After finally meeting Jiang Li, the Holy Maiden Jing Xin naturally no longer needed to stay at the academy pretending to be an eighteen-year-old girl. After leaving the academy, she followed behind Jiang Li. Seeing him looking gloomy and silent, she comforted him with a gentle smile.
“It’s just losing one condition to me, isn’t it? I’m not going to make you do anything bad.”
Jiang Li sighed, his voice low.
“I’m only lamenting my own arrogance. Because of it, I lost a chance to find the Immortal Realm.”
“Find the Immortal Realm? Did you find another clue again?”
Jing Xin’s eyes blinked rhythmically, making her look even lovelier than usual. She couldn’t help recalling all the absurd things Jiang Li had done in the past while searching for the Immortal Realm.
For instance, he once heard that gathering four Dragon Pearls could open a path to the Immortal Realm, so he went to borrow the Dragon Pearls from the Four Seas Dragon Kings. He polished them until they glowed, but no portal appeared.
Then, someone told him one could attain immortality through Body-Shedding Ascension, so he stood there and allowed the Heavenly Tribulation to strike him without resistance. In the end, even the Heavenly Thunder seemed to lose interest in him, and he wasn’t harmed at all.
Another time, someone spread a rumor that sacrificing the people of an entire province would earn enough Merit to ascend. Jiang Li hunted that person down and executed him on the spot. Who knew what sort of rumor about becoming immortal he’d heard this time?
“Hey, hey, hey! Jiang Li, are you there?”
The Remote Communication Talisman suddenly rang again without his consent. There was no need to guess; it was surely the Dao Sect Master contacting him.
“Not here. Get lost,” Jiang Li said impatiently.
The Dao Sect Master’s projection appeared, looking no different from a youth. He glanced at Jiang Li with mock annoyance.
“I’m looking for Human Emperor Jiang. You, a mere Dao Sect Walker, what are you butting in for? Oh, the Holy Maiden Jing Xin is here too, perfect! Saves me from facing that grim-faced Daoist Nun Qingyu.”
Jing Xin raised an eyebrow. Jiang Li’s tone turned flat.
“If you still want me to attend your Dao Sect’s Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly, you’d better show some respect.”
The Dao Sect Master immediately changed his expression to a fawning one.
“Brother Jiang, come now, how could I be disrespectful? I came precisely to invite you in person!”
“According to my calculations, the Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal will self-refine to its first turn in twenty days. The Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly will begin fifteen days from now. You will represent the Human Emperor Palace, and Holy Maiden Jing Xin will represent the Red Dust Pure Land. What do you think?”
Jiang Li didn’t reply. Instead, he suddenly appeared behind the Dao Sect Master’s projected figure—and sure enough, the fellow had one hand behind his back, middle finger raised.
“I knew it! Talking trash about me again!”
Jiang Li spat, cutting off the Remote Communication Talisman connection. The Dao Sect Master wasn’t the least bit worried. The Yin-Yang Heavenly Seal self-refining a turn was an event that hadn’t occurred for thousands of years—he was certain Jiang Li wouldn’t stay away.
Sure enough, Jiang Li turned to Jing Xin and asked, “There’s still over ten days left. How should we get to the Dao Sect?” The Holy Maiden Jing Xin smiled faintly—she wasn’t foolish enough to suggest they fly there.
Forget Jiang Li, even she herself could reach the Dao Sect in half a day if she flew at full speed. She said lightly, “Let’s take a spirit airship. It’s been so long since I last traveled on one.”
Jiang Li nodded.
“Alright, I’ll fly ahead then.”
“…”
“I’m just a weak woman traveling alone by airship,” Jing Xin said softly.
“Aren’t you worried something might happen to me?”
Jiang Li thought for a long while but still couldn’t figure out what being a so-called “weak woman” had to do with someone like her—a late Integration Stage grand cultivator, the kind of powerhouse honored as a State Preceptor in an Imperial Dynasty. As for danger, perhaps only an Extraterrestrial Heavenly Demon could truly threaten her.
