Chapter 8 Go get it
The old ancestor was determined to die.
When Feifei flew into the Ten Realms to deliver the news, Duan Jiuyou was wandering aimlessly along the North-South Long Street with a group of disciples.
She was kicked out by the Emperor because he found her nagging and annoying her "chanting." He felt they were on different paths and refused to see her again. When Feifei approached Duan Jiuyou, it was during the most distressing time of her life. Feifei poured out her messages, adding many of her own speculations and possibilities.
Duan Jiuyou's eyebrows furrowed into a small mountain as he listened, and he interrupted Feifei before she could finish speaking.
She told Feifei, "Go back and tell Yanfeng that if he's really bored, he should go dry some melon seeds and eat them. Stop thinking about these trivial things!"
The information conveyed by the salt wind was completely fabricated by Duan Jiuyou, a clear case of a guilty conscience. Bai Yanxing was indeed meticulous, but he couldn't possibly have calculated everything. Leaving aside whether he knew she wasn't in the Heavenly Realm, the fact that Di Jiang was still alive was something no one in the world knew except for a little Huang Ye. Could he be more powerful than the Nameless Heavenly Book?
When the gods die, their primordial spirits perish. The Imperial Clan only managed to survive because of the protection of the Heavenly Ruler. The Great Wilderness Clan scattered and fled, not all remaining within the Ten Realms. Even if Bai Yanxing were to search for them, he would look towards the Sea of Rebirth where they fell. Besides this, there's the issue of rebuilding the Thirty-Six Divine Continents. After the great war, half of the Heavenly Realm "collapsed," and every single matter is a headache.
Bai Yanxing wasn't that free, and even if he did have the time, he wouldn't have thought of this in a short period of time.
"And your mouth," Duan Jiuyou scolded, grabbing Feifei's little hair bun. "Didn't I tell you to reply truthfully when you pass on messages, and not to embellish them?"
Yan Feng's initial assessment of Duan Jiuyou was merely that they might not survive, but Fei Fei, after processing it independently, transformed it into the Emperor's imminent decree to slaughter the entire Ao clan soon.
Feifei shrank her neck, always quick to admit her mistakes, and said with her little hands that looked like bird claws, "Grandpa, please forgive me, I just couldn't control my mouth."
Feifei was born from rumors and gossip. She is a little deity born from rumors. In human form, she is a thin little girl with pigtails. No matter what happens in a family, it can not escape her ears. She likes to sit on a small stool in a crowd and listen to the commotion. Her nickname is the number one gossip in the Earthly Palace.
The advantages of this "little gadget" are its speed, timely delivery, and formless nature, allowing it to pass through all obstacles. Its disadvantage is its tendency to embellish; to hear the true message from its mouth, one must remove all the branches and leaves, leaving only the stem.
"When have you ever managed to control yourself?" Duan Jiuyou asked fiercely.
Feifei rarely saw the ancestor so fierce. This habit of hers didn't develop overnight. She used to spread rumors all the time, but the ancestor never yelled at her like this.
Feifei shrank back and hid behind her senior brothers and sisters. The senior sisters were soft-hearted and patted Feifei's shoulder, explaining, "The Ancestor wasn't targeting you."
—Who is that aimed at?
Look at her, she's got that gossipy look on her face, her eyes are practically sparkling, she has to get involved in everyone's drama.
The disciples did not heed Duan Jiuyou's instructions and naturally dared not tell Feifei about the ancestor's mistreatment in the abandoned house. Feifei stared at him for a while, knowing that he would not come. Seeing the ancestor's fierce and menacing face, she did not dare to stay any longer. She turned into a gust of wind and returned to Dixi Mountain.
Even after Feifei left, Duan Jiuyou's pent-up anger didn't dissipate. She led her people through the streets and, without realizing it, ended up at the gate of an abandoned house.
The night was deep, just as Emperor Jiang was heading out to hunt. The two groups stood silently facing each other across a long street. Duan Jiuyou cleared his throat, wanting to take the initiative to greet him, but Emperor Jiang merely lifted his eyelids and left with his men without looking at him.
