Chapter 126: An Old Acquaintance From Kunlun, the Nine Glazed Golden Lamp

Within the Kunlun disciples, there were four great Stewards. Each was recognized as a first-class expert at the Far Shore, not much weaker than Ni Shui Han.

Yet precisely because the four had similar strength, the various Kunlun forces had never been able to unite under one powerful figure. Instead, they remained as four distinct factions.

Blood Colored Poppy was a Player from the Gancaozi faction among the four Stewards, one of the designated Core Members of the soon-to-be-established Herbal Hall faction; that Lao San was also a future Core Member of Herbal Hall, named Rashou Gegeng.

Herbal Hall alone had four members ranked on the Heavenly Ranking, with their eldest sister Gancaozi placed as high as seventh.

In contrast, Qingcheng seemed much shabbier. Lacking the most direct combat records, and with Ye Rong’s opponents in the Sect Minor Competition all being Qingcheng disciples, his victories were not very convincing. His originally bottom ranking was still slipping further down.

Just two days ago, the name Yijian Kurong had vanished from the Heavenly Ranking, not even managing to hold onto the last two spots.

“Poppy, this set of Mechanism Blueprints is very important for our Herbal Hall; we cannot afford to lose it. Eldest sister wants to choose the highest Level Guild Creation Quest. Without those Mechanical Puppets, we would be missing a major source of assistance.”

Rashou Gegeng put away his smile and spoke seriously and solemnly.

“I think it would be better to reassign a few more experts from our hall to assist you. Even though tasks are piling up everywhere and manpower is tight, pulling a few people is still possible.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle it.”

The silver bell on Blood Colored Poppy’s wrist jingled more intensely, its cheerful melody turning into a series of urgent notes, like raindrops beating on plantain leaves or pearls dropping onto a jade plate.

Rashou Gegeng obediently dropped the subject. He could tell Blood Colored Poppy was already somewhat displeased; continuing would be useless. After all, she had just quarreled with the eldest sister and was still fuming. No matter what others said, she wouldn’t listen.

“Have all seven people responded yet? It’s best to complete this matter within five days; we cannot drag it out.”

“Three have already replied to my Flying Sword Message, saying they will come to Kunlun to meet soon. Three others have received the Flying Sword Message but haven’t responded yet. The last one… my Flying Sword Message actually hasn’t arrived yet?”

Blood Colored Poppy hesitated for a moment. From her own Player Log, she could see the status of the Flying Sword Message –

The Flying Sword sent to Yijian Kurong was still showing as unaccepted, not yet in his hands. Yet the other Flying Sword Messages had long arrived, including one sent to a target as far away as the Southern Sea Xuan Turtle Hall, and that one was already received. Why would a Qingcheng Disciple run off so far for no reason?

However, being able to use seven Flying Swords simultaneously for Flying Sword Messages, and each Flying Sword being quite fast, showed just how wealthy Blood Colored Poppy was, enough to make ordinary Players die of envy and jealousy.

Although Qingcheng and Kunlun were in different major regions, compared to the Southern Sea, the distance was like being next-door neighbors, as close as could be.

“Yijian Kurong still hasn’t received the Flying Sword Message? Could he have gone to places like the Northern Desert or Yinchuan for a quest? Otherwise, it makes no sense!”

Blood Colored Poppy didn’t necessarily need Yijian Kurong to act as help. It was just that back in the Starter Village, she owed him a favor, and it had been weighing on her mind ever since, unresolved. Although this matter involved manual labor, the reward offered by Herbal Hall was not low, almost enough to tempt any expert Player.

She had decided that regardless of whether Yijian Kurong’s strength met the standard, she would pull him into the team, let him mix in for this round of rewards and benefits, and thus repay this favor. Anyway, the Qingcheng Chief Disciple’s strength shouldn’t be too terrible, right? With a few other capable helpers, completing the task should be easy.

“Oh, finally received it.”

Seeing the dimmed Flying Sword icon suddenly light up, Blood Colored Poppy understood that Yijian Kurong had received her Flying Sword Message. However, if he really was that far away, he had better have a Dragon Riding Light Escape Talisman on him; otherwise, he wouldn’t make it back in time.

“Lao San, just rest assured. If it weren’t for needing to guard against a few competitors who are also about to establish Factions, I could even gather seventy experts to help without any problem. Just seven or eight people, how could we possibly lack manpower?”

…

“Blood Colored Poppy, why is she suddenly looking for me?”

Ye Rong received the starlight Flying Sword message, read its contents, and never expected it to be from Blood Colored Poppy.

Back in the Starter Village, the others were all quite wary of her. Even someone as sharp-tongued as Young Master Wei didn’t dare speak recklessly in front of her, clearly indicating her background was extraordinary and not someone to offend lightly. Later, he only knew that Blood Colored Poppy had joined Kunlun; the specific details were unclear, and the two had virtually no contact.

However, Ye Rong did know a bit about Kunlun’s situation. After all, it was also a first-class Sect in the game. If not for the many internal factions and numerous elder-level NPCs establishing their own schools, its strength wouldn’t be much weaker than Emei’s. There was always a lot of news and information about it, unlike some mysterious, little-known Rogue Cultivators with few disciples.

