BABA

Chapter 39 ↑↑↓↓←→←→BABA

"!?"

Liu Sanlang felt utterly stunned by the request from Yi Yi.

Yi Yi's smile faded slightly, his expression suddenly turning solemn.

"When exploring an Immortal Mansion, having a half-baked understanding is often worse than being completely ignorant. Preconceived notions will only cause you to hesitate unnecessarily when making critical decisions. Therefore, since you have all chosen to follow us, please trust in our strength and judgment. If you cannot do that, you might as well seek someone more capable."

Liu Sanlang sighed inwardly, but without a moment's hesitation, he cupped his hands and said, "We shall follow the Envoy's guidance in everything!"

Yi Yi smiled. "No need for such formalities, and please, do not use titles like Envoy; I am not worthy of them... However, even if I am not an official Immortal Guiding Envoy, leading the three of you to gain experience and witness the wonders of the Moli Immortal Mansion is more than enough. The outer perimeter of the Moli Immortal Mansion is not particularly dangerous. As long as you strictly follow the rules, let alone those of you who have already achieved some success in Qi Refining, even a child with no strength to truss a chicken could travel through the outer area with ease."

"Yes, as long as you strictly follow the rules... Therefore, I will now explain the rules for exploring the Moli Immortal Mansion in detail. You may have questions or doubts, but please keep them to yourselves and suppress them. Because any misunderstanding or questioning could be fatal within the Immortal Mansion, or even drag others down with you."

"You may wish for me to explain every detail clearly. But unfortunately, that is impossible. Those who have not experienced it cannot form a cognitive understanding. As the saying goes, one cannot speak of ice to a summer insect. To put it bluntly, you are all currently those summer insects."

"Of course, based on past experience, no matter how much I warn and advise you here, you will inevitably have your own ideas. That is fine; our job is essentially to build a margin for error for you. So, you may make mistakes, and we will ultimately be responsible for covering for you. However, the number of times is limited."

"According to our usual rules, the margin for error granted to you is three times—that is, three lives. After three lives, our cooperation will terminate, and we will select the next group of Dao Seeds in Qiongzhou to protect."

Hearing this, Liu Sanlang couldn't help but ask, "Does that mean you will save our lives three times? And until then, the cooperation will continue?"

Yi Yi was slightly stunned, then shook his head and chuckled. "Third Young Master, you misunderstand. The three lives are not your lives. Given your abilities, once you enter the Immortal Mansion, I fear we would have to save you dozens of times a day. The three lives I speak of are instances where we will sacrifice ourselves to save you, trading our lives for yours—three such times."

Before Yi Yi had even finished speaking, Liu Sanlang's mouth hung open in shock.

Although he had heard many legends about the Immortal Guiding Envoys, seeing the man before him—wearing a kind, leisurely smile while speaking of his own life as if it were as light as a feather—Liu Sanlang felt an incredible sense of absurdity.

Luohuang Mountain, the Immortal Guiding Envoys, who exactly are these people...?

Yi Yi smiled. "Heh, if the Third Young Master wishes to understand us, you will have plenty of opportunities soon enough; that is also a necessary part of exploring the Immortal Mansion. But before that, please allow me to continue explaining the rules in order."

Having his thoughts read, Liu Sanlang immediately stiffened and said no more.

Yi Yi continued, "First, regarding the Moli Immortal Mansion, you need not think too much for now. Just remember one thing firmly: at any time within the Immortal Mansion, do not speak. Moli, Moli—first and foremost, please strictly observe the 'silent' aspect."

"As for how we will communicate, please take this first."

As he spoke, Yi Yi flipped his hand, and three small conch shells, each less than a knuckle in size, appeared in his palm.

Liu Sanlang and the others took them one by one and swallowed them. Soon, they felt the conch shells melt in their mouths, turning into thousands of cool fragments that adhered to their throats... There was no discomfort; on the contrary, it felt quite soothing.

"Good. Next is this."

Yi Yi flipped his hand again, this time producing three pairs of wax earplugs.

After putting on the earplugs, all the surrounding sounds vanished instantly, leaving only Yi Yi's voice clearly audible.

"How is it? Can you hear me?"

Everyone heard it clearly, but they also saw it clearly: Yi Yi's mouth was closed the entire time!

"Inside the Moli Immortal Mansion, sound is the least trustworthy thing. Therefore, to converse with one another, we must use the Star Conch to transmit sound, then use the Art-Sealed Wax Pill to receive it. This way, we can communicate without opening our mouths, while also ensuring no external noise interferes with what we hear."

After saying this, Yi Yi clapped his hands and smiled.

"Alright, since everyone has already taken the Star Conch and put in the earplugs, let's set off."

