Setting Off

Bai Ze's face instantly darkened when he heard Duobao's teasing from the side.

"Brother, there's nothing about you that isn't good—especially your looks. You're exceptionally handsome."

At that, Bai Ze paused. When he saw Duobao's thoroughly pleased expression, his tone suddenly changed.

"But why did you have to grow such a loose mouth? You're still tolerable when you keep quiet, but the moment you speak, even dogs would roll their eyes!"

Duobao had been standing with his hands on his hips, head raised high in smug delight.

But upon hearing Bai Ze's words, he suddenly froze, glared wide-eyed, and snapped:

"Brat, are you taking jabs at me with every word? Today, your elder brother will teach you what it means to respect your elders!"

With that, he rolled up his sleeves and strode toward Bai Ze.

Bai Ze immediately darted behind Guang Chengzi, poked his head out, and pulled a face.

"Only an idiot would fight you. Your cultivation is so much higher than mine, yet you still have the nerve to bully a child under ten thousand years old. You have no shame at all!"

"Brat, you're asking for a beating!"

Duobao bellowed and stepped forward with his fist raised. In an instant, dust swirled through the cave abode, accompanied by a sharp whistle of something tearing through the air.

The next moment, Duobao had already rushed forward!

Bang!

As the dust settled, Bai Ze opened his eyes and saw a jade-white palm catch Duobao's fist with perfect precision.

Then Guang Chengzi's gentle voice sounded.

"Junior Brother Duobao, Bai Ze may be mischievous, but he has cultivated for only a short time. How could he possibly withstand that punch of yours?"

"Besides, as his elder brother, what harm is there in yielding a little to Junior Brother Bai Ze? It's not as though it would cost you a piece of flesh."

Duobao frowned slightly at those words. Guang Chengzi did seem to have a point—but the next moment, he no longer thought so.

Bai Ze directly transformed into his palm-sized true form, stood atop Guang Chengzi's shoulder, swayed his head about, and stretched out a paw to beckon at him.

"You, come over here!"

Duobao's eyes widened. Looking at Guang Chengzi, who was blocking him, he pointed at Bai Ze and shouted:

"Senior Brother, look at this obnoxious little thing!"

"He's relying on you to back him up so he can taunt me right to my face!"

Guang Chengzi turned his head toward his shoulder. Bai Ze immediately sat still, looking perfectly obedient as he wore an innocent smile.

"Daoist brother, what is it?"

Guang Chengzi smiled gently. "You've already taken advantage of him, so stop making trouble."

Duobao stared at Bai Ze's lightning-fast change of expression in disbelief.

It was as though he were seeing Bai Ze for the first time.

Then he looked at Guang Chengzi's indulgent expression, as though the junior brother who had spent tens of thousands of years with him was Bai Ze instead!

His heart gave a sudden twist.

After a long while, he sighed. Like a deflated ball, he looked at Bai Ze and gave him a thumbs-up.

"Little brother, when it comes to being shameless, you're still the greatest!"

"Your big brother here admits defeat!"

Bai Ze smiled faintly, utterly unconcerned.

"Many thanks for the praise, Brother. But don't sell yourself short. When it comes to thick skin, this little brother still falls slightly short of you."

Duobao froze, then quickly caught on. He took a step back and assumed a stance.

"Come on! Little Brother Bai Ze, today we'll settle this once and for all!"

"If I don't beat you into eighty-one pieces today, you brat won't know why flowers are so red!"

Bai Ze rose to his feet, tilted his head back at a forty-five-degree angle, and curled his lip into an expression of three parts mockery, three parts disdain, and four parts casual indifference.

"You think you're worthy?"

Duobao's eyes bulged. His fingers trembled with rage as he roared:

"Ah, ah, ah! If I don't beat the shit out of you today, then beat you into that shit, I'll take your surname!"

Before his words had even faded, he charged forward with his fists swinging. Bai Ze hurriedly shrank back.

Standing between the two living treasures, Guang Chengzi felt utterly exhausted.

