Ji Mingcheng’s explanation only made Ji Yutang feel utterly ridiculous.
In the past, her parents had always been accommodating, yet they refused to budge on this matter.
However, she wasn’t discouraged.
If it didn’t work this time, there would be another chance.
Eventually, she would find a way.
Would anyone really force her into marriage? For now, cultivation was the most important thing.
Once she reached the Tianren realm, who could make her submit? Ji Yutang recounted the matter of the Ran Family sisters to Ji Mingcheng, hoping her parents would resolve it.
Unexpectedly, the next day, Ran Jingri and his wife came to visit, specifically asking to see her.
Ji Yutang was originally in the library reading Daoist texts, but since they were elders, she had to show her face, no matter how reluctant.
Cultivators maintain their appearance with magic power, rarely showing signs of aging or death until their life ends.
Standing before Ji Yutang, Ran Jingri wore a scholar’s robe, with a dignified and impressive appearance.
Beside him, Wang Shenyu was fresh and elegant, like a lotus blooming in water.
Ji Yutang quickly withdrew her gaze and respectfully bowed.
Although Li Jingyu was Ran Jingri’s daughter, their temperaments were vastly different, and their facial resemblance was only three or four parts similar, leaning more towards her mother, Li Qingxun.
Unfortunately, she rarely saw the legendary Tai Shang disciple and could only speculate here.
However, in Wang Shenyu, she could see a resemblance to Ran Guzhu’s temperament, though they were fundamentally different.
She wondered how much Ran Guzhu had learned.
“Did you meet Ran Gutong, niece Yutang?” Ran Jingri asked Ji Yutang, rarely mentioning the name “Ran Gutong,” making his tone somewhat stiff and stern.
Ji Yutang frowned slightly and nodded, “Yes.” “And what about A Zhu? Did you see her with your own eyes? Are you sure it was Ran Gutong traveling with you?” Wang Shenyu also asked.
Although she was also a daughter of the Ran Family, Ran Gutong had been expelled from the clan, which was evident in the way she was addressed.
For some reason, a trace of displeasure arose in Ji Yutang’s heart.
She didn’t look at Ran Jingri and his wife’s expressions but firmly said, “It was indeed Ran Gutong traveling with me.
As for Ran… Guzhu, I didn’t encounter her.”
“It seems the letter was indeed forged, but the intent was real.
Could A Zhu really have fallen into Ran Gutong’s hands?” Wang Shenyu looked at Ran Jingri with concern.
Ran Jingri said, “After all, they are sisters.
I believe Ran Gutong will have some sense and won’t harm her.” “Really?” Wang Shenyu’s tone was full of doubt.
She frowned at Ran Jingri and said, “Senior brother, don’t forget, she lived with Huai Wanxiu for over ten years.
She has fallen into the demonic path.
How could she have feelings? If she did, why hasn’t she returned home all these years?” If a demonic cultivator returned home, would they be directly killed like Li Qingxun? Ji Yutang thought sarcastically.
Since they didn’t ask, she didn’t speak up and stood aside, waiting for the couple to finish their discussion.
Considering the presence of a junior, Ran Jingri didn’t want to argue with Wang Shenyu.
He looked at Ji Yutang warmly and asked, “Did she reveal any information about A Zhu? What does she plan to do?” “I don’t know,” Ji Yutang shook her head sincerely.
Ran Jingri was somewhat disappointed, but Wang Shenyu became agitated, looking at Ji Yutang intently, “Think carefully.
Didn’t she show any signs when pretending to be A Zhu? How could you not recognize her?” The overly urgent tone carried a hint of blame, causing Ji Yutang to frown and suddenly look up to meet Wang Shenyu’s gaze.
Why should she be able to recognize Ran Guzhu? Once she realized that the gentle facade was not Ran Guzhu, the entanglement in her heart had long dissipated.
Now, Ran Guzhu was no different from those who had bullied her!
Ji Yutang sneered coldly, “What a coincidence, but unfortunately, I don’t want to give up this blessed land.”
“Tsk, you’re just occupying the latrine without using it,” Yan Yuzhen, accustomed to the ways of the streets, didn’t find such words crude at all.
He had disliked Ji Yutang since childhood, and seeing that no one from the Ji Family was around, he couldn’t help but have some thoughts.
“Unfortunately, I must have this blessed land today.” Even if he bullied Ji Yutang, so what? He was a highly talented disciple of the Yan Family.
Although Ji Yutang had the favor of her parents, the Ji Family wasn’t entirely their own.
