Chapter 186

Following the message, the matter of the envoy group's departure and return began to ferment, and the discussion gradually became louder.

The matter of Ji You sword-slaying a soldier king, or counter-killing a demon general in the Demon Emperor City, also began to be known by more people.

In the hearts of many disciples who like to cultivate in seclusion, this Ji You seems to be a seed that loves to cause trouble; he hadn't returned to the Nine Provinces yet, and he had already caused wind and rain in all directions.

Why?

Everyone in the past cultivated with a calm mind; whoever had a high realm was the most famous; how could there be such a mismatch between fame and realm.

This Ji You's popularity was almost catching up to those elders in the Realm of Responding to Heaven who sat and cultivated.

But whenever someone thought of the combat power Ji You displayed when sword-slaying a soldier king or counter-killing a demon general, they couldn't help but remain silent.

"The five-year period is about to expire; after the spring of next year, the Heavenly Dao Assembly, which the world gathers for, will probably be held on a chosen day; according to the envoy group's message, if the sword-slaying of the soldier king is true, then I'm afraid no one in the current Realm of Profound Understanding can surpass Ji You..."

"It's just that I don't know if he will choose to enter the Realm of Merging with the Dao before the Heavenly Dao Assembly begins..."

"If he stays in the Realm of Profound Understanding, I'm afraid he will win the championship in one fell swoop and be sent to the place where the sages proved the Dao."

"But if he wants to break into the Realm of Merging with the Dao, I'm afraid there is still some suspense."

In the inner and outer courtyards, Winter Solstice wine parties were constant; when thinking began to diverge with the wine, some people couldn't help but pull the topic from Ji You's diplomatic mission to the demon clan to the Heavenly Dao Assembly held every five years.

This is a grand event that cultivators in the Qingyun World gather for, once every five years; long before the news of the envoy group came, some people had already mentioned this matter in casual chat.

However, because the time was still early, the discussion was not too much; it caused more associations after colliding with Ji You's matter.

Hearing this, the crowd couldn't help but fall into thought, their expressions becoming different: "Heavenly Dao Assembly..."

"Didn't expect five years to pass so quickly?"

"If sword-slaying the soldier king is true, there really won't be any surprises about Ji You participating in the Heavenly Dao Assembly."

"But I still find it hard to believe; how can he, in this realm, slash a barbarian soldier king comparable to the Realm of Responding to Heaven?"

"So familiar; when Ji You went to Fengzhou to establish a family, killed eighteen in the Realm of Profound Understanding in one night, and sword-slashed a Realm of Merging with the Dao in an immortal manor, I heard a lot of such words from you."

"This wild private cultivator, how can he be like this."

"Why do you still have the courage to call him a wild private cultivator?"

"You don't understand; calling him a wild private cultivator in the past was indeed a belittlement, but now... this word, when spoken, is actually already a compliment; since he entered the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, did you think there was anyone else who dared to use these four words?"

In the cold days of constant discussion, as the day of the envoy group's return approached, a carriage hurriedly drove out of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan.

Sitting in the carriage was a middle-aged man, two young men, and a young woman, hurriedly heading toward Fengzhou.

The three young people had no special characteristics and looked no different from ordinary immortal sect disciples; only that middle-aged man had a particularly explosive chest.

The carriage driver was a mortal, also from a poor background who mixed in Shengjing City to make a living.

He didn't understand cultivation, but he couldn't help but be curious about what kind of immortal this person cultivated, actually cultivating it to his chest.

"Huh, Liu Jian'an, you also came to give gifts; where is Cao Jiaoxi?"

"Uh... I don't know; there is no one in the academy."

At dusk, with the stars and moon floating in the cold sky, on the small path in the forest outside the Wang Jiaoxi Tian Shuyuan, Liu Jian'an, the son of the Fengzhou Inspector, and Cong Yi, the daughter of the Guiyun County Governor, met unexpectedly.

There were many Winter Solstice banquets these few days; once night fell, the students in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan were fewer.

Liu Jian'an had just returned from a banquet, preparing to offer it to Cao Jingsong, and by the way, ask for advice on some things about rushing into the Lower Three Realms perfectly, but didn't expect to see anyone.

