Chapter 24: Jia Huairen's Desires
Guards and beauties had been sent by the county governor to an exquisite courtyard in Grand Dominance City, which was also the temporary residence of the expedition's third member, Jia Huairen.
"Babe, don't run. I'm here to catch you."
"Young Master, I'm here."
Numerous girls were squatting by the flowerbeds while others were hiding behind rockery. One after another, they would call out, "Young Master, Young Master…"
As for a young man that looked a little pale in the face, he extended his arms and flailed them about while being blindfolded. "Here, here, I know. It's…here! Haha, I caught you." The young man hugged a girl and took off his blindfold. Looking at the voluptuous girl in his arms, he said with a smile, "Little Ye Ye, I knew it was you the moment I hugged you. Hehehe, you have lost. You should know what to do, right?"
"Young Master, you only know how to bully me," humored the woman.
"Yes, I love 'bullying' you." The young man chuckled before giving her a kiss.
"Huairen."
A genial voice came from outside as a thin elder appeared by the courtyard's entrance.
"Elder Qian." The other girls bowed politely, afraid to even take a breath.
The young man continued having the beauty wrapped in his arms. He said with a laugh, "Uncle Qian, what's the matter?"
The thin elder said with a smile, "The county governor has summoned you. Apparently, the other two members taking part in the expedition are already there. He wants everyone to meet each other first."
"The county governor?" The young man was caught by surprise as he immediately released the girl in his arms and ordered, "All of you are dismissed."
"Yes, Young Master." The bevy of beauties said together before retreating quickly.
The young man looked at the back of the beauties and said with a chuckle, "These beauties that the county governor easily assigned to serve me are pretty good. Compared to my concubines, they are definitely of superior caliber. As expected of the county governor, he wields so much power."
"Huairen, quickly prepare to set off." The thin elder urged him.
"Got it." The young man turned around and entered a building beside him.
The interior of the building was dark.
There was an offering table that seemed to consecrate a curved blade that was placed on it. The curved blade was placed within a circular disc that was filled with thick blood. The blood was slowly seeping into the curved blade, causing the blade's surface to suffuse dense blood-colored patterns.
"Baby, come." The young man said as he conjured a Dharma seal.
The curved blade flew up and spun around the young man before entering a scabbard by his waist.
Following that, the young man took out a box from the side, covering the circular disc that was filled with blood.
"Huairen, gaining an advantage by relying on Dharma artifacts is not the orthodox path after all." The thin elder frowned when he saw this. He reminded the young man, "It's best you dedicate yourself to cultivating in the Dharma methods and learn techniques relating to talisman amulets. It can make your foundations more robust. Only then would you have a chance to reach the Connate realm in the future."
"Got it, I got it. Uncle Qian." Jia Huairen said with a smile, "There is no rush to cultivating. How many cultivators fail to achieve the Connate realm their entire lives? Some would only enter the Connate False Core realm only when they are in the seventies or eighties. I'm only thirty-six. I'm still young. How long will it take before I can improve my Dharma spells and talisman amulet techniques? Having a powerful Dharma artifact is still a lot more useful."
"Let's go. Off to County Governor Manor. The county governor is waiting for me." Jia Huairen said, "When I'm back from Green Tooth Mountain and receive the Hundred Poisons Blood, my Dharma artifact's strength can be enhanced even further."
The thin elder shook his head secretly. He followed Jia Huairen and left the courtyard, heading for the county governor's residence.
******
In a quiet yard in County Governor Manor.
Qin Yun and Yi Xiao were sitting around a stone table as they casually discussed matters on cultivation.
"Brother Qin." Yi Xiao changed topics and whispered, "I have something I need to remind you."
"Miss Yi, feel free to tell me," said Qin Yun.
"Uncle Wen commissioned us to head to Green Tooth Mountain to obtain the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit." Yi Xiao said, "It's for his own consumption! As there's not much left of his lifespan, he has to rely on the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit to extend his life."
Qin Yun nodded slightly.
"Brother Qin, you can probably get what I mean! He wants to carry on living. Uncle Qin might not dare touch you but he would probably be enraged if we were to fail to obtain the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit even if you are a disciple of a huge sect. The Qin family's days in Grand Dominance would probably not be smooth-flowing if that were to happen," said Yi Xiao.
