Chapter 238: A New Gathering

In the southern region, somewhere in the Heavenly South Prefecture, a woman in a yellow dress descended from the air.

At the edge of the mountain peak, a middle-aged man with white hair looked at the woman and smiled. “Lady Bi Zhu, you arrived quite early.”

“How is it?” Bi Zhu asked as she landed on the ground.

The middle-aged man handed her a scroll. “I marked the area here. It is a remote place in the Hidden Cloud Prefecture.”

Taking the scroll, Lady Bi Zhu carefully examined it and found that there were three rivers and countless mountains marked within the enclosed area. There were quite a few towns as well.

“The area is huge,” she said.

“It is indeed quite big,” the middle-aged man said. “It will take about a month to accurately pinpoint the location. Since you don’t plan on going there personally, I assume you are going to put someone else up to the task. The person might not find the exact location on time.”

Lady Bi Zhu nodded.

“Then let’s settle the payment next time. This time, it’s not me who is going to take action, so it won’t be on its guard,” she said and left on her flying sword.

“A month from now, I will have the crane deliver the location to you. Don’t forget to pay the price then,” the middle- aged man said.

“Of course,” Lady Bi Zhu said.

Soon, she returned to her temporary residence.

After activating the formations around her, she took out the stone tablet. She frowned as she watched the texts on it.

‘Jing hasn’t entered the chat in a long time… He only appears in gatherings. Is he busy, or is he deliberately avoiding us?’

Lady Bi Zhu’s eyebrows were knitted tightly. Without any contact, it was difficult to gauge Jing’s intent. Those people who deliberately avoided contact were either busy or trying to hide something.

‘It’s okay. It’s been almost six months. The next gathering might be soon. I can ask Jing to help out and find out how capable he is.’

After that, Lady Bi Zhu entered the stone tablet. Her code name was still “Gui.”

In the Hidden Cloud Prefecture, at the Cliff of Broken Hearts, Jiang Hao appeared in the living room of his house.

He then walked out to the courtyard and stopped in front of the Immortal Peach Tree. The cool breeze ruffled his hair. He brewed some tea for himself and sat down on a wooden chair. He poured himself a cup.

Jiang Hao had expected Xiao Li’s old parents to entrust her care to him. He knew they were at the end of their lives. However, he wouldn’t take up her care indefinitely. After she became strong enough to look after herself, he would let her venture on her own path. He planned the same for the spirit beast.

If they didn’t come back, that would be great. But if they did, it would mean trouble for him.

With their talents, they would surpass even his cultivation realm. If they caused trouble, others would come after him because he was their master. His dream of a peaceful life would be disrupted.

In short, the more people he got close to, the more troublesome it would be for him.

His courtyard was too small to accommodate great demons and True Dragons.

Jiang Hao lifted the teacup to his lips and took a sip. After that, he wanted to cultivate. He was so close to reaching the late stage of the Primordial Spirit Realm.

Once he reached the late stage, his cultivation would be on par with Bai Ye’s. Even if he couldn’t kill him, Jiang Hao needed to find a way to severely injure him.

He couldn’t let Bai Ye initiate a challenge using the title of one of the top disciples of the sect. That would complicate matters. He had to do everything in his power to prevent Bai Ye from becoming one of the top ten disciples.

If Bai Ye continued to become stronger, it was hard to say what kind of techniques he would develop.

Once they became too difficult to bypass, it would be too bothersome for Jiang Hao. The only way was to suppress him.

In his room, Jiang Hao assessed his situation and began to cultivate.

[Name: Jiang Hao]

[Age: 24]

[Cultivation: Middle Stage of the Primordial Spirit Realm]

[Cultivation Method: Heavenly Sound Hundred Revolutions, Hong Meng Heart

Sutra]

[Divine Ability: Nine Revolutions Death Substitution (unique), Daily Appraisal,

Clear and Pure Heart, Reappearance of Hidden Spirit, Divine Might]

[Lifeblood: 3/100 (Cannot be cultivated)] [Cultivation: 2/100 (Cannot be cultivated)]

[Divine Abilities: 2/3 (Cannot be obtained)] Jiang Hao felt miserable looking at the points. They were very low.

After reaching the Primordial Spirit Realm, it had proven increasingly difficult to obtain blue bubbles.

If he had known that the credit for the Corpse Realm Flowers would fall on his head, he would have cultivated the flowers himself. At least that way, he would have gotten some bubbles.

What was more frustrating was that the twelve Corpse Realm Flowers resonated with each other and absorbed the spiritual energy in their vicinity as nourishment. They didn’t require tending to.

Jiang Hao sighed. It was like the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower. When he was away, the spirit beast took care of the flower, and he couldn’t obtain bubbles at all.

If it weren’t for the bubbles, why would Jiang Hao ever choose to work in the Spirit Herb Garden?

It reminded him of the days when he was still an outer sect disciple. It had taken him years to accumulate points to advance in his cultivation.

After becoming an inner sect disciple, his progress had been much faster.

After planting the Heavenly Fragrance Dao Flower, his progress was even quicker.

The best way to get bubbles was through mining. That had helped Jiang Hao a lot as well.

All these factors were how he had been able to advance from the middle stage of the Foundation Establishment Realm to the Primordial Spirit Realm.

However, he was at a stalemate again. It might take hundreds of years to resolve things with the people who hated him. The most pressing matter right now was to steadily improve his cultivation.

He hoped he could get one more purple bubble so that he could obtain another divine ability.

After returning home, Jiang Hao didn’t think about Xiao Li’s family anymore. The matter had come to this, and he accepted it. It was time to move on.

It wasn’t easy for Xiao Li. Jiang Hao hoped the spirit beast could make her feel better.

Jiang Hao was powerless in that respect. He had never had bonds like that with anyone, but Xiao Li was different. She had a family who loved her. It was a place where she could feel safe and comfortable. Her two old parents had looked forward to her return every single time.

There was delicious food for her at home, someone to tell her stories at night, and someone to dig bamboo shoots just for her..

But now, it was all gone.

Xiao Li wouldn’t have a home to return to anymore. She would have no one to share her stories with.

Jiang Hao closed his eyes and calmed his mind. Purple energy surrounded him, and he began to refine his cultivation.

After seven days, Jiang Hao returned to his previous way of life.

The Heaven Secrets Hidden Talisman had also expired, and the effect was gone. Jiang Hao wasn’t in a hurry to take on tasks from the Law Enforcement Hall any time soon. He would pay them back later.

There were still three months left. The Immortal Peach Tree might not last that long.

The peach tree had already bloomed. In less than three months, it would bear fruits. By then, Jiang Hao would be able to figure out how many spirit stones he needed for another incarnation.

Early the next morning, Jiang Hao sensed the stone tablet vibrating in his pocket. He took it out to see what was happening. Dan Yuan was calling everyone for a gathering.