Chapter 227: He's Come For Me!

"Hey, look! It's an enchanted artifact!" Lin Bei shouted.

He shook his right hand, and silver light that looked like a full moon shot out.

The chubby guy behind him vaguely saw that the silver light was actually an enchanted tool that had the shape of a disc. However, the enchanted tool didn't seem to contain powerful spiritual energy... Instead of flying toward the Baize youngling, the enchanted tool went whirling into the thicket at the side.

Instead of going straight, it turned...? And then it completely missed the target!

the chubby guy complained inwardly.

Amazingly, when the enchanted tool flew into the distance, the Baize youngling chased after it. The Baize youngling left like the wind, disappearing at lightning speed!

"

Eh?

" the chubby guy uttered.

He was astonished; he didn't understand the point of the enchanted tool.

"What are you doing? Hurry up! Go in and find the puzzle!" Lin Bei yelled, hurriedly pointing at the boulder.

"Oh,

oh!

"

The chubby guy ran over, exerting all his foundational qi to push the boulder. Rumbling reverberated through the ground as he rolled the boulder, revealing a corner of the cave entrance.

The chubby guy was sweating profusely, but he didn't bother wiping his sweat off. He just squeezed into the gap he'd uncovered and entered the cave.

There were enchanted formations inside, and the Baize youngling wasn't there to destroy them this time. Still, if nothing unexpected happened, the disciples should be able to successfully view the third puzzle with no issues.

When Lin Bei was done with his task, he wore a small smile. Then he turned and left in the direction that the Baize youngling had sped off to.

Hiding in the surrounding forest, Chu Liang crouched down and petted the Baize youngling. "You did really well. Keep being that fast, accurate, and ruthless! But try controlling your strength a little more precisely..."

Beside him was Shang Ziliang and his two lackeys.

Seeing Lin Bei return gleefully, Shang Ziliang went up to him and said, "You're done? It's my turn now!"

Shang Ziliang took the flying disc and set off to wait for the next target.

After a while, the Baize youngling suddenly quivered. It stood up and cried out "

Hreeooorrh~

" twice. Then it whooshed away, looking like a streak of lightning.

As Chu Liang watched the Baize youngling leave, he waved. "Go, Little Baize!"

Actually, his initial plan had only consisted of selling the second stage’s puzzle; he hadn't intended to include the Baize youngling in his scheme. However, his scheme ended up drastically increasing the number of teams still actively participating in the treasure hunt. That, in turn, indirectly gave the Baize youngling a lot more work to do... Chu Liang felt rather guilty about that.

The Baize youngling would initially have only needed to deal with a few teams, but now most of Mount Shu's disciples were on their way to the cave.

Chu Liang had pondered about how he should compensate the Baize youngling. Then he had another thought,

Why don't I strengthen it?

That gave him yet another idea.

Why don't I give it such a big boost that it will be powerful enough to keep everyone from getting into the cave? Then I'll offer to help them for a fee!

Huh?

Chu Liang was surprised by his own thoughts.

I wasn't even intending to rake in more money. Why did my train of thought unconsciously shift in that direction...? It seems to be becoming instinctual.

Chu Liang didn't get involved in the action this time. Instead, he asked the rest of his team to handle it. Additionally, he didn't intend to have them share the earnings with him; he was going to let them have it all.

These guys had been really busy working for so many days, so much so that they could be considered experienced entrepreneurs by now. It was only right that Chu Liang let them profit too.

Moreover, this trick that involved the Baize youngling couldn't be used too many times. After all, everyone was working smarter now. It wouldn't be too long before the puzzle in the cave was spread among the rest of the disciples.

Furthermore, even though the Baize youngling was fully armed, there were some teams that wouldn't need any help to get past it. Jiang Yuebai and Xu Ziyang were powerful enough to take on the Baize youngling alone. Just by following them, other teams would be able to get into the cave too.

𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

So, Chu Liang estimated that his team wouldn't be able to earn much from helping the other teams get past the Baize youngling. His teammates would probably only earn a few hundred sword coins at most.

Thinking that made Chu Liang feel a little sad. A few months ago, he'd thought that a flying sword that cost three hundred sword coins had been too expensive. Now, a few hundred sword coins was chump change.

Nevertheless, running their little business was still the better choice compared to doing missions. Even if they did their missions diligently, it would take ages to save up even a few hundred sword coins.

The sound of the flying disc whizzing through the air rang out once again. The disc flew over to where Chu Liang was, with the Baize youngling running speedily behind it.

Shang Ziliang had just completed his turn. He gleefully headed back to the group in the forest and looked at Chu Liang with an adoring gaze.

I really wonder how Big Bro's brain developed. Why does he have so many ingenious ideas?

...

Meanwhile, in the snowy lands of the Northern Regions, two people were in a deadlock.

