Wang Ding, Mad Devil, Sun Dilong, and the stewards and commanders from the main flagship moved off to a side hall to discuss how to settle the flagship’s army.
As soon as they left, Bao Gu was immediately surrounded by Zi Yunshu, Yu Mi, and the disciples of Xuantian Sect.
Yu Mi felt movement from her transmission jade. Sweeping it with her divine sense, she found a flood of people looking for her. She took out the jade and replied to them one by one, telling them that Bao Gu had indeed returned. If they wanted to know anything, they could come to the Envoy Manor in Youying City.
The disturbance caused by the great Da Luo Scarlet Gold warship above Youying City was simply too big. Even Zi Tianjun couldn’t sit still. He personally rushed over to the Left Envoy Manor and, stepping into the hall, immediately asked Bao Gu,
“That Da Luo Scarlet Gold warship just now—what was that about? And what’s with all those troops outside the city?”
Bao Gu knew this entrance of hers was bound to shake the entire cultivation world. If she didn’t properly explain the experiences of these past years, the origin of the warship, and the three hundred thousand troops to her old friends and acquaintances, it wouldn’t do.
But she couldn’t explain it over and over, person by person, so she said,
“I’ll explain once everyone’s here.”
She then summoned the attendants who had been in charge of her and Qingying’s daily needs on the main ship and told them to arrange a banquet for the guests.
After the steward had transferred over enough personal guards and servants, he came back to ask Bao Gu whether they should purchase more furnishings, as the manor was missing many items.
Bao Gu nodded.
“Have people make a list of everything that’s missing and bring it to me. Allocate what you can from the inner treasury. Then find a quiet courtyard in the Left Envoy Manor and fix it up as my residence. Qingying’s courtyard will be right next to mine. Make sure her small kitchen is prepared for her like before.”
As she said this, she suddenly remembered she seemed to have picked up a cheap disciple somewhere. She turned her head to look at the little girl beside her, who was staring at her with wide, curious eyes, then looked at Zi Yunshu.
“Little Martial Aunt, is this my disciple?”
Zi Yunshu arched a brow and laughed.
“Yep! Yu Mi and I accepted her for you as your personal disciple. Five spiritual roots, too—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—she’s got all five.”
She gave the little girl a pat on the back.
“Well? Go pay respects to your master! Hold tight to your master’s thigh. Then you might actually have hope of cultivating that融合器道 (fusion artifact) technique!”
The little girl let out an “Oh,” nodded, walked over to Bao Gu, and respectfully knelt. She knocked her head three times against the floor with crisp thuds.
“Disciple Bao Nianhui pays respect to Master.”
Then she ran to the side, took the tea a servant had just brought up, and offered it to Bao Gu with both hands, her face blooming in a brilliant smile.
“Master, please have some tea.”
Surname Bao?
Bao Gu accepted the tea, but didn’t drink right away. Instead, she asked,
“Your surname is Bao? Nianhui?”
The little girl nodded hard, face full of delight.
“Mm! Little Martial Aunt came up with it! She wanted to name me ‘Little Bun’ at first. How is that even a name? Under my strong protest, she finally gave me this nice name, Bao Nianhui. Master, doesn’t it sound pretty?”
Bao Gu’s nose stung.
This little girl’s name had been given by Little Martial Aunt. So what about before?
She asked,
“What was your name before?”
The little girl said,
“I didn’t have a name before. They called me ‘little beggar’ or ‘little girl.’ If ‘Little Yaya’ counts as a name, then that was my name too.”
Bao Gu froze for a moment.
Little beggar?
Yu Mi could see Bao Gu’s confusion and sent her a voice transmission.
“I ran into this little girl three years ago when I passed through Qing Shan County. It was raining hard. She was lying unconscious under an eave, soaking wet, burning with fever, mumbling ‘hungry’ over and over. Seeing her like that, I just felt uncomfortable for no reason. And I could tell that if no one helped her, she probably wouldn’t live. So I brought her back.
“She has no family. She was abandoned at a ruined temple after she was born and was taken in by a beggar. Later, the beggar died of illness. Even that ruined temple was taken by other beggars, and she ended up living on the streets, starving till she was nothing but skin and bones.”
Bao Gu’s heart jolted.
“Why is it always famine…”
She herself had gone through famine, almost starved to death. The ba was so hungry she would do anything for a bite to eat even now. And now she’d picked up this kind of disciple too.
Qing Shan County was her hometown. Yu Mi had picked up her there once, and had now picked up this little girl there too. That could only be called fate.