At this time, he looked at the empty courtyard and couldn't help but look at Cong Yi: "Today is the Winter Solstice; I saw the families in the capital send many invitations to the academy; the ones you received should be the same as mine, but why haven't I seen you go?"

Cong Yi shook her head with a shallow smile: "Don't want to be a foil; it's better to eat some dumplings yourself."

At this time, Xiang Fu, the daughter of the Danxia County Governor, also came along the road; seeing this, she couldn't help but speak: "Is Cao Jiaoxi not here?"

Cong Yi nodded upon hearing this: "Not here, and the door is locked."

Xiang Fu blinked: "Counting the days, the envoy group on a diplomatic mission to the demon clan should be coming back soon; it seems Cao Jiaoxi should have gone to Fengzhou."

Cong Yi suddenly realized upon hearing this: "No wonder..."

Liu Jian'an also opened his mouth at this time: "The outer courtyard has been discussing this matter all these days; I attended a few banquets, and they were all talking about Senior Brother Ji."

Hearing this sentence, Xiang Fu and Cong Yi couldn't help but look at each other, then looked toward Fengzhou, their moods slightly complex.

There are no immortal family sects in Fengzhou; the cultivation disciples were all once fostered in foreign immortal manors, and after growing up, they took the quota to enter the academy.

The three of them were all like this.

At the beginning of entering the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, everyone was excited; after all, they entered an immortal sect; this matter could be considered their aspiration since childhood, and stepping into the mountain gate could be considered fulfilling their wish.

But after truly starting to live in the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, they found that everything would be different from what they imagined.

Because although people like them were from official families and didn't have to worry about food and drink since childhood, their status in this world where immortal power is supreme was actually not high, and it was very difficult to make friends with immortal family disciples on weekdays.

Especially since there is a distinction between closeness and distance among most families, the small circles were combined very tightly, and it was difficult for others to insert themselves.

Even if they met in the Enlightenment Field, Sword Trial Forest, or Immortal Food Workshop on weekdays, listening to others talk about what realm their father had reached, what realm their cousin broke through the day before, what spiritual treasure their family obtained, or talking about interesting things in other immortal sects, they couldn't insert a word.

Children from Fengzhou seemed to be naturally squeezed out of these circles.

They often could only look up and yearn, but didn't dare to walk close, didn't dare to express their opinions.

What if they said it wrong? What if they didn't understand but pretended to understand? What if they were laughed at by everyone after showing timidity?

This is actually the reason why Xiang Fu and Cong Yi rarely attended banquets for children in the capital.

Women are always more sensitive than men, so inexplicable self-esteem will also be stronger; every time they went to be a foil, they felt uncomfortable coming back.

In fact, they had also complained after entering the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, why they were born in Fengzhou, why their elders didn't give them shade.

Even if it wasn't as exaggerated as Fang Jincheng who could invite inner courtyard disciples to help with cultivation every day, at least it should be like those small family children, at least in that circle.

But until this moment, when Ji You's name sounded again from the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan, when those small circles they couldn't squeeze into were all discussing him, people like Xiang Fu finally broke free from that sense of marginalization.

Senior Brother Ji is not a family child, not even an official child, but the lowest-level wild private cultivator.

His journey was actually much harder than theirs.

The outer courtyard of the Heavenly Tian Shuyuan cannot eat the offerings of the world; according to some senior sisters in the outer courtyard, Ji You couldn't even eat when he entered the academy back then.

When he was cultivating in the outer courtyard back then, he must have heard many calls of "wild private cultivator," "wild private cultivator" in his ears.

And he was once sent to Qiling to die because he blocked Chu He's path to the inner courtyard, which was actually no different from this diplomatic mission to the Snow Realm.

But he never forcibly squeezed into those shining family circles, and even disdained such circles, but slashed into the inner courtyard with one sword after another; until now, his name became the sigh of those circles.

Those they usually look up to and yearn for are now also looking up to and yearning for his name; although most of what they express is sarcasm, the jealousy cannot be covered up.

Private cultivator enters the academy, defeats the thousand-year family child Chu He, enters the inner courtyard, kills eighteen in the Realm of Profound Understanding and one in the Realm of Merging with the Dao to establish a family.

Now he has traveled a thousand miles with one sword, shining cold in the Snow Realm.

Xiang Fu and Cong Yi opened their mouths slightly in the night, and suddenly heard Liu Jian'an's voice sound in the night.

