"Uhh..." Miao Yi was taken aback. 'Don't tell me this old-timer is asking me to help him sweep the ground?'
As Miao Yi feared, the old man then held his broom up to him.
"This…" Miao Yi reluctantly asked, "Senior, are you perchance, asking me to help you sweep the ground?"
"Don't play dumb!" The old man said bluntly, "I may have no reason to gossip about you to the people of the Western Constellations Palace, but it just so happens that we have other outsiders like you right now. If you make this old man unhappy, then I don't mind flexing my tongue a little."
Miao Yi was speechless. He cursed the old-timer deep down, 'This old man is clearly taking advantage of my predicament. What an unscrupulous person.' However, he still put up a dry smile and said, "Senior, that's not what I meant. I just think it's a little inappropriate for an outsider like me to sweep this place."
"How is it inappropriate? Even though I can only sweep around this Western Constellations Palace, but this broom of mine is made from the bark of a 'Ten-Thousand Year Old Ice Chrysanthemum'. Everyone in the Western Constellations Palace knows about it. As long as you're carrying this broom, even if someone sees you sweeping, they won't say anything against you." The old man then indifferently shoved the broom into Miao Yi's hands.
Hearing the old man's guarantee, Miao Yi immediately took up the broom. The moment he grabbed it, he could feel an intense chill emanating from it. And as he examined it, he was shocked to discover that this mere broom actually weighed about five hundred kilograms, and was as tough as steel. If he used this broom to sweep the ground, wouldn't it scrape off all the grass from the lawn?
He quickly turned around to look at the places that the old man had swept. To his surprise, there wasn't a single visible scar on the dark green lawn. What impressive control of strength. No wonder he was tasked with sweeping the ground here.
"You don't have to sweep the other places. Just work on clearing up the dark green grass around this lawn. Remember: you can't use any other method to sweep this place. You must use this 'Ten-Thousand Year Old Ice Chrysanthemum' broom. Make sure you cover all the places that haven't been swept yet."
Miao Yi's interest was piqued at the old man's words, and he asked curiously, "Why is it necessary to use this particular broom? Is there some kind of reason?"
"Why do you care so much about it? Just do as I ask and sweep. Let me tell you, you absolutely mustn't use any tricks to finish this task. You have to sweep using this broom alone. Otherwise, within two days, the grass around this lawn will definitely dry up from the sunlight. Another thing—don't damage the grass. That will make it dry up as well. I'm warning you, if you so much as damage this lawn, don't blame me for telling everyone what you said to that pretty lady."
As soon as the old man said this, he placed his hands behind his back, then turned around and left.
Miao Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. 'How did I end up sweeping the ground after coming all the way out here to the Western Constellations Palace?' But alas, with the risk of his words being exposed hanging over his head, Miao Yi had no choice but to sweep the ground. Looking at the broom in his hands, Miao Yi suddenly thought about something. He shouted, "Senior, once I'm done sweeping, where can I find you to return this precious broom of yours?"
Without even turning around, the old man replied, "Just toss it down here. As long as outsiders like you don't try to steal it, no one else in this place would dare to steal… anything."
Miao Yi didn't say another word to the old man as he left. He then turned to look at the patch of grass in the forest. Fortunately, it wasn't very wide, so he figured he should just do as the old man said. The sooner he finished, the sooner he could be rid of his worries.
"Even if it was Fu Manjun herself, I won't forgive them… Turn the entire Realm Beyond Heaven upside down… I'll definitely make you my woman on the day I overturn the heavens…" Walking away in the distance, the old man was mumbling to himself. He then chuckled and said, "What an interesting youngster."
Meanwhile, as he was sweeping the ground, Miao Yi soon realized the task wasn't nearly as easy as he imagined it would be. While he had no problems waving around an object that weighed five hundred kilograms, the amount of precision it took to sweep said object over this lawn—all without damaging the grass—was akin to embroidering fabric. Imagine how difficult it would be to create elaborate designs on cloth using something that weighed almost five hundred kilograms?
After a while, Miao Yi realized he was already feeling a little tired. It wasn't nearly as easy for him as it was for that old man.
