The Female Bandit

Although he had gained no tangible treasure from this trip to the Secret Treasury, he had condensed a Natal Celestial Talisman and become a One-Seal Talisman Master. He had also obtained a Spiritual Map marking the Halberd Spirit's location, so the trip hadn't been a loss.

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye. The Valley Stone Gate slowly opened, and Liu Qing, dressed in a blue robe, was the first to emerge. His aura was much stronger than when he had entered, so it seemed he'd gained quite a lot.

Ji Xian, Tai Feichen, Ji Wentian, and the others soon appeared before the stone gate as well. Their cultivation auras were all stronger than before.

Next came the Blue-Haired Woman, Lan Xinhuang. Long Jiuyyao appeared just before or after her, and the two stared at each other, wide-eyed.

Long Jiuyyao was the first to react, and his heart sank. He had been among the last to emerge from the Teleportation Array, waiting until the instant it shut down so he wouldn't have to see her. He hadn't expected to run into her anyway.

At last, Lan Xinhuang reacted. She clenched her fists and fixed her Spirit Eyes on Long Jiuyyao.

Long Jiuyyao immediately ran to Great Elder Tian Sha's side. Of course, after seeing Long Jiuyyao again, Lan Xinhuang had no intention of letting him get away. She followed.

Liu Qing, standing before the stone gate, saw Long Jiuyyao again and realized he was different from when they'd met back in the clan. His cultivation was still at the Heaven Origin Realm, but his overall strength had changed beyond recognition.

"Jiuyyao, it looks like you gained a lot this time!" Liu Qing came over to Long Jiuyyao.

"Cousin Liu Qing, I gained a little," Long Jiuyyao replied with a smile.

Ji Xian and the others came over to greet Long Jiuyyao as well, and he returned each greeting in turn.

"Grandpa Tian, I want to talk to Long Jiuyyao alone!" Lan Xinhuang said.

"But I don't want to talk to you!" Long Jiuyyao snapped.

"Shut up," Lan Xinhuang said fiercely. "Come on!" She grabbed Long Jiuyyao by the sleeve and dragged him over to a distant stone pillar.

"Jiuyyao, we'll wait for you on the warship!"

Beside the stone pillar, Lan Xinhuang was silent for a moment before asking, "Did you see it or not?"

"See what?" Long Jiuyyao asked, confused.

"M-my tattoo!" Lan Xinhuang stammered.

"Your tattoo? What tattoo? Did a mosquito land on you?" Long Jiuyyao pretended to look behind her.

"Just tell me—did you see it or not?" Lan Xinhuang asked impatiently.

"Even if I had, I wouldn't look. Got it? Can I leave now?" Long Jiuyyao said quietly.

"You—get out of here!" Lan Xinhuang pointed away from her.

"I never want to see you again," Long Jiuyyao said, waving a hand.

"I don't want to see you again either," Lan Xinhuang shot back.

But when Long Jiuyyao was several meters away, he suddenly called out, "You get a little chick tattoo and think you're a Phoenix? You really think you're some kind of bandit?"

Lan Xinhuang heard him from a distance and flew into a rage. "Get back here!" She chased after him.

Naturally, Long Jiuyyao wasn't about to let her catch him. He sprinted away as fast as he could.

Seeing she couldn't catch up, Lan Xinhuang cursed, "You shameless scoundrel!"

Long Jiuyyao acted as if he hadn't heard and kept running.

The trip to the Secret Treasury had ended perfectly.

After a month of sleeping rough, Long Jiuyyao lay in bed and sighed. There was nothing like his own bed.

The Dragon Clan Warship returned to the clan in no time. As soon as Long Jiuyyao disembarked and returned to his Courtyard, Elder Yan came over with a Message Jade carrying news from the Great Yan Dynasty in the Eastern Xuan Domain.

Long Jiuyyao took the jade and read the message. His expression shifted repeatedly.

The message said that the future Martial Ancestor, Lin Dong, had only been born half a month ago. Long Jiuyyao was slightly surprised.

Long Jiuyyao rubbed his chin and murmured, "Looks like the story won't start for another fourteen years. Lin Dong won't obtain the Ancestral Stone until he's fourteen, after all. There's plenty of time."

Ten minutes later, Long Jiuyyao handed back the Message Jade and told Elder Yan to give it to the Three Monitors of Lin Dong.

He told them to keep things as they were and not to watch Lin Dong too closely.

Lin Dong was still far too young. Once he obtained the Ancestral Stone, Long Jiuyyao would have someone guide him in cultivation. After all, Lin Dong would only be at the Body Tempering Realm when he obtained it. There was still time.