Qin Yun was secretly taken aback.
Disciple of a large sect?
The guess that he was a disciple of a large sect was way off! Few top-grade factions had the Sword Immortal Legacy he had, which was indeed a top-grade heritage. For example, the most ancient Daoist sacred land, Numinous Treasure Mountain, still had a Sword Immortal Legacy. As for the most famous sword immortal sect, Sword Tower, which was also a top cultivation sect of one of the nineteen prefectures, Shu Prefecture, it too had a Sword Immortal Legacy.
The birth of every sword immortal disciple was very difficult. Knocking open the gate of immortality was very difficult.
Qin Yun was a rare case of an itinerant sword immortal, one not seen in a hundred years.
However, if others were guessing that he was a disciple from a large sect, Qin Yun would not correct them. It was because the status as a 'disciple of a large sect' brought a lot of tangible benefits! For example, it was sufficient to astound the county governor.
"Back when I first met the county governor, I could tell that his days were numbered," said Qin Yun. "When he commissioned me to retrieve the thousand-year-old Ice Jade Fruit, I naturally guessed that it was for him to extend his life. I knew it was not an easy task. However, I was not able to reject him back then. After all, I would probably have already offended him if I did so."
Yi Xiao nodded as well when she heard that.
"Therefore, I got some benefits for myself. It was also made clear that a batch had to be given to me before we set off for Green Tooth Mountain." Qin Yun said, "Having been bound by karma, I naturally have to do my best."
"Uncle Wen had saved my father's life in the past. I am here to repay the favor." Yi Xiao shook her head. "This matter is a thorny issue after all. It's naturally best if we can resolve his request but it will only incur enmity if it is executed badly."
"I will still need Miss Yi's help when the time comes," said Qin Yun.
"The main force of our trip to Green Tooth Mountain will be you." Yi Xiao said, "The third member of the group is of ordinary strength. Only that demonic servant of his is of some use."
Qin Yun nodded. He too knew of the matter.
"Haha…"
Laughter suddenly came from outside. It was none other than Young Master Wen Chong's laughter.
Wen Chong walked in amid loud laughter. Behind him were a somewhat pale young man and a thin elder.
"The third cultivator that will be heading for Green Tooth Mountain is here too." Wen Chong said from afar with a smile.
When Jia Huairen came in, he scanned his surroundings but when he saw Yi Xiao, his eyes lit up!
What a beauty!
To Qin Yun, who had roamed the world, Yi Xiao's looks were definitely within the top three of the ones he had seen. In addition to her otherworldly aura of a cultivator, she was no doubt the prettiest woman. As for Jia Huairen, the number of people he had seen was much fewer than what Qin Yun had seen. He had mostly seen those of the mortal breed. To this day, he had only seen two female cultivators. Furthermore, both of them were very old. Therefore, Yi Xiao left a huge impact on him. What's more, he was also a huge pervert.
"Beauty. A beauty. What a rare beauty." Jia Huairen thought to himself. The smile on his face turned even more radiant.
"Carry on chatting. A mortal like me shall not bother with matters regarding you cultivators." Wen Chong said with a laugh before leaving.
"My fellow Daoists."
Jia Huairen walked over and said with a smile. "I'm Jia Huairen. On our expedition to Green Tooth Mountain, I'll be joining the two of you in charging into the demons' nest."
"Please sit. Who is this?" Qin Yun looked at the thin elder standing beside Jia Huairen.
The thin elder immediately bowed and said, "I'm just a lesser demon. My mortal name is Qian Bao. I only listen to my master's instructions."
"Qian Bao. Qian Bao?" Yi Xiao could not help but feel amused when she heard that. The corners of her mouth betrayed her thoughts.
Qin Yun could also tell the humor in the matter.
Qian Bao? Wasn't it pronounced the same way as money bag?
"This is the name my father gave Uncle Qian when he was still alive." Jia Huairen said with a smile.
"Elder Qian, please sit." Yi Xiao said. "We will need Elder Qian's help too."
"Her voice is so pleasant." Jia Huairen marveled when he heard her.
"To be able to help is my pleasure." The thin elder sat down without much ado. As a demon, he naturally should not stir up a fuss among human cultivators.
