Chapter 354: Chapter 250: Today, Win Against Old Ascender Once
Old Tang just entered the house, and the Sect Leader and his wife arrived at the Sword Pavilion shortly after.
Old Tang adjusted his hairstyle for the second time, straightening his Tai Chi Bun, and walked towards Chen Qianhu with a joyful expression.
No matter what others thought, Old Tang genuinely believed this was a prestigious matter.
Zhang Ze could be considered a quasi-disciple of Dragon Tiger Mountain, and by rounding up, he’s also a pig of Dragon Tiger Mountain. Now that his pig has rooted out the most precious cabbage of the Sword Sect, as the Sect Leader, he had to make some gesture.
He somehow fished out a handful of wedding candies and stuffed them into Chen Qianhu’s hand.
Seeing Chen Qianhu’s expression shift, Old Tang grinned broadly and said, "Congratulations, congratulations."
"Congratulations on what?" Mo Jingchun’s face turned cold.
"Congratulations on your daughter’s matter!" Old Tang continued to say with a smile.
"Mumu?" Although Chen Qianhu had thought of the worst possibility, he still held on to a sliver of hope as he asked.
After all, his second daughter was already a several-thousand-year-old spinster; if she could get married, that would be good.
Parents are just like this; one moment they think you’re too young, the next moment they think you’re too old.
It just so happened that some time ago, the Sword Pavilion of Jing State and Dragon Tiger Mountain had a cooperation. If she took a liking to some young talent, it wouldn’t be impossible.
As the saying goes, marry a thousand miles away, bring home a Golden Mountain.
"Sigh, not your second daughter; it’s your youngest daughter! Congratulations, get ready to become a grandparent!" Old Tang clapped Chen Qianhu’s shoulder with a pat.
Old Tang’s teasing act immediately quieted the room...
Chen Qianhu brushed off Old Tang’s hand and turned to look at the bystanders, who were pretending to be as invisible as possible.
Pavilion Master Zhengyi was looking down, studying his wheelchair with a face that said ’this wheelchair really is something.’
He was now very regretful; he shouldn’t have trusted Old Tang at all, it would’ve been better for him to speak himself.
Old Li stood behind Zhengyi, holding onto the wheelchair handles, with his head raised counting the feathers on the little bird perched on the beam.
Zhang Ze’s apprentice—truly unfamiliar.
And when Lily saw the Sect Leader looking over, she shivered a bit. However, after a moment, she came to terms with it, reasoning that she had probably repaid her debt of gratitude to Zhang Ze.
Now surrendering, her conscience was clear.
Lily directly slid to her knees in front of the Sect Leader.
"Lily has wandered for half a life, only regretting not meeting a wise ruler sooner. If the Sect Leader does not abandon, Lily wishes to turn over a new leaf; please have a look."
Saying this, Lily presented her small walnut with both hands.
[My junior sister and I went out to play, no telling when we’ll be back.]
This was the last message sent by Zhang Ze.
Scrolling up, there was a bunch of dog food photos that Zhang Ze and Chen Qin had sent to Lily.
In short, their attitude was extremely overbearing, too numerous to record.
The Sect Leader and his wife held the small walnut, expressionless, until they finished reading all the chat logs. Just when they were about to return the small walnut to Lily, another new message arrived.
Fresh dog food.
Looking at that salty pig hand holding his daughter’s little hand, the Sect Leader nodded.
Then he simply replied.
[Return to the Sword Pavilion, there’s treasure being distributed]
...
On a flying ship heading to Ling State.
Zhang Ze was lounging with his legs crossed, humming a tune. When he saw the message from Lily, at first he didn’t pay much attention, almost planning to ask what kind of reward it was. But a moment later, he realized something was amiss.
Because Lily was not that kind of person.
If there were truly rewards, Lily would never inform Zhang Ze. Because if Zhang Ze forgot about it when he returned, Lily could take those rewards as her own without resistance.
Something’s off, nine out of ten.
