"Stop, hand over your valuables, and we might let you live!"
A booming voice alerted the occupants of the immortal ship of the situation outside. Ling Haitang didn't bother and continued cultivating, while Daoyi sighed and stepped out of the ship to see a group of cultivators blocking her way.
The bandit group consisted of over ten core formation and acupoint opening masters standing atop their flying artifacts, led by a soul nourishing grandmaster.
Daoyi didn't bother wasting any words and opened her mouth to release a sound attack but paused upon detecting a third party coming. The incoming cultivator was clad in sword-light and traveled with frightening speed, arriving at the scene in less than five seconds after Daoyi detected him.
"Stop! Foul vagrants, taking advantage of the chaos on Heaven Continent to commit evil acts, as a disciple of the Monolith Sword Sect, I shall not stand by!"
The newcomer's visage was revealed after the sword-light dissipated off of him, revealing his sword-like brows and the standard uniform of the Monolith Sword Sect. Daoyi recognized him as He Yongli, who she had seen at the Demon Slaying Expedition.
She only remembered because Tianyi mentioned that He Yongli wanted to challenge him when both of them were still in the Core Formation Realm.
The core formation bandits paled upon hearing He Yongli announce his identity, but the soul nourishing grandmaster bandit only snorted. "Hmpf, you overestimate yourself. You are a mere core formation master, yet you dare to fight me? Don't think your status as a disciple of a powerful sect will protect you!"
Saying so, the soul nourishing grandmaster attacked He Yongli without care of accidentally harming the immortal boat Daoyi was on. Not that anything he could have done would have caused it to rock in any shape or form.
"A loose cultivator will always be a shortsighted weakling. You are estimating the strength of our sect. Even as a core formation master, I can defeat ten subpar grandmasters like you." He Yongli retorted before striking back.
Daoyi watched with disinterest. Although He Yongli's words were a bit frank, they weren't without reason. Loose cultivators didn't have the same resources as sect disciples, so their foundations weren't as solid, and they didn't have access to powerful techniques either. As Daoyi had expected, although the bandit soul nourishing grandmaster had the upper hand in terms of true qi and raw power, he was eclipsed in all other aspects from battle judgment to the exquisiteness of his techniques.
"You bunch of waste, why aren't you helping? Can't you see that he is a sword cultivator!? Do you think he will let any of you flee!!!" Upon seeing that he had overestimated himself, the soul nourishing grandmaster called out to his little brothers.
The core formation and acupoint masters shared a look before gritting their teeth and charging towards He Yongli. Daoyi opened her mouth, speechless. Did the bandits think she was just a bystander and wouldn't do anything?
Waving her sleeves, invisible strings made from Shuijing's silk shot out and struck the core formation and acupoint opening bandits. Daoyi's attack didn't do anything overtly, and the bandits didn't even know that something was attached to them. That all changed when Daoyi strummed the strings gathered in her hand like some sort of stringed instrument.
Almost instantaneously, anguished cries erupted from the bandits other than the soul nourishing grandmaster. Their screams did not last long as the core formation masters' spiritual core shattered and the acupoint opening masters' internals liquefied, killing them in a short but brutal manner.
When the soul nourishing grandmaster took a look to see what occurred, his face paled as he realized that Daoyi was a nascent soul grandmaster. Even worse, she was undoubtedly more powerful than him since he couldn't kill the same amount of cultivators in such a short amount of time. Without any hesitation, he unleashed a large area of attack, creating a large smokescreen for him to escape.
"Vile cur! Come back and accept your just punishment!" He Yongli roared as sword-light encased his body and materialized a giant sword over a hundred meters long. The sword shot towards the soul nourishing grandmaster and slew him without him having the ability to fight back.
"Many thanks for fellow daoist's aid," He Yongli said as he flew towards the immortal boat with cupped fists. He looked up and then was stunned. "Daoist Jiang?"
Daoyi smiled. "My daoist title is Thrallsong."