Jia Huairen immediately took the initiative, saying, "Everyone, our trip to Green Tooth Mountain is fraught with dangers. There are many demons on Green Tooth Mountain, so we will need to work together in order to retrieve the spirit fruit. Now, we have to understand each other so as to be able to cooperate well. Might I ask this fellow female Daoist her name? What techniques are you proficient in?"
Yi Xiao frowned slightly but she said, "My surname is Yi. I'm proficient in Lightning Dharma, Five-elemental Lightning Dharma!"
"Five-elemental Lightning Dharma?"
Qin Yun was surprised as well.
Five-elemental Lightning Dharma was superior Lightning Dharma. Lightning Dharma with the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth harmonized together made its strength impressively huge! Any sect that had Five-elemental Lightning Dharma was definitely a top large sect. Furthermore, Qin Yun knew many cultivators. He also knew that Five-elemental Lightning Dharma was the foundations of the best Lightning Dharma in the cultivation world, Divine Firmament Lightning Dharma.
Jia Huairen shuddered as he felt bewildered. "Five-elemental Lightning Dharma? It's the Five-elemental Lightning Dharma? She must be a disciple of a top sect or even a disciple of a Daoist sacred land! If such a fellow female Daoist were to become my Dao partner, I, Jia Huairen, will have hopes of stepping into the Connate realm!"
Regardless of her beauty or background, it left Jia Huairen filled with desires.
Chapter 25: Old Demonic Servant Uncle Qian
"Miss Yi is truly formidable to master the Five-elemental Lightning Dharma at such a young age." Jia Huairen hurriedly praised her. "And what about this fellow Daoist? "I had heard of a fellow Daoist named Qin Yun that helped a renowned courtesan at Swallow Phoenix Brothel named Lady Chen Shuang a couple days ago. Was that you?"
"It was me. You sure are well-informed," said Qin Yun.
"Lady Chen Shuang is indeed extraordinary. For her to inspire the great scholar Yu Bai to write 'Ode to Chen Shuang', it is no wonder a cultivator like you would be smitten by her," said Jia Huairen with a smile.
"She is my younger sister," said Qin Yun.
"Your sister is a courtesan?" Jia Huairen was astonished.
Qin Yun frowned. Looking at Yi Xiao, he understood what Jia Huairen was thinking. He nodded and said, "She's my younger sister, so what? Is there anything wrong?"
"No, none at all. I was just being curious." Jia Huairen said immediately. "Miss Yi is proficient in the Five-elemental Lightning Dharma, so what about you?"
"Sword techniques." Qin Yun could not be bothered explaining deeper.
Out of the three members of the expedition, Jia Huairen was the one that was least worth mentioning. Only his demonic servant was somewhat of use.
"Oh? Sword techniques?" Jia Huairen only felt contempt for Qin Yun when he heard that. Typically, only people who had yet to knock open the gate of immortality would use sword and sabers to fight. Once they knocked open the gate of immortality, they would cultivate in immortal techniques such as Dharma spells or talisman amulets, etc. Conversely, they would attempt to obtain a Dharma artifact. Very few would continue engaging in melee combat.
"What about you?" Yi Xiao asked Jia Huairen.
The corners of Jia Huairen curved up as he conjured a simple seal, causing the curved blade by his waist to fly up and float in front of him. The curved blade suffused a nether green glow. Jia Huairen said with a smile, "This is a Dharma artifact I chanced upon. I have used poisonous magus techniques to consecrate it. Typical demons would instantly be poisoned to death by something as simple as receiving a scuff on their skin."
"Magus?" Yi Xiao was astonished.
Presently, the Daoist and Buddhist schools of cultivation were considered orthodox. The magus lineage had long been forsaken. Some of the Dharmic formulations could still be found in Daoist and Buddhist schools of cultivation. However, it was true that magus techniques were indeed difficult to deal with.
Yi Xiao was very astonished. She had thought nothing of Jia Huairen but from the looks of it, he had a few tricks up his sleeve.
"Uncle Qian is an old servant of my family." Jia Huairen said confidently, "In a radius of five kilometers, any living aura cannot evade Uncle Qian's detection. Just his strength alone is something none of the nineteen demon leaders under the water god can match."
"I only have a sharper nose that aids me in detecting the living aura of others," said the thin elder humbly.
