Ye Shu traveled all the way and bought some travel notes about the cultivation world in many cities he passed through, gradually learning many things that he didn’t know before in those remote areas.
[The cultivation world is divided into a total of thirty-six provinces, each located in different places.
Below the provinces are prefectures, and the number varies from province to province; below the prefectures are counties, and the number of counties varies as well; below the counties are towns, and the number of towns varies; below the towns are villages (村 cūn), and the number of villages in each town varies.]
[As a branch of the Qixiao Sect, the Baixiao Sect is located outside Changqiu County, Jiutai Prefecture, Xuanming Province, neighboring several small towns.] Those small towns are actually the nearby cities that Ye Shu thought of before. The Baishi City, where Xiao Ming’s family is located, is actually Baishi Town.
[The main sect of the Qixiao Sect is a first-class power in Jiutai Prefecture.]
[Within the Qixiao Sect, there are seven peaks, namely Baixiao Peak, Xuanxiao Peak, Zixiao Peak, Chixiao a Peak, Qingxiao Peak, Huaxiao Peak, and Bixiao Peak. Each peak corresponds to a branch sect.] Yan Changlan’s Baixiao Sect corresponds to one of the branch sects under Baixiao Peak. Although its name is Baixiao Sect, it should actually be called Baixiao Sect of Changqiu County.
[Within many other counties, the Baixiao Peak has many branches, and the other peaks are also remarkable.] The overall power of the Qixiao Sect, at least within this Jiutai Prefecture, is indeed formidable.
In comparison, the other two sects, which are the largest local forces alongside the Baixiao Sect, also seem to have backing, but they are not branches of a large sect. In truth, the Baixiao Sect is the most powerful.
[Since the Qixiao Sect is a top sect in Jiutai Prefecture, their requirements for accepting disciples are naturally stricter. While local recruitments may not emphasize spiritual roots greatly, each branch must send disciples to the Qixiao Sect with at least dual spiritual roots.]
Although the Zhou family has some calculations in mind, Yan Changlan’s early arrival generally proves more beneficial than detrimental—outstanding spiritual roots can be cultivated in places with abundant spiritual energy. As for possible troubles that might arise, they can be overcome with great perseverance.
[Within the Qixiao Sect, the highest realm is a cultivator at the half-step Golden Core stage. In the Jiutai Prefecture region, it seems that as long as one can reach the Foundation Establishment stage, the first three levels are not particularly difficult. However, to enter the fourth level and beyond, it is extremely arduous. For example, those in Qixiao Sect who have reached the Half-Step Golden Core realm are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns in the entire Jiutai Prefecture; one could count them on one hand.]
Ye Shu nodded slightly as he flipped through the travel notes.
Not entering the realm of Golden Core, even if one foot steps in, the lifespan is only about three hundred years, similar to that of a sixth level of Foundation Establishment cultivator. It is said that this half-step Golden Core expert, having just passed the two hundred-year mark in lifespan, still has nearly a hundred years of life to shelter the Baixiao Sect. Moreover, during these hundred years, there is a chance to find a way to enter the realm of Golden Core.
[The Jiutai Prefecture is not dominated solely by the Baixiao Sect. There are also several first-class forces similar to it, as well as a few special second-class forces, all of which have a respectable status.]
[There are more alchemists and artifact refiners in Jiutai Prefecture. Talisman masters and formation masters are relatively fewer. There are also some masters of other strange miscellaneous studies who are either enshrined by various forces or establish their own schools.]
The various miscellaneous techniques they possess must have been much stronger than those in Baixiao Sect.
Ye Shu had a plan. Once he arrived near the Qixiao Sect, he planned to settle down as soon as possible, then explore the various markets and see for himself the local miscellaneous techniques.
With his knowledge, a simple walk through and observation should yield considerable insights.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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“Wljb Wlcu, ub delmxis! Xb yjmx jcv lcobgw ws ojatfg, afii tlw ab mbwf rjnf wf!”
“Miss, I can’t! Let me hold off the bandit so you can escape!”
“Nonsense! The bandit is after me. If you stay, neither of us will escape. Go now…”
Near the main road, two young girls were fleeing in panic, hastily flying on a magical tool. The slightly older girl in green handed a cloth to her maid, who had her hair styled in twin buns, and pushed her away. The cloth transformed into a beam of light, enveloping the maid and flying rapidly in the opposite direction.
Seeing this, the girl in green sighed with some relief. She bit her tongue and spat blood onto the artifact beneath her feet, causing it to glow red and fly even faster.
Behind the girl in green, a young man was closely pursuing on a jade ruler. He had peach blossom eyes, but they were filled with lewdness and greed as he stared at the beauty ahead.
Sweat beaded on the girl’s forehead. Though she appeared to be flying fast, she knew her artifact couldn’t hold out much longer. Spitting more blood would damage her foundation and likely cause her to faint from excessive blood loss. If that happened, she would fall into the bandit’s hands, unable to live or die at will.
Biting her lip hard, the girl in green made a resolute decision: If she is caught, she would rather kill herself than let the bandit succeed!
Meanwhile, the maid with twin buns, wrapped in the cloth, continued to fly for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense. In her panic, she realized with horror that she had lost her sense of direction! What should she do? The young miss is waiting for her. If she can’t bring help in time, the young miss…
The maid was extremely anxious, and the more she worried, the harder it was to find her bearings. She could only look around frantically. Suddenly, she spotted a carriage speeding down the main road. The driver had a faint glow of spiritual light around him—he is a cultivator, not an ordinary person!
