Chapter 81: **Chapter 81: Sending Treasures Over Ten Thousand Miles**

Sending Treasures Over Ten Thousand Miles

With a strike of a gong, a jade boat emerged from the swirling sea of clouds, heading toward the pier. This pier stood suspended in the void, with thick clouds beneath it; yet, the high heavens were also filled with layers of clouds. Occasionally, the sunlight would pierce through, casting reflections in all directions and painting the upper and lower layers of clouds in a riot of colors, like precious light. This made the white jade pier look like a fairyland on earth, and the jade boat approaching from afar seemed like a divine vessel from mortal legends, ascending to the heavens.

However, the reality was far from dreamlike. As the gong sounded, the merchants on the street nearest to the pier seemed to receive some order, hurriedly closing their doors and shutters. Even the pedestrians fled in haste. The jade boat approached slowly, and before long, it settled at the pier. The boatmen cast out their magic tools and set up a wooden bridge. The cultivators on board emerged from the cabins, but they could not leave immediately; instead, they were blocked on the pier. Several cultivators, rather than retreating, advanced, sweeping over from a distance and arriving before them in a blink. Among them, a middle-aged scholar stroked his beard and asked, "Is this the poison ship?"

The boatman bowed from afar and said, "Senior, your words are correct. There are only twenty passengers left on the ship; the other nine hundred and eighty disciples have all died and turned into pus. The fifty boatmen are unharmed. Our ship's protector, True Person Wen, is currently casting spells in the cabin and will be able to explain the details to you shortly."

The middle-aged scholar laughed heartily, "No matter, no matter. It doesn't matter whether True Person Wen comes out or not. We are just being cautious. Let these little friends be illuminated by my precious pearl, and then they may leave."

The two cultivators beside him also laughed, "The Poison Sect is truly formidable this year. It's nothing that they killed so many people, but just seeing how they could release and retract their power, leaving not a single boatman harmed, shows their skill."

"If these rogue cultivators manage to achieve something, they become very difficult to deal with. I fear there will be many variables in this trip to the Hengze Heaven this year."

Nine hundred lives were treated as nothing in their casual conversation. The scholar held up a precious pearl, which cast a beam of light into the air. He beckoned to the Foundation Establishment cultivators on the pier, who were clearly wary of each other, and said kindly, "Come over and be illuminated. This pearl can repel dust, poison, and miasma; it will do you no harm."

He was very polite to these cultivators, showing no contempt despite the gap in cultivation. On the contrary, he revealed a hint of appreciation and protection. After all, cultivators who could survive on a poison ship created by Poison Sect disciples were either well-connected, experienced in the world, or possessed unique constitutions—or perhaps they were simply lucky. In the Langhuan World, such qualities were highly valued. Even a sect as strong as the Profound Heaven Sect had cultivators dedicated to the Dao of Fortune, as fortune was a power that could not be ignored in this universe.

"Little one, how did you escape the poison?"

The first to step forward was a young child dressed in a floral jacket, looking jade-like and adorable. The cultivator asked kindly. However, the child rolled his eyes and replied bluntly, "Little one? When have you ever seen a 'little one' walk to Yiyun North View alone to take a boat? Your judgment is poor; I fear you are just a newly appointed disciple of some Grotto-Heaven master from a major sect. Heh, if my true self were here, you would have died for those three words alone."

The middle-aged cultivator's face changed slightly. He stared at the child, then took a step back after a moment, bowing low, "So it is a senior's avatar. Please forgive my disrespect."

The child put his hands behind his back, hummed with the air of an old man, and swaggered past the railing. The pearl light did not change in the slightest. Both Both Ruan Ci watched curiously as he walked past the railing, then she saw him drop the old-man act and skip away. She asked Qu Tianzhi via voice transmission, "Is he also the avatar of some old monster?"

Avatars differed in spiritual sense and aura, and those capable of acting far from their true bodies were at least Nascent Soul cultivators. Qu Tianzhi nodded, "Avatars differ in spiritual sense and aura. The person at the Baoyun Ferry is a Golden Core cultivator; he should have realized it immediately."

He did not continue, but Both Both Ruan Ci understood. She laughed, "Exactly. Besides, a child walking the world alone would make anyone wary, not underestimate him. How could this person have really taken him for a child? It's no wonder that disciples of major sects are not allowed too many guards when they go out to handle affairs after Foundation Establishment. This person has reached the Golden Core stage in his sect, yet his every move is so childish it invites ridicule."