"Cao Jiaoxi clearly said that I was the best student he had ever accepted, and even praised me as 'this child is extraordinary,' but didn't expect that as soon as Senior Brother Ji came back, he followed and ran over."

"?"

Xiang Fu and Cong Yi looked at each other and looked toward Liu Jian'an together: "When did he say that?"

Liu Jian'an scratched his head: "He says this every time I send gifts, and also says Senior Brother Ji is a rebellious disciple, not even comparable to me."

Xiang Fu and Cong Yi's mouths twitched, thinking to themselves that it was because you sent him gifts, while Senior Brother Ji not only didn't send gifts but also stared at his monthly salary every day.

But then again, being a rebellious disciple is not false, but not everyone has the qualifications to be a rebellious disciple...

And at about the same time, fifteen carriages flying in a 'chuan' shape were galloping outside the pass; after a long journey, they gradually approached the Luoyue Pass on the west side of the Cold Iron Pass.

At this time, Ji You was leaning on the carriage, exercising his arm bending.

Their journey was fairly smooth, and they didn't encounter large-scale barbarian pursuit.

The strongest one was only a general, who was slashed away by Yan Chuan with one sword.

After all, encountering obstruction when leaving was because the barbarians were also afraid they would influence the Demon Emperor's decision, and when returning, everything was settled; spending a large amount of troops to chase and kill a small envoy group was not cost-effective.

At this time, Ji You lifted his hand gently and looked to the right side of the carriage's progress, which was the location of the Cold Iron Pass.

The war was still constant, and the sound of attacking the city was endless.

The Zhenbei Army had received the message that they would arrive today early on; at this time, they launched a counterattack against the barbarian army, the purpose of which was to constantly shift the front line to the east to take the opportunity to welcome the envoy group into the country.

And at this time, a scholar in cloth clothes was standing on the city wall of the northern border, holding a dagger worth five taels of silver in his hand, looking at the north, his eyes without grief or joy, until he saw the motorcade galloping into the city.

At that moment, he was stunned for a long time, then turned and ran wildly toward the bottom of the city wall...

"Brother Ji..."

"Brother Kuang, I came back alive; unfortunately, the dagger you bought is useless."

Ji You got off the carriage, somewhat dusty, but his eyes were bright; his hands couldn't be lifted, but he was heroic and upright; at this moment, he stood proudly and looked at Xiang Kuangcheng.

A scholar who couldn't even tie a chicken, a private cultivator in the Realm of Profound Understanding who couldn't even support a chicken, looked at each other, then looked at the barren Fengzhou land behind the Luoyue Pass.

"Held it."

"Only temporarily held it."

"That can also be considered holding it."

At this time, a team of soldiers who came to welcome them in the Zhenbei Army dismounted and bowed to a group of ministers such as Wang Mingchang, Yu Shuheng, and Lu Ming.

If the demon-barbarian alliance attacked the Zhenbei Army, others might be better off, but these soldiers were the first to suffer.

However, what was surprising was that when those old ministers saw this scene, they didn't say anything, but turned around and raised their hands together, bowing to Ji You just like them.

The sect geniuses who returned with them also got off the carriage, looking at this scene at this time.

Although the journey on the diplomatic mission to the demon clan was equally dangerous, the goals achieved with their return were different.

Some of them were for the position of direct inheritance, some for spiritual treasures and immortal medicine, and some for family interests.

Only the person in front of them was for the thousand miles of barren land behind him.

So after landing, they could stand upright, saying "held it" in a light and breezy tone; although not high-pitched, it was resonant, and their spine was upright.

The immortal path is ethereal; sometimes one cannot see it after pursuing it for a lifetime, but cultivators will still take "becoming an immortal" as their life pursuit, because everyone is like this.

But at this moment, looking at this first scene, they suddenly felt that the path Ji You sought seemed brighter than theirs.

"The former Abbot once said that swords and teenagers are extremely compatible."

"Looking at it now, it seems it's really like this..."

At this time, the war outside the pass was tight, sand and soil splashed, and even in the clear sky, it was still yellow; it was not a good place to rest, so the envoy group decided to go to Fengzhou Prefecture to stay.

