At that time, Mu Lian had taken a fancy to a medicinal herb at a stall and was about to buy it. However, after she had negotiated the price with the other party and was about to pay the Spirit Stones, she unexpectedly discovered that the age of the herb might have been faked. So, she decisively gave up the purchase and was about to leave. At this, the stall owner became unwilling.
He immediately blocked Mu Lian's path, claiming that she had just swapped his medicinal herb and demanded compensation, otherwise he would need to search her to prove her innocence. Mu Lian had anticipated this and was not afraid of the other party. However, during their argument, they attracted a Golden Core cultivator. After a few inquiries, that person surprisingly concluded that Mu Lian was the one who had tampered with it.
As a result, more and more people gathered around, putting Mu Lian, who had originally intended to prove her innocence with her sect token, in a difficult position. As a woman, she couldn't possibly let the other party search her body. But if she took out her sect token, although this place was under the jurisdiction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, a single misstep could tarnish the sect's reputation.
And just at this moment, Sun Guoshu happened to arrive here in search of a pill recipe and heard the argument. Of course, he was no longer the same Sun Guoshu as before. He had long adopted the mentality of "the less trouble, the better" and had no desire to get involved in any commotion. So, he just swept his Divine Sense over the scene and was about to leave. But when he saw the flushed face of the angry Mu Lian in the crowd, he couldn't help but be stunned.
For a moment, he didn't know what Mu Lian was arguing about with others here, and the other party even had a Golden Core cultivator speaking for them. In this market, although that Golden Core cultivator didn't dare to make a move, he could still use his profound cultivation to suppress others from speaking up, pinning Mu Lian down completely.
Sun Guoshu stood outside the crowd and, after listening for a few moments, couldn't help but curl his lip. It was obvious that these two were working together to scam people. He had done such things himself in the past. After a brief moment of contemplation, he pushed through the crowd and walked in. With his methods, there were many ways to break this kind of scheme, but Sun Guoshu chose the most direct one.
When Mu Lian saw Sun Guoshu, she was filled with a mix of joy and surprise. This Martial Uncle Sun had some connection with her, and he was actually a good person. Although he was very fond of money, he was not a greedy person. But before she could speak, Sun Guoshu's voice echoed in her mind, stopping her words and telling her to pretend they didn't know each other.
Sun Guoshu himself took out his sect token and asked what was happening. At this, not only did the surrounding cultivators' eyes fill with respect, but even the Golden Core cultivator's face showed a hint of panic. This was a territory under the jurisdiction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect, and Sun Guoshu had the right to inquire about the situation here.
After pretending to listen to their account, Sun Guoshu pondered for a moment before offering a solution. He knew that the Golden Core cultivators stationed here should already be aware of the matter. The fact that they hadn't appeared to handle it after all this time either meant they were in collusion with the Golden Core cultivator opposite him, or they just couldn't be bothered with such things. Disputes between cultivators in the market happened countless times every day. As long as no one made a move, the stationed Golden Core cultivators basically didn't want to get involved.
Sun Guoshu, however, didn't care about these things. He stated that the market also represented the integrity of the sect and that such things should not happen. He then told the people around them that he could have the stationed cultivators here send a female cultivator to check Mu Lian's storage pouch, and even search her body. If that medicinal herb was not found, these two would have to give an explanation today as to whether they had intentionally come here to cause trouble.
When Sun Guoshu said this, the two's faces changed repeatedly. Especially the Foundation Establishment cultivator, whose eyes revealed a look of fear. In the end, the Golden Core cultivator could only send a voice transmission to Sun Guoshu privately, then immediately spoke to Mu Lian, saying some words about a misunderstanding. They tacitly agreed not to dwell on the matter.
Sun Guoshu didn't ask the other party for Spirit Stone compensation. Instead, he directly took Mu Lian and left the market, which made Mu Lian still a little annoyed. But Sun Guoshu deeply understood the principle of "it's easy to deal with the devil, but hard to deal with his minions." His cultivation wasn't at the late-stage Golden Core, so he couldn't truly suppress the other party. If such a person was pushed too far, they could be quite a rascal and would definitely hold a deep grudge.
But the matter was resolved. Mu Lian repeatedly thanked this "Martial Uncle Sun." Later, after returning to the sect, Mu Lian also took out Spirit Stones to repay Sun Guoshu. The moment Sun Guoshu saw the Spirit Stones, he was still a little tempted. But thinking about how the girl had called him "Martial Uncle" all the way, he finally gritted his teeth and refused.
Sun Guoshu didn't have many acquaintances in the Malevolent Spirit Sect. He knew he couldn't visit Li Yan too often; favors were a finite resource. Li Yan had already given him a lot of Spirit Stones and medicinal pills for his Golden Core Formation. Now, although they were once again peers, he couldn't really treat his status as equal to Li Yan's. He was also waiting for Li Yan to give him tasks to do. Other than that, he was more familiar with Bai Rou. Sun Guoshu usually spent his time alone.
Mu Lian was also single-mindedly pursuing the path of immortal cultivation, fully devoted to her practice, and didn't interact much with others. Although many male cultivators had admired her for a long time, she had rejected them all. In this way, after the two returned, they felt they had become quite familiar. Out of gratitude for Sun Guoshu's help, they left each other's imprint on their sect tokens.
In the days that followed, the two would occasionally send a voice transmission to inquire about each other's recent situation. At the beginning, Mu Lian was still very respectful, and her words were very cautious. But after a few more years, she found that Sun Guoshu never put on airs. Moreover, Sun Guoshu, who had spent many years in the secular world, had many clever ways of communicating with people, which made Mu Lian gradually less restrained. She slowly dared to ask Sun Guoshu for advice on many cultivation matters. Over time, this pair of man and woman actually developed feelings for each other.
