Galactic Fleet

Inside the Sect Leader Temple, Gu Bai held the short rod, Golden Rouge, in his hands. He glanced at his eldest disciple standing to the side, looking slightly uneasy, and couldn't help but cough before asking, "Is this... really alright?"

Zhu Ying said indignantly, "Honestly, I already told you it's a gift specifically for you! As long as it's harmless to your body and mind, how could I be so unreasonable as to not tolerate a small hobby of yours? Besides, that woman from the Yuan family pestered me to have you try it, saying there would definitely be a surprise..."

Gu Bai hesitated for a long while before finally making up his mind. He tremblingly brought the short rod to his lips and took a gentle puff.

As spirit energy circulated, a small section of the rod vanished instantly. A flush of extreme pleasure immediately appeared on the old man's face; his eyes squeezed shut, and his eyeballs rolled slightly upward.

A moment later, the old man lowered his head slightly, and a stream of crimson-gold smoke shot out from his nose and mouth. After swirling in mid-air, it actually transformed into the likeness of a young girl.

The smoke was hazy and the image fleeting, but one could vaguely make out that the girl outlined by the smoke was beautiful and spirited—it was none other than the eldest senior sister of the Gujian Sect, Zhu Ying!

Seeing this, Zhu Ying was both annoyed and amused. "So that was her surprise! Instead of properly studying the way of alchemy, she spends all her time fiddling with these useless, flashy tricks!"

Despite her complaints, the joy in her eyes remained undiminished, which left Wu Ming clicking his tongue in wonder.

Since he had transmigrated to this world and awakened in Zheng Lingxi's treehouse, this was the first time he had seen her so unreservedly happy since their first meeting.

During this trip down the mountain for experience, she had not only gained progress in her cultivation and acquired magical treasures and wealth, but she had also gained an incredibly rare good mood.

Just as he was thinking this, a series of hurried footsteps sounded from outside the temple, followed by a girl's cheer, full of vigor and even more full of joy.

"Master~ Master! The Spirit Field is finally ready!"

The girl in the pink shirt and white skirt, wrapped in laughter, crashed into the Sect Leader Temple, only to feel as if she had crashed into the gates of hell.

"Se-se-se-senior sister..."

Terrified, Zheng Lingxi tripped over her own words and feet, nearly bowling straight into the sheer cliff known as Zhu Ying.

Fortunately, Zhu Ying caught her in time and scolded her crossly, "How many times have I taught you? You must not be so reckless and rude in front of Master!"

"I-I-I'm sorry..."

As she spoke, Zheng Lingxi carefully retreated, trying to put some distance between them.

Zhu Ying snorted and wrinkled her nose, then noticed a few strands of dog fur on the hem of Zheng Lingxi's skirt.

"...I was wondering why I smelled traces of demonic aura within the mountain-protecting formation when I returned. You've been playing with those wild beasts again, haven't you!?"

Zheng Lingxi cowered. "But, but they were really so pitiful..."

After this all-too-familiar exchange, Zheng Lingxi closed her eyes and waited for her punishment. But to everyone's surprise, Zhu Ying merely sighed, patted her head, and said:

"Compassion and sympathy must be within the scope of your own abilities. Raising them within the Yan Mountain Realm may satisfy your kindness for the moment. But if you are discovered later, you won't be able to truly protect them, and you'll end up needing others to protect you instead."

After a pause, Zhu Ying added, "If you truly pity them, you should strive to cultivate and grow into a great figure capable of truly protecting them, just as Master protects you and me."

This gentle admonition left Zheng Lingxi with nothing to do but nod silently.

Zhu Ying stood on her tiptoes again to pat her head, laughing, "Alright, don't look so glum. I brought you a gift from my training journey down the mountain."

"Eh? A gift?"

Zhu Ying smiled. With a flip of her right hand, a strangely shaped, translucent spirit herb suddenly appeared in her palm.

"Mind-Clearing Herb. I happened to see it while passing through Dongjun. Didn't you say you wanted one before? It might be a bit troublesome to cultivate, though; you'll need to prepare a plot of spirit field first..."

Before she could finish, she was tackled by an ecstatic Zheng Lingxi!

"Thank you, Senior Sister!" The little witch was moved to tears, clinging to Zhu Ying and rubbing against her like an affectionate puppy.

"You..." Zhu Ying felt as if she were caught in a suffocating storm; her entire face was buried, and she couldn't even get a full sentence out.

A moment later, seeing Zheng Lingxi becoming increasingly unruly—nearly disheveling their clothes—she applied a gentle force to push her away.

"Back off, sit properly!"

After two sharp reprimands, Zheng Lingxi obediently sat on a meditation cushion, no longer making a fuss.

Zhu Ying sighed, "You've been cultivating for so long, yet you're still a child who won't grow up."

On the other side, Wu Ming and Gu Bai, who had witnessed the entire scene, exchanged glances, their eyes filled with deep suspicion.

"Master, Senior Sister is being unusually gentle. Could it be that while hunting demons, she accidentally fell into a lake, and a lake fairy asked the people on the shore, 'Did you drop a six-foot-tall Zhu Ying or...'"

"I did not fall into a lake!" Zhu Ying interrupted Wu Ming's whispering with annoyance, then straightened her expression. "Master, I was just about to report what I saw along the way. Correspondence by letter was inconvenient, so many things weren't detailed."

