She glanced at Lu Lingfeng and leaned in slightly behind him.
She poked half her head out, looking toward the most luxurious carriage in the entourage.
She saw a man riding a horse galloping toward them.
Lu Lingfeng immediately shielded Liu Qingqing and Xi Siyu behind him.
“Young masters, young lady, why are you here? Might I ask where your attendants are?”
As the man drew closer, he took in the three's attire.
Their greenish-blue robes fluttered in the wind. Though not overly extravagant, the patterns embroidered on the collars and cuffs were clearly extraordinary.
The flowing fabric was by no means something ordinary folk could wear, and the jade hairpins on their heads were of no small value.
The young lady behind them, in particular, had rosy lips and pearly teeth. One look was enough to tell she wasn't raised in an ordinary household. Though her hair lacked excessive decorative buyao hairpins, her stunning beauty was still undeniable.
The three possessed remarkable bearing and clear, bright eyes. Even the commandery princes of a prince's manor would seem lesser in comparison.
“Who are you?” Lu Lingfeng asked, eyeing him warily.
“Please do not worry, young master. I am the housekeeper of Prince Cheng's Manor. The one sitting inside that carriage is our prince.”
Seeing that they weren't particularly friendly, the man on horseback kept a smile on his face, pointing toward the carriage as he replied.
“Prince Cheng's Manor?”
Hearing this, the three exchanged looks. It really was the mortal realm.
Lu Lingfeng nodded to him and said, “The three of us are disciples of a Hermit Clan, ordered by our master to travel and experience the mortal world.”
If they claimed to be from some local noble family, their lie would easily be exposed upon a simple investigation. It was far better to fabricate a non-existent Hermit Clan.
Even if the other party wanted to investigate, they would have nowhere to start.
The housekeeper's expression stiffened slightly. A Hermit Clan? That explained everything.
No wonder they appeared in this place with no guards around, yet possessed such an extraordinary, otherworldly aura.
His Highness was currently in need of capable people; perhaps these three would prove to be a great help.
“So you are disciples of a Hermit Clan. Forgive my lack of manners.”
Liu Qingqing's mind raced. Prince Cheng's Manor?
Could she have landed a royal drama script?
A fairy descending to the mortal realm, marrying a prince, and eventually becoming the empress?
That didn't sound too bad.
But...
Her brow furrowed. She wanted to cultivate and achieve immortality. If she became an empress, wouldn't she lose her chance at immortality?
Yet, being an empress meant being above all but one person.
She instantly fell into deep conflict.
Seeing this, Lu Lingfeng thought she was afraid and let out a sigh.
He patted her shoulder to comfort her.
No matter how much mischief their Little Junior Sister caused back in the cultivation world, she was still just a teenager.
All her petty jealousy was just childish behavior.
It was only natural for her to be worried after suddenly arriving in an unfamiliar world.
He thought it over. Since they were currently strangers in a strange land, they indeed needed to align with a local faction to gather information.
He was merely a mortal prince. If he harbored any ill intent toward them, they had plenty of ways to permanently silence him.
Thus, they followed the housekeeper.
The moment Liu Qingqing caught a glimpse of the prince inside the carriage, she instantly snapped out of her fantasy and turned to look at her Third Senior Brother to cleanse her eyes.
“I'd better stick to cultivation. Whoever wants to marry an old geezer can go right ahead.”
She had grown accustomed to the cultivation world, surrounded by handsome men and beautiful women. Her first glance at a mortal prince was completely different from what she had imagined.
Prince Cheng was currently thirty-four years old and had been married for sixteen years; his eldest child was already fourteen.
He indeed looked much older than Lu Lingfeng, who was technically over forty.
After all, to the eyes of others, the three of them appeared to be barely twenty.
Jiang Lu traveled through cities and countryside, quickly gaining an understanding of the current state of the world.
