— Meanwhile - Sword Manor —
On the morning of the third day of the long-awaited meeting, high in the sky above Sword Manor, a black flying ark descended. Its flag, embroidered with the words "Thousand Treasure Pavilion", hung from the two large poles on either side of the ship.
The flying ark slowly descended from the clouds, landing just outside Sword Manor. A large group of people rushed out of the courtyard to clear the area, preparing for the master of the ark to disembark safely.
Two women stepped out of the flying ark, followed by an entourage of servants and people who looked like merchants and officials.
The first woman was a spring-like beauty with a youthful, mischievous air around her. Her silky black hair was tied into two buns, with wisps hanging down to her neck, enhancing her lively charm.
She was Mo Xingyao, the owner of the Thousand Treasure Pavilion, one of the leading auction houses in Azure River Province.
The second woman wore a white mask and a wide bamboo hat. Her long hair was tied into a bun, with a few strands peeking out beneath the brim. A large sword hung across her back, yet its size and weight didn't seem to hinder her in the slightest.
She was Yin Lan, Mo Xingyao preferred to call her Sister Lan, her personal bodyguard.
"Are you the Little Wealthy Demon?" Jian Ganglie asked as he hurried out with his disciples to greet the esteemed guests.
"Yes, I'm the Little Wealthy Demon! Where's that guy, is he here yet?" Mo Xingyao asked.
"You mean Mr. Wei?"
"Who else?"
Jian Ganglie nodded and replied politely. "Mr. Wei hasn't arrived yet. You should know, the desolate land where the Flaming Lotus Secret Realm lies is very far from here. Even with our flying ark, the fastest travel would still take 4 days."
"Huh? Then why did that guy say three days?" Mo Xingyao asked with a frown.
"This… I truly don't know. Perhaps he has some kind of treasure that allows him to travel even faster than our flying ark," Jian Ganglie answered uncertainly.
Hearing this, a mischievous smile appeared on Mo Xingyao's youthful face. "Well… I happen to have some free time. I'll wait here for him for a week. If he arrives late, all the better! I can use that as an advantage against him."
Jian Ganglie chuckled. "Then please, follow us. I'll have one of my female disciples lead you to the guest house we've prepared for you."
One of the female disciples accompanying Jian Ganglie then led Mo Xingyao and her group to the guest house.
Once the guests from the Thousand Treasure Pavilion had departed, Liu Shanhong asked hesitantly,
"Sect Leader, isn't the Thousand Treasure Pavilion closely associated with Sky-Severing Demon Valley? Shouldn't we…" He trailed off, unsure if he should continue.
"Shanhong, Sky-Severing Demon Valley may have 'Demon' in their name, but their actions are not the same as those who walk the true demonic path. They merely practice unorthodox cultivation. At most, they're a reckless bunch who hate rules and restrictions. That's why they've earned their reputation as demonic cultivators," Jian Ganglie explained.
"But Sect Leader, if word of this spreads, won't we face repercussions from the righteous path? Aren't we considered one of the righteous sects?" Liu Shanhong asked nervously.
At his words, Jian Ganglie burst into hearty laughter.
"Hahahaha! If it spreads, then it spreads! Don't you know we've been trading with them for years? And if it's truly so terrible, I assure you, we won't be the only ones in trouble. At least eight of the so-called righteous sects have traded with them."
"Even the Heavenly Sword Sect, the leader of the righteous path in our province, has done business with them. Think about it, many ingredients and materials can only be found in dubious or shady places. Take thousand-year bone dust, for example. Do you really think those righteous sects would raid graveyards themselves to obtain it?"
Hearing Jian Ganglie's words, Liu Shanhong felt as though his entire worldview had been overturned.
"Let's go, Shanhong, we shouldn't let our guests wait for long." Said Jian Ganglie.
"Yes, sect leader."
— Dusk - In the middle of nowhere —
At the top of an ancient tree, Wei Chen gazed at the vast horizon, feeling lost. He had traveled using the flying sword he klept from the bandits who tried to rob him when he exited the Flaming Lotus Secret Realm. Now, the sword in his hand was in a sorry state, its blade dulled, scorched in places, and showing clear signs of overuse.
