The Arrogant Immortal
Chapter 275 - 274: The Little Ancestor Your Family is Worrying About

Chapter 275: Chapter 274: The Little Ancestor Your Family is Worrying About

Upon truly entering the city, Xie Jiuniang felt as though she’d walked into another world; the air was unfathomably fresh, thick with spiritual energy and teeming with life.

Looking up, she saw immense green trees with dense foliage.

Yet, there wasn’t a single fallen leaf on the ground.

Row upon row of Spiritual Fields had been cultivated within the city walls.

The fields were planted with many things that grew robustly, and every so often, one could see courtyards and houses that were arranged with remarkable neatness, evidencing a clear plan.

Indeed, arranged.

As an Artifact Refiner, Xie Jiuniang noticed at a glance that these buildings were Law Houses.

"From the outside, it looks plain, but inside hides a whole different realm," Jian Lingyan said in surprise, "somewhat unexpected, yet not really."

"Yes, the Gongsun Family has, after all, a long heritage; their family estate could hardly be typical," Xie Jiuniang continued to move forward, having Jian Lingyan point out Gongsun Yu’s location.

She did her best to conceal her presence and arrived at the courtyard where Gongsun Yu resided.

The courtyard was protected by an array.

Just as Xie Jiuniang pondered how to deal with Gongsun Yu without drawing the attention of the giant tree, it seemed that even the heavens wanted to assist her; Gongsun Yu was just about to step out.

Xie Jiuniang’s face lit up with joy, mimicking the behavior of someone she’d seen earlier, approached obsequiously, and said in a mysterious whisper, "Young Master, I have something I wish to report to you in private."

"Azuo, isn’t it your turn to be on duty today?" Gongsun Yu asked with a frown.

"It is my turn, but I encountered some issues and rushed to report to you immediately," Xie Jiuniang said, looking around as if gauging whether there were others nearby, then gestured with her eyes towards going inside to talk.

Gongsun Yu, suspecting nothing, said, "Come in and talk."

Following Gongsun Yu, Xie Jiuniang successfully mixed into his residence.

Xie Jiuniang then drew closer to him and waited until Gongsun Yu had activated the array before she rubbed her hands together and leaned in to whisper, "There’s a very important secret, it goes like this..."

How does it go?

There was no need to finish—the scent hit Gongsun Yu, and realizing he had been duped, wanted to say something, but it was too late. Xie Jiuniang had already yanked him into the Small Tortoise Shell.

"You... Who are you?" Gongsun Yu’s eyes split with rage.

Xie Jiuniang chuckled, "I’m the little ancestor your family has been fretting over!"

Gongsun Yu’s face contorted, and he tried to speak, but the world went dark, and he lost consciousness completely.

Xie Jiuniang reflected to herself, "This medicine won’t do; he lasted longer than I expected."

"Dog owner, did you ever consider that it might be a matter of his constitution? The legitimate progeny of major families lack neither cultivation resources nor medicinal baths from early age," Jian Lingyan replied.

"That’s indeed the case."

Xie Jiuniang had not enjoyed such treatment when she was young.

It wasn’t that the Xie Family was unwilling to provide it, but they lacked the means. This was probably the difference between a top-tier family and a minor one.

In the moment, Xie Jiuniang placed her hand atop Gongsun Yu’s head and employed the Soul Searching technique, not intending to kill him, as she did not wish to startle the powerhouses of the Gongsun Family.

After experiencing the Soul Searching, even if Gongsun Yu woke up without turning into a fool, his Spiritual Soul would be damaged.

Xie Jiuniang inquired, "Little Jianjian, does the Gongsun Family really have just one treasury?"

Jian Lingyan gleefully said, "Not at all, there’s more than one. One is publicly known, within the City Lord Residence. But I’ve found another hidden under the giant tree. A Tree Demon is slumbering there. Do you want to take it? Think carefully."

Upon hearing it was under the giant tree, Xie Jiuniang fell silent and then asked, "How powerful is this Tree Demon?"

"You really wouldn’t want to know," Jian Lingyan coyly played cute for once.

Xie Jiuniang’s heart gave an anxious leap, "Very powerful?"