"On our trip to Green Tooth Mountain," Yi Xiao said, "There will be numerous demons. We will definitely need Elder Qian's help to detect and avoid the demons."
Jia Huairen hurriedly said, "That's right. Green Tooth Mountain has many demons but with Uncle Qian, we can readily find the easiest path. Furthermore, Uncle Qian will be able to easily finish typical demons."
…
Qin Yun was watching Jia Huairen flaunt his means by the side.
According to his experience, only greenhorn cultivators or cultivators that had never suffered any setbacks would flaunt themselves in such a superficial manner. For instance, the Dharma artifact that Jia Huairen was so proud of… Qin Yun thought nothing of it. A strike from his sword would shatter it directly! As long as it was not an Dharma treasure, it would take no more than five strikes to destroy anything even if it was of extraordinary quality.
"Yes, it's difficult to enter the Connate realm." Jia Huairen said wistfully. "Although I had knocked open the gate of immortality at the age of sixteen, I have still failed to step into the Connate realm after twenty years. I don't even want to marry a wife so as to dedicate myself to cultivation so that I can step into the Connate realm as soon as possible."
"Don't even want to marry a wife?" Qin Yun deliberately commented, "Fellow Daoist Jia should be from the Jia family of the Heightened province of Grand Dominance County, right? Fellow Daoist Jia's thirty-six concubines are quite well-known in Grand Dominance County."
Jia Huairen's expression immediately changed as he hurriedly looked at Yi Xiao. Simultaneously, he quickly said with a smile, "Haha, they are only concubines. They aren't worth mentioning. Many of them were given by friends and I had no choice but to take them in. If I refused them, it would be disrespecting my friends. In fact, I have only seen many of them only once. Furthermore, cultivation needs one to experience secular affairs. They are only mortals and in a few decades, they might even return to the land. Only cultivators like us share the same fate."
Qin Yun did not speak further.
However, Jia Huairen thought irritatedly to himself, "This Qin Yun is deliberately spoiling my plans."
******
That night, the county governor held a banquet.
After the banquet, Jia Huairen led his demonic servant, Uncle Qian back to his residence.
"Bam." When Jia Huairen sat down, he slammed his hand angrily, sending the cups and teapots on the tea table beside him to fly and crash to the ground.
"Damn you, Qin Yun! How dare you spoil my plans?" Jia Huairen had anger depicted all over his face.
Instead, Uncle Qian said, "Huairen, you should not have deliberately disgusted that Qin Yun. After all, all of you will be heading for Green Tooth Mountain in the future. You need to help and support each other."
"What do you know?" Jia Huairen said with a frown. "That Miss Yi is from a large sect. If I can become Dao partners with her, I will obtain numerous benefits. I might even have a chance at stepping into the Connate realm. This is what is most important to me."
"Become Dao partners with her?" Uncle Qian was startled. "It's already known that you have thirty-six concubines and you still hope of becoming Dao partners with Miss Yi?"
"Why? Can't I?" Jia Huairen scoffed. "Those concubines of mine are mortals. Added together, they aren't even worth a finger of Miss Yi's. Furthermore, they are only concubines. I have yet to marry a wife!"
Jia Huairen thought nothing of those mortal girls. He had always wished to marry a female cultivator.
"It's naturally good if you can marry her." The old demonic servant nodded his head slightly. "It's also helpful for your cultivation. It's just that it's probably not easy to stir Miss Yi's heart."
"Hmph, from the way I see it, she probably isn't that old." Jia Huairen said with a smile. "So what if she's a female cultivator? She's still a woman. It's even possible that she spends most of her days cultivating, making her ignorant of the birds and the bees. She might be even easier to court. Once she falls into my hands and become mine, hehe…"
The demonic old servant did not say a thing.
It was because he did not understand relationships between men and women as well.
"People like us from tiny sects only have superficial Dharmic formulations to cultivate in. At best, we would reach the Connate False Core realm. Many Dharmic spells and talisman amulets are incomplete. The poison magus consecration formulations you found was something chanced upon by you but it is also incomplete." Jia Huairen growled, "Incomplete, incomplete, incomplete! The Dharmic spells that are complete are also very shallow."
Dharmic formulations, money, companionship, and land.
