Chapter 43 A Joyful Reunion - Completely Forgotten
Inside the Quanfeng Yujing Hall, Donglu put down the jade tablet and said calmly, "The message has been sent."
Peak Master Qi Qingling of Kuangfeng burst into laughter, causing his white beard to tremble. Recalling what he had seen, he thought, "Junior Sister Luanfeng is so young, yet so composed. It's truly remarkable."
The Yu Jing Hall contains several projection stones, where the images projected from the ancient spirit stones of the sect's realm are simultaneously displayed. The duel between Ji Mingran and the Jin siblings was witnessed by all four peak masters.
"To repel two Foundation Establishment disciples with only Qi Refining cultivation—with such courage, why shouldn't you take on this responsibility?" Peak Master Zhu Huo sat opposite Qi Qingling, resting his chin on his hand, a smile playing on his lips. "The capable rise to the top."
"I've never seen those two little kids trembling like this before, hahaha, so funny." Qi Qingling looked to the left. "She can manage them, and there's no need to worry about them. Right, Junior Brother Zhiqing?"
"It's just Qi Refining after all..." Peak Master Liu Zhiqing of Quanfeng finished the wine in his gourd, and after a long while, he finally managed to say, "Yuanliu, you go too."
Yuan Liu bowed and said, "Yes, Master." He then turned to Dong Lu and said, "I'll trouble you to handle the sect's affairs during this time."
Dong Lu nodded without saying a word.
In this vote, all four members passed the resolution without any objection.
***
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, and the azure sea shimmered with golden light. A few seagulls flew by, and with a "whoosh," Guan Wangzhen popped his head out of the water, shaking it back and forth, water droplets flying from his hair and falling into the sea. Only then did he shout at the top of his lungs into the distance: "The last one, taken!"
Guan Wangzhen waited for his junior disciple to arrive while he immersed himself in the sea. He fastened the storage bag containing the nine-clawed sea beast, took out the jade pendant from his waist, and began to peruse the sect's messages one by one.
Yang Jingjing, a disciple of Kuangfeng who remained at the sect, sent a message informing Ji Mingran that while he was fighting the Jin Clan Demon Child, he, Zhu Shibai, and Shen Qingluo were ambushing a single Golden Core Three-Eyed Lion Beast they had found on the road. After hurriedly replying, the three of them immediately engaged the Golden Core Three-Eyed Lion Beast in battle. After dealing with the lion beast, the disciples who were divided into groups to track down the remaining lion beasts sent a message requesting support, and the three of them split up and rushed off.
The Three-Eyed Lion Beasts were not the only ones causing trouble in Tianjing County. Guan Wangzhen, Zhu Shibai, and Shen Qingluo had already slaughtered all the Golden Core Three-Eyed Lion Beasts when they discovered that other monsters had mutated. Not only were they violent and out of control, but some even had worms growing from their eyes and tentacles spitting out from their mouths, making them terrifying in appearance. The Dingsheng Sect disciples who were on a mission tracked down and killed the mutated monsters all the way to Tianjing County. They then discovered that the monsters in the sea had also suddenly changed and were harming the fishermen. So they began to go into the sea to kill the monsters.
Guan Wangzhen, Zhu Shibai, and Shen Qingluo each led a small team to dive into the deep sea day and night for more than half a month. They worked tirelessly until now and finally managed to kill the last mutated monster they had discovered.
I haven't had a chance to look through the sect's jade tablet for a month, and the messages waiting to be read are coming in densely packed.
After closing the message from the monster mission team that read "Mission complete, gather at Tianjing County Ferry," Guan Wangzhen skipped over Qi Laotou's hundred rambling unread messages and opened the message interface marked Ji Mingran, frowning in dissatisfaction.
Why is the last message he sent a month ago, asking "Why aren't you replying to me?"
Many ships sailed in from all around, and the ships were crowded with happy and excited people.
“Kōkyō, it really is Kōkyō.”
"No wonder the sea has been calmer lately; it turns out that Hongqizong has come to exterminate the monsters."
"The Dingsheng Sect was busy for more than half a month recently, but the Hongqi Sect arrived and the monster calamity was resolved. We are so grateful for the help of the Hongqi Sect. It's really good to have them."
Guan Wangzhen's already furrowed brows deepened, and looking up, he indeed saw a group of cultivators gathering and flying in from the east of the sea. They were dressed in frost-white brocade robes and were not disciples of the Dingsheng Sect.
The leader, with a jade crown on her head, striking features, and an ethereal beauty, drew gasps from the boatmen and passengers.