"My apologies, Daoist Thrallsong." He Yongli said as he sized Daoyi up. He gave a bitter smile before leaving. If Tianyi shattered his arrogance, then Daoyi shattered his pride.
Daoyi didn't put the encounter in her mind at all and resumed her journey towards the Fu Dynasty. It didn't surprise her that she would meet a disciple of the Monolith Sword Sect here. The Monolith Sword Sect's territory was located near the southern Central Region, so they were focused on quelling the disturbance in the Southern Region.
The Fu Dynasty was located in the Southern Region, a bit farther down than the Xi Dynasty, hence why her mother was able to flee to the Xi Dynasty. However, unlike the Xi Dynasty, the Fu Dynasty was already at war with another force, the Skybrush Sect.
Many loose cultivators tried to fish in muddied waters in these turbulent times, with some succeeding and some failing. It was an action that loose cultivators who struggled to gather resources were very familiar with. Only the number of occurrences was ramped up with the chaos.
The rest of the journey wasn't a quiet affair, but with Daoyi and Ling Haitang appearing, there were no dangerous situations at all. Ling Haitang wasn't like Daoyi and openly revealed her cultivation, scaring the would-be thieves into fleeing. Nascent soul grandmasters were still a rarity in this region, so not many dared to fight them head-on without scruples.
"I'm back," Ling Haitang softly said to herself as she looked down at the capital of the Fu Dynasty, her eyes zeroed in on the Ling Family Estate and the imperial palace.
"Sister Ling, should we land at the front gates?" Daoyi asked.
"No need, directly fly to the Ling Family Estate." Ling Haitang replied, her words covered in a layer of frost.
Daoyi didn't ask why and controlled the ship to fly directly where Lin Haitang pointed towards. Even when they reached the Ling Family Estate, they didn't disembark and instead landed in Ling Haitang's yard when she had lived in the Ling Family Estate.
"Welcome back, Miss."
After Daoyi stored the immortal boat in her spatial ring, a maidservant appeared and greeted the two. Daoyi could discern that the maidservant wasn't a living being but a golem in a single glance.
"I'm afraid I let Sister Jiang watch a joke. In order to maintain my courtyard, I left a puppet here. I can't trust my dear father, after all." Ling Haitang joked with Daoyi.
Daoyi only smiled. 'It isn't to maintain your courtyard but monitor your family, right?'
Ling Haitang ordered the puppet to prepare some tea for Daoyi and herself. After the two sat down at a table inside her room, a middle-aged madame with a face full of wrinkles entered the room with an elated expression on her face. "Hai'er!"
Daoyi saw Ling Haitang finally expose her first genuine smile since they entered the territory of the Fu Dynasty.
"Mother," Ling Haitang said as she stood up and helped her mother sit down.
Daoyi could tell that although the woman was an acupoint opening master, she was probably nearing the end of her lifespan. Logically speaking, Ling Haitang wasn't even two hundred, so Madame Ling shouldn't be nearing the end of her life with six hundred years of lifespan granted to an acupoint opening or core formation master.
But the increase in lifespan scaled with the cultivator's remaining life. So if a foundation establishment disciple with only a hundred years of life left entered the Core Formation Realm, he would only gain three hundred years of life.
Madame Ling obviously was such a case. In addition, Daoyi suspected that Madame Ling's current cultivation was the result of Ling Haitang pouring in resources to forcibly raise her realm. Ling Haitang loathed her father, but it seems it wasn't the case with her mother.
Ling Haitang and Madame Ling entered a warm discussion. Ling Haitang also introduced Daoyi to her mother, causing Madame Ling to be highly deferential. After time passed, Madame Ling mentioned a matter. "Hai'er, there is going to be a banquet tonight."
"Banquet? Don't tell me that Fu Xiuyi already knows that Sister Jiang has arrived and is preparing a banquet." While saying this, a derisive smile appeared on Ling Haitang's face.
"No, no, no. It's another matter," Madame Ling said as she snuck a glance at Daoyi. "It's actually this. A week ago, the Vast Heaven Young Master visited the Fu Dynasty, and His Majesty wanted to welcome the Vast Heaven Young Master. Did you not know?"
