The group of five gathered around the fire, eating roasted fish while chatting and laughing about their next destination.
“Our current location is in the northern part of the Jade Water Immortal Kingdom. The closest places to us are Grief Valley Immortal City and the Flying Crane Sect.”
He Shu spread the map out on the ground and used a wooden stick to point at it.
“This place is more than sixty million li away from the Southwind border. It’s too far, and we would still have to cross through the Jade Water Immortal Kingdom. The risk is far too great.”
“So my idea is to disguise ourselves as rogue cultivators and head first to the nearest Light Principle Immortal Kingdom, then pass through the Azure Parasol Immortal Kingdom and the Scarlet Glow Immortal Kingdom before finally returning to the Southwind Immortal Kingdom.”
They definitely could not stay in the Jade Water Immortal Kingdom any longer.
The methods He Shu had left behind could fool people for a short time, but not forever.
They would be discovered sooner or later.
Once that happened, as long as they remained within the borders of the Jade Water Immortal Kingdom, they would not have a good ending.
Moreover, once they left the Jade Water Immortal Kingdom, the difficulty of Hua Yanyun capturing them would rise sharply.
Everyone agreed with He Shu’s plan and decided to proceed this way.
However, without the Myriad Realms Flying Boat, their travel speed would drop by an unknown number of times.
Just as He Shu and her group were about to pack up and set off, two figures — one male and one female — appeared in the sky above.
The leader was a young cultivator at the Foundation Establishment realm.
He wore blue-and-white martial robes with his sleeves rolled up, giving him a very capable appearance.
The youth stood on a flying sword and shouted loudly toward the people on the ground.
“This area belongs to my Flying Crane Sect. All unrelated individuals must leave immediately.”
The youth had an arrogant expression.
He had only recently broken through to Foundation Establishment and was currently full of pride as he looked down at the group below.
Seeing that no one made any move, his expression immediately darkened.
“A battle between immortals occurred here yesterday. I have been ordered by the sect elders to drive away all unrelated individuals. Are you deaf?”
“A battle between immortals?”
The “battle between immortals” the young man mentioned naturally referred to yesterday’s Soul Transformation pursuit battle that had caused quite a commotion.
As the closest power to the battlefield ruins, the Flying Crane Sect had tens of thousands of disciples.
Their current sect master’s cultivation had even reached the Nascent Soul realm.
With such strength, they naturally wanted to get involved.
During their battle with Lin Hanjing and the others, He Shu’s group had accidentally injured many demonic beasts and demonic plants.
The corpses of these demonic beasts and plants might not catch the eye of people like Lin Hanjing.
But in the eyes of Foundation Establishment and Golden Core cultivators, they were excellent materials for pill refining and artifact crafting.
Why not take them without any effort instead of risking their lives hunting demonic beasts?
After understanding the cause and effect, He Shu raised her head and looked at the two people in the sky.
“Two fellow daoists, we are merely rogue cultivators passing by. We were attracted by the commotion of the battle and came to try our luck.”
“Try your luck?”
The young man let out a light laugh.
“Plenty of people have come here to try their luck. Don’t blame me for not warning you — my sect’s Golden Core elder is nearby. This matter is not something you can get involved in. Hurry up and leave.”
The youth’s attitude was arrogant, as if he did not place anyone in his eyes.
Shen Qingci instinctively placed his hand on the sword at his waist, but He Shu stopped him.
“This place ultimately belongs to their territory. We just went through a major battle and our condition isn’t great. It’s better to keep a low profile for now.”
What He Shu said made sense.
There was no need to escalate a small matter. Shen Qingci withdrew his hand from his sword.
“Haha. Fellow daoist’s words are quite reasonable. However, fellow daoist must also know what happened during yesterday’s battle.”
“Four Soul Transformation cultivators fought each other in an earth-shaking battle. One of them even fell on the spot. Does your sect truly believe it has the ability to swallow such a large piece of meat?”
“I will give fellow daoist one more piece of advice. From what I see, you have only recently broken through to Foundation Establishment and are full of pride. It would be better for you to keep a lower profile when conducting yourself.”
Shen Qingci’s words carried a sarcastic tone.
The young man heard them and snorted coldly, his expression turning displeased.
Bai Liuli also became interested upon seeing this.
She lazily stretched and spoke up to add fuel to the fire.
“Little fellow daoist, this big sister will give you a piece of advice. Matters of this level should be reported upward and left for the elders to worry about. There’s no need to ruin your bright future just to show off.”
“Besides, what if those Soul Transformation cultivators haven’t gone far and are only resting temporarily? Hehe… what happens next might not be pleasant to talk about.”
Bai Liuli’s words were a clear warning.
The young cultivator should not meddle in things he should not.
Otherwise, if he brought trouble upon himself, no one would benefit.
“You…!”
The young cultivator was rendered speechless. He wanted to say something, but only snorted coldly before watching He Shu and her group walk away.
After the group of five had walked far into the distance, the female cultivator beside the young man finally spoke slowly.
“Sixth junior brother, I already warned you long ago to restrain your temper. You didn’t listen. Now look at you — you got scolded so badly.”
Hearing his senior sister speak this way, the young man immediately wilted.
“They’re just a bunch of rogue cultivators. What’s there to be so arrogant about? If it weren’t for the sect rules forbidding us from attacking at will, I would have beaten them up first!”
“Hehe. You want to beat them up? You can’t even beat Fang Yuanhua, yet you want to take on five people alone?”
***
Not long after He Shu and the others left, at the ruins of Wanyi Tower in Cloud Mist Immortal City.
Hua Yanyun walked through the air.
She looked at the ruined pavilion before her while holding He Shu’s clone, whose body had already become nearly transparent.
Her expression was unreadable.
“Your Majesty, this concubine was negligent. I actually let He Wanyi escape.”
Although Lin Hanjing felt resentful upon seeing Hua Yanyun’s demeanor, she still took the initiative to admit her mistake.
“This He Wanyi… she really is like a lingering ghost even after escaping. She can actually make Your Majesty so concerned.”
Upon hearing Lin Hanjing’s words, Hua Yanyun turned her head.
Her expression softened.
“This is not your fault. These illusion puppets are indeed exquisitely crafted. It is not strange that you did not notice them immediately.”
“Your Majesty has forgiven this concubine…?”
“Mm.”
After receiving an affirmative answer, Lin Hanjing immediately pressed herself against Hua Yanyun’s body.
A faint blush appeared on her lightly made-up face.
At this moment, Lin Hanjing was dressed very lightly, wearing only a thin purple satin robe.
The two soft mounds on her chest naturally squeezed Hua Yanyun’s arm.
She leaned close to her ear and whispered in a seductive tone.
“But this concubine still feels sorry toward Your Majesty. Why don’t I offer myself tonight to atone for my sins…?”
However, before Lin Hanjing could finish speaking, Hua Yanyun covered her mouth and pushed her away.
“This… cough cough. Let’s forget about it. In a few days, I will properly accompany my beloved consort.”
After saying this, Hua Yanyun instantly teleported away, leaving Lin Hanjing standing alone in a daze.
A gust of wind blew past.
The blush on Lin Hanjing’s face faded.
She looked in the direction Hua Yanyun had disappeared, stomped her foot, and revealed an embarrassed and annoyed expression.
“Pah. I already took the initiative to invite her, yet she still refused. What a scumbag woman.”
She turned her head to look at the large hole in Wanyi Tower.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.
With a wave of her hand, a several-zhang-long crescent sword blade shot out and diagonally split the top of Wanyi Tower into two.
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