Of course, this was because Wei Chen had used all of his power to travel through the day, flooding the flying sword with spiritual qi increasing its speed far beyond its limit.
To put it simply, it was like plugging a phone into a supercharger powered by the energy of the sun. In this analogy, the sun was the spiritual qi from Wei Chen's black hole core, while the phone battery was the cheap flying sword.
And now, that cheap sword was completely worn out.
"Where the hell is this place?" he muttered, staring blankly at the red sky in the horizon before looking down at the map he had received from Liu Shanhong.
The moment he unfolded the map, his face went pale. He had marked the wrong destination, Sword Manor to Sword Forest, that diverged a little bit from each other but the distance was about 1 prefecture apart.
(Author's Note: In Chinese, the words Sword Manor (剑庄 – Jiàn Zhuāng) and Sword Forest (剑林 – Jiàn Lín) look a little bit similar.)
"F*ck…" Wei Chen cursed, looking in the direction of Sword Manor. It was about two prefectures away, and he needed to reach it by tomorrow morning, the appointed time of the meeting.
"Why the hell do these characters look so similar!?" Wei Chen cursed again, glaring at the two nearly identical characters on the map.
"God damn it!" he shouted before deciding to use his Shadowless Reaper Step technique to head toward Sword Manor.
But before he could move, he noticed a familiar red Siberian husky.
"Huh? Isn't that…"
The crimson giant husky was strutting through the forest below, its flaming tail wagging left and right as if it were happily distracted by something.
Suddenly, it felt a jolt of ominous dread, a sense of danger creeping over it. Slowly, it turned toward the source of that feeling.
"Hi, we meet again."
Who wants to meet with you!? You demon!! the husky cursed in its mind. But before it could escape, Wei Chen appeared in front of it.
The husky stared at him, sensing that this demon in human skin was far stronger than the last time they met.
"Calling you doggy every time isn't good, is it? From now on… you shall be named Max. Of course, there's no robot from the future in this universe, so you don't need to worry." Wei Chen chuckled at his own joke, while the crimson husky made a face as if it had just heard something utterly ridiculous.
"Hey, Max… I have a favor to ask…"
Whimper~
The sense of foreboding inside the crimson husky only grew stronger.
— Midnight - Sword Manor —
Mo Xingyao rested against the reclining chair on the balcony, gazing at the night sky as she enjoyed her tea and the gentle night wind.
"Hmm… sometimes having free time like this isn't bad. Don't you think so, Sister Lan?" Mo Xingyao asked her bodyguard, who was now dressed in light clothing. Her large sword leaned against the nearby wall, and she had switched her usual mask for a simpler one that only covered her eyes.
"Sister Lan, why don't you take off that mask? You already know I don't care about your eyes," said Mo Xingyao.
"I'm sorry, Young Miss, but I still can't fully control my innate power. It's better that I wear it," replied the bodyguard.
Mo Xingyao nodded in understanding, then set her cup on the tea table, allowing her bodyguard to pour more tea for her.
At that moment, the bodyguard suddenly looked toward the forest not far from where they were resting.
"Something's coming, Young Miss. I'll go check it out first."
Without waiting for Mo Xingyao's response, she grabbed her sword and vanished into the dark sky.
In the forest near Sword Manor, Yin Lan, the bodyguard, arrived at the place where she had sensed a strong presence. She quickly spread out her spiritual sense to scan the area.
"Found it!" she muttered before rushing toward the source.
In a clearing, Wei Chen was sitting in front of Max, the giant red husky.
"C'mon, Max, it's just a little bit more. Not even ten kilometers and we'll reach our destination. Don't make me carry you, or those folks from the sect might misunderstand and think you're my catch," Wei Chen said with a smile, looking at Max, who was huffing and lying flat on the ground.
The husky had been running at full speed ever since Wei Chen caught it and forced it to serve as his mount.