"Little Brother, I was looking everywhere for you. I was worried that something had happened. Why are you sweeping out here?"
When he heard someone calling for him, Miao Yi turned around and found Yan Beihong quickly coming over.
Yan Beihong had a look of confusion on his face. As he and Miao Yi shared a single courtyard, when he noticed Miao Yi hadn't returned the entire night, Yan Beihong worried that something might have happened to him, and hurriedly went out to find him. He never thought that he'd catch Miao Yi sweeping all the way out here. How very peculiar indeed.
"How are you sweating just from sweeping the ground?" Yan Beihong noticed the sweat beading on Miao Yi's forehead and couldn't help asking, "Are you alright?"
"Give this a try, and you'll find out. I was just about to ask you guys to come help me." Miao Yi then handed him the broom.
Yan Beihong's arm sank the moment he held onto the broom, and it almost slipped out the palm of his hand. He never imagined that a broom could be this heavy, and he quickly stabilized his grip with his transcendence energy. With an astonished expression, he said, "What kind of broom is this?"
"Let's not talk about it. Just my luck to be caught off guard by an old man sweeping the ground…" Miao Yi told Yan Beihong about how Fairy Hong Chen had overheard their conversation and came to talk to him early in the morning. However, he didn't mention the words he'd said to Fairy Hong Chen out of anger. If he were to reveal that he told Fairy Hong Chen he'd make her his woman, he would surely end up a laughing stock.
"Fairy Hong Chen knows?" Yan Beihong was taken aback. He then said apologetically, "It's all my fault. If I hadn't blurted out so much, then she wouldn't have found out."
"It isn't your fault. I think my emotions might have gotten the better of me when Second Bro and Ol' Third came looking for you. She probably noticed something amiss by then and started eyeing me since." Miao Yi sighed.
Yan Beihong mused for a bit, then nodded. He then looked at the broom in his hand, and said, "Then what's the deal with you sweeping the ground after that old man caught you?"
"Consider this a lesson learned. From now on, I have to be careful whenever I'm talking about something important. That old timer overheard the things I said to Fairy Hong Chen…" Miao Yi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He then briefly explained the sequence of events leading up to his current predicament.
After hearing his story, Yan Beihong couldn't help breaking out into laughter, saying, "And here I thought it was something serious. All he asked was for you to sweep the ground. This could very well be an interesting story to share in the future. Just think about it. How many cultivators in the world can say that they've swept the grounds of the Western Constellations Palace? You may even end up being the subject of envy for many!"
"I'm not sweeping the grounds of the Western Constellations Palace, but the grounds outside of it. If you're so jealous, then you give it a whirl…" Miao Yi then relayed to Yan Beihong the old man's instructions on how to sweep the place.
Yan Beihong was relieved to hear that Miao Yi was capable of making jokes now. It seemed to him that Miao Yi's mood had improved somewhat.
"This dark green grass seems a little strange. Could there be something out of the ordinary here?" Yan Beihong mused. He then laughed and said, "How hard can this be? You can just use your transcendence energy to blow the fallen leaves away, then give the place a sweep using this broom."
Miao Yi then immediately stood aside. With an expectant look on his face, he extended his arm and said, "If you think it's so easy, give it a try for yourself then!"
Yan Beihong was slightly taken aback by Miao Yi's actions. He quickly examined the patch of grass around him, but still couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. He then activated his transcendence energy, his sleeves fluttering vigorously as he stirred up a gust of wind at the grass.
To his surprise, while the grass did rustle about, the leaves that were on them seemed firmly stuck in place, not budging even a bit.
Withdrawing his hand, Yan Beihong said in astonishment, "What the heck?"
"Just watch, and you'll understand." With a wave of his hand, Miao Yi sucked in one of the leaves from the branch of a tree, then tossed it onto the grass right in front of Yan Beihong. He then used his feet to pick at it, but the leaf was already melded together with the grass beneath it.
"What?!" Placing the broom on his shoulder, Yan Beihong squatted down to pick up the leaf. While the leaf did crumble and break off, the part that was stuck to the grass was completely glued stiff. "There's definitely something weird about this grass!"
