"A misunderstanding! It's all a misunderstanding!"
At the critical moment, it was Wei Yuan who rushed over.
First, he helped up Shangguan Qianmo, who lay face down on the ground, unable to move. Then he pacified the little rooster that was on the verge of going berserk before gingerly pulling Shangguan Qianmo's natal immortal sword out from its beak.
Gripping the sword's hilt was an exquisite hand, clutching tightly and refusing to let go. While continuing to soothe the little rooster, Wei Yuan tugged outward, finally pulling the sword-bearing celestial maiden out in one piece. Nothing was missing from her, though she was dripping wet and sticky all over.
Wei Yuan had to exercise extreme caution; throughout the process, he distinctly sensed that the rooster was itching to give him a vicious peck—for no reason other than the irritation of having food snatched from its beak. The little rooster seemed remarkably eager to devour human dharma idols. Fortunately, it managed to restrain itself, though drool kept dripping from the corner of its beak.
This was the first time Wei Yuan learned that roosters could drool. Whether other roosters could do so was unknown, but this little rooster certainly could.
Wei Yuan stuffed Shangguan Qianmo's sword-bearing celestial maiden back into her body. Only then did she regain consciousness, slowly waking up. Yet upon waking, she felt entirely off, sensing an alien smell lingering within her dharma idol.
To be precise, the smell of chicken.
Once she had fully come around, she caught sight of Wei Yuan. Struggling to her feet, she looked around and spotted the fiery-red little rooster perched in a tree.
Shangguan Qianmo cupped her hands toward the rooster and said in a heavy voice, "This junior, Shangguan Qianmo, has learned much from Senior's guidance today! In the future, the Sword Palace will surely repay this!"
The little rooster sneered. "This seat has met several immortals, and which of them wasn't courteous to me? You think I'd fear your Sword Palace? This seat already showed mercy underclaw—don't be ungrateful! Otherwise, just for cursing me to my face earlier, it wouldn't have been overstepping to strike you dead with lightning!"
Shangguan Qianmo replied coldly, "My skill fell short today; I have nothing to say. Farewell!"
She then turned to Wei Yuan. "Great Domain Lord Wei, may I leave alive?"
"Of course you may! Why wouldn't you?" Wei Yuan said with excessive attentiveness. "There's no grudge between us. Even though you did trespass into Qingming first, you are a member of the Sword Palace after all. When your kind makes a mistake, it can hardly be called a mistake, right? Still, the wind and rain are heavy right now, and the roads are slick. To prevent any further mishaps, I'll see you out."
Shangguan Qianmo endured Wei Yuan's sarcastic mockery and silently followed him away.
As soon as she left, the Medicine Garden instantly became lively. Xiaoyu suddenly felt two mountain-heavy gazes falling upon him. Looking up, he saw the little rooster sizing him up from head to toe.
Though Xiaoyu feared nothing under heaven or earth, the memory of the rooster drooling incessantly with Shangguan Qianmo's dharma idol in its mouth sent a shiver through his heart. At this moment, Star Lord Shaoyang cowered deep within his sea of consciousness, refusing to show himself at all. How could Xiaoyu fail to understand why?
He hurriedly bowed in greeting. "What instructions does Senior have?"
The little rooster ignored him, turning its head toward Perfected Chuhe instead. "Add three bags of rice later!"
"No problem!" Perfected Chuhe answered too quickly, agreeing on the spot. Only after the little rooster flew away did he suddenly slap his thigh with a loud cry.
Only then did he recall that the spirit rice deemed worthy of the little rooster's discerning eye was strictly limited—harvested fresh each day with not half a grain to spare!
Perfected Chuhe leaped to his feet. Without even wiping the blood he had spat out earlier from his mouth, he shouted to the surroundings, "Don't just stand there enjoying the show, you lot! Everyone chip in!"
His movements were nimble and his voice full of vigor; where was there any trace of someone half-dead?
A patch of empty space suddenly warped, tumbling out seven or eight cultivators all at once. Bao Yun looked thoroughly bewildered, unable to fathom how her concealed pocket of space had abruptly failed.
Though they tumbled out in an undignified heap, the moment their feet touched the ground they struck their own distinct poses—each looking cool and sharp, gazing out upon the world as if their presence was entirely natural and everything taking place had nothing to do with them.
Ji Liuli was the first to spread her hands. "Don't look at me. I'm so poor I don't have a thing."
Feng Tingyu, however, pulled out a small pouch of white jade stones from who-knew-where. "These are my steamed bun snacks. That's all I have left, but chickens should like them."
Perfected Chuhe took it with delight, exclaiming, "A life saver! It's just a bit little—whoa!"
