"Alright, please sit tight."
Yang Hong called out in agreement, cracking his whip again.
He could imagine how unpleasant Xi Miaohua's expression must be at this moment.
Whether by the rules of the martial world or the habits of cultivators,
Xi Miaohua called Yang Hong junior brother, so Shi Feixuan, as his disciple, had to call herself martial aunt.
But Shi Feixuan clearly still held a grudge, even calling Yang Hong by his name directly.
This was no longer a mere matter of disrespect.
This was a question of upbringing, and it also embarrassed Xi Miaohua.
As expected, Yang Hong immediately heard Xi Miaohua's voice.
"Feixuan, I have a sword technique here. I'll teach it to you now.
It might be a little painful, so you'll have to endure it."
"Yes, Master."
What followed was an endless stream of screams, "Ah~ Ah~ Ah~", startling the birds and beasts on either side of the official road.
Xi Miaohua was genuinely teaching diligently, but Shi Feixuan was too frail to bear it.
Yang Hong, with a relaxed smile, leisurely drove the horse-drawn carriage forward.
He could sense Xi Miaohua's divine sense sweeping over him frequently,
but he didn't care.
Too many people had talked about the great karma he carried, and quite a few cultivators were interested in him.
One more Xi Miaohua wouldn't make a difference.
...
Middle Divine Continent, Boundless Mountain Range.
This was the location of the Free and Unfettered Pavilion's mountain gate.
The Boundless Mountain Range had 36 main peaks and 360 secondary peaks, all over a thousand feet high.
Spiritual mountains exuded mist and radiance, spiritual cranes danced gracefully in the mountains, and immortal deer called out with joy. Cultivators could be seen flying between the peaks from time to time.
It was truly a scene of immortal splendor.
Among the 36 main peaks of the Free and Unfettered Pavilion, one peak was particularly special. The summit was often shrouded in dark clouds, and lightning would strike from time to time.
This peak was named Tribulation Peak. It was equipped with various formations to assist in tribulation, which could increase the success rate of disciples undergoing tribulation.
Not only the Free and Unfettered Pavilion, but even the two nearby Grade Nine sects would occasionally use Tribulation Peak to overcome lightning tribulations.
Today, Tribulation Peak was surrounded by cultivators of the Free and Unfettered Pavilion at the Nascent Soul stage and above, preventing anyone from approaching.
At the summit, a figure emitting a faint golden light sat cross-legged on a pile of heavenly treasures radiating brilliant spiritual light.
Looking at the appearance of the Nascent Soul, wasn't it Yang Hong's second cheap master—Song Yu!
"I only accepted that Yang Hong as my disciple, and it actually brought me such a great opportunity."
"Originally, I just wanted to find a body to possess and cultivate again,
but I didn't expect that Yang Hong would provide me with so much merit."
"My current Nascent Soul is no weaker than a first-tribulation Loose Immortal."
As Song Yu muttered to himself, the spiritual light of the heavenly treasures beneath his Nascent Soul became even more brilliant.
At the same time, the tribulation lightning from the sky descended faster.
Two hours later, the clouds parted, and the sun rose.
Song Yu, handsome to the point of being otherworldly, appeared before a group of cultivators.
Song Yu skipped over the sixth-stage clone, seventh-stage integration, and eighth-stage tribulation,
directly becoming a first-tribulation Loose Immortal, comparable to a ninth-stage Mahayana!
The Free and Unfettered Pavilion directly possessed the strength to contend with Grade Nine sects.
...
Yang Hong was unaware of Song Yu's matter.
It was just that when Song Yu achieved first-tribulation Loose Immortal, Yang Hong felt a sudden sense of refreshing clarity for no reason.
It was as if some pressure on his body had lessened, and he felt lighter by eight catties.
However, Yang Hong didn't pay much attention to it, attributing it to the illusion of his mood improving from hearing Shi Feixuan suffering.
"Ah~ Ah~ Ah~"
Listening to Shi Feixuan's increasingly shrill screams, Yang Hong's whip cracks became even louder.
Joy!
When one is happy, one tends to make mistakes.
Just then, Yang Hong almost exposed himself.
