Chapter 288 What a coincidence!
"No, no," the fat man waved his hand, his smile obsequious. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by Chunbai beside him.
"Someone's here, a Void Realm cultivator," the young man said softly, moving slightly closer to the girl's back.
Mu Jianjian was stunned for a moment, her brows furrowed, and she looked at the two people standing there dumbfounded, her killing intent instantly revealed.
The Nascent Soul stage involves leaving the body and splitting the spirit, and only after splitting the spirit can one reach the Void Realm. This level of cultivation is at least equivalent to a Celestial Venerable. How could someone like this suddenly be here?
"It really has nothing to do with me..." The fat man was so scared that he couldn't speak clearly, fearing that if the other party was in danger, he would be dragged into the mess.
“Perhaps Venerable Yu Hui arrived in Ni Yu City ahead of time,” Awen took a deep breath and slowly guessed. “We have never lied about what we just said, and we really did not know about this situation.”
Mu Jianjian stared at the two of them for a while, then suddenly chuckled, "Then I'll have to trouble you two."
——
Demonic beast mounts filled the skies above Niyu City, and cultivators flew through the air. The lower streets were bustling and prosperous, with auspicious seven-colored clouds spreading out in the distance, illuminating the morning glow. At the end of the avenue stood a towering jade pavilion, its hanging lanterns exuding ancient charm and ethereal beauty.
Mu Jianjian and Chunbai followed Awen down the street, one in front of the other. She looked around quietly, memorizing the surrounding routes and terrain.
Since Chunbai returned to the Upper Realm, her cultivation has slowly recovered from the Nascent Soul stage and is now at the Out-of-Body stage, but it still shows no signs of stopping. However, she cannot relax because of this. Now that a Void Realm expert is stationed in the city, she must be extremely cautious.
According to the fat immortal official, the Immortal Palace was the most powerful force in the realm. In contrast, the Longevity Pavilion in Long Phoenix Valley was always low-key and weak, believing in the religion of gods and ascension, and was not conspicuous in the eyes of the world.
But Mu Jianjian knew perfectly well that the Longevity Tower was far more complex than it appeared on the surface. Their gradual expansion into the lower realm already revealed their ambitions.
“We’ve arrived.” Awen walked to the front of the Jade Pavilion, slowly turned around and said to the two of them, “I will now hand over the jade tokens that represent your identities to you. You can then go in and give them to the person in charge. If you do well, you might even be accepted as a personal disciple by the city lord.”
At this moment, she had her back to the city's guards, her expression stiff and helpless. Although she knew that the girl opposite her was hostile to the Immortal Palace and would never expect to be a disciple, she still had to go through the motions and repeat herself.
Awen's feelings were complicated. She hoped that the girl would cause trouble and be caught by the immortal, so that the immortal could release her soul. At the same time, she was afraid that the girl would cause too much trouble and perish together with her.
"Thank you, Wen." Mu Jianjian knew the other person was not being sincere, so she replied perfunctorily. She took the two jade tokens the other person handed her, greeted the guards outside the door, and then took the pure white hand and walked into the city.
It wasn't until she entered the city that she truly realized how extravagant this place was, even surpassing the Zhu Pavilion in the Xuan Tian Secret Realm.
Pavilions and towers crisscross the sky, and clear spiritual water cascades down for thousands of miles. In the distance, a rainbow can even be faintly seen floating in the sky. The paper lanterns hanging beside the pavilion are also filled with the aura of Taoist magic, clearly a talisman for protection. Every inch of the ground underfoot is made of top-grade spiritual stones, every inch is gold.
Mu Jianjian stared wide-eyed at the superior spirit stones at her feet.
Although she was never short of money as the young lady of a major sect of the Xuanshuang Sect, after arriving in the Upper Realm and learning about the prices of pills and magical artifacts on the street, she clearly knew that her money was enough to live on here, but it wouldn't make her rich.
If only we could pry out the high-grade spirit stones from the ground...
"Jian, what are you thinking about?" Chunbai pulled at the cloak around her face with both hands, glancing at the circular sundial hanging above the pavilion. "Awen said she should arrive before noon."
"Ah," Mu Jianjian said, breaking free from the temptation of money. She glanced at the railing supported by the two spirit birds and marveled at the generosity of the Supreme Daughter. "Yes, we need to hurry."
As it turned out, Chunbai's reminder was correct. Although the two arrived at the steward's place before noon, they were almost there. The result was self-evident: the steward assigned them the task of cleaning the pavilion, and they didn't even see the city lord.
