“What about me? What about me?”
Gelan pointed at herself, as if pondering a badass identity that sounded fearsome. It was time for fantasy.
“Is there even any need to ask? You’re the young master’s wet nurse, so call yourself Niu Yulan.”
Yan Bingling waved her hand.
“To be honest with you, Second Mother nearly exploded on the spot. A wet nurse is fine, but what the hell is Niu Yulan? Bullshit! Then what are you? The young master’s little mom’s mount?”
“Huh? Of course I’m the young madam, Bingling! Because I made a solemn vow of love with Liuer—no, with Shi Yu. Unfortunately, the sect master absolutely refused to agree, so I eloped with the young master.”
The aunt master raised her index finger. Sounds perfectly reasonable, right? She had just made up a bunch of weird settings out of thin air and even acted self-righteous.
Gelan was amused to the point of anger:
“Fine, fine. You perverted aunt-lover have completely dropped the act.”
“Stop arguing, everyone listen to me. As an authentic elixir cultivator, it’s perfectly normal to have two maidservants. When we’re out and about, we must keep a low profile.”
“No!”
This time both elders spoke in unison, not a single one listening.
“Keep a low profile and you dye your hair yellow? Do you like Shiyu that much? Why not just tie her to your side? Afraid others won’t know you’re a Child of Destiny?”
“Exactly. Why choose to impersonate that fox spirit to annoy people? Like this, how can Mommy hold you to sleep at night?”
Both “moms” were jealous, but Gelan was speaking up for her disciple.
Yun Liu covered his head in pain. The team was hard to lead, the moms hard to coax. It was like the max version of Xiao Siran and Ji Shiyu.
He might as well have asked Old Master Shen to come out of retirement rather than smuggle these two goods across.
At that moment, Ao Tian also poked his master’s cheek and chuckled foolishly:
“Hey, how about giving me one too, Master Ji. I want to be Colorful Aotian too.”
The little yellow chick spread its wings, fantasizing about the good old days when it was the Nine Heavens Phoenix Spirit in the Upper Realm. Then a bucket of cold water came down.
“You? Just play your original role. Aren’t you still the companion spirit beast? Now… I am Shiyu, one hundred percent genuine!”
Yun Liu flicked his long hair and smiled faintly, even imitating the yellow-haired narcissism perfectly.
“Ah? Why am I the only one who doesn’t need a disguise!”
Ao Tian protested loudly.
Let alone the Boundless Sea, even within the Divine Radiance Sect, the number of people who recognized this chicken was negligible. Was it necessary?
Ji Shiyu probably never dreamed that her wish of “being thrown into a pig basket” would come true—merging with her sworn father in a strange way.
“Which fellow cultivator there? State your name! This is the territory of Ju’ao Island!”
Three streams of spiritual energy passed overhead. They spotted people on the isolated island below and slowly descended. Their magic tools were varied in posture. Two were at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, one at Foundation Establishment Upper Realm. They were all patrol disciples.
“Apologies. We were passing through your precious land on a journey. We’ll be on our way immediately.”
Yun Liu smiled and looked up, cupping his hands in apology.
“Hold it!”
The leader, with a face full of brutish flesh, sneered.
“Is there something else, senior brother?”
“Who allowed you to leave just like that? You haven’t paid the toll yet.”
“Five hundred spirit stones per person.”
Gelan and Yan Bingling exchanged glances, having already concealed their spiritual breath. Did they think they were fools? Who would dare collect protection fees within the Penghu Archipelago?
“Robbery? You’ve got the wrong people!”
“Easy, easy—”
Yun Liu put on a placating smile and was about to take out the spirit stones, but Gelan grabbed his hand.
“People who are too soft get bullied. I told you, your experience is shallow, you brat. The Boundless Sea is not like the Eastern Pole Province. If you show the slightest weakness, they’ll suck your marrow and drink your blood. Do you think they deserve face?”