She lowered her head, took a sip of the tea offered by the little girl, and accepted this disciple in her heart.
She took out a transmission jade made from top-quality ice-clear jade, refined it on the spot into a communication charm, and handed it to Bao Nianhui.
“I have a lot of matters to deal with right now and can’t look after you for the time being. Go play with your senior nephews for now. When I’m free, I’ll come find you. Do you know how to use a transmission jade?”
Bao Nianhui nodded.
“I do. Martial Uncle and Little Martial Aunt both gave me transmission jades. Disciple won’t disturb Master.”
She bowed to Bao Gu, then bounded over to a few senior nephews wearing personal-disciple robes.
“Let’s go!”
She dragged off the few senior nephews who had snuck down the mountain with her and were now standing there wide-eyed, watching the fun.
Bao Gu watched Bao Nianhui happily holding the transmission jade she’d given her, skipping out the door, and truly accepted this disciple from the bottom of her heart.
Not for any other reason—just because this child had been reduced to a beggar from a young age, had suffered so many hardships, seen so many ugly faces, and yet still had such clear eyes and such a bright, open smile. That temperament was incredibly rare.
Some people, after going through hardship and seeing all the darkness, had their hearts twisted. Just like her—one setback, then ten years of shutting herself off. Her personality had changed so much that for a long time she didn’t even know how to smile anymore.
After a brief daze, she turned to the steward standing to the side.
“Find her a place to live near my courtyard. Her allowance will be the same as Qingying’s.”
Then she said to Zi Yunshu,
“Little Martial Aunt, go pick a spot for yourself later. Once you’ve chosen and have any requirements, just tell the steward to handle it.”
Zi Yunshu asked,
“You’re planning to live in the Envoy Manor long-term?”
Bao Gu said,
“I’ll have to stay for a while. There are some things that need handling.”
Zi Yunshu said,
“As far as I can tell, Kan Gang is quite stable. And now you’ve brought back such a large army to intimidate everyone. What is there that needs you to personally sit in the Envoy Manor and handle?”
Bao Gu said,
“It’s a long story. It has to do with ascension and reopening the boundary gate.”
Zi Yunshu said,
“You want to use the Five Element Immortal Stones? That might be a bit tricky.
“The Five Element Immortal Stones were materials used to build the Ascension Platform in the past, and countless heavenly tribulations left innumerable imprints of heavenly laws on them. Anyone who contemplates and comprehends the heavenly laws within those stones will rapidly improve in their cultivation. The Immortal Stone Palace is now the supreme holy land of cultivation, jointly controlled by all major powers in the cultivation world.
“If you want to build a boundary gate and use those Five Element Immortal Stones, it’s going to take some effort. Not to mention, there aren’t nearly enough stones left to rebuild the gate.”
In the face of absolute利益—especially matters directly tied to cultivation progress—no matter how strong Bao Gu was or how great her reputation, it wasn’t enough to make all the major powers willingly hand over the Five Element Immortal Stones they had guarded for five hundred years.
If she handled this poorly, she could very well throw Kan Gang and herself into a situation where the entire cultivation world joined together to denounce them.
Zi Yunshu knew Bao Gu always judged the situation well and probably wouldn’t let herself fall into such a predicament, but once she moved against the Five Element Immortal Stones, intense resistance from every faction was inevitable.
Bao Gu said,
“Don’t worry. You know I don’t do things I’m not sure of.”
While they were speaking, many cultivators who had heard the news had already gathered outside the Envoy Manor, only to be blocked by Bao Gu’s personal guards. Among them was Jade Shura.
Even with the status of Soul Chasing Pavilion’s young pavilion master, Kan Gang’s Youming Hall vice hall master, and sworn sister to Yu Mi, Jade Shura was still stopped outside the Envoy Manor. Her eyes practically lit up. She was so excited she could hardly contain herself.
These days, the only one who dared not give her face like this was Bao Gu.
She cheerfully said to the guards at the gate—who were dressed so gaudily they almost blinded her—
“Don’t just stand there blocking the door. Go in and report that Jade Shura has come to pay her respects.”
As she spoke, she handed over the visiting card she had prepared on the way.
No sooner had Jade Shura’s card been passed in than a crowd of cultivators surged forward from the side, thrusting their own visiting cards over. In an instant, Jade Shura’s card was buried at the very bottom, completely out of sight.
Jade Shura herself was squeezed off to the side!