“But wouldn’t it be more convenient and faster to call some cultivators who can control water and ice to clean the house?” Mu Jianjian looked at the broom in her hand with a complicated expression.
She couldn't believe that such a large city like Niyu City couldn't find cultivators of this type.
The manager, a man with half-white hair, sneered, "Our Rainbow Feather City doesn't support idlers. Giving you outside cultivators a job is already quite generous. You're still nitpicking here. With your meager cultivation, do you expect us to protect the fairy?"
The steward stepped behind the two and said, "Our Fairy Ni Chang has a rule in the city: every brick and every inch of wall must be wiped by hand at least three times a day. If you do well, you will be rewarded with top-grade pills after a month."
"Besides, the fairy's wedding is in three days, so it's natural that you should be responsible for cleaning and decorating." His small eyes were fixed on the two of them. "The head of the department will provide the specific decorations, so you can just do it."
“But such a big pavilion—” Mu Jianjian looked confused. She raised the broom in her hand and swung it, but was interrupted by the other party.
"Alright, it's past noon now. If I were you, I wouldn't be wasting my breath here." The steward said nonchalantly and left, leaving behind a girl who looked extremely unwilling and a boy who remained indifferent and unresponsive.
Once the other person disappeared, Mu Jianjian, who had been looking resentful, immediately returned to normal. She glanced at the endless pavilions and knew very well that this was the steward's first warning to them.
Even with the recommendation of the Immortal Palace Registration Hall, he couldn't escape being ostracized and looked down upon in the city. Even as a Nascent Soul cultivator, he would desperately wipe the walls and jade bricks here, and his hands would break from doing so three times a day.
This place is too big.
"Jian, what are we going to do?" Chunbai gently looked up and asked, a strand of her long white hair peeking out and cascading down to her chest.
The different world made no difference to him; as long as he was by this girl's side, he could always gain an endless sense of security, and he didn't need to understand any reason for it.
Mu Jianjian suppressed her displeasure, touched her pure white head, and patiently explained again, "We are now infiltrating a place. In three days, many, many people will come, and then we can gather information."
She wanted to use the Fairy of Rainbow's wedding banquet to find out information about Ye Xuanzhi.
Upon hearing this, Chunbai frowned, a rare look of confusion appearing in his eyes; this was not the question he intended to ask.
For him, all he needed to do was tell whether or not he should listen to what that old man had just said.
"Let's use this cleaning as an opportunity to figure out the layout of these buildings." Mu Jianjian raised an eyebrow and mischievously summoned Yellow Spring Water to surround the broom.
If you're going to mess with her, then you have to be prepared for her to slack off.
——
As the sun sets and dusk falls, orange-red rays descend from the sky, bathing the pavilions in its light. The walls and tiles shimmer with a glassy luster. In a corner to the west of the jade pavilion, a panting young girl stands with her hands on her hips, complaining.
She rubbed her red wrist with a displeased expression until she saw the steward walking towards her in the distance, at which point she stopped talking.
"It's done so quickly?" The manager was secretly pleased as he listened to her complaints. He used his divine sense to check her unstable breathing and was already certain that she was a pushover who only dared to talk behind people's backs.
"Yes," Mu Jianjian replied timidly.
"In that case, go back to your room and rest today. Remember to collect the ornaments and put them on tomorrow," the steward said before leaving. He paused and added, "Oh, and don't linger when you come to the West Pavilion in the future. Just leave quickly."
"Yes." Mu Jianjian watched the man's figure walk further and further away. She raised her eyes and glanced at the general appearance of the West Pavilion, then chuckled softly.
Pure White blinked and looked back.
Seeing his puzzled look, Mu Jianjian explained, "The length and width of the upstairs and downstairs don't match at all. I also noticed when we were cleaning that there wasn't any extra space at the back. I suppose that's why the manager told us not to stay here any longer."
The Jade Pavilion is divided into four corner pavilions: east, south, west, and north. Although the western pavilion has fewer guards, it is decorated the most luxuriously and exquisitely. The magical artifacts hanging beside the jade path are also particularly dense, making it hard not to guess what treasures are hidden here.
"Why?" Chunbai still didn't quite understand.
“There’s a hidden space.” Mu Jianjian smiled at him.
"Jian, are you going to go take a look?"
She shook her head after hearing this, "I'm not interested in what's inside. I'll just look for information in three days."
At this critical juncture, there's no need to be overly curious.
