Aspiring to the Immortal Path

Chapter 411: Traveling Together

Tang Jie noncommittally replied, “I will go if I have the time.”

Yun Changan could tell that this was mere appeasement and that there was little hope of getting a closer relationship with Tang Jie. He could only sigh and watch him leave.

Once Tang Jie was on the pier, he was welcomed by a beautiful face that seemed both happy and displeased.

Xu Miaoran folded her arms and raised her sharp chin toward Tang Jie, her eyes seeming to say, “You finally know to come and see this girl.”

Tang Jie smiled and stepped forward. “Miaoran.”

He was about to grab Xu Miaoran’s hand when Xu Miaoran pulled it away and said, “Why did you come by boat?”

Tang Jie gave a summary of what had happened.

When she heard that he had chosen to take the ship because the ship’s master had invited him, Xu Miaoran snorted, “You really know how to enjoy yourself.”

Tang Jie saw the displeasure on her face and wondered, How did I anger her this time? And then he realized and said with a smile, “I know that flying is faster, and I also wanted to see you quickly, but after that battle with the Ocean Snake, I was out of spiritual energy and couldn’t fly anymore. That’s why I agreed to the ship master’s offer. Later on, after my spiritual energy had recovered, it’s not like I could just leave after enjoying their hospitality. And when I saw how it wouldn’t save me much time, I decided to just take the ship the rest of the way. In truth, deep down, I wanted nothing more than to arrive early, to drive myself to death to rush to your side.”

Xu Miaoran smiled in contentment when she heard this. Dropping her head, she bashfully said, “There’s no need for the rush. It would just be a few more days waiting for you, is all.”

On the side, Hong Yuan shook her head. Hadn’t they agreed that she would teach him a lesson? Hadn’t they agreed that they were going to make him experience the young lady’s power?

Tang Jie grabbed Xu Miaoran’s hand. “Let’s go.”

Xu Miaoran obediently followed.

When she saw Xu Miaoran following, Hong Yuan stomped her feet. “See! See! No backbone at all! Just a few sentences were able to win her over.”

Xian Tao gave her a push. “All you want is chaos.”

Hong Yuan still didn’t want to give it a rest. “This is for the young lady’s good. This foul man says he likes the young lady, but he’s never really done anything for her. Even visiting her is something he’s doing out of convenience. He can clearly fly, but he takes a ship. That’s a sign he’s not sincere! He has to be taught a lesson, or else there’s no telling how he’ll treat the young lady in the future.”

“Didn’t he already explain himself?”

“What sort of explanation is that?”

“It’s fine if the young lady likes it.”

“Don’t even talk about her! It just makes me angry. Look at how she followed him after one sentence. ‘Let’s go’… ‘Go’ where? She doesn’t even know where they’re going.” Hong Yuan had a hand on her waist as she almost shouted her complaints.

Xian Tao brusquely replied, “You shouldn’t be called Hong Yuan (Red Park), but Hong Lazi (Red Pepper). Stop wasting time and let’s go.”

She went off to follow Tang and Xu.

Hong Yuan furiously shouted, “Again with the ‘let’s go’… Where are we going?!”

But she still followed.

Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran strolled the streets of Celestial River Island.

They didn’t have a particular destination, leisurely walking around. For the two lovers, so long as they could be together, nothing else really mattered.

It had been several years since they had seen each other, and while they had long-range message talismans, the costs limited the amount of information they could send. Thus, they had endless things to say to each other. As they walked, Tang Jie asked, “Right, how has your cultivation been doing?”

Xu Miaoran replied, “My dad dropped me in Illusion Wind Valley some time ago, saying he wouldn’t let me out until I reached greater attainment in Hundred Refinement. I spent more than half a year in there, which was just painful.”

Tang Jie knew about Illusion Wind Valley. It was a famous cultivation ground of Horizon Ocean Pavilion, protected by an Astral Wind formation year-round. It was ideal for refining the bones and muscles, and entering this place to cultivate while at Hundred Refinement would provide a large boost. Xu Guanghua was a True Lord, so he was naturally able to get his daughter the right to entry. And before he sent in his daughter, he had her take copious amounts of spirit medicines. Once Astral Wind came in contact with the accumulated medicinal power, their effect would be unleashed, allowing for the ideal Hundred Refinement result. Of course, only Xu Miaoran could enjoy this treatment. Others couldn’t even dream about it.

But Xu Miaoran made it sound like her father was abusing her.

Tang Jie knew that Xu Miaoran had an undisciplined nature, and while such a nature was not guaranteed to be unsuitable for cultivation—and was perhaps even perfect for some arts—Hundred Refinement was a period of tempering the muscles and bones, and it required a tenacious and determined spirit. Without Xu Guanghua’s instruction, it would really be difficult for Xu Miaoran to get through this phase.

Thus, Tang Jie chuckled when he heard this. “You should be content with what you have. Other people would be begging for this sort of treatment. If you haven’t entered Nine Revolutions yet, you can’t be considered a cultivator. At least now you’ve finally attained that title.”