So that’s what she was worried about? Jiang Li was actually glad to see her displaying such cautiousness. If only she had been this cautious back in Upper River Town and Lower River Town, things wouldn’t have turned out the way they did.
She’d grown.
Even though the concern was negligible, Jiang Li couldn’t bear to crush this rare cautiousness she was developing. So he agreed to take the spirit airship with her. ... Cultivators did not gain the ability to fly freely until they reached the Spirit Transformation Stage.
Before that, the so-called roaming across the Nine Provinces meant nothing if they still relied on airships. The spirit airship itself counted as a low-grade Dharma Tool, not difficult to refine nor to control. Its only downside was its massive Spiritual Power consumption.
A Spirit Transformation cultivator could easily supply all the Spiritual Qi needed, but such experts would never demean themselves managing an airship. Thus, Spiritual Stones were used to power them. Since airships consumed a large number of Spiritual Stones, the fare was naturally high.
Merely being able to afford a flight meant being at least in the Foundation Establishment Stage. Jiang Li and the Holy Maiden double-checked their Storage Rings and finally found a few Mid-grade Spirit Stones to use as passage tokens. Normally, Low-grade Spirit Stones would suffice, but both of them were used to spending High-grade or even Supreme-grade ones.
Their Storage Rings were overflowing with those, leaving only a handful of lower-quality stones. Jiang Li didn’t want to show off, but he had no choice. He was, embarrassingly enough, too poor to have anything less than High-grade Spirit Stones.
Sure enough, as soon as the two boarded, several rough-looking men cast them unfriendly gazes. When they noticed the unmatched beauty of Jing Xin, a greedy light flickered in their eyes. Their looks exchanged silent meaning.
Do a job? Do a job! Just then, a small monk with crimson lips and spotless white teeth stood up and saluted the rough men with clasped hands.
He held a string of Buddhist Beads, looked around fourteen or fifteen years old, and his gemstone-studded Kasaya Robe gleamed so brightly that the thugs almost squinted.
“The little monk believes one should not be bewitched by the illusions of flesh. Beauty is but a painted skull, fleeting as smoke. The more one indulges, the deeper one falls. Benefactors, please let go of your obsessions.”
The young monk’s voice carried an odd persuasion, causing people to unconsciously accept his words. The vicious-looking men became dazed, their expressions softening. But another passenger, seeing the monk using strange arts, came forward and shouted sharply.
His voice rang like a great bell, pulling the thugs back to their senses. They quickly turned to the newcomer and bowed their thanks. This man wore white Confucian robes, held a folding fan inscribed with ink characters, and possessed refined features—clearly a scholar.
“Thank you, Confucian disciple,” one gruff voice muttered.
Across all Nine Provinces, only those of the Confucian Sect dressed like this. The Confucian Sect was one of the Six Great Sects, taking as its mission the education and transformation of the world, advocating benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. They often traveled the Imperial Dynasties teaching their doctrines.
Among the Six Great Sects, they were the most renowned—second only to the Buddhist Order. The Confucian disciple smiled gently.
“Saint Meng once said, the nature of man is good, just as water naturally flows downward. None are born wicked, and none can defy their nature. Though you wear fierce faces and commit theft due to hardship, I believe your hearts remain kind. Surely, each of you thinks of yourself as a good man.”
The words seemed to have a drowsy charm, slipping into the robbers’ ears like a spell. Soon, they were muttering under their breath, “At the beginning, man’s nature is good…” A passenger with the surname Jiang accidentally coughed, and the thugs snapped out of their trance.
Anger surged within them. So these two dared to toy with them through spiritual arts—one monk preaching about abandoning desire, one scholar lecturing on innate goodness. Did they really think their Golden Core cultivation was for show?!
The rough men drew their weapons, murderous intent filling the cabin. Forget robbing Jiang Li and the Holy Maiden—first, they’d deal with this bald brat and the foppish scholar! The young monk and the Confucian scholar sighed in unison.
“Why must you force our hands?”
In that instant, the pressure of Nascent Soul cultivation burst forth. The fierce men trembled violently and collapsed to their knees, begging for mercy.
(End of Chapter)