Chapter 100: Do Some Calculations

Jiang Yu passed through the Mountain of Two Realms into the mortal world and immediately felt the spiritual energy was thin.

At this moment, only two days remained before the New Year, and during the day, whether passing a village or a town, the atmosphere was filled with festive cheer.

"This is Jiang Country; how far is it from your hometown Tang Country?

At our current flying speed, we won't make it for the New Year, right?" Jiang Tu's spiritual perception now matches that of a late Golden Core cultivator; with a thought, he can sense subtle changes within dozens of miles.

It discovered something interesting and wants to see whether Jiang Yu has time to go.

"We still have to pass through Yue Country, Chen Country, and Tianluo Country.

Even if we use the supreme flying sword, traveling day and night without stopping, we can only arrive after the New Year." Jiang Yu's hometown is not on the border of Tang Country; she thinks her parents are probably still within Tang Country.

In this era's mortal realm, the household registration system is quite strict; she and Senior Sister Wan were able to cross several countries back then with a flying paper crane, but an ordinary mortal who doesn't live on the border can hardly even reach a neighboring country.

"I let you buy a Cloud‑Piercing Vessel, but you didn't; its flying speed is extremely fast.

Not to mention my merit points, each of us received low‑grade spiritual stones totaling eight million.

You used merit points to exchange a pill; you don't need my spiritual stones, but you have collected over two million spiritual stones from Ao Ze.

Holding over ten million low‑grade spiritual stones unused is truly wasteful." Jiang Tu thought she was unwilling to spend the spiritual stones.

Jiang Yu, however, sought stability: "The Cloud‑Piercing Vessel is a supreme treasure; even some Golden Core cultivators don't have one, and me piloting it would just attract thieves.

Look, the supreme flying sword we're using now is also fine; in half an hour it can fly about nine hundred li."

"But if you fly for two hours, you have to switch to the flying vessel to replenish spiritual energy, and during the day you also have to fly invisibly—so slow.

Then, the flying vessel is still under my control now.

So we're not in a hurry; do you want to go down to the temple and have a look?" Jiang Tu whizzed the direction from west to north.

Jiang Yu sighed: "Jiang Tu, why are you learning these convoluted tricks from Xuantang Xingjun? If you want to go have fun, just say it directly, no need for so much groundwork."

"Being idle is boring anyway, and besides, I'm not going to play; I accidentally discovered that on the back mountain of the temple, someone extracted the essence blood of a dozen children with spiritual roots, possibly evil cultivators." Jiang Tu finished, and Jiang Yu sprang up.

She might not meddle in other matters, but having once been captured by a street kid, she knows that helpless feeling, so she immediately released the flying sword, leapt onto it, and extended her spiritual perception for several li, yet saw no temple.

"Give me the precise location, and I'll go check the situation."

"Don't leave me behind; about twenty li ahead, there's a temple behind a county town's mountain." Jiang Tu, after recalling the flying vessel, also leapt onto the flying sword.

Twenty li, with full sword control, we arrived in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Yu fully opened her spiritual perception; a few li away she saw a temple with some lights, but she did not rush forward.

Instead she restrained her aura and landed, "Run your spiritual perception again, check the temple interior and the back mountain for any Golden Core cultivators.

Be careful, don't let the other side notice you." Her spiritual perception is strong, but that doesn't mean others' are weak; many cultivation methods also strengthen spiritual perception.

Of course, if there are only one or two Foundation Establishment cultivators, the two of them could handle them easily.

Not long after, Jiang Tu reported there were no Golden Core cultivators, but there were three Foundation Establishment cultivators—one late‑stage, two mid‑stage—and five Qi Refinement cultivators.

The children seemed to have lost so much blood that their cultivation was completely gone.

"Only one Qi Refinement cultivator is guarding the children.

The others are in different caves, with seals that hide whether they're cultivating." Jiang Tu's spiritual perception can forcefully pierce weak seals, but doing so would alert the people inside.

"Spiritual energy or demonic energy?" Jiang Yu slapped on an invisibility talisman and switched to light steps.