Time passed quietly. Long Jiuyyao had been back in the clan for half a month. His Yuan Power cultivation hadn't advanced much and remained at the late Heaven Origin Realm, but his Spiritual Power had improved considerably. His previously blurry Natal Celestial Talisman had become clear and well-defined.

Aside from occasionally cultivating his Spiritual Power, he'd spent the rest of the fortnight searching for a new "home" for the Gale Ancestral Rune in his Mud Pill Palace.

Dragon Domain spanned a hundred thousand li. At its center, the Dragon Clan had plenty of places rich in wind energy. After half a month of searching, Long Jiuyyao had found the three places with the densest wind energy.

They were the Fierce Hurricane Gorge, a gorge spanning ten thousand li and perpetually swathed in gales. It contained not a trace of Heaven and Earth Yuan Power. In fact, anyone who entered would find their own Yuan Power silently devoured and drained away.

Then there was the Black Wind Dark Dragon Abyss. Though it covered only half the area of the Fierce Hurricane Gorge, it was even more dangerous. Its black wind suppressed Yuan Power. For instance, a One Yuan Nirvana Realm expert who entered could only muster the strength of the Creation Realm. The higher one's cultivation, the weaker the wind's suppression. Experts above the Life Profound Realm could ignore it, of course. But the black wind was merely the most ordinary wind in the Black Wind Dark Dragon Abyss.

The Swift Wind Thunder Mountain was the smallest, covering only a thousand li. Yet its wind was the most destructive of the three. It was commonly called Wind Light Lift. It could cut through thunder and split lightning; even a gentle breeze could cleave a bolt of lightning in two.

The wind energy in all three places differed by only the slightest amount. That was exactly why Long Jiuyyao was at a loss over where to settle the Gale Ancestral Rune.

Today, he planned to ask his adoptive father. After all, this concerned the ninth Ancestral Talisman in the world. He couldn't shoulder the burden alone, nor did he have the strength to do so.

Yuan Gan, the Dragon Clan Lord, was at the Reincarnation Stage. Within the Dragon Clan, he was powerful enough to handle anything.

Of course, the Dragon Clan was home to countless old monsters. The moment he revealed the Gale Ancestral Rune, they would probably sense it and awaken one after another.

Every Heaven and Earth Ancestral Rune warranted such attention, let alone a brand-new Newborn Ancestral Rune that wasn't any of the known ones.

Even Yuan Gan hadn't fully grasped how many old monsters the Dragon Clan had. He only knew there were certainly quite a lot. These slumbering old monsters were the clan's true foundation, second only to the clan leader. Fewer than ten people knew they existed.

Of course, Long Jiuyyao was one of them. Yuan Gan hadn't told him, but Long Jiuyyao knew he wasn't strong enough to learn such secrets yet. The trouble was, he had memories unlike anyone else's.

And most importantly, one of the Three Great Perilous Lands where the largest number of Yi Mo were sealed lay beneath the Dragon Domain. Countless Yi Mo were imprisoned there. The Dark Lord kept them suppressed, but they could never be taken lightly.

The Yi Mo in the Demon Suppression Prison were only being held down, not wiped out. They hated the Ancestral Talismans no less than the world revered them—in fact, they hated them even more. If the Yi Mo in the prison sensed a new Heaven and Earth Ancestral Rune being born in the Dragon Clan, they might stop at nothing to destroy both it and the clan.

The Heaven and Earth Ancestral Talismans were lethal to the Yi Mo, so they would do anything to eliminate their wielders—or the talismans themselves.

Long Jiuyyao knew that the Thunder Emperor, the new wielder of the Thunder Ancestral Rune, had died when the Yi Mo surrounded and attacked him.

Long Jiuyyao even knew where several unclaimed Ancestral Talismans were. The Thunder Ancestral Rune left behind by the Thunder Emperor was in the Sky Thunder Sea Region of the Chaotic Demon Sea. The Space Ancestral Rune was in the Yuan Sect in the Eastern Xuan Domain. And the mysterious Devouring Fu Zu was in the hands of a worthless sect that didn't even have a Nirvana Realm expert. But Long Jiuyyao wouldn't interfere—or rather, when the time was right, he would help Lin Dong obtain the Ancestral Talisman.

With Long Jiuyyao's strength alone, finding a new "home" for the Gale Ancestral Rune was simply unrealistic. He didn't even know if he could venture into the Three Great Perilous Lands alone, how far he could get, or how long he'd survive. It was all a mystery.

So the most important first step was to bring along his adoptive father. Without that, there could be no next step.

Long Jiuyyao had never been one to dawdle. Once he'd made up his mind, he acted at once. He strode out of his Courtyard and headed for his adoptive father's residence.