"Fairy, we are approaching the Eastern Taiyi Gate," Steward Zhu said, pointing to a small town, the sun rising over the distant eastern mountains.
"Activate the spaceship's highest defense. Everyone enter emergency combat readiness," Ju Yin suddenly recalled scenes of past battles. Before a major battle, caution could sometimes avoid greater casualties!
"Feng Chu, Qing Yin, you two go scout for information in the town below. We'll find a place to rest first."
"Yes, Honored One!"
Ju Yin's heart stirred, changing her previous plan to directly attack the Taiyi Gate. Having encountered and injured Yun Guan, they likely received the news long ago, perhaps setting a trap for her!
Tian Ji breathed a sigh of relief beside her. His divination for this journey indicated victory through danger, but a moment's carelessness could lead to severe losses.
"Honored One, the spaceship is hidden to the northwest, which is advantageous for us," Tian Ji and the old man with double pupils exchanged glances and told Ju Yin the calculated location.
"Alright, Steward Zhu, do as Tian Ji said."
"Master, I have a very bad feeling!" Qi Mo suddenly said. Ju Yin was startled; she also felt the agitation in Qi Mo's soul. Something that threatened his life. For the golden dragon to be so uneasy, it seemed the Eastern Taiyi Gate was not simple!
"Xiao Mo, what have you found?" Ju Yin soothed him with spiritual energy.
"I don't know, there's something ahead. A powerful fellow!" Qi Mo's veins bulged on his face, as if he was enduring something.
Ju Yin trusted the divine beast's keen senses; they would never be wrong.
"Xiao Mo, go into the spatial dimension first!" Seeing Qi Mo struggling to suppress the urge to fight, Ju Yin had to let him enter the dimension! It wasn't time yet!
"Honored One, it seems they already know we've arrived. Towns near some major sects have submitted to..." Chao Yang Zi said.
"It seems so. But what of it? No one dictates that I must go forward! Let's see who can't wait!" Ju Yin said helplessly.
Chao Yang Zi's lips curved. The Honored One was truly adorably willful!
She had already secretly communicated with Feng Chu and Qing Yin, secretly setting up a formation to isolate the town. She had just deployed her divine sense and saw that most people in the town below were ordinary people with a small number of cultivators, none with high cultivation. If she were to battle the Taiyi Gate, she worried about them being affected. Even if these towns were disguised, it would be perfect to trap them with the formation.
Feng Chu and Qing Yin had changed their attire and appearances, suppressing their cultivation to disguise themselves as ordinary cultivators, indistinguishable from those on the Tian Xing Continent. The two entered the town without arousing much suspicion. They entered a tea house by the roadside; inside, only two or three figures were present.
"Welcome, honored guests, what would you like to drink?"
The waiter, seeing their ordinary clothes and lower cultivation, immediately relaxed. A few days ago, the immortals from the Taiyi Gate had instructed them to pay close attention to high-cultivation outsiders and report any sightings. The waiter felt dejected. He usually loved to inquire about unfamiliar faces, but now he had no interest. This was because the Taiyi Gate no longer accepted disciples around the age of ten.
What a pity. His own daughter would be ten next spring. If she missed this year, she wouldn't meet the criteria. He thought of his neighbor's daughter, Xiao Xi. Since being accepted as a disciple by the Taiyi Gate, although she couldn't visit, she could send back a spirit stone annually to subsidize the household. A spirit stone was an immense fortune for an ordinary family!
"Two bowls of plain tea!" Feng Chu said.
The waiter showed no outward reaction but inwardly disdained them, calling them two paupers who couldn't even afford spiritual tea!
"Certainly, please wait a moment!" The waiter turned to serve the tea.
"Waiter, I'd like to ask you something." Feng Chu placed a golden leaf on the table.
The waiter initially wanted to refuse, but upon seeing the golden leaf, he couldn't move. The reason he wanted to send his daughter to the Taiyi Gate was his family's poverty. His child had great talent, but his family couldn't provide cultivation resources. Banditry had been rampant in recent years, and people in this area had been thoroughly plundered. Gold and silver were the most circulating items on the Tian Xing Continent, and this golden leaf was enough to sustain his family for three months.
The waiter hadn't expected these two seemingly impoverished individuals to be so generous! However, he remained cautious. His cultivation was insufficient for anything too dangerous.
"Honored guests, what do you wish to inquire about? If it concerns the Taiyi Gate, there are regulations. The common folk in this area are absolutely forbidden from disclosing any information about the sect. Lighter offenses result in expulsion from the town, and more serious ones will incur the sect's punishment!" The waiter's eyes were fixed on the golden leaf, unable to look away.
"Waiter, don't worry. We've traveled a long way and wish to reside here temporarily. We just want to ask, what are the rules for doing so?" Feng Chu's expression was mournful, as if he had an unspeakable difficulty.
The waiter suddenly understood, guessing that these two had encountered some trouble, otherwise they wouldn't have left their homeland to come to this remote easternmost region. He immediately relaxed, took the golden leaf, and kindly informed them.
"If you two wish to stay for a few days, it's not difficult. Just inform the town mayor and pay a head tax. If you wish to reside here permanently, the town mayor will need to report to the Taiyi Gate, as this is their jurisdiction. Even the town mayor cannot make the decision!" The waiter explained enthusiastically and even told them how to rent an affordable house.
The two drank their tea, thanked the waiter, and left. Turning a corner, they parted ways and vanished with a flash. Feng Chu went to the town mayor's residence, while Chao Xiang Zi went to the town's outskirts to set up a formation.
At this moment, the town mayor of Qiming Town had locked himself in his study. He was so terrified that he drank several cups of cold tea without calming down. He desperately tried to still his trembling hands, thinking of everything he had accidentally witnessed, which had completely overturned his life. Feng Chu, currently invisible on the roof, sensed something amiss upon scanning the town mayor. He immediately changed his plan, covered his face, and silently broke in.
"Mayor, are you well!" Feng Chu said in a low, sinister voice!
"Immortal, spare my life! Immortal, spare my life!" Mayor Yun Chang Dong of Qiming Town knelt down, kowtowing and shouting for mercy! Cold sweat immediately soaked his back. He was merely an insignificant figure within the Yun family. He thought that the truth he had seen today was enough to have his entire family wiped out, but he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly!
Ju Yin's heart stirred. He had intended to probe, but he hadn't expected such cooperation!
"What do you want me to spare you for? Consider what you have done today, and then I can decide if you live or die!" Feng Chu enticed.
"Immortal, I shouldn't have seen what I saw. I will gouge out my own eyes as atonement! I beg the immortal to spare my life. I have two young children at home, and my wife is frail. Please show mercy!" Town Mayor Yun said, preparing to act!
"Wait, did I permit you? Are you afraid of dirtying my eyes?" Feng Chu waved his sleeve, and a palm print appeared on Town Mayor Yun's face! Then, he elegantly sat on a grand chair, his posture lazy, looking at Yun Chang Dong as if he were an insect that could be crushed at any moment.