Chapter 103: Meeting the Mother-in-Law

Is it shameful to lose to one's own disciple? Certainly, it is shameful!

But it also proves that the disciple was not taken in vain!

Whose disciple reaches the Golden Core stage before the age of twenty, and whose disciple can defeat a Nascent Soul Early Stage master five or six times in the short span of a single hour?

His, Qiong Wuji's, disciple can!

When he, Qiong Wuji, was at the Golden Core Initial Stage, he relied on the Invisible Evasion Technique to retreat unscathed from the hands of Golden Core Late Stage cultivators many times.

Yet his disciple has defeated him, a master at the Nascent Soul Early Stage; pray tell, who in the entire Tiannan Cultivation World can compare to this!

Hahaha!

Hahaha!

Hahaha!

If Yan Taibai were not nearby, and having lost in such a disheveled state, Qiong Laoguai would truly want to look up and laugh aloud.

But even so, Yan Taibai still saw the corners of Qiong Laoguai's mouth curling upward.

"Master, you can rest easy now, right?"

Seeing this, Yan Taibai cupped his hands and said.

"Good, you and I, master and disciple, shall together turn the Ghost Spirit Sect upside down. It would be best if we could capture that Young Sect Master and force the Ghost Spirit Sect to hand over the spiritual medicine to neutralize the poison in Junior Niece Nangong's body."

Qiong Laoguai composed his expression, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile.

"Good, with Master's help, even if we face a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator of the Ghost Spirit Sect, this disciple is confident of retreating unscathed."

Yan Taibai did not let Qiong Laoguai leave; instead, he extended an invitation.

After all, with Qiong Laoguai's Invisible Evasion Technique combined with his own Life-Bound Magical Treasure, the Invisible Needle, as well as the Ancient Treasure gifted by the Great Elder of the Masked Moon Sect, the two master and disciple indeed had the ability to battle a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator.

"Hm! What you, this rebellious disciple, say is correct."

Qiong Laoguai also nodded in agreement and smiled.

"But how do we make that Ghost Spirit Sect Young Sect Master leave the Ghost Spirit Sect? The Ghost Spirit Sect is, after all, one of the Heavenly Luo Kingdom Six Demon Sects, even if it is ranked last. Yet even a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator would not easily venture inside to kill their Young Sect Master. After all, it is only better to lure him out before making a move."

"This disciple can try, but I dare not guarantee whether he will help this disciple or set a trap for the Ghost Spirit Sect to kill the two of us, master and disciple."

Yan Taibai thought for a moment and said uncertainly.

"Is the person you speak of that Mr. Xuan Ye of the Yan Family? He is the one who plotted against Yan'er and Junior Niece Nangong, and even had the Senior Martial Sister send Yan'er to the Ghost Spirit Sect. You actually think he will help us, master and disciple, lure out that Ghost Spirit Sect Young Sect Master? As your master, I know he has some friendship with you. But that friendship was severed the moment he followed that old dog of the Yan Family and betrayed the Yue Kingdom Cultivation World. All these years, he has even been devising schemes for the Ghost Spirit Sect. The failure to form an alliance is partly caused by this person."

The smile on Qiong Laoguai's face vanished completely, and he said in a deep voice.

"This disciple knows all of this, and I can even confirm that the news of this disciple's 'fake death to escape' was also leaked by this person at the behest of the Ghost Spirit Sect."

Yan Taibai nodded and added.

"Then why do you still believe he will help?"

Qiong Laoguai's brows were tightly furrowed in confusion, and he asked with a face full of doubt.

"Because his target was Senior Martial Sister Nangong, not Yan'er. Based on this disciple's understanding of him, if he were determined to take Yan'er away, let alone Senior Martial Sister Nangong, even with Master's protection, she would still be taken. It would only be a matter of what price he had to pay."

Yan Taibai sighed softly and explained.

"This... why is that?"

Qiong Laoguai's face turned a bit dark, feeling that Yan Taibai looked down on him as a master, but he still asked.

"Because he knows very well that if Senior Martial Sister Nangong does not die and becomes my Dao companion in the future, it absolutely cannot be Yan'er; Yan'er would at most be a concubine, and there is even a high possibility that her life would not be guaranteed. This is naturally not what he wants to see. He also watched Yan'er grow up from a young age, has never married, and has no children, so naturally, he does not want Yan'er to end up in such a state. And if Senior Martial Sister Nangong falls, as long as I am alive and have Master's protection, Yan'er will likely not die. Once I reach the Nascent Soul stage, as long as she becomes my Dao companion, there will be no more problems with her life."

"Even in the worst-case scenario where both Yan'er and Senior Martial Sister Nangong fall, he has at least found a companion for Yan'er and, incidentally, rendered a significant service to the Ghost Spirit Sect. No matter how you look at it, nothing will happen to him."

"As long as he remains useful to the Ghost Spirit Sect, his own life will not be in danger."

Yan Taibai explained unhurriedly.

"Then why would he want you and me?"

