“Why are you pretending to be foolish?”
“Is someone from Jade Immortal Peak trying to harm you, or is it the Sword Sect?”
This—
is a good question!
Fen Jue’s question hit like a bomb.
It immediately put her on high alert.
How could Jiang Bingbing possibly tell the truth? Although this person had nothing to do with Jade Immortal Peak, he was still a senior who had ascended from the Sword Sect.
If he found out her soul had transmigrated into Jiang Bingbing’s body,
he would definitely run her through with his sword.
“You’ve been in my Consciousness Sea for so long, and you still don’t know?” She first probed to see how much he knew.
Fen Jue frowned. “I never actively read your thoughts.”
Mainly because Jiang Bingbing was too noisy.
Her mind buzzed with hundreds of thoughts every day.
Fen Jue was so annoyed by her chatter that he would often seal off his senses to focus on cultivation.
So that’s how it was.
Jiang Bingbing felt reassured and began to talk nonsense with confidence.
“Oh, Senior Fen Jue, you have no idea how pitiful I am! I’ve had no mother or father since I was little…”
“……” Fen Jue pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. “You’ve already told me this part. Skip it.”
“Oh, right, right…” Jiang Bingbing scratched her head sheepishly. “I was picked up from the foot of the mountain by my master. I was born foolish. A few months ago, I went to Black Chicken Peak to play, but someone tricked me into going to the place where they feed the little beasts of Black Chicken Peak… ahem…”
She felt too embarrassed to elaborate and mumbled, “I almost drowned in that pond on Black Chicken Peak.”
“Who would’ve thought that after waking up, my mind suddenly became clear! But I didn’t dare tell my master or the others. After all, the person who tried to harm me left no trace. If the culprit found out I wasn’t foolish anymore, wouldn’t that alert them?”
“I thought it’d be safer to keep pretending to be foolish.”
That did make some sense.
Fen Jue caught onto something and deliberately added, “What pond on Black Chicken Peak did you fall into?”
“……”
Jiang Bingbing was so angry she felt like smoke was coming out of her ears.
“Shut up, I’m going to sleep!”
She stormed back to her room in a huff, while Fen Jue in her Consciousness Sea was filled with amusement.
The next day.
The Sword Sect’s Qi Refining disciples erupted in celebration.
Sect Leader Zhang had business to attend to, so they actually got two days off.
A full two days off!
These people went wild with joy, running amok all over the sect.
Meanwhile—
on the mountainside of Jade Immortal Peak.
Jiang Bingbing changed her clothes, gathered everything she needed, and left a note outside Immortal Lord Qingxue’s door.
She told him she was going down the mountain and not to worry.
After finishing her preparations, Jiang Bingbing summoned the most common flying mount in the cultivation world.
She didn’t summon Little Hamburger.
Within the Sword Sect, she could act recklessly under her master’s protection, but outside the sect, that would only attract unwanted attention.
Jiang Bingbing rode the most ordinary second-grade Spirit Sparrow.
The Spirit Sparrow flew relatively slowly.
Occasionally, she encountered other Cultivators in the sky.
They glanced at her dismissively, seeing she was only at the Qi Refining stage and dressed rather shabbily.
Jiang Bingbing had deliberately changed into coarse hemp clothes before leaving. The outfit was dull and gray, making her look like a sect servant, so she hardly drew any attention.
Traveling this way was indeed ridiculously slow.
But it was safe!
She sat lazily on the Spirit Sparrow, nibbling on the egg yolk pastries she’d asked Wen Yuzhao to make.
Fen Jue awoke from his cultivation. “Impressive. Your brain, smaller than a Spirit Stone, can still think so thoroughly.”
“Wow, Senior Fen Jue, your tongue is so sharp so early in the morning!” Jiang Bingbing didn’t mind what Fen Jue said at all. Instead, she asked him, “This is the ultimate, exclusive, secret-recipe egg yolk pastry I had Second Senior Brother make. Would you like to try it?”
“I—”
Fen Jue didn’t finish.
Jiang Bingbing interrupted with a grin.
“Oh, sorry, I forgot. You’re just a wisp of Spiritual Sense now and can’t eat anything.”
Fen Jue: “…”
Fine.
This little liar sure holds a grudge.
The spirit sparrow flapped its tiny wings.
Flying and flying~
Flying and flying~
After flying for over two hours!
They finally arrived safely at the outskirts of the Monster Beast Mountain Range.
“Ouch, it hurts, it hurts~”
Jiang Bingbing jumped off the spirit sparrow’s back, stumbling and almost falling, muttering under her breath.
“Worse than sitting on a high-speed train for eight hours.”
“My back aches, my waist hurts, and my butt hurts even more.”
Riding the spirit sparrow was somewhat pleasant at first, allowing her to stay focused and prevent herself from falling off.
But as time went on, her mind grew scattered, yet she didn’t dare rest, afraid she might accidentally fall and turn into a pancake.
“I miss Master’s Flying Ship.”
Jiang Bingbing rubbed her butt for a while where she stood, then walked toward the dense forest not far away.
