Chapter 728 - 727: Slow Down, You’re About to Shake This Lord Mosquito Off

「Inside the Spirit Plant Garden.」

As they walked, Brother Wang boasted to Jin Lian about the various types of Spirit Grass in the Spirit Plant Garden.

Jin Lian responded distractedly.

Her mind was completely consumed with thoughts of the Immortal Bamboo Pearl Flower she was about to obtain.

The two arrived at the Thousand-Year Spirit Plant area.

"Junior Sister Jin, look at these Thousand-Year Spirit Plants! Aren’t they growing well?"

Brother Wang wasn’t even looking at the Spiritual Plants. His eyes were fixed on Jin Lian, his face a mask of lechery.

"It’s all thanks to Brother Wang’s excellent care."

Jin Lian suppressed the disgust in her heart, forcing a smile as she spoke.

Inside, however, she was ranting.

’If it weren’t for the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Immortal Bamboo Pearl Flower, I wouldn’t even waste a glance on you. Just looking at you feels filthy!’

Brother Wang, oblivious to Jin Lian’s thoughts, was still rambling on.

"Junior Sister Jin, if you need anything in the future, just come find me."

"As long as it’s something I can do, I definitely won’t refuse."

"Thank you..."

Jin Lian’s polite words were only half-spoken when she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

They had just passed through the Thousand-Year Spirit Plant section and arrived at the area for Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Spirit Plants.

Jin Lian’s eyes widened as she pointed ahead.

Her mouth hung wide open, but she couldn’t utter a single word.

Seeing Jin Lian’s reaction, Brother Wang asked in confusion.

"Junior Sister Jin, are you feeling unwell?"

"It’s... it’s gone."

Jin Lian’s voice was trembling.

"What’s gone?"

Brother Wang didn’t react at first. Puzzled, he followed her finger and looked.

The next second—

His face instantly turned even paler than Jin Lian’s!

He saw that those Spiritual Plants that had grown for over ten thousand years...

...had all withered!!!

The thirty-five-thousand-year-old Immortal Bamboo Pearl Flower had not been spared either. It was now just a withered stalk of bamboo.

"Wh-what... is... go-going... on?"

Brother Wang’s legs gave out, and with a THUMP, he collapsed onto the ground.

He had guarded this Spirit Plant Garden for a century, working diligently, just to finally earn the privilege of purchasing a Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Spirit Plant at a low price.

That was why Jin Lian had sought him out, hoping to use his connections to buy an Immortal Bamboo Pearl Flower on the cheap.

He, in turn, was taking the opportunity to take advantage of her.

It was supposed to be a win-win situation.

But now, forget about the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Immortal Bamboo Pearl Flower.

Every single Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Spirit Grass was gone. They had all withered!

Such a huge loss... even if he sold himself, he couldn’t possibly afford to compensate for it!

"It’s over!!!"

"It’s completely over!!!"

Brother Wang was ashen-faced, muttering endlessly to himself.

As if grasping at a final lifeline, he suddenly scrambled over and clutched desperately at the hem of Jin Lian’s skirt.

"Junior Sister Jin, you have to be my witness!"

"This has nothing to do with me!"

"I don’t know how this happened!"

The tug on her skirt snapped Jin Lian out of her profound shock.

She looked down at the pathetic sight of Brother Wang on the ground, a flash of deep disgust and revulsion in her eyes.

Without hesitation, she kicked him away and turned to flee.

"You failed in your duty to guard the Spirit Plant Garden. What does that have to do with me?"

"Go explain it to the Elders yourself!"

Jin Lian had no desire to get involved.

An incident of this magnitude would surely result in having one’s Cultivation crippled and being expelled from the Sect.

She had no intention of going down with Brother Wang.

After quickly putting some distance between herself and the Spirit Plant Garden, Jin Lian leaned against a large tree, gasping for breath.

She stared in the direction of the Spirit Plant Garden, her face a mask of bitterness and frustration.

’How could I be so unlucky!’

’I humbled myself for nothing and still didn’t get the Immortal Bamboo Pearl Flower.’

’And on top of that, I’m now mixed up in this mess with the missing Spirit Grass. Such a disaster!’

’What rotten luck!’

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became, but there was nothing she could do but accept her misfortune.

News that all the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Spirit Plants had withered soon reached the ears of the Celestial Derivation Sect’s upper echelon.

The Grand Elder in charge of the Sect’s resources was enraged. He personally led a group of people to the Spirit Plant Garden.

The first thing he did was find the Guardian Beast, the Azure Sky Cold Snake.