Qiong Laoguai's brows furrowed even more severely.

"Because he considers himself this disciple's teacher, and he is a person who values loyalty and righteousness; otherwise, he would not have risked his life to protect the Yan Family for many years from harm because of a promise to the ancestor. As long as this disciple guarantees that the Yan Family will be safe and sound, then he will certainly help. Presumably, he has had enough of these precarious days in the Ghost Spirit Sect."

Yan Taibai said with considerable confidence.

"But, what if..."

Qiong Laoguai's expression had not softened much.

"Master, at this moment, we can only choose to trust Mr. Xuan Ye. Given his character, even if he does not help us, the chance of him betraying us is not high; it is worth taking the risk."

"And once we succeed, not only will Senior Martial Sister Nangong be fine, but we might also cause the Ghost Spirit Sect to suffer heavy losses."

Yan Taibai persuaded.

"Forget it, since you have said so, this master will believe you. But if there are any accidents, there is no need to worry about me; just leave. Once you reach the Nascent Soul stage, you will be enough to destroy this Ghost Spirit Sect on your own."

Qiong Laoguai nodded and agreed.

"Many thanks, Master. If any accident occurs, this disciple will definitely escape at the fastest speed and will not linger for a moment."

Yan Taibai cupped his hands and promised.

"You... you rebellious disciple! Hahaha."

Seeing this, Qiong Laoguai laughed and scolded.

"Hehe!"

"Let's go! To the Heavenly Luo Kingdom; this time, we must not let the Ghost Spirit Sect have any peace."

Qiong Laoguai sneered.

"Master's words are absolutely correct!"

Yan Taibai hurriedly echoed.

Subsequently, the two master and disciple stopped wasting words and headed straight for the Heavenly Luo Kingdom.

On the way, Yan Taibai even used a secret technique to teach Qiong Laoguai the method of operating the evasion technique from the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash".

Regarding the understanding of evasion techniques, if not for relying on the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash", ten Yan Taibais would not be a match for one Qiong Laoguai.

Qiong Laoguai had practiced the Invisible Evasion Technique for hundreds of years, and by relying on the operational method from Yan Taibai's mouth, he managed to raise his own Invisible Evasion Technique by one level.

But it still could not compare to Yan Taibai, yet Qiong Laoguai was not angry; instead, he was quite happy.

However, this happiness did not last long, because the two of them had arrived at the border region.

Here, there was not only the defensive line set up by the Seven Sects of Yue Country, but also the defensive line encampments set up by Cheqi Kingdom, Jiang Kingdom—or more accurately, Tianluo Country.

Although they had sufficient confidence and strength to defeat the Seven Sects of Yue Country, the defensive line encampments still had to be set up.

This was the most important thing; if they did not have it, the ones who might be defeated would be them.

"Master, let's go! Don't waste any more time."

Watching Qiong Laoguai's gloomy and uncertain expression, Yan Taibai sighed in his heart and spoke up.

Although it was because of him that the various countries learned that the righteous and demonic paths were about to invade.

Unfortunately, it only resulted in the early construction and deployment of defensive formations; the matter of an alliance was still just talk to this day.

"Hmm!"

Qiong Laoguai took a long breath, and his entire person vanished; Yan Taibai naturally followed closely behind.

The Invisible Evasion Technique was not just fast; the most important thing was that while executing the evasion technique, one could conceal their form, making it difficult for other cultivators to detect them.

With Qiong Laoguai's cultivation at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, unless it was a Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage, it was fundamentally impossible to detect him.

Therefore, there was no need to worry about being discovered.

After all, those who had come to set up the formation defensive lines now were at most Golden Core Stage Cultivators; even Yan Taibai could not be discovered by them, let alone Qiong Laoguai.

Half an hour later, Yan Taibai and Qiong Laoguai suddenly appeared on an inconspicuous mountain peak.

At this moment, his gaze fell upon the mountain peak, on several Foundation Establishment cultivators below who were acting sneakily and discussing something.

The few were surrounded by a concealment formation; if viewed from the outside, even a Golden Core Stage cultivator would find it hard to detect.

And the reason Yan Taibai stopped was because these few people looked familiar to him.

One of them was precisely Yan Ruyan's mother.

The rest were also former elders of the Yan Family, and without exception, they were all Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators.

"They are discussing how to leave from the defensive line we just passed, then cross through Yue Country to enter Yuanwu Country, and then head to other countries? However, that girl Yan'er's mother wants to secretly make a trip to the sect to ask about Yan'er's situation."

Qiong Laoguai opened his eyes and told Yan Taibai one by one the information he had probed using his divine sense.

"Master, should we help them?"

Yan Taibai's face showed hesitation; if it weren't for the fact that his mother-in-law was among them, he would never have spoken up, and furthermore, the other party still had feelings for Yan Ruyan, which was why he spoke up in this situation.

"Hmm! Since they have left the Ghost Spirit Sect and want to head to other countries, then let's help them out. This can be considered as doing right by that girl Yan'er. However, you cannot take action; you continue on your way first, and after I send them out of the defensive line encampment, I will go to catch up with you."

