different from each other.
After bowing to Bao Gu, they led her inside.
One woman, dressed a bit better than the others and clearly the head maid, came forward to introduce everyone.
They were all assigned by the Queen to serve Bao Gu, and this woman was the “Big Aunt,” the equivalent of a chief steward.
There were also four close attendants and eight general servants.
Bao Gu had them lead her to the study, where she immediately buried herself in carving the Ascension Road Map.
Not long after, a close attendant of the Queen came to invite her to a banquet.
Bao Gu really didn’t know whether to call the Queen of Yue enthusiastic or just a busybody—she just wanted to quietly finish the map and leave.
But the Queen’s invitation was hard to refuse, so she had no choice but to attend.
There were a ton of people at the banquet.
All the princes and ministers she’d seen last time were there, as well as the old Wise King and the young prince from the Wise King’s residence.
Each of these nobles had women seated beside them.
Most of the people present were at the Void Tearing stage, with the rest mostly in the late Nascent Soul stage, and only a few especially young ones at the Nascent Soul stage.
As soon as Bao Gu appeared, everyone’s eyes fell on her.
She greeted the Queen and was invited to sit.
The Queen said to Bao Gu, “This is a family banquet, no need to be so formal.”
Bao Gu thought, “Why did you invite me to a family banquet?” She glanced at the Queen, a little confused.
When she was a kid, Bao Gu loved going to banquets with her dad, eating good food, watching music and dance performances, and observing all the different faces at the table—she always felt like she couldn’t see enough.
There was always something interesting at every banquet.
But after years of secluded cultivation, she’d lost her taste for crowds.
She was just here to show her face and go through the motions.
The Queen’s gaze kept drifting to Bao Gu.
Bao Gu had a special kind of quiet about her, like a thin mist separated her from the noisy surroundings.
Her eyes were a little hazy, as if nothing and no one at the banquet really registered with her.
The Queen kept thinking Bao Gu reminded her of something, and after a moment’s thought, it hit her—Bao Gu was like bamboo in the mist.
At first, everyone was still a bit stiff and formal, but the Queen was in a good mood today and told everyone to relax and enjoy themselves.
Even the palace nobles got up to perform.
These were all powerful people in Yue, each one a big shot in their own right, and even a casual display of their skills was impressive.
A young prince at the Nascent Soul stage volunteered to perform a sword dance.
He looked about seventeen or eighteen, but was already at the second level of Nascent Soul—a sign of serious talent.
His swordplay was fierce and bold, full of masculine beauty, and for someone his age, his cultivation and swordsmanship were top-notch.
After finishing his sword dance, the young man came up to Bao Gu, cupped his fists, and said, “Please forgive my boldness, Master.
I’ve heard stories about you from the upper realm and admire you greatly.
My own cultivation is shallow, so I wouldn’t dare ask for your guidance, but I humbly beg you to show us a little of your skill so I can broaden my horizons.” He called himself “this kid” and was so humble and sincere that it was hard to dislike him.
Bao Gu knew perfectly well that all these nobles had shown off their skills, so there was no way she could get out of it.
Besides, after the scene she’d caused in Cangdu City yesterday, there were definitely people here who wanted to see her embarrassed.
The Queen smiled and said, “Master, why not show this kid a thing or two?”
Bao Gu glanced at the Queen, then got up and walked to the center of the hall.
“Forgive my clumsiness,” she said.
She tapped her toe on the ground and leapt into the air.
With each step, a lotus flower bloomed beneath her feet, and with every leap, she rose higher.
After nine steps, she was already high in the air.
When she reached the ninth and final step, a sharp sword aura burst from her body, and five swords—white, green, black, red, and yellow—condensed from pure energy, emerged from within her.
These were the gold, wood, fire, water, and earth swords, and they floated around Bao Gu in the positions of the five elements, forming a formation in the air.
The power of the formation held Bao Gu at its center.