As they spoke, the twenty people stepped forward one by one through the pearl light. Many cultivators had faint traces of poison rising from their bodies under the light. The cultivator told them to stand aside and wait until the poison was purged before leaving. He said, "Although your protection was sufficient and you were not poisoned yourself, you carry poison on you. If you go out, it could spread, and the consequences would be dire."

These cultivators had not been poisoned and had initially thought their defenses were perfect, resenting the Baoyun Ferry master for being overly cautious. If they had been poisoned, they would have died during the twenty-day voyage; those who survived naturally hadn't been poisoned. Now, seeing the poison being purged, they realized they had latent toxins and changed color, thanking the middle-aged cultivator.

Only a few people, including Both Both Ruan Ci, remained on the pier. Qu Tianzhi took Both Both Ruan Ci's hand and walked forward. Both Both Ruan Ci felt uncomfortable and wanted to struggle, but she endured it in front of others. She followed Qu Tianzhi with her head bowed. The middle-aged cultivator stared at the two of them, his expression changing. He bowed again, clearly recognizing that Qu Tianzhi was also a Nascent Soul avatar after the child's incident.

"This ship is truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Senior, this is—"

Qu Tianzhi nodded to him, which counted as returning the salute. He looked back at Both Both Ruan Ci with a doting smile and said, "I have newly married this little wife, but the betrothal gifts are not yet complete. I want to take her to the Baoyun Ferry to buy some things and see the world. How is it? Do you have any good goods for sale recently?"

As he spoke, he pulled Both Both Ruan Ci along and walked through the pearl light together. Neither of them had a speck of dust on them. The middle-aged cultivator was not surprised and laughed heartily, "A talented man and a beautiful woman, truly a good match. I will not disturb your leisure—Junior Brother."

A cultivator in a treasure-blue Daoist robe beside him understood and turned to lead Qu Tianzhi into the city, asking if they had found an inn and if they had been to Baoyun Ferry before. Qu Tianzhi chatted happily with him and asked, "How is it? Has the Hengze Heaven opened yet?"

The Daoist-robed cultivator laughed, "The pier hasn't drifted yet, so the spiritual energy changes haven't reached their peak, but it shouldn't be long. The city is already bustling with noise, and merchants from all sides have gathered. There are also many exotic medicinal materials from the southern continents, obtained by various sects during the Heavenly Boat trip eleven years ago, which are only now being released. Would you like to take a look, Senior?"

Qu Tianzhi turned his head and asked, "Wife, what do you say?"

The "little wife" felt a bit shy and shook her head, "So many people died on the boat, and I've been on edge for twenty-odd days. I'm a bit tired. I want to rest first."

Qu Tianzhi apologized to the Daoist-robed cultivator, "My wife's kindness is appreciated, but she has been pampered since childhood and is not used to this. I'd better accompany her to the inn to rest for a few days."

He was all smiles, clearly doting on his little wife. The Daoist-robed cultivator smiled knowingly, but since they weren't familiar, he didn't tease them. He introduced some inns that still had vacancies and then took his leave.

As soon as he left, Both Both Ruan Ci tried to pull her hand away, but Qu Tianzhi wouldn't let go. He whispered in her ear, "Be careful, although he has left, his spiritual sense hasn't relaxed its vigilance."

This made sense. Both Both Ruan Ci had no choice but to be led by Qu Tianzhi to the inn, where they booked a grotto-dwelling. Once inside, she shook off Qu Tianzhi's hand and said unhappily, "Since you were going to use sound-to-line transmission anyway, why did you have to lean so close to my ear? You even blew a breath, making my ear turn red!"

Qu Tianzhi laughed again, "I didn't know that a casual breath of mine had such magic power, capable of turning our wife's invulnerable ears red."

He raised his hand and asked, "Do you want me to rub it for you?"

Both Both Ruan Ci covered her ears and hurried to the other side of the room, shouting, "I don't want you to rub it!"

She had an indescribable feeling. She wanted to get angry at Qu Tianzhi, but then she thought, "Perhaps the love seed has already started to backfire, and he is doing this uncontrollably... Hmm, I can't be too unkind to him right now. If he notices that I'm not affected by the love seed, that wouldn't be good either."

She endured it, but couldn't hold it all back. Her face flushed as she shouted, "You are truly annoying! You were clearly taking advantage of the situation to tease me!"

Qu Tianzhi pressed her into a chair with a smile, but didn't continue to "tease" her, behaving himself. His hands didn't touch her. "I'm not that childish—do you think I'm you? Haven't you noticed? Except for the Nascent Soul avatars, the other Foundation Establishment cultivators all have traces of poison on them. You are a Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet you have nothing on you. If I didn't bring myself out, it would be very difficult to pass the test. Since I had to come forward anyway, I might as well make it look natural."