"It is Master Meng, it really is him. He is the one who cut off the head of the century-old golden elixir four-eyed lion beast and wiped out the entire lion den of the demon beast in Tianjing County in one fell swoop. Perhaps he heard that our Tianfan County was also experiencing a demon beast tide, so he came to help."
"To be able to kill a demon beast at a level that is only at the Foundation Establishment stage is truly remarkable. No wonder he was taken in as a closed-door disciple by the Hongqi Sect Master."
On the ship were not only ordinary people, but also independent cultivators who came to Yuanzhou to catch a boat and join in the fun.
"He has been subduing demons and monsters all over the spiritual cultivation world for only a month since joining the sect. I heard that he has been cultivating in his small world for many years and could have broken through to the Golden Core stage long ago, but he suppressed his cultivation in order to participate in the spiritual cultivation competition."
"Isn't this cheating?"
"Where is the cheating? The Spiritual Cultivation Competition only states that disciples at the Golden Core stage and above are not allowed to participate, but it does not say that disciples are not allowed to break through during the competition."
......
Meng Yingyang flew straight over the ships that had come with him, his gaze lingering on the people soaking in the sea not far away.
The person floating on the sea had wet red hair and a red scar on his left cheek, which gave his handsome and delicate face a somewhat demonic feel, like a sea monster that was said to only appear in the Xu Nie Sea.
"Fellow Daoist Guan." He remembered that this was a disciple of the Dingsheng Sect. He had met him once when he killed the Golden Core Four-Eyed Lion Beast. Although he was irritable and rude, he was also a righteous cultivator.
The man rolled his beautiful, narrow phoenix eyes upwards, ignoring the person soaking in the sea, who muttered a complaint: "Flying on a sword this slowly, what kind of Yaofeng disciple are we?"
Was he waiting for his disciples? Meng Yingyang was about to go over and ask if he needed a ride when he heard a chorus of "whoosh" sounds coming from the boats below.
A stunningly beautiful woman dressed in fiery red robes arrived at the man in the sea on her sword. Her sword hovered precisely half a foot above the surface of the water. She said coldly, "Don't talk about my Yaofeng disciple. He was sent to find Zhu Shibai halfway here, so I'm coming over. Come up."
The woman glanced at the Hongqi Sect disciple on the other side, gave a barely perceptible nod as a greeting, and then turned to help Guan Wangzhen up.
The disciples of Dingsheng Sect traveled in simple attire this time, without bringing any flying artifacts. In order to conserve spiritual energy and physical strength, the disciples who went into the sea were all retrieved by disciples who flew on swords.
Guan Wangzhen used the momentum to nimbly flip onto the sword, made a hand seal to restore his dryness, and casually asked, "Do you know him? I just heard that he also came from the small world."
"I don't know him," Shen Qingluo said. Seeing Guan Wangzhen's dark expression, she said helplessly, "Forget it, why bother?"
The leader of the Golden Core Three-Eyed Lion Beast pack was a hundred-year-old Golden Core Four-Eyed Lion Beast. Shen Qingluo tracked it tirelessly for several days and finally stopped it before it rushed into a small town in Tianjing County. Zhu Shibai and Guan Wangzhen rushed to help. The former evacuated the people, while the latter used magic to protect the houses in the town.
After the other disciples of Dingsheng Sect arrived, Zhu Shibai and Guan Wangzhen finished setting up their spell in a secluded corner of the town. The three of them worked together to exhaust the energy of the hundred-year-old golden core lion beast. Guan Wangzhen made a hand seal to trap it. Just as Shen Qingluo was about to deliver the final blow, a slash suddenly fell from the sky. The head of the hundred-year-old golden core four-eyed lion beast was cut off by Meng Yingyang, who happened to be passing by.
The people hiding in the nearby jungle only saw a powerful sword aura descend from the sky, and then saw the head of a four-eyed lion beast fly into the air and then fall down.
Thus, the people of Tianjing County only remembered that the demon beast that the disciples of Dingsheng Sect had spent several days trapping was killed by Meng Yingyang of Hongqi Sect in one blow.
Afterwards, the disciples of Dingsheng Sect continued to pursue other demonic beasts, but encountered the disciples of Hongqi Sect several times. After this happened several times, the local people increasingly believed that the demonic beasts in the area were completely eradicated thanks to the help of the disciples of Hongqi Sect.
This time was the same. It was clearly Dingsheng Sect that spent half a month dealing with the sea monster, but as soon as Hongqi Sect appeared, the people said it was all thanks to Hongqi Sect.