"Eat a little. Even though you're a Ba, you still have to eat; you can't keep starving yourself," a middle-aged man wearing a bamboo hat coaxed. "And you even refuse to sleep in the ice coffin. Moving about outside will use up your spiritual energy. You have to replenish it at least a little. Otherwise, you won't be able to run if we encounter any trouble."

The little girl in front of him pouted, shaking her head stubbornly. "No..."

On the ground before them lay the corpse of a large bear. The blood gushing out of its wounds was frozen instantly by the frigid weather.

The two people in question were none other than the Whale-Riding Immortal, who had been mentioned in

The Seven Stars Gazette,

and the little girl he'd taken from the South Sea.

Heavy snowfall pelted the land, accompanied by a biting wind. It was so cold that life could not exist in this place. Even the beasts with the thickest of furs would be turned into ice sculptures by such a frigid wind that penetrated their fur like blades.

Yet, these two people were dressed simply. It seemed like the word "cold" wasn't even in their vocabulary.

"Do you really have to eat fruit?" the Whale-Riding Immortal asked, feeling rather helpless.

He wouldn't be ruffled at all dealing with a seventh-realm Eminent One. Yet, dealing with this little girl caused his feelings of helplessness and exasperation to be written all over his face.

This time, the little girl nodded repeatedly. "

Mm!

"

"Didn't I already find some fruit for you?"

The Whale-Riding Immortal pointed at the two golden fruits on the ground. They seemed to be the fruit of an extraordinary spirit plant.

"Wan... dewi... fru."

The little girl was probably trying to say that she wanted to eat delicious fruits, but she was having difficulty forming the words with her mouth.

"What am I supposed to do...?" the Whale-Riding Immortal said, rubbing his hands exasperatedly. "Those young ladies from the Greater-Yin Cult are on my trail, and they're not far behind. You witnessed that yourself that day. We can't even fly now, in case we get spotted. All we can do is travel on foot in these icy lands. How am I supposed to find that kind of fruit for you?"

"You... no scare."

The Whale-Riding Immortal chuckled loftily. "

Heheh.

Of course, I'm not afraid of them."

Then he said helplessly, "But you should be. Once your whereabouts are exposed, people from the sects in the Divine Nine and Terrestrial Ten will hunt you down. Then there won't be any delicious fruit for you to eat then."

"

Hmph,

" the little girl huffed, seemingly very angry.

The more she thought about their situation, the angrier she got.

Ultimately, she plopped down into the snow on the ground, hugging her shoulders. The snow was so thick that when she sank into it, it almost swallowed her whole, turning her into a small black dot in the snowfield.

"Be good." The Whale-Riding Immortal patted the little girl's head. "I promise you that I'll take you to Mount Shu to search for the delicious fruit once it's safe, okay?"

The little girl pouted for quite a while before she finally nodded in acceptance. "

Mm.

"

"Let's go! We have to go to the Holy Mountain that's up ahead. It might have a treasure that can dispel your cataclysmic qi. Then you can play outside freely like a normal child."

The Whale-Riding Immortal took off his hat and picked up the little girl. He sat her on his shoulders and set off toward the mountain.

"I've been trying to think of what name I should give you. Since you love fruits so much, let's call you Jiang Guo[1].

"It's really hard to raise a girl. If you were a boy, I definitely would have given you a beating earlier. I would have hit you until you ate something.

Haaa,

but you're a girl. How could I not spoil you?

"I have a daughter. I haven't seen her since she was little, but I assume she's probably similar to you.

"All the girls of the Jiang Family have a temper like yours. It runs in the blood.

"Oh, I guess she takes after you."

Jiang Guo: "..."

The Whale-Riding Immortal prattled on the whole way. He forged ahead through seven chi of wind and snow, climbing toward the center of the snowy regions where the Holy Mountain—which was as lofty as a cloud—was situated.

...

Once the situation on Treasured Pagoda Peak was stable, Chu Liang returned to Silver Sword Peak and continued focusing on his cultivation.

The number of divine skills and arts he could use had gradually increased over time. He could use the Secret Technique of Dragon Blood just by breathing, but he needed to actively practice the other skills and arts.

However, just when he started working on them, someone came looking for him.

Chu Liang opened his eyes and looked outside. There was a gentle-looking elderly man dressed in white robes standing quietly on the hillside.

The Conservation Master?

Chu Liang was still in a bit of a daze and felt baffled as he looked at the elderly man's face. Nevertheless, according to Chu Liang's memory, this was indeed the Conservation Master he'd met in the past.

Consequently, Chu Liang rushed out to greet him.

He bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Conservation Master! Are you here to see my teacher?"

"No, I was looking for you," the Conservation Master replied nonchalantly.

Huh?

Chu Liang was confused.

However, before Chu Liang could ask why, the Conservation Master continued speaking.

"I don't know if you're aware, but I'm in charge of the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony this time."

"Oh," Chu Liang uttered.

His heart dropped.

Crap.

He's come for me!

1. Guo means fruit. ☜