Chapter 280: Run, Run, Run

Wang Cong knew nothing about it; he had just climbed up the mountain, saw his father, and before he could speak, let out a great big sneeze.

Wang Feiyin immediately put eight zhang between them. "You've caught a chill? Don't come near me, don't infect me."

Wang Cong waited a moment, but no second sneeze came, so he said with full justification: "Obviously, someone is missing me. It's not a chill."

Wang Feiyin muttered, "Who'd miss you? If anyone's missing anyone, it'd be me…"

Wang Feiyin counted on his fingers, frowning. "Counting the days, your little martial uncle and junior sisters should still be on the road to Changzhou Prefecture. There's at least another month before they come home for New Year…"

"They're young, they wouldn't miss anyone. Then it must be your Third Uncle and Fourth Uncle—are they short on money?"

Wang Cong: "…Didn't they go out to earn money?"

Wang Feiyin said worriedly, "That mouth of your Third Uncle's—I always worry he won't earn a single coin before someone puts a sack over his head and drags him off, and then he'll owe them medical bills on top of it."

Wang Cong's heart was still as water. "Fourth Uncle's there, so Third Uncle won't get sacked."

Why else does Master Xuanmiao follow Tao Ji everywhere he goes far, if not to stop him from getting beaten up?

"Then who's missing you? It can't possibly be your Second Uncle, right?" Wang Feiyin muttered on. "He's got a heart as broad as the sky—would he miss anyone?"

Wang Cong didn't want to discuss this further and changed the subject directly. "Father, when I was climbing up just now, the village chief asked me whether the Daoist temple is ordering pork this year. I ordered a whole pig on the spot."

Wang Feiyin: "You've got money now, do you? It's been years since this household ordered a whole pig."

Wang Cong: "I also ordered twenty chickens."

Wang Feiyin's eyes went wide. "Did you strike it rich, or are you planning to ruin us?"

Wang Cong: "Good news keeps coming this year. New Year's should be a bit more lavish. If little junior sister and the others knew I'd stocked this much meat, they'd be thrilled."

Miao He wanted to stock up on meat right now, but it was too late.

She didn't know why, but Pan Yun's merit kept climbing. The moment they entered Jiangxi territory, her merit value shot up like mad, skyrocketing.

This made her a little golden figure in the eyes of every demon and ghost, but that wasn't the most urgent matter. The most urgent matter was—as her merit grew, her cultivation couldn't be held back anymore, ahhhhh…

Pan Yun sat cross-legged in the carriage, not daring to actively absorb spiritual energy. She could only keep compressing the primordial force in her lower dantian. When the lower dantian couldn't fit any more, she carefully transferred the primordial force to the middle dantian, squeezing it into that limited space.

When the middle dantian couldn't hold any more either, she moved the excess primordial force up to the Upper Dantian.

There was nothing for it—she wasn't actively absorbing spiritual energy, but as her merit grew, the spiritual energy drilled into her body as if it were sick, scrambling to get in.

And merit is also a form of energy between heaven and earth. Once it settled on Pan Yun, she naturally gained another kind of power.

With that power bolstering her, her cultivation shot up like floodwaters about to burst a dam—impossible to hold back.

Her meridians and her upper, middle, and lower dantians kept widening, widening under the pressure of primordial force…

But she just held the floodgate shut, refusing to let go, so that though dark clouds rolled across the sky, no lightning ever struck her.

The group could only sprint toward Mount Sanqing.

The dark clouds chased them the whole way, appearing over their heads now and then, then vanishing again.

This made both Li Gugu and Hong Yan tremble. Not just that one ghost and one demon—even Master Xuanmiao and Tao Ji felt the pressure of the lightning, a great sense of crisis hanging over their hearts.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He couldn't help shivering whenever the thunderclouds dipped low.

The red fox already regretted it and said to Pan Yun, "I won't go to Mount Sanqing with you. Give me more cultivation pills and money instead—I don't want the Kai Zhi Dan."

Li Gugu nodded rapidly, also feeling it was too dangerous to travel with them.

Before Pan Yun could speak, Master Xuanmiao said coldly, "Do you know how many demons and ghosts are following us now? Believe it or not, the moment you step off this carriage, you'll be torn to shreds in the next breath."

The fox and Li Gugu fell silent at once.

Pan Yun was now a juicy meat bun, a piece of gold parading through the streets, a treasure fallen from the heavens…

If she could just survive her Tribulation Crossing, one bite of her flesh might grant ten years of cultivation and even enlightenment of the Great Dao;

If she failed, one bite of her flesh could still add four or five years of cultivation.

So the demons and monsters drawn to her—and even the people hiding in the shadows—were all waiting for her to undergo Tribulation Crossing.

This was one of the reasons Master Xuanmiao was racing toward Mount Sanqing at any cost. There was no suitable place to break through nearby. If Pan Yun underwent Tribulation Crossing in the wild, she couldn't guarantee she'd be able to protect her completely.

She didn't even dare leave Tao Ji, Seeing Miao Zhen, and Miao He behind, afraid they'd fall into enemy hands.

The reason they could race toward Mount Sanqing unimpeded was, first, the pursuers were waiting for Pan Yun's Tribulation Crossing to maximize their gains;

Second, Master Xuanmiao kept unleashing her cultivation without stint, using her aura to intimidate the demons, ghosts, and people lurking in the shadows;

Third was Pan Yun herself.

She was already at the point of Tribulation Crossing—her own strength was naturally formidable. Any lone attacker who came to make a move nearby couldn't beat her one-on-one.

After a long sprint, the things hiding in the shadows slowly banded together and gathered some information. "Where are they headed? They've already passed Long Hushan. Isn't that Daoist nun in the carriage one of the Zhang family from Long Hushan?"