Before he could finish speaking, his outstretched arm was pressed down. Turning around, he saw Zhu Shibai: "Wang Zhen, it's time to set off. As for the rest, we'll prove it through the competition."
Zhu Shibai gave Hongqi Sect disciples a polite smile, then turned and grabbed Guan Wangzhen, urging Shen Qingluo to leave.
Just then, a woman of extraordinary beauty arrived, pulled a handsome man from the sea, and then a tall man with jade-like features appeared. The three of them standing together immediately attracted the attention that had been focused on Meng Yingyang. The people on the boat started chattering amongst themselves:
"Do all cultivators have such a beautiful appearance?"
"They are disciples of the Dingsheng Sect, and I heard their cultivation levels are also quite high."
"I can see it now, I can see it now. This appearance is definitely not simple."
"Where are they going? Oh, Hong Qizong is going too. Boatman, follow them, follow them."
Seeing the various sword-wielding cultivators flying towards the ferry, the rogue cultivators on the boats shouted anxiously, "Boatman, hurry up, we need to get to the dock too!"
So the ships followed in a grand procession.
Three disciples of the Dingsheng Sect, standing on the shore of Shuangji Ferry, looked up expectantly: "Why hasn't she arrived yet? Our great-grandmother is almost here!" Although they were anxious, none of them dared to urge her.
Although Zhu Shibai, Guan Wangzhen, and Shen Qingluo are young, they are all of the seniority of Grandmaster Uncle. In addition, although they are good-looking, one is polite and distant, one is short-tempered, and one is cold as ice. Each of them seems difficult to get along with. Therefore, the disciples of other peaks do not dare to approach them, and only the disciples of their respective peaks deal with their own grandmasters.
In the past, the three of them rarely appeared together within the sect, and the disciples of Dingsheng Sect did not believe that their grandmaster was familiar with the disciples of other peaks. Even though the three often gathered to talk during this mission, the disciples of Dingsheng Sect only thought it was because the three of them had similar cultivation levels and needed to cooperate for the mission, so they had things to talk about. For example, this time when their grandmaster uncle stayed in the sea, grandmaster uncles Shen and Zhu took the initiative to go and pick him up, which must have been for the same reason.
"The rest of the disciples have all arrived."
"The teleportation arrays in the sea will open one after another on schedule. Ships from various sects have gathered at the ferry and are setting off one after another. If you don't hurry, you will miss the first teleportation array."
"Oh, Master Guan, you've finally arrived."
Upon hearing this, Shen Qingluo and the other two did not waste any time. They landed and followed their junior disciples to the ferry. The shore where they were located was only a few hundred meters away from the ferry. The boats that were originally crowded at the ferry had already set off, leaving only two or three boats still docked at the shore.
A disciple from Quanfeng pointed into the distance and asked, "Do you see that big ship we rented?"
At the shore, a massive, imposing, crescent-colored ship, hundreds of meters above the sea, lay quietly at the dock, waiting for people to board.
The disciple from Quanfeng moved his finger slightly: "That's the one over there."
Under the shadow of the large ship, a slightly old wooden boat was moored. The boat was more than ten meters long and was a common passenger ship, but it looked particularly dilapidated and shabby compared to the huge ship next to it.
"Ordinary ships?" Guan Wangzhen asked doubtfully. "Aren't there any better ones? We're going to have to cross several sea teleportation arrays."
"Due to the sea monsters, many ships in Tianfan County were damaged. The remaining ships were all pre-booked by various sects that needed to cross the sea, leaving only this one," Zhu Shibai explained. Although the disciples of Dingsheng Sect arrived half a month early, they were busy chasing the monsters and missed the ship's reservation time, resulting in no ships available. This ship was only made available because of their merit in exterminating the monsters, thanks to the efforts of the Tianfan County governor.
The disciples of Kuangfeng said, "Grandmaster Guan, rest assured, we have followed the arrangements of Grandmaster Uncle Zhu and have reinforced the ship with magic. This ship is strong enough to hold out until we reach Qingzhou."
As they were talking, several people flew overhead in quick succession, heading straight for the large ship. Judging from the color of their robes, they were disciples of the Hongqi Sect. Guan Wangzhen cursed, "What are you flying for? Don't you know that flying on swords is forbidden at the ferry? How can you be so unruly! Flying over people's heads like that, have you no manners? If you're so good at flying on swords, why don't you just go directly to Qingzhou! Why take a ship!"
