Three days later.
Qin Yun, Yi Xiao, Long Xiaolian and a turtle demon were on a cruise that headed for Golden Qin County. East Sea County, Wusu County, and Golden Qin County were three of the most prosperous counties in Jiang Prefecture. Geographically, they went from south to north.
According to Qin Yun’s original plans, they could have flown directly to Golden Qin. How fast was that?
But Long Xiaolian insisted on traveling by boat!
“Wow, how beautiful.” Standing on the deck, Long Xiaolian looked at the banks. It was early spring and the willows had already begun budding. Occasionally, there would be a smudge of red amid the greenery along the banks. Further away were large swaths of farmland.
“This is the human world. The human world!” Long Xiaolian was excited.
Beside her, the turtle demon elder said with a smile, “In a few more days, with the flowers blooming by the shore, it will be even better. Now, the cherry blossoms are still buds and have not completely bloomed. In about a month’s time, that will be when the willows fly everywhere. It would be ugly then.”
And in an exquisite cabin on the boat.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao sat at a tiny table, drinking and having some fruit and dessert.
“We could have flown to Golden Qin in less than an hour. Now, with the boat proceeding so slowly, it will take a few days.” Qin Yun shook his head.
“It’s rare for Sister Long to leave the sea so naturally she finds everything fresh and new.” Yi Xiao said, “Previously, she was busy with her trade deals and did not have the leisure to appreciate it fully. Now that she has the time, she naturally wants to enjoy herself. However, it’s almost March, and the Jiang Prefecture’s scenery is indeed pretty.”
“In terms of scenery in March, Grand Dominance is truly the best in the world.” Qin Yun said proudly. “I have traveled the world and can guarantee that even though the neighboring Golden Qin has pretty good scenery in March, Grand Dominance has a little more flair to it. And heading north, the colors turn a little washed out. Heading east, it gets affected by the ocean. It’s Grand Dominance that is perfect in every aspect.”
Yi Xiao smiled as she nodded.
“When Sister Long returns to the East Sea, Yi Xiao, you have to spend some time in Grand Dominance. I previously mentioned that I would bring you everywhere in Grand Dominance to enjoy its delicacies but you returned to your sect so early,” said Qin Yun.
“Sure thing, after I broke through to the Connate realm, I was planning on touring the world.” Yi Xiao naturally agreed.
Qin Yun could not help but smile.
The duo enjoyed a casual conversation as they looked at the scenery outside the boat.
…
Hu! Hu! Hu!
High in the sky, a group of avian demons was spreading their wings and flying. At the same time, they overlooked the land in every direction.
“That cultivator sure is bold. He dared kill the young lord. The great king has commanded us to capture the cultivator and torture him to death. His flesh is to be eaten and blood drank. Look carefully. Don’t let that cultivator escape.” An avian demon barked as he studied the land beneath him.
“He won’t escape! His Majesty has given his orders and now, the demon mob is out in full force to capture him. He’s a cultivator not even in the Connate realm so how can he possibly escape?”
As the demons conversed, they were carefully searching the area.
As avian demons, their eyes were also very sharp.
“There is a bunch of farmers over there. Yellow Feathers, the few of you go take a look. See if the cultivator is hidden among them.”
“Alright.” Immediately, five avian demons flew into the distance.
Phew.
Phew.
The five avian demons swooped down at extremely fast speeds.
The boatsman and his daughter were busy serving lunch to the guests on the front deck. At that moment, when they looked up, they saw five dots rapidly flying over. They were appalled to realize that there were five avian demons.
“Demons! Demons!” The boat’s owner and his daughter were alarmed.
“Demons?”
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao walked to the berth and came to the deck where Xiaolian and the turtle demon were. They looked up and saw five avian demons flying over rapidly.
“Demons are actually attacking? Are they going to eat people?” Long Xiaolian could not help but marvel.
“Although demons would occasionally appear in the city outskirts, it’s very unlikely to encounter them. Traveling merchants would encounter them once after dozens of trips. To many lesser merchants, it’s a calamity.” Qin Yun looked up and watched the five incoming demons.
When the five demons approached, they noticed the four people on the deck. However, they did not have Dharma Eyes and could not recognize that Long Xiaolian and the elder were demons as well.
“What a beautiful woman.”
“Truly beautiful.”
The five avian demons were instantly attracted by Yi Xiao. As demons, the Divine Concealment Spell was useless against them.