Both Both Ruan Ci hadn't considered this. She had originally intended to use the Heavenly Fate Cloud Seed to muddle through, but she wasn't sure of herself. Qu Tianzhi's arrangement wasn't wrong. She said, "That's true. If I didn't have any poison on me, I would have had to reveal my identity as a Profound Heaven Sect disciple."

"Exactly. Otherwise, you would have become a shield for the Poison Sect disciples, and you would likely have been the first to be besieged and killed after entering the Hengze Heaven," Qu Tianzhi laughed. "But if you had revealed your identity as a Profound Heaven Sect disciple, you would have been a target for everyone. So, everything I did was for your consideration. And yet you still scold me. What am I supposed to say?"

Both Both Ruan Ci made a face at him, "You are just glib. I don't believe that you had to hold my hand to make the lie work."

Qu Tianzhi said, "I didn't lie. Which of my words wasn't true? Aren't you my wife? Aren't the betrothal gifts still incomplete?"

As they were speaking, there was a sense of movement outside the magic array. Qu Tianzhi lifted the restriction, and a short person wrapped in a veil walked in. Once inside, he lifted the hat, revealing a boy of eleven or twelve. His appearance was very similar to Xiunu, like what he would look like when he grew up. He bowed to Both Both Ruan Ci and smiled, "Xiunu greets the Young Mistress."

He seemed to have Golden Core cultivation, otherwise he couldn't have traveled from elsewhere to Baoyun Ferry. Both Both Ruan Ci smiled, "Xiunu, hello. So, you decide your age based on your cultivation?"

Xiunu's figure fell, turning into dense dust for a moment, but then condensed back into the appearance of a child, laughing, "No, it's just the appearance we like best. It's easy to be remembered when walking on the street, so sometimes we disguise ourselves as adults when we go out."

He took a Qiankun bag from his waist, looked at Qu Tianzhi for instructions, and Qu Tianzhi nodded slightly. He then presented it to Both Both Ruan Ci, smiling, "Young Mistress, this ring, this mirror, and this candle are the few treasures the Young Master has carefully selected for you."

Both Both Ruan Ci opened the Qiankun bag and poured out the three treasures. The jade ring was light green and shone with crystal light. As soon as she poured spiritual power into it, it spun around, and its size could be changed at will. Xiunu said sharply, "This ring can trap enemies and protect the body, depending on the Young Mistress's will. If it traps an enemy, they won't be able to move a bit of spiritual power, and they will be stained with a special aura. Even if they escape later, the Young Mistress can track their whereabouts. This is a secret technique of the outer sects, a method of cutting off the aura that cannot be eliminated. You should keep this insect well, Young Mistress. When you need to use it, just activate it with this mental method, and it will naturally point the way."

Handing another bottle of small insects to Both Both Ruan Ci, he taught her the driving mental method. Both Both Ruan Ci smiled, "Good, no wonder many cultivators practice an external path, it can indeed receive strange soldiers at times. That Yanshan cultivator was a body cultivator, which made me almost suffer a small loss."

Xiunu was praised by her, and he puffed out his chest, very proud. He pointed to the mirror and said, "This mirror can defend against enemies and set up magic arrays. It can absorb the spiritual power of the enemy's attack and reflect it back. If you set up a magic array, there are eight array flags embedded behind the mirror, and this mirror can act as an array plate, forming an Eight Trigrams Mirror Array. Ordinary enemies who fall into it will find it very difficult to escape."

Both Both Ruan Ci picked up the mirror and looked at Qu Tianzhi. Qu Tianzhi smiled slightly and sent a burst of spiritual power at Both Both Ruan Ci. Both Both Ruan Ci raised the mirror to reflect it, absorbed it, and then after a while, shot a beam of light back at Qu Tianzhi. Qu Tianzhi cried out "Ouch," slumped on the table, and made a look of unbearable pain, shouting, "Terrible, spare me, Wife, I'm going to die."

Both Both Ruan Ci laughed heartily at his teasing, put away the mirror, and Xiunu handed another bottle of medicinal powder to Both Both Ruan Ci, saying, "This candle is made from the brain marrow of a strange beast from the West Sea. It has several uses. The candlelight can illuminate illusions and calm the mind, but it can also cast illusions. After the candle wick burns, a colorless and odorless smoke will be emitted. This smoke touches the nose and can invade the spiritual sense, creating all kinds of illusions. The Young Mistress is the owner, so you won't be affected. This medicinal powder is for others to use. If you don't want someone to inhale the smoke, just let them apply this powder."

