Chapter Thirteen: Dingguo, Cangzhou
"Well." Since they were going on a journey, Bai Qiuran had made his disciple another Storage Bag to hold her belongings. The pile of cushions she used to maintain her "appearance" took up a lot of space. With the Storage Bag, Bai Qiuran and Tang Ruowei could travel light, their hands empty and free from the misery of lugging around bags.
"But don't get too excited yet." They raced along like lightning. As the scenery flashed past, Tang Ruowei had no idea how many miles Bai Qiuran had carried her. When the world around them stopped twisting and returned to normal, she found herself in a completely unfamiliar place.
Bai Qiuran patted her shoulder.
But Bai Qiuran showed no mercy. "As always, your struggle is utterly useless. I can already see Princess Taiping's future."
"If I'm going to find things for you to do, I have to gather information first."
Tang Ruowei hummed a tune as she walked into the courtyard, arms full of medicinal herbs and a broad grin on her face. She set the herbs down in Bai Qiuran's alchemy room.
"Our Azure Nether Sword Sect may not meddle in worldly affairs, but we're famous throughout the Cultivation World of Guzhou—and even across the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou. Guzhou, especially, is practically our sect's backyard. When you're out and about in Guzhou, just reveal that you're a disciple of the Azure Nether Sword Sect. Apart from a half-baked fool like your ancestor, who picked up a fragment of a manual by the roadside and practiced it, who the hell would be bored enough to cause you trouble?"
"Let me think. This place is..."
"Compared to Master, I still have a long way to go."
Three days later, Bai Qiuran, fully prepared, took Tang Ruowei and left the Mountain Gate of the Azure Nether Sword Sect.
"I have something to tell you. Something important."
Though Bai Qiuran had repeatedly insisted that cultivators should sever their worldly ties, Tang Ruowei couldn't help caring when she heard news of her blood relative.
Bai Qiuran rolled his eyes and thought for a moment before replying, "Cangzhou. Dingguo."
Tang Ruowei perked up. "Then, Master, where are we going now?"
"Why?"
Bai Qiuran explained, "You didn't know? Your younger brother, the Crown Prince of Shangxuan, got married last year."
"He married a busty woman." Tang Ruowei was secretly shocked.
Watching his disciple beam like a flower, Bai Qiuran sat cross-legged in the alchemy room and asked leisurely, "You're grinning like a female monkey that's won mating rights. Has your mating season finally arrived?"
"So if Guzhou won't do, where are we going?"
"Oh, I think I understand."
"Hey!"
"Fate can be changed!"
"Hey, wait. Don't go yet."
We haven't even been going for half an hour. Just how fast is Master?
Tang Ruowei hadn't been prepared for it and hesitated. For ordinary mortals, the distance between two great provinces was practically the distance between two worlds. But Bai Qiuran had crossed it with ease.
Cangzhou lay northwest of Guzhou, and Yunzhou sat between the two. In other words, Bai Qiuran had covered at least hundreds of thousands of miles on the way here, crossing several kingdoms.
"Why are we suddenly going down the mountain?"
After descending into the mortal world and breathing in the long-missed air of worldly life, Tang Ruowei looked up at Bai Qiuran and asked, "Master, where are we going next? Back to Shangxuan?"
"Ah..." Though she felt impressed, Tang Ruowei couldn't help reminding herself.
"Every disciple in every sect has to go out and gain experience. You've been cooped up on the mountain for nearly six years. It's about time you went down and broadened your horizons."
Bai Qiuran continued, "Though this is my trial as well as yours, it's mainly yours. So if we run into trouble along the way, I won't step in to help unless you're unlucky enough to encounter an opponent you truly can't beat. You'll have to solve problems on your own."
Each region in the Ten Lands of Jiuzhou was vast, almost as large as Pangaea on a planet. It was a good thing this world's territories were so immense; otherwise, they could hardly have withstood a bunch of gods, demons, Demon Immortals, and ghosts all crammed together, raising hell.
Perhaps noticing Tang Ruowei's expression, Bai Qiuran told her, "Keep cultivating. Once you ascend to the upper realm, your speed should be close to mine... After all, you'll be able to wield a Flying Sword."
Tang Ruowei angrily prepared to leave the alchemy room.
Tang Ruowei raised her chin. "Master, you make it sound like we're going down the mountain just to look for trouble."
Bai Qiuran replied, "That's what going down the mountain to gain experience means: going down to find trouble."
Tang Ruowei's good mood vanished at once. "How can you talk about your adorable disciple like that?"
Tang Ruowei asked nervously, "What kind of woman did my younger brother marry?"
"What's wrong with you?" Bai Qiuran grabbed Tang Ruowei by the arm and said...
So the girl kicked the threshold, turned around, and came back. She sat down opposite Bai Qiuran, fuming.
"Cangzhou?"
"No, we're not staying in Guzhou."
Bai Qiuran checked their surroundings, then replied, "Come with me. Today, I'll show you the ways of the world."
"Yes, you got it right."
Bai Qiuran didn't joke around this time. He went straight to the point. "You've reached Foundation Establishment, so it's about time you went down the mountain."
"Master."
"Then keep at it. Fortune Body Forging Technique, level fifty—I believe in you."
The two didn't disturb the Azure Nether Sword Sect's Mountain Gate. Instead, Bai Qiuran quietly led Tang Ruowei away from the sect's mountain territory, starting from Seven Star Peak.
Bai Qiuran glanced at Tang Ruowei and flicked her forehead.
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