Yan Beihong was about to pull out some of the grass, when Miao Yi hastily shouted, "Don't pluck the grass!"
However, he was too late. Yan Beihong had already pulled out a patch of grass from the ground.
At this moment, the grass—as well as the broken leaf on Yan Beihong's palm—began decaying at a visible speed, emitting tiny plumes of black smoke.
Yan Beihong was completely flabbergasted, saying, "What in the world is this?"
"I have no idea either. But simply put, the leaves that fall on this grass can only be swept away by this broom, and not to mention, you can't use too much force. Otherwise, you risk damaging the grass. That's why I'm so exhausted right now. You came at just the right time. Help me out a little. I'm going to take a short break."
Yan Beihong didn't say anything and simply tried his hand with the broom. He soon discovered that it was just as Miao Yi said. The moment he gave the broom in his hands a sweep across the lawn, that strange grass immediately released the leaves that were stuck on it. Yan Beihong clicked his tongue in astonishment, and he continued experimenting with the broom.
As his cultivation was much higher than Miao Yi's, it was not as taxing for him to sweep the lawn. However, after sweeping for almost two hours, even Yan Beihong was feeling a little worse for wear himself.
It wasn't as though he couldn't wield this five hundred kilogram broom. If he were asked to wield something so heavy into battle, he wouldn't be the least bit afraid. The thing was, he needed to handle this heavy thing with near surgical precision. He had to adjust his strength accordingly so that he wouldn't damage the grass on the ground. Otherwise, they would immediately dry up.
At the same time, he had to use his transcendence energy to control his own body weight as well. Not to mention, he wasn't walking on the lawn empty-handed; he still needed to carry along a five hundred kilogram broom. With something like that in hand, he would leave a deep footprint on the grass the moment he stepped on it. And with the amount of force he would exert if he didn't use his transcendence energy, it would be odd if the grass could withstand it and remain in one piece.
As such, Yan Beihong had to be extremely careful with every single movement he made. This was way different from riding on a dragon steed, where he could freely fight with his hands while relying on the dragon steed to maneuver. Instead, it felt like he was playing a skipping game while carrying a five hundred kilogram object, and using said object to make delicate embroideries. With his transcendence energy being rapidly exhausted like a gushing stream, it would be strange if he wasn't feeling worn out after some time. Even the Great Official Yan no longer dared to say sweeping this grass was an easy task anymore.
"This Western Constellations Palace is indeed not a place that anyone can just set foot in. Even sweeping the ground is something beyond the capabilities of the average cultivator. This is no longer a chore. It's clearly a form of punishment!"
When he heard Yan Beihong complaining, Miao Yi could tell that he was already exhausted, and hurriedly went over to take his place.
The two of them took turns and were only able to finish sweeping this tiny lawn when the sky was about to darken. They then immediately tossed the broom aside and made like the wind. They would never try to approach this area ever again. If they were caught and forced to sweep this place a second time, they would surely weep...
Skyfire Mountain, Sea of Constellations. Upon the skies, a beautiful, giant crimson bird was flying over, its two long tail-feathers dancing nimbly in the wind, and on its back stood about a dozen people.
At the front was a burly man dressed in a flaming-red robe, his fiery crimson robe on his back fluttering in the wind. The man had red hair and a red mustache, and his red, bushy eyebrows rose above his sideburns. The burning spirit reflected in his eyes seemed as if two blazing flames were alight inside his eyeballs.
Beside him was a woman garbed in a devilishly beautiful, seven-colored robe. The woman was fair of skin and had a voluptuous figure. The two bountiful mounds of flesh that lay half-exposed on her chest were enough to bewitch one's eyes. And while her appearance was highly seductive, she possessed a uniquely noble air about her.
This towering man was none other than a member of the nine Supreme Yao Lords under Western Constellations Master Fu Qing, and the master of Skyfire Mountain—Supreme Yao Lord Lie Huan. The tantalizingly beautiful beside him was his wife—Hu Fei.