The magic treasures of the Demon Sect were indeed all insidious and cunning, but they happened to suit Both Both Ruan Ci's taste. She loved all three magic treasures and held them in her hands, playing with them constantly. She seemed much kinder to Xiunu, who had brought the treasures, and smiled, "Thank you for bringing me such useful things. It's a pity that I'm short of money and have nothing to reward you with, except for one piece of news—there might be something you love to eat in Biyuan Mountain."

She told them about the speculation between her and Qu Tianzhi. Xiunu rubbed his hands and feet together, looking urgent and blaming Qu Tianzhi. Qu Tianzhi laughed, "What's the rush? Linu's avatar only has Foundation Establishment cultivation, and it left twenty days early, and it doesn't run as fast as you. Go."

As soon as the word "go" was spoken, a strong wind flashed in the room, and Xiunu, who had turned into a child, was gone. In Both Both Ruan Ci's spiritual sense, its aura was already ten miles away, almost at the edge of her perception. Both Both Ruan Ci was stunned and looked at Qu Tianzhi. Qu Tianzhi shrugged his shoulders and laughed, "No way, blood-line gold insects are all like this, greedy."

He pouted again, "And why thank it? Xiunu listens to my orders, aren't the gifts all selected by me for you? If you want to thank someone, you should thank me."

Both Both Ruan Ci knew that this was not a good topic to pick up, but she did indeed love the three magic treasures and knew that Qu Tianzhi had put his heart into it. After her experience in Huangshou Mountain, she reflected on herself and saw the magic treasures from Chi, Li, and Meng. She felt that besides attack treasures, she also needed a few auxiliary magic treasures such as trapping, illuminating, and array-setting. Every one she thought of, Qu Tianzhi had thought of for her. If he wasn't a Foundation Establishment cultivator who could read minds, then he must have listened to Both Both Ruan Ci's adventure story seriously and thought about what magic treasures she was still missing.

Such thoughtfulness was rare in Both Both Ruan Ci's life, and he was more generous than True Person Wang. So, at this moment, her pretty face flushed, and she said generously, "Thank you, Husband, I love you even more now."

Qu Tianzhi said aggrievedly, "Just say it? You gave Xiunu such a great benefit..."

This benefit was actually a favor. To Both Both Ruan Ci, whether Linu ate it or Xiunu ate it, it was all eating; whether she said it or Qu Tianzhi said it, it was all saying. So naturally, it was better for her to do this favor. This intention could not be hidden from Qu Tianzhi. Both Both Ruan Ci's face turned even redder, and she hummed, "Then what do you want?"

Qu Tianzhi pointed to his cheek and laughed, "When we got married, what did you say to me, Wife? Hmm?"

As he spoke, he half-jokingly stretched his face over, looking like a teasing and anxious person...

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Updated, sorry for the long wait. This chapter is updated from the draft box, because I should be out at 12 o'clock.

Yesterday I read "Flower of Dust," the writing style is quite good, and the characters are good, but I feel the plot is a bit flat. The early stage is still quite gripping, but I kept skipping chapters when the war started in the later stage. What makes me more tired is the controversy about the male lead in the comments. I think it's fine to be with anyone, but I feel that 80% of the comments are discussions and mutual attacks around several male lead stocks, which is meaningless... Several male leads are people with their own advantages and disadvantages. I feel that what the readers want is the perfect male lead in the JJ sense. Sweat, as far as I am concerned, I think that kind of perfect male lead is particularly boring...

Ah, it's not good to complain about other authors' readers, it's just a feeling. Well, I'm leaving!

. Thanks to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution between 2020-09-04 12:14:30 and 2020-09-05 07:33:22~

Thanks to the little angels who voted for landmines: Mi White Sofa (5); Feng Guang, Literary Rabbit (2); Yu Yu Wan Yao, Stolen Account Lychee, Time's Delusion (1);

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Xiaoxiao Xieyu (80); Luoxue Shengqing (50); Hengdi Chuiyue (48); Aimisiyou (45); Manyue (20); I and Linu don't go out (18); Yu Yu Wan Yao, Mi White Sofa, Yan Yan, Istari, Lazy Cancer Late Stage, Youwu, Ye Yinchun (10); Doris7788, Sidewalker, Cuttlefish Fungus Porridge, Summer Flower, Pia (5); Xiang Wang (3); Sandwich Biscuit (2); Cheng Bi, Spring Water Dingdong, Aria, Baby Leyao, Peach Elf (1);

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!