Chapter 236: The Path of Arrival is Also the Path of Departure

"In consideration of your dedicated service, this Divine Lord shall bestow a favor upon you!" Yunzhongjun raised his eyebrows, crossed his legs, and reached a hand out toward Banxia.

Banxia did not understand what Yunzhongjun meant by this, and only blankly handed over the fruit platter in her hands. Seeing this, Yunzhongjun clicked his tongue and said with extreme disdain, "Fool, I want your Dharma treasures!"

This made Banxia even more confused; what did Yunzhongjun want with her Dharma treasures? Although she did not understand at all, she still honestly presented the Eight Trigrams Plate and the Judge's Pen.

Yunzhongjun hooked his finger, and the Eight Trigrams Plate and the Judge's Pen flew into his hands. He looked at the two Dharma treasures, making "hmm" and "tsk" sounds for a long while before finally reaching out to stroke them.

Only to see the Eight Trigrams Plate and the Judge's Pen each emit a burst of clear light, after which they were tossed back to Banxia by Yunzhongjun.

Banxia did not know what Yunzhongjun had done, but after receiving the two Dharma treasures and looking closely, she saw that a strange pattern had been added to the back of the Eight Trigrams Plate and the brush-tip of the Judge's Pen.

The small pattern on the brush-tip of the Judge's Pen looked like a little lion, which actually looked quite cute, but the pattern on the back of the Eight Trigrams Plate was very strange; the lines were intertwined between the rings, and there were even what appeared to be strange characters among them.

Although Banxia had never received a proper education, she had at least learned a little when she was young, and at a glance, these were not human characters; they looked more like...

Ghostly scribbles?

"Uh..." Banxia truly did not know what Yunzhongjun had actually done, but she dared not ask, so she held it in for a long time and only let out a soft grunt.

Seeing this, Yunzhongjun was somewhat displeased; his tone rose, and the sound seemed to come from his nose: "What? Are you dissatisfied?"

To tell the truth, Banxia was indeed a bit dissatisfied. The Judge's Pen was fine; the addition of a little lion pattern had a certain unique charm, but the Eight Trigrams Plate had been perfectly fine, yet it had been turned into such a state by Yunzhongjun; it really was quite ugly.

No! It was very ugly!

However, she did not dare to answer truthfully, and hurriedly shook her head, replying, "The Divine Lord has misunderstood; this disciple was merely pondering the mysteries within, but this disciple is dull-witted and truly does not understand the Divine Lord's intention."

These words were very pleasing to Yunzhongjun. He merely waved his hand, his expression extremely smug as he said, "Since it is a reward, there is no need to worry; when the time comes, you will naturally understand."

Seeing Yunzhongjun like this, Banxia secretly breathed a sigh of relief—thankfully she had covered it up; she could not afford to offend this great deity...

Just as Banxia was rejoicing that her reaction had been quick, a disdainful sneer came from behind her.

"Hmph! I thought it was some great favor; isn't it just 'Imprisoning Rain'? Nothing worth showing off."

The person who arrived was none other than Yaoji Xianzi.

Don't look at how kind Yaoji Xianzi was to the few of them; for some reason, she just didn't get along with Yunzhongjun, and whenever the two met, they always had to bicker a few times.

She was just a mortal! She couldn't afford to offend either side! And she couldn't escape even if she wanted to!

Banxia tried her best to shrink herself into a ball, comforting herself in her heart: "Can't see me... can't see me... I don't exist... I don't exist..."

"Heh! You say that as if you could give it yourself," Yunzhongjun blew on his fingernails, his face full of contempt, "No matter what, I am also with Taiyi Shenjun..."

"Enough, enough!" Before Yunzhongjun could finish, Yaoji Xianzi interrupted, "That little bit of history between you and Taiyi Shenjun has been droned on about for thousands of years; you brag to everyone you meet. You aren't tired of saying it, but I'm tired of hearing it!"

"You!" Yunzhongjun was so angry that he jumped up from his seat immediately, "You stinking girl! I am at least your senior; is this how you speak to your elders? No sense of propriety!"

"Pfft!" Yaoji Xianzi seemed very unconvinced, "Admittedly, you attained the Dao earlier than I did, but how much higher are you than me right now? Isn't it still the case that you have to come to my door and beg me personally?"

Once these words were out, Yunzhongjun seemed to be in the wrong, and he sat back down on his chair sheepishly, though his mouth remained sharp.

"Who begged you? I was merely giving you an opportunity!"

When Lingxiang and Long Qi returned, they saw the two at loggerheads. She also did not understand; they had been neighbors for so long, so why did they always have to quarrel every time they met?