Jade Shura, nicknamed “Shura Blade,” had carved out a terrifying reputation in blood. On normal days, who would dare squeeze her aside?
She was pushed to the edge, took in a deep breath in irritation, and was just about to snap when she took a closer look and realized these were all big names from various powers. Even Feng Yi had been blocked at the door and squeezed to one side.
Then she turned to look back and saw that the ten-zhang-wide avenue outside the Envoy Manor was jammed full of the vehicles of various powerful figures, packed tight with no room left.
Her red lips parted slightly in surprise.
Then she saw her master’s vehicle actually tearing through the void from above, and her eyes widened even more.
Didn’t Youying City have the Qingzhou Grand Array protecting it? How had her master forced her way in?
Qu Yirou’s vehicle broke out of the void and was about to descend, only to find that the ground was already crammed full, with nowhere to land. She had to stay suspended in the air—and only her vehicle hung there in the sky, directly facing the main gate of the Envoy Manor.
The surrounding cultivators were startled when they suddenly saw a vehicle emerge from the void and block the gate of the Envoy Manor.
“Who has the guts to do that? On the very day the Blade Writ Envoy returns, they dare park right in front of the main gate? Don’t they see everyone else’s vehicles have all backed off three zhang to show respect?”
They lifted their heads to look and were immediately relieved.
This one had known the Blade Writ Envoy since she was weak, and they’d forged a life-and-death bond between them. In the past, Jade Shura would simply drive her vehicle straight through the main gate; stopping here today was already very restrained.
Many of the cultivators blocking the way in front of the vehicle, afraid of getting in the way, quickly handed over their visiting cards and stepped aside, then turned to greet the person in the vehicle, wanting to see whether it was the young pavilion master or the pavilion master herself.
They knew that once this vehicle showed up, whether it was the young pavilion master or the pavilion master, the person inside would definitely come out.
Jade Shura ran up to the vehicle.
“Master, why are you here? How did you get through the Qingzhou Grand Array?”
Qu Yirou stepped out from the vehicle. She glanced around at the faces of many familiar powerhouses. When a few of them cupped their fists in greeting, she smiled and nodded back.
“I was nearby. I saw the commotion and came over. The Qingzhou Grand Array has been shut down. Looks like it really is Bao Gu who’s returned.”
As she spoke, the smile in her eyes deepened.
This style of doing things, this love of fanfare—no one else but Bao Gu.
Thinking that Bao Gu could still return from the void with such overwhelming force, she couldn’t help but feel a flood of emotion.
Who would have thought that the Bao Gu who had once needed her protection just to escape from the Primordial Ruins would grow to this point?
Who would have thought that when her treasured disciple had just stepped into the world, she’d accidentally taken on a huge job, forcing Qu Yirou to personally step out and go up against the powers of Xuan Yue Ancient City, opening a whole new path for Soul Chasing Pavilion?
Who would have thought that the five-trash-root girl everyone had once looked down on would one day have the sect masters and heads of every major faction in the cultivation world lowering themselves, crowding at her door, waiting humbly to see her?
She also understood that with Bao Gu’s return, the cultivation world would inevitably face earthshaking changes again. She wasn’t the only one who thought so. The various powers clearly shared this view, otherwise they wouldn’t have come this fast, desperate to get the first-hand news so they could react in time.
Another vehicle emerged from the void and hovered in the air beside Qu Yirou’s.
Qu Yirou turned her head and recognized it as the carriage of the Empress of Yue.
Si Ruo stepped out from the imperial carriage. The sight in front of the Envoy Manor made her phoenix eyes widen for a moment. Then she looked at Qu Yirou and smiled.
“Pavilion Master, I trust you’ve been well.”
The two of them glanced at each other’s vehicles and found that both of theirs were outrageously eye-catching as they floated side by side in midair. Their gazes met and they both laughed.
Si Ruo sighed.
“This spectacle, this style—it’s just like always.”
She wondered whether, after more than five hundred years, Bao Gu was still the same as before. She waved slightly at the attendant beside her, signaling him to present her visiting card.
Some of the younger generation in the cultivation world, seeing the Envoy Manor keep its doors tightly shut and not come out to greet anyone even in the face of so many powerholders, couldn’t help thinking that no matter how big Kan Gang was, this was a bit too arrogant, really not putting anyone in their eyes.
They were on the verge of charging up to teach those gate guards a lesson and force them to report and bring someone out, but when they saw that even Si Ruo and Qu Yirou were waiting outside, they didn’t dare act rashly. Still, that didn’t stop them from muttering complaints in private—until their own masters harshly berated them.
