Chapter 8 Cut Eight Times
After wasting a lot of the Water Mirror Sect's spiritual network resources, Luo Mingshu and Xie Changming finally managed to add them back.
The pointless shouting match ended in Luo Mingshu's defeat once again. She inexplicably earned the nickname "Fish Head Tofu Stew," which made her so angry that she pounded the bed, but there was nothing she could do about it.
Fortunately, Luo Mingshu had actually honed her divine sense in the process of fighting her opponent several times, and this time she was able to hold out for a longer period of time than before.
This is a good start. Maybe the opponent is an old guy who's cultivated for 30,000 years. It's normal that she, at 300 years old, can't beat him, Luo Mingshu thought.
Luo Mingshu thought she would go out to look for clues again tomorrow, while Lu Yaoyao, who was in the same inn, was pacing anxiously in her room, biting her lower lip, looking somewhat anxious.
"Didn't you sense your senior brother's presence in the Sandstorm Ferry?" Lu Yaoyao raised the jade bracelet on her wrist and asked softly.
"Yes, I didn't sense Wei Qing's presence," the system replied earnestly.
“Senior Sister Keluo used the Soul-Summoning Bell, and her final location is here.” Lu Yaoyao frowned.
"Host, I told you long ago she wasn't a good person. She came to the Demon Realm on her own; she might be lying to you." The system gloated.
“But I watched her cast the spell, so she shouldn’t have tampered with it.” Lu Yaoyao shook her head; she didn’t quite believe Luo Mingshu would lie to her.
"Host, you can believe her if you want, but I must remind you that your current points are negative. If you cannot gain favor with Wei Qing, you will not be able to unlock the next stage of your cultivation cheat, and your breakthrough to the Golden Core stage will be much slower," the system warned.
"However—host, we have detected a new mission target within the Sandstorm Ferry." The system gave Lu Yaoyao a chance.
"Who is it? Do I need to gain his favor?" Lu Yaoyao asked, as she was good at winning people's hearts.
"No, you need to gain her dislike points—because she is also one of the villains in this book, and dislike points will also be converted into credits for you."
"I understand." Lu Yaoyao lowered her eyes, stroking the jade bracelet on her wrist, and nodded.
The two people in the same inn were preoccupied with their own thoughts, but Luo Mingshu was more relaxed.
Because there are flight restrictions within the Sandstorm Pass, making it difficult to use convenient flight spells, she rented a carriage in the Sandstorm Pass through the Spirit Network interface for her trip the next day. Although it was called a carriage, this luxurious vehicle was actually powered by mechanically driven horses.
The carriage can seat four people and can shrink in size according to the size of the road ahead, allowing it to navigate even the most congested streets without hindrance. Most importantly, this specially customized carriage for Fengshadu is pink, with its exterior inlaid with gemstones of the same color according to the pattern, making it dazzling and making you the most stylish person in Fengshadu when you drive it on the street.
Luo Mingshu couldn't resist the allure of the pink crystal carriage; even the mechanical horse pulling it had a pair of bows tied around its neck. Who could resist buying it? Despite the high daily rental fee, Luo Mingshu readily agreed to pay the price.
However, this wretched sandstorm crossing required bidding to rent any transportation within the city. Shortly after Luo Mingshu made her bid, a competitor appeared out of nowhere and offered to rent the pink carriage at a higher price.
Luo Mingshu was well-versed in the art of bidding. After raising the price twice and realizing that the other party had no intention of giving up, she began to wait. Then, at the last moment before the bidding time ended, she made a high price that she was guaranteed to win. As soon as she made the bid, the bidding ended, and even if the other party still had money, they could not bid anymore. The right to use the pink carriage for the next month belonged to Luo Mingshu.
"You're too young to play the bidding game with me." Luo Mingshu whistled smugly, filled in the address of her inn on the spirit network, and asked Fengsha Ferry to send the pink carriage she rented tomorrow. "I spent more spirit stones than you ate."
