Chapter 00296: An Old Acquaintance in Xingdao Immortal City
# An Old Acquaintance in Xingdao Immortal City
Chapter 296
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 296: An Old Acquaintance in Xingdao Immortal City
While Lan Xiaobu was in seclusion, striving to break through to the Great Perfected Immortal realm, Teng Mo was summoned by his father, Teng Jilou.
This both surprised and delighted Teng Mo.
As far as he could remember, his father had never called him for a private conversation before.
He had no idea why his father wanted to see him alone this time.
"Greetings, Father, Mother," Teng Mo knelt and bowed.
Seeing his mother present, he felt a bit relieved.
If this were a punishment, his mother wouldn’t be here.
"Rise and take a seat. You’ve had a tough time these years," Teng Jilou nodded, his tone relatively gentle.
Teng Mo’s mother came from a humble background, with no support from major sects, no backing from cultivator armies, and no powerful family behind her.
Because of this, Teng Mo had little chance to compete for the position of Immortal Court King.
"Thank you, Father," Teng Mo expressed his gratitude and carefully sat down.
"Bring me the vial of the purified Jie Gang Immortal Fruit elixir that failed the inspection by Pharmacist Wang," Teng Jilou said.
Teng Mo was taken aback.
Why ask for it now? Shouldn’t it have been requested earlier? Teng Jilou seemed to read his thoughts and smiled slightly, "I didn’t ask for it back then because if I had, someone would have been scared. It’s fine, just bring it to me now."
Teng Jilou still had some of the purified Jie Gang Immortal Fruit elixir, but he didn’t plan to give it to Teng Mo.
Regardless of why Pharmacist Wang Guangquan had prevented the alchemist Teng Mo had hired from participating, Teng Jilou decided to accommodate Wang Guangquan.
He still needed Wang Guangquan for many tasks and couldn’t afford to make him uneasy at this point.
"Father, that vial of elixir has already been given to the alchemist. He said he would re-purify it," Teng Mo replied, following Lan Xiaobu’s advice not to directly accuse Wang Guangquan of tampering with the elixir.
Teng Jilou chuckled, "I’ve heard about this. Don’t play these little tricks in front of me. Go and fetch the elixir. I want to take a closer look."
Teng Mo quickly took out his communication pearl and said, "The alchemist helping me isn’t staying at the Moyun Immortal Rest Pavilion. He mentioned having some private matters and didn’t say where he went. I’ll send him a message to locate him."
"You don’t know where he’s staying? I heard you took a fifth-grade Xianyi Fire from your mother. Was it for him?" Teng Jilou asked, looking at Teng Mo with suspicion.
Teng Mo quickly replied, "Yes, he’s a minor officer in the Forbidden Immortal Bureau, named Lan Xiaobu."
The implication was that Lan Xiaobu, being part of the Forbidden Immortal Bureau, wouldn’t run away over a fifth-grade Xianyi Fire.
Teng Jilou nodded but didn’t say anything.
In reality, a fifth-grade Xianyi Fire was enough to tempt even a minor officer to flee.
Teng Mo soon grew anxious.
He had sent a message to Lan Xiaobu, but there was no response.
Could Lan Xiaobu have really run away?
Xue Fei, who was sitting nearby, sighed, "Teng Mo, you’re too careless and lack cunning. I don’t know what to say about you."
Teng Jilou smiled faintly, "I’ve heard of this Lan Xiaobu. He’s quite talented. He solved the case at the Forbidden Immortal Bureau’s Ximu Market, and Gu Yue was rewarded and even advanced to the Immortal Venerable realm, becoming the fourth major officer. The idea of re-purifying the Jie Gang Immortal Fruit probably didn’t come from you but from Lan Xiaobu. Others might flee over a fifth-grade Xianyi Fire, but Lan Xiaobu won’t. He’s a smart man and wouldn’t run away over something like that. I’m curious to see how he plans to re-purify the Jie Gang Immortal Fruit."
...
With the help of top-grade immortal crystals and mid-grade immortal spirit veins, Lan Xiaobu reached the peak of the Great Yi Immortal realm in just a few days.
For this breakthrough to the Great Perfected Immortal realm, Lan Xiaobu had prepared twelve top-grade Ultimate Radiance Pills.
However, even the best pills have residues.
So, Lan Xiaobu decided to try breaking through using top-grade immortal crystals first and only use the pills if necessary.
Last time, he hadn’t been well-prepared for his tribulation and nearly lost his life.
This time, he was fully prepared.
As soon as he began his breakthrough, the tribulation arrived.
The first wave of nine lightning bolts struck simultaneously.
Under the influence of the Longevity Sutra, Lan Xiaobu absorbed immortal spirit energy like a whale swallowing water.
The mid-grade immortal spirit vein and the pile of immortal crystals he had set up turned into a mist of immortal spirit energy, enveloping him.
Crack! The nine lightning bolts struck Lan Xiaobu, and he absorbed most of the lightning energy.
His body and bones only suffered minor injuries.
The second wave of nine lightning bolts followed.
This time, Lan Xiaobu didn’t even activate his Undying Realm.
The Longevity Sutra, combined with the violent lightning energy and endless immortal spirit energy, slammed into the barrier of the Great Perfected Immortal realm.
Crack! The barrier cracked, and a new power, like a sprouting seed, surged with vitality.
Boom! The third wave of nine lightning bolts struck, much stronger than the previous two.
Lan Xiaobu could hear his bones being torn apart.
At the same time, the violent lightning energy completely shattered the barrier of the Great Perfected Immortal realm.
