Chapter 89: The Approaching Deadline (Sixth Update)

Feng Xue maintained his morning standing posture, collected vow energy at the station in the morning, studied spells and crafted talismans in the afternoon, listened to Li Maolin's lessons at dusk, and cultivated at night—before he knew it, the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth month of the Jia Chen year arrived.

Today, Feng Xue did not go to the station again—not because the trains had stopped running, nor because he feared disturbing locals visiting graves to invite ancestors—but because he had gathered enough vow energy for the Hu Tian Bag.

Feng Xue now stood before the altar table, turning over a small pouch no larger than a palm; inside the pouch, fine stitches held a strip of yellow cloth, on which vermilion-dyed silk thread embroidered the four large characters: "Yellow Turban Force."

Before him on the altar table, a tablet of the Yellow Turban Force pressed down on a massive burlap sack capable of holding half a ton of grain; this sack was also turned inside out, with a white cloth sewn at its center, and Feng Xue held the pouch in one hand and a brush in the other, dipping it in clean water, channeling magical power as he repeatedly wrote "Yellow Turban Force" upon the white cloth.

As he wrote, the vow energy within the tablet was drawn forth, slowly seeping into the cloth—until all the vow energy had transferred, the Hu Tian Bag would be left with only one final step.

Feng Xue wasted no time; he pulled out one 【Substitute】 jade tablet and one 【Attach】 jade tablet, solidifying the 【Transfer】 property's magical power onto both.

As the Yellow Turban Force's vow energy began flowing between the two tablets, Feng Xue finally exhaled in relief—though immature, at least it worked!

"It's nowhere near as good as Jiu Gu's—needs recharging every ten days, and can only carry about six hundred jin; nowhere near the level of Jiu Gu's, where you can stuff anything in as long as it fits."

But Feng Xue didn't care; he immediately grabbed the chair beneath him and shoved it into the pouch—the pouch showed no change, but the sack bulged into a round, spherical shape, not the form of a chair, yet Feng Xue estimated that if he disassembled the chair, it would be roughly this size.

Confirming no issues, he immediately retrieved the chair, emptied every item from Jiu Gu's Hu Tian Bag, and began reorganizing—

Even if Jiu Gu's magical power was profound, Feng Xue didn't believe the Yin Bag and Yang Bag could still function normally after crossing two worlds; better to prepare now than panic later.

With prior experience, Feng Xue sorted quickly: first, a waterproof bag the size of a folding umbrella, containing three days' worth of compressed biscuits, two bars of chocolate, a waterproof matchbox, a set of flint, a folding knife, a first-aid kit, a memory card, a mobile phone, a solar-powered power bank, the Five Elements Jade Seal, a set of jade talismans, a jade belt, two gold bars, a box of large condoms (Note 1), and Mo Ying's scroll. This bag Feng Xue placed inside a specially sewn inner pocket of his clothing—his final safeguard for close-body carry.

Second was the backpack he'd carried when he crossed over—containing the remaining phone, drone, clothes, a small amount of candy and compressed biscuits, the leftover jade belt, jade talismans, jade seal, and the best several bracelet cores from the original scraps.

The remaining rations, medium-grade scraps, study notes (already photographed and backed up), spellbooks, and personal items he packed into his own-made Hu Tian Bag; he did this mainly because he feared the two worlds' rules might be out of sync after crossing—if the Hu Tian Bag failed, he wouldn't suffer major losses.

Feng Xue also placed miscellaneous items into Jiu Gu's Hu Tian Bag: food, water, the altar table, incense and candles, lowest-grade scraps, blank tablets—things that took up space but could be easily replaced, yet carrying them saved effort; one, to observe the Hu Tian Bag's failure during the crossing; two, to bring extra supplies.

Add to that the jade talismans in his pocket, the jade belt tied around his waist, and the Yin Bag of his own Hu Tian Bag—his total load exceeded sixty jin (Jiu Gu's bag not counted as weight); luckily, Feng Xue's physical condition had improved rapidly during this period, or he might not have been able to carry it at all.

But after testing once, Feng Xue shoved the backpack into Jiu Gu's Hu Tian Bag and placed his own Hu Tian Bag's Yin Bag in an inconspicuous spot.

After all, he wasn't leaving right now!

Several days had passed since he discovered he was being watched, yet the rat spying on him never vanished—so Feng Xue had decided: at Zi Shi tonight, precisely as the New Year's Eve arrived, he would depart under cover of darkness.

He chose this time not for the cover of night, but because New Year's Eve was the busiest day for all xuan cultivators—even after evil spirits were cleared, countless rituals needed preparation: ancestral worship began at dawn, and he had to respond to invitations from wealthy households across the city.

There were only about twenty xuan cultivators in the entire Lu City, yet the mansions along the wealthy street where Feng Xue's residence stood numbered over forty.

The guesthouse itself wasn't far from the station; he believed that even if his departure was noticed, the watcher couldn't catch him.

…

In a remote branch hall far from the City God Temple, Deng Gu Niang used her finger to toy with a rat on the table; this rat was far cleaner than its companions, its eyes lively and intelligent, bearing the demeanor of a modern pet rat.

Yet within this warm scene of the girl playing with her pet, a cold wind suddenly swept through the hall—Deng Gu Niang's expression instantly lost its leisure, revealing a reliability utterly incongruous with her age.

"Grandmaster Jiu, any results?"

"No, I smelled vow energy—he's gathered enough, probably making his Hu Tian Bag at home. By the way, are you really sure he's suspicious? Or did you just take a fancy to him and ask Grandpa to investigate his private life?"

A slightly dry voice echoed beside Deng Gu Niang, and the ear beneath the gray strands flushed faintly red.

But Deng Gu Niang didn't let Grandmaster Jiu's teasing divert her; she spoke seriously:

"Though there's no proof, haven't you noticed something odd about the earth sha in that area?"

"I already told you—the earth sha anomaly has nothing to do with that boy; or if he truly could adjust the earth sha to this degree with his meager cultivation, you'd better give up bothering him." Grandmaster Jiu, seeing distraction failed, spoke bluntly—he clearly didn't want this girl getting involved in this mess.

"But wasn't that priest attacked? What if there were two people—one obvious, one hidden? The shallow cultivator draws attention, the deep one works in secret? Grandpa, think carefully—isn't there something strange?"

Seeing he couldn't dissuade her, Grandmaster Jiu sighed:

"That boy's daily routine never changes: morning physical training, morning vow energy collection, afternoon spell practice, night cultivation—except for occasional trips out to buy spell materials, he's only quiet for an hour at dusk. If you had one-third his diligence, you wouldn't be stuck…"

"Grandmaster Jiu!" Deng Gu Niang cut off his drifting monologue, suddenly asking:

"By the way, you said he becomes quiet at dusk? What does that mean?"

"Nothing much—just about an hour with no movement…"

"That's it!" Deng Gu Niang slammed her palm, excitedly: "The problem lies in that hour! What exact time? We'll stake it out this afternoon!"

"The problem is that one shichen! As for the exact timing, we'll stake out the place this afternoon!"

(End of Chapter)