“Hehehe, such a great beauty. The other girl might be a little young but she’s very pretty too.” One of the five demons laughed oddly. “Kill all the men and eat their flesh. Bring the two women away! The great beauty shall be left to His Majesty and the young beauty is mine.”
“Leader, there’s a boat maiden over there too.”
“Kill them for flesh. Check them after they are dead to see if the cultivator is hidden here.”
The five avian demons were floating in front of the boat as they discussed.
The old boatsman on the boat, as well as his daughter, were trembling.
“Father.” The boat maiden hugged the old man.
“It’s fine. It’s fine.” Although the old boatsman said so, his body could not help but quiver. It was relatively safe from Wusu to Golden Qin. Few demons passed the water channel and it was far away from the demon lairs. He never expected to encounter demons.
“In a while, if you see things turn bad, jump off the boat immediately. Perhaps, we might still be able to live.” The old boatsman whispered to his daughter.
His daughter was already tearing up.
Jumping off the boat to live? The demons could still kill the people in the water! The chance of surviving was extremely low.
…
“Are you going to kill us and capture us?” Long Xiaolian showed no fear and instead, took the initiative to speak.
The five avian demons were taken aback.
“Cut the nonsense. Attack!” The leader of the flying demons gave the order.
However, Qin Yun extended his hand out.
Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu! Hu!
Five blurry sword beams that resembled a drizzle flashed in midair, penetrating the five avian demons. Immediately, the demons were alarmed but following that, they reverted to their true forms, plummeting into the river as gigantic flying birds.
“Why did you kill them so quickly? I haven’t had a chance to have fun with them.” Long Xiaolian could not help but grumble.
Qin Yun frowned as he looked into the distance.
Kilometers away, another five demons were flying towards a group of farmers. When the farmers saw the demons, they were horrified and began running in all directions. After Qin Yun entered the Connate realm, it was as though he had been reborn. He could still see well even several kilometers away if the weather was good.
“These demons.” Qin Yun’s eyes flashed with killing intent.
Shoo!
A purple beam of light flew out from the scabbard by his waist, leaving behind a remnant shadow behind. In a blink of an eye, it appeared several kilometers away. It tore through the flying demons consecutively, revealing the demons true forms as they plummeted to the ground dead.
When these farmers saw the situation unfold, they came to a halt. They agitatedly knelt down and kowtowed. “Thank you, gods! Thank the gods for saving our lives.”
To Qin Yun, he was only doing it in passing, but to these farmers, it was their lives. They were the pillars of their family, so if they were to die, their wives and children would only have tragic outcomes.
“Whew!”
The purple light flew back into the scabbard by Qin Yun’s waist. It was an eighth-grade Dharma treasure that he exchanged with the Inspector Heavenly Alliance.
“Odd.” Qin Yun frowned. “Wusu County and Golden Qin County are one of the top three counties in Jiang Prefecture. Furthermore, Golden Qin County is governed by the Prefecture Overseer. Demons would seldom take action there, much less be so obstreperous.”
Yi Xiao nodded as well. “We humans hold the advantage in such large counties. Demons would be clandestine when they come out, so why are they being so flagrant?”
Qin Yun nodded. “We should pay attention to our surroundings. Perhaps something has happened.”
******
And about five kilometers from where Qin Yun was.
Hong Lingtong was holding onto a wooden stave and traversing through a forest nervously. His face was pale and he could not help but cough.
“Wealth comes from taking risks.”
“In order to repair my treasure, I was really rash this time. The two risks I took previously was within my divined calculations and I escaped unscathed. This time, I killed the demon king’s only son. He’s furious and has sent demons everywhere to capture me. All my Invisibility Charms have been used up. What do I do? What should I do?” Hong Lingtong ran as he anxiously thought of solutions.
His divination spell was not omniscient.
Furthermore, the world was profound. Not everything could be divined.
As Hong Lingtong escaped for his life in panic, he searched for a way out of his peril.
“Oh?”
The moment he came to a distance exactly five kilometers from Qin Yun.
“Hum!”
The strange ancient turtle shell with cracks that floated inside his dantian began trembling, passing him new information.
“Survival is in the east! There!” Hong Lingtong looked in the direction where Qin Yun and company were on. However, the boat was five kilometers away and with trees and hills obstructing his line of sight, he could not see a thing. But Hong Lingtong knew. He knew that the chance for survival was in that direction.