Chapter 376: An Uninvited Guest

“It would need to be a very skilled warrior,” Master G.o.d-Diviner said somberly, “an expert who could keep us safe at all times. We need some muscle, a person with an extraordinary cultivation base, and even more importantly, shocking potential for growth!”

Xu Baocai was nodding his head vigorously, and Bai Xiaochun was looking at him with an intent stare.

Shaking his head, Master G.o.d-Diviner continued, “Don’t forget, we don’t know how many years we’ll be in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Therefore, we can’t be sloppy in our selection. The best thing to do would be to pick someone who will likely reach Core Formation shortly after arriving.”

“You couldn’t be more correct!” Bai Xiaochun said, eyes sparkling. Then he laughed loudly.

Master G.o.d-Diviner inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Then he said, “Junior Patriarch, I have a suggestion. Why don’t you pick from either Song Que, Ghostfang, Nine-Isles, or Beihan Lie? Which one do you think is better?”

After some thought, Bai Xiaochun murmured, “Hmm. Any of them would do, actually. But Song Que is my nephew, after all. Going to the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect will actually be an incredible opportunity, so the most appropriate thing would be to give that chance to him.”

Master G.o.d-Diviner and Xu Baocai exchanged a look of surprise, but didn’t dare to say any further. Instead, they merely praised Bai Xiaochun for how much he took care of his juniors.

And that was how Song Que became their muscle. Of course, none of the three of them actually went to Song Que to tell him. Bai Xiaochun called over a disciple from the Blood Stream Division and sent him to deliver the news.

“I can take five people, and now I have three…. Hmm. Next I need to pick someone to be my confidante!” It didn’t take much consideration for him to think of Big Fatty Zhang.

“Eldest Brother is definitely the best choice to be my confidante. Plus, even though the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect will be new to us all, it is a riversource sect, which means that Eldest Brother will probably be able to get some good fortune of his own.” With that, gave orders to Xu Baocai and Master G.o.d-Diviner to prepare for departure in three days. Then he flickered into motion, becoming a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.

After he left, Xu Baocai and Master G.o.d-Diviner exchanged bitter smiles as they pondered what the future held for them.

When Bai Xiaochun arrived at Big Fatty Zhang’s immortal’s cave, he was in the middle of performing some spirit enhancements. Bai Xiaochun waited outside for a bit of time, a smile on his face, until Big Fatty Zhang finally opened the door. After seeing that it was Bai Xiaochun, he laughed heartily, then hurried out proudly with a flying sword in hand.

“What do you think? A threefold spirit enhancement!”

Bai Xiaochun looked at the sword in surprise. Apparently, Big Fatty Zhang had become shockingly skilled at spirit enhancement. He immediately offered some praise, which Big Fatty Zhang soaked up readily.

“So, why have you come?” Big Fatty Zhang said. “As long as I can help out, I’ll do it without even the slightest frown!”

Bai Xiaochun hesitated for a moment. Although it was true that Big Fatty Zhang might be able to get some good fortune in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, he would probably be a lot safer if he stayed behind in the River-Defying Sect. After pondering the matter briefly, he described the situation and then left Big Fatty Zhang make the choice for himself.

Almost as soon as he heard what was happening, Big Fatty Zhang’s eyes began to s.h.i.+ne. Reaching out, he grabbed Bai Xiaochun’s arm.

“I’ll go. No questions asked! The Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect! That’s a riversource sect, right? My Master said that the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect is the only place in the eastern cultivation world where they perform fifteenfold spirit enhancements!

“They even have a legacy technique for spirit enhancement! Ninth Fatty, you definitely have to take me.”

Bai Xiaochun breathed a sigh of relief. Then he chatted a bit with Big Fatty Zhang to make sure he was truly determined to come along, before finally nodding in agreement.

“Alright, Eldest Brother. Meet me in three days at the grand hall on Mount River Defiance!”

After leaving Big Fatty Zhang, Bai Xiaochun returned to his ruined immortal’s cave on Mount River Defiance. There, he sat down cross-legged and pondered who to pick as his last Dao Protector.

“Xiaomei and Song Junwan… ah what a headache. I only have one spot left, and there are two of them…. What am I supposed to do? Who should I take?” Actually, the truth was that even if he could take both of them along, he would do everything possible to prevent that from happening. It really didn’t have anything to do with the number of spots left.

After much thought, he couldn’t come up with any good ideas. Therefore, he decided to stop thinking about it for a while. Closing his eyes, he slipped into meditation to calm himself and ponder what gains he might achieve in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect.

Deep in the night, he opened his eyes, looked around, and sighed.