"Yes, yes, at the peak of Divinity Transformation strength; just one step away from ascending," Jian Lingyan affirmed.

"..." She indeed wasn’t keen on knowing as the news was rather disheartening.

With increased caution, Xie Jiuniang realized that robbing the Gongsun Family treasury was but a fool’s dream.

How could one even think of stealing from it?

There was no chance for anyone to steal what was theirs.

Jian Lingyan decided to send the fragments he had witnessed directly into her mind.

After a long silence, Xie Jiuniang calmly gathered herself and once again transformed into the appearance of Gongsun Yu.

She left and headed towards the City Lord Residence.

The courtyard she had just left was Gongsun Yu’s private residence, where a Spiritual Field granted by the family was requisitioned for temporary cultivation.

Within the City Lord Residence, there was yet another dwelling belonging to Gongsun Yu as a direct descendent of the younger generation.

The whole journey was uneventful.

The closer they got to the City Lord Residence, the more crucial the buildings became. There was a library, then the Alchemy Pavilion, Artifact Refining Pavilion, Array Path Pavilion, and Talisman Daoist Pavilion, in addition to a Miscellaneous Hall established for the Gongsun family members to learn free of charge.

On the west side, there was a junior school. As Xie Jiuniang passed by, she saw a group of children studying.

Apart from these places that bustled with life, the rest of the area was quite desolate. The Gongsun family’s sudden reclusion cast a shadow over the clan, and laughter was seldom heard.

Other than the Tree Demon, there was no Divinity Transformation guarding the city.

Most of the Nascent Souls had been taken away by Lord Wenzhong, and as Jian Lingyan found out, there was one late-stage Nascent Soul and two early-stage Nascent Souls in the City Lord Residence.

The vast city had only a few thousand people.

The population was even smaller than Xie Jiuniang had expected, and one could say that this was the weakest the Gongsun family had been in tens of thousands of years. If she could deal with the Tree Demon that was currently asleep, the difficulty of this mission would be halved.

Xie Jiuniang first set her sights on the only water source within the city.

It was a high-quality Spiritual Spring.

The edge of the spring was encircled by the roots of the Giant Tree, exposed on the surface with only a stone stairway for people to draw water.

From Gongsun Yu’s memories, people from the clan came here to fetch water every day.

Xie Jiuniang arrived at the spring.

There was no one around, a heaven-sent opportunity.

She squatted down along the steps, pretending to draw water, but in reality, she vibrated all of the Soul Transforming Pills she had refined, hundreds in total, into powder with Spiritual Power and scattered them into the water.

"Yu’er, are you here to fetch spring water?"

A sudden voice rang out from behind her.

Xie Jiuniang’s heart skipped a beat, and she almost cursed Jian Lingyan to death for not warning her.

Jian Lingyan felt wronged, "Master, he appeared suddenly; I didn’t have time to warn you."

Through Gongsun Yu’s memories, Xie Jiuniang knew who this person was, the Clan Leader of the Gongsun family and Gongsun Yu’s grandfather, Gongsun Du.

Regaining her composure, she imitated Gongsun Yu’s demeanor and rose to her feet with a joyous expression, turning around and looking happily at the newcomer, "Grandfather, you have finished your seclusion?"

"Hmm."

The newcomer was a middle-aged man with eyes as sharp as an eagle, scrutinizing Gongsun Yu from head to toe.

Xie Jiuniang knew his cultivation was at the late Nascent Soul stage.

Not easy to fool, she pictured him as an older relative of her own, her eyes filled with respectful admiration.

"Grandfather, would you like me to make some tea for you? My tea art has improved recently."

"No need, just focus on your cultivation."

With that, Gongsun Du left.

Xie Jiuniang secretly wiped the sweat from her brow but outwardly showed a hint of disappointment, the very image of a younger family member who had been rejected in their attempt to get closer to an elder.

"Pay attention, dog owner, his Divine Sense is still focused on you," Jian Lingyan urgently warned.

Xie Jiuniang replied, "I know."

Having searched Gongsun Yu’s soul, she had some understanding of his habits.

Thus, she imitated him so convincingly.