Zhang Ze sat up, took out the Black King Order, and read Song Qingpao’s essay again.
Discovering that Song Qingpao had sent two disciples over to have him test them, he inhaled sharply.
He had previously forgotten about the Sect Leader and his wife playing the pig to eat the tiger over there, but...
Calm, totally calm.
He had a high chance of winning.
The Sect Leader’s cultivation hadn’t advanced an inch, still at the mere Mahayana stage. Meanwhile, his own cultivation had been progressing remarkably and had already reached the level of a Golden Core Ancestor.
This was one victory.
He and his junior sister were deeply in love, a romance freely pursued and ordained by heaven and earth.
This was two victories.
With two victories already and zero for the Sect Leader, victory was endless.
Having formed a plan, Zhang Ze directly crushed the small walnut, then took Chen Qin’s hand and said, "Junior sister."
"What’s up?"
"Jump off the flying ship."
After speaking, he held Chen Qin’s hand and jumped directly off the flying ship, then steered their Golden Core, speeding away in the opposite direction.
There were a few other passengers on the flying ship, but most were on short trips and would get off halfway. When they saw the two youngsters jumping off the flying ship, they were a bit puzzled.
"What happened to them?" a Demon Race cultivator asked.
"Not sure, probably something urgent came up." A chubby passenger beside him glanced at the Demon Race and responded.
"Should we go rescue them?" The Demon Race cultivator leaned on the railing, looking back, but in that moment, the flying ship had already flown a long way.
"Rescue them for what, they’ve flown this far, and besides those two are already Golden Core cultivators at such a young age. It’s not our place to rescue them. They’re likely disciples of the Sword Sect with an urgent matter to tend to."
"Indeed."
This little episode didn’t linger in the minds of these cultivators; they resumed their seats, either meditating and regulating their state in the flying ship’s Spirit Gathering Array or planning their itinerary after arriving at their destination.
However, a few breaths later.
The rapidly flying ship suddenly came to a halt.
An invisible hand had held the flying ship, and just as the cultivators were shocked and about to abandon ship, a voice devoid of any emotion echoed in their ears.
"Have you seen this man and woman?"
As soon as the words fell, the surrounding spiritual qi condensed into substance, and Zhang Ze’s and Chen Qin’s faces appeared before everyone.
"Reporting to the senior, we have seen them. Just now, after those two jumped ship, they fled in that direction." A cultivator replied shakily.
He was truly frightened, not knowing why this powerful figure was seeking those two, but the only thing he knew was that this powerful figure’s mana was boundless, capable of snuffing them out with a breath.
"Hmm, got it."
The cultivator, still with his head lowered, couldn’t discern if the senior was satisfied or not, but he felt a sweeping divine sense over his body, making him feel as if he had been plunged into an ice cave.
But soon, that feeling vanished, and the flying ship resumed normal flight as if everything that happened was simply a figment of his imagination.
However, the doubtful and uncertain expressions of the surrounding cultivators told him that what had just occurred was no dream.
A truly top-tier power had just passed through here and even said a couple of sentences to him.
"What is the story behind that man and woman to provoke such a senior?" He didn’t know if the great power had left or was still watching, so he spoke cautiously.
"I don’t know, perhaps they stole something from that senior."
"Could be, just like in ’Taoist Path to Heaven,’ where that kid steals a secret treasure and is now being hunted by a major player."
"Wonder what precious treasure it could be; it would be nice just to see it."
"Do you want to live?! Silence!"
"My bad, my bad."
The conversation stopped abruptly as the flying ship continued towards Ling State.
During the stops along the way, groups of passengers boarded, while others alighted, and by the time they reached Ling State, three days had passed.
Although Ling State is under the jurisdiction of the Celestial Sect, it is remote and impoverished, with only a few small, weak sects and not many cultivators.
Here, under the Celestial Sect, a Golden Core cultivator is indeed a big shot.
The flying ship stopped at a base established by the Celestial Sect, where only one cultivator seemed uninterested in everything and watched over it.