The Great Perfected Immortal realm became clear, and the fourth wave of lightning struck.
Last time, he had nearly died during the tribulation and failed to reach the second level.
This time, Lan Xiaobu was determined to use the tribulation to break through to the second level of the Great Perfected Immortal realm.
He took out top-grade immortal crystals, and the power of the Longevity Sutra was fully displayed.
Not a single trace of lightning energy or immortal spirit energy was wasted.
As soon as the fourth wave of nine lightning bolts ended, Lan Xiaobu seized the opportunity to break through to the second level of the Great Perfected Immortal realm.
The fifth wave of lightning struck, solidifying his cultivation at the second level of the Great Perfected Immortal realm.
A cloud of immortal spirit energy turned into a mist and fell on Lan Xiaobu.
In a short time, all his injuries were healed.
"This is what a tribulation should be like," Lan Xiaobu sighed.
Not too strong, not too weak, and even with healing immortal spirit clouds.
It’s a pity that the Great Perfected Immortal tribulation only had five waves of nine lightning bolts.
If it had been nine waves, he might have broken through to the late stage of the Great Perfected Immortal realm.
From deep within the Black Pottery Forest Range came the roar of a beast.
Although it was far away, Lan Xiaobu still felt a chill.
No wonder so many cultivators perished in the Black Pottery Forest Range every year.
If you were unlucky enough to encounter a powerful demonic beast, survival was nearly impossible.
Lan Xiaobu thought of Gudao.
Gudao was also a demonic beast, or perhaps had a trace of the divine beast Yazi’s bloodline, though it was likely very diluted.
In the future, if he had the chance, he would help Gudao trace his origins and refine his bloodline.
But now, he had no news of Gudao.
He didn’t even know where to start looking.
The only way was to improve his spatial array skills to the level of an eighth-grade immortal array master and then explore the spatial array gates in the Lingwei Immortal Domain.
After erasing the traces of his cultivation, Lan Xiaobu returned to the Mo Xuan Xingdao Immortal City.
The alchemy competition was about to start in a day or two, and he needed to hurry back.
...
Compared to a few days ago, the Mo Xuan Xingdao Immortal City was now even more bustling.
The huge square outside the city was packed with people.
Temporary markets, trading areas, and rest pavilions had formed a new city outside the walls.
The alchemy competition of the Mo Xuan Immortal Domain had gathered almost all the top alchemists from the entire domain.
If you were lucky enough to meet one, you might even get a breakthrough immortal pill.
Just as Lan Xiaobu was about to enter the city, he spotted a familiar figure.
Ju Xiuruo? What was Ju Xiuruo doing in the Mo Xuan Xingdao Immortal City? Seeing Ju Xiuruo, Lan Xiaobu couldn’t help but think of certain things, but he quickly pushed those thoughts aside.
Something was off.
Ju Xiuruo’s demeanor seemed strange.
Lan Xiaobu was about to approach her when another woman hurried over to Ju Xiuruo.
The two seemed to exchange a few words and then prepared to leave in a hurry.
"Xiuruo, long time no see. I didn’t expect to meet you here in Xingdao Immortal City," Lan Xiaobu greeted her warmly.
"Ah, Brother Xiaobu!" Ju Xiuruo was genuinely surprised and delighted to see Lan Xiaobu.
She was truly happy.
Over the years, she had struggled alone, and only she knew how difficult it had been.
She had met some decent cultivators along the way, but none had impressed her as much as Lan Xiaobu.
"Congratulations on reaching the Great Yi Immortal realm," Lan Xiaobu said with a smile.
Ju Xiuruo was now at the second level of the Great Yi Immortal realm, and her cultivation was stable.
It seemed the resources he had given her had been put to good use.
"If it weren’t for Brother Xiaobu’s generosity, I wouldn’t even be at the second level of the Great Yi Immortal realm. I’d still be struggling to break through," Ju Xiuruo said gratefully.
She truly appreciated Lan Xiaobu and only wished she had met him sooner.
"Sister Xiuruo, is this Brother Lan Xiaobu?" a clear voice chimed in.
It was the woman who had been with Ju Xiuruo.
She had a delicate, doll-like face and clear eyes that immediately made Lan Xiaobu feel at ease.
"Yes, Yaoyao, this is the Brother Lan Xiaobu I’ve told you about. Brother Xiaobu, this is Cheng Yinyao. We’ve been companions since arriving in Mo Xuan Xingdao Immortal City, searching for cultivation resources in the Black Pottery Forest Range," Ju Xiuruo introduced.
"Yinyao greets Brother Xiaobu. If it weren’t for Sister Xiuruo’s help, I wouldn’t have survived here," Cheng Yinyao bowed to Lan Xiaobu.
Ju Xiuruo added, "Yinyao has a natural talent for sensing immortal spirit herbs. She’s even managed to refine first-grade immortal pills on her own, without any formal training."
Ju Xiuruo didn’t know that Lan Xiaobu was also an alchemist.
If she had, she might not have said this.
Lan Xiaobu nodded.
Being able to sense the location of immortal spirit herbs was indeed a rare talent.
"Xiuruo, I noticed you seemed in a hurry earlier. Is something wrong?" Lan Xiaobu asked.
Ju Xiuruo, excited to see Lan Xiaobu, had momentarily forgotten about the earlier urgency.
Now that Lan Xiaobu mentioned it, she suddenly remembered and exclaimed, "Oh no, this is bad!"
(Wishing all readers of "Abandoned Universe" a happy Dragon Boat Festival! That’s all for today’s update.
Goodnight, everyone!)
(End of Chapter)