Chapter 160 Travels
Yinpan nodded and said, "Go, see the guests off to the left and right of the mountain."
The people from the left and right mountains escorted them back to Guangyang Palace.
Upon arriving at their destination, the two of them slipped a storage ring into Ya Nu and Juan Gui's arms and then hurried back.
When Ya Nu returned, she opened the storage ring and saw that it was full of treasures, so she threw it into the box.
Juan returned and opened the one he had obtained, only to find it full of wound medicine. He clenched his teeth, filled with rage.
While the proud and unyielding god-king was certainly venting his anger by tearing off his own flesh, he was right; he had been murdered.
Juan Gui thought to himself, "Who is so bold as to plot against me?!" But he put the storage ring away without any expression on his face.
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Yesterday, Jiao Jue received a jade decree from Guangyang Palace, inviting him to become the chief deity of the Dragon and Phoenix Hall in ten days.
Upon receiving the message, Jiao Jue led Gu Qingqing and Ji Zhuang up Tiger-shaped Mountain.
He entered the tiger's den and indeed found Ji Rong, who had transformed into a tree, and Shan Wu lying beside her.
Upon seeing that Jiao Jue had arrived, Ji Rong retracted some of her roots and poked her head out, asking, "Jade Lord, are you safe now?"
Jiaojue replied, "The Guangyang Palace has sent gifts." He stretched out a paw and touched Ji Rong's back, saying, "Are you feeling better?"
“Alive.” Ji Rong slowly unfolded the golden leaf disguised as a feather on his back, revealing the sleeping Shan Shui, who was about the size of a tiger cub. He quickly wrapped the leaf back up and said triumphantly, “Jue Jun, what do you think of my trick?”
Seeing the spiritual energy emanating from her body, Jiao Jue asked in a deep voice, "How long can it last?"
Ji Rong looked up, thought for three breaths, and said, "If I stay like this and don't move at all, a year or two will definitely not be a problem."
Jiaojue nodded, hung the two storage rings on her wings and claws buried in the feathers, and gave her a fish skin map, saying, "Let's go out for a stroll tonight. If you don't know where to go, go to Liangzhou. There is a General named Zhan Shi there who is a good bear."
Your brother and the fox are quite capable; I will take them both up with me.
"Once I've sorted things out, I'll have your brother go to Jade Void Palace to buy you some precious pills to stabilize your cultivation level. Remember to pick them up then."
Gu Qingqing then hung an old bag on Ji Rong's head and said, "If you're weak, eat more of this. It's full of delicious food. Eat more and you'll have more energy."
Ji Rong shook the tree root to indicate her nod, then extended a thicker root to encircle the sea chart that Jiao Pingbo had given her and placed it in the claw of the Horned Jade.
Jiao Jue watched with envy, but Ji Rong spoke up, "Brother, who knows when we'll meet again after this trip."
"If I become rich and powerful, don't forget me! I'm leaving, so don't you dare embezzle my share of the profits in Canghe; that's my hard-earned money."
Then she gathered her roots, carrying the tightly wrapped mountains and rivers, and used her claws to put away all the storage rings. She straightened the Xuanhuan wooden plaque given to her by the mountain's center peak, hugged her brother Ji Zhuang, and said, "Brother, I actually don't want to go play. I miss my godfather at Tianxu Palace."
He then encircled Gu Qingqing, pressed her against the feathers on his chest for a while, and sat on Shan Wu's lap, saying, "Uncle, it's just the two of us going out to play. None of them are going. Can you count how many they are?"
Shan Wu paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "I'm not stupid. I can count them. It's just the two of us."
What's left?
"What is it?" Shan asked without doubt.
“It’s food!” Ji Rong said, then lowered her voice and added, “And our treasures, but we can’t let them know about these treasures.”
If anyone asks about it in casual conversation, just say you only brought food. Uncle, do you understand?
Shan Wumeng nodded. Wasn't the mountain and water meant to be hidden treasures? He understood what his niece, Bird, meant.
So he readily agreed, saying, "We only bring food; we don't have any treasures."
Then they embarked on their journey.
Under the cover of night, Jiao Jue used wind magic to conceal Shan Wuyi's whereabouts.
Ji Rong instructed Shan Wu to head towards Sancang Mountain in Cangzhou. From there, they would travel from Boshan on the Sancang River, then turn onto the Mangshen Mountain Range that runs through Hezhou and Zhongzhou, and finally head towards Yuxu Palace in Zhongzhou.
She is now a wealthy bird with the cultivation of a king, and along the way, she has a powerful emperor like Shan Wu to serve as her mount.
Rather than venturing deep into Liangzhou to find that damned Zhan Shi, she'd be better off staying at the Mountain Peak of Yuxu Palace.
Ji Rong thought that what she said should have made her brother Ji Zhuang and the fox understand.
After leaving Tiger-shaped Mountain, they lived a nocturnal lifestyle, flying for a while and then eating.
Ji Rong had only ever carried other cultivators before, but she had never ridden a tiger for such a long time; after sitting for a day, her feet were very stiff.
Ji Rong, whose claws were stiff, suddenly thought, "The gods don't know I brought mountains and rivers, so why are they in such a hurry to travel?"
So, she started calling Shan Wu to stop frequently, and they would often eat and drink heartily together without a care in the world.
After Shan Wu finished eating and drinking, he complained to Ji Rong, "Nephew, you should eat less. How come you are so heavy? You are as heavy as three people."
Ji Rong didn't take it seriously. She glanced at her lithe body and beautiful feathers and thought to herself, "How could someone as fit and beautiful as me be heavy!"
He retorted, "Uncle Shanwu, don't be lazy. How could I possibly be heavier than you, an emperor?"
Shan Wu thought Ji Rong's words made sense, but he still found it difficult to carry. What should have been a three-day journey took them eight days.
During this time, Shan Shui woke up once, but only for a short time. He vaguely said to Shan Wu, "Brother, listen to Ji Rong," before falling asleep again.
Shanshui's body is degenerating. Now it is like a shriveled ball of flesh with a head, and it sheds lint from time to time. Ji Rong always feels itchy on her back and wants to comb her fur all the time.
Ji Rong would often turn her neck and lean against his back to listen to the sounds of the mountains and rivers.
"This approach by the Mountain and Water God is not a long-term solution," Ji Rong thought to herself.
When she had some free time, she rummaged through the storage ring that Jiao Jue had given her and found fifteen bottles of immortal spring water and nine bottles of jade dew. She opened one bottle and poured a cup for herself and Shan Wu to drink, and then gave the rest to Shan Wu so that he could pour it onto her back every day to nourish her with the mountain water.
With this plant nourishing it, the mountains and rivers no longer ripple and fall apart.
Ji Rong couldn't help but curse the extravagance of the palaces in her heart. With such a useful immortal spring, they actually bathed in it!
She thought angrily, "They must have lived too long and their bodies are so weak that they need such precious materials to maintain their youth!"
When they flew to Cangmang Pass in Zhongzhou, Shan Wu was stopped; following Ji Rong's instructions, he solemnly said that he and his bird niece Ji Rong were going to Yuxu Palace to visit relatives.
However, Cangmang Pass is a major pass connecting Cangzhou to Zhongzhou. The Temple of War has sent many guards to guard it. When the guards routinely asked them why they did not have travel permits, Shan Wu was stunned and was about to show his power.
Ji Rong quickly wrapped her wings around Shan Wu's neck and said, "Uncle, don't worry."
She pecked the black ebony off her neck with her beak and said confidently to the guard, "My godfather said this is the pass."
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