Qingyun Sect, inside the Main Hall of the primary peak.
The atmosphere was oppressive, like a deathly silence.
Lu Qingsong sat at the head of the hall, his face expressionless, but the jade token in his hand had already turned into fine powder.
Below him, a deacon dressed in black was prostrated on the ground, his forehead pressed against the floor, not daring to make even a sound.
"Where. Is. He?" Lu Qingsong's voice was calm, so calm that there wasn't a single ripple in it, yet it caused the temperature inside the hall to plummet.
"Reporting... reporting to the sect leader, the two of them left the sect early this morning and headed for Tianlan Kingdom."
The black-clad deacon's voice trembled. "Your subordinate... your subordinate only just found out! Should we... should we immediately send out a message to organize an assassination?"
"Assassination?" Lu Qingsong softly repeated those two words before suddenly letting out a low chuckle.
It was a sheer humiliation!
He had spent so much effort, even secretly pushing things along behind the scenes, just to send someone into that almost certainly fatal gu-rearing arena of Xuanli Hall.
His intention had been to use someone else's hand to kill the target and pave the way for Mingxuan.
And the result? His only son, Lu Mingxuan, along with dozens of young elites meticulously cultivated by the sect, had all perished inside, leaving not even a bone behind!
Yet he had known nothing!
Meanwhile, the culprit, Fang Xuan, had simply taken the various resources he had bestowed and walked out of the Qingyun Sect with his head held high!
He had even thought it was Wu Hao. The words he had spoken in front of Fang Xuan must have made him look like a clown on a stage in Fang Xuan's eyes, nothing more than a source of amusement!
This was quite literally pressing Lu Qingsong's face, and the face of the entire Qingyun Sect, into the dirt!
What frustrated him even more was that he couldn't even openly turn against him right now. This was because Fang Xuan still carried a life-saving item that could withstand a single strike from the Transformation Realm.
Moving rashly would only alert the target, causing him to go into hiding or flee elsewhere!
"Do not act blindly," Lu Qingsong said slowly, each word seemingly squeezed from between his teeth.
"Pass down the order. Send people to confirm his whereabouts, that is all. Under no circumstances are they to attack, and even more importantly, they must not expose themselves!"
He gazed at the swirling snow outside, his eyes filled with undisguised murderous intent.
"When he returns..."
"I shall personally crush him!"
Boom—!
A terrifying surge of spiritual energy erupted with him as the center. Every piece of furniture and decoration in the hall, except for the floor where the black-clad deacon lay prostrated, was instantly reduced to dust.
"Fang! Xuan! Argh—!!!"
...................
At the same time, thousands of miles away, in the capital of Tianlan Kingdom.
The darkness of night had not yet completely faded.
In just one night, the two had crossed thousands of miles to reach the destination of this trip—
Lanjing City, the capital of Tianlan.
The city walls were towering, and the city gates were bustling with an endless stream of carriages and pedestrians. The noise could be heard from far away.
Fang Xuan thought that since they were here, they might as well just enjoy themselves.
As for Wu Hao, as long as he didn't come looking for trouble, Fang Xuan couldn't be bothered with him.
He would first observe the movements from the Qingyun Sect's side, and then when he returned, he would fool Lu Qingsong for a while longer.
Eventually, he would find a suitable time to take his senior sister and slip away, heading straight for the Central Plains.
After all, Senior Sister's plan was what mattered most.
...................
Stepping into the capital, the atmosphere was different from the quiet cultivation life in the mountains of Qingyun Sect, and even different from the mundane bustle of Qingshi Town.
The streets were extremely wide, paved with smooth blue stone slabs, enough for several carriages to drive side-by-side.
On both sides were rows of tiered buildings and shops with flying eaves and painted rafters, beautifully decorated.
Pedestrians in various styles of clothing rubbed shoulders. There were mortals in coarse cloth and short shirts, as well as many wealthy merchants and officials in brocade robes.
Occasionally, a luxuriously decorated carriage would gallop past, causing the passersby to scramble out of the way.
The prosperity of the human world, the ten thousand feet of red dust, was no more apparent than here.
"Boss, how much for these?"
Ning Xian stopped in front of a steaming snack stall.
The stall owner was a middle-aged woman with a face full of smiles. In her pot, round fish balls were boiling, giving off a mouth-watering aroma.
"Oh, you have a good eye, Immortal! These are made from the silver-shuttle fish unique to our Tianlan Lan River. The meat is fresh and bouncy, and the broth is simmered with old hens. It's so delicious your eyebrows will fall off! Three copper coins for one skewer, five coins for two!"
The stall owner introduced her wares enthusiastically, her gaze lingering for a moment on Ning Xian’s cold, peerless features and temperament.
She marveled inwardly, thinking this must be an immortal from some large sect out on a journey of experience.
"Mhm," Ning Xian responded faintly. She paid the money and took two skewers of fish balls on bamboo sticks.
She reflexively reached out her hand to take the hand of the person beside her, but she felt only empty air.
Her brow furrowed slightly.
Junior Brother was being disobedient again.
She turned around and saw Fang Xuan crouching a few steps away in front of another stall, looking at something with great interest.
That stall was set up in a rather mysterious way. Several small, ancient-looking clay jars were placed on it.
Beside them were a few open brocade boxes containing things like dried insect shells.
A stall owner wearing a hood, whose face could not be clearly seen, was speaking in a low, raspy voice, "...This is the Fragrant Gu. Carry it with you, and your body will emit a unique fragrance that will not dissipate for months..."
Fang Xuan picked up a small jar containing a certain golden beetle and asked curiously, "Can I eat it?"
The hooded stall owner: "...?"
"Then what about this one?" Fang Xuan pointed to another jar labeled as Heart-Consuming Gu.
The stall owner’s voice grew even lower, carrying a sense of mystery. "This gu... is planted in the body of those who are heartless and unfaithful. If they change their heart, the gu insect will bore into their heart, causing pain beyond endurance."
"That’s quite interesting." Fang Xuan rubbed his chin, his eyes sparkling.
"Boss, do you have any more powerful ones? For example... those that look like cicadas."
The stall owner was a bit dazed by his questions.
Right then, a small hand gently took hold of Fang Xuan and pulled him away from the stall.
Ning Xian had walked over at some point. "You aren't allowed to look at that Southern Wilderness Gu Art. It's easy to get scammed."
As she spoke, she stuffed one of the fish ball skewers into Fang Xuan's empty hand. "This doesn't taste good. Help me eat it."
"Okay," Fang Xuan replied. While being led away by his senior sister, he opened his mouth and bit into a fish ball.
It was smooth and bouncy in his mouth, the sweetness of the fish meat and the richness of the broth merging perfectly.
It was indeed delicious.
As he ate, he said with a muffled voice, "Mm... Senior Sister, this place is so big."
He had originally thought Tianlan Kingdom was just a small border nation and its capital would probably only be slightly larger than Qingshi Town.
He hadn't expected the scale to be so grand. Its prosperity far exceeded his expectations.
It seemed the map of the cultivation world truly could not be judged by common sense.
Ning Xian didn't respond, but her gaze drifted toward a rather imposing wine house diagonally across the street.
The wine house was three stories high, with carved beams and painted rafters. A gilded plaque reading 'Drunken Immortal Restaurant' hung over the entrance.
However, the sounds of many arguments and the shattering of plates and cups seemed to be coming from inside, attracting many passersby who stopped to watch.
"What’s wrong?"
Fang Xuan followed her gaze, feeling somewhat curious.
Senior Sister wasn't the type of person who liked to join in on a commotion, nor had he ever seen her take a proper look at anyone other than himself.
Could there be something special about that restaurant?
"A prince of the Tianlan Kingdom," Ning Xian said as she withdrew her gaze, her tone still flat.
"Is he very strong?" Fang Xuan's first thought was that if someone caught his senior sister's attention, they must be a powerful opponent with a high cultivation.
"He is very rich," Ning Xian’s answer was concise.
Fang Xuan: "..."
Fine, he had been narrow-minded.
It seemed Senior Sister had the idea of earning some extra pocket money.
Although he was quite wealthy now, Senior Sister seemed to always have a unique obsession with being self-reliant and accumulating wealth.
Mhm... Freeloading, scamming, robbing... he seemed to like those things too.
Thinking of this, he was just about to go in and have a look.
However, Ning Xian pulled his hand again.
"No rush," she said.
Then she pulled him along, continuing to walk unhurriedly toward the other end of the street, seemingly losing interest in the chaos over there.
Fang Xuan was getting a bit confused.
What exactly did Senior Sister mean? She specifically mentioned it just now, but now she wouldn't go in.
He suddenly remembered another question. "Senior Sister, have you been to the Tianlan Kingdom before?"
Otherwise, why would she be unfazed by the specialty fish balls and the street-side gu stalls, and even know which prince was the one arguing inside the restaurant?
"Mhm," Ning Xian responded vaguely as an answer, but she had no intention of explaining.
She only gripped his hand tighter, her pace quickening slightly.
Fang Xuan silently ate the last fish ball.
He had always had a certain thought, and it was gradually being confirmed.
But... whatever. When Senior Sister wanted to speak, she would speak naturally.
This trip to the Tianlan Kingdom seemed like it was going to be much more interesting than he had anticipated...
Rate on N.U.
