Xiao stared at the disappearing silhouette with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. He did not believe what he had just heard from the figure in black.
Yu Bing of the Azure Phoenix Sect, an illustrated name known for her coldhearted character and extreme talents, reaching the Immortal Ascension Stage at the age of 27 years old!
Mortals usually begin cultivating around the age of 10— any earlier and they would be considered talented or genius cultivators unless their aptitude tells them otherwise.
Rumour has it that Yu Bing had started cultivating at the young age of 7, breaking through to the Profound Spirit Stage from the Mortal Spirit Stage only half a year after she started cultivating— in order words, a cultivating genius.
And only one year later, at the age of 9, Yu Bing shocked the Qing Shan Continent again by reaching the Heavenly Spirit Stage.
However, that was just the beginning of her legend, where at the age of 10, she broke through the Heavenly Spirit Stage and became a Spirit Ascension Stage expert, being only one step away from becoming an Immortal Realm cultivator, something she achieved only 3 years later.
The news of Yu Bing becoming an Immortal Realm cultivator at the age of 13 caused the entire Qing Shan Continent to fall from shock, their jaws dropping.
And if it weren't for the fact that the Azure Phoenix Sect had noticed her talent and accepted her as a disciple before her name really started spreading, Yu Bing would have been swarmed by countless sects and clans with invitations to join their sect or family.
"Senior, do you know her?" Tian Yi asked upon noticing his dazed expression.
"Do I know her?" he repeated his question. "You don't know her?"
Xiao looked at him as if he was an idiot who lived in a cave for his entire life, but even then, her name would have still entered his ears.
Tian Yi shook his head.
For somebody that has lived inside the Celestial Palace for nearly his entire life, if her fame was not enough to reach inside the Celestial Palace, then how could he have known her?
Xiao facepalmed, causing a loud slapping noise to resound.
"And you call yourself a man?!" he suddenly burst out loud, his voice startling Meng Xiang, who had been sleeping, awake.
Meng Xiang looked around with a puzzled expression mixed with sleepiness.
"Yu Bing of the Azure Phoenix Sect, also known as Fairy Yu, is one of the Five Divine Grace— the most beautiful woman in the entirety of the Qing Shan Continent!" Xiao said in a voice filled with passion.
Five Divine Grace— a title given to the five most beautiful women under the Ninth Heaven. However, only one beauty from each Continent could be chosen to hold such a graceful title.
"Not only is she a Heaven-defying genius, but she is also a Continent-destroying beauty! To live in Qing Shan Continent and not know of her name— you are a disgrace to men!"
"And you even got to hold her hand for nearly a whole minute! If the world finds out about this, those who fancy her, which number in millions, will chase you to the end of this earth just for your neck!"
Tian Yi and Meng Xiang's jaw dropped from shock. What the hell was he blabbering on about?
They were speechless.
"Ahem…" Xiao cleared his throat after a moment of silence.
"As you can see, I am very passionate about things like this. Forgive me if I had offended you in any way." He apologized before turning around to focus on steering the reins again.
Tian Yi was speechless! He has never seen such a mood swing before!
"Big Brother, who is this Yu Bing? And where did that person go?"
Meng Xiang finally noticed that the figure in black had disappeared from the carriage.
"Oh, that person was Yu Bing." Tian Yi said. "She had things to do so she left."
"Un."
Meng Xiang felt a lot more relaxed knowing that the person with the scary look had left. She was frightened by her gaze at first, after all.
Tian Yi silently stared at the azure-stone attached to the necklace.
It was a stone around the size of a pebble with transparency, allowing him to see the inside.
Inside the azure-colored stone was, well, water— azure-colored water.
"Azure Phoenix's Tear, huh…" Tian Yi mumbled, recognizing the substance inside the necklace.
And just as he hid the necklace behind his robes, the carriage came to a sudden halt.
"Senior?" Tian Yi looked at Xiao.
"We have company…" he replied.
Tian Yi sighed. He already knew, but unless they actually provoke him, he had planned on leaving them alone. 'What goes on in the mind of these people? What are they trying to achieve by attacking the innocent?' he wondered.
The sound of laughter echoed in the air as a dozen figures clad in black robes surround the carriage.
"If you do not wish to die, hand over all valuables you have inside that carriage!" one of the bandits called out.
These bandits looked the exact same as the three bandits Tian Yi had killed just last night.
"B-Big Brother…" Meng Xiang trembled at the sight of so many bandits, her body shivering as though she freezing from the cold.
"The Night Raiders, huh." Xiao recognized them. "They operate mostly during the night, so what are they doing here in the morning?"
Little did Xiao know the Night Raiders were actually searching for the three members that have been missing since last night and encountered them by chance.
Thinking that they might as well earn some riches before continuing their search, these Night Raiders decided to target them.