Wanfa Daojun, starting from the Little Cloud and Rain Technique

Chapter 489 Gu Tai's Dilemma

A moment later, Gu Tai raised his head and said self-deprecatingly:
"It made fellow Taoists laugh."

Ji An shook his head, "How could I laugh at Grandpa's feelings for his grandson!"

Emotions can make people weak, but they can also make them infinitely strong. This is the most crucial factor that distinguishes humans from animals.

Gu Tai sighed, "Although I know in my heart that we can see each other again, I still feel reluctant at the moment of parting."

Teenagers who leave their hometowns and lose the protection of their parents and relatives have to learn to be strong on their own.

He paused and then said:

"Fellow Daoist, come with me, let's test your spirit armor."

The two of them entered the underground fire chamber, where Ji An saw the leg armor and face armor placed on the table.

The leg armor is similar in style to the breastplate, and the size and style of the plates are also similar. The plates used for the face armor are much smaller, only half the size of a fingernail, and much thinner, like a thick sheet of paper.

Its only advantage is that the aura is more intense, and the texture is like a baby's skin.

Ji An frowned slightly, and said with some concern:
"Fellow Daoist, can the defensive capabilities of a faceplate reach the level of a second-tier top-grade spiritual artifact?"

He shouldn't have asked that question; it might seem disrespectful. But he was genuinely worried.

"Haha, I knew you would have doubts, fellow Daoist."

Gu Tai revealed a proud smile and transmitted his voice:
"The area covered by the faceplate is much smaller than that of the breastplate and legplates, but the amount of Transformation Spirit Mud added to it is the same as that of the breastplate and legplates."

"Fellow Daoist, will you feel at ease if I say this?"

After speaking, he made a hand seal, and the tiny scales of armor gathered together and floated in the air:

"Fellow Daoist, please feel free to test it. As long as the attack does not reach the Golden Core level, there will be no problem."

What's the best way to gain people's trust? Of course, it's through on-site testing to dispel doubts.

Since the other party said so, Ji An no longer held back and released a burst of fireballs.

The moment the fireball radiating white flames appeared, Gu Tai's eyes widened in shock.

He recognized the exploding fireball, but he had never seen an exploding fireball of this color before.

Flames flew everywhere, like sparks flying when blacksmiths were forging iron. The dull brass-colored faceplate bore the brunt of the flames and did not even move an inch in mid-air.

"It makes me seem petty. Fellow Daoist, you are very kind. I will remember it."

Ji An immediately straightened his attitude, and judging from the test results, the Transformation Divine Mud added to the mask played a key role.

Based on this calculation, the cost of materials for this spirit armor should exceed the original price of forty spirit stones.

He would not accept undeserved favors, and he would return all the benefits given to him by Gu Hongming.

Gu Tai smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. I will leave the child in your care on this trip to the Western Continent."

Ji An said solemnly:
"I won't say any more polite words. I will ask Senior Brother Zhu, the best weapon refiner in the sect, to teach him."

Although there is an element of exchanging benefits, I will treat others with even greater respect if they treat me with respect.

“Fellow Daoist, your promise is as good as gold, and I naturally believe you.”

"Try it quickly! Very few cultivators are willing to commission a full set of spirit armor, those short-sighted fellows!"

Gu Tai transmitted the new incantation and explained the corresponding hand gestures.

Ji An smiled wryly, realizing that if he hadn't commissioned a complete set of spirit armor, he would probably have become the short-sighted fellow the old man was talking about.

He took out his breastplate, and after performing a hand seal, all the armor plates disintegrated and floated in the air.

As the hand seals changed, the armor plates spun rapidly and quickly attached themselves to his body.

Gu Tai took out a bronze mirror, and Ji An saw a golden-armored man appear in it.

Because of the texture of his armor plates, he doesn't look like Iron Man; instead, he looks like a Predator with a different skin.

He grinned slightly, and the expression on the person in the mirror changed rapidly.

Gu Tai asked:

"How are you feeling, fellow Daoist?"

"Great, I love this look."

Ji An sighed softly, and then said:

"If I were a cultivator, that would be even better. Wearing such armor to fight people and hunt demons would definitely be a very enjoyable thing."

"Haha, if you're a body cultivator, you might need to prepare several more sets of spirit armor."

Body cultivators are better at close combat. While the visceral impact of punches is very satisfying, it puts a greater strain on their spiritual armor.

In Gu Tai's view, body cultivators were not his target customers at all; those muscular barbarians had more confidence in their skin, flesh, and bones.

After chatting for a while, Ji An settled the remaining balance and bowed, saying:
"Fellow Daoist, we shall meet again someday, and then we shall drink and reminisce together."

After saying that, he took out five jars of pine nut wine:
"These spirit wines are a gift to you, fellow Daoist. If you ever visit the Golden Spirit Sect, I'm sure you'll be able to drink as much as you like."

After parting, Ji An took Gu Hongming and flew away on the clouds, heading south at high speed.

Gu Tai watched the figure disappear into the distance and sighed softly.

A middle-aged man with a striking resemblance to him emerged from another underground fire chamber. "Father, is it safe to entrust Hongming to him?"

"According to the information we received from Xizhou, Fellow Daoist Ji's character is beyond reproach."

"Would those people send someone to kidnap Hongming in order to obtain the formula?"

