Not long after Yang Ying's group emerged from the Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace, the man surnamed Wei received a report in his residence.
He flipped through it twice, smiled, and handed it to the man surnamed Shi, saying, "Brother Shi, be at ease. Yang Ying's group has already emerged from the Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace. As I said before, my Wei clan's work will never be interrupted."
The man surnamed Shi hurriedly took a look, and his heart leaped with joy.
The man surnamed Wei said with great ease, "With the Dongting Protectorate blocked outside, the Dragon Tooth Protectorate will have a smooth path ahead."
The man surnamed Shi couldn't help but nod.
There was a lot of news coming out of the imperial court at present, and through certain channels, they were the first to learn of it. The Xuanting had many goals for this expansion, but the most important of these goals was defense and supervision. Thus, they would support at least one protectorate into a prefecture in each direction.
On the eastern sea, there were actually quite a few protectorates that had survived, but there were only two that had the greatest hope of transforming their protectorates into provinces. One was the furthest Dongting Protectorate, and the other was the Dragon Fang Protectorate, slightly to the southeast.
If the Dongting Protectorate was pushed out, the Dragon Tooth Protectorate would have no more opponents on the road to becoming a prefecture.
The man surnamed Shi finished reading the report and was about to put it down when he saw that Yang Ying's group had not returned to the city, but instead headed north. He was still somewhat worried, because it seemed that Yang Ying hadn't given up.
He said, "Brother Wei, Yang Ying's group headed north after coming out of the Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace. Where is that place? Do they have some other way? "
The man surnamed Shi had believed that the matter was settled, so he hadn't read any further. Now that he heard this, he walked over and took the letter to read it again. "North?"
In his impression, there were no people or clans worth paying attention to in that direction. Or to the outer continents?
No!
His expression flickered.
There was another existence in that direction, but he hadn't thought in that direction before.
But how was that possible?
His expression darkened. How could the people of the Dongting Protectorate have anything to do with that place?
After pacing a few steps in the hall, he calmed his breathing and felt that he must have been overthinking things. Otherwise, many things before could be explained differently.
However, he still felt somewhat relieved. After thinking for a while, he called an attendant over and instructed, "Continue to keep an eye on that East Court Flying Boat. No matter where they go, report back immediately."
The attendant replied, "Don't worry, Young Master. Our men have been keeping an eye on them. As long as they are still in Yujing, no matter where they go or where they settle down, our men will report back."
The man surnamed Shi asked carefully, "Brother Wei, is there something wrong?"
The man with the surname Wei waved his hand and put on a relaxed appearance as he said, "What's wrong with that? Don't worry, no matter where they are, it's useless."
The silver-white flying boat flew all the way north and had already reached the border of Yujing. If it continued north, it might reach the northern end of Yikong Shangzhou.
Looking down from the sky, the Yuntao Temple was an unremarkable little Taoist temple. It stood alone in a low valley. The female guard driving the flying boat didn't know that there was such a place in Yujing. If not for Yang Ying's insistence, she would have thought that they had found the wrong place.
Behind the Taoist temple was a desolate slope with no vegetation. In front of the door was a bamboo forest that could be considered passable. The only open space was occupied by a pond, and there was only a small path that led to the outside. There was no place for the flying boat to land.
Jia Yue said, "I'll take Wei Wei and Xiao Ran down."
Yang Ying said confidently, "You can take Xiao Ran."
She stood up from the main seat, and with a flash between her eyebrows, she put on a divine robe and turned into a metal giant. The cabin wall at the front of the flying boat melted, and she jumped down. After falling about a hundred feet, her body flashed and her feet touched the ground, reducing the momentum and gently standing on the ground.
But when she reached the ground, she looked up and was absent-minded for a moment.
Not only her, but when Jia Yue and Xiao Qin landed on the ground under the protection of the light, they couldn't help but be stunned when they saw the scene in front of them.
The Taoist temple that originally looked very small in the sky now looked like it was lying in the clouds. It was high up in the sky, and below it were stone steps and long mountain ridges. It was faintly discernible in the mist, and it looked like a celestial residence.
Jia Yue thought for a moment and said, "Wei Wei, it's a forbidden formation. The sky above this place was originally covered by a forbidden formation, so it's difficult for us to see the whole thing. The people who can live here are definitely not ordinary."
Yang Ying nodded. She looked at the mountain peak and said with fighting spirit, "Let's go up!"
The three of them climbed up along the winding mountain path without stopping. After more than a summer, they finally arrived in front of the Taoist temple. Before they knocked on the door, the door opened first. A delicate and pretty Taoist boy walked out and bowed to them, saying, "Honored guests, who are you looking for?"
Yang Ying took out the bone whistle and held it in her hand, saying, "Boy, do you recognize this?"
The Taoist boy took a look and bowed. He stepped aside and said, "Honored guests, please come in."
Yang Ying gave her thanks. She followed the Taoist boy through the mountain gate and walked into the inner room. She walked up the steps and walked past a square with a furnace that was the height of two people and entered the main hall.
The hall was spacious and bright. Long brocade scrolls drawn with vermilion Taoist talismans hung on both sides of the hall. Faint patterns of pines and cranes were at the bottom, and there was a heavy black shaft tied to the bottom. They looked exquisite and simple, and were filled with Taoist charm.