He only glanced at the flying ship to confirm there was no one aboard before ignoring it and returning to sit in meditation, the temperature around him dropping a few degrees as his cultivation technique circulated.
At night, the cultivator was still meditating, but the flying ship showed some anomalies.
Mo Jingchun’s figure appeared around the flying ship and checked it again, "Not here. What about your side?"
She had been following the flying ship all along to prevent Zhang Ze from pretending to jump ship and actually remaining aboard.
"No." Chen Qianhu, who started searching from where Zhang Ze jumped off, looked at the dense forest ahead.
Thus, the two powerful figures conversed across thousands of miles.
"I’ve ordered the Sword Sect to apprehend him wherever he shows up in a Sword Pavilion," Mo Jingchun said.
"Hmm, let’s wait for him here. He might come here again since the most dangerous place is the safest place. Besides, the Hundred Demons Sect matter needs to be investigated." Chen Qianhu retracted his gaze and turned to reunite with his wife.
"Do we need to inform the Celestial Sect?" Mo Jingchun asked.
"Forget it; that wooden head is annoying. I don’t want to fight with him." Chen Qianhu’s voice carried a hint of fatigue.
"Alright."
After Mo Jingchun spoke, her figure faded once more, and the Celestial Sect cultivator stationed there never noticed.
The couple’s pig-catching operation rarely failed, not due to lack of skill but because the pig with the cabbage was quite cunning.
Zhang Ze hadn’t really jumped ship, nor had he stayed on the ship.
To be precise, after jumping ship, he and Chen Qin sneaked into a Beast Taming Ring.
Then, within it, they used the power of the Night Demon Emperor Armor to obscure their presence, making the Beast Taming Ring appear perfectly normal from the outside.
Even Old Ascender wouldn’t be able to tell.
Before the Old Ascender arrived, they snuck back onto the flying ship and placed the seemingly ordinary Beast Taming Ring on a cultivator.
In this manner, they disembarked with that cultivator, evading the surveillance of the two elders.
This escape method was learned from Zhang Ze’s good brother and Chen Qin’s best friend, Li Jue and Li Yueqi, and the multi-functional runaway-special Beast Taming Ring was a gift from Li Yueqi to Zhang Ze.
After all, if anyone in the Four Continents knew about eloping, it was Li Yueqi’s parents who claimed the top spot, with no one bold enough to claim second place.
Rich experience, meticulous skill, validated by both the Beast Taming Sect and Medicine King Valley.
These little stories of elopement were told to Li Yueqi and Li Jue by their mother as bedtime tales.
Li Jue then used these tales as boasting material, embellishing them when telling Zhang Ze.
The specially crafted Beast Taming Ring was Li Yueqi’s return gift for the Taisui butt gift from Zhang Ze.
Apparently, Female Hero Li had some foresight, knowing Zhang Ze would surely have use for it one day.
At present, Zhang Ze and Chen Qin are in Xiang State, the territory of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
After quietly slipping away from the unaware loose cultivator with the Beast Taming Ring, they temporarily settled in an unnamed small town.
They completely wrapped all potentially trackable magical artifacts with the Night Demon Emperor Armor and placed them into the specially crafted Beast Taming Ring.
Ensuring they wouldn’t be apprehended by a sudden appearance of in-laws from the ring, they changed their appearances again.
This time, they disguised themselves as an old man and woman.
Chen Qin found it thrilling, as it was her first time eloping with her brother, and she hadn’t yet gotten accustomed to it.
Supporting herself with a cane and holding Zhang Ze’s hand, she whispered, "Brother, what should we do? Should we go to Ling State or return home?"
"We’re going nowhere." Zhang Ze stroked his fake beard and reviewed the information he had, "The missing Hundred Demons Dark Helm isn’t in Ling State."
"How do you know?" Chen Qin asked.
"Heh, don’t underestimate your brother’s intelligence network."
"Brother, you’re amazing!"