Tianyi and Ling Haitang shared a look.
Did Tianyi secretly follow me? Even though he lent me all these treasures, I wouldn't put it past him to play a prank like this. Daoyi thought. However, she still felt that the chances of Tianyi secretly arriving ahead of her to surprise her to be unlikely.
Ling Haitang, on the other hand, was burning with fury. I should have known that scoundrel would appear. Does he think I can't see how his eyes are glued to Sister Jiang? Trash like him and Fu Xiuyi are a perfect pair! She conveniently forgot that Daoyi and Tianyi also shared a Yi character.
"Hai'er" After confirming their attendance, Madame Ling hesitantly spoke out to Ling Haitang, the first time since their meeting.
Ling Haitang's smiling face immediately darkened. "Mother, if you want me to speak to that waste of a man, stop."
"But Hai'er, he's your father. You are his daughter. He only needs some help. You're a disciple of the Buzhou Immortal Sect. This little help should be easy." Madame Ling pleaded, her face paling accordingly to her daughter's darkening expression.
"Father? Is that what that man said?" Ling Haitang's smile did nothing to hide the fury that was shining through. "Did he think I was his daughter when he sent my young sister Lihua onto Fu Xiuyi's bed!?"
"Hai'er, there have been cases of two sisters sharing a man. His Majesty was just too lonely, so he couldn't help but lay his hand on Lihua." Madame Ling said, attempting to resolve the situation. "Besides, once you marry him, he'll forget all about that lowly slut."
Ling Haitang couldn't help it anymore and let out a cold laugh. "Mother, I do not want to hear any more of this. If you speak anymore, consider our mother and daughter relationship severed."
Madame Ling's face paled. It had to be known that she was growing old, and the only reason she was still able to sit on the seat of the Duke's main wife was due to her daughter. "But Hai'er, what man doesn't have three wives and four concubines. As a woman, you have to be virtuous."
"Virtuous?" Ling Haitang's laughter sent chills down Madame Ling's back. "Mother, sometimes I wonder if Lihua was your real blood-related daughter and not me. Otherwise, how could she be so similar to you in personality?"
Madame Ling's face finally had a trace of fury. Wasn't Ling Haitang's words comparing her to a lowly concubine-born? How could she, as the principal wife, be compared to someone of such low birth?
"You don't need to deny it. Father reached the rank of Duke thanks to Lihua climbing onto Fu Xiuyi's bed and my status as a Buzhou Immortal Sect Disciple. Fu Xiuyi became an emperor thanks to Lihua's superior cultivation. Both of them rely on a woman to reach their current status, but yet, both of them still constantly grab concubines and mistresses. Only someone like you and Lihua would tolerate it, espousing that it is the virtue of women. Women don't have to serve men, only strength matters!"
Madame Ling's mouth hung open as if Ling Haitang was advocating some grave crime, or perhaps to her, it was a grave crime. However, Ling Haitang didn't care. "No wonder Lihua didn't enter the Buzhou Immortal Sect, her talent is good, but her brain has problems. Enough, Sister Jiang and I have to prepare for the banquet."
Madame Ling looked towards Daoyi for aid. Surely someone of her status would understand, right?
Daoyi just ignored Madame Ling. In some aspects, Madame Ling reminded her of her master, Xi Mengfei, only if all of her worst aspects were magnified by ten times with none of her charms.
When Madame Ling left, Ling Haitang gave Daoyi a bitter and vulnerable smile. It was as if a glamorous rose was reaching the end of its glory, just one step away from wilting. "I really let Sister Jiang watch a joke."
Daoyi opened her mouth but didn't know what to say. In the end, she reached out her hand and pat Ling Haitang on her shoulder. Not long after, both of them boarded a Ling Family carriage to attend the banquet being held at the palace.
When Ling Haitang stepped into the imperial halls once more, her face was cold and frosty. It was as if she was a sculpture carved out of an eternally frozen glacier.