“What about you? A genius of Basking Moon Academy who received a recommendation, but you still haven’t told me how you’re doing in the sect. What hall did you join? And what official business are you on?”

Tang Jie gave a rough summary of the mission he was on.

Fortunately, this era wasn’t like the era Tang Jie had come from. While the various halls divided their work, there weren’t so many restrictive clauses, and there was no such rule that the members of the Secret Hall could not reveal their identities.

This was due to the unique attributes of this era. While the Basking Moon Sect had a mortal structure, the people doing all the work were cultivators. These people were aloof existences, and while they could accept appropriate limitations, they would never accept being bound like mortals.

In truth, if someone cultivated to Mortal Shedding or Celestial Heart and still had to go to work every day on a set schedule and keep to all the various laws, why would people even cultivate?

This was also why the sects assigned work in the form of missions. If it weren’t so, they would have a dire shortage of cultivators willing to run errands.

When Xu Miaoran heard that Yu Yan dared to mess with Tang Jie, she raised her willow eyebrows. “This old Yu is truly bringing disaster on himself. He needs to be taught a lesson. But it’s thanks to him that you had to run over to Endsea, so actually, I should be thanking him.”

Saying this last part, Xu Miaoran grinned and put aside any thought of causing trouble for the old man. She clapped and said, “In any case, since there’s no telling when we’ll be able to find Lin Baicang, you can just keep me company while I play around. Didn’t your senior brother say something like that? So long as Lin Baicang isn’t dead, you have to keep searching for him until you find him. There’s no need to rush. Spend a few years in my Endsea first. We can tour Celestial River Island first, and then we can take a tour of…”

She chattered on, her intent being that she wanted to search together with Tang Jie until the end of time, only stopping when they found the actual person. Endsea had thousands of named islands, and she listed one after another without repetition, which started to make Tang Jie sweat. He grabbed her hand and said, “If you keep going, I’ll have become a True Lord by the time you finish.”

Xu Miaoran giggled. “In any case, you had best put an end to any thoughts of leaving soon.”

Tang Jie firmly replied, “I’m also reluctant to leave. I’m going to stay in Endsea as long as I can!”

Xu Miaoran felt her heart heat up, and she whispered, “That’s about right.”

Her cheeks blushed.

She was famous in Endsea for being willful and headstrong, but with Tang Jie, she was like a mouse in front of a cat, all bashful and shy.

She seemed to think of something and suddenly said, “You said you wanted to let others know that you and I were together?”

Tang Jie nodded. “This spreads the news faster, but it also might affect you, in which case, forget it.”

Xu Miaoran shook her head. “I’m not afraid. But if we do this, it might not just be Lin Baicang and the Beast Refining Gate coming to find us.”

“Who else?” Tang Jie was taken aback for a moment, and then he understood. “Lan Yu?”

Xu Miaoran cocked her head and mischievously said, “He’s only one of them.”

“…” Tang Jie completely understood.

After some thought, he smiled. “That’s fine. It’s not like I have anything else to do. To fight for my girlfriend is far more interesting than fighting over some other boring matter.”

Xu Miaoran’s eyes sparkled.

The mention of “my girlfriend” ignited the flame of love in her heart. No longer able to restrain herself, she hugged Tang Jie and gave him a light peck on the face.

World-shaking!

—————————

The kiss on the streets of Celestial River didn’t cause much of a stir at first.

It wasn’t that this wasn’t a shocking kiss, but that not many people knew who they were.

But this quickly stopped being a problem.

Since they had a plan, Xu Miaoran naturally decided to help Tang Jie out. For her, causing a stir was far too simple.

That afternoon, Xu Miaoran and Tang Jie paid a visit to the lord of the island. Her journey had initially been a secret one, and only the branch hall master of Horizon Ocean Pavilion had known that she was here. Now, she was publicly announcing her presence.

Endsea was different from the other countries. As the islands were all spread out, the island lord was the greatest authority in the area and was both a cultivator and government official. The island lords didn’t all have to come from Horizon Ocean Pavilion, but each island lord had to be acknowledged by it.

For this reason, even a respected figure like the island lord had to be polite around Xu Miaoran, personally escorting her out and dispatching a large number of guards to protect her.

This made it so that Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran’s tour commenced on a grand scale, alarming countless people wherever they went. And there would inevitably be people who wondered what sort of august figure had arrived, to which the answer would be: “Lady Miaoran, a daughter of a True Lord of Horizon Ocean Pavilion, and Tang Jie, a genius of Basking Moon, are touring Celestial River together. There’s a chance that Horizon Ocean Pavilion and the Basking Moon Sect might become allies through marriage.”

Rumors always traveled quickly, and even more so did rumors concerning two major sects. Moreover, Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran both brazenly ignored proper etiquette, publicly showing their affection for each other in broad daylight. The rumors exploded and soon spread across the entire island and then past it. It wasn’t long before all of Endsea was in an uproar.

Xu Miaoran was one of the most famous female prodigies of Endsea.

The reason was simple. Among all the cultivators in Endsea at Violet Palace or higher, they had produced only three children in the last few decades, and Xu Miaoran was the most talented, the youngest, and a beauty besides.