The fact that the Gu family possessed the formula for the Transformation Divine Mud had been leaked for some unknown reason, and some cowardly cultivators were threatening them to hand over the formula.

For the Gu family, the formula was their lifeblood, leaving no room for compromise. It was their fear of jeopardizing the family's succession that led them to send their most promising offspring away.

Actually, sending it to a Nascent Soul cultivator would be the best choice, but the value of the formula is not worth accepting as a disciple by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

They wouldn't feel comfortable sending someone to the tutelage of a Golden Core cultivator, because they believed that a cultivator who kept a low profile belonged to a Golden Core True Person.

A moment of sadness flashed across Gu Tai's face. He clenched his fists and said:
“If they dare to pressure me like this, I will offer the formula to the True Lord of Tianshui.”

Besides, if others see this Fellow Daoist Ji as an ordinary cultivator, then they are blind.

News of the upheaval in the Nine Netherworld has spread, and such things cannot be concealed.

The sudden death of dozens of cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage who were in the process of comprehending the Five Elements' mutual generation had a huge adverse impact on the entire Red Rock Immortal City.

Only four cultivators survived, and Ji An was one of them.

If someone naively believes this is luck, then that person is almost a fool, if not an idiot.

In a cave dwelling in the immortal city, a cultivator hurriedly entered.

"Brother Han, Gu Tai's most valued grandson has been taken away by an unknown cultivator. They are flying south."

I've already ordered Song Tao to chase after him; he'll leave a secret mark.

"How many cultivators?"

"only one."

"Hehe, I used to just suspect they had the formula, but now I'm pretty sure."

Let's go, let's catch up and capture Old Man Lao's grandson alive.

As for that guy who helped us get Old Man Lao's grandson out of the city, may he be given a proper burial!

The monk, referred to as the "Big Brother," grinned maliciously, feeling he was about to strike it rich.

Because it was extortion, they were betting that the Gu clan wouldn't dare to make a fuss. As long as the Gu clan members stayed in Immortal City, they wouldn't dare to take action.

A hundred years ago, he witnessed a rogue cultivator at the Golden Core stage plundering near the Immortal City, only to be blasted to smithereens by Yuan Zhenjun.

There are three True Monarchs in the Immortal City. He is just a cultivator at the fifth level of the Chaoyuan stage. Even if he had the guts of a bear and the courage of a leopard, he wouldn't dare to act openly.

An hour later, the cultivator surnamed Han and his underlings spotted the pursuer, Song Tao, who was hovering in the air with a blank expression.

"What happened? Where's the person you were tracking?"

Song Tao, with a dejected face, said:
"Big brother, I've lost him."

The cultivator surnamed Han exclaimed in a low voice, "How is that possible? Your flying speed is much faster than mine!"

Song Tao was a cultivator in their small group responsible for gathering information. He possessed a flying magical artifact, and his speed was comparable to that of a sword cultivator.

"At first I felt that I shouldn't get too close to the target, lest I alert it, so I followed at a distance."

But later they discovered that the cultivator's speed on the clouds was increasing rapidly, and although they tried to give chase, they couldn't catch up and the cultivator escaped.

Song Tao still had a look of astonishment on his face. He knew very well how fast he could go when he was fully activating his spiritual weapon. Theoretically, the possibility of a cultivator in the Chaoyuan stage escaping his sight was extremely slim.

"Did he find you?"

"I don't think so. I'm sure of that. Neither he nor the old man's grandson looked back the entire time."

"Has the direction of their flight changed repeatedly?"

Song Tao shook his head and said:

"The opponent flew forward in an almost straight trajectory."

After pondering for a moment, the cultivator surnamed Han said, unwilling to give up:
"Since the other party did not notice anything unusual about you, and did not change your flight direction, they are probably just traveling normally."

We'll take turns using your flying artifact to continue the pursuit. When night falls, they'll inevitably stop to rest, and that will be our opportunity.

If we could capture the old man's grandson as a hostage, it would be easier to force him to submit.

"Okay, I'll listen to you, boss."

The next morning, as the sun rose, the three pursuers looked at each other in bewilderment.

They pursued him all night, but found nothing.

At this moment, Ji An was flying away on the Flame Banner, leaving a long trail of flames behind him before slowly dissipating.

Eager to return to his sect, he didn't rest last night and maintained his full speed of flight.

Using the three Five Elements Flags in turn does not consume much of his energy, because the Five Elements Flags themselves store a large amount of spiritual power.

When Gu Hongming first flew away on the Five Elements Cloud, his face and eyes were full of excitement. Soaring through the air at such a high speed was something he never dared to imagine before.

However, after the initial novelty wore off, everything gradually became dull and uninteresting.

At this moment, he looked listless, his face etched with fatigue.

"Grandpa Ji, don't you need to stop and rest?"

Ji An waved his hand, "Rest again tonight, and cheer up!"

His magical power is still quite abundant; he can last for most of the day without any problem.

If he doesn't take any unnecessary detours, based on his current speed, he should be able to cross the Gula Pass and return to Xizhou in just one month.

This route will pass through Silvermoon City, but he will not enter Immortal City, after all, he took Zhu Mingli's Void Stone back then.

Zhu Mingli and his sister were disciples of the Silver Moon City Lord. Their Void Stone had not been opened. He did not think that after so many years, the City Lord could not possibly find out anything, but it was better to avoid trouble.

(End of this chapter)