It was just that Mu Lian was a person who single-mindedly pursued the Great Dao. If she liked to cling to powerful people, she probably would have formed a Dao partnership with someone else long ago. Regarding Sun Guoshu's several confessions, her heart was both happy and melancholy. She didn't want to waste too much time on her immortal path, but she had also developed feelings for Sun Guoshu.
Today, Sun Guoshu once again brought up the matter of being Dao Companions. Mu Lian also knew that Sun Guoshu was not narrow-minded. Otherwise, with her constant hesitation, others would have either used their power to pressure her or would have long since found another love. But Sun Guoshu was still waiting!
"I… I want to wait until I form my Golden Core!" Biting her red lip with her snow-white teeth, Mu Lian's voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"This…" Sun Guoshu's expression froze.
"You also know how much of my lifespan I have left. If we really can't be together, then in my last ten years, I will give up my cultivation and stay by your side!" Mu Lian finally raised her head and looked at Sun Guoshu, her gaze no longer hesitant.
"Oh, that's not what I meant… I didn't expect you to finally agree!" Today, Sun Guoshu had only asked again casually. He had asked this question many times before, but the answer had always been silence. Today was truly a surprise.
"You mean it's better if I don't agree?" Mu Lian immediately rolled her eyes at Sun Guoshu, her eyes filled with infinite charm, which made Sun Guoshu's heart flutter. He chuckled.
"No, of course not. Let's go, you continue to temper your cultivation. This time, unless you are on the verge of life and death, I really won't interfere!"
Mu Lian nodded, then took the lead and flew in one direction. She knew that Sun Guoshu would secretly hide behind her.
Sun Guoshu watched the beautiful figure fly away. He looked back in one direction, which was the direction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect.
'Senior Sister Bai, Young Master, I have finally become a true cultivator. I have a direction, a beloved person. Thank you!!'
What Sun Guoshu didn't know was that at this moment, Li Yan had returned and was undergoing a crucial life-and-death tribulation. One wrong move could lead to his Dao dissipating and his body perishing. Sun Guoshu knew that Li Yan had gone out for training, but he didn't know when he would return. He had gotten this news from Bai Rou!
At the same time, about ten thousand li away from the Malevolent Spirit Sect, in a land of exceptional spiritual beauty, inside a refining chamber, Bai Rou had just finished refining a puppet. Her forehead was slightly beaded with sweat. Looking at the puppet in her hand, she frowned slightly.
The puppet in her hand was strikingly similar to the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape. However, because Bai Rou didn't have any Thousand Luo Stone, she couldn't refine a puppet of the same level as the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape. But that wasn't her concern. What she wanted was for the appearance and aura of the two to blend seamlessly.
With a wave of her plain hand, a light flashed, and another puppet floated in front of her. At the same time, the ancient ape puppet in her fair hand also flew up. Then, the two puppets floated side by side in the air before Bai Rou's eyes. The two puppets looked very much like a matching set, giving people the feeling that one was indispensable without the other.
Bai Rou's beautiful eyes shimmered as she stared unblinkingly at the two eighty-to-ninety percent similar ancient ape puppets, her long eyelashes occasionally trembling slightly. For a moment, the entire secret chamber was silent. After about half a tea's time, Bai Rou let out a soft sigh. With a sweep of her sleeve, the Thousand Luo Ancient Ape was put away by her.
After careful observation, she still felt that when the two ancient ape puppets were placed together, their auras couldn't be completely synchronized. She couldn't get the feeling that they were a complete set.
She reached out again for the ancient ape puppet she had refined, which was floating in the air. The soft white gauze slid down her smooth arm to her elbow, revealing a section of her arm that was whiter than snow. After grabbing the ancient ape puppet, Bai Rou took light, lotus-like steps and walked towards a corner of the refining chamber. There was an ancient bronze wooden shelf there, filled with many refining materials.
When she stopped in front of the wooden shelf, she formed a hand seal with her other hand. On a wooden grid in front of her, a green wooden box flashed with runes. With a clack, the lid slowly popped open. Then, Bai Rou gently placed the puppet in her hand inside the box, pressed the lid down again, and closed it. At the same time, spiritual light flashed from her hand, and many runes landed on the green wooden box from between her fingers. After doing all this, Bai Rou turned and walked towards the door of the refining chamber.
If anyone had seen all this just now, they would have discovered that inside that green wooden box, there were six puppets that were almost identical, and their appearance was that of ancient apes…
When Bai Rou walked out of the refining chamber, she found that the sky was turbulent. She looked up at the sky. She had been in the refining chamber for nearly three months this time. This was a forbidden area of the "Wood Flow Sect," so no one would dare to disturb her. It was about noon, but the sky was dim.
"The wind is rising!"
Bai Rou watched the clouds being carried by the wind in the sky. She looked in the direction of the flowing clouds, which was the direction of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. For a moment, she remembered the man who had come a few years ago and looked at her from across the window.
'He is the true Son of Heaven. When others are still struggling in the Golden Core stage, he is already close to touching that unattainable edge…'
Bai Rou stood at the door, staring blankly at the clouds in the sky. Her thoughts seemed to drift away with the gathering clouds…
She had never imagined that that person would be facing his Heavenly Tribulation today, without any time to inform her!
Malevolent Spirit Sect. Li Yan's body was exposed, showing large patches of bone, his appearance ferocious!