When I Mistook My Arch-Rival for My Dao Companion - Chapter 29

Chapter 29

Wanbao Pavilion—as the name suggests, a place that claims to hide ten thousand treasures.

Its foundation is deep, with a heritage spanning tens of thousands of years. Even when Fu Guzhou was young, he had heard of its great name. Such a behemoth remained standing even after the catastrophe of the Changyuan Secret Realm. It was heard that in the early days, two of the four Great Demon Emperors had tried to cause trouble here, but in the end, the Wanbao Pavilion did not change hands, which speaks to its formidable nature.

Naturally, such a behemoth with both background and financial power had branches across every continent of the cultivation world, and it didn’t even skip the Demon Realm. Fu Guzhou just didn’t know why Wenren Qian insisted on going to the Wanbao Pavilion in the Demon Realm specifically.

Fu Guzhou, who considered himself somewhat intelligent, pondered over it but couldn’t discern a significant difference. If it were said that the items in the Demon Realm’s Wanbao Pavilion were more suitable for demons, that would be unnecessary; the hundreds of branches were interconnected. If one truly wanted to buy something specific, it could be transferred from other branches. Why go to the Demon Realm specifically? Wasn’t that just asking to expose their whereabouts?

As he walked alongside Wenren Qian, thinking about why they had to go to the Demon Realm’s Wanbao Pavilion, a sudden flash of inspiration hit him.

There were five branches of Wanbao Pavilion in the Demon Realm and one main headquarters. Regardless of which one they appeared in, there would be a massive flow of demons. Among so many demons, could it be that no one would recognize the Demon Sovereign, Wenren Qian? Naturally, that was impossible. Therefore, this trip would inevitably expose their location.

They had escaped from the Nine-Turn Yin Fiend Formation, and the one most concerned with their whereabouts would certainly be the Xuanyin Demon Emperor. Given Wenren Qian’s personality, he definitely wouldn’t go out of his way to hide his appearance. Thus, news of them would travel to the Xuanyin Demon Emperor’s ears with incredible speed. Was this Wenren Qian’s goal?

Fu Guzhou clearly had no idea what the purpose of this trip was, and despite the countless guesses in his heart, he didn’t actually ask the other person.

Perhaps it was because the other was his Dao companion and they had experienced so many things together, Fu Guzhou felt an inexplicable trust toward Wenren Qian. Coupled with his inherent sense of closeness, this trust was even more concentrated—so much so that he felt asking a question would be a sign of distrust in their relationship.

Wenren Qian almost laughed at the sight. “Immortal Venerable, do you know? Your face is currently covered in words.”

Fu Guzhou was shocked. “What?”

“Thirst for knowledge.” Wenren Qian’s smile deepened.

Fu Guzhou gave up the struggle. Had he really been that obvious? To have his inner thoughts read at a single glance.

“I’m just a little bit curious, just a little bit.” Fu Guzhou demonstrated vividly by pinching his thumbnail with his index finger to show just how small “a little bit” was.

“Wanbao Pavilion—every pavilion has a Great Power suppressing it, with a cultivation no lower than the mid-stage of the Soul Transformation (Hua Shen) realm. Combined with the teleportation arrays Wanbao Pavilion possesses, if one pavilion encounters a problem, the other Great Powers can arrive in an instant.

This is why the two Demon Emperors at the peak of Soul Transformation could not cause trouble even when working together. Rumor has it there is even a Tribulation (Du Jie) stage Great Power guarding Wanbao Pavilion, but no one has ever seen them, so its truth is unknown. Counting the branches and the headquarters, there are a hundred in total. Do you know what that represents?”

“It means Wanbao Pavilion has at least a hundred experts at or above the mid-stage of Soul Transformation.” When Fu Guzhou spoke this answer, even he felt a chill of fear.

In his limited memory, such data absolutely did not exist. This data must have been tested out by those demon cultivators after the human and demonic cultivators showed weakness following the Changyuan Secret Realm.

“Then do you know how many Soul Transformation Great Powers there are currently in the cultivation world?”

Fu Guzhou frowned. “Before the Changyuan Secret Realm, there were about six hundred. Nowadays, counting those reclusive powerhouses, there are likely only a little over two hundred left.”

