Chapter 11: Master Was Right, There Really Are Bandits Out Here
The Number One Fairy Conference was held at Ten Thousand Cloud Mountain, the location of the main branch of the Ten Thousand Fragrance Pavilion.
It wasn’t exactly far, but it wasn’t close either.
For mortals, this journey would take more than half a year.
But for cultivators, it was only a three to five-day journey.
Ten Thousand Cloud Mountain was located near the Heavenly Path Mountain Range in the central part of the continent, a notorious danger zone. Even true Supreme Clarity Realm experts wouldn’t dare to venture into the heart of the Heavenly Path Mountains.
But the Ten Thousand Fragrance Pavilion, with its immense wealth, had directly claimed a mountain at the entrance of this danger zone as its headquarters.
Safe and prestigious.
At the foot of Ten Thousand Cloud Mountain, there was also a town called Fragrance City, which served as a hub for merchants and provided lodging for cultivators heading to Ten Thousand Cloud Mountain.
Chen Yin and Xiang’er, taking their time and enjoying the scenery along the way, finally arrived at Fragrance City after seven or eight days of leisurely travel.
With two or three days left before the official start of the Fairy Conference, they decided to find an inn to stay at.
At the inn, Chen Yin requested two rooms. The waiter immediately went upstairs to prepare the rooms, leaving Chen Yin sighing softly.
“Ah, this waiter truly lacks discernment.”
“Why?” Xiang’er asked curiously.
“Seeing a man and a woman like us checking in and asking for two rooms, wouldn’t he be a little more perceptive?”
Chen Yin said with a regretful expression, “If he had said the inn was full and only had one room left, wouldn’t I be able to justifiably share a bed with Xiang’er?”
Yu Xiang blushed and pinched Chen Yin’s arm. “Trying to take advantage of me again!”
“Stinky Senior Brother! Bad Senior Brother!”
Chen Yin, with his thick skin, naturally remained unfazed and chuckled.
“But…” Xiang’er suddenly changed her tone, a hint of shyness in her voice. “If Senior Brother really wants to sleep with Xiang’er…”
“It’s… not impossible.”
Chen Yin’s eyes lit up. “Really?”
“Hehe, of course I’m lying to you, stinky Senior Brother.”
Yu Xiang smiled sweetly and ran upstairs lightly.
Chen Yin sighed helplessly.
After settling in, Xiang’er couldn’t wait to go shopping. Chen Yin was about to shamelessly tag along, but Xiang’er blushed and refused.
“Forget it, Senior Brother. I-I’m going to buy some… private things for girls… It wouldn’t be appropriate for Senior Brother to be there.”
“Private things? You’re making me even more interested.”
Chen Yin said righteously, “What if Xiang’er buys fake or inferior products while shopping alone? It’s better to let Senior Brother appraise them for you first—”
“No way! Get out of here, stinky Senior Brother!”
In the end, he was kicked out by Xiang’er.
Standing outside the inn, Chen Yin shrugged and leisurely left the city. Then, he immediately put away his carefree demeanor, put on his mask, and quickly flew away from Fragrance City.
He flew to a dense forest some distance away from Fragrance City before slowly stopping.
…Xiang’er deliberately avoided him, which meant only one thing.
He then took out the transmission stone that Yu Xiang had given him at the demonic branch altar.
As expected, after a moment, the transmission stone lit up slightly, and Xiang’er’s cold voice came from inside:
“I’ve arrived at Fragrance City.”
“In that case, I wish the Holy Maiden success in winning the championship.”
Xiang’er’s voice sounded slightly surprised. “The demonic path is quite confident in my participation?”
“Hehe, the Holy Maiden naturally has her own plans. The sect will simply await good news.” Chen Yin smoothly dodged the question.
After a moment of silence, Yu Xiang slowly said, “Tell the sect elders that I will be careful during the conference and won’t expose my identity.”
“In return, don’t contact me for the time being. My Senior Brother is close to me, and your rash contact could expose my identity.”
