The jade slip Bu Yunzi gave the puppet contained some simple introduction to the Myriad Immortal Alliance. Among them were the addresses of several hundred merchants which the alliance operated on the Pangu Continent, and the maps of several provinces around these merchants. It was a collection of maps for over one thousand provinces ruled by Great Yu, a significant help for Wu Qi.
Among the collection of maps, Wu Qi found a place in the Xin Province, a very remote place which was mentioned in Scroll of Stealing- 'Mount Lei Ming'. According to Scroll of Stealing, there was a Green Leaf Thunder Rattan that had just sprouted in the mountain years ago, but its current status was unknown. The Green Leaf Thunder Rattan was a natural spirit item, and if it were used to craft magical treasure, its power could almost be comparable to an innate spirit item. It was truly a magnificent treasure.
Wu Qi laughed complacently. This Mount Lei Ming and the names of a few nearby landmarks matched the record found in Scroll of Stealing. His heart was put to rest immediately, thinking to himself that the records found in Scroll of Stealing were still reliable.
He cupped his fist and bowed deeply to Supremacy Three Flame. "Please pardon for my rude behavior, fellow Daoist. Mm, little Xue Mei, what grade is your Three Flame Divine Needle? A magical treasure? A spirit item?" He asked smilingly.
The little girl Xue Mei rolled her eyes and gave Wu Qi a glare, while Supremacy Three Flame's blushed and said with a dry laugh, "It is just a toy I crafted for her, not some magical treasure or spirit item. Haha, it is just an ordinary magical item!"
Wu Qi chuckled. With a flip of his palm, he produced a mid-grade spirit item- the 'Green Melon Sting'. It was crafted by Goddess Green Melon, using the poisonous thorns of thirty-thousand years old Dragon-marked Coiling Serpent Rattan mixed with Green Scales Stones. It was a set of 33 thorns, one-foot and two inches long, as thin as a hair each. Once they were unleashed, they would turn into 33 green beams of light that were over one hundred feet long each, capable of piercing through the air at an incredible speed and without making any sound. And, when they hit the target, the numbing poisonous gas from the Dragon-marked Coiling Serpent Rattan would invade the target's fleshly body, numbing the cultivator's fleshly body and soul at the same time.
Unless one possessed a fire element magical treasure of excellent quality, no other magical item crafted using five elements metals or jade stones could counter the Green Melon Sting. Furthermore, after it was crafted, Patriarch Yuan Hua had placed it in the Heart Cleansing Pool at the back of Green Cliff Mountain, and left it there for three hundred years. In the end, although its item spirit did not mature enough, and could only be considered as a mid-grade spirit item, it had gained a foundation that could put it firmly among the rank of immortal items. If it were meticulously nourished with one's soul, it had a very high chance to upgrade into an immortal item in the future.
With a smile on his face, Wu Qi shoved the set of Green Melon Sting into Xue Mei's little hand, and said, "It is all my fault. I had no intention of damaging little Xue Mei's beloved treasure. This Green... Sting is a treasure given to me by the Senior in my Sect. I'll now give it to you!" Wu Qi nearly told her the original name of the Green Melon Sting, but as he suddenly recalled that it bore the title of Goddess Green Melon, he had decided to change its name to Green Sting.
Xue Mei stared at the near weightless Green Melon Sting in her hand with a frown. "What is this? Why is it so light, as if it is just a fake thing?"
Wu Qi smiled and did not answer, while Supremacy Three Flame raised his brows and grabbed the Green Melon Sting with one swift move. He scanned it with his divine will, then frowned immediately and said, "Fellow Daoist Greed, this spirit item has almost become the embryo of an immortal item. Tsk, Xue Mei only has a weak cultivation base. A treasure such as this..."
Wu Qi waved his hand and interrupted, "Please don't stand on ceremony, fellow Daoist. It is just a mere worldly possession, not something of significant value. Xue Mei is a clever and cute girl, and I liked her right at the moment I saw her. Therefore, I've decided to give her a spirit item so she can protect herself. It is nothing."
Xue Mei was, sure enough, a clever and smart girl. As she saw how Supremacy Three Flame took the matter seriously, she quickly jumped off from the boulder, dropped to her knees, and offered Wu Qi three kowtows. "Thank you for the gift, Senior. Hehe, is this a spirit item? Aye, unlike Uncle Three Flame who is never willing to give me something good, you are a generous Senior!"
Wu Qi gave a hearty laugh, while Supremacy Three Flame scratched his nose and said with a bitter smile, "I'm not being stingy. But, as Xue Wei's cultivation base is weak, and there are many greedy people in this world, I fear that if I give her even just a magical item, those people will cast their covetous eyes on her and bring her danger."
Waving his hand, Supremacy Three Flame threw the Green Melon Sting over to Xue Mei as he gave her a serious reminder, "This is the weapon fellow Daoist Greed gives you to protect yourself. Remember, do not show it before others unless it is an emergency!" After spending some time in lecturing Xue Mei, only then he fished out a pitch-black, blunt and shabby-looking flying sword and gave it to the little girl. "Just play with this flying sword during normal time, alright?"
Wu Qi gave an approving nod. 'This Supremacy Three Flame is a careful man.'
Xue Mei had yet to recover from the excitement of obtaining a spirit item. When she suddenly saw the blunt and shabby-looking flying sword, she pursed her little lips immediately. However, it was obvious that Supremacy Three Flame held a high position in her heart, as although she was not happy with the flying sword, she still received it, carefully cut her fingertip with the sword edge, and used her blood to draw a sword controlling rune on the sword's surface.
After that, Wu Qi taught her how to use her blood to refine all 33 Green Melon Stings. When it was done, they transformed into green beams of light and flew up into the air. They wheeled a few rounds around her and fused into the hair bun on top of her head. Each of them had fused with a hair, and could not be seen anymore.