"Whoosh—"
A gentle breeze swept by, her hair fluttering and lightly brushing against her face. The warmth of the morning sun enveloped her, and above it, a faint aura, mixed with a myriad of scents, appeared on Mu Jianjian's arm.
Her steps toward the assigned room suddenly stopped.
"Sharp?" Chunbai turned to look at her.
"You go back first, I need to go outside." Mu Jianjian frowned and was about to turn and leave when she was grabbed by a hand.
“No…the people there are very powerful…” Chunbai stammered, biting his lip with worry, “Take me with you.”
"I'll travel incognito, and not many people will notice me. Besides, even if I am discovered, I can say that I just got lost because I'm new here and don't know the way. Don't worry," Mu Jianjian reassured her.
What happened?
“I smell someone’s scent, but I’m not sure, so I want to go check it out,” she patted her pure white hand and pulled it down. “I’ll just take a look from afar, and then I’ll come right back, okay?”
Chunbai nodded, then reluctantly turned and left. Once his figure disappeared around the corner, Mu Jianjian composed herself, quickly flipped down from the jade railing, and probed towards the direction of the aura coming from the wind.
Since she advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, the incense poison she learned from Cai Hua has become even more refined. She is more sensitive to the smells in the air, and if she is close enough, she can even use the smell to conjure up the "appearance" of others in her consciousness.
Just now, she actually smelled the scent of a familiar person in the air.
Logically speaking, this person shouldn't be here.
Mu Jianjian landed lightly on her feet. She glanced at the phantom butterfly that was guiding her, and quickly followed. Finally, she caught sight of a fleeting black shadow at a corner.
She lowered her eyes and followed him into the corner, only to find that it was a dead end, and there was no one at the end of the road.
Oh dear, we've been discovered.
Mu Jianjian quickly realized that just as she raised her eyebrows to think about how to deal with it, a sharp knife was placed against her neck.
Did they also sneak in?
Then there's nothing to be afraid of.
She cooperated wholeheartedly, her legs trembling as she leaned against the wall, her expression fearful. She raised her hands in a show of weakness, and in the blink of an eye, her eyes were already wet with tears. "I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to come and see Ning. I just saw someone was curious about Mu—"
The woman, completely wrapped in black cloth, twitched her brow upon hearing the strange accent and intonation; her guard had lowered considerably.
She really didn't need to be too wary of a low-level Nascent Soul cultivator.
"I'll pretend I never saw you, Ning, please be kind and let me go, okay?" Mu Jianjian raised her hands, pretending to be stupid, "I can give you my hair! I can give you my hair too!"
Despite the strange tone of her voice, which was completely off-key, it was surprisingly understandable. The woman in black scoffed, "Since you're here, come with me."
She easily lifted the small body and pulled her in front of her, saying, "If I want to save your life, you'll go wherever I tell you to go, understand?"
"I understand, I understand!" Mu Jianjian nodded, her familiar tone confirming her suspicions.
It seems they've sent her to scout ahead and make her a scapegoat.
Let her guess...
Why is Murong Yunyan, Ye Xuanzhi's former senior sister, here?
——
"Go to the left." Murong Yunyan formed a divination stick in her hand, but the more she tried to figure it out, the more confused she became. Frustrated, she glanced at the girl's back, who dared not turn around, and forced a smile.
Mu Jianjian glanced at the phantom butterfly flying to the right, her heart pounding and her face turning pale.
Suddenly, her face filled with terror as she looked at the colorful lanterns hanging on the jade wall. After letting out a weak scream, her legs gave way and she fell to the right, landing heavily on the ground without triggering any runes.
It is obvious that the road on the right is safe.
"Incredible luck."
Mu Jianjian rolled her eyes when she heard the woman's voice behind her.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. With the help of the divination and the illusory butterfly, the two did not trigger any magical artifacts and safely passed through to a circular passageway.
Before Mu Jianjian could even see her surroundings clearly, she felt a pull on her back and in the blink of an eye, she was in a magnificent, golden palace across the corridor.
She stared wide-eyed at the gold bricks beneath her feet, barely suppressing the urge to stuff them into her spatial bag. Then she noticed the screens and furniture that filled the hall, each one imbued with its own true energy, and inlaid with countless gemstones that shone with brilliance, showcasing its magnificence.
Damn it, I have to make a killing before I leave Neon Feather City!
Just as she made up her mind, a fierce male voice came from the inner hall.
"Get the hell out of here—"
The voice was so familiar that it made Mu Jianjian's little heart tremble.
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