Gu Bai nodded, "Good. You've been gone for over a month; you must have experienced things far beyond what ordinary people can imagine."

Zhu Ying gave a wry smile in return, "There were indeed many things beyond imagination, but they could hardly be called 'wonderful'."

Afterward, the young girl gathered her thoughts and recounted her experiences over the past month. She wasn't particularly eloquent, but she was concise and clear. Soon, she had outlined the entire Demon Hunting Decree operation.

Simply put, the Demon Hunting Decree from the prefecture government had deviated from expectations from the very beginning.

On the first day of assembly, Zhu Ying had seen someone who shouldn't have been there.

The eldest son of the Liu Family, Liu Cheng.

The Demon Hunting Decree in Dongjun was a notoriously bitter chore. It involved scouring mountains and plains for mountain spirits and wild monsters that were wreaking havoc, requiring both travel to the remote border regions of Qiongzhou and the danger of fierce battles against demons. Although the bounty was generous, what respectable family would be short on that bit of reward money?

Therefore, generally speaking, the demon-hunting teams were mostly composed of struggling rogue cultivators, whose cultivation levels were at most at the Foundation Establishment stage. Only a very small number of aristocratic scions would join in, usually for the sake of gaining prestige or "gilding" their resumes.

These aristocratic scions, of course, wouldn't actually put in the hard work during the hunt. They mostly spent their time barking orders at the rogue cultivators and then stealing the spotlight afterward—the prefecture's official reports after the hunt always reserved the highest honors for these scions.

However, for the rogue cultivators, having scions accompany them wasn't entirely a bad thing. Although they were often insufferable, they usually possessed extraordinary cultivation and were decked out in top-tier gear. They even had Protector Elders accompanying them when they traveled. So, if they encountered an unexpectedly powerful enemy, they really did have to rely on these scions to hold the line.

Besides, what rogue cultivator in the remote corners of Qiongzhou didn't know the truth: clinging to the thighs of the great families was the fastest shortcut to the heavens?

However, in past Demon Hunting Decrees, it was extremely rare for a figure of the magnitude of the Liu Family's eldest son to appear... After all, stealing the spotlight from a group of rogue cultivators really wasn't all that dignified.

Those truly high-and-mighty people in the heavens had plenty of ways to get things done in a manner that was both glorious and respectable if they wanted the spotlight.

Accidents like the Taiyi Dharma Sword, where whoever was first got to keep it, were, after all, few and far between.

Therefore, when she saw Liu Cheng, even Zhu Ying couldn't help but be surprised.

And this surprise was merely the beginning. Because very quickly, beside Liu Cheng, she saw even more people who shouldn't have been there.

Kang Pingxiang, Hu Xi, Luo Xiao, Fang Yichen... The top five great families of Wujun were all present! Among them, the Kang and Hu families had even sent their eldest sons. Beyond that, there were even people from families in other prefectures!

Such a lineup was completely different from the past, yet no one could clearly explain the reason, because those who knew had no intention of saying.

For the rogue cultivators present, this was truly unsettling. If the Demon Hunting Decree really hid some extreme danger, those young masters from the great families had Protector Elders to help them run whenever they pleased, but what were the rest of the rogue cultivators supposed to do?

Moreover, even if there were no unspeakable dangers, and it was simply a whim of Liu Cheng and the others to go undercover and show off their power... that would mean a hunting trip that might have lasted ten days or half a month would be over in a mere two or three days.

With so many elites from the great families gathered, if they couldn't finish off a mere Mountain Spirit in a flash, it would be a complete joke!

For many in situations similar to Zhu Ying, who had come specifically to mooch off the daily benefits, this was naturally terrible news.

However, in response to everyone's unease, Liu Cheng immediately threw out a stabilizer.

"He said that as long as the matter here is completed, every cultivator participating in the hunt, in addition to the reward from the Demon Hunting Decree, would receive a guaranteed bonus of one hundred spirit stones... That is much more cost-effective than absorbing the earth vein spirit energy for ten days, so everyone had nothing more to say and was willing to follow orders."

"Liu Cheng and the others were clearly prepared. They had done thorough research on the Mountain Spirits that were roaming and killing people, whether it was their living habits, habitats, or strange supernatural powers; everything was investigated clearly. They even specifically shared the intelligence with us rogue cultivators and drafted several hunting plans."

"Before we set off, our group was already fully prepared, and everything was foolproof."

"The great family disciples participating in the hunt were, without exception, at the Foundation Establishment stage or higher. Among them, Liu Cheng was at the peak of the mid-stage Foundation Establishment, standing head and shoulders above his peers. As for rogue cultivators like me, half of us were also at the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Of course, most importantly, there were as many as ten Protector Elders following the family disciples, all of them without exception at the Golden Core stage. With these people here, let alone hunting a mere group of Mountain Spirits, even century-old great demons like bears or vicious dragons could be easily slaughtered."

Hearing this, even Gu Bai couldn't help but frown, because it sounded like the story should have ended here without any surprises.

With such a luxurious hunting team and such ample preparation, dealing with a group of Mountain Spirits whose strength was at most at the Foundation Establishment level shouldn't have taken even three days. How did they drag it out for over a month!?

Clearly, the story had reached the point where, unsurprisingly, the unexpected had happened.