Chapter 44: Weak Woman
Seeing Jiang Li again, Holy Maiden Jingxin naturally wouldn’t stay at the academy pretending to be an eighteen-year-old girl.
After leaving the academy, she followed behind Jiang Li. Noticing that he seemed downcast, she comforted him, “It’s just losing a bet to me, I won’t make you do anything bad.”
Jiang Li sighed dejectedly, “I’m just lamenting how my arrogance cost me a chance to find the Celestial Realm.”
“Find the Celestial Realm? Did you find another clue?” Holy Maiden Jingxin’s eyes blinked rapidly, looking extremely charming.
She couldn’t help but recall the absurd things Jiang Li had done in his pursuit of the Celestial Realm—like hearing that collecting four Dragon Balls could open a path to the Celestial Realm, so he went to borrow them from the Four Seas Dragon Kings. In the end, he spun the Dragon Balls in his hand until they glowed, but no path to the Celestial Realm appeared.
Or how he heard that self-sacrificing in battle could lead to ascension, so he stood still and let the Heavenly Tribulation strike him without resistance. The tribulation fizzled out, and he remained unscathed.
Or when someone claimed that sacrificing an entire continent’s population would grant enough karmic virtue to ascend, so he simply executed the person spreading the rumor on the spot.
She wondered what kind of ascension theory he had gotten into his head this time.
“Hey, hey, hey, is Jiang Li there?” The Remote Communication Talisman suddenly activated on its own. No need to guess—it was the Dao Sect Master looking for him.
“No, now f*** off,” Jiang Li snapped.
The Dao Sect Master’s projection appeared, looking no different from a young boy. He shot Jiang Li a glance. “I’m looking for the Human Sovereign, not some Dao Sect Envoy. Why are you butting in? Oh, Holy Maiden Jingxin is here too? Great! That means I don’t have to deal with Daoist Nun Qingyu’s deadpan face.”
“If you still want me to attend your Dao Sect’s Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly, you’d better be respectful to me.”
The Dao Sect Master instantly switched to a fawning expression. “Brother Jiang, what are you saying? I came here especially to invite you!”
“Based on my calculations, the Yin-Yang Heaven Seal will complete its first self-refinement in twenty days. The Immortal Artifact Appreciation Assembly will be held in fifteen days. You’ll represent the Human Sovereign Hall, and Holy Maiden Jingxin will represent the Mortal World Pure Land. How about it?”
Jiang Li didn’t answer. Instead, he suddenly appeared behind the Sect Master’s projection and saw that, as expected, he had one hand behind his back, flipping him off with his middle finger.
“I knew you were talking s*** about me behind my back!” Jiang Li spat and cut off the connection.
The Dao Sect Master, seeing the link severed, wasn’t worried. A self-refining Yin-Yang Heaven Seal was a once-in-several-millennia event—Jiang Li wouldn’t miss it.
Sure enough, Jiang Li turned to Holy Maiden Jingxin and asked, “There are still ten or so days. How should we get to the Dao Sect?”
Holy Maiden Jingxin naturally wouldn’t foolishly suggest flying. Even if Jiang Li flew at full speed, or even if she did, it would only take half a day to reach the Dao Sect.
She smiled lightly. “Let’s take a flying boat. It’s been a while since I last rode one.”
Jiang Li nodded. “Alright, I’ll fly ahead then.”
“……”
“I’m just a weak woman traveling alone on a flying boat. Aren’t you worried I might run into danger?”
Jiang Li thought for a long time but couldn’t figure out how a late Soul Formation cultivator—who would be revered as a National Advisor in any imperial dynasty—could be considered a weak woman.
As for danger, only an Outer World Demon could pose a threat to her.
It seemed she was worried about encountering an Outer World Demon attack. Jiang Li was quite pleased with her cautiousness. If she had been this careful back when dealing with Shanghe Town and Xiahe Town, things wouldn’t have ended the way they did.