His hands sank abruptly, and he nearly dropped the small pouch of jade buns onto the ground. A transparent bag no bigger than a honeydew melon actually weighed thousands of jin!
"These are steamed buns?" Xiaoyu could not help asking.
Feng Tingyu nodded. "Eating cooked spirit rice is too troublesome, so I ground it into flour, steamed it into rice-flour buns, and compressed a hundred jin into each one to snack on."
Only then did Xiaoyu realize that based on appetite alone, his defeat was completely justified.
Sun Yu and Xu Henshui each contributed some spirit seeds, medicinal pills, and the like. Yu Zhizhuo produced a pouch of grubs, supposedly unearthed while mining underground; their spiritual energy was astonishing, clearly indicating they were no ordinary specimens. Yu Zhizhuo kept only four for himself and contributed all the rest.
Finally, there was Bao Yun. She carried numerous treasures, quite a few of which were suitable for feeding chickens, and she produced them all. Pooling their collective efforts, they finally scraped together the equivalent of three bags of rice. Perfected Chuhe offered profuse thanks, but the expressions on everyone's faces were somewhat peculiar—as though they had all realized something, yet none of them spoke of it.
Xiaoyu was the only one who did not understand.
Having gathered the necessary contributions, the cultivators of the Palace of Grand Beginning dispersed in an instant. With Perfected Chuhe busy feeding the rooster, he did not detain Xiaoyu either.
Carrying the medicinal herbs, Xiaoyu flew toward Yong'an City. At this time, Star Lord Shaoyang emerged, flying side by side with him.
After a moment of silence, Star Lord Shaoyang remarked, "Having not descended into the mortal world for so long, the world has changed so drastically. One truly must tread carefully at every step. By the way, why is it that every single disciple of your Palace of Grand Beginning carries a shadow stone on them?"
Xiaoyu replied, "It's not everyone. Look, I don't have—"
Star Lord Shaoyang glared at him. "This sovereign believes it is better to be prepared."
After a moment, Xiaoyu nodded. "Fair enough."
At the border of Qingming, Wei Yuan halted his steps. "I will see Fairy this far."
Shangguan Qianmo said faintly, "Lord Domain Lord, you recorded quite a few shadow stones again, didn't you?"
"How could that be?" Wei Yuan replied with utmost sincerity.
"There is something I don't understand: why does your palace target me so?"
Wei Yuan said, "A sect has its stance, but in private we are still good friends. I have always remembered the Sword Palace's kindness toward me."
Shangguan Qianmo held out her hand. "Hand it over!"
Wei Yuan looked completely bewildered. "Hand what over?"
"The shadow stones."
Wei Yuan's expression shifted to helpless innocence. "I truly don't have any. How can I give them to you?"
Shangguan Qianmo's eyes brimmed with suspicion, while Wei Yuan radiated righteous integrity. In the end, Shangguan Qianmo pressed no further and flew away on her own.
Wei Yuan watched her silhouette fade into the distance before turning back.
Back at the City Lord Manor in Yong'an City, Xiaoyu found that Bao Yun was already waiting for him. Taking a seat, Xiaoyu took a sip of tea before saying with a wry smile, "Wasn't it exhausting for all of you to put on such an elaborate show together?"
Bao Yun smiled radiantly, her jade-like fingers twirling her teacup. "It was quite fun, actually. Besides, it makes Wei Yuan owe us all a favor—why wouldn't we do it?"
This answer clearly caught Xiaoyu off guard. "Just to make me stay, he was willing to owe so many favors?"
Bao Yun gave a soft sigh. "When that fellow is shrewd, he's craftier than a ghost; but when he's foolish, he's exceptionally foolish. Still, while collecting a favor was one part of it, none of us truly wanted you to leave, either."
Xiaoyu fell silent for a moment, then murmured, "I won't leave."
The moment Wei Yuan returned to the immortal city, he entered the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World without a moment's pause to continue calculating the second orbit. Right at that moment, a slender strand of karmic luck descended from the heavens and dropped into the Smoke and Fire of the Mortal World.
At present, Wei Yuan had sporadic trickles of karmic luck flowing in at every moment. Yet though this strand was wispy and thin, its nature was azure tinged with purple, surrounded by a seven-colored immortal resonance—extraordinarily remarkable and entirely unprecedented.
Wei Yuan did not know where this karmic luck had come from; it seemed to unite the characteristics of a dharma idol, Scenery Command, and an innate celestial spirit all in one.
Wei Yuan promptly retrieved it and applied it to a thorny problem that had plagued him for days. Sure enough, the issue was solved with ease, guessing right without a hitch. Wei Yuan was thoroughly pleased. As expected, low-tier karmic luck wasn't enough for difficult problems; only luck of a sufficiently high tier could resolve them.
Chapter 822