Chen Yin’s mind raced, and he suddenly asked:
“Since the Holy Maiden’s Senior Brother is such a hindrance, why not have the sect eliminate this troublesome fellow—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the voice on the other end suddenly became urgent.
“Don’t you dare!”
This was the first time Chen Yin had heard such an anxious tone from Yu Xiang.
But as soon as she spoke, Yu Xiang seemed to realize her slip-up, and her voice turned cold again.
“If you dare touch my Senior Brother, don’t blame me for fighting to the death!”
“I guarantee that all of you will be buried with him.”
“Hehe, please calm down, Holy Maiden. This lowly one was merely speaking casually.” Chen Yin deliberately lowered his voice. “Since the Holy Maiden has made her decision, we will naturally await good news.”
“I’ll contact you next time.” Finally, Xiang’er coldly left this sentence before ending the transmission.
Looking at the transmission stone in his hand, Chen Yin couldn’t help but chuckle.
…What a cute and silly girl.
If she cared so much about her Senior Brother, why did she have to force herself so hard?
However, Xiang’er’s warning to the demonic path not to contact her during this time was exactly what Chen Yin wanted.
How could they not contact her? He was hoping they would contact Xiang’er soon.
That way, it would be easier for him to follow the trail and uproot all those who dared to have designs on Xiang’er.
This was Chen Yin’s plan all along. Since the demonic branch altar in Flowing Cloud City had been destroyed, the demonic path couldn’t contact Xiang’er at the moment.
Therefore, if Xiang’er appeared at the Fairy Conference, it would definitely attract the attention of the demonic path.
At that time, he only needed to pay attention to those suspicious individuals who tried to approach Xiang’er, and he would be able to seize clues about the demonic path.
…This time, he wanted to see who would dare to touch Xiang’er.
***
Estimating the time, Chen Yin figured Xiang’er should be heading back soon, so he started to leisurely make his way back to the city.
But halfway there, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he swiftly concealed himself among the trees.
There were faint sounds of argument coming from the forest.
By a stream deep in the forest, several women in elegant robes and armed with weapons were standing back to back, their eyes wary as they stared at the people in front of them.
They were all injured, and their clothes were torn in many places.
In front of them, several bandits dressed in evil cultivator attire were leering at them.
“Do you… do you even know what you’re doing?”
One of the fairies gritted her teeth and said in a sharp voice, “We are disciples of the Heavenly Net Sect!”
“Do you think you’ll have a way out after provoking the Heavenly Net Sect?”
“A way out? I spit on that!” One of the bandits laughed and cursed. “Who would do this kind of work if they were afraid of death?”
“Little girls, stop trying to scare us. Let me tell you, we’re all rogue cultivators with our heads on the line, and we came here specifically to ambush you little girls participating in the Fairy Conference.”
“Consider yourselves unlucky to have run into us. Hehe.”
Judging from their fierce expressions, these bandits clearly had the lives of several cultivators on their hands. These young fairies, who had just left their sect, were obviously intimidated.
“What should we do?” One of the timid female cultivators asked fearfully. “Their cultivation is strong, we can’t beat them.”
“Don’t worry, Senior Sister will come to save us soon.” Another female cultivator said reassuringly, trying to appear calm.
“When Senior Sister arrives, none of them will escape!”
“Hehe, still waiting for reinforcements?” The rogue cultivator laughed. “Do you think we’re stupid?”
“As long as we’re quick enough, we can just tie you up and run away. Even the Heavenly Net Sect wouldn’t go through a lot of trouble for a few insignificant female disciples, right?”
“Hehe, Boss, stop wasting your breath on them. I can’t wait to try these fresh cauldrons!”
As the rogue cultivators approached step by step, the girls huddled together, trembling with fear.
Just as the rogue cultivators were about to make their move with lewd smiles, a faint sigh suddenly sounded in their ears.
“Sigh.”
“Master was right.”
“There really are bandits and rogue cultivators out here.”
The next moment, the fairies’ eyes widened.
A white light flashed, and the ground in front of them suddenly split open like tofu, a bottomless chasm appearing.