While Luo Mingshu was secretly delighted to have photographed something she liked, someone in the City Lord's Mansion in Fengsha Ferry threw a crystal glass off the table with a "thud".
"What are you doing? Why did you put the car that was originally prepared for me up for rent on the Spirit Network?" The young woman sitting in the main seat raised her head high. She was pretty and had a clear voice, but her eyes were peculiar. When she squinted, her pupils were vertical, like some kind of water-grown demon.
“Your Highness, while you are away from Fengsha Ferry, we will naturally rent out our unused items to earn money.” Chu Sheng, the city lord of Fengsha Ferry, is a demon eagle. His eyes gleam with a faint golden light, and his aura is powerful, indicating that he has already reached the early stage of the Tribulation Transcending Realm.
However, even someone with such profound cultivation as him lowered his head before this young woman: "Your Highness, we also need to make money."
“Spirit stones, spirit stones… You keep talking about spirit stones. Hasn’t my father given you any spirit stones to build the city of Fengshadu all these years?” Shui Qingsi raised her voice and asked. “Even if you let me bid against her on the Spirit Network and win back the carriage, she is really… really too cunning. She actually chose to bid at the last minute.”
Chu Sheng smiled wryly. The other party was using the most common bidding techniques. This little princess from the Demon Realm Royal City was naive and didn't even understand this principle.
"How about we prepare a new car for you?" Chu Sheng asked.
"I love that car!" Shui Qingsi jumped down from the main seat. "Don't let me see her in Fengsha Ferry these next few days!"
“Your Highness, even you must abide by the rules of Fengsha Ferry,” Chu Sheng reminded her, fearing that Shui Qingsi might do something rash.
"I know," Shui Qingsi replied casually, she had never suffered such an injustice before.
The next day, Luo Mingshu got her wish and got the right to drive the pink carriage. She was about to go to the library in Fengsha Ferry, which houses ancient books, to look for records in books that could not be found on the Spirit Network, when Lu Yaoyao came running out, panting.
"Senior Sister Luo, I'll go with you!" Although Lu Yaoyao felt that Luo Mingshu had no reason to lie to her, she was also worried that Luo Mingshu would leave her behind and run away. Moreover, the Soul-Calling Bell was in her hands, and if there was any movement from Wei Qing, she could follow her and know the Soul-Calling Bell's reaction immediately.
Luo Mingshu hadn't expected the original female lead to be so clingy. She waved at Lu Yaoyao and said, "Go find your senior brother yourself. Stop following me around eating, drinking, and having fun."
Unexpectedly, Lu Yaoyao was very sensible. She took out a bag of spirit stones from her bosom and handed it to Luo Mingshu: "Senior Sister Luo, this is the following fee."
Now Lu Yaoyao has learned her lesson. She knows that as long as she gives Luo Mingshu money, anything is possible. Moreover, the pink carriage that Luo Mingshu summoned and parked in front of the inn looks very high-class, and she really wants to ride in it.
The devil is always one step ahead, and Luo Mingshu immediately raised the price: "This amount of spirit stones is not enough, I want your jade bracelet."
The system's voice rang in Lu Yaoyao's mind at just the right moment: "No, no, no, you can't!"
"Senior sister... that jade bracelet is really important." Lu Yaoyao was worried that Luo Mingshu would go to rescue Wei Qing herself, which would prevent her from gaining favor with Wei Qing. So she took out the mother-of-pearl necklace that Luo Mingshu had taken a liking to earlier—the jewelry she had exchanged for with a thousand system points. "Is this okay?"
Luo Mingshu was also interested in the mother-of-pearl bead necklace, so she took it and said with satisfaction, "Okay, you can play with me for three days."
As she and Lu Yaoyao boarded the carriage and set the Fengsha Ferry Library as their destination in the carriage's control array, Luo Mingshu suddenly realized why she had a little follower named Afa in the Yuling Sect and another little follower named Lu Yaoyao in Fengsha Ferry.