“I’m gonna miss this place too much,” he thought, shaking his head. He still hadn’t decided who to pick to fill the last Dao Protector slot. It was at that point that his expression flickered, and he looked up, a somber and even intimidating look on his face.

Moments later, the air in the direction in which he looked began to ripple and distort, and a slender, graceful woman emerged. Completely ignoring his intimidating expression, she stepped forward to stand right in front of him.

A fragrant aroma accompanied this young woman, who was none other than Chen Manyao!

She wore a close-fitting black garment that only served to accentuate her natural beauty. As she stood there beneath the s.h.i.+mmering moonlight, she looked completely and utterly enticing.

That was especially true when her long, luxurious hair rippled in the breeze. Furthermore, there was something charming and soul-stirring in her eyes that made her dangerously attractive.

“What are you looking at me so viciously for?” she asked in a voice so soft and weak that it would cause anyone who heard it to be even more attracted to her, and would leave most men hard-pressed to resist the urge to throw her to the ground and ravage her.

Bai Xiaochun looked up at her with a frown. He knew that the sect leaders.h.i.+p had come to an agreement with whatever group backed her, which was the only reason why she had been allowed to stay in the River-Defying Sect.

However, he still felt completely on guard against her.

“What do you want?!” he asked calmly.

“Oh nothing. What, I can’t just come to see you?” Somewhere in her eyes could be seen a trace of bitterness, like a grudge. As she looked at Bai Xiaochun, she realized that he was looking her up and down, causing a spark of aloof pride to rise in her heart. Just when she was about to continue speaking though, she suddenly realized she couldn’t move a muscle, and that a third eye had appeared on Bai Xiaochun’s forehead.

The violet eye seemed to possess a strange power, a power that left Chen Manyao completely immobile. A moment later, her right hand began to move, completely beyond her own control. It slowly rose to one of the b.u.t.tons on her garment, and undid it, revealing some of her curvaceous body that had previously been concealed under the tight fabric.

After that first b.u.t.ton was removed, Bai Xiaochun’s third eye closed, and Chen Manyao’s body returned to her own control. She was panting, and her forehead was beaded with cold sweat. Without even thinking about it, she backed up a few steps, her face flickering between the red of anger and the green of humiliation.

“You came here for a reason,” Bai Xiaochun said grimly, “and I’m not the kind of person who would pretend you haven’t. I’ll ask you again, what do you want?!” He was actually trying to imitate the way Song Que would talk to people, and he pulled it off more than perfectly.

Chen Manyao took a breath to still her heart. Not daring to do anything rash, she backed up again, and then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

“Junior Patriarch, I very much hope you’ll agree to let me take the final spot.”

“No way,” Bai Xiaochun said immediately. “Now get out of here.”

“Junior Patriarch, please hear me out. With me at your side, you’ll be able to communicate with the Wildlands any time you wish, and plus, I can find out all sorts of information for you. In addition to that, the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect has a battles.h.i.+p that can take you to the Wildlands! My home….

“If you agree, I’d be willing to share some of the secrets of the Wildlands with you. Another thing you can’t forget is that I know a lot about the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect, and I can even–” At this point, before she could even finish speaking, Bai Xiaochun waved his sleeve, causing a wind to wrap around her in preparation to throw her out.

“Bai Xiaochun,” she gushed, “there are clues about Du Lingfei in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect. Take me with you and I can help you find them!! Only I can do that, because I’m a Wildlander! The agents in the Starry Sky Dao Polarity Sect know me, but they don’t know you. I’ll even swear an oath to help track down those clues!” As she spoke, the wind around her slowed to a crawl, but when she finished speaking, it picked up again and carried her off of Mount River Defiance.

Even as her anxiety built to a crescendo, Bai Xiaochun’s cold voice echoed in her ears.

“Meet me in two days at the grand hall on Mount River Defiance.”

Having sent Chen Manyao away, Bai Xiaochun sat there silently at the edge of the ruins of his immortal’s cave, looking up into the starry sky. If Chen Manyao hadn’t spoken that one name, he would never have even considered taking her.

However, that name left him unsettled. By now, even he wasn’t sure exactly how he felt about Du Lingfei.

It was almost as if nothing about her was real except for what had happened in those mountains.

“Maybe all I want is an answer,” he murmured, “and the truth….” As he sat there beneath the moonlight, his eyes flickered with reminiscence.

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Translator: Deathblade. Chinese language consultant: ASI a.k.a. Beerblade. Editor: GNE. Memes: Logan. Tocsin. Transcendent Patrons: Daoist Elder N, BLE, ttre208. . .