"Who did this?"

The Grand Elder asked, his face grim.

The Azure Sky Cold Snake, coiled up, answered calmly.

"I don’t know them. I only know it was an expert at the Celestial God Realm."

"I couldn’t defeat them, nor could I stop them."

"Celestial God Realm?"

"And you don’t know them?"

The Grand Elder’s pupils constricted, and his heart sank.

An unknown Celestial God Realm expert had secretly infiltrated the Celestial Derivation Sect.

’Was their sole purpose the essence of the Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Spirit Plants?’

’What are they trying to do?’

’Are they targeting the Sect?’

’Or do they have some other objective?’

The more the Grand Elder thought about it, the more alarmed he became. He didn’t dare hesitate for a moment and immediately gave the order.

"Relay my orders!"

"Recall all disciples on missions outside the Sect!"

"Activate the Mountain Protection Array and seal the gates!"

"The entire Sect is to be on high alert!"

"Conduct a thorough search of every corner of the Sect!"

"We must find this intruder!"

The orders were quickly passed down.

The disciples who had been outside searching for Gu Yuexi received the Sect’s message and immediately rushed back.

In an instant, the entire Celestial Derivation Sect entered its highest state of alert.

Chu Sheng hid in the shadows.

He watched as the disciples of the Celestial Derivation Sect hurried back one by one.

’It worked.’

The Celestial Derivation Sect had fallen for it, just as he’d expected.

They were so terrified by a non-existent Celestial God Realm expert that they had recalled all their members from outside.

Now was the perfect time to escape.

Without the slightest hesitation, it tore a rift in the Sect’s Mountain Protection Array.

With a flash, it slipped through.

The entire process was remarkably smooth.

It triggered no alarms and was not detected by anyone.

After leaving the Celestial Derivation Sect, Chu Sheng didn’t linger for a moment.

It immediately unfurled its [Boundless Wings], transforming into a streak of black light and flying continuously southward.

Chu Sheng had learned from the Azure Sky Cold Snake that the tracking mark on Gu Yuexi would automatically deactivate once they were a million kilometers away from the Celestial Derivation Sect.

Therefore, it didn’t hesitate to expend its Divine Soul Power to get as far away from the Celestial Derivation Sect as quickly as possible.

It flew without stopping.

It didn’t stop until it was more than ten million kilometers from the Celestial Derivation Sect.

Chu Sheng looked around.

Towering mountains and ancient, sky-piercing trees surrounded it. It had no idea where this place was.

It was completely ignorant of the Spirit Realm’s geography.

With a thought, it had no choice but to release Gu Yuexi from the Ziwei Palace.

Having merged with Immortal Venerable Shi Xi’s legacy, Gu Yuexi knew far more about the Spirit Realm than it did.

"Do you know where we are?"

Chu Sheng flew up to Gu Yuexi’s face and asked.

Gu Yuexi examined the surrounding environment and the lay of the mountains.

She also sensed the properties of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

"This should be the Southern Continent, in the southern part of the Spirit Realm."

"As for which specific country, I’m not sure."

Chu Sheng asked, confused.

"Didn’t you inherit Immortal Venerable Shi Xi’s memories?"

"How could you not recognize it?"

Gu Yuexi shook her head.

"What Immortal Venerable Shi Xi left me was mostly her cultivation legacy and insights into Cultivation Techniques."

"There are very, very few memories of her personal life."

"Otherwise..."

Gu Yuexi looked at Chu Sheng with a half-smile.

"Who do you think would be standing before you right now?"

"Gu Yuexi, or Immortal Venerable Shi Xi?"

Chu Sheng had a sudden realization.

’Right.’

If Gu Yuexi had truly inherited all of Immortal Venerable Shi Xi’s memories, would she still be Gu Yuexi?

"Alright then."

Chu Sheng waved its forelegs.

"There’s a city up ahead. We’ll know once we go take a look."

With that, Chu Sheng casually flapped its wings and flew into a pocket of Gu Yuexi’s inner robe.

It found a comfortable spot to lie down and even let out a sigh of contentment.

"It’s still coziest here with you."

As Gu Yuexi walked toward the city, the corner of her mouth lifted in a slight smile.

"You wretched mosquito. After I left, it seems you’ve made your way into the inner pockets of quite a few Female Cultivators, haven’t you?"

Chu Sheng waved its forelegs nonchalantly.

"Not that many."

Gu Yuexi’s steps faltered.

Then, she quickened her pace.

"Slow down! You’re going to shake this Lord Mosquito off!"