For this reason, all the young gallants of Endsea regarded her as the highest target.

Anyone with some ability dreamed about winning Xu Miaoran’s hand.

If they could marry her, they would save themselves not just twenty years of struggle, but two hundred, or even two thousand.

And that wasn’t even considering Xu Miaoran’s breathtaking figure. This made people only more desperate to win her hand.

But now, it had suddenly been announced that she was with Tang Jie. It was like a blow to the head for all these young cultivators.

Cultivators like Lan Yu, who had taken part in the Immortal Fortune Conference and already known about this, found it easier to accept, but those who hadn’t known went crazy. Thus, as the news spread, countless young and handsome men rose up from the various islands of Endsea on clouds, mists, swords, and shuttles, converging on Celestial River Island. Celestial River Island instantly became the center of the “world”.

At this moment, Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran were still having fun on the island, walking the streets for things to amuse them.

Tang Jie told Xu Miaoran the stories of “Journey to the West”, and Xu Miaoran left “Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran were here” written upon the various tourist sites they visited, leaving behind ironclad evidence of their “affair”.

While walking the streets, if Xu Miaoran took a liking to bold and good-looking clothes but hesitated, Tang Jie would immediately say, “Buy it,” upon which Xu Miaoran would find her resolve. At times like these, Xu Miaoran would be particularly happy, for Tang Jie wasn’t having her be some wise and virtuous lady, instead encouraging her to ignore decorum and brazenly show off her beautiful side. Xu Miaoran knew that this was probably one of the reasons she liked Tang Jie: with him, she didn’t have to hear those annoying lessons and could boldly do what she wanted.

He wasn’t like those other men who pursued her. Some demanded that she not act too brazenly so that she could maintain her good reputation. Others said nothing, but despite their silence, Xu Miaoran knew that they didn’t support her and were simply too afraid to voice their objections. Only Tang Jie was not simply tolerating her, instead truly loving her for who she was.

He was the only one in the world like this, the only one who understood, the only who loved this “fiend woman who didn’t understand decorum”!

Besides shopping and touring scenic sites, they would occasionally taste the local food.

Xu Miaoran discovered for the first time that Tang Jie was also a very capable gourmet. Although he had come up from a servant background, he always knew what the best way to cook something so that it tasted the best was. The snacks from some long-established restaurants would often be evaluated as awful by him, drawing rebukes from the restaurant owners. Tang Jie would then show off his skills, teaching these people what it truly meant for something to be delicious. By the time they came out of the restaurants, they were regarded as guests of honor.

This was the first time Xu Miaoran hadn’t relied on her status, instead relying on Tang Jie’s knowledge to get the status of “honored guest”.

At night, Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran would return to their own rooms to cultivate.

He never asked too much of her, which was both a relief and a disappointment to Xu Miaoran.

The days that went by were the happiest and most blessed days Xu Miaoran had ever experienced.

On this day, the two were strolling the streets as usual. There were various stalls set up, belonging to snack sellers and traveling entertainers. The cries of people hawking their wares were endless. Behind the pair were Xian Tao, Hong Yuan, Yiyi, Shi Jingzhai, and a large host of guards.

As they were in the middle of enjoying themselves, there was a furious roar of, “Tang Jie!”

They turned and saw a green-robed youth riding a sword.

He charged at Tang Jie, his sword flashing with a dazzling light as he seemed to say something.

Tang Jie didn’t hear it, for as that young man got close, a vine grabbed him and then threw him back the way he had come.

Yiyi pursed her lips. “Trying to disturb my big brother with this little skill? Better if you cleared out early. Isn’t that right, Old Shi?”

Under her, Shi Jingzhai, who she was riding like a horse, nodded and giggled.

“Who’s this?” Tang Jie asked Xu Miaoran as he gazed at that youth.

Xu Miaoran blinked as she tried to remember. “I think it’s the young master of Whitebird Island’s Lin Clan. What was his name… I forgot.”

Tang Jie gave the youth a sympathetic glance before taking out a map of Endsea from his Mustard Seed Bag.

From the map, he could see that Whitebird Island wasn’t far from Celestial River Island.

He muttered, “The news still hasn’t traveled far enough. We will probably have to wait a few more days before things get really exciting.”

Xu Miaoran chuckled. “So you’re saying that we have a few more days of leisure?”

“Correct!” Tang Jie confirmed. “Where do you want to go next?”

Xu Miaoran thought it over and said, “Past this street is a tofu pudding store. I recall that the tofu pudding there is really good. How about going with me and giving some pointers to that place?”

Tang Jie laughed. “I don’t know anything about that.”

“So there’s finally something you don’t know.” Xu Miaoran clapped her hands and laughed. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go.”

She pulled Tang Jie and ran off.

But they had barely made it a few steps before another person came from the opposite direction.

When they saw this person, the two of them stopped.

“How is it you?” Tang Jie and Xu Miaoran said in unison.

Oh no, who could this pedestrian be? Find out in the next chapter!