As soon as Guan Wangzhen finished cursing, the group that had flown a short distance actually turned back and landed ahead. There was only one road to the ferry, and the Hongqi Sect people stopped in the middle of the road, blocking the path of the Dingsheng Sect group.
The Hongqi Sect disciples did not completely block the road; they could simply walk to the side of the road and go around them. However, the Dingsheng Sect disciples maintained their original straight line until they reached the front of the Hongqi Sect disciples before stopping.
Zhu Shibai, who was leading the way, blocked Guan Wangzhen, who was about to rush forward with a sullen face, and gave Meng Yingyang a distant but polite smile: "Fellow Daoist, may I borrow your services?"
The dozen or so Hongqi Sect disciples gathered around Meng Yingyang looked puzzled, clearly unsure why they had turned back, but they still looked at Meng Yingyang, awaiting his instructions. Despite standing opposite Zhu Shibai, Meng Yingyang ignored Zhu Shibai's words and did not respond.
His gaze passed over Zhu Shibai, and over the other Dingsheng Sect disciples standing behind him, fixing on what was behind them.
"Everyone, I'm here!"
He turned around in surprise and saw a girl in a gray robe walking towards them in the twilight of the setting sun. Her clear eyes on her fair face were full of smiles, and the warm sunlight falling on her seemed to emanate from her.
Guan Wangzhen, who had been frowning, suddenly broke into a smile: "Why are you here!" Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Shen Qingluo, who had been beside him, was nowhere to be seen. She had gone to Ji Mingran's side and was chatting warmly with her.
Without a second thought, Guan Wangzhen abandoned the Hongqi Sect disciples blocking his way and followed Zhu Shibai, who had already turned around, to greet Ji Mingran.
Although he was the last to arrive, his voice reached Ji Mingran's ears first: "Why are you here! Did you come to watch the game?"
Ji Mingran smiled and replied, "That's right."
Jin Yu and Jin Lü, who were flanking Ji Mingran, couldn't help but retort when they heard Guan Wangzhen's question: "What do you mean, 'watch the game'!"
"Did you think our great-grandmother was just an ordinary person?"
"Huh?" Guan Wangzhen then noticed the twins dressed in glittering gold and asked in confusion, "Why are you with them?"
Zhu Shibai reminded him, "Did you miss checking the sect's jade token?"
Guan Wangzhen then remembered that she hadn't finished reading the sect's message, so she quickly grabbed it and read it. Her smile widened, and she rushed to Ji Mingran's side in a few steps: "I haven't seen you for a few days, and you've already done so well! You truly live up to your grandmother's reputation! Come on, let's get on the ship and go to Qingzhou."
The three remaining disciples of the Dingsheng Sect, who had also been abandoned by their own master, looked left and right, and saw their own confused faces reflected in each other's eyes.
Weren't things just tense a moment ago? How did they suddenly back down?
Moreover, when did my master become so enthusiastic?
The three disciples hesitated for a moment, exchanged glances, and then stood tall and proud, waiting for their ancestors to arrive.
Standing still, Meng Yingyang's gaze swept over the three people who had turned back several hundred meters, and finally settled on Ji Mingran, who was surrounded.
She did indeed arrive here. A year had passed, and the last trace of childishness had completely faded; she was unrecognizable from the destitute child of yesteryear. Only her cultivation level...
Meng Yingyang frowned. It was no wonder she had gone to a declining sect like Dingsheng Sect. Among the newly recruited disciples, only three were barely decent. In their several encounters, those three were not very friendly, and their cultivation levels were far below hers, yet they were unusually familiar with her.
Before I could even process what was happening, I heard a clear voice: "Excuse me, could you lend me this?"
The girl with bright, lively eyes had already arrived in front of him. Meng Yingyang lowered his head and said, "You don't recognize me?"
The girl in front of him froze, a look of confusion appearing in her bright eyes. The smile on her face gradually faded into an awkward yet polite smile, and she revealed the same expression she had used to deceive people back then: "?"
She really didn't remember herself again.
For some reason, this time Meng Yingyang didn't want to remind him as he had last time. He stopped talking and silently made way.
Seeing him move aside, the disciples of the Hongqi Sect behind him also stepped back to the sides of the road to make way.
Ji Mingran continued walking, leading the group directly over. Guan Wangzhen asked her, "Do you know him?"
Meng Yingyang's heart suddenly tightened for no apparent reason, but then he heard Ji Mingran reply lightly, "I don't know him."
They've completely forgotten about it.
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