“Correct. Now do you understand the terrifying nature of Wanbao Pavilion? A hundred Soul Transformation cultivators. During the Changyuan Secret Realm, Wanbao Pavilion sent people as well; how were they able to keep these hundred cultivators?” Wenren Qian was occasionally a demon with decent patience, guiding him unhurriedly.

Wenren Qian’s hint brought Fu Guzhou back to his senses. If Wanbao Pavilion were truly that powerful, having a hundred mid-stage Soul Transformation cultivators or higher, they might as well just unify the cultivation world. Why bother collecting treasures everywhere, selling them in all directions, and playing the role of a businessman?

Fu Guzhou frowned, seemingly finding this answer somewhat inconceivable, but upon reflection, only one result was most likely.

He said softly, “Because Wanbao Pavilion has the support of multiple factions. Or rather, the reason the Demon Realm gives the cultivation world a chance to recuperate is because of Wanbao Pavilion. The so-called Wanbao Pavilion is the place where all the powerhouses of the cultivation world gather.”

Wenren Qian praised, “Clever.”

This praise made Fu Guzhou a bit embarrassed. If not for Wenren Qian’s guidance, he absolutely wouldn’t have guessed this result; he would only have been shocked that Wanbao Pavilion was originally this powerful.

“Did This Seat not say I was taking the Immortal Venerable to see to his brain? The guardian of the Demon Realm’s Wanbao Pavilion headquarters is someone who can help the Immortal Venerable a bit.”

Could they be more impressive than Li Chengyuan, who had read ten thousand books and observed the Four Directions?

Fu Guzhou was a bit curious. “I wonder which Great Power it is?”

“Princess Royal Wenchang of the Northern Dynasty, Yuwen Changji. Currently the strongest combatant of the Northern Dynasty royal family, second only to the supreme ruler.”

The moment Fu Guzhou heard this name, it felt a bit familiar. Thinking carefully, wasn’t there a Northern Dynasty princess who once chased his Senior Brother frantically, hacking through three continents after him? In the end, Senior Brother was so exhausted from the chase that he had to tell the princess he actually liked men to avoid further pursuit. It seemed that Northern Dynasty princess was called some sort of Princess Royal.

Who would have thought that meeting someone in passing would turn out to be an acquaintance.

Fu Guzhou hesitated, really wanting to tell the other that perhaps he shouldn’t be brought along; the ferocity of this Princess Royal had left a deep impression on Fu Guzhou’s memory.

“What is it? Does the Immortal Venerable know her?”

Fu Guzhou shook his head. “I don’t think I know her. I just don’t know if the me before the amnesia knew her.”

Wenren Qian laughed and didn’t say anything more.

There was one point he hadn’t mentioned to Fu Guzhou: besides her overly formidable combat power, this princess was most skilled in hypnosis and mind-reading.

Both were powerhouses. Even though the current Fu Guzhou lacked his memories, his bodily instincts remained. With Wenren Qian beside him to help at any time, Fu Guzhou and Wenren Qian didn’t spend much time before arriving in the Demon Realm.

When they reached the stone monument deeply engraved with the words “Demon Realm,” Fu Guzhou was slightly stunned, sensing a majestic demonic power emanating from it. “What is ahead?”

“A boundary monument,” Wenren Qian said flatly.

Seeing that Fu Guzhou actually had a reaction to the monument, a strange emotion flashed through Wenren Qian’s eyes.

After a long pause, once Fu Guzhou’s eyes were clear again, Wenren Qian said slowly, “Immortal Venerable, what did you see?”

Fu Guzhou didn’t expect his small reaction to be completely caught by Wenren Qian. He hooked his finger against his cheek in embarrassment and whispered, “Is this something one shouldn’t look at casually?”

“How could that be? This monument is placed here specifically for people to see.”

Seeing that it wasn’t something forbidden, Fu Guzhou felt much more at ease. “I saw fire, a raging fire. An ancient beast awakened from within, and then, then a person appeared and… and…”

At this point, Fu Guzhou was again too embarrassed to speak. Even though he could see nothing, he still wanted to secretly gauge Wenren Qian’s expression to determine if he should continue.

