Guards and beauties had been sent by the county governor to an exquisite courtyard in Grand Dominance City, which was also the temporary residence of the expedition’s third member, Jia Huairen.
“Babe, don’t run. I’m here to catch you.”
“Young Master, I’m here.”
Numerous girls were squatting by the flowerbeds while others were hiding behind rockery. One after another, they would call out, “Young Master, Young Master…”
As for a young man that looked a little pale in the face, he extended his arms and flailed them about while being blindfolded. “Here, here, I know. It’s…here! Haha, I caught you.” The young man hugged a girl and took off his blindfold. Looking at the voluptuous girl in his arms, he said with a smile, “Little Ye Ye, I knew it was you the moment I hugged you. Hehehe, you have lost. You should know what to do, right?”
“Young Master, you only know how to bully me,” humored the woman.
“Yes, I love ‘bullying’ you.” The young man chuckled before giving her a kiss.
“Huairen.”
A genial voice came from outside as a thin elder appeared by the courtyard’s entrance.
“Elder Qian.” The other girls bowed politely, afraid to even take a breath.
The young man continued having the beauty wrapped in his arms. He said with a laugh, “Uncle Qian, what’s the matter?”
The thin elder said with a smile, “The county governor has summoned you. Apparently, the other two members taking part in the expedition are already there. He wants everyone to meet each other first.”
“The county governor?” The young man was caught by surprise as he immediately released the girl in his arms and ordered, “All of you are dismissed.”
“Yes, Young Master.” The bevy of beauties said together before retreating quickly.
The young man looked at the back of the beauties and said with a chuckle, “These beauties that the county governor easily assigned to serve me are pretty good. Compared to my concubines, they are definitely of superior caliber. As expected of the county governor, he wields so much power.”
“Huairen, quickly prepare to set off.” The thin elder urged him.
“Got it.” The young man turned around and entered a building beside him.
The interior of the building was dark.
There was an offering table that seemed to consecrate a curved blade that was placed on it. The curved blade was placed within a circular disc that was filled with thick blood. The blood was slowly seeping into the curved blade, causing the blade’s surface to suffuse dense blood-colored patterns.
“Baby, come.” The young man said as he conjured a Dharma seal.
The curved blade flew up and spun around the young man before entering a scabbard by his waist.
Following that, the young man took out a box from the side, covering the circular disc that was filled with blood.
“Huairen, gaining an advantage by relying on Dharma artifacts is not the orthodox path after all.” The thin elder frowned when he saw this. He reminded the young man, “It’s best you dedicate yourself to cultivating in the Dharma methods and learn techniques relating to talisman amulets. It can make your foundations more robust. Only then would you have a chance to reach the Connate realm in the future.”
“Got it, I got it. Uncle Qian.” Jia Huairen said with a smile, “There is no rush to cultivating. How many cultivators fail to achieve the Connate realm their entire lives? Some would only enter the Connate False Core realm only when they are in the seventies or eighties. I’m only thirty-six. I’m still young. How long will it take before I can improve my Dharma spells and talisman amulet techniques? Having a powerful Dharma artifact is still a lot more useful.”
“Let’s go. Off to County Governor Manor. The county governor is waiting for me.” Jia Huairen said, “When I’m back from Green Tooth Mountain and receive the Hundred Poisons Blood, my Dharma artifact’s strength can be enhanced even further.”
The thin elder shook his head secretly. He followed Jia Huairen and left the courtyard, heading for the county governor’s residence.
******
In a quiet yard in County Governor Manor.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao were sitting around a stone table as they casually discussed matters on cultivation.
“Brother Qin.” Yi Xiao changed topics and whispered, “I have something I need to remind you.”
“Miss Yi, feel free to tell me,” said Qin Yun.
“Uncle Wen commissioned us to head to Green Tooth Mountain to obtain the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit.” Yi Xiao said, “It’s for his own consumption! As there’s not much left of his lifespan, he has to rely on the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit to extend his life.”
Qin Yun nodded slightly.
“Brother Qin, you can probably get what I mean! He wants to carry on living. Uncle Qin might not dare touch you but he would probably be enraged if we were to fail to obtain the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit even if you are a disciple of a huge sect. The Qin family’s days in Grand Dominance would probably not be smooth-flowing if that were to happen,” said Yi Xiao.
Qin Yun was secretly taken aback.
Disciple of a large sect?
The guess that he was a disciple of a large sect was way off! Few top-grade factions had the Sword Immortal Legacy he had, which was indeed a top-grade heritage. For example, the most ancient Daoist sacred land, Numinous Treasure Mountain, still had a Sword Immortal Legacy. As for the most famous sword immortal sect, Sword Tower, which was also a top cultivation sect of one of the nineteen prefectures, Shu Prefecture, it too had a Sword Immortal Legacy.
The birth of every sword immortal disciple was very difficult. Knocking open the gate of immortality was very difficult.
Qin Yun was a rare case of an itinerant sword immortal, one not seen in a hundred years.
