Chapter 41 The Iridescent Bamuh

"Could the Senior possibly want to..." Qi Hong reacted belatedly, but it was already too late to stop her. He panicked instantly. "What should we do?"

"Quickly summon reinforcements," Yu Xuan said anxiously while setting up the array. "Though the Senior is powerful, the Immortal Alliance is not without its trump cards. Moreover, she has gone there to stand up for us; we cannot let her face them alone."

"But our injuries have not yet healed. If we go now, we will only be a burden." Qi Hong suddenly cursed himself for getting injured at such an inopportune time.

Yu Xuan naturally understood this as well, and deep down he was extremely anxious. Just as his array was unfinished, he caught sight of the soul remnant of Bi Fang in the center, and an idea struck him. "We cannot help, but others can..."

Qi Hong realized it too, his eyes lighting up. "You mean..."

In an instant, two pairs of bright, glowing eyes snapped simultaneously toward the soul remnant resting within the Soul-Nurturing Array.

Bi Fang shuddered. "..." Why are you looking at me?

Do you two juniors harbor some terrible misunderstanding about the residents of Planet Blue?

***

Yu Xuan figured it out clearly: they could not defeat the Immortal Alliance, but sea beasts certainly could. After all, previously, a single sea beast had practically shattered the allied forces of the two major sects, and according to Jing Hong, the beasts they knew were not limited to just one.

It was a bit hasty now, but Senior Chu had already gone to the Immortal Alliance alone. No matter what, they had to go and cheer her on; even if it was just to shout a few slogans, it would be extremely helpful.

To hell with the bullshit Immortal Alliance, let's do this!

Thus, the two immediately reached a consensus with Bi Fang to reset the teleportation array, allowing the beasts to come over and storm the Immortal Alliance together.

Though their old bones were practically rattling apart now, they still had the capability to expand the teleportation array left behind by the Senior, ensuring that the enormous beasts could pass through safely.

Consequently, whether they were alchemists, in secluded cultivation, or recuperating, all the elders were pulled out by Qi Hong to help set up the array.

Worried about Chu Qiuchi who had already left, they expanded the formation with extreme swiftness. In less than half an hour, they successfully reconnected the teleportation array in the back mountains, and under Bi Fang's command, giant beasts were summoned through one after another.

To catch up with Chu Qiuchi, the majority of those summoned were flying avian beasts.

Without a moment's delay, the entire sect's disciples, accompanied by a massive horde of giant beasts, marched aggressively and eagerly toward the Immortal Alliance.

And then... they found nothing!

∑(っ°Д°;)っ

An empty pursuit in every sense of the word!

The Immortal Alliance was located in the celestial realm of the Southern Territory. It was called a celestial realm because it was visible yet untouchable. For all these years, unless personally guided by an emissary of the Immortal Alliance, no one could ever enter it.

Qi Hong and the beasts could clearly see that enormous, towering island suspended high in the air, and could even make out the celestial pavilions and towers upon it. Yet no matter how close they got or how fiercely they attacked, the island remained as insubstantial as a phantom, completely impenetrable.

It was as if the island in the sky was merely an illusion, utterly beyond physical touch.

And more importantly:

Where was Senior Chu?!

Weren't they supposed to go ahead and settle accounts? Where is she?

(O_o)??

***

At that moment, Chu Qiuchi, staring at the endless mountain ranges stretching before her, felt a strong urge to curse out loud.

"Stupid system, where is your navigation?!"

[Whimper, whimper, whimper... Master, my map is still the outdated version from ten thousand years ago. It doesn't have the location 'Immortal Alliance' marked on it, so I can't locate or navigate to it.] There hadn't even been an Immortal Alliance ten thousand years ago, so naturally, it couldn't locate it.

That's right, they were lost!

She, a dignified Deity Transformation cultivator accompanied by a mentally handicapped system, had actually gotten lost in the mountain ranges right before her eyes.

"Then what about your scanning function?" Qiuchi asked irritably. "Can't you scan the entire continent?" That way she should at least be able to scan the location.

[Ding! A total of 876 suspected sect locations have been scanned. Which one would you like to travel to?]

"..." Travel to your sister! With so many places, when would she ever find it?

