Chapter 503: Good Advice Is Lost on a Damned Monkey

Although Jie Yu chided, “You damn monkey,” her affectionate tone was enough to make the young man beside her jealous.

‘He’d never even been on the receiving end of such a playful scolding from his goddess!’

Jie Yu ruffled Little Wukong’s head for a moment. Having secretly finished reading the contents of the Jade Slip, her smile widened.

“Alright, I know!” She gave Little Wukong’s ear a final tug. “You be careful. There are some formidable characters among the Demon Race members who showed up today.”

Little Wukong let out two SQUEAKS to show he understood.

With strangers present, Little Wukong didn’t stay long and soon bid Jie Yu farewell.

The smile never left Jie Yu’s lips, and the young man could clearly see she was in high spirits.

“Fairy Jie Yu, are you in such a good mood because you were reminded of an old friend?” the young man asked tentatively.

“Master Wu Yi, I’m in a good mood not just because I was reminded of an old friend, but because I’m full of confidence about this expedition to the cave dwelling.”

The young man, Wu Yi, was clearly a True Inheritor of the Taihe Sect. He sighed softly. “I hope everything goes smoothly and we find that Divinity Transformation Spiritual Object. Don’t worry. My master personally promised that as long as you, Fairy Jie Yu, help me obtain it, he will grant you a Tier Five Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Object to stabilize your soul. It will surely eliminate the underlying threat and sustain you until you can advance to the Divinity Transformation Realm.”

Jie Yu smiled. “I naturally trust the Martial Uncle’s word. You just focus on fighting for it. I will act as your Guardian.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zhuge Qing was somewhat surprised to see the Little Monkey scampering back. “What are you doing back here?”

The Little Monkey let out a few squeaks.

Zhuge Qing said, “He wants you to stick with me? To help me fight for the Spirit Medicine?”

The Little Monkey grinned, releasing its aura for a moment before concealing it again.

Zhuge Qing was surprised. “So you can already undergo Transformation. When I saw you eighty years ago, I estimated it would take you at least another two or three hundred years. Your master really spared no expense in raising you.”

The Little Monkey bared its teeth. “SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK! SQUEAK SQUEAK!”

He’s not my master, he’s my friend!

Zhuge Qing flicked its forked tongue. “Humans can’t be trusted. You can cooperate with them, but you must always be on your guard, because they can betray you at any moment. If you truly consider a human a friend, you’ll end up dead.”

Little Wukong wasn’t angry. He just squeaked a few more times, emphasizing: He won’t. We’re friends. He would never hurt me.

Zhuge Qing didn’t press the issue. ‘There’s no reasoning with a damn fool of a monkey. He’ll find out when he gets betrayed.’

Zhuge Qing wasn’t particularly angry. Even though it had been betrayed by humans many times in the past, thinking about it now stirred no emotion.

Without expectation, there can be no disappointment.

If there’s no trust from the start, there’s no anger in betrayal.

Its alliance with Du Youqian was a matter of mutual benefit, but it had never trusted his integrity.

‘He’s human, so he can’t be trusted.’

‘In any case, their cooperation would only last until the exploration of the cave dwelling was over.’

“Just wait here. The cave dwelling is about to open.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

This place was situated in the northern part of the Endless Desert Western Domain, near the border of the Northern Domain. It was one of the most barren regions within the already desolate Endless Desert Sea.

Sandstorms raged day and night, and the sky was perpetually shrouded in a hazy fog.

Even the hardiest plants struggled to survive here.

Even the members of the Demon Race who favored desert environments refused to live here. ‘We like sand, but we’re not morons.’

Who could have imagined that tens of thousands of years ago, this very spot had been a rich, fertile land where Spiritual Qi flowed like a tide, with picturesque mountains and clear streams, and winds that rustled through vast pastures.

Many Great Powers of the Human Race established cave dwellings nearby, and some enfeoffed Immortals and Ghost Immortals also chose to settle here.

Fairy Hengguan was one such individual who chose to settle here.

Her title of “Fairy” was not the modern Cultivation Realm’s honorific for female, or Kun, Cultivators.

In her era, anyone called “Fairy” was, without a doubt, a True Immortal.

Of course, even True Immortals were divided into various ranks.

Celestial, Earthly, Human, God, and Ghost. Regardless of how the Celestial, Earthly, and Human Immortals were ranked among themselves, Immortals and Ghost Immortals were always at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Celestial Immortals looked down on Earth Immortals; Earth Immortals considered themselves just as formidable as Celestial Immortals and despised Human Immortals; and Human Immortals believed that both Celestial and Earth Immortals had taken the wrong path.

All three—Celestial, Earthly, and Human Immortals—looked down on Immortals and Ghost Immortals. After all, the titles of Immortals and Ghost Immortals could be bestowed through enfeoffment, and they could also be revoked.

This was unlike Celestial, Earthly, and Human Immortals, whose great power was entirely their own. They wouldn’t debase themselves, not even in the presence of an Emperor.