She spread her arms and slowly raised her hands, and two glowing orbs appeared in her palms—one in her left hand, filled with pure yang energy, and one in her right, pure yin.
As she raised her arms, the two orbs merged and suddenly exploded with a terrifying force, which transferred to the five swords, making them erupt with even greater power.
Everyone at the banquet saw the five swords in the air suddenly unleash a terrifying might, sending ripples through the air.
The ripples spread outward, making the sky above Bao Gu look hazy, and even her figure seemed like a reflection in water.
After a moment, the haze in the sky cleared, and Bao Gu’s figure became sharp again.
She rode the wind and slowly landed back on the ground.
The young man stared at Bao Gu in surprise, his eyes practically asking: Is that all you’ve got?
A young man sitting at the end of the table clicked his tongue and said, “Controlling five spirit swords with five spiritual roots is pretty ordinary, isn’t it?” His voice was soft, but everyone in the room heard it clearly.
The Queen shot a glance at the young man.
If your cultivation is low and you have no vision, just keep quiet.
If you’re not embarrassed for yourself, I’m embarrassed for you!
The young man quickly cupped his fists and lowered his head, cold sweat pouring down his back, not daring to say another word.
The old Wise King said, “This is a method of controlling yin and yang and the five elements.
With the five elements forming a formation and yin and yang sealing the domain, once this formation is set, unless you have overwhelming power, you’re basically unbeatable.” He looked at Bao Gu and said, “With your current strength, if I were trapped in your domain, I doubt I could escape.
Impressive, the younger generation is truly formidable.”
Bao Gu replied, “Wise King, you flatter me.
My strength is still weak, my cultivation is only at the Golden Core stage, and controlling yin and yang and the five elements is really pushing it.
This domain is just an empty shell.”
The Wise King glanced at Bao Gu but didn’t call her out.
After Bao Gu’s display, no one else stepped up to show off.
The wine flowed freely at the banquet, and the nobles kept toasting Bao Gu— even the Queen herself raised her glass to her more than once.
The wine at cultivation world banquets was always strong.
If Bao Gu hadn’t been a body cultivator and taken so many rare spirit medicines, she’d have no tolerance at all.
Even so, her drinking capacity wasn’t great.
With all these nobles taking turns toasting her, even Bao Gu’s willpower couldn’t hold out, and she got so drunk her head was spinning and she couldn’t shake off the alcohol.
Her senior sister wasn’t there, so she didn’t even have anyone to help her block the drinks.
If her senior sister had been here, she’d have drunk them all under the table, and Bao Gu wouldn’t have been the one to pass out.
Unable to handle the wine, Bao Gu had to excuse herself to the Queen.
The Queen saw that Bao Gu could barely stand, so she called for attendants to prepare a soft sedan and send Bao Gu back to her chambers.
She hadn’t expected that, as a body cultivator, Bao Gu’s alcohol tolerance was still worse than a few of the younger Nascent Soul cultivators.
After the banquet ended, the Queen figured Bao Gu had probably sobered up by now, so she went to Bao Gu’s chambers to find her.
But when she got there, she found there wasn’t even a guard on duty, the doors were tightly shut, and not a single light shone from inside.
The Queen’s face immediately darkened, and she ordered the attendants to fetch the maids who served Bao Gu.
Soon, the attendants rushed over from the living quarters and knelt at the Queen’s feet in panic.
The Queen stared coldly at the group of kneeling maids and attendants.
“Is this how you serve your guests?”
“Your Majesty, it was the Master who told us not to disturb her…”
The Queen swept her divine sense through the chambers and found that the whole place was sealed tight with a formation.
As soon as her sense touched it, she felt a headache, and her probing sense was shredded.
She cursed to herself, “That Bao Gu!” Then she ordered, “When Bao Gu wakes up, have her report to me.” With that, she turned and left.
The maids were all drenched in cold sweat.
It was already the middle of the night, and the Queen had actually come over herself!