"Yes and no. She's now a disciple of Mount Sanqing."

"Mount Sanqing? One of Pan Gong's people? That surnamed Wang hasn't run out of luck and died yet? Mount Sanqing still has people?" This was the demon alliance.

The people hiding in the shadows knew a bit more. "Today we intercepted three paper cranes headed for Mount Sanqing, but they're about to enter the Qingshan Realm. What if she waits until she's back at Mount Sanqing to undergo Tribulation Crossing?"

"She's so young—she may not be able to hold it in. Look at the thunderclouds above. The lightning will fall any moment now."

"At the latest, by noon tomorrow they'll enter the Qingshan Realm. Once they cross the boundary, Wang Feiyin can arrive in an instant. Who'd dare make a move then?"

"Right. So shouldn't we strike tonight?"

"Being struck by lightning and not being struck by lightning—there's a world of difference in the effect."

"Having something to eat is already good enough. Be careful the duck at your mouth doesn't grow wings and fly away."

After much discussion, they decided to wait until nightfall.

They ran alongside the carriage, keeping their eyes on the thunderclouds above, praying nonstop: "Strike, strike, come down already."

To keep from breaking through, Pan Yun could only keep expending primordial force to widen her meridians. She had once tried sending primordial force outward—during a rest, she struck a boulder with a palm.

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The stone shattered into pieces in an instant.

The primordial force in her lower dantian emptied by a hairsbreadth. Before she could be glad, the surrounding spiritual energy came rushing toward her joyfully, and the thunderclouds that had been quiet above her head suddenly churned. As clouds collided, lightning flickered between them.

Pan Yun stared in astonishment. Master Xuanmiao slapped her across and snapped, "Calm your mind. Don't use primordial force outward again. What, you think the thunderclouds up there can't find you, so you're specially saying hello to them?"

Pan Yun: "I didn't know the Yuan force was used to lock onto the position of the thundercloud…"

In their previous life, when they broke through, there were fixed locations; their school had a dedicated area, and the school would protect every student undergoing breakthrough;

Even in society, the state would set up breakthrough points in every city. Anyone who felt they were about to break through and undergo Tribulation Crossing could make a free reservation at a Lei Jie location, and the state would be responsible for protection—absolutely safe.

Even in the wilderness, the state would set up temporary breakthrough stations at regular intervals, all free to use.

In a place like Great Ming, where one had to break through on one's own and guard against demons, ghosts, and scheming plots, Pan Yun clenched her teeth and said, "Once I have money and power, I will definitely set up a safe Lei Jie station, specifically so people undergoing Tribulation Crossing can do so safely."

Tao Ji, while waving her whip to urge the horses to run faster, glanced at her sideways and said, "Who would dare go? People would only think you were plotting something shady."

Master Xuanmiao rubbed her forehead and said, "Do you think breaking through to First Marquis is like buying vegetables at the market? The number of people in the whole world who can break through to First Marquis can be counted—who wouldn't treasure them and hide them away?"

Pan Yun: "What about someone like me, an accident?"

Master Xuanmiao said coldly, "Since it's an accident, how can you be sure your breakthrough station is near where his accident happened? You have so much money—set one up everywhere? Do you have people to guard it? Can the people you hire actually protect him?"

"Stop coming up with one idea after another. If you have money you don't know what to do with, scatter it among the common folk at the bottom, do more good deeds, and when you get struck by lightning your chances of surviving will be a bit higher."

Tao Ji's face darkened, and she cut them off: "I sense killing intent."

Miao He also said uneasily, "I feel it too, Master. I feel so awful, I can barely breathe."

Seeing Miao Zhen's forehead was also sweating.

Master Xuanmiao sighed, knowing they were affected by the pressure of the thunder and lightning in the sky and the demons and ghosts pursuing them. Her aura surged, drawing the entire carriage into her own presence.

Miao Zhen let out a breath, her expression much more relaxed. "Fourth Xiao Shishu, should we send another letter to First Xiao Shishu and have him come meet us?"

Master Xuanmiao said, "The messenger cranes we've sent have probably all fallen into enemy hands. The ones hiding in the dark must be demonic cultivators well-versed in Daoist arts—sending any more spells will be useless. Rest for a bit. When we stop to rest at dusk, try to summon the Mountain God and communicate with a speech talisman."

Miao Zhen and Miao He acknowledged.

Tao Ji kept looking up at the thunderclouds from time to time, and especially after seeing thunderclouds appear in the distance ahead, the worry on her face deepened. "Little Martial Sister, can you still hold on?"

"You—you have to at least hold on until we enter the Sanqing Realm. That's within the Mountain God's protection. Once there, just one thought and First Senior Brother will know."

Pan Yun's expression was calm. "I can!"

Tao Ji let out a breath of relief and focused on driving.

Master Xuanmiao, sitting beside Pan Yun to protect her, could see the fine, dense sweat between Pan Yun's hair and on her forehead.

To hold back the breakthrough, she could only continue using the excess Yuan force to widen her Upper Dantian and meridians, or to temper her flesh and blood.

Whichever it was, it hurt terribly.

At Mount Sanqing, they would usually soak in medicinal baths to assist the widening, which could ease the pain and increase the effect.

But right now they couldn't stop.

So Pan Yun could only grit her teeth and endure.

Master Xuanmiao stared at her intently, and when her gaze swept toward the shadowy woods on both sides, it looked especially chilling.

One person met her gaze, tumbled down from between the trees, then flashed to hide behind a tree, still shaken—Master Xuanmiao's eyes just now had been terrifying.

(End of chapter)