Within Qingcheng, the most prominent were naturally the four Stewards, positions within the Sect similar to his own as Chief of Tianshu Hall. If Qingcheng opened new inner halls in the future, naturally he wouldn’t be the only Chief Disciple.

The difference between these four Stewards and Ye Rong was that they each had their own vast forces and were striving to create Factions. Two of them were even among the ten Faction candidates rated by Jiuyu Pavilion as most likely to succeed in establishing a Faction after the Shushan Sword Alliance.

“Looking for me at this time, could it be related to the matter of establishing a Faction? Wouldn’t she want to recruit me, would she?”

The message only said that it had been a long time, she missed him very much, had a matter of great importance to discuss, with many benefits, and requested he come to Kunlun as soon as possible.

Ye Rong thought for a moment, then replied saying he would find time to visit Kunlun soon, attached the message to his Sinking Water Sword, and sent it out with a strike.

The Kunlun Mountains were known as the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Mountains, nearly ten thousand li away from Qingcheng. Even with Ye Rong’s current flight speed, making a round trip wasn’t an easy task. Even if he were to go, he needed to finish the matters at hand first, like turning in today’s Sect daily quest.

Poor Ye Rong had been choosing daily quests with gold and silver coins as rewards these past few days. If he didn’t find a way to supplement his income soon, he would truly be penniless.

His most basic leveling supplies, the Blood Restoration Pills and Qi Recovery Powder, could no longer keep up with his needs. He needed to switch to third-grade elixirs to sustain himself. The money spent on purchasing elixirs each time flowed out like water, painful to watch.

The several dozen Purple Gold Pills rewarded from the Sect Minor Competition, he usually couldn’t bear to use them. They could instantly restore two thousand points of Qi and Blood and True Qi respectively. In critical moments, they were lifesavers. Whether ambushed and surrounded by Players or hunting Bosses, such high-grade elixirs were necessary. Ordinary elixirs couldn’t restore health fast enough; if the healing couldn’t keep up, he would die.

“Come with me!”

Ye Rong had just collected the fifty taels of silver reward for the quest from the White Cloud Temple when he felt himself being lifted up, riding the clouds and mist, gulping two mouthfuls of cold wind in the sky. The scenery before his eyes changed rapidly; this flight speed definitely exceeded ten thousand.

“Master, please take it easy, don’t tire yourself out.”

Seeing clearly who it was, Ye Rong shouted a couple of times. Being held by the collar and flying at high speed was absolutely uncomfortable. But after shouting twice, the Demon-Subduing True Lord Jiang Shu showed no reaction, so he knew his efforts were wasted and obediently closed his mouth.

“Cough, cough, Master, next time you take me somewhere, could you use a slightly gentler method? For example, that Flood Dragon-drawn cloud carriage from last time was quite good.”

In an instant, they had flown over who knows how many mountain peaks and towns, the scenery passing beneath their feet, before stopping at a lone peak and setting Ye Rong down.

The Demon-Subduing True Lord Jiang Shu turned a deaf ear to Ye Rong’s complaints. He took out a golden lamp from his sleeve, about the height of a palm, its base supported by a green jade lamp plate. On the lamp sat a ruyi-shaped lamp flame, its light steady, sometimes cyan, sometimes white, sometimes red, sometimes purple, shimmering and crystalline, constantly changing.

“I know you envy your fellow disciple Long Wushuang for his many Magic Treasures, but this old Daoist must tell you that only your own cultivation is fundamental. Flying Swords and Magic Treasures are merely external objects.”

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Master, what you say is very reasonable! I have always strictly followed your teachings!”

Ye Rong nodded like pounding garlic, his eyes fixed intently on this golden lamp, shouting wildly in his heart: It’s coming, it’s coming! After waiting so long, the privileges of a Third-Generation Disciple are finally arriving!

“Alas, Junior Brother Zhu Mei bestowed so many treasures far too early, which is extremely detrimental to the growth of you young disciples. I suppose he was also blinded by the crisis of the Demonic Path’s rampant activities. I didn’t expect you to be so competitive. Even with me teaching you little, you actually managed to defeat fellow disciple Wushuang. It’s no wonder I had high hopes for you back then.”

The Demon-Subduing True Lord Jiang Shu sighed long and deep, then tossed the golden lamp in his hand. It spun through the air and landed in Ye Rong’s hands.

“This Nine Glazed Golden Lamp is an Ancient Treasure I obtained during my adventures in my youth. Its power is astonishing, but it requires investing a large amount of Merit to unlock its seals. I never truly refined it myself, and today I bestow it upon you.”

“Thank you, Master! I will definitely use this treasure to slay demons and monsters, uphold the Righteous Path, glorify Qingcheng, surpass Emei, and live up to your expectations!”

Ye Rong was so excited he became incoherent, nearly dropping the Nine Glazed Golden Lamp in his hand, spewing flattering words recklessly since they cost nothing.

“Don’t speak nonsense! Emei is the orthodox Xuanmen, its fortunes are thriving; how could our Qingcheng possibly surpass them!”

Although his words were a scolding, the slight trace of satisfaction that crossed the Demon-Subduing True Lord Jiang Shu’s face showed that he was very pleased with Ye Rong’s answer. The wild ambition to surpass Emei might have always existed in his heart.