As he spoke, he took the lead, walking out of the courtyard in just a few steps. The other four Immortal Guiding Envoys followed silently, not pausing for even a moment!

"...Ah?"

Liu Sanlang stood in the courtyard, dumbfounded.

Is it really this fast and decisive?! He had only just arrived in town and hadn't even had a chance to settle in, yet they were already heading to the Immortal Mansion?!

Besides, didn't you say you were going to explain the rules of the Moli Immortal Mansion? You've only said a few sentences! You haven't even explained the incantations for the Star Conch sound transmission yet?!

Even if he promised to trust the judgment of the Immortal Guiding Envoys, this was all too bizarre!

However, just as Liu Sanlang hesitated, Wu Ming had already followed them with great enthusiasm, as if he were eager to skip all unnecessary trouble.

Liu Sanlang and Zhang Miao exchanged a glance, both of them offering a bitter smile.

Exploring an Immortal Mansion alongside the Immortal Guiding Envoys from Luohuang Mountain sounded like a golden opportunity to stumble upon an immortal destiny, but this feeling of being swept along, confused and aimless, was truly unsettling.

Fortunately, with that person ahead, it felt as if no matter how great the difficulty, it would be insignificant.

Before long, the group followed closely behind the five Immortal Guiding Envoys, leaving the courtyard of the White Jade Pavilion. After crossing a few dirt roads in the town and climbing over a small hill, they reached the Ten Thousand Li Gray Plains.

It was an endless expanse of ash, as if a fire that could burn the heavens and boil the seas had incinerated the world in the ancient past.

Yi Yi stood on the hill, watching Wu Ming and the others catch up, and nodded slightly.

"Not bad, you followed quite decisively. Please maintain this level of judgment moving forward. Inside the Immortal Mansion, you must strictly follow our instructions; do not have any unnecessary thoughts... Now, I will assign the groups. Third Young Master Liu will be with me, the young lady from the Zhang Family will be with Junior Sister He Lu, and Wu Ming will be with Junior Brother Han Gang."

As he spoke, the young man and woman beside him, both dressed in gold and red Daoist robes, stepped forward and found their respective partners.

The person who approached Wu Ming was a rather burly man with flat, unremarkable features, though his temperament was much more composed than Yi Yi's.

Wu Ming nodded in greeting, but the man only grunted and reached up to touch his throat.

A moment later, Wu Ming heard a low, rugged voice.

"I am Han Gang. From now on, you will act with me. Aside from me, do not listen to a word anyone else says, and do not respond to anyone, understand?"

Wu Ming nodded earnestly.

"Good." Han Gang then turned his head and gave Yi Yi a wink.

Yi Yi smiled, clapped his hands, and said, "Alright, the groups are set. Next, we will officially step into the Moli Immortal Mansion. This time, we will only be exploring the outer perimeter for an initial familiarization; there won't be any danger, so there is no need for any of you to be nervous or anxious... Finally, if there are any other questions, please raise your hand as soon as possible."

Zhang Miao hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but raise her hand.

Immediately, the Immortal Guiding Envoy He Lu beside her shook her head and crossed her hands to form an 'X'.

Yi Yi laughed, "Haha, Miss Zhang, you fell for it! Junior Sister He Lu should have mentioned earlier: do not listen to or respond to anyone's words except for hers... and that, of course, includes me!"

Zhang Miao finally realized what had happened, then gave a slight nod to He Lu beside her, a look of apology on her face.

On the other side, Han Gang glanced at Wu Ming with some surprise.

From beginning to end, Wu Ming's gaze had never left him; he had completely ignored Yi Yi's trap!

The speed at which this Desolate People youth adapted to the rules was truly unexpected. He had partnered with Yi Yi for many years, serving countless Dao Seed talents both inside and outside the sect, and eight out of ten people would usually fall for that trick of Yi Yi's!

Moreover, the sharper they were, the easier it was for them to stumble in such an inconspicuous trap!

With such spiritual intuition, it was no wonder he could snatch the Dao Seed immortal opportunity from the Liu Family.

It was just a question of how far this intuition would take him within the Moli Immortal Mansion... As an Immortal Guiding Envoy from Luohuang Mountain, Han Gang had seen too many examples of those who were good at swimming eventually drowning.

After hundreds of years of reclamation, the outer perimeter of the Moli Immortal Mansion was indeed low-risk, but that was only for the mediocre who sought no depth; advancing when the opportunity arose and retreating when danger appeared was indeed safe. But for those who often harbored grand ambitions, the dangers of the Moli Immortal Mansion remained exactly as they were three hundred years ago!

Those three chances to trade one's life for another seemed generous, but many so-called immortal sect Dao Seeds were so eager that they would use up all three chances in a single exploration!

Heh, I just hope this youth before me can last a little longer!