What tiny sects and itinerant cultivators lacked the most were Dharmic formulations.
"My strength isn't much either. I can't find better Dharmic formulations for you." Uncle Qian said with a dejected sigh.
When Jia Huairen saw this, he hurriedly said, "Uncle Qian, you have already helped me immensely. If not for you, I'll probably not have learned any cultivation formulations."
"As for Miss Yi, she might not stay in Grand Dominance County for long. I have to grab this opportunity during this period of time. And now, only that Qin Yun is my rival." Jia Huairen scoffed. "Hmph, he has already knocked open the gate of immortality and he's still proficient with sword techniques?"
Jia Huairen was feeling somewhat disgruntled.
"Master, Master." A voice came from outside as a guard quickly came in.
"What's the matter? What's the matter?" Jia Huairen frowned.
The guard immediately said, "Master, you did not go to the Courtesan Belle selection today. Sixth Brother and I had gone to watch it. At today's selection, there was an attack by three demons."
"Three demons? Aren't they just sending themselves to their deaths?" Jia Huairen was surprised. "Tell me in detail."
"We saw very clearly that the three demons were first struck by three bolts of lightning. One of the demons died on the spot! Later on, crossbow arrows were launched from the cruise liner. It was said to be from Demon Annihilation Crossbows! With several Demon Annihilation Crossbows launching their arrows, another demon died. Finally, the last demon was apparently a rhinoceros demon. It was as tall as a house! Even the Demon Annihilation Crossbows could not damage its hide."
"Oh?" By the side, Uncle Qian was taken aback.
"Its hide could not be penetrated? It managed to withstand attacks from Demon Annihilation Crossbows?" Jia Huairen was also shocked. "What happened next?"
"Then, a stream of light flew over at an extremely fast speed. The figure within slashed out with a sword, slaying that rhinoceros demon." The guard continued, "I later heard that the person who slew the rhinoceros demon with one strike was Second Young Master Qin Yun from Grand Dominance County's Qin Manor."
Jia Huairen's expression changed as his throat went hoarse. "Slew with one strike? Qin Yun?"
Uncle Qian, who was standing by the side, was also astonished. "One strike?"
"Yes, one strike." The guard hurriedly said. "That rhinoceros demon was powerful. Even the Demon Annihilation Crossbows could not penetrate its hide. However, Second Young Master Qin was able to split the rhinoceros demon into two with one strike."
"You are dismissed." Jia Huairen waved his hands quickly.
The guard was somewhat perplexed but he retreated submissively.
Jia Huairen looked at the old demonic servant beside him and said, "Uncle Qian, are you that Second Young Master Qin's match?"
"To not suffer any injury under the attacks of Demon Annihilation Crossbows, that rhinoceros demon's body is not weaker than mine." Uncle Qian frowned and said, "Of course, I'm not the ablest when it comes to the physical body. However, I estimate that the rhinoceros demon has the strength of ordinary demon leaders. Even if I want to kill it, I would need about ten strikes! However, that Second Young Master Qin used only one strike. That's somewhat inconceivable. After all, how can one split such a powerful body into two with one strike?"
"Uncle Qian, even you are not his match?" Jia Huairen panicked.
He knew that Uncle Qian was the biggest crutch he had! Among cultivators, he was one of the most ordinary ones of the bunch. As for Uncle Qian, he was a lot stronger. Even the great demon known as the water god had invited him to join him several times. None of the nineteen demon leaders was Uncle Qian's match. It was precisely because of Uncle Qian that he had a chance to embark on his cultivation path and come so far.
"It's hard to tell without fighting him. I do not have any confidence as well." Uncle Qian reminded him, "However, Huairen, this Second Young Master Qin is not one you should offend. Your present strength is not sufficient to withstand a single strike from him. You cannot be his enemy."
"I'm presently not his enemy either, nor can I even steel my heart to be his enemy. We are all from Grand Dominance County, so why should we be enemies?" Jia Huairen hurriedly said, "As for Miss Yi, she's a quiet and modest maiden that is perfect for a gentleman's mate. I'm also sincerely courting her. Everyone will be competing fairly!"
However, Uncle Qian said, "Huairen, it might even be possible that Young Master Qin does not even care about a competition."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
200+ Power
Ranking 
24 Power
stone 
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