She had grown.
Although the danger she worried about was nearly nonexistent, Jiang Li didn’t want to discourage her rare moment of caution, so he agreed to take the flying boat with her.
……
Cultivators could only gain the ability to fly upon reaching the Soul Formation Stage, granting them the qualification to truly roam the Nine Provinces. Otherwise, relying on flying boats hardly counted as true freedom.
Flying boats were considered low-grade magic artifacts—not difficult to forge, easy to control, but requiring vast amounts of spiritual energy. A Soul Formation cultivator could sustain a flying boat indefinitely, but no Soul Formation cultivator would ever lower themselves to do such a thing. Thus, flying boats had to be powered by Spirit Stones.
Since flying boats consumed massive amounts of Spirit Stones, ticket prices weren’t cheap. Only cultivators at the Foundation Establishment Stage or higher could typically afford them.
Jiang Li and Holy Maiden Jingxin searched through their storage rings and finally found a few mid-grade Spirit Stones to use as tickets.
Normally, low-grade Spirit Stones were used to buy tickets. However, both of them typically spent only high-grade Spirit Stones or better, so their storage rings were filled with top-grade and supreme-grade Spirit Stones, with only a handful of mid- and low-grade ones.
Jiang Li didn’t intend to flaunt his wealth, but he had no choice—he was so “poor” that he only had high-grade Spirit Stones left.
Sure enough, as soon as they boarded the flying boat, a few rough-looking men with unfriendly eyes locked onto them. When they saw the breathtaking beauty of Holy Maiden Jingxin, their thoughts turned even darker.
They exchanged glances.
Should we do it?
Let’s do it!
A young monk with red lips and white teeth stood up and bowed to the group of men. He was holding prayer beads and looked around fourteen or fifteen years old. The gem-studded, dazzling kasaya he wore was so bright that the men could barely keep their eyes open.
“Little monk believes that one must not indulge in worldly desires. Beauty is but flesh and bone, fleeting like smoke. The more one indulges, the deeper one sinks. Benefactors, please let go of your attachments.”
His words carried an inexplicable allure, making people involuntarily believe them. The rough men’s fierce expressions wavered, softening unconsciously.
Another passenger, seeing the monk’s strange technique, stepped forward and let out a loud shout, like a tolling bell echoing in their ears, waking the men up.
Snapping back to their senses, the men hurriedly thanked the passenger.
This passenger was dressed in white Confucian robes, holding a black folding fan inscribed with calligraphy. He had well-defined features, the very image of a Confucian scholar.
“Thank you, Confucian disciple.”
In the Nine Provinces, only one group of people dressed like this—disciples of the Confucian Sect, one of the Six Great Sects.
Confucian disciples saw educating the world as their duty, advocating benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. They frequently traveled through imperial dynasties spreading their teachings. Among the Six Great Sects, they were the most well-known, followed closely by the Buddhist Sect.
The Confucian disciple smiled slightly and said, “Saint Meng once said, ‘The nature of man is inherently good, just as water naturally flows downward. No one is without goodness, just as no water fails to flow downward.’ Though you may appear fierce and resort to robbery out of necessity, I believe you all are kind at heart. Deep down, you must see yourselves as good men.”
His words were like a drowsiness spell, seeping into their ears, making them groggy as they unconsciously murmured, “At birth, man’s nature is good.”
A passenger with the surname Jiang coughed accidentally, snapping the rough men out of their trance.
Their rage flared.
These two were toying with them! A monk urging them to let go of desires, and a scholar preaching about goodness?
Did they really think a few Golden Core cultivators could be talked down like this?!
Weapons were drawn, killing intent surging. Robbing Jiang Li and Holy Maiden Jingxin could wait—first, they’d deal with this bald brat and the pretty boy!
The monk and the scholar sighed in unison. “Why must you force us to act?”
Nascent Soul aura erupted, instantly forcing the men to their knees, begging for mercy.