The main and branch lines of the Ji Family were all present, and he didn’t believe the Ji Family would go to war with the Yan Family over a “waste,” at most, they’d just apologize.
Yan Yuzhen’s mind moved, and he suddenly attacked.
A red light shot out like a bolt of lightning, flashing before everyone’s eyes.
The scorching blaze and turbulent air currents roared towards Ji Yutang.
Seeing Yan Yuzhen and his group, Ji Yutang had already been on guard.
As Yan Yuzhen attacked, how could she not be prepared? She reached out and grabbed the Falling Moon Bow.
A long dragon’s roar was heard, and the anger of the heavenly dragon transformed into a green light, colliding with the air current! The glass lamps in the room swayed with the air current, making clanging sounds.
The previously lazy shopkeeper, who had been squinting and ignoring the situation, suddenly changed his expression.
His aura surged, instantly suppressing everyone in the room.
However, he had no intention of intervening and instead sent the people out.
In Yan Yuzhen’s plan, that “True Fire Barrier” should have been enough to make Ji Yutang embarrassed.
Who would have thought she had the power to fight back? Moreover, that powerful force shattered the “True Fire Barrier” layer by layer, reaching right in front of him.
Yan Yuzhen’s expression changed suddenly, flames burned around him, and his magic power surged, forming a fire shield that barely dissipated the remaining force.
He squinted at Ji Yutang, sneering, “After three days, you should look at someone with new eyes.
You’re good!” Logically, turning around and leaving would be best at this moment, but how could Yan Yuzhen, so proud, tolerate being defeated by a “waste”? He reached out and pinched the air, and a flaming blade appeared in his hand, drawing a semicircle forward.
The wind and waves it stirred were far greater than the previous “True Fire Barrier,” as he prepared to show his true skills.
But that’s all there is to it.
Ji Yutang thought to herself, the shadow in her heart dissipating a bit.
Seeing Yan Yuzhen attacking with a blade, she simply put away the Falling Moon Bow and instead activated the Xuanxiang Pearl to mobilize her magic power.
The fiery air current contained fierce power, but Ji Yutang seemed indifferent.
She reached forward, and the magic sword unsheathed with a sound.
A blue light flashed, and with a clang, the blazing red light was cut into two by the sword energy.
This move was one of the Ji Family’s inherited sword techniques, called “Clear Wind Severance.” It was as unpredictable as the wind, extremely graceful.
Seeing the barrier cut by the Breeze Sword Technique, Yan Yuzhen’s expression turned sinister and vicious.
A magnetic light suddenly flew out from his sleeve, specifically used to counter sword momentum.
As the magnetic light flew out, Ji Yutang’s sword momentum was indeed hindered.
Yan Yuzhen seized the opportunity to strike Ji Yutang with a “Fire Cloud Palm,” laughing, “It’s just a disguise with a magic weapon.
Let’s see how long you can hold on?” The firelight suddenly became fierce, and the extremely fierce palm force surged forward.
Ji Yutang’s expression remained unchanged as she met Yan Yuzhen’s palms. She practiced a strength-based technique, using external medicine to temper the body, making it flawless.
Could a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator hope to break through her powerful body? At the moment of palm contact, a bone-cracking sound was heard, and Yan Yuzhen screamed, flying backward.
He felt an inexplicable force entering through his meridians, destroying his body layer by layer.
Ji Yutang looked at Yan Yuzhen indifferently.
The “True Dragon Transformation Scripture” contained a palm technique called “Heavenly Dragon Split,” extremely profound and mysterious.
However, in usual cultivator duels, close contact was rare, so this technique wasn’t very useful.
But Yan Yuzhen, relying on his “Fire Cloud Palm,” chose this way of fighting.
Yan Yuzhen’s face turned pale, the blood drained.
Intense pain swept over him, and he even felt that his foundation had cracked under the palm.
Trembling, he pointed at Ji Yutang, stammering, “You, you—” But before he could finish, a sword light shot over, cutting off a lock of hair and leaving a long blood mark on his cheek.
“Trash.” Ji Yutang looked at Yan Yuzhen, throwing back the two words that had tormented her, feeling a burden lifted from her heart.
Watching Yan Yuzhen’s cronies hurriedly carry him away, Ji Yutang didn’t care.
The Ji Family and Yan Family had ties, so she couldn’t openly harm Yan Yuzhen.
However, she left a hidden true dragon force in Yan Yuzhen’s body, undetectable by ordinary cultivators, which would trouble him whenever he cultivated, preventing any progress.
Ji Yutang had no interest in what would happen to Yan Yuzhen afterward.
