Chapter 509 - 447: Feels a Bit Strange
Chapter 509: Chapter 447: Feels a Bit Strange
A cultivator with even a modicum of cultivation could perceive an ordinary person’s aura. Having advanced to the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, Xiao Man could naturally see the change in Bai Junfan. She knew he had already completed his Energy Introduction, expanded his meridians, and begun tempering his bones and muscles, officially stepping onto the path of Cultivation.
Gu Shaojun smiled. "So, I’m going to get chewed out. I won’t be able to escape the charge of being careless and negligent—just a few days ago, I was confidently telling the elders I hadn’t found any trace of a cultivator’s presence, and now this Bai Junfan has actually completed his Energy Introduction! He couldn’t have done it on his own. Some other cultivator must have guided and helped him. Where did this cultivator come from? If they’re connected to the Bai Family, could they also be connected to our family’s Guardian Array? Bai Junfan... he was standing there waiting for someone. That person... feels a bit strange. Hold on tight, I’m going to speed up and take you over for a look!"
Hearing him say that, Xiao Man couldn’t help but release her Divine Sense again. Her Divine Sense wasn’t as strong as Gu Shaojun’s, but luckily, Bai Junfan and the others weren’t too far away, so she could still see them clearly.
"The man standing across from Bai Junfan, talking to him? He looks to be in his forties or fifties... but he’s just an ordinary person."
"Are you sure he’s an ordinary person?" Gu Shaojun pressed his lips together and narrowed his eyes slightly. His cultivation was higher than Xiao Man’s, so what he saw was naturally different. He told her what he observed:
"It’s a little windy today, but not enough to kick up a snow-mist. The man next to Bai Junfan isn’t smoking, but his entire body seems to be shrouded in a thin layer of fog."
Xiao Man’s eyes widened. "That’s happening? Wow, I can’t see it at all!"
"You’ll be able to see it eventually." Gu Shaojun reached out his right hand toward Xiao Man. She quickly leaned her head over for him to pat, reminding him, "Drive carefully! The streets are crowded, and the roads are slippery. It would be terrible if you hit someone!"
Gu Shaojun couldn’t help but laugh out loud. ’How could my little girl be so sweet and adorable?’
He promised that nothing would go wrong and that he wouldn’t hit anyone.
At a street corner three hundred meters ahead, Bai Junfan exchanged a few words with Gongsun Chongshan before inviting him to a restaurant across the street. It was the famous Zuixiang Pavilion in Beijing. Gongsun Chongshan adored the restaurant’s century-old vintage, Pear Blossom White. He could never get enough, and he wouldn’t stop until he was tipsy.
But a famous vintage was a famous vintage. The Zuixiang Pavilion had its own way of doing business over the last hundred years; the Pear Blossom White had a daily limit. Even if Gongsun Chongshan had no shortage of money, the restaurant still had to be willing to sell it to him.
The Bai Family could procure even the most prestigious and exclusive vintages, but Gongsun Chongshan didn’t want to get too entangled with Mr. Bai. Of all the Bai family members, he found Bai Junfan to be the most agreeable. Bai Junfan was also quite savvy; he would privately invite him for drinks or do favors for the Gongsun Family, never mentioning it in front of Mr. Bai.
What Bai Junfan sought was to quickly open his governor and conception vessels, and to dredge and expand all the meridians in his body, striving to reach the Qi Refining Second Layer within a month. Additionally, he wanted to find out if there was a better, more powerful, and faster-advancing Cultivation Technique than the Condensing Void Body Refining Technique that the Bai family currently practiced.
After interacting with Bai Junfan, Gongsun Chongshan couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. ’Nobody’s perfect, after all. I originally thought he was mature, prudent, and steady, but I didn’t expect that when it came to Cultivation—to matters of power and longevity—he’d become just as impatient as his grandfather and uncle!’
’Becoming successful overnight... such wonderful things weren’t impossible, but you needed the fated opportunity to encounter them!’