The disciples of the Ao Sect quickly looked at their ancestor, fearing that she could not bear this injustice. Unexpectedly, this person seemed to have figured it out and seen through it all. After staring at Di Jiang's back for a while, she turned around and led them back to the North-South Long Street for dinner.
The two groups of people seemed to be walking in opposite directions in harmony, but no one knew that Duan Jiuyou, who appeared calm and "peaceful," was secretly brewing a big show of "spare the rod and spoil the child" under the cover of his wide sleeves.
That night, the Emperor returned home at dawn as usual. The beast-catching cages reeked of blood, filled with nothing but animal carcasses and human bones.
That same night, Duan Jiuyou ensured that the disciples of the Ao Sect ate and slept well, and when they woke up the next morning, their complexions were much rosier than usual.
At the same time that Duan Jiuyou woke up, Di Jiang was about to go to bed. His right eyelid started twitching inexplicably, and he felt this was a bad omen. He conjured up a piece of Xuan paper, tore off a small piece, moistened it with water, and stuck it to his eyelid.
The minister had just finished making the bed for him when he turned around and noticed something was wrong with his master, and his face darkened.
He stared at Di Jiang's eyelids and said, "Have you been too tired lately? You're going to bed without even washing your face?"
The paper on Di Jiang's eyelids was considerately torn off by Feng Chen. Di Jiang looked at Feng Chen expressionlessly. He had to admit that when a subordinate was being obtuse and acting stupidly, he missed the shrewd and resourceful "Xiao Cui".
Meanwhile, "Xiao Cui" was hunting beasts in the mountains. Ao Zong's hunting methods were very primitive, mainly relying on speed and hand-to-hand combat. The hunters could not keep up with their pace. Even if several people were fighting over a vicious beast, Ao Zong would definitely grab it first and throw it to the ground to kill it.
"Where did this gang of bastards come from? If they keep arresting people like this, will we ever have anything to eat?"
The hunters, who had long resided in the Tenth Realm and were of limited knowledge, could not discern the origins of the Ao Clan. While they were in a state of distress, they could only give the other party a random nickname based on its external appearance and glare at it with resentment.
Duan Jiuyou didn't care what they called her. She brought more than thirty disciples with her this time. After conjuring up her Dharma form, it had the power to cover the sky and the sun. Duan Jiuyou held a small wooden stick and pointed here and there to guide them. When Dijiang arrived at Xianwei Mountain, there were only some worried beast hunters and the Aozong clan with carts full of harvest left.
Duan Jiuyou, dressed in a long robe, started a fire at the foot of Xianwei Mountain in a rare moment of peace. She had two wild fruits skewered on a stick in her hand. After the flames stabilized, she sat back down on the small stones she had prepared beforehand and roasted the fruits from all sides.
She was petite and pretty, her large, lake-blue, landscape-patterned sleeves fluttering in the wind, the fragrant gauze ethereal, like a delicate breeze wandering through cold, treacherous mountains and waters.
She said the fruit was bitter: "But after roasting, it becomes a perfect balance of sweet and sour. I don't like bitter food, so I have to find something sweet for myself."
As Di Jiang and his men approached, his long black robes brushed against the wild grass, creating a rustling sound that was quite intimidating.
He braved the cold night because the night was when the most ferocious beasts roamed, not because he came to see this barren mountain range.
"I'm afraid you won't get to eat," Di Jiang said, rolling up his sleeves.
"Why can't we eat?" Duan Jiuyou said, turning her head. The firelight illuminated half of her face, her almond eyes smiling, unlike her usual gentle demeanor, instead revealing a sharp, gleaming edge.
She said, "We've caught everything we could on this mountain. Those we didn't catch won't come out tonight. I have no use for all this prey. If you're willing to listen to me, I'll give you all of this. If you're not—" She tested the firmness of the meat with her hand. It wasn't ready yet, but she had plenty of patience. "We'll catch it again at this pace tomorrow."