With a wave of his hand, countless streams of purple qi gathered in the next instant, instantly binding the two of them. He looked at them with a stern expression.

"If you keep making trouble, neither of you is going!"

Seeing Guang Chengzi angered, the bound pair immediately shrank their necks, fixed their eyes on their noses and their noses on their mouths, and did not dare make a sound.

Guang Chengzi said flatly, "Still making trouble?"

The two nodded in unison.

"Hm?" Guang Chengzi frowned.

They hurriedly shook their heads like rattles.

Only then did Guang Chengzi nod in satisfaction. Yet he did not release them. Instead, he bowed toward the rear courtyard.

"Master, Martial Uncle, this disciple is taking my two junior brothers and leaving."

After saying that, Guang Chengzi waited quietly for a moment. When no answer came, he did not wait any longer.

Dragging the two of them along, he rode a cloud into the sky and flew south from Kunlun Mountain.

Only after the three of them had vanished from sight did Venerable Lingbao and Venerable Yuanshi disperse the projection in the sky.

"Senior Brother, is this journey truly as perilous as Bai Ze said?"

Venerable Yuanshi stared at the chessboard and pondered for a moment. "You're worried?"

"Yes, a little! The south has been rather restless lately," Venerable Lingbao admitted without reservation.

Venerable Yuanshi chuckled. "Don't worry. As long as they don't cause any great upheaval, nothing will happen with three Innate Spirit Treasures there."

Venerable Lingbao looked at Venerable Yuanshi with an exceedingly strange expression.

"Senior Brother, I'm fairly at ease about Guang Chengzi."

"But don't forget, Duobao and Bai Ze, those two little troublemakers, are going too! Do you think they can keep themselves in line with their personalities?"

Venerable Yuanshi chuckled. "No matter. Their cultivation is still shallow; they can't cause any great upheaval. Besides, aren't we here to clean up after them?"

Venerable Lingbao stared at Venerable Yuanshi without saying a word.

Under Venerable Lingbao's gaze, Venerable Yuanshi grew somewhat uncomfortable and hesitated.

"They probably won't cause any great upheaval... right?"

"..."

Upon the purple cloud, Bai Ze and Duobao glared at each other, their eyes wide, constantly cursing one another through voice transmission.

Once Kunlun Mountain was no longer visible, they had cursed until they were both exhausted.

They exchanged a glance, then turned to Guang Chengzi together.

"Daoist brother, um, wouldn't keeping us tied up like this consume too much spiritual power?"

Standing at the head of the cloud, Guang Chengzi said flatly, "It's fine. At least it keeps things quiet for a while."

Bai Ze shrugged at Duobao, as if saying, There's nothing I can do either.

Duobao shot Bai Ze a disdainful look, then lay flat on the ground and wriggled toward Guang Chengzi, his face full of sincerity.

"Senior Brother, we truly know we were wrong. Please untie us!"

Guang Chengzi lowered his head and glanced at Duobao. With a lift of one finger, he instantly tossed Duobao back.

"You're still not behaving even while tied up!"

Watching Duobao get thrown back, Bai Ze swallowed hard. He no longer dared fool around and could only ask obediently:

"Daoist brother, when will you untie us?"

"When we reach our destination, I'll release you."

The destination?

Bai Ze's heart sank.

Undying Volcano lay at the southernmost edge, countless millions of kilometers away. At this slow, leisurely pace, how long would they have to fly?

"Daoist brother, how about we discuss this again? Undying Volcano is simply too far away. We can't cultivate while tied up like this, so wouldn't that delay our cultivation?"

"How about you loosen our bindings first and let us cultivate for a while?"

Guang Chengzi turned to Bai Ze with a speechless expression. "When did I ever say we were going directly to Undying Volcano?"

"Then where are we going now?"

"We'll first make a trip to Cloud Dream Marsh! Then we'll head south all the way!"

Cloud Dream Marsh?

Bai Ze's eyes filled with confusion. Where was Cloud Dream Marsh? Why had he never heard of it?