’Take the Tang family’s little girl, for example. She has treasures on her, and for all I know, they could be full of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures rarely seen in this world! If Bai Junfan could coax her into marrying him, he wouldn’t just be hitting the jackpot—he might even be able to achieve perfection and ascend to godhood in the future!’
Gongsun Chongshan adopted the air of a man full of schemes, calmly maneuvering between the old and young masters of the Bai Family. And over the past few days, he’d certainly had his fill of Pear Blossom White.
Yesterday, Bai Junfan had once again arranged to meet him at the Drunken Fragrance Building at Noon. The weather was good, and so was his mood, but he still maintained the necessary vigilance. Every so often, he would release a wisp of his Divine Sense to probe his surroundings. This was a good habit of the Gongsun Clan—after all, you can’t be too careful. There were still Cultivators in this world, even if they were extremely rare. And the main reason the Gongsun Clan had been able to remain intact, developing and growing safely for several hundred years, was their prudence and caution. They would never rashly reveal their strength in front of others.
This mission to Beijing, involving three generations of their clan, was a small risk in itself. The Gongsun Clan lived in seclusion and would not appear in a major city unless absolutely necessary.
It wasn’t that they feared ordinary people. Rather, their ancestors had left a warning: the Gongsun Clan was destined to face a great calamity in a certain era. They had to be extremely careful. If they could avoid it, they would enjoy peace and prosperity thereafter. If they couldn’t, it was fate.
And that certain era... was the present.
That was why coming to Beijing this time was a gamble.
Beijing in Huaxia Country had originally been a fine place, the location of a Dragon Vein, covered in Spiritual Energy. In those days, it was teeming with Cultivators. Although it had endured dozens of emperors, dynastic changes, and shifts in power, and the Dragon Vein had been damaged, it was still nourished by Spiritual Energy. Later, an even greater upheaval occurred, and the Spiritual Energy grew thinner and thinner until it was almost gone, causing Cultivators to vanish from the area. But Beijing was Beijing, after all—a place of hidden masters and tangled power. Even without Cultivators, there was no shortage of other capable and extraordinary people. Some superpower users were even more formidable than Cultivators, such as Witches with innate Divine Skills, who were more than one could handle in a confrontation.
The Bai family had discovered Tang Manman, but what the Gongsun Clan cared about were her herbs, which were comparable to Spirit Plants! She was indeed a Cultivator, and what she practiced was an Ancient Cultivation Method! To possess an Ancient Cultivation Method was a stroke of immense fortune, and if she also had other Ancient Magical Artifacts, it would be even more incredible!
It was just a pity that Tang Manman was born into a powerful and influential family, so the Gongsun Clan couldn’t act recklessly. Their only option was to rely on inciting the Bai Family, allowing the Gongsun Family to wait for an opportunity to reap some benefits from the sidelines.
Their current worry was the Gu family’s eldest grandson that Bai Junfan had mentioned. The Gu family and Tang family were old family friends and also had a marriage agreement, so he must have obtained Tang Manman’s Cultivation Technique! The only question was how well the Gu grandson was practicing and what level of cultivation he had reached. Bai Junfan had been vague, so Gongsun Chongshan and his son couldn’t guess the Gu grandson’s true capabilities. They figured that since he was only in his early twenties and had just started, his cultivation probably didn’t exceed Mid-stage Qi Refinement.
Gongsun Changting had once suggested sneaking into the Gu family’s estate to investigate, but Gongsun Chongshan had rebuked him—the Gongsun Family absolutely could not go near the Gu family, lest they draw their attention!
Over ten years ago, Gongsun Chongshan’s cousin, Gongsun Hanshan—the most talented Cultivator in the Gongsun Clan—had impulsively agreed to a request from Mr. Bai. Without the clan’s permission, he acted on his own and destroyed the Gu family’s Guardian Array. After returning, he was punished by the clan elders to fifty years of reflection in a cave on the back mountain!
During these years, Gongsun Hanshan had focused on his Cultivation in the cave, breaking through from Mid-stage Foundation Establishment to Late-stage Foundation Establishment. With hope of reaching Core Formation, he had greatly impressed the clan elders, who were overjoyed. For him, it had turned out to be a blessing in disguise.