This really was a mentally challenged system!

Qiuchi decisively turned around.

[Eh! Master, where are we going?]

"Back to Xuantian Sect to ask for directions!" she replied, sounding peeved.

The sword peak beneath her feet swiveled, and she flew back toward the direction she had come from. Just as she set off, she heard an urgent shout from behind.

"Fellow Daoist ahead, are you a disciple of the Xuantian Sect?"

Looking back, she saw a dazzling 'auspicious multicolored cloud' flying toward her.

She narrowed her eyes uncomfortably. As it drew closer, she realized it wasn't an auspicious cloud at all, but a cultivator draped in colorful robes. What was crucial was that this was a male cultivator, yet he wore a flamboyant, multicolored long robe with a hem made entirely of colorful feathers, making it utterly blinding.

Who on earth is this... walking disaster of fashion?

"Fellow Daoist is?" Why did he look vaguely familiar?

"I am Ban Mu of the Hundred Refining Peak!" the other replied hurriedly, as if certain she must have heard of him.

Crucially, she actually *had* heard of him. Qiuchi instantly recalled that she had indeed seen such a flashy figure when Zhen Yi had brought her along to audit a class. She remembered that Senior Brother had repeatedly warned her to avoid him as much as possible and never provoke him, and the disciples all treated him like they were dodging a ghost.

"Fellow Daoist Ban," she had no choice but to address him.

The other frowned, looking somewhat displeased with her form of address, though he didn't dwell on it. Instead, he said urgently, "You must have received the sect's summons and be rushing back, right?"

"Ah?!" She froze. What summons?

"Stop 'ah-ing', let's go together!" Ban Mu waved his hand and said, "Those bastards from Luoxia Sect and Chiling Sect actually dared to team up and launch a sneak attack on us. Do they really think our Xuantian Sect is easy to bully?"

"Uh..." Bro, aren't you a bit behind on the news?!

"If I hadn't just happened to be out on a trial, I would have beaten those bastards till they cried for their mothers!" He looked indignant, chattering incessantly as he urged her on, "Move! Let's go back and wipe out those bastards. Aren't you rushing back to the sect for this exact reason? If we're any later, it'll be too late."

"I..."

"You what you? Your spiritual aura is scattered; my cultivation should be higher than yours. Stick close, and I'll cover you." With that, he turned around and prepared to fly forward.

"Wait!" Qiuchi instinctively reached out to stop him, and ended up grabbing the hem of his robe.

***

And then...

With a single tug, it came right off.

Instantly, a flash of color blinded her eyes as the dazzling multicolored feathers were entirely stripped away by her, abruptly revealing two round, pale-white buttocks...

Qiuchi: "..."

Ban Mu: "..."

The air fell silent for a fraction of a second.

Following that, a piercing screech erupted.

"What are you doing?!"

"No..." Qiuchi stared at the large handful of feathers in her hand, then looked at the person before her who was currently covering his middle with both hands like a startled quail. A heavy wave of guilt and a guilty conscience welled up within her. She hadn't expected the other's feathers to be so flimsy—they shed completely with a single pull, and all of them at that!

"These are my ancestral bloodline feathers!" Ban Mu gritted his teeth, his face contorted with fury. "I told you, my name is Ban Mu, Ban Mu! Didn't you understand? And you kept pulling! Were you doing it on purpose?"

"No, what does this have to do with you being named Ban Mu..."

Wait!

Ban Mu, Ban...

Surely not the 'ban' as in turtledove?

The kind of turtledove that sheds its tail feathers the moment you touch them! He had awakened that kind of bloodline?!

She suddenly understood why the sect disciples avoided him like a plague ghost, desperately wishing to stay as far away from him as possible. It turned out they were afraid of him shedding! These feathers were practically the ultimate weapon of framing—anyone who touched them would cause them to fall off.

"I'm sorry!" Qiuchi honestly admitted her mistake.

Ban Mu was clearly even angrier. "Who gives a damn about your apology?!"

"Then..."

"Give me a pair of pants, you idiot!"

"Oh! Right!" She had forgotten he was still bare.

"I don't have pants, would a skirt do?"

"You..."

"Do you want it or not?"

"...Yes!"