The carriage traveled for another three hours. The sky gradually darkened,
and Xi Miaohua also stopped teaching her disciple (tormenting her).
"Junior Brother, it's getting late. Let's find a place to rest."
"Alright."
Yang Hong immediately turned the carriage around upon hearing Xi Miaohua's instructions.
Because about fifteen minutes earlier, the carriage had just passed a village, and according to the pattern, the next village was at least 60 li away, and if it were further, it might be a hundred li.
Therefore, the village they had just passed was the best choice.
Xi Miaohua only lifted the carriage curtain to glance at Yang Hong turning the carriage around and said nothing more.
Two quarters of an hour later, the three of them alighted from the carriage and, led by the village head, stopped at a three-courtyard farmhouse.
"Young master, young lady, this is my humble abode. I hope you'll bear with us tonight."
The village elder, Liu, said somewhat awkwardly.
It was simply that the three of them had extraordinary bearing. Yang Hong's handsomeness and Shi Feixuan's beauty were unlike anything he had ever seen, so he naturally felt awkward and inferior.
"Thank you, old sir. This is already very good. At least it saves us from sleeping under the stars.
Here's a little silver. Please trouble the old sir to help us procure some food."
As the only man, Yang Hong naturally had to handle the social interactions.
He took out a silver ingot weighing a good five taels from his embrace and placed it in the old man's hand.
"This, how can this be? A little country food isn't worth that much."
Old Man Liu said it wasn't worth that much, but his right hand had already tightly grasped the silver ingot.
"It is worth it. Please trouble Elder Zhang to prepare it."
Yang Hong politely withdrew his hand, and Old Man Liu immediately went off happily to prepare dinner for Yang Hong and the others.
"Junior Brother, how much silver do you have left?"
"Not much, not much, just a hundred… eight taels."
Yang Hong was about to say he had a hundred and eighty taels.
But he suddenly remembered that his silver was in his storage bag and quickly changed his words.
He almost fell into a trap.
"Eight taels? That's a bit little."
Xi Miaohua said, her eyes fixed on Yang Hong's waist, as if she didn't believe he only had so little silver.
Yang Hong's face reddened slightly, and he reached into his embrace again, taking out three pieces of broken silver and spreading his hand open.
"Sister, I really have no money left, only this little bit, which adds up to a little over ten taels."
Yang Hong secretly warned himself to be careful, extremely careful.
These three pieces of broken silver and the small silver ingot just now were all taken by Yang Hong from his storage embroidered pouch.
Reaching into his embrace was merely a cover action developed over time.
This action might fool mortals, but it could easily be exposed in front of cultivators.
"Junior Brother, you're too poor. Sister will give you some money."
Saying that, Xi Miaohua, regardless of Old Man Liu returning, directly took out a pile of silver and gold from her storage bag in front of him.
For a moment, the light of silver and gold, set against the setting sun, was dazzling.
"Sister, this is too much. I can't carry it."
Old Man Liu was stunned, his lips trembling, unable to utter a sound.
Yang Hong, however, shook his head.
That pile of silver was at least a thousand taels, and the gold was even more, at least three thousand taels.
Combined, it was at least four hundred catties. How could Yang Hong, a mortal, possibly carry it?
"Didn't Junior Brother become a disciple of Martial Uncle Song Yu? Didn't Martial Uncle give Junior Brother a storage bag?"
Xi Miaohua raised her hand, displaying her storage bag.
"Sister, I am but a mere mortal and cannot use these immortal treasures."
Yang Hong looked at Xi Miaohua's storage bag with a bitter and envious expression.
This woman was beginning to suspect him.
"Is that so? Then that's a shame.
Old man, please find a few people to help us carry this gold and silver to our carriage."
Xi Miaohua neither confirmed nor denied Yang Hong's answer, and then turned to the still stunned Old Man Liu.
"Yes, yes, yes, fairy."
"Heh heh, I'm a young lady, not a fairy. Remember that."
"I remember!"
Old Man Liu didn't understand why the fairy wanted to be called a young lady, but he didn't dare to refute her.
Yang Hong was also confused by Xi Miaohua's inexplicable behavior.