Lu Yaoyao is the female lead, can't she have any shame! What kind of woman is she, clinging to a vicious supporting character like her?
Luo Mingshu was worried that the original female lead would be unlucky if she followed her, but she really liked that mother-of-pearl necklace. She coveted all the beautiful little trinkets that didn't belong to her.
And so, the two set off for the library in a pink carriage. The glittering gems on the carriage's exterior blinded the passing demon cultivators and other cultivators, and also caught the attention of someone.
"My pink carriage!" Shui Qingsi exclaimed from a slightly less luxurious blue carriage. "Let's go, let's follow it! I want to see which blind little demon dares to steal my things!"
Luo Mingshu sat comfortably in the stable carriage, sipping her chilled fruit tea, completely unaware that a little tail had appeared behind her. She held the cup by the handle with one hand, her head slightly lowered, leisurely taking a small sip of tea.
But at that moment, the soul-summoning bell wrapped around her little finger suddenly rang urgently—the crisp sound seemed to urge Luo Mingshu to hurry up and find the person.
"Wei Qing?" Luo Mingshu became alert. Although she didn't care about Wei Qing's life or death, he was right in front of her, so she couldn't ignore him.
She hurriedly changed the route of the pink carriage, and Lu Yaoyao, who had been sitting to the side munching on a cookie, also perked up.
"Senior Sister Luo, it's Senior Brother!" Lu Yaoyao had long forgotten what the system had told her, "Your Senior Brother isn't in Fengsha Ferry," and said excitedly.
"Okay, I'll reluctantly help you look for it." Following the direction indicated by the Soul-Summoning Bell, Luo Mingshu drove the pink carriage in pursuit.
Looking out from inside the carriage, she saw a black carriage ahead, guided by the Soul-Summoning Bell. She couldn't see inside from the outside, but Luo Mingshu could sense that the aura of the cultivator or demon cultivator inside was exceptionally strong—at least as strong as hers.
This matter is tricky... Luo Mingshu pressed down on the Soul-Calling Bell with one hand, telling it to stop making noise and to keep its distance, preparing to track it down.
After she turned, Shui Qingsi, who had been following behind her, also quickly turned around. Shui Qingsi jumped up from the chair in the carriage, pointed forward, and the silver bell on her wrist jingled: "Chase after them! I want to see who stole my carriage."
Luo Mingshu spurred her dazzling pink carriage to turn and chase after another black carriage. The people in the black carriage quickly noticed the "pink bow tail" behind them.
The people inside the car looked back and saw the most beautiful splash of pink in the sandy desert. The gems inlaid on the exterior of the car shone brightly in the sunlight.
"That carriage!" The people inside exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't that the one that Princess Shui Qingsi of the Demon Realm reserved at our Fengsha Ferry? She actually drove it today?"
Only a few people knew that Luo Mingshu had intercepted the pink carriage and taken it for herself for a month. Most of the demon cultivators in Fengsha Ferry who knew the truth thought that Shui Qingsi was sitting in the pink carriage.
"Our little princess..."
"Shui Qingsi..."
"Right in the pink carriage..."
The person inside the carriage muttered to himself. After a moment of silence, the black carriage paused briefly, then swayed and suddenly accelerated, raising a cloud of dust on the wide streets of Fengshadu before speeding away.
"Then hurry up! The demon princess is courting death. Running into her will only end badly. Hurry, hurry, drive forward and leave her behind!"
"Forget it, the autopilot is too slow. Give me control of the formation and I'll drive it manually."
The black carriage ahead suddenly accelerated in fright, catching Luo Mingshu off guard. She took a big gulp of her fruit tea, and Lu Yaoyao's voice rang out behind her: "Senior Sister Luo, this is bad, the people ahead must have discovered that we are following them."
It's hard not to be spotted driving such a conspicuous carriage.