Along the way, every city was full of cultivators from foreign immortal manors, looking down from the tea houses and wine shops, some wanting to speak but stopping.

When they heard that Ji You was sent to the demon clan, the high-level officials of the foreign immortal manors here were all excited and praised.

Because Ji You was targeted, for those families, it was because he didn't understand the rules and didn't leave a hand in doing things, so he needed to be taught a lesson, either dead or injured.

But for these people in the foreign immortal manors, this was a matter of real interest.

Because if Ji You died in the Wilderness, or died in the Snow Realm, the matter of tax salary would return to the right track, and they also determined not to let Fengzhou appear any cultivator who could enter the inner courtyard of the immortal sect.

But after the envoy group set off, they suddenly found that many great experts suddenly appeared on the border of Youzhou.

Boundless Realm, even Spirit Travel Realm...

Then they realized that Youzhou was guarded by someone; if the Cold Iron Pass was broken and the demon-barbarian clans poured in, there would be a strong barrier in Youzhou, and there would even be scenes of moving mountains and filling seas.

Conversely, the barren Fengzhou had no defenses since ancient times, becoming a new battlefield from a buffer zone.

And when they realized this point, and looked back, they were shocked to find that Fengzhou was also guarded by someone.

But that person who guarded it was actually only in the Realm of Profound Understanding...

But no matter what, this place was finally guarded by someone.

These people in the foreign immortal manors in Fengzhou were actually the scraps of the families, never valued, and some even ran here because they couldn't stay in their families; for a moment, they were actually empathizing with Fengzhou.

So when they saw Ji You return, their mood was actually very complex, not knowing how to speak.

Xiang Kuangcheng was in the same carriage with him at this time; seeing the gazes outside, he couldn't help but speak: "I thought they would really hope you would die outside the pass."

Ji You moved his body: "That would be much easier, and I would have no shame in my heart."

"Why does Brother Ji always give me a temperament of not wanting to live."

"Don't mention it; I was seriously injured outside the pass at that time; if they hadn't hung gold on the roof to make me unable to let go, I would have stopped living long ago."

Ji You suddenly looked at another fellow passenger, Gongshu Chou, and remembered he forgot to introduce: "By the way, this is a Lingjian Mountain disciple, Gongshu Chou, who was stabbed by me once before, almost died, and now can be considered a life-and-death friendship."

Xiang Kuangcheng's brain twitched: "?"

"I don't understand it very well either; in short, it's just like this."

"Really magical, but still, nice to meet you, Brother Gongshu."

Gongshu Chou also bowed: "Nice to meet you, Brother Kuang."

After greeting, Xiang Kuangcheng began to constantly ask about their experiences on this trip.

As an official of the Immortal Supervision Bureau, he had actually already read the message of the Immortal Supervision Bureau, but there were still many concerns, so Ji You picked some that he was deeply impressed by and told him.

For example, being chased and killed by twelve soldier kings overnight after his whereabouts were exposed, and for example, the night ambush of the Scale and Fang clans after the first audience.

"Didn't expect this trip to be so dangerous..."

"The time being chased by the twelve soldier kings was better; at least we all knew they were coming for us, and we were prepared in advance, but the night raid on the Jade Garden was truly caught off guard."

Gongshu Chou nodded: "It was indeed more dangerous that night in the Jade Garden; we could still run when we were in the Wilderness, but we couldn't run at all when we were in the Demon Emperor City; we could only fight, and that demon general was said to have abnormal talent; just with bare hands, he beat Ji You until he was covered in knife wounds."

Xiang Kuangcheng opened his mouth after hearing this, then turned to look at Ji You: "Bare hands? Ah, understood... Congratulations to Brother Ji for obtaining two precious blades."

Ji You looked up at him, and after a long silence, spoke: "Damn, your judgment of people is really accurate."

Gongshu Chou: "?"

Xiang Kuangcheng lifted his double sleeves at this time: "In short, it's good that there's no danger; it's just that you've lost some weight."

"Perhaps the food on the Snow Realm didn't suit my appetite; that place is indeed barren, and I don't blame them for missing the Nine Provinces; but in the end, it was exchanged for temporary peace in Fengzhou, which can be considered worth it."

"And also exchanged for two short blades."

Gongshu Chou: "?"