Before she finished speaking, Gelan had already leaped up. She clenched her fist, and in the blink of an eye, all three fell to the ground, trembling all over.
“Your mother here was robbing people before you were even born!”
Yan Bingling laughed coquettishly:
“What a fine Invincible Iron Fist Niu Yulan.”
“Shut up!”
“Aiyo! Lady Immortal Niu, spare us! Lady Immortal Niu, spare us!”
Hearing the three begging so glibly, Gelan was even more furious. She almost tripped.
“Niu… get lost, get lost, get lost! From now on, keep your eyes wide open!”
The three retreated in terror. Among them, one gritted his teeth, turned around, and took out a communication artifact to call for reinforcements.
At that moment, the Fish Bone Flying Sword slid into Yun Liu’s palm. A streak of arc light flashed.
Shlash!
Three heads rolled to the ground.
Yan Bingling smiled without speaking, but Gelan was stunned. The first time he had shed blood was probably during the attack at the Pavilion of Peaks and Forests. She hadn’t expected him to be so decisive in killing now.
“To lose your life over five hundred spirit stones, tsk.”
Yun Liu shook his head innocently:
“Amitabha. These three lives have to be counted on you.”
He confiscated all their belongings.
“If you had just tossed them a few spirit stones, they would have been sent away. Since we took action, we can’t leave any survivors, to let anyone know we were here. Stability is paramount.”
“Hmph…”
Gelan pouted. It seemed she had underestimated this brat.
Inside the storage bags of the three unlucky guys, there happened to be a crude spirit boat, used to cross the sea and enter the port—the Penghu Archipelago.
Eagle Harbor was one of the larger trade ports on the Boundless Sea, and it was not far away. Even if they asked Mister Canghai for help, they would have to conceal their tracks.
Yun Liu made up his mind and steered the spirit boat to set sail. He and his two “maids” all controlled their spiritual breath to around Golden Core.
On this sea reeking of blood, Golden Core cultivators were not without the ability to protect themselves, but they wouldn’t be listed as threats by the Yingzhou Longying Crowd.
As the spirit boat merged into the main shipping lane, the surrounding ships gradually increased. Those with clan crests engraved on their hulls belonged to great families or island lords, and no one dared to target them. In lawless sea territories, having no backing was the most dangerous.
Penglai Island held a neutral stance, and Mister Canghai was of a gentle temperament. Would he risk offending the Yushen Clan for them?
“Even if he doesn’t help, I won’t blame him. At least he won’t expose us. It’s worth a try.”
Yun Liu shook his head, secretly relieved.
After transforming into the yellow-haired persona, the aunt master’s enthusiasm had significantly waned. She often stared at him with an odd look, betraying great disgust.
Yan Bingling rested her chin on her hand, staring dreamily into the distance, as if she had already treated this journey as an elopement.
Anywhere was fine, as long as she didn’t stay on Celestial Phenomena Peak!
The three disembarked at the port and were immediately captivated by the bustling scene of Crescent Moon Harbor. Its scale was about the same as the expanded Shenhua Pavilion.
Almost everyone on the Penghu Archipelago practiced cultivation. Walking along the main street, passersby all had decent spiritual breath, all being cultivation disciples from various islands.
Canghai was right. This was truly a paradise for wandering cultivators, where danger and opportunity coexisted.
“This isn’t even the largest market on the Boundless Sea. When the Great Whirlpool opens, revealing Mirage City, the Sea Market will also reappear in the mortal world. The last time I went was a hundred years ago.”
Thinking this, Gelan’s eyes lit up, as if recalling something.
“Ah! I remember, I saw that turtle shell at the Sea Market. A wandering scholar set a riddle that remained unsolved for over ten days, then he disappeared.”
“What? Then we can’t delay any longer.”
Yun Liu’s eyes gleamed with excitement. No mistake about it. They had to get there before the Sea Market opened—hoping that man would still be there.