"Still catching them? If you shave them all bald, what are we supposed to eat?!"
One of the indignant hunters spoke up, saying that they hadn't even managed to snatch a single beast today, and if they came back again tomorrow, wouldn't they go hungry for another day?
Duan Jiuyou raised his chin and looked towards the imperial territory: "You'll have to ask him. If he's willing to reform, I'll catch a few more cages for you without any problem."
he?
The hunters took two steps back in unison. Who would dare to provoke him? The Lord of the Great Wilderness had stirred up a bloodbath as soon as he entered the tenth realm. The last person who tried to take his territory was now reduced to nothing.
"She's supposed to have reformed? Doesn't she know who that person is?"
"You'll see soon enough how bad it is. Have you forgotten the Lord of Fengshan who died at the hands of Dijiang? He was far more arrogant than this girl. He not only slaughtered all the beasts in the mountains but also razed the abandoned houses. Dijiang didn't even use any magic array; he just tore the people apart."
The hunters whispered among themselves, secretly hoping for a good show. Too few dared to fight against the Imperial Frontier; they either cursed in the shadows or were killed in the open. The girl who roasted fruit dared to face a powerful enemy head-on. If she died, their lives would continue as usual; but if she won, that would be exactly what they wanted.
Unexpectedly, Di Jiang did not cause trouble for Duan Jiuyou. Just when everyone thought he was rolling up his sleeves and preparing to fight Duan Jiuyou, they saw him take off the landscape-patterned silk robe that he had been tidying up for almost half an hour.
I don't know who found him this outfit today. The pattern is so stiff it scratches your hands, and the sleeve lace is like a stubborn wide bracelet that bounces back after being rolled up a few times.
Lord Wilderness was secretly angry, inwardly grumbling. After throwing away his outer robe, he found Duan Jiuyou, who was deliberately picking a fight, even more displeasing. But he was too lazy to argue with her, and turned to the right—
"Are we going to Shifeng Ridge?" Duan Jiuyou asked without looking up as he roasted the fruit in his hand. "The ones caught there at noon today are all here."
Di Jiang stopped in his tracks, and Duan Jiuyou stared at his back.
Since she had made up her mind to teach this "unfilial son" a lesson, she naturally wanted to block both paths.
—They're really asking for trouble.
Di Jiang's brows finally furrowed slowly.
A chilling wind swirled up fallen leaves, and the hunters watching from the sidelines unconsciously rubbed their arms, as if they could hear the deep, mournful sounds of flutes and drums before a great battle.
"Go and get it."
A few breaths later, the already irritated Lord of the Great Wilderness issued an order to the Great Wilderness Clan.
The fierce warriors of the Wilderness Clan instantly swarmed out, launching a surprise attack on Ao Zong and seizing the beast cage.
The two groups of people collided at high speed, creating a spectacular, earth-shattering impact in mid-air.
Under the sky, the two lords each had their own way of doing things: one was focused on roasting barbarian fruits, while the other found a sheltered spot to rest.
The battle lasted a full hour, with no clear victor. Neither the Ao Clan nor the Wild Clan would retreat; both possessed an unyielding and ruthless spirit.
Emperor Jiang closed his eyes and took a nap the whole time. When he woke up, he realized that the fight was not over yet. He turned his palm up and looked at his left hand.
This hand is slender, pale and delicate, with distinct knuckles, and a blue-green light floats in the palm, like a bright blue flower blooming on ice.
Upon seeing this, the hunters hurriedly sought cover. They were all too familiar with this scene; which of them hadn't suffered under the influence of the Formless Array?
Emperor Jiang used formations at will. "Formless" destroyed the heavens and "Ten Rocks" shattered the earth. When his divine power was at its peak, these two formations shook two hundred and seventy-eight palaces in the thirty-six divine continents of the Heavenly Realm. Now, with only thirty percent of his divine power remaining, his momentum was still undiminished. He was like a ferocious beast, opening his huge mouth, revealing his fangs, and drawing forth a divine light of ten thousand feet!