"Spiritual energy; evil cultivators don't necessarily practice demonic arts.

Which one to kill first?" Honestly, Jiang Tu hasn't really fought much; he plans to go back to find the Eclipsed Moon Tiger and challenge the Seventh Steps on Er Mountain.

The inexplicably sneezing Eclipsed Moon Tiger: "Who is talking bad about me behind my back?"

"We need to calculate; they are training separately, I can't annihilate them all at once.

Unless…" Jiang Yu pulled out a Heavenly Thunder Orb, a tool that can instantly kill those below Foundation Establishment, but it might also explode the children.

She also produced several fire bomb talismans, "Jiang Tu, if we strike quickly, I might be able to wipe out the two people in adjacent caves; you could eliminate up to three.

But I'm afraid the survivors will use the children as leverage, so I want to rescue the children first, then lure the snakes out of the caves and defeat them one by one."

"I'll use pressure suppression... never mind, each cave entrance has a defensive array; I can't take down seven or eight at once."

"Let's go, I'll carry you close to the caves where the children are." Jiang Tu's stealth innate talent is even stronger than her invisibility talisman.

Already carrying her, they stuck to the cave entrance; the Qi Refinement cultivators inside didn't sense them.

"I'll break the array, you stun the people." A simple small Five Elements Array; Jiang Yu only needs two hand techniques to slip inside easily.

The Qi Refinement cultivator meditating at the cave entrance, as soon as he opened his eyes, was struck on the head by Jiang Tu.

Then there was no after... The Seventh Dragon Claw descended, that person died with a wail.

Jiang Tu quietly watched Jiang Yu, noticing she swiftly pressed over a dozen children's acupoints, sending them into a spatial spell chamber and away, not caring about the life‑or‑death at the doorway.

Moreover, before leaving, she sent a fire talisman to see the person off completely, and scattered tracking powder at the cave entrance.

"Let's go." Jiang Yu grabbed the storage bag and left quickly.

"Not killing any more?"

"Being silent is what scares people."

Jiang Yu, in one breath, left the temple's back mountain seven or eight li, then set up a spell array to enlarge the spatial spell chamber.

She inspected the twelve children one by one; the ten‑year‑olds were okay, but several five‑ or six‑year‑olds had their foundations completely destroyed.

"These children, what was taken wasn't just essence blood, but also heart blood." Jiang Yu stripped their clothes, saw wounds on their chests, regretted not killing more earlier.

At this moment she couldn't give them whole pills, only dissolved them in water for them to drink, then she checked the tracking marks and, together with Jiang Tu, removed them one by one.

"In the mortal realm, there are so many children with spiritual roots?" Jiang Tu wondered.

Jiang Yu unblocked the acupoints of the child whose body was still relatively strong, saying, "They might not all be from the same nation."

The child slowly opened his eyes, his first reaction was to defensively kick back.

Jiang Yu sighed inwardly, "Don't be afraid, I've already taken you away from those people."

"Can you tell me how you were captured?"

The child's stomach rumbled; he nervously clutched his belly.

Jiang Yu hurriedly had Jiang Tu take out the soup warming inside the Dragon Pearl, and the aroma of a huge pot of chicken soup made the child gulp down several mouthfuls of broth.

When she ladled it out and handed it to him, she suddenly sensed a spiritual energy fluctuation; her divine consciousness probed and found a Foundation Establishment sword‑controlling cultivator hovering nearby, "Jiang Tu, take care of this; I'm going to check."

Jiang Yu stepped out of the formation gate, "Which fellow cultivator is disturbing someone's clear dream?"

Whoosh, that late‑stage Foundation Establishment practitioner rushed forward, but stopped cautiously about ten‑odd zhang away; unexpectedly Jiang Yu suddenly threw a flying dart.

In the instant he swiftly dodged, several more darts intercepted from different directions.

While he flashed left and right, Jiang Yu leapt and the resonant spiritual sword darted forward like a spear.

The man shouted in anger, "First time meeting, fellow cultivator, why did you attack?"

"Do you know I am a secular disciple of Great Awakening Temple?"