However, if others were guessing that he was a disciple from a large sect, Qin Yun would not correct them. It was because the status as a ‘disciple of a large sect’ brought a lot of tangible benefits! For example, it was sufficient to astound the county governor.
“Back when I first met the county governor, I could tell that his days were numbered,” said Qin Yun. “When he commissioned me to retrieve the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit, I naturally guessed that it was for him to extend his life. I knew it was not an easy task. However, I was not able to reject him back then. After all, I would probably have already offended him if I did so.”
Yi Xiao nodded as well when she heard that.
“Therefore, I got some benefits for myself. It was also made clear that a batch had to be given to me before we set off for Green Tooth Mountain.” Qin Yun said, “Having been bound by karma, I naturally have to do my best.”
“Uncle Wen had saved my father’s life in the past. I am here to repay the favor.” Yi Xiao shook her head. “This matter is a thorny issue after all. It’s naturally best if we can resolve his request but it will only incur enmity if it is executed badly.”
“I will still need Miss Yi’s help when the time comes,” said Qin Yun.
“The main force of our trip to Green Tooth Mountain will be you.” Yi Xiao said, “The third member of the group is of ordinary strength. Only that demonic servant of his is of some use.”
Qin Yun nodded. He too knew of the matter.
“Haha…”
Laughter suddenly came from outside. It was none other than Young Master Wen Chong’s laughter.
Wen Chong walked in amid loud laughter. Behind him were a somewhat pale young man and a thin elder.
“The third cultivator that will be heading for Green Tooth Mountain is here too.” Wen Chong said from afar with a smile.
When Jia Huairen came in, he scanned his surroundings but when he saw Yi Xiao, his eyes lit up!
What a beauty!
To Qin Yun, who had roamed the world, Yi Xiao’s looks were definitely within the top three of the ones he had seen. In addition to her otherworldly aura of a cultivator, she was no doubt the prettiest woman. As for Jia Huairen, the number of people he had seen was much fewer than what Qin Yun had seen. He had mostly seen those of the mortal breed. To this day, he had only seen two female cultivators. Furthermore, both of them were very old. Therefore, Yi Xiao left a huge impact on him. What’s more, he was also a huge pervert.
“Beauty. A beauty. What a rare beauty.” Jia Huairen thought to himself. The smile on his face turned even more radiant.
“Carry on chatting. A mortal like me shall not bother with matters regarding you cultivators.” Wen Chong said with a laugh before leaving.
“My fellow Daoists.”
Jia Huairen walked over and said with a smile. “I’m Jia Huairen. On our expedition to Green Tooth Mountain, I’ll be joining the two of you in charging into the demons’ nest.”
“Please sit. Who is this?” Qin Yun looked at the thin elder standing beside Jia Huairen.
The thin elder immediately bowed and said, “I’m just a lesser demon. My mortal name is Qian Bao. I only listen to my master’s instructions.”
“Qian Bao. Qian Bao?” Yi Xiao could not help but feel amused when she heard that. The corners of her mouth betrayed her thoughts.
Qin Yun could also tell the humor in the matter.
Qian Bao? Wasn’t it pronounced the same way as money bag?
“This is the name my father gave Uncle Qian when he was still alive.” Jia Huairen said with a smile.
“Elder Qian, please sit.” Yi Xiao said. “We will need Elder Qian’s help too.”
“Her voice is so pleasant.” Jia Huairen marveled when he heard her.
“To be able to help is my pleasure.” The thin elder sat down without much ado. As a demon, he naturally should not stir up a fuss among human cultivators.
Jia Huairen immediately took the initiative, saying, “Everyone, our trip to Green Tooth Mountain is fraught with dangers. There are many demons on Green Tooth Mountain, so we will need to work together in order to retrieve the spirit fruit. Now, we have to understand each other so as to be able to cooperate well. Might I ask this fellow female Daoist her name? What techniques are you proficient in?”
Yi Xiao frowned slightly but she said, “My surname is Yi. I’m proficient in Lightning Dharma, Five-elemental Lightning Dharma!”
“Five-elemental Lightning Dharma?”
Qin Yun was surprised as well.
Five-elemental Lightning Dharma was superior Lightning Dharma. Lightning Dharma with the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth harmonized together made its strength impressively huge! Any sect that had Five-elemental Lightning Dharma was definitely a top large sect. Furthermore, Qin Yun knew many cultivators. He also knew that Five-elemental Lightning Dharma was the foundations of the best Lightning Dharma in the cultivation world, Divine Firmament Lightning Dharma.
Jia Huairen shuddered as he felt bewildered. “Five-elemental Lightning Dharma? It’s the Five-elemental Lightning Dharma? She must be a disciple of a top sect or even a disciple of a Daoist sacred land! If such a fellow female Daoist were to become my Dao partner, I, Jia Huairen, will have hopes of stepping into the Connate realm!”
Regardless of her beauty or background, it left Jia Huairen filled with desires.