Chapter 80

Morning in Wuzhou, in the small town at the foot of Xuanzong Mountain, inside the inn.

Jitang was sitting by the window, wearing a veil hat, and pouring himself a bowl of tea.

Shark: "You just escaped from the Nightmare Clan, and now you're in the territory of the cultivators again. Aren't you afraid of being crushed to ashes by the cultivators?"

Ji Tang lifted up the silk veil and drank tea. "I want to find out about my senior brother."

"How can you still have the energy to drink tea? How many times have we heard you mentioned on the way here? Even the storytellers bring you up over and over again as the hottest topic of every show. Listening to you is much more interesting than listening to a storybook. At this rate, you, the traitor who exploited the Suxuan Sect, murdered its disciples, and even harmed your own people, are really going to be around for a long time."

Shaqi lamented, "The human cultivators won't tolerate you, and the Nightmare Clan is also going to kill you. I think you're really going to become a rat crossing the street, and everyone will shout and beat you.

Ji Tang was halfway through her tea when the waiter, who had finished serving another table, ran over to her and asked, "Sir, what would you like to eat?"

She put down the tea bowl and said in a gentle voice, "Bring some of the best-selling items from your store."

The waiter smiled and said, "Okay!"

Jitang threw out the coins used by ordinary people, and the waiter took it smartly.

"This is for you. I want to ask you something."

The waiter first glanced at the shopkeeper sitting at the counter, then turned around and stuffed the coins into his wide cloth belt. He looked at Ji Tang with a more flattering look, "Sir, please ask!"

Ji Tang: "Recently, I've often heard storytellers mention the Xuanzong's campaign against the Nightmare Clan, and that one of their disciples was killed by the young leader of the Nightmare Clan. Is this true?"

The waiter understood and asked, "Miss, do you also like Master Jinzhou?"

When Jitang heard this name, he was stunned.

The waiter said, "Previously, the immortals in the world of cultivation formed a strangler group to eliminate many members of the Nightmare Clan. Our town is closest to the Suxuan Sect and has always been under its protection. Among them, the immortal Jinzhou is deeply loved by the girls in town. Not only in this town, but also in the girls in the distant cities, there are many who are attracted to the immortal. Are you from the city too?"

Ji Tang followed his words and said, "Ah, yes. I heard that it was him who was killed by the Nightmare Clan's young leader this time."

The waiter saw her stuttering and smiled: "I get asked questions by many girls all the time, so don't be shy."

He shook his head and said, "The storyteller was only half right. Master Jinzhou was indeed stabbed by the Nightmare Clan's demon. That sword...tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk. I heard from those who were there that Master Jinzhou was seriously injured. The blood could have flowed from such a—" He spread his arms up and down, stretching them hard, "falling from such a height, it's terrifying just to think about it!"

"And the powerful people who brought back Master Jinzhou were also very serious! The weather was clear that day, but as soon as the powerful people arrived, everyone felt like the sky was about to darken. That aura, oh my... The Nightmare Clan really offended the powerful people this time!"

Ji Tang laughed dryly. She didn't believe that her senior brother had bled. The distance from the Nightmare Clan back to the Xuan Sect was too far, and Elder Qin would not allow him to bleed all the way. Otherwise, let alone the injuries on his body, he would not be able to return to the sect just by bleeding.

She asked, "What about the real person?"

The waiter gave her a reassuring look, "Don't worry, young lady! A while ago, a Taoist priest from the Suxuan Sect came to town to do some shopping. He said that Taoist priest Jinzhou was clearly pierced by a sword, right in the heart. But after the sword was pulled out, it turned out not to be as serious as everyone thought. The injury isn't fatal, and he'll be fine as long as he recuperates!"

Shaqi said lazily: "Is this the reason you drew on your spiritual power in such a short period of time?"

The waiter couldn't hear what Shaqi said, and Jitang couldn't reply to him immediately. He just said to the waiter: "You know it very clearly."

The waiter chuckled and said, "How would we know this? It was only when the girls in town went over and asked that the news reached us."

Jitang threw a few more coins to him. The waiter bent down to take them. When he saw the amount of the coins, he immediately smiled happily and said, "Please take a rest. I will serve you the food right away!"

As soon as the waiter left, Shaqi said, "For your brother, you'd do anything. You can just withdraw something as important as your Primordial Spirit Power. If you had more, I think your sea of consciousness wouldn't just be shaken, it would collapse and disappear. There's no such thing as loss of Primordial Spirit Power. Once it's used up, it damages your foundation and you can no longer cultivate."

Ji Tang didn't have time to think about these things at the time. She smiled and said, "Didn't I leave some here?"

Shark said in a strange voice: "Oh, so a tiny bit can be called 'some'?"

Ji Tang was selectively deaf and drank the tea in front of him in one gulp.

She left the coins, got up and walked out.

The waiter was coming over with a plate. Seeing her about to leave, he hurriedly called out to her, "Girl, your dish!"

Jitang waved his hand and said, "Give it to the old man outside the door."

The waiter responded and went out to see the beggar in the shade in the corner outside the door. He smiled and handed the plate to him, "Old Xiao, you are going to have a big meal today."

*

A month later.

Ji Tang flew his sword to the top of a mountain that was towering into the clouds and thousands of feet high.

She looked around with satisfaction, "How is it here?"