The rogue cultivators, who were standing on the chasm a moment ago, had vanished without a trace.
Not even their aura remained.
“Th-this is…” The fairies looked at each other, too stunned to speak.
Not far away, Chen Yin’s figure slowly emerged. He looked at the chasm and scratched his head awkwardly.
…He had tried his best to control it.
It seemed the power was still a bit too much.
The highest cultivation among these rogue cultivators was only at the early stage of the Entering Gate Realm, which came after the Cloud Ascending Realm.
Using a sword that could pulverize even a peak Boundless Realm elder on them felt like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
After all, the path of cultivation consisted of six realms: Gathering Qi, Cloud Ascending, Entering Gate, Boundless, Supreme Clarity, and Grand Clarity. Each realm was separated by a vast gulf.
Using a sword that could kill a Boundless Realm elder to slay a small fry at the early stage of the Entering Gate Realm was indeed a waste.
But Chen Yin couldn’t help it. This was the weakest of the three sword moves he had learned.
He truly didn’t have anything weaker.
At that moment, the fairies seemed to notice Chen Yin and asked cautiously:
“Excuse me… was it you who saved us?”
“Ah, no, it wasn’t me.” Chen Yin thought for a moment and decided to keep it a secret. “It was my Master who made the move.”
“But my Master doesn’t like to show her face and has already left.”
The fairies breathed a sigh of relief and patted their chests. “Thank goodness.”
“Thank you for your help, and thank you to your Master.”
“May we ask which sect you belong to? Are you also going to the Fairy Conference?”
Chen Yin cupped his hands politely. “I am Chen Yin, a disciple of the Mist Spirit Sect branch.”
“So you’re a fellow Daoist from the Mist Spirit Sect.”
The fairies relaxed their guard and started chatting and laughing. “We’re so grateful for your and your Master’s help today.”
“Haha, you’re too kind, Fairy Sisters.”
Chen Yin said with a smug expression, “You all are so beautiful, with such stunning appearances. Even the heavens couldn’t bear to see you fall victim to those villains.”
“Even if my Master wasn’t here today, I, Little Chen, would still risk my life to protect you!”
As usual, he started with flattery and sweet talk, making the fairies giggle.
“Hehe, little brother, you’re so good with words.”
“You’re quite handsome yourself. How about joining our Heavenly Net Sect and cultivating with us, little brother?”
Chen Yin said shyly, “That… wouldn’t be appropriate. I belong to a sect.”
“Are you rejecting us, little brother?”
“No, no, what I mean is, we can start by getting to know each other. For example, we can find a place to… deeply understand each other’s physical structure~”
“Ah! You’re so naughty, little brother. I didn’t expect you to have such indecent thoughts behind that innocent face.”
“Well, who can resist such charming fairies? I’m a virtuous gentleman, but even I can’t refuse a beauty~”
After some playful banter, Chen Yin became acquainted with these fairies and learned that they were also going to Fragrance City.
“Perfect, our Senior Sister is in the city. You’re in for a treat, little brother.”
Chen Yin, who had been smiling, suddenly froze.
“…Just in case, let me ask.”
He swallowed nervously and said softly, “Your Senior Sister… wouldn’t happen to be the famous Silk-Robe Fairy, Luo Qiaoqiao, would she?”
“Of course.” The fairies asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”
The moment he heard the name, Chen Yin felt a chill down his spine, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
“Uh, haha, I-I suddenly remembered I have something to do, so I’ll be going now.”
Under the curious gazes of the fairies, Chen Yin turned to leave with a forced laugh.
But the next moment, an incredibly seductive female voice, a voice that could make a man’s bones melt, rang out:
“Well, well. Long time no see. Why are you in such a hurry to leave?”
“Why don’t we catch up?”
At that moment.
Chen Yin felt his heart skip a beat.
***
T/N:
Luo Qiaoqiao: Her title is literary “Luo Shang Fairy”. Can be translated to
- Silk-Robe Fairy (chosen translation)
- Fairy of Flowing Silk
- Celestial Silk Maiden, etc
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