The Monster Beast Mountain Range was shrouded in mist.
Taking a few steps closer, she could see towering ancient trees everywhere, with countless exotic flowers and rare plants.
From time to time, she could hear the roars of fierce beasts.
Jiang Bingbing asked, “Why don’t I see any Cultivators?”
Fen Jue: “The monster beasts here are too low-level. Killing them isn’t useful, so naturally, no one comes.”
“Oh, oh, which way should we go, Senior Fen Jue?” Jiang Bingbing’s tone was respectful, her voice sickeningly sweet.
This little one, respectful when she needed him, sharp-tongued the rest of the time.
Fen Jue couldn’t be bothered to argue and said indifferently, “Just keep walking straight on the left side.”
“Alright, thank you, Senior! You’re so handsome and kind, anyone can tell you’ll be rich for three generations~”
Fen Jue automatically filtered out Jiang Bingbing’s useless chatter, focusing on the important part before replying, “No need to thank me.”
With such a powerful expert like Fen Jue around.
No amount of fierce beast roars could scare Jiang Bingbing.
She reached out and pushed aside the dense branches and leaves.
As soon as she poked her head out, she heard the sound of weapons clashing ahead.
Were there people up ahead?
Jiang Bingbing didn’t want to get involved in other people’s business. She let go of the branches and quietly began to retreat.
But before she could hide properly.
A male Cultivator over there spotted her and shouted loudly.
“Junior Sister Jiang! We’re all disciples of the Sword Sect. How can you stand by and watch us die?”
Good heavens, who is this?
Does this person know her?
She crouched down and turned her head back.
Peeking at the battlefield ahead like a thief, she saw two Cultivators locked in a fierce battle with a savage beast.
“I don’t know you. You’ve got the wrong person!”
Jiang Bingbing tossed out these words and took off running.
The female Cultivator over there angrily said, “Spiritual Artifact Peak of the Sword Sect. If it weren’t for you, the two of us wouldn’t have been expelled by our Master!”
“Have you forgotten so quickly, Junior Sister Jiang?”
Seeing Jiang Bingbing stop in her tracks.
The two Cultivators breathed a sigh of relief.
After being expelled from the sect, no other sect was willing to take them in. They could only take on scattered tasks at the Wanxiang Pavilion to earn some rewards to sustain their cultivation and cover various expenses.
The mission scroll required them to hunt ten Crimson Flame Beasts.
It should have been a simple task.
Who would have thought they’d be unlucky enough to encounter a Blood Spider?
Seeing Jiang Bingbing standing still.
The male Cultivator urged, “You must have many talismans on you. Blood Spiders fear fire. You just need to throw a few more Five Thunder Talismans over here.”
The female cultivator spoke with a hostile tone, “What are you still standing there for?”
Those two annoying people were still chattering away.
Jiang Bingbing rolled her eyes.
She was pretending to be foolish, not actually foolish.
These two were expelled precisely for harming fellow disciples.
If she saved them today, they might turn around and kill her in the blink of an eye!
“So scary, Bingbing doesn’t have any talismans.”
She spread her hands and shrugged.
The male and female cultivators exchanged a glance, a flicker of calculation in their eyes.
“Since you, this fool, won’t fall for it, don’t blame us for being impolite.”
As they spoke.
The two charged straight toward Jiang Bingbing.
The frenzied giant blood spider followed closely behind.
Jiang Bingbing turned and ran, shouting back, “You two are truly shameless.”
She was only at Qi Refining, while they had already reached Foundation Establishment.
If they were truly determined to chase her, how could she outrun them?
The male cultivator sneered twice, wearing an expression of absolute confidence as he said, “No need for courtesy, Junior Sister. This is what you deserve.”
Jiang Bingbing kept her feet moving, and as she looked up, she saw a swamp not far ahead. A sudden idea formed in her mind.
She glanced back over her shoulder.
The two were now less than a hundred meters behind her.
Jiang Bingbing took out a talisman, clenched it in her palm, sweat beading on her clean forehead.
As she ran, she turned her head and cursed.
“You despicable pair, you harmed Senior Sister Rong and now you want to harm me. Being expelled from the sect was the heavens’ justice. Trash like you will never be worthy of cultivating the righteous path in this lifetime.”
“You fool, how dare you curse us!”
Enraged by Jiang Bingbing’s words, the two sped up, chasing after her like madmen.
Now was the perfect moment!
Jiang Bingbing slapped a talisman onto her right leg with a “smack,” and with a “whoosh,” she teleported ten meters away.
“Ahhhhh—”
“Jiang Bingbing, you wretched woman!!”
Unable to rein in their spiritual power, the two plunged headfirst into the boiling swamp.
The frenzied blood spider, claws flailing, charged in after them.
Its gaping maw swallowed the two alive.
In the end, the blood spider struggled too violently in the swamp, sinking deeper and deeper until it was completely swallowed.
A froth of blood and fragments of remains bubbled up from the swamp’s muddy surface.
“Yue—”
Jiang Bingbing retched in disgust.