Chapter 261 - 110: Your Twisted Taste Is Truly Detestable, The Barbarian Race’s Plot, The Exotic Stone from Overseas

"Youwei has a point, but the Great Xia’s Southern Hunting is still several months away. We must investigate more carefully before then." The gaunt figure pondered her speculation for a long moment, then nodded.

Song Youwei said no more. In truth, Jiang Lan had instructed her to say this.

As for Jiang Lan’s true intentions, she neither knew nor tried to guess.

"Besides the upcoming Great Xia Southern Hunting, there is another important matter at hand..."

"Before the Southern Hunting trial, Great Xia will send the death row prisoners from the Observatory into the hunting grounds. Originally, the Barbarian Race’s high command wanted our assistance in rescuing one of their masters, helping him escape and return safely to their lands."

"But the Barbarian Race has changed its mind. They will send over a Barbarian God Pill and have us assist that Barbarian master in consuming it. Simultaneously, the Barbarians will perform a summoning ritual, calling upon the Barbarian God to descend and wash the hunting grounds in blood."

"The scene will surely be chaotic. I need you all to seize that opportunity to infiltrate the Imperial Palace and steal the National Treasure, the Dragon-Suppressing Seal. If you cannot take it away, then use the Blood Immortal’s Muddy Blood we’ve gathered from our recent sacrifices to completely corrode it. Taint and destroy Great Xia’s National Fortune Dragon Qi..."

The gaunt figure on the high platform pondered for a long moment. His chilling gaze swept over the crowd once more as he laid out the details of the subsequent plans, one by one.

Song Youwei was inwardly shaken. She hadn’t expected the Barbarian Race to completely change their strategy.

’No wonder the Blood Immortal Church suddenly gathered everyone here to discuss how to respond and adjust their plans.’

Various Immortal Sects and Noble Families would be attending the upcoming Southern Hunting trial, either to observe the ceremony or to participate directly.

If the Barbarians summoned the Barbarian God, it would be an absolute catastrophe for everyone entering the hunting grounds.

...

「Two days passed quickly.」

With the Southern Hunting trial fast approaching, the number of patrols in Jingyang City had multiplied several times over.

Many Immortal Sects from more remote regions were already on their way.

Over the past few days, Immortal Sect disciples could be seen frequenting Jingyang City’s various Gambling Stone Workshops, weapon smiths, and fighting arenas.

On the day the Celestial Secret Pavilion released its new rankings, the city’s restaurants and teahouses buzzed with the chatter of cultivators.

Many a Celestial Pride would argue until they were red in the face over their placement on the lists.

The majority of onlookers, however, were more drawn to entertainment and gossip-focused rankings, such as the Beauties List.

Both Ling Zhuyun, the Quasi-Saintess of the Jasper Pool Sect, and Fairy Miaoyin of the Divine Maiden Palace were featured prominently on the list.

Youth is a time of romance and admiration. Even many exceptionally talented young Celestial Prides, invincible in their own right, frequently followed these lists, harboring feelings of aspiration and admiration for the Fairies and Goddesses featured within.

"A few new faces popped up on the latest Beauties List. But Ling Zhuyun, the Saintess of the Jasper Pool Sect, is still on there. As they say, rankings may flow like water, but the Saintess is solid as iron."

"The Celestial Secret Pavilion is clever, though. They just list ten names without assigning any ranks, implying that each has her own unique charm and a beauty rarely seen in the world, heh heh..."

"Brother Zhang Yuan, why are you staring so intently at the portrait of the Jasper Pool Sect’s Saintess, Ling Zhuyun?"

"She’s wearing a veil, so you can’t even see her face. Don’t tell me you’re another admirer of the Jasper Pool Sect’s Saintess?"

"Personally, I prefer Fairy Miaoyin from the Divine Maiden Palace over the Jasper Pool Sect’s Saintess, who’s all holy and ethereal—someone you can only look at from afar, but never touch. Now, Miaoyin... she’s a true treasure of the mortal world. The kind of woman who can steal your very soul with a single glance..."

Inside a teahouse.

A group of young disciples sat together at a table by the window. They all wore the same long, blue-collared robes, with Long Swords on their backs and the emblem of Yijian Palace embroidered on their cuffs and chests.

They were a mix of men and women, all appearing to be in their early twenties. Each held a copy of a publication, flipping through the pages.

One of the disciples, a man with small eyes and a somewhat sleazy smile, was nudging the young man beside him and whispering with a suggestive look.

His words earned him a series of discreet eye-rolls from the female disciples sitting opposite, their expressions full of disdain.

The young man, Zhang Yuan, was fair-skinned and handsome with well-defined features. He sat with a steady posture, exuding the remarkable air of a Sword Hero.

"You’re joking, Senior Brother Sun Hou. I was just a little curious about the Beauties List, that’s all..." He shook his head with what seemed to be a wry smile and closed the booklet in his hands.

"Heh heh, and here I thought you were an admirer of Saintess Ling Zhuyun. You were staring at her portrait for ages," the disciple named Sun Hou snickered.

They were all Inner Sect Disciples of the Yijian Sect and had come to the Imperial Capital, Jingyang City, with their sect elders to participate in the Southern Hunting trial.

After arriving in Jingyang City, however, they had gone their separate ways.

For some of the disciples, it was their first time in the Great Xia’s Imperial Capital. Awed by its magnificence, they decided to explore the city.

This particular group was close back at the Sect, so they had arranged to explore together.

They had just happened to be around when the Celestial Secret Pavilion released its new rankings, so they each bought a copy.

’Jasper Pool Sect’s Saintess, Ling Zhuyun...’

Zhang Yuan closed the booklet, his expression calm and composed, but his heart was anything but.

As he repeated her name to himself, a wave of melancholy washed over him.

He hadn’t seen Ling Zhuyun since the incident at Purple Mist Mountain, much less had the chance to explain anything to her.

After returning to the Jasper Pool Sect, Ling Zhuyun had apparently thrown herself into secluded cultivation, and no news of her had reached the outside world since.