“Godmother, there’s a boundary marker here!”
Chaoyan thought for a moment, then called out to Su Qing, who was looking at the distant scenery.
Su Qing heard her, turned to glance at it, then nodded slightly. “Oh? A boundary marker placed here? How interesting!”
As she spoke, she feigned another look at the boundary marker, then adopted a look of sudden realization.
She continued, “When did this place get renamed Thorny Ridge? I truly had no idea...”
Hearing Su Qing’s words, Chaoyan scratched her head, not daring to ask further.
It seemed when Godmother had been here before, it wasn’t called Thorny Ridge yet.
As for Godmother’s age...
Never mind, it’s better not to be curious.
After a brief chat,
they began clearing the surrounding environment...
Before long, a clearing was made.
This would be their resting place for the night.
As night fell.
Each of them ate some dry rations.
Then, they fell asleep amidst the fragrance of grass and trees.
Su Qing had no desire to admire the moon or scenery tonight; she simply leaned against Yudie and drifted off to sleep.
The next morning.
The fog was thick.
Su Qing and the others rose early, tidied up a bit, then continued their journey through the fog.
Although Thorny Ridge had ancient paths, they were long overgrown with thorns, making travel exceedingly difficult now...
Su Qing and the others cleared a path as they walked, so their speed was naturally slow.
However, the difficult path couldn’t stop them.
They continued to hack through thorns and brambles for another day.
Unaware of the time, the sky grew dim once more.
Chaoyan looked at the sky, then at the surrounding scenery... she felt there was no suitable resting place nearby; they would have to clear a spot themselves.
Seeing Chaoyan’s expression, Su Qing calculated for a moment, then smiled faintly. “Let’s walk a bit further! If I remember correctly... there should be a temple a little ahead. Though it’s probably abandoned now, staying there for a night shouldn’t be a problem.”
Hearing Su Qing say this, Chaoyan and Jingyue had no doubts.
After all, Su Qing had already shown them what this place was like before...
So, knowing what was along the path wasn’t strange at all.
Although everyone was curious if the temple would still be habitable after hundreds or even thousands of years, it was better to check it out first, regardless.
If it was intact, then if it rained at night, they wouldn’t be soaked to the bone.
With Su Qing’s words, they no longer paused, setting off again in the direction Su Qing had indicated.
Hacking through thorns and brambles all the way.
Before long.
Su Qing and the others saw a dense, tangled growth in the distance, and faintly heard the wind rustling through bamboo and the sighing of pines...
Seeing this, Chaoyan couldn’t help but say, “That must be the ancient temple you mentioned, Godmother?”
Su Qing nodded slightly at her words.
She said no more, simply continuing forward.
After only a few steps, they saw a clearing. Though overgrown with weeds, it was free of thorns.
In the center of the clearing stood an ancient temple. Outside its gate, pines and cypresses stood verdant, while peach and plum blossoms vied for beauty.
The ancient temple was covered in ivy, the marks of time exceptionally clear.
Though this ancient temple was abandoned, its current appearance was not bad at all, even somewhat beautiful.
However, this also made Chaoyan a little worried about whether the place was habitable.
It wouldn’t do to find shelter from wind and rain, only for it to collapse if it suddenly rained at night.
Su Qing looked at the ancient temple and couldn’t help but smile faintly...
Perhaps she was getting old; seeing such an ancient temple evoked a sense of sentimentality in her.
However, after smiling, Su Qing dismounted and said, “Let’s go inside and take a look! This ancient temple hasn’t been inhabited for a long time. Although it looks relatively intact, we can’t be sure it’s completely safe.”
Chaoyan quickly nodded at her words and followed Su Qing inside.
Yudie also followed them in.
Only Jingyue sighed helplessly, leading the horses to tie them up first.
However, just as Jingyue reached the bamboo grove, preparing to tie the horses,
she suddenly felt a gust of cold wind blow past.
A moment later, an old man walked out from the bamboo grove,
The old man wore a horned cap, simple robes, held a staff, and wore straw sandals.
Behind the old man followed a green-faced, fanged, red-bearded, naked Ghost Emissary.
The Ghost Emissary had a pan on his head.
Seeing this, Jingyue couldn’t help but retreat a few steps, instinctively drawing her weapon.
These two had appeared inexplicably and suddenly, forcing her to be cautious...