She turned and went to the blessed land to cultivate.
If you’re not strong, anyone can bully you.
Even if you can rely on your family, how long can they protect you? The most important thing is your own cultivation! With this thought, Ji Yutang’s determination on the path of cultivation grew stronger.
After Ji Yutang left, a figure appeared at the previous battle site.
The person had long hair fluttering in the wind, their face covered by a silver mask, leaving only a pair of deep eyes like the Sea Abyss.
The person lingered for a moment before turning and disappearing.
Yan Yuzhen, as a talented disciple of the Yan Family, had always been cared for by the family.
His defeat naturally drew inquiries.
Yan Yuzhen made no secret of his resentment towards Ji Yutang, but surprisingly, the Yan Family didn’t send anyone to the Ji Family to seek justice.
Instead, they quietly suppressed the matter and restricted Yan Yuzhen’s outings.
In the blessed land, Ji Yutang drew on the Primordial Qi of heaven and earth to cultivate.
She had left a letter at home, giving her enough time to act outside.
She secluded herself for a month, and when she felt her dragon power gradually perfecting, she opened her eyes.
Once she formed the Dragon Pill, she could transform into a heavenly dragon.
But if she took this step, unless she abandoned the Great Dao Dragon Pill, she could only continue on the path of strength.
The process of abandoning the Golden Core actually damages the foundation, and Ji Yutang was unwilling to do so.
To possibly escape the constraints of a strength cultivator, she might have to cultivate the “Daode Heavenly Book” as Li Jingyu suggested.
According to the process of Qi cultivators attaining the human immortal fruit, the first step is to refine the True Core into a pill, and the second step is to upgrade the Life-Bound Artifact to a treasure.
Her Great Dao Dragon Pill could replace the True Core, and perhaps the Life-Bound Artifact needed to manifest the “Daode Heavenly Book” from her sea of consciousness.
Ji Yutang hadn’t copied the “Daode Heavenly Book” again.
She had given it away, and copying it again would turn Li Jingyu’s copy into a blank page, which was her mother’s relic, and she couldn’t deprive it.
Apart from this method, she could only try to connect her own Qi with the lofty Dao.
Fortunately, with the strength of her body as a foundation, she wouldn’t lose herself on the path of the Dao.
Moreover, this process, close to the Dao, would gradually reduce the constraints of heaven and earth.
However, during meditation, Ji Yutang suddenly felt a sense of restlessness, unable to calm her mind and connect with the lofty.
Perhaps it was necessary to balance tension and relaxation? Ji Yutang thought absentmindedly, stepping out of the blessed land.
It happened to be a moonlit night.
The stars and moon filled the night, brilliant and dazzling.
Magnificent dragon lanterns rose into the sky, like flying dragons, illuminating the entire Tianshui City.
The Dragon Worship Festival had arrived, with people wearing various masks following the dragon dance, forming a surging tide.
Ji Yutang moved against the crowd, crossing the long street and stone bridge, suddenly stopping in front of the dragon temple.
She looked up at the figure sitting on the stone table ahead, her lips moving but unable to utter a word.
The person wore a mask, but those eyes, Ji Yutang could never forget.
“How dare you come?” After a long pause, Ji Yutang spoke softly.
Li Jingyu looked up, her laughter clear and cold.
She jumped down from the stone table, taking a few steps to reach Ji Yutang, almost touching her.
The magic power surged like a tide, and the Jewel of the Rising Tides suddenly flew out, with a clear light circling Ji Yutang.
Li Jingyu raised her eyebrows and smiled, “Dragon Worship Festival, I came to see my dragon.”
As her words fell, a dragon aura suddenly emanated from the Jewel of the Rising Tides, and a dragon shadow flew out, stirring Ji Yutang’s cultivation, causing her to “transform into a dragon.” Ji Yutang then remembered that when she was in the Dragon Mansion, she obtained the heavenly dragon senior’s cultivation method, and Li Jingyu took the dragon pill, which contained dragon aura of the same origin as the dragon cultivation.
Ji Yutang shivered, suppressing the urge to transform.
She took a step back, about to speak, but Li Jingyu’s hand pressed on her shoulder, climbing up her neck.
Ji Yutang’s body trembled uncontrollably.
Before she could push Li Jingyu’s hand away, she heard her mention the past, making her body even more rigid.
“Didn’t you enjoy yourself when you transformed into a dragon and roamed over me that day? I’m just here to collect some interest.”
Li Jingyu’s eyes were deep and mysterious as she gazed at those small antler-like horns, the smile on her lips growing more pronounced.