Meanwhile, a handsome Taoist boy was standing inside. He held a jade scroll in his hand and seemed to be pondering something as he looked at it. The Taoist boy went up and bowed, saying, "Master Tao, they're here."
Yang Ying composed herself and walked forward. She bowed and said, "Greetings, Taoist Priest Tao."
Tao Dingfu smiled and nodded, saying, "I know you. Governor Yang Yu's older sister. Junior Brother Zhang has mentioned you before."
Yang Ying saw that his attitude was kind and sighed in relief. She thought for a moment and took out the bone whistle again, saying, "Teacher said that if there's anything, we can come find Taoist Priest Tao."
Tao Dingfu nodded, saying, "It seems you've run into trouble. Come, sit down and talk." He gestured, and Yang Ying's trio sat down on the praying mats on the side.
Yang Ying composed herself and gave a brief account of what had happened, including her experience in the Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace.
Tao Dingfu was a bit surprised. His expression became serious, saying, "Oh? You've been to the Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace? "
Yang Ying looked up at him and then lowered her head again, saying, "Yes, if it's inconvenient for Taoist Priest to be here, we, we'll …"
Tao Dingfu smiled, saying, "There's nothing inconvenient about it. If I don't help you, where else can you go? Come with me. "
He stood up and walked towards the back of the hall.
Yang Ying hurriedly stood up and followed Tao Dingfu. Jia Yue and Xiao Ran also followed.
After exiting the main hall, they saw a cloud of mist in front of them. There were wispy clouds passing by their feet, and their vision was blurry. Tao Dingfu's figure was faintly discernible in front of them.
Jia Yue couldn't help but widen her eyes because she could feel that she had just entered a Spirit Mystic Realm, a Spirit Mystic Realm located in the Jade Capital …
She couldn't help but let her imagination run wild.
After walking for an unknown period of time, the mist gradually dissipated. Tao Dingfu walked onto a cloudy corridor that resembled a rainbow bridge. He saw a few red-crowned cranes preening their feathers. At this moment, he could hear guqin music that was as clear as flowing water.
As he walked to the end of the cloudy corridor, a multi-eave pavilion with five doors appeared in front of him. The guqin music became clearer here. Tao Dingfu stood still and asked with his sleeves behind his back, "Is Junior Sister here?"
The guqin music immediately retracted, and a pleasant voice came from inside, saying, "Senior Brother is here. Please come in."
As the voice spoke, the main door of the pavilion opened. Tao Dingfu nodded at Yang Ying and walked in first.
Yang Ying didn't know why, but she was a little nervous at this moment. She took a deep breath and followed in. Then she saw a woman sitting behind a table in the hall. She looked to be in her twenties and was wearing a red wide-sleeved dress. She had a delicate appearance, red lips, and snow-white skin. When one looked at her, one would only feel that her phoenix eyes were full of spirit and were particularly eye-catching.
The woman gently raised her sleeve, and a woman in the hall stood up and bowed before leaving with her guqin.
Only then did Yang Ying realize that there was another person in the hall. It was just that the woman in the seat was too dazzling. It was as if all the colors and sounds in the hall were taken away by her, so the others were ignored.
The woman glanced at Yang Ying and then looked away. She lowered her head and pressed the guqin in front of her. She said casually, "Senior Brother, who is this? Is she your new disciple? "
Tao Dingfu smiled. "She's Governor Yang's elder sister, Yang Ying, Yang Weiwei. She's also Junior Brother Zhang's student."
The woman didn't pay much attention at first, but when she heard that Yang Ying was Zhang Yu's student, she couldn't help but turn to look at Yang Ying. "Junior Brother Zhang's student …"
Tao Dingfu turned around. "Yang Shunv, this is my junior sister, Nie Xinying. You can ask her for help if you need anything."
Nie Xinying looked at Yang Ying and sat up straighter. "Mm, since you're Junior Brother Zhang's student, you can be considered my martial niece. Tell me what you need me for."
Yang Jian took a moment to calm his mind before he repeated what he had just told him about the Peach Fixing Talisman.
Nie Xinying's eyes moved when she heard that she'd come out of the Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace. "You've been there?"
Yang Ying said, "Yes."
Tao Dingfu said, "She said that Fellow Daoist Meng had agreed to help, but Fellow Daoist Meng was called away halfway and didn't return. The matter was left unsettled."
Nie Xinying didn't seem surprised. "There's nothing strange about it. Meng Ying's personality is weak, and she only listens to her master. That Palace Lord of the Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace … Heh, she always wants to stay out of this matter. I'm sure Yuhang's disciples are behind this, so she doesn't dare to take the initiative. I'm curious though. Is she not afraid of offending Junior Brother Zhang?"
Tao Dingfu said, "Junior Brother Zhang cultivates Profound Arts, while Qiongying and Xuan Zun cultivate True Arts. It's not strange for them to make such a choice."
Nie Xinying said disapprovingly, "We also cultivate True Arts, but we've never been on the same path as them. If we count from our master, we're on the same path as Junior Brother Zhang."
She looked up and said, "Yang Qiang."
Yang Ying said, "This student is here."
Nie Xinying said, "The Glazed Jade Heavenly Palace doesn't dare to keep you, but my Baizhen Mountain does. You can stay here with me. If you want to contact anyone, go ahead. I'd like to see who dares to cause trouble for you."
… …
… …
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