Hair were the extension of one's blood, especially girls' long hair, as they were directly connected to their bloodline. When the Green Melon Stings fused with Xue Mei's hair, they could absorb her blood essence through her hairs to slowly nourish and refine themselves. Also, it had solved the problem that they could not be placed in her body, because with her weak cultivation base, she had not yet opened her spiritual ocean.
When all was done, Supremacy Three Flame cupped his fist and bowed to Wu Qi, expressing his gratitude. Although he did not talk much, Wu Qi could tell that he was an outspoken man, and had accepted their friendship. Wu Qi's goodwill, as well as his deliberate effort of cultivating a friendship with Supremacy Three Flame, had been presented plainly through the giving of Green Melon Sting.
After sharing a few jokes with Supremacy Three Flame, Wu Qi pointed at the three flying ships and said, "Fellow Daoist, you should quickly put them away, then follow me to have a rest at An He City. This place smells nasty, and Xue Mei is still young. It is not a pleasant sight for her."
Supremacy Three Flame's lips moved a little. A bitter smile emerged on his face as he shook his head lightly. The valley was filled with large holes created by the explosions of his thunder-flames and broken corpses. Most of the dead bodies were burned to ashes, and only a few of the broken bones and gores could be found scattering around. The air was filled with the pungent smell of burnt flesh. It could only be described as the hell on earth. It was indeed not a suitable place for a little girl such as Xue Mei to stay for long.
However, it surprised Wu Qi when he saw Xue Mei shook her head indifferently and said with a smile, "I'm fine, Uncle Greed. They are just dead people, and I'm already used to it!"
Wu Qi was shocked. She was already used to it? He turned to give Supremacy Three Flame a questioning look. Supremacy Three Flame quickly shook his head slightly, then spun and walked towards the flying ships. Even as he did that, he sent a divine will over to Wu Qi and explained, "When Xue Mei was little, her family was struck with a tragedy. All her family members were murdered by the local General. I was late to the rescue, and could only manage to save her from the murderer."
He sighed, then continued with a grieving voice, "At that time, she was old enough to remember things. She had witnessed how those murderers beheaded her parents and others." Wu Qi sunk into a deep silence, while Supremacy Three Flame did not say a word again. He walked before the flying ships and performed a hand incantation gesture, retrieving all three of them into his storage ring.
Wu Qi gave a loud laugh as he flicked his sleeve and unleashed a gust of wind to cup up Xue Mei as he flew towards An He City. Supremacy Three Flame chuckled and followed them closely behind with a flaming cloud under his feet. Both men had a free and easy talk along the way. As Wu Qi had the intention to cultivate a good relationship with Supremacy Three Flame, they were exchanging some strange and fantastic happenings and some insights about the Dao. Wu Qi had a few profound scriptures in his head, each of them being the supreme scripture that could lead one straight to Gold Immortal or even Primordial Immortal realm. So, by simply picking a few words from these scriptures, he managed to surprise Supremacy Three Flame, making the latter treat him like an extraordinary man.
It did not take them long to arrive at An He City with their incredible speed.
With great hospitality, Wu Qi led Supremacy Three Flame and Xue Mei into the grand hall of the City Lord Mansion. The puppet who was disguised as Wu Qi was sitting straight on the seat of honor, and when he saw Wu Qi walking into the hall, he immediately rose to his feet, bowed to Wu Qi, and called, "True Self!"
Wu Qi answered coolly and gestured at the celestial fiend puppet. With that, he instantly transformed into a shadow and fused into Wu Qi's body.
Wu Qi flipped his palm, turned to the transfixed Supremacy Three Flame, and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist, previously when you told me that you are from Myriad Immortal Alliance, a messenger from the Ascending Immortal Hall had visited my incarnation. Hehe, this is the iron medallion and jade slip he gave me!"
Wearing a meaningful smile, he passed the iron medallion and jade slip to Supremacy Three Flame.
Supremacy Three Flame took a deep breath as he stared at Wu Qi with a hard to believe expression. "An incarnation? It is a grand divine ability that only Gold Immortals, or at least an upper-grade Heaven Immortal could have cultivated! Fellow Daoist Greed, your cultivation base... tsk, tsk!"
He clicked his tongue a few times to express his admiration, and his attitude towards Wu Qi had changed once again. A moment ago, he was already impressed by the few simple scriptures which Wu Qi told him. However, he thought it was because Wu Qi had a good Master. But, when he saw Wu Qi's incarnation, he realized that it was not something that Wu Qi could have achieved with just a good Master.
According to his knowledge, only with an overall strength of a Heaven Immortal could one have an incarnation. However, the aura emanated by Wu Qi was clearly the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator. Although Wu Qi was only at the Nascent Soul realm, he already possessed an overall strength of a Heaven Immortal. It proved that Wu Qi's divine abilities were extremely frightening.
At that moment, Supremacy Three Flame had placed Wu Qi on the same level as himself, or even slightly higher.
Wu Qi gladly accepted the change in Supremacy Three Flame's attitude. He smiled and said with a nod, "So it appears that we are now fellow allies of Myriad Immortal Alliance. Well, as I've just joined the alliance, there is a lot of things which I need guidance from you, fellow Daoist!"
Supremacy Three Flame laughed. He fished out a gold medallion and showed it to Wu Qi, then nodded and said, "Not a problem at all. I have a few best friends in Myriad Immortal Alliance, and I can introduce you to them."
Both men exchanged a smile, as if they had just reached a tacit understanding. Right at this moment, Lao Ai's deep, hoarse voice that was filled with an immense evilness rang out suddenly,
"Oh? Who is this little girl? She is such a beauty, mm… But, why does she look so delicate and cute?"