Being able to see Jiang Li, the Pure-hearted Saint would naturally not stay in the academy pretending to be an eighteen-year-old girl.
After leaving the academy, she followed behind Jiang Li. Seeing that he was always in low spirits, she comforted him, "It's just a matter of losing to my condition, I won't let you do anything bad."
Jiang Li sighed in frustration, "I only sighed for my own arrogance, which caused me to miss an opportunity to find the Immortal Realm."
"Find the Immortal Realm? Did you find any new clues?" The Pure-hearted Saint blinked her eyes, looking very pretty.
She couldn't help but think of all the unusual things Jiang Li had done in his pursuit of the Immortal Realm, such as hearing that collecting four Dragon Balls could open the way to the Immortal Realm, so he borrowed the Dragon Balls from the Sea Dragon King, only to find that they didn't lead to the Immortal Realm.
Then, he let Heaven's Punishment strike him without resisting, thinking that it could turn him into an immortal. However, even after Heaven's Punishment struck, he was unscathed.
Finally, hearing that sacrificing people in a continent could be virtuous and lead to ascension, he found the person spreading the rumor and executed them on the spot.
She didn't know what rumors of immortality he had heard this time.
"Hey, hey, is Jiang Li here?" The Teleportation Symbol that wasn't under Jiang Li's control rang out. Without guessing, she knew it was the Sect Master of the Dao Sect looking for Jiang Li.
"He's not here, go away." Jiang Li said irritably.
The Sect Master of the Dao Sect's virtual image appeared. He looked no different from a teenager and glanced at Jiang Li, "I'm looking for Emperor Jiang. What business does a Dao Sect disciple have in this?"
"Respect me if you still want me to attend your Dao Sect's Immortal Artifact Appreciation Festival."
The Sect Master immediately put on a flattering face, "Jiang, look at what you're saying. I came to inform you that the Yin Yang Heaven Seal will finalize in about twenty days, and the Immortal Artifact Appreciation Festival will start in fifteen days. You'll represent the Imperial Palace, and the Pure-hearted Saint will represent the Red Dust Pure Land. How about that?"
Jiang Li didn't answer. Suddenly, he appeared behind the Sect Master's virtual image and found that he was indeed holding up a middle finger behind his back.
"I knew you were badmouthing me behind my back!" Jiang Li spat and turned off the Teleportation Symbol.
Seeing the connection cut, the Sect Master of the Dao Sect was not worried. The Yin Yang Heaven Seal's finalization was a rare event in thousands of years. He had no doubt that Jiang Li would come.
Sure enough, Jiang Li turned to the Pure-hearted Saint and asked, "There's still more than ten days. How do we go to the Dao Sect?"
The Pure-Hearted Holy Maiden naturally wouldn't foolishly say "I'll fly over," not to mention Jiang Li’s full-powered flight. Even if it were herself, she could reach the Daoist Sect in just half a day.
She smiled lightly, "Let's go by flying boat. It's been a long time since I last rode a flying boat."
Jiang Li nodded, "Okay, I'll fly over first."
"..."
"I, a weak woman, am traveling alone by flying boat. Aren't you worried I might encounter danger?"
Jiang Li thought for a long time and couldn't figure out the connection between a late-stage Harmony Realm master, revered as a national teacher even in the imperial dynasty, and a weak woman. As for encountering danger, perhaps only the extraterritorial celestial demons could threaten her.
It seemed she was worried about encountering an attack by extraterritorial celestial demons. Jiang Li was very pleased with the caution of the Pure-Hearted Holy Maiden. If she had been so cautious with Upper Hezhen and Lower Hezhen in the first place, things might have turned out differently.
She has grown up.
Although the Pure-Hearted Holy Maiden's concerns were negligible, Jiang Li was reluctant to extinguish the carefulness she had finally acquired. Thus, he agreed to take the flying boat with her.
...
Only cultivators who have reached the Nascent Soul stage have the ability to fly, and only then can they qualify to be able to roam the Nine Provinces. Otherwise, sitting on a flying boat all the time, what kind of roaming is that?
The flying boat is a kind of low-grade magical weapon, easy to refine, easy to control, but the only drawback is its high demand for spiritual power. If it were a Nascent Soul cultivator, they could naturally provide spiritual energy continuously, but a Nascent Soul cultivator would disdain doing such a thing, so they can only use spirit stones to provide spiritual energy.
Flying boats require a large amount of spirit stones, so the ticket price is naturally not low. The cultivators who can afford to take a flying boat are at least Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.
After rummaging through their storage pouch, Jiang Li and the Pure-Hearted Holy Maiden finally found a few middle-grade spirit stones to use as boat tickets.
Usually, lower-grade spirit stones would be used to purchase boat tickets. However, their everyday consumption consisted of upper-grade spirit stones. Their storage pouch was filled with upper-grade and top-grade spirit stones, and only had a few middle and lower-grade spirit stones.
Jiang Li didn't want to show off his wealth, but there was no choice. He was almost out of upper-grade spirit stones.
Sure enough, as soon as the two of them boarded the ship, they were eyed by several unsavory-looking men, especially when they saw the extremely beautiful Pure-Hearted Holy Maiden, some evil intentions arose in their hearts.
They communicated with their eyes.
Shall we do it?
Let's do it!
A young monk with red lips and white teeth stood up and bowed to the men. He looked about fourteen or fifteen years old and held prayer beads. His brightly embroidered robe with gemstones made it difficult for the men to keep their eyes open.
"The little monk thinks that being obsessed with the appearance of skin and flesh is a mistake. Beauty is just like rouge powder, fleeting indeed. The more obsessed, the more one sinks, and falls into delusion. Gentlemen, please let go of your obsession."
The young monk's words seemed to have a strange charm that made people involuntarily believe. The fierce-looking men became distracted, and their facial expressions softened.
Another passenger saw the young monk using such an unusual method, and walked up to the men, shouting loudly. It was like the sound of a bell echoing in their ears. It woke up the men who were still under the monk's spell.
The men quickly came to their senses and thanked the passenger.
The passenger was dressed in a white Confucian