This was the Great Qian Dynasty, a vast empire. However, the current emperor was obsessed with the pleasures of the bedchamber, while his grown sons vied for power and influence.
Beyond the borders, hostile forces and the Qiang tribe watched like hawks, waiting for the chance to carve up the Great Qian Dynasty.
She had a premonition that the dynasty's fortune was declining and the old emperor did not have long to live. Once he died, the vassal kings and princes would surely plunge the realm into a war for the throne.
Jiang Lu pondered as she walked.
According to what she had heard at the Daoist temple, chaotic times had already begun. The vassal kings and foreign tribes were likely already poised to strike.
Demonic cultivators...
If they infiltrated these factions, it would be an absolute catastrophe for the common people.
Their arrival in the mortal realm wasn't the scariest part; what was truly terrifying was if they hid among the rulers.
If the rulers were corrupted, the people below would follow suit. That was the most horrifying prospect.
With this in mind, Jiang Lu headed toward the imperial city.
Apart from the borders, the imperial city was the place where information flowed most freely.
The imperial city possessed the strongest fortune, making it the prime target for demonic cultivators.
Next would be the various vassal kings who might rise in rebellion, but with the old emperor still alive, it was currently difficult to investigate them.
Furthermore, she wanted to visit the imperial city to see who possessed the greatest fortune. Ideally, she could instigate mortal forces to slay the demonic cultivators for her, sparing her from tangling with mortal karma.
She looked at the black banner in her hand. Its staff was made of profound bone, and its fabric was black gauze. This was the Myriad Soul Banner, its surface swirling with faint, eerie patterns.
Jiang Lu gazed at the Myriad Soul Banner with satisfaction. If chaotic times brought endless turmoil and countless restless souls, it would be the perfect opportunity to feed her banner.
Youmeng emerged from Jiang Lu's space and hid inside a hollowed-out jade ball hanging from her waist.
No poison that approached Jiang Lu could escape its eyes.
Her contracted beasts possessed immense energy; if they appeared, the mortal realm might collapse. Thus, Jiang Lu had no intention of summoning them.
However, Youmeng could manifest in the mortal realm. Even if Jiang Lu's spiritual energy depleted entirely, Youmeng's presence would guarantee her safety.
Youmeng's tiny body coiled inside the jade ball at her waist, its red eyes filled with a trace of laziness.
Jiang Lu casually tucked the Myriad Soul Banner into her sash. On her back, Qianming trembled slightly.
“Who on earth can tell me why an orthodox cultivator is using a Myriad Soul Banner?”
Jiang Lu: “Ghost cultivators aren't evil cultivators. Relax~”
Wearing a veil, she changed into a different set of clothes. Fortunately, when she had plundered those places back then, she had also swept gold, silver, and jade jewelry into her space. Otherwise, she would have no money to spend in the mortal realm.
On her way, she encountered a village where she sensed an unusual aura.
Her expression shifted slightly. Concealing her aura, she walked toward the village, only to see the villagers looking troubled and panicked.
“Could there be an evil spirit causing trouble here?”
She walked to the village entrance and saw a massive banyan tree. Even three people holding hands might not be able to hug its trunk. It had clearly stood there for a very long time.
With a light tap of her toes, Jiang Lu landed on a thick branch. Beneath the tree, a group of elders had gathered, sighing incessantly.
Their anxious gazes were fixed on the road leading out of the village.
“Sigh...”
Jiang Lu seemed to hear a heavy sigh in her ear. She looked down, certain that the sound had not come from the villagers below.
As she pondered, another sigh drifted into her ear.
She turned her head and gently placed her hand on the tree trunk.
It was the banyan tree that was sighing.
Wrapping her divine sense around the entire tree, she detected the presence of a living spirit within it.
After years of growth, it had actually cultivated a sliver of divine sense.
“What are you sighing about?”
Jiang Lu released her wood-attribute energy, filling the air with a warm, gentle presence as her divine sense connected with the spirit's aura.
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