Duan Jiuyou was still roasting and eating fruit there. This tiny person seemed to have had her six ears shut. The "fierce beast" came crashing down. She didn't even look at it. She took off her wooden hairpin and only stood up to meet it in the blink of an eye, creating a huge wave when she collided with the fierce beast!
The hunters huddled in a corner, watching in shock as the swirling smoke billowed before them. The "fierce beast" was shattered, and the "little person" who had faced it head-on was unharmed except for her disheveled long hair. The wooden hairpin she had held horizontally in her palm had transformed into a red vine staff, which had annihilated the "fierce beast" under its defense.
The hunters stared at her in disbelief through the falling smoke, utterly bewildered as to who she was.
Duan Jiuyou's attention was always on Di Jiang, who was not far away. He was still standing there, dressed in black, slender and upright, his youthful features hidden in the hazy dust. Suddenly, the corner of his mouth twitched, revealing a pleasant smile.
Duan Jiuyou snapped out of his daze and followed his gaze to the beast cage behind him.
The ferocious beasts inside the cage were destroyed upon encountering the battle and had long since turned into ashes!
It turns out that the Emperor's Formless Formation was never intended for her.
"Imperial Territory!" Duan Jiuyou gritted his teeth in anger, only now understanding his intentions. "You were planning to fight to the death from the very beginning? Do you know how many coins these ferocious beasts are worth? You just want to destroy it like that?!"
Yesterday, she treated the disciples of the Ao Sect to a lavish feast, squandering all their meager ingots. Now, with him causing trouble, they don't even have money for breakfast tomorrow.
Di Jiang gathered his robe, which had been blown about by the wind, and thought to himself—who cares how many coins it's worth? If he can't have it, she can't keep it either.
Duan Jiuyou was in excruciating pain. He grabbed the red vine staff and rolled it around his head, turning it into a simple wooden hairpin. The Ao Sect disciple landed and became human, and he also squatted beside the beast cage with his ancestor, feeling sorry for him.
The shattered beasts could be exchanged for money, but their ashes were worthless! They squatted on the ground "collecting ashes," as if piling them up would somehow reassemble a complete beast. Joining them in this "collecting ashes" were the beast hunters, who had spent the entire night without even touching a single animal hide. They shook their heads and lamented along with the disciples of the Ao Sect. If they weren't so bold, they might have roared at the Emperor's Frontier, "You damned spendthrift!"
The spendthrift wasn't in the mood to see their miserable faces. He glanced at the sky and hesitated for a moment. He was getting a little cold, and his face was still a bit frozen. The old deaf man should have finished burning the charcoal. It would be a good time for him to go back and take a nap.
Since that day, the Ao and Huang clans have never fought like this again. Di Jiang's method was to destroy everything, while Duan Jiuyou only wanted to make an example of someone. If you think about their philosophies carefully, it's a matter of having nothing to lose and nothing to fear. Di Jiang is not afraid of death, and Duan Jiuyou will not die. When two people who are eager to "courte themselves to death" meet, who do you think will submit to whom?
Moreover, there is a crucial question here: Duan Jiuyou dares not let Di Jiang die. If he dies, who will kill her? This may sound convoluted, but it is precisely this kind of "twisted logic".
After that, the two groups fought each other, neither able to fight to the death nor coexist harmoniously. Duan Jiuyou was so busy that he had to grab the ferocious beasts on one hand and guard against the Emperor's bombs injuring others on the other. Once they saw him using the Formless Formation, they would lead the Ao Sect disciples to rush in and save people.
Since the emperor was immoral, she could only help him do good deeds. With the mindset of rescuing as many people as possible, she was able to save at least twelve or thirteen people in one night.
"From now on, you should avoid going into the hunting grounds when he's hunting. Don't you know what kind of person he is? He only cares about the result, not the process."
After rescuing them, Duan Jiuyou held a meeting for the beast hunters and taught them the "method of immortality".
"Doesn't it hurt if you lose your arm? Can you still walk if you break your leg? Hey, stay away from him!"
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