Chapter 176: Chapter 146: Two Fleeting Years

For cultivators, time always flies by quickly. Not to mention the hard work in seclusion, even practicing the Hundred Arts of Immortal Cultivation such as artifact refining, alchemy, talisman making, and herb cultivation is also very time-consuming.

In the blink of an eye, more than two years had passed.

In June of the 366th year of Jia Shen, a brand new medium-sized marketplace sprang up in Red Maple Valley, in the southern part of Chongming County. It was brightly decorated, bustling with crowds, and extraordinarily lively, standing out on this night where clouds obscured the moon and stars were dim.

Like most medium-sized marketplaces, this new marketplace was not built on a spirit vein, with no supply of spiritual qi, so it naturally could not set up a protective grand array, only a simple illusion array to prevent mortals and beasts from wandering in.

From mid-air, you could see a giant flagpole towering high, with a large flag reading "Shuangye Square" fluttering in the wind, making a loud noise.

A circle of bluestone walls was built around the marketplace, with watchtowers at the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest corners, as well as one in the center of the marketplace, to monitor both the outside movements and the internal conditions.

After all, from the sixth to the sixteenth of June, it was the inaugural "Six-Six Festival" at Shuangye Square, filled with a mixed crowd from different counties like Chongming, Liangxiang, Xinghu, and even the hostile Sanshan County, where many loose cultivators came, not to mention that the Yunshan Sect had drawn a large number of cultivators from Meihua Square.

The entire Shuangye Square was crowded with all kinds of cultivators, and there was no end to the small and large conflicts. The law enforcement cultivators of Shuangye Alliance had their hands full trying to maintain order.

Flying was prohibited in the marketplace, but for cultivators, the walls of Shuangye Square were merely a symbolic barrier. If a cultivator wanted to climb over the wall, it would be easy. However, no cultivator was idle enough to not use the main gate and risk attracting the attention of the law enforcement team by climbing the walls.

Except now, for the three shadows slowly slithering under the western wall.

Tonight, the clouds covered the sky, and the wilderness was dark and gloomy. Perhaps a storm was coming. The air was damp and oppressive, and even the sounds of insects were much sparser.

Suddenly, from the quiet night sky, there was a popping sound, exceptionally clear.

The three shadows immediately froze, sticking silently to the wall, not daring to move an inch.

After a while, there was no sound from the wall, and the three shadows finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Then the little girl among them whispered angrily, "Shitou, why did you fart again? And so loudly! I think you shouldn’t be called Wang Ruoyu, you should be called Wang Fapi!"

Wang Ruoyu chuckled sheepishly, "Junior Martial Uncle, I, I ate too much dinner."

"I told you we have a special action tonight, yet you ate so much. Look, Li Zi only ate one bowl of rice, but you insisted on eating five bowls."

To the side, Li Da was close to tears. What’s this got to do with me? I didn’t even want to come.

Wang Ruoyu replied earnestly, "The Sect Leader said if you’re not enthusiastic about eating, you have a problem with your mindset."

The little girl was furious, "My senior brother has said so many wise words, and this is the only one you remember."

Seeing the volume getting louder, Li Da hurriedly said, "Junior Martial Uncle Jiang, please lower your voice, don’t let us get discovered; I’m innocent, you know."

Jiang Baitao snorted, then lowered her voice again, "Li Zi, I rescued you from Senior Sister Zhang. You don’t need to entertain that little snot-nosed Tan Yunxing. You should thank me. A snot-nose and a muddle-headed girl, what a mess."

Li Da sighed. Is this something a small disciple like me can listen to? Besides, hanging out with you, I’d rather be helping Elder Zhang bring up the children.

After two years and eight months in the sect, Li Da had already discovered that to achieve his goal of standing out, he needed to distance himself from Junior Martial Uncle Jiang Baitao.

Previously, he wanted to curry favor with this Junior Martial Uncle.

But later, he realized that without Jiang Baitao, he was the senior brother among the disciples, regarded with esteem and surrounded by followers, a bright presence in the eyes of the elders, who held him in high regard.

But once he encountered Jiang Baitao...

"Li Zi, go get me two skewers of candied hawthorns." "Li Zi, let’s play the turtle game, you be the turtle." "Li Zi, Junior Martial Uncle is short on money, hand over a few spirit stones."

He, a charming young lad with alluring lips, popular among junior brothers and sisters, ended up being treated like a servant by Jiang Baitao, which was extremely harmful to his reputation and severely undermined his plan to win people’s hearts.

He still remembered being seen by several younger female disciples while pretending to be a turtle. The light in their eyes disappeared.

So whenever he saw Jiang Baitao, he would avoid her like the plague. Only that fool Wang Ruoyu was foolish enough to happily follow Jiang Baitao around all day. If Jiang Baitao said poop was edible, he might go and take a taste.

Take today, for instance. Although he was also pulled by Senior Uncle Zhang Lemei to accompany Tan Yunxing in his games, it was such a good opportunity to boost his reputation. But Jiang Baitao had caught hold of him and dragged him over for her so-called special action.

And the so-called special action was to sneak into Shuangye Square for fun.

"Junior Martial Uncle, let’s just forget it; before we get discovered. The Sect Leader has already issued an order that during the festival, all disciples at the Early-Stage Qi Cultivation are not allowed into Shuangye Square without proper approval." Li Da was doing his best, "If we get caught, the lightest punishment would be confinement."

Jiang Baitao, with a face full of pride, said, "What’s there to fear? My senior brother has already reached Great Qi Cultivation Perfection, and my sister just broke through to the eighth layer of Qi Cultivation, entering the Late-Stage Qi Cultivation. They are both in a very good mood, so even if we get caught, they won’t severe us too harshly."

Oh dear grandmother, you have strong backing, but I can only rely on myself. Accompanying the prince in studying is the hardest job, the punishment won’t fall on you; I’d have to take the fall with Wang the Fool.

"Junior Martial Uncle, punishment is only one part of it. Right now in Shuangye Square, there are people from all walks of life. It’s very dangerous. What if we run into bad people?"

Jiang Baitao lifted her head, "What’s there to fear? Have you forgotten that I have already entered the fourth layer of Qi Cultivation?"

Li Da was almost in tears. You’re at the fourth layer; we are both at the third layer, still in the Early-Stage Qi Cultivation, not even capable of exorcism, so what’s the point of us being here to join the fun?

He wanted to say more, but Jiang Baitao grew impatient, "Li Zi, among the hundred cultivators of Yunshan, you have the smallest courage!"

Li Da made one last effort, "Alright, maybe I am timid. Junior Martial Uncle, there are nearly a hundred cultivators in our sect now. Not mentioning the Late-Stage Qi Cultivation elders and stewards, there are thirty-four mid-stage cultivators, and fifty-eight in the Early-Stage. Why was I specifically chosen?"

The Yunshan Sect had been growing rapidly these past two years. Firstly, thirty-nine cultivators on Lotus Peak had completed their assessments and thought transformation, being brought into the fold, and in the subsequent two and a half years, twelve young spirit seeds from Bichao Town had matured and were admitted into the sect. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The halfway-joined cultivators originally had cultivation bases, and the past two years have been peaceful, allowing them to concentrate on cultivation, resulting in many breakthroughs and adding a batch of mid-stage Qi Cultivation power to the Yunshan Sect.

Jiang Baitao was about to reply when suddenly Wang Ruoyu’s stomach started growling loudly again, and he seemed about to release gas.

Li Da hurriedly said, "Quick, spread your butt cheeks before you do it, then there won’t be any sound."