Suddenly, a little girl of about fifteen or sixteen broke out of the void and appeared, one foot landing right on Si Ruo’s imperial carriage.
She blinked, looking around in confusion, then glanced toward the inside of the Envoy Manor.
“Why are you all blocking my cheap master’s courtyard gate?”
Si Ruo sensed the movement and looked up, her eyes rounding at the little girl bold enough to step on the jeweled roof of her imperial carriage. Her gaze filled with astonishment.
Odd as this girl’s entrance was, Si Ruo could clearly sense that she had simply appeared, without standing on any teleportation platform, and there was not the slightest fluctuation of a teleportation array. It was as if the girl had just popped out of the void itself.
Crossing the void like that—wasn’t that Duobao Spirit Monkey, that thieving monkey’s signature ability? Since when had the cultivation world produced another being who could traverse the void by her own strength?
Master is master, but cheap master?
She asked,
“Who is your cheap master?”
Qingying slanted a look at Si Ruo and snorted.
“Why should I tell you?”
Then her figure blurred, and in the next instant she was already at the Envoy Manor’s gate.
The guards who had just now blocked the door so tightly not even an ant could slip through—and who had refused to give anyone face—hurriedly stepped aside and swung the big gates wide open.
The moment they opened, Yu Mi appeared at the entrance and came face to face with Qingying.
Qingying circled Yu Mi once, her eyes full of displeasure. She lifted a finger, about to jab Yu Mi in the shoulder, then remembered her cheap master. With obvious reluctance, she gave a half-hearted cupped-fist salute.
“Cheap Martial Uncle.”
Then she turned and bolted into the Envoy Manor.
Yu Mi stared at the figure that streaked straight into the main hall like a gust of wind. She froze for a beat before it clicked.
That was the legendary ba?
With Yu Mi’s appearance, all the various factions immediately swarmed over.
Jade Shura squeezed up to her.
“Who is that little girl? She’s way too arrogant!”
Yu Mi said,
“Bao Gu’s disciple.”
Seeing the crowd of powerful figures gathered outside the gate, she quickly ushered them in.
When everyone heard her say that the arrogant little girl was Bao Gu’s disciple, they relaxed.
Yu Mi first offered everyone an apology, then invited each power’s representatives into the manor one by one.
Though a lot of people had gathered outside, there was no chaos. There were simply too many major figures present. This was probably the greatest gathering of powerhouses in the last five hundred years of the cultivation world—no one dared come to stir up trouble.
All these cultivators who had come to present visiting cards were people of immense status and reputation in the cultivation world. Their identity and rank were obvious, and without even trying they naturally fell into order based on those ranks. Each stepped forward to exchange greetings with Yu Mi before being invited into the manor.
When they entered the main hall and saw Bao Gu, they found that she was currently being hugged by that arrogant “Bao Gu’s disciple” from just now, the girl clinging to her arm. Bao Gu was looking at her with a face full of helplessness.
“Bao Gu’s disciple” didn’t so much as glance at the people entering the hall, treating them as if they were air. She simply stared at her cheap master with big eyes.
Bao Gu carefully pulled her arm out of Qingying’s grasp.
“I’m a bit busy right now. Go amuse yourself for a while. When I’m done, I’ll come find you.”
Qingying shook her head.
“Cheap Master, didn’t you say you could mobilize all the resources of the cultivation world?”
Bao Gu: “…”
Even if she could, through certain means, mobilize the cultivation world’s resources, Qingying, was it really appropriate to say that in front of the powerholders of every major faction?
The gathered cultivators: “…”
Wasn’t that brag a bit too much?
Kan Gang might be the number one power, but it wasn’t enough to stand against the entire cultivation world, much less “mobilize all the cultivation world’s resources.” Did she think the cultivation world belonged to her?
For a moment, Si Ruo and Qu Yirou both looked at Bao Gu with eyes full of mirth. They hadn’t expected Bao Gu to brag like that to her disciple, only to be exposed by said disciple right in front of everyone.
What none of them expected even more was that, instead of scolding her disciple for “nonsense” or “fooling around” as they thought she should, Bao Gu actually stiffened her neck and nodded in front of all these leaders.
Don’t you want your face anymore? You really dare to nod to that?
Quite a few people were shocked. Some even frowned slightly.
Bao Gu’s guts were knotted with anxiety.
Zi Tianjun stood far off, pretending he hadn’t heard a thing, silent as stone.
