The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 274 - 273: Oasis in the Desert

Chapter 274: Chapter 273: Oasis in the Desert

Looking further down, there was Gongsun Yu humiliating his own elder sister in various ways, venting his dissatisfaction accumulated over the years, with a sense of exultant relief.

This man had been suppressed by his elder sister for a long time, and his psychology had grown twisted, but he usually hid it quite well. Now that Gongsun Xue had fallen from grace and there was no one around, he no longer concealed it.

Xie Jiuniang used Time Retrospection and saw Gongsun Yu leaving.

Following the direction in which Gongsun Yu had departed, she exited the deep valley.

She would not disturb the people here, to avoid alerting them to her presence.

Then, after a certain distance, she would use the Retrospection Technique to ensure she was on the right path.

The range of Time Retrospection was limited. Though this method of searching for the Gongsun Family’s homeland was tedious, it was undeniably effective.

Even Lord Wenzhong had not thought that someone could use the Retrospection Technique as easily as drinking water. After all, even a Divinity Transformation cultivator had to expend a great deal of effort to use it just once.

The Sword Spirit companion observed the entire process.

The dog owner had always been particularly patient before doing something nefarious.

After her spiritual power was depleted, Xie Jiuniang entered the Small Tortoise Shell to recover to her peak condition before continuing. Thus, nearly half a month passed, and she arrived at a desert.

She had seen from the Time Retrospection that Gongsun Yu had entered the desert.

Deep within the desert, there was a vast oasis.

From a distance, near the edge of the sandstorm, there was an expanse of green grass and shrubs, along with a large lake where animals were drinking by the shore. At a first glance, there seemed to be nothing unusual, but a closer look revealed differences.

Xie Jiuniang narrowed her eyes and confidently stated, "There’s a formation here."

"True, there’s an Illusion Array. Be careful, dog owner," the Sword Spirit companion echoed.

Xie Jiuniang understood in her heart.

It was very likely that she had found it!

The Sword Spirit companion reminded her again, "There’s a hidden stake around the edge of the oasis, a Foundation Establishment Cultivator."

Upon hearing it was a Foundation Establishment, Xie Jiuniang was about to probe with her Divine Sense when the Sword Spirit companion hurriedly stopped her, "Don’t use Divine Sense!"

"What’s wrong?"

"They’ve already anticipated that move," the Sword Spirit companion said mockingly about the other party’s excessive caution. "There’s a pot of Soul Identifying Flower next to the stake. This flower isn’t very useful, but its petals will close up if scanned by Divine Sense."

"Like a Mimosa?"

Xie Jiuniang had heard of Soul Identifying Flowers but had never seen one. "Little Jianjian, you indeed have seen much more than I have."

"Of course, I’m much better than you."

"Getting a little too cocky from one compliment, aren’t you?"

"Heehee."

Xie Jiuniang had no patience for this creature.

The Gongsun Family possessed such exotic flowers, so she could not use Divine Sense to explore. She was somewhat relieved internally, thankful that the Sword Spirit companion had warned her in time. Otherwise, she really would have used Divine Sense.

In that case, her presence would have been exposed even before she snuck into the oasis.

Night fell, with a bright moon and sparse stars.

Xie Jiuniang applied an Invisibility Talisman and approached the oasis stealthily. Guided by the Sword Spirit companion, she avoided every trap and stake.

Ordinary formations were no trouble for her.

Proceeding further inward, she encountered a total of seven hidden stakes.

In such circumstances, she was very cautious and did not use the Time Leaf. She merely explored the oasis environment at an unhurried pace.

The oasis was larger than she had imagined.

There were traces of Demonic Beast activity.

Nevertheless, she could now confirm that this was indeed the Gongsun Family’s main base. In the center of the oasis, she saw a green city.

Tall city walls, incredibly solid.

The city gate stood wide open, unguarded.

Vines crawled over the city walls, and within the city was a towering tree that veiled it from the sky above, such that even if cultivators flew overhead, unless they deliberately used their Divine Sense to peer below, they might not even notice the existence of this city.

There stood a stone stele before the city gate.

It read—Private territory, outsiders halt.

Xie Jiuniang lurked outside the city, "Little Jianjian, confirm for me, is there anyone in the city? Is it the Gongsun Family’s?"

"Yes, Gongsun Yu is inside," Jian Lingyan confirmed.

The private land of the Gongsun Family was actually hidden deep in the desert.

Here, the sky was filled with yellow sand, resources were scarce, and the spiritual energy was thin, far from the crowds. Normally, cultivators would not come here, not even evil cultivators coveted this place.

Xie Jiuniang said with a stern face, "The Gongsun Family really knows how to hide."

"No matter how well they hide, they were still found by you," Jian Lingyan thought the dog owner was simply the nemesis of the Gongsun Family. A top-tier family had declined so quickly, and she was not unrelated to it.

Just then.

A bird landed on top of the city wall.

Suddenly, the green vines crawling along the wall stirred; one of the tendrils wrapped around the bird and dragged it down to the ground, pulling it close to the base.

Several root tendrils emerged from the soil and pierced directly into the bird’s body.

The bird let out a pitiful shriek and breathed its last; its blood swiftly drained, and its corpse was then pulled into the soil.

Witnessing such a bloody scene, Xie Jiuniang touched her chin.

The city was no simple matter, surrounded by demonic plants; no wonder there was no need for guards. The Gongsun Family either had a powerful being with a contract with demonic plants, or they had a means to make the demonic plants obey.

She entered the Small Tortoise Shell, and upon emerging, had transformed into the likeness of Gongsun Yu, even the aura was identical.

Of course, she wouldn’t just barge in.

Xie Jiuniang turned back to find the nearest hidden stakeout.

The Foundation Establishment Cultivator inside the stakeout, upon seeing the young master of the main house, hurriedly stood up, "Young Master, what brings you here?"

"There’s a little something I need your help with," Xie Jiuniang’s voice and demeanor perfectly matched that of Gongsun Yu on ordinary days.

Jian Lingyan was dumbfounded.

When did she learn ventriloquism?

At that moment, Xie Jiuniang approached the man, patted his shoulder, and he fell down, drugged, "For these matters, sleeping powders are still the best."

"Right, right, saves trouble. When did you learn ventriloquism? I’ve been with you all this time and had no idea."

"It’s covered in Mo Chuan’s Face-changing Technique, including instructions on ventriloquism."

"Impressive."

"Of course," Xie Jiuniang crouched down and took the wooden token hanging from the man’s waist; the aura of this wooden token was the same as that of the giant tree within the city, "The Gongsun Family dares to leave the city gate wide open, fearless of outsiders’ intrusion, probably because of that demonic tree."

"Yes, yes, everyone in the city is wearing such a wooden token." Jian Lingyan confirmed Xie Jiuniang’s speculation.

The wooden token was related to entering the city.

She hung it on her own waist, then stripped the cultivator’s robe and boots and put them on herself, mastered the disguise of the unconscious man on the spot, and then threw him into the Small Tortoise Shell.

After that, Xie Jiuniang entered the city with rightful confidence.

As for secretly climbing over the city wall and sneaking through the gate, Xie Jiuniang had indeed thought about it, but whenever she seriously considered it, a sense of crisis would wrap around her heart, vague but persistent.

Entering the city in a grand manner turned out to be the safest way.

With the first step through the city gate,

A vine appeared to draw near to Xie Jiuniang.

As it stretched toward her, it circled around, and after a moment, it withdrew, as if confirming the identity of those entering the city.

One had to admit that the Face-changing Technique was truly formidable, even deceiving the Demon Vine. Jian Lingyan in the Contract Space wiped a cold sweat for its master.