Shark: "Here?" He paused, "Wasn't that canyon with the spiritual spring there earlier nice? Why did you change your mind?"

Jitang walked on the grassy mountaintop and took a deep breath. "The terrain here is steep, forming a natural barrier. It's also far away from all forces, so it won't be affected. Most importantly, the view here is wide, and you can see far and wide. Shaqi, do you think if I settle down here, will I be able to reach the top one day?"

Shark Qi suppressed a laugh, "There's nothing here. You have the sky as your blanket and the ground as your bed. Whether you can reach the sky or not, just don't fall down!"

Ji Tang snorted, "Say something nice, if I fall down, can you still survive?"

Shaqi swallowed his anger and urged her: "Since you have decided on this place, why don't you quickly set up the magic circle?"

Jitang was very patient, "No hurry, let's give this place a name first."

"You haven't established a clan, and you haven't established a family. Even if you have a name, it's useless."

"That's not necessarily true. When I become a powerful person in the world one day, everyone will know my name!"

Ji Tang came to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Through the clouds, she could vaguely see the inky black river. "Look, the water is flowing fast down there. If someone fell in, wouldn't they be swept away in an instant?"

Shark Qi has a natural affinity for water. "I think it's good. Once I've raised my beast spirit, I'll find a body and make a home here. I can stay here for a few days if I want."

Ji Tang responded: "It's not impossible. How many spirit stones do you plan to pay?"

Sharky was indignant, "Why do you want money?"

Ji Tang spread his hands: "I am alone now, and this is what I lack the most."

How could a beast spirit like Shark Qi have money? "I'll give it to you when I have money. Didn't you say you wanted to give this place a name? What would you name it?"

A smile flashed across Jitang's eyes. She didn't hold onto the spirit stone anymore, but thought of a name. "I think the dark water below is quite terrifying, so let's just call it the Nine Netherworld Abyss."

Shark: "Who would dare to come if this name is made known to others?"

Ji Tang turned back and muttered, "It's best if no one comes."

Sharky was silent for a moment, then shouted again: "Just be lonely enough to ascend!"

Jitang paused.

Sharky: "...What's wrong?"

Jitang smiled and shook his head, "What kind of immortal can I become?"

Ji Tang became extremely busy. The Qiao Yao Five Elements Formation she bought from the black market finally came in handy. It took her more than a month just to set up the formation for Jiu Mingyuan.

In addition, she did it herself, first building a simple thatched hut that people could live in, and then began to run back and forth in the mountain, buying a lot of building materials, planning to build a Jiuming Tower.

When it was late at night and everyone was asleep, Jitang would light a bonfire and occasionally chat with Shaqi. Then, one of them would practice all night while the other would rest and recuperate.

When chatting, Shaqi would ask Jitang: "Don't you want to go see Sujinzhou?"

Ji Tang shook his head and stared at the fire in a trance, "I will never go looking for him."

Sharky called her a coward, "You just stabbed him, how could he be mad at you?"

She had taken the initiative to use that sword to sever her ties with Su Jinzhou and Su Xuanzong. As a 'traitor' of the Nightmare Clan, she shouldn't have anything to do with the righteous and famous sects.

Jitang fiddled with the firewood without saying a word.

Shark felt he was being bored, so he stopped asking such questions.

Jitang would not even bring it up on his own initiative.

The night is long and the Nine Nether Abyss is filled with loneliness.

*

The 5926th year of Qingyu.

Tracing back to Xuanzong, there are thousands of miles of smoke and waves, and the cave of elixirs.

Ji Tang suddenly opened her eyes, her heart aching. She subconsciously covered her dantian, but it was empty inside, and cold sweat dripped from her forehead.

She fell asleep while recovering from her injuries and watched a story about herself.

——This body is still too weak.

Ji Tang wiped the cold sweat that had slid down his chin and stood up.

After coming out of the medicine cave, Ji Tang looked listless. Not only did she not get a good rest, but she felt even more tired.

Su Jinzhou allowed her to stay at Qianliyanbo, but didn't provide her with a place to rest. Qianliyanbo was very large, so Jitang found a small sacred peak next to the main peak. It was lush with trees and full of vitality. Except for the lack of a cave, everything was perfect.

Jitang's mouth twitched.

——Except there is no cave.

She had no choice but to return to her residence.

She had found this residence some time ago, under a pile of huge rocks.

There is a huge rock above my head, which can be considered a place to shelter from the rain, but the wind is blowing in from all sides.

Fortunately, it is spring now and it is still warm at noon, but it is cool in the morning and evening. The nightmare energy she has in the later stage of enlightenment is not enough for cultivation and recovery, so how can she have any extra to block the cool wind?

It’s miserable. It’s really miserable.

Ji Tang sighed and cast earth-based spells with great difficulty, trying to make a cave dwelling.

The nightmare energy in the early stage of consecration was limited, and she used it to practice internal energy and heal her wounds. Now there was even less left. She worked until evening but still couldn't finish making a stone wall.

Ji Tang decided to go for broke and sat on the ground, leaning his back against the half-built stone wall. He began to miss the outer disciples' quarters.

Just as she was about to take a nap, the cloud-sea pattern token on her waist suddenly flashed, and then she heard Su Jinzhou's cold voice. The content was very simple, just one word.

"Come."