"Whatever, I'll chase him even if I get caught! Damn it, how dare he ditch me!" Luo Mingshu was a woman who refused to admit defeat. Being caught following someone was nothing to her. She tilted her head back and finished her fruit tea in one gulp. "I'm going to catch him today. What are they trying to do, acting so suspiciously? They must be feeling guilty!"
Lu Yaoyao thought Luo Mingshu's words made sense, and listened in a daze, nodding repeatedly.
The pink carriage suddenly accelerated, and Shui Qingsi, who was in the carriage behind, was thrown against the carriage wall due to the sudden turn.
"The people in the car spotted me? And they still dare to run? Keep chasing them!" Shui Qingsi ordered her attendants to follow closely behind.
Thus, a strange scene appeared on the main road of Fengshadu: three carriages of different colors were chasing after the one in front of them, speeding away so fast that they could be out of sight in the blink of an eye.
Luo Mingshu realized that even with her command to accelerate the formation, she still couldn't catch up with the black carriage ahead. As the black carriage was about to disappear from sight, the sound of the Soul-Summoning Bell gradually weakened, and her competitive spirit rose.
"They're definitely guilty. That speed means they're operating the carriage manually," Luo Mingshu said angrily. She was quite knowledgeable about these kinds of transportation devices, and this speed couldn't possibly be achieved by automatic driving. "There's definitely something fishy going on!"
"Dare to drive faster than me?" Luo Mingshu stood up from the couch of the pink carriage, walked directly to the array controlling the carriage's movement, and placed her hands on the control array. "I will not allow such a thing to happen!"
She resonated with the control array of the pink carriage, a pale purple light illuminating her body and lifting a few curls of hair at her temples to reveal a bright and flamboyant face. Whether or not she could find Wei Qing was no longer important—it was just a side effect; Luo Mingshu was now completely captivated by the carriage ahead, her competitive spirit ignited.
"Did you think I didn't know how to operate it manually?" Luo Mingshu's divine sense sensed the structure of the carriage at an extremely fast speed. In an instant, the pink carriage began to vibrate slightly, as if it was suppressing some power and preparing to burst out at any time.
Luo Mingshu pulled out the array from beneath her palm with one hand, causing the shawl wrapped around her wrist to flutter slightly, and the soul-summoning bell wrapped around her little finger to emit a soft ringing sound. The pink carriage paused for a moment, and in that brief silence, Lu Yaoyao's eyes widened; she was completely confused about the situation.
"Host, for your safety—I don't want to lose my host now, because finding the next one is too much trouble," the system's voice quickly rang in Lu Yaoyao's mind, "I advise you to activate the protective array on the carriage now and obediently get in."
Lu Yaoyao's actions were almost subconscious. The protective array activated, and she asked the system in her mind, "Why?"
"Before you joined the Spirit Control Sect, Luo Mingshu had won first place in the Spirit Control Sect's speed competition for transportation magic weapons for ten consecutive years—whether it was flying in the sky, running on the road, or paddling in the water, she was number one. Among her competitors were the elders in the Spirit Control Sect who were at the Tribulation Transcending stage. So, you know what it means for her to activate manual control mode—"
Why did she only win the title ten times in a row?
"Because the other contestants were far behind her, in order to prevent other cultivators from losing their fighting spirit, the sect leader ordered her not to participate anymore."
As soon as the system finished speaking, the pink carriage shot forward like an arrow. Under the powerful recoil, Luo Mingshu hooked her hand on the array in front of her to prevent herself from falling backward, while Lu Yaoyao crashed directly into the protective array behind her, her whole body almost falling apart.
"Drive again, run again?" Luo Mingshu remained calm. Her movements were precise and swift as she manipulated the array in front of her, performing a beautiful drift at the alleyway ahead. The pink carriage almost veered at an angle through the intersection. "Today I'll show you who the fastest driver in the entire Fengshadu is!"
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