Qiong Laoguai did not hesitate much and nodded in agreement.

Likewise, if not for Yan Ruyan's mother, the master and disciple would only have watched coldly from the sidelines and would not have helped at all.

"Many thanks, Master; this disciple will go ahead first."

Hearing that Qiong Laoguai was willing to help, Yan Taibai also breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly thanked him.

Immediately, he continued heading in the direction of Tianluo Country.

And Qiong Laoguai sighed softly, took a deep look at Yan Ruyan's mother, and then headed toward the formation.

……

Youzhou

The Ghost Market—that's right, this was the marketplace established by the Ghost Spirit Sect, where most of the items sold were sinister ghost artifacts, magical tools, and materials.

There were almost no normal materials, and these materials were exactly what the Ghost Spirit Sect and most of the cultivators in all of Youzhou needed.

Youquan Tea House was the largest tea house in this Ghost Market and was also founded by the Ghost Spirit Sect; the Youquan Ghost Tea within it was famous throughout all of Youzhou, and even cultivators from other states in Tianluo Country would come to taste it.

Because this Youquan Ghost Tea had no small benefits for the primordial spirit and divine sense. Although the effect was not too great, long-term consumption could allow the divine sense to be strengthened to a certain degree.

However, this "long-term" was calculated in decades or even centuries, so even Golden Core Stage cultivators found it difficult to do so for a long time.

And on this day, a figure dressed in black robes, whose figure could not be clearly seen and whose gender was indistinguishable, entered the VIP room on the third floor of Youquan Tea House without saying a word.

Without a second word, they pushed the door and entered directly; inside sat two figures, one old and one young, who were precisely Yan Taibai and Qiong Laoguai, though they were not in their true appearances.

Using one's true appearance on Ghost Spirit Sect territory was no different from seeking death.

"I didn't expect you would actually dare to come."

An androgynous voice rang out from within the black robes.

"That Young Sect Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect has already had you scheme to take action against Yan'er and Senior Sister Nangong; if I didn't come, wouldn't that be letting down your efforts?"

Yan Taibai chuckled, but a sliver of cold light surged in his eyes.

As for Qiong Laoguai, he was closing his eyes to rest his mind and did not pay attention to the conversation between the two.

Of course, he was also using his divine sense to check the situation in the surroundings to avoid any accidents.

"I did this to protect the Yan Family clansmen; this is a promise to the Ancestor."

The black-robed person's voice became normal, as gentle as ever, giving people a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze.

"I don't care about any promises; I wonder if you can help me meet that Young Sect Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect?"

Yan Taibai made his request straightforwardly.

"It's difficult; he currently has more than one Golden Core Stage cultivator by his side, and even with Qiong's assistance, it is not an easy matter to take him down. Moreover, once the matter is exposed, I and the remaining clansmen of the Yan Family will inevitably face the fate of having our souls extracted and spirits refined. Therefore, I cannot agree."

Mr. Xuan Ye shook his head and refused.

"But if I order you in my capacity as the current head of the Yan Family, would you be willing to help? As for the Yan Family clansmen, as long as that Young Sect Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect is in hand, naturally nothing will happen to them, right?"

Yan Taibai flicked his sleeve and took out a pale gold token, placing it on the table.

This was a relic of the Yan Family Ancestor; whoever possessed it was basically the clan leader. Of course, one's strength and realm needed to convince the masses, and Yan Taibai clearly met this requirement.

"You have really given me a difficult problem. However, do you have the certainty to take away the Young Sect Master from the hands of a Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator?"

Mr. Xuan Ye did not agree, but instead asked in pursuit.

"A Nascent Soul Mid Stage cultivator, which one from the Ghost Spirit Sect is it?"

Qiong Laoguai opened his eyes and asked.

"True Master Suihun; he just came out of seclusion after breaking through to the Nascent Soul Mid Stage, and he has been by the Young Sect Master's side during this time to prevent any accidents,"

Mr. Xuan Ye answered truthfully.

This was also an important situation.

"So, you intend to tell that Young Sect Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect about our arrival?"

Upon hearing Mr. Xuan Ye's words, Yan Taibai was silent for a moment, then said coldly.

As soon as these words were spoken, Qiong Laoguai's expression changed; he glared with murderous intent, as if he would move to extract Mr. Xuan Ye's soul and refine his spirit at a single word from Yan Taibai.

"Correct, I promised the ancestor that I would do my best to protect the entire Yan Family, so I can only obey half of your order; I will bring the Young Sect Master, and I must also tell the Young Sect Master everything."

Mr. Xuan Ye's face was slightly pale, yet he still spoke calmly.

"Fine, no problem. You may tell that Young Sect Master as you wish."

Yan Taibai nodded and agreed.

"Mm, thank you; this way I can also be at ease."

Mr. Xuan Ye said with a sense of relief.

"Then I will trouble you, sir."

Yan Taibai thanked him.

(End of chapter)