Yaoji Xianzi also saw Lingxiang; she flicked her long sleeves and stopped paying attention to Yunzhongjun. Meanwhile, Yunzhongjun was very self-satisfied and whispered to Banxia, "See! She knew she was in the wrong and lost the battle!"

Banxia's heart, which had been hanging for so long, finally settled back into her stomach, and the look she gave Lingxiang was full of gratitude.

Seeing this, Lingxiang wanted to laugh; it really was hard on Banxia, but she did not show it on her face, only bowing gracefully: "This humble cultivator greets Pingyi Shangshen and Yaoji Xianzi."

Seeing Lingxiang's demeanor, Yunzhongjun hurriedly coughed lightly and sat up straight: "Have you obtained what you sought?"

Lingxiang nodded in affirmation, then continued, "Since we have obtained what we sought, the purpose of this trip has been achieved. It is time for us to return, but I do not know where to find the way home, and must trouble the Divine Lord to point out the path."

Yunzhongjun, on his seat, gave a low laugh: "The way home? Naturally, you return from whence you came!"

Before the words had even faded, he flicked his fingers. Before the group could react, they saw the silk fabrics behind Yunzhongjun drift over, instantly turning into dense clouds that enveloped them all.

Zhao Wuyang and Liu Xia were still playing with the little spirit beasts, and Xin Yi was wiping his Lujiao Changren while thinking about things; they didn't even know what had happened before they found themselves amidst the clouds and mist.

Is this riding the clouds and driving the mist?

Lingxiang exclaimed in her heart; as expected of a High God, his cultivation was unfathomable, actually able to bring them all into the clouds together.

This was her first time experiencing flying through the clouds in her life; this feeling was truly...

Too free!

Xin Yi and Liu Xia were also very surprised, but they were older after all and could keep their composure; although they were very impressed in their hearts, they calmed down after a moment.

And compared to Lingxiang's enjoyment, Banxia was terrified. Although there were clouds under her feet, they were very ethereal, and she was afraid that if she were not careful and lost her footing, she would fall.

The scenery under the clouds could be seen clearly!

Naturally, there were also those who were excited.

"Wow! Wuyang, look quickly! Isn't that the Black Wood Forest!" Long Qi shouted loudly against the wind.

"Mm-hmm! Brother Qi, look! The swamp! I walked back and forth through here! So this swamp is this big!" Zhao Wuyang also shouted in response.

Watching the two of them press their heads over the clouds to look down, looking like they had never seen the world before, Lingxiang rolled her eyes at them twice in anger.

Long Qi was one thing, but Wuyang, you are a royal noble after all, how could you be like an ignorant commoner!?

Such a beautiful atmosphere, completely ruined by these two!

Perhaps feeling that these two were too noisy, the cloud head suddenly shook, and then instantly fell downward, scaring Banxia into screaming out loud.

Just as they were about to hit the ground, it suddenly slowed down, but Banxia still kept her eyes closed and shrieked loudly.

A moment later, when Banxia realized she had already landed on the ground, she scratched her head in embarrassment.

The group was now on a mountain peak; looking around, they could only see clouds and mist swirling everywhere.

Yunzhongjun had actually brought them to a volcanic crater!

At this time, clusters of clouds and mist gathered together, and then they saw Yunzhongjun drifting out from within, followed by Yaoji Xianzi and her Nine-Colored Deer, as well as some small spirit beasts; however, what she did not expect was that the E-Beast had actually followed too.

"Divine Lord, this is..."

"This is your path forward."

Lingxiang then realized that although the surroundings were filled with mist, there was no foul odor. Following the direction of Yunzhongjun's finger, she looked inside the so-called "volcanic crater," and it was actually...

Ice...

"Could it be..." Lingxiang already had the answer in her heart.

That was right, this was the Water Mirror.

But now the Water Mirror was entirely frozen, so how could it be thawed?

Just as Lingxiang was puzzled, she saw Yunzhongjun pinch a mass of clouds and scatter it onto the ice; the frozen ice instantly turned into water. Everyone looked down into the water and saw a glowing, emerald-green mass.

"It is the Penglai Jade Branch!"

Watching the figure gradually disappear in the water, Yaoji Xianzi could not help but sigh. Seeing this, Yunzhongjun stepped forward and asked, "Since you are reluctant to part, why let her go?"

Yaoji Xianzi did not answer, and only after a long while did she shake her head: "The human heart is the hardest thing to keep; it is just a pity that once she leaves this Water Mirror, that is when the tribulation begins..."