In her desperation, the maid descended directly and stood in front of the carriage.
“Please, young master, save my miss!”
She was already treating a dead horse as if it were alive, hoping against hope.
Ye Shu looked at the girl blocking his way and squinted slightly, quickly assessing her identity.
This girl had a first-level Qi Refining cultivation. Her attire was simple, her hairstyle unique, and she had a pretty face, indicating she was likely a maidservant to a lady from a prominent family. At this moment, her face was filled with panic, and she was crying for help. Could it be that her miss is in trouble?
Among cultivators, fights and disputes were common. If Ye Shu had only seen two groups fighting, he would have ignored it. However, with the maid pleading for help and a lady involved, he couldn’t just turn a blind eye.
Ye Shu raised his head and asked, “What’s the matter?”
The maid, Xiao Xing, took a clear look at Ye Shu’s face and was initially surprised by his youth, followed by disappointment. Yet, since her miss had sent her to seek help, she quickly composed herself, realizing she couldn’t gauge Ye Shu’s true cultivation level, indicating he was likely more capable than she was. With a tearful tone, she said, “My miss is being pursued by a bandit. She sent me to seek help, but I got lost while escaping. I had no choice but to ask for your assistance. I beg you, kind sir, please save my miss…”
Upon hearing this, Ye Shu nodded slightly, “Take me there.”
Xiao Xing was overjoyed and hurriedly activated the swift talisman cloth, blushing slightly as she said, “This swift talisman can carry us both. Please, come closer, sir…”
Ye Shu understood how to use the talisman cloth at a glance and refused, saying, “No need, just lead the way.”
Xiao Xing didn’t insist and wrapped herself in the talisman cloth, rising into the sky, but she still anxiously looked back. Soon after, she saw the young man she had asked for help take out two spiritual talismans and slap them on himself. The young man floated up, and in a flash, he swiftly arrived by her side.
Seeing this scene, Xiao Xing felt a lot more relieved.
She then infused mana into the talisman cloth and dashed forward rapidly!
Ye Shu floated around her, not taking a single step down.
Before long, Xiao Xing took out a compass disk and continuously moved forward in the direction indicated by the pointer.
Ye Shu recognized the compass disk. It was a rudimentary tool capable of tracking the location of a designated person, often used to find people in secret realms or complex environments. It was indeed convenient to use it now to locate the woman being pursued by the bandits.
Sure enough, in the time it took to brew a cup of tea, Xiao Xing brought Ye Shu to a forest. Ahead, a young girl was manipulating a piece of equipment, moving around. The equipment was dim and cracked, showing signs of imminent destruction. Her situation was clearly becoming extremely dangerous.
Just at the right moment, playing around with the young girl was a frivolous-looking young man. The jade ruler under his feet was glowing brightly with abundant spiritual energy, indicating he was waiting for the girl to exhaust herself completely so he could effortlessly capture her.
Ye Shu asked, “Is that young girl your miss?”
Xiao Xing hurriedly replied, “Yes! Sir, do you know how to rescue her?”
Ye Shu pondered for a moment and said, “My magical tools are not fully developed yet, and I am not good at fighting…”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Xing became even more anxious.
Ye Shu continued, “However, I do have some tricks up my sleeve that I can use.” As he spoke, a dark black bead appeared in his hand. “You go and pull your miss away, retreat ten zhang back. I will deal with that bandit.”
Xiao Xing was extremely anxious at this moment. Upon hearing this, she quickly rushed out, grabbed the young girl, and swiftly retreated.
At this moment, the magical tool under the girl’s feet were also infused with their final magic power. After the two girls were quickly taken away with the help of the fabric, the frivolous young man had yet to react.
Ye Shu had already seized the opportunity. Without hesitation, he infused mana into the black bead and threw it towards the young man.
The young man, eager to chase after the girls, noticed the black bead and quickly dodged to the side. The black bead did not touch him, but just as the two escaping girls were about to lose hope, the black bead suddenly exploded. A surging thunderous force burst open, directly hitting the young man who was just a few feet away from the black bead!
“Boom!”
After the explosion, the young man’s entire body seemed to be blown apart. Blood was dripping from his dantian, and his once handsome face was severely damaged… He was critically injured and on the verge of death, but still had a bit of strength left.
Ye Shu wasn’t prepared to give him a chance to counterattack. He stood far away and took out another black bead, throwing it again.
The young man saw the second black bead coming and had no way to dodge. It hit him violently, exploding once more!
This time, he was completely blown into a broken and ragged corpse.
The two girls were also shocked beyond belief.
“What kind of thing is that black bead? Its power is too terrifying!”
The bandit was a cultivator at the third level of Qi Refining. If the two of them had not been only at the first or second level of Qi Refining, they would have been able to protect themselves with the many magic weapons on their bodies! However, no matter how powerful the magic weapons they carried were, they seemed to be no match for the black bead…
Suppressing their fear, the two girls calmed down a bit and were about to go and thank their lifesaver. However, when they approached, they realized that the young man had disappeared after the second black bead was thrown.
The girl in the green shirt hurriedly asked, “Xiao Xing, who is that young gentleman?”
Xiao Xing hesitated and said, “I don’t know. We met him on the road. I thought his cultivation was profound…”
Ye Shu had no interest in talking to the two girls. After saving them, he quickly left.
At this moment, the carriage was on the road again.
Thanks for the chapter 🧡
Thank you for the chapters!
Thanks for the chapter.