Ji You waved his hand: "Don't mention this in the future; but the harvest is not just this; I also completed another heavy responsibility, which is to personally verify that demon women indeed have tails, filling the gap in human historical records that had no such record."

Before setting off, the two had exchanged views on the topic of demon women having round buttocks and tails.

At that time, Xiang Kuangcheng flipped through the demon clan customs records found in the Immortal Supervision Bureau, but didn't find any record until he finished the last page.

So the two agreed at that time that this gap would be filled by Ji You, and now Ji You didn't fail the trust, which could be considered breaking this mystery.

Thinking of this, Ji You couldn't help but think of that demon princess again.

Princess Fengyang is quite good, but her temperament is a bit cold, which is different from the Little Jianzhu's outer cold and inner 'ying' (soft/cute); it is truly cold.

Originally thought that seeing the tail meant they were friends, but when leaving, he found that the other party didn't even see him off, which was truly cold to the point of making people sigh.

It's just that when Xiang Kuangcheng heard the words "personally witnessed" and "indeed have tails," his eyes couldn't help but become strange.

Xiang Kuangcheng pondered for a long time before speaking in a low voice: "Brother Ji wasn't beaten?"

Ji You was stunned for a moment: "I am intelligent and eager to learn, asking without shame; why would I be beaten?"

"This arm of yours was beaten by them, right?" Xiang Kuangcheng pointed to his arm that wouldn't move, his expression serious, thinking to himself, don't try to lie to me.

"This was beaten by the barbarians; at that time, the barbarian soldier king tore open the barrier fist of the immortal sect elder; I had no choice but to block two punches; it's already been some days."

Xiang Kuangcheng looked at him thoughtfully: "Doesn't make sense..."

Ji You felt he was somewhat inexplicable: "Why must I be beaten?"

"No, nothing, it's good to be safe, it's good to be safe."

"?"

Afterward, the carriage moved forward, galloping toward the west.

During this period, Ji You got off the carriage to urinate; taking advantage of this gap, Gongshu Chou couldn't help but look at Xiang Kuangcheng: "Why do you always feel he would be beaten?"

"Since Brother Ji left, I guarded this place alone, worried about his safety but could only be anxious, so I found many classics and historical records about the demon clan, saw some records about demon women, and have been worried that he would encounter a poisonous beating in the Snow Realm."

Xiang Kuangcheng paused and said: "Because demon women indeed have tails, but like the chest, buttocks, and feet, they belong to the most private and shameful parts of women; usually, they are in a retracted form and can only be shown to their husbands."

Hearing this, Gongshu Chou held his breath.

Xiang Kuangcheng said again at this time: "Brother Ji is worthy of being Brother Ji; he didn't idle even on a diplomatic mission to the demon clan; but whose tail did he see, and he actually wasn't beaten?"

"This..."

Gongshu Chou was stunned upon hearing this, suddenly noticing the seriousness of the matter.

Because since entering the Snow Realm and contacting the demon clan, the two of them were basically inseparable; after all, Ji You's hands were injured, and he was also afraid that Ji You would encounter danger if he went out alone.

Confirm, they had gone out to see buttocks, but that time was basically a total loss.

Since then, the atmosphere in the Demon Emperor City became tense, and they didn't have time to go out again; Ji You had no chance...

Gongshu Chou suddenly was stunned for a moment, then opened his mouth, his eyes trembling for a long time before saying: "I know, what he saw should be the demon princess's..."

Xiang Kuangcheng slowly opened his eyes wide, then fell into a longer silence, only speaking after a long time: "I said before, Brother Ji must be able to conquer the world with a strong body."

"?"

Ji You got back on the carriage at this time, unable to help looking at them: "What are you talking about?"

Xiang Kuangcheng said it was nothing, then looked at Gongshu Chou: "The previous matter was just a guess; Brother Gongshu should just listen; this matter still cannot be talked about outside."

Gongshu Chou was silent for a moment after hearing the six words "cannot be talked about outside," then silently narrowed his eyes.

Ji You didn't know there were two detectives in his carriage; at this time, he frowned, unable to figure out what they were chatting about, only vaguely hearing that it seemed to be related to the demon princess.

【Thought we were friends】

【Cold to the point of making people sigh】

【Perhaps I overestimated myself】

(Asking for monthly tickets)

(End of chapter)