Wenren Qian narrowed his eyes, his whole body radiating a dangerous aura as if he could leave a million corpses here in the next moment, but his voice was surprisingly gentle. “Suppressed it in this place, and then erected the Demon Realm stone monument, meaning that once a demon steps out of this place, they will fall into eternal sleep like that ancient beast. Immortal Venerable, it seems your talent is exceptionally high; this place isn’t something every human cultivator can see, unless…”

Halfway through, Wenren Qian’s voice stopped abruptly. “Never mind. It’s not important anyway. Let’s go.”

Fu Guzhou blinked and reached out to tug the man’s sleeve even tighter.

“What? Is it that our Immortal Venerable is afraid the roads in the Demon Realm are hard to walk and you’ll trip?”

“No, I just want to be a bit closer to you.”

Wenren Qian was quiet for a moment, and then a smile so faint it was hard to detect flashed across his features. “This Seat must take back my earlier words. It’s not that the Immortal Venerable doesn’t know how to speak sweet words; once you start saying nice things, I’m afraid even a slightly naive young girl would be tricked by the Immortal Venerable.”

Fu Guzhou wouldn’t admit to that. He wrinkled his nose slightly. “I wasn’t saying sweet words.”

He simply felt that Wenren Qian’s mood wasn’t very good just now.

It was a simple logic: if Fu Guzhou was in a bad mood, getting closer to his Dao companion would naturally make him feel better. Since Wenren Qian liked him so much, getting a bit closer would surely make the other happier. It was a perfectly ordinary thing, yet in Wenren Qian’s mouth, it became “sweet words.”

Fu Guzhou pouted secretly; as expected, his Dao companion was very duplicitous.

The Demon Realm was never a place lacking in beauties. Perhaps it was racial instinct, but the female cultivators here were much more open than the vast majority in the cultivation world. Here, just as they arrived at the Demon Realm’s Wanbao Pavilion headquarters, during the short moment Wenren Qian stepped away, a woman in black approached Fu Guzhou.

Even by the standards of the cultivation world, the woman in black was a top-tier beauty. She was provocatively dressed, with only a sheer garment covering the essential areas, leaving her navel and snowy, slender waist exposed. Below her waist was a long black skirt adorned with fine gauze and jewels that sparkled. Upon seeing Fu Guzhou, she cast a glance full of a thousand charms toward him.

Unfortunately, this beauty’s coquettish glances were cast to a blind man. Fu Guzhou only knew that a person had approached him, a female cultivator with a light step.

The black-clad beauty’s exquisite face bloomed into an enchanting smile when Fu Guzhou looked toward her. “Young Master, are you alone?”

As soon as Wenren Qian left, Fu Guzhou remembered his “cold and aloof” persona. Faced with such a question, he only said coldly, “There are two of us.”

This was a clear rejection, yet the beauty in black acted as if she hadn’t heard it, giggling incessantly. “The Young Master is so handsome; this humble one has been watching you for a long time. The Young Master is clearly alone, so why lie to this humble one and say there are two?”

Fu Guzhou’s face remained unchanged, throwing out cold air as if it cost nothing, but in reality, he was panicking.

To be honest, Fu Guzhou had never encountered a cultivator with this kind of approach. Generally, young girls didn’t dare to approach him to talk, and even if they did, they would quickly run away in embarrassment after being rejected. Why didn’t this demon cultivator follow the script?

Fearing she hadn’t understood his meaning, Fu Guzhou silently added another sentence, “I have a Dao companion.”

The black-clad beauty leaned in closer. Seeing Fu Guzhou retreat half a step as if startled, she immediately laughed again. “So what if you have a Dao companion? For a handsome character like the Young Master, this humble one is willing to share with the little sister.”

Pressed by the wild beauty to the point of retreat, Fu Guzhou keenly sensed that familiar aura hidden in the air and hurried to say again, “This fellow Daoist, I truly have a Dao companion. If you continue like this, I won’t be polite.”

“How does the Young Master intend to be impolite?” the black-clad beauty teased. “I already said I am willing to share with the little sister. Isn’t it good for the Young Master to enjoy the blessing of having both?”

Fu Guzhou almost wanted to wink at this sister—you’re willing to share with the “little sister,” but the little sister isn’t willing to share with you! And he isn’t willing either!!!

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