"Yang Jian, step aside! If you keep making trouble, don't blame us for what happens next!"
At that moment, Nine Heavens Profound Maiden was finally angered by Yang Jian's unreasonable behavior, which had begun with his baseless assumptions.
In the crowd, Di Xin heard the name "Yang Jian" and couldn't help but shudder.
Oh, for crying out loud!
I'm standing here watching the commotion, and that man is none other than the great Erlang Shen, Yang Jian? No wonder Sky-Howling Dog had started acting up again!
The dog's owner was right in front of him, and he had Sky-Howling Dog hidden away. This was like riding a blind horse toward a cliff in the dead of night—way too damn dangerous.
Di Xin grabbed Gun Juan and turned to leave, but suddenly saw people surging toward them from every direction, already hemming them in.
He could force his way out, sure, but that would mean swimming upstream like a fish, becoming the most beautiful figure in the crowd moving against the flow. With his extraordinary height, it would be hard not to attract Yang Jian's attention.
He forcibly suppressed his urge to flee and continued to suffer in place.
By now, he had more or less figured it out. The system had sent him running out of the palace because Yang Jian had arrived in Chaoge.
If he knew the two female Qi Cultivators were agents of Goddess Nuwa, the pressure would probably have been even worse.
Goddess Nuwa had forbidden Nine Heavens Profound Maiden and Nine Nether Pure Maiden from revealing their identities. That was why the two of them had argued with Yang Jian for a few extra exchanges. If they had revealed who they were from the start, the misunderstanding would probably have been cleared up, and Yang Jian wouldn't have pressed them so hard.
"If you two aren't feeling guilty, why get angry for no reason? Please wait a moment. Once I've taken care of something, I'll let you fellow Daoists leave."
Yang Jian wasn't someone who scared easily. Now that he had a suspect in mind, he was determined to get to the bottom of things, even if it meant using up the last drop of Sky-Howling Dog's blood essence.
"In broad daylight, what exactly are you trying to do?" A frosty look settled over Nine Heavens Profound Maiden's face. If there hadn't been so many ordinary people here—people who might be hurt if they fought—she wouldn't have put up with this for another moment.
"You two need only wait quietly!"
As he spoke, Yang Jian moved his hand, and the jade-green bottle appeared in his grasp once more.
Seeing this, Nine Heavens Profound Maiden raised one hand, and a short black halberd appeared above her palm. It was her spiritual treasure, the Mysterious Sky Halberd.
In her haste, she hadn't had time to identify it, and assumed Yang Jian's jade bottle was a magical treasure.
Just as the two sides were about to clash, four streaks of light suddenly shot down from the sky, transforming into four figures—one man and three women.
"Fellow Daoists, what's the quarrel about? Is this Yang Jian, disciple of True Man Yu Ding?" The man wore a black Daoist robe, with a huge Taiji Eight Trigrams design on his chest. As soon as he appeared, he spoke first.
In the world of Qi Cultivators, anyone who could address someone by name was generally an elder.
For example, when Goddess Nuwa called Yang Jian by name, he addressed her as "Senior."
There were exceptions, too. People of the same generation might use each other's names, and juniors might address their elders by name as well. That usually meant the two sides were at odds, and there was no need to discuss their origins or seniority. Nine Heavens Profound Maiden calling him "Yang Jian" just now was one such case.
Nine Heavens Profound Maiden was annoyed with Yang Jian; she wasn't doing it because she outranked him by a generation.
Yang Jian saw the man's dignified bearing and the three women beside him, who were just as extraordinary. Knowing they were no ordinary Qi Cultivators, he hurriedly clasped his fists. "This disciple is indeed Yang Jian. May I ask the honored seniors' names?"
The man's eyes opened and closed slightly as he stroked his beard and introduced himself. "Zhao Gongming of Luofu Cave on Mount Emei. Traveling with me are the Three Ladies from Three Immortal Island."
Hearing that these were great figures of the Interception Sect, Yang Jian hurriedly bowed again, this time with great respect.
In the crowd, Di Xin's expression shifted, and unease welled up inside him.
Weren't the Three Ladies of Three Immortal Island Lady Yunxiao, Lady Bixiao, and Lady Qiongxiao?
He hadn't expected that the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors would bring not only the Three Ladies but Zhao Gongming as well.
Forget the Three Ladies of the Auspicious Clouds—even Zhao Gongming alone was a mighty figure who dared to take on the heavens and earth. And later on, he would be on Di Xin's side.
The Thirty-Six Stratagems...
Di Xin squeezed Gun Juan's little hand and was about to sneak away.
But the moment he moved, two options appeared before his eyes.
[Option One: Leave immediately. Quest reward: Immortal Beast Azure Ox.] [Option Two: Stay where you are. Quest reward: High-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure, Dragon Binding Rope.]
Seeing these two options, Di Xin hurriedly pulled his foot back and didn't dare move again.
He just couldn't understand why the system wouldn't let him leave in a situation like this.
If they found out where the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors were, they'd probably solve the cases of the Monster Summoning Banner and Sky-Howling Dog right then and there.
But because he trusted the system, he still chose the second option.
[Host's choice is absolutely correct. Quest completed. Reward: High-grade Acquired Spiritual Treasure, Dragon Binding Rope. Special note: Zhao Gongming's.]
When he saw those words, Di Xin covered his forehead. His face had gone a little dark.
System, could you act a little more properly? Zhao Gongming is right here! You're not stealing it—you're robbing him in broad daylight!
What am I supposed to do as your host? If someone catches me and tears me to pieces, are you going to cry?
Just as Di Xin was cursing out the system in his mind, a flash of white light appeared on Zhao Gongming and then vanished.
And, sure enough, Di Xin discovered that a black rope had appeared in his system inventory, gleaming brightly.
At this strange sight, the Three Ladies hurriedly looked at Zhao Gongming, silently asking what had happened.
Zhao Gongming's expression changed, and he blurted out, "My Dragon Binding Rope..."
He said no more. Instead, he closed his eyes and began to sense its whereabouts. The Three Ladies' expressions grew grim as they fixed their eyes on Zhao Gongming, waiting for his answer.
A moment later, Zhao Gongming slowly opened his eyes, a sharp glint in them. "It's somewhere in Chaoge. From this moment on, no one may leave the city!"
"Elder Brother, the four of us can each guard a different direction. No one will be able to get out. I'm afraid the same person has both it and the Golden Flood Dragon Scissors." At Yunxiao's words, she immediately released her Divine Sense.
Lady Bixiao and Lady Qiongxiao also released their Divine Senses to search Chaoge.
Releasing Divine Sense consumed a great deal of spiritual energy. Even they, having reached the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, couldn't sustain it for long, and its range was quite limited.
If the lost treasures hadn't been so important, they would never have wasted their energy like this.
After all, if they drained too much of it, it would take quite some time to recover.
So each person searched in a different direction. That way, the strain wouldn't be so severe.
In the crowd, Di Xin saw this and gently patted his chest, letting out a quiet breath of relief.
That had been like a roller-coaster ride. Way too thrilling.
Luckily, the white light formed by the Dragon Binding Rope hadn't appeared on Zhao Gongming and then traveled all the way down to him. Otherwise, he'd have been dead meat.
Compared with these bigwigs, his current cultivation made him nothing but a tiny shrimp.
Before you continue