After all, she had encountered many types of demons on this journey. While some were benevolent, most harbored ill intentions.
If they didn’t bother her, she wouldn’t say anything or bother to interfere...
But if they did, she certainly wouldn’t show mercy.
Seeing Jingyue draw her long spear, the old man quickly said, “Immortal, please don’t be angry. I am the Earth God of Thorny Ridge. Hearing that esteemed guests have arrived, I specially came to welcome you. It’s just that this humble deity has nothing in his home to offer as hospitality, so I could only steam a plate of food for you all to fill your stomachs.”
Jingyue didn’t relax her guard, only asking, “Who are these esteemed guests you speak of?”
“Naturally, it is the Azure Spirit Sovereign, High Immortal,” the old man quickly replied.
Jingyue raised an eyebrow slightly... and nodded.
She knew her sister’s title...
So, the fact that the other party knew her sister’s title at least meant they knew her sister...
Naturally, she could relax a little.
However, she still didn’t dare to relax too much.
“My sister is inside, I’ll lead you in!” Jingyue thought for a moment. It was better to let her sister decide what to do about this old man!
She shouldn’t bother herself with it...
Thinking about such matters always gave her a headache.
What she disliked most was pondering these meaningless things.
Besides, her sister’s strength was immense. No matter how powerful this old man was, could he be stronger than her sister?
She wouldn’t say much else for now, but Jingyue had great faith in her sister, especially regarding her strength.
“Thank you, Immortal,” the old man quickly nodded and said.
Jingyue said no more, simply leading the old man into the ancient temple.
The history of this ancient temple was unknown. Its furnishings were long covered in dust, and even the Buddha statue had lost its gold paint and was largely ruined...
Fortunately, though the ancient temple was very old, it was still sturdy, serving as a good shelter from wind and rain.
Staying here long-term might not work, but resting here for a day wouldn’t cause any problems.
As Jingyue led the man in, Su Qing and the others were cleaning the temple.
They were preparing to clear a small area where they could rest.
“Sister... the Earth God of Thorny Ridge is looking for you,” Jingyue called out, seeing Su Qing and the others cleaning.
Su Qing’s eyebrows twitched slightly at her words...
She already knew who had come.
She was a little surprised, yet felt it wasn’t strange at all...
After a brief thought, Su Qing turned her head to look at the old man and the Ghost Emissary.
Su Qing asked faintly, “Are you the Earth God of Thorny Ridge?”
Hearing this, the old man naturally knew Su Qing had seen through his true identity. He quickly bowed with the Ghost Emissary.
“Replying to the Sovereign, this old man is not the Earth God of Thorny Ridge. It was only to meet you, Sovereign, that I had no choice but to impersonate him.” The old man dared not conceal anything, for with his meager strength, let alone fighting Su Qing,
he might not even be able to handle the nun beside Su Qing.
Su Qing heard this and wasn’t surprised...
How could she not tell if this person was an Earth God?
She was, after all, an official in the Heavenly Court; wouldn’t she recognize a colleague at a glance?
Jingyue, however, felt a bit displeased upon hearing that this person wasn’t the Earth God...
So, this fellow thought she was easy to fool, and only tried to fool her, right?!
Unfortunately, Liu Jingyue couldn’t just hit people now, otherwise she’d really want to give this guy a few blows.
She pouted, but didn’t interject in Su Qing’s conversation with the other party.
Su Qing looked at the old man and asked again, “Since you’re not the Earth God, then who are you?”
The old man dared not conceal it, replying, “I am no villain. I am the Eighteen Elders of Thorny Ridge. It is only out of admiration for the Sovereign that I wished to invite you to my Wooden Immortal Nunnery for a gathering.”
Su Qing nodded faintly, looking at the old man.
She wasn’t sure how much of what the old man said was true and how much was false...
So, she simply took it as true.
After all, even if he had another reason for seeking her out,
Su Qing actually had her own suspicions.
“I see...” Su Qing said calmly, “However, it’s already late now, and we probably can’t go to your Wooden Immortal Nunnery! So please return.”
The old man bowed again at her words, saying, “No matter, no matter. If you cannot come today, Sovereign, you may come another day! As long as you can come, it will be a great honor for us. Oh, and this is a little food. Though not a delicacy, it can fill your stomachs. If you don’t mind, Sovereign, please accept it.”
Su Qing didn’t refuse, nodding and accepting the flatbread.