And between Immortals and Ghost Immortals, the Immortals considered themselves superior. They looked down on Ghost Immortals and preferred to mingle with the Celestial, Earthly, and Human Immortals.

Fairy Hengguan was an Immortal enfeoffed by the Celestial Court. Her actual combat prowess is lost to history, but possessing Immortal Spirit Qi, she could undoubtedly crush anyone in the Void Step Realm.

But as for whether she was stronger than someone at the Harmonization Realm, that could only be determined through battle.

According to records, Fairy Hengguan excelled at cultivating Spirit Medicine. At one point, she was even able to grow Tier Seven near-Dao Spirit Medicines and Tier Eight Immortal Grasses in her garden.

However, the records are vague about her other abilities.

‘Perhaps she had no other skills worth mentioning.’

“Unfortunately, Fairy Hengguan personally harvested all those Tier Seven Spirit Medicines and Tier Eight Immortal Grasses long before the Celestial Court fell. But even if she hadn’t, after so many years without anyone to tend to them, those priceless Tier Seven and Tier Eight plants would not have survived. Not even the Tier Six Spirit Medicines could have been preserved. Only Spirit Medicine of Tier Five and Below might have been preserved, nourished by the Spirit Vein,” said Ye Rui Master.

Du Youqian asked, “Who spread this information? Is it reliable?”

Ye Rui Master had suppressed her irritation and regained her composure. She chuckled at his question. “Of course it’s reliable. Although Fairy Hengguan’s whereabouts are unknown and she’s presumed to have perished long ago, some of the servants from her cave dwelling survived and passed down information.”

Du Youqian considered this for a moment. “The Ancient Celestial Court fell such a long time ago. Even if Fairy Hengguan’s cave dwelling once had a Spirit Vein, its quality must have degraded by now.”

“That’s a given,” Ye Rui Master said. “However, the Spirit Vein in Fairy Hengguan’s cave dwelling was originally Tier Seven. Given how much time has passed, it should have degraded to around Tier Five. Therefore, it should be able to sustain the Tier Five and Below Spirit Medicines and Spirit Grasses in her cave.”

Du Youqian nodded, agreeing with Ye Rui Master’s analysis.

“And the Divinity Transformation Spiritual Object?”

Ye Rui Master smiled. “According to the servants’ recollections, Fairy Hengguan used to have a Divinity Transformation Spiritual Object as a decoration in her living quarters.”

Du Youqian was left speechless.

A Divinity Transformation Spiritual Object could easily fetch over twenty million Spiritual Jade at an auction.

The crucial thing was, these items were incredibly rare. They were typically hoarded by Major Sects and powerful Immortal Countries. You might not see a single one on the open market for a hundred years, making it a complete seller’s market.

‘For Fairy Hengguan to use such a precious Divinity Transformation Spiritual Object as a common household decoration…’

“Are there any other valuables in Fairy Hengguan’s cave dwelling?”

“There will likely be a good amount of Tier Four and Tier Five materials. As for Elixirs, after so many years, I’m afraid they’ve long since turned to dust. Any Treasures would have also degraded in quality and would be difficult to restore. When it comes to Inheritances like Cultivation Techniques or Divine Abilities, there might be one for Spirit Plant Arts, but don’t count on finding any combat-related techniques. Fairy Hengguan was an enfeoffed Immortal, not one skilled in Cultivation or Magical Combat.”

Du Youqian listened and found her reasoning sound.

“In that case, we should head straight for the living quarters after we get inside. The only question is, do our rivals know that’s the key location?”

Ye Rui Master sounded discouraged. “If they managed to find this place, we can’t afford to be naive. They obviously have their own sources for these secrets.”

Du Youqian comforted her, “Come now, Sister. The three of us together have nothing to fear from any expert. Besides, my Little Monkey will be helping us from the shadows.”

Ye Rui Master shook her head. “It’s not as simple as you think. Don’t you recognize the people who’ve shown up?”

Du Youqian honestly didn’t, but from Ye Rui Master’s tone, he gathered that some of the Nascent Soul Cultivators preparing to enter the cave dwelling were quite formidable.

Du Youqian laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re scared, Sister? If you are, you can always wait outside for your little brother here to bring back the Divinity Transformation Spiritual Object for you.”

Ye Rui Master rolled her eyes at him. “You may be a True Inheritor of the Holy Blood Sect, but Master Wu Yi of the Taihe Sect is not to be trifled with. And then there’s Jing Ruoxu of the Lingxiao Sword Pavilion. If I were to run into him alone, I would give him a very wide berth.”

Du Youqian committed the two names to memory and quickly scanned the auras of the gathered Nascent Soul Masters, pinpointing his two powerful rivals.

Jing Ruoxu was clearly the one with the overwhelming Sword Intent. A truly tough opponent.

Master Wu Yi’s aura was very close to Jie Yu’s, indicating they had arrived together.

This man was probably strong enough to take on three Ye Rui Masters at once. Snatching the Divinity Transformation Spiritual Object from him would be nearly impossible for Du Youqian to do on his own.