If it were valuable items, Su Qing would certainly not accept them casually, as she wasn’t familiar with him. But it was just some food, so it was no big deal.
“Very well! Thank you then.”
“No need for thanks, no need for thanks,” the old man quickly shook his head and said, “Oh, by the way, Sovereign, our Wooden Immortal Nunnery is just on the cliff edge west of Thorny Ridge. If you pass by after leaving Thorny Ridge, please do come for a visit! The tree demons of our Wooden Immortal Nunnery are all very eager to meet you, Sovereign.”
Su Qing looked at the Eighteen Elders, raised an eyebrow slightly, and pondered.
But she also said, “If it’s on the way, I’ll go take a look!”
Hearing this, the old man dared not say more, simply bowed to them and said, “Thank you, Sovereign, thank you, Sovereign! And thank you, Immortals...”
With that, the old man and the Ghost Emissary bowed and retreated.
A moment later, a gust of cold wind blew, and they vanished.
Interestingly, the nearby plants had grown wildly, reinforcing the ancient temple somewhat.
Su Qing naturally noticed the old man’s little trick and couldn’t help but smile wryly.
Chaoyan didn’t notice this, only shaking her head thoughtfully and asking, “Godmother... what kind of demon is that Eighteen Elders? Why does he know you, Godmother?”
Su Qing glanced at her, smiling. “The Eighteen Elders is a pine tree spirit... but he’s quite interesting; he hasn’t fully transformed, yet he’s found a clever way. As for why he knows me, I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps he saw me before, or there’s some other reason?”
The Eighteen Elders had cultivated into a spirit, but if Su Qing remembered correctly, his true form still stood in the Wooden Immortal Nunnery...
In other words... the Eighteen Elders’ situation was more like Yudie’s state.
Except it was different from Yudie’s.
The Eighteen Elders’ true form couldn’t move.
As for why he knew her.
Su Qing had many theories.
But guessing about such things was pointless, so she simply couldn’t be bothered.
After hearing Su Qing’s words, Chaoyan nodded slightly and said, “I see... Godmother, do you think the Eighteen Elders might have seen you even before he became a spirit?”
Su Qing shook her head slightly at her words. “Before becoming a spirit, how could he perceive my presence? Alright, never mind how he knows me. Let’s start a fire! It might be a bit cold tonight.”
Chaoyan heard Su Qing’s words, pouted, and obediently went to work.
Although she was still curious about many things,
Su Qing didn’t want to talk about them.
And she had no way to make her.
After sending Chaoyan off,
Su Qing stretched, looking at the gradually dimming sky outside the door, and couldn’t help but want to laugh.
Speaking of tree demons who knew of her existence before fully transforming, perhaps only Gongsun Zhixue fit the description?
However, that fellow’s situation was also quite special.
After all, she had dragged her along for several lightning tribulations.
Thinking of this, Su Qing couldn’t help but look in the direction of the Changbai Mountains, then shook her head slightly.
“So many years have passed... when I return after the pilgrimage, I probably won’t be able to escape a whole lot of nagging, right?” Su Qing thought, smiling wryly.
Although she could also take advantage of the moonlight to return to the Changbai Mountains for a trip...
she worried that if she went back, she wouldn’t want to continue on to the Western Heaven.
So she could only endure it, waiting until the pilgrimage was over before returning to face their nagging.
“Godmother, what are you thinking about? You’re so lost in thought?” Chaoyan, having finished her work at some point, now stood beside Su Qing, looking at her curiously.
Su Qing heard her, came back to her senses, smiled, and said, “Just calculating how far it is to the Western Heaven.”
“So, did you figure it out, Godmother?”
“I did... but there’s still quite a distance to go! Alright, I’m hungry too. Heat up that flatbread; that’s what we’re eating tonight.” Su Qing smiled, rubbing her head as she spoke.
Chaoyan looked at Su Qing in confusion, then nodded slightly and said, “Okay!”
Time passed quickly.
Another day passed in the blink of an eye.
Morning.
The group extinguished the bonfire, gave the ancient temple a quick tidy, and then set off again.
They continued to hack their way through the thorns and brambles.
Heading towards the exit of Thorny Ridge.
What they didn’t know was.
As they hacked their way through, in the places behind them that they couldn’t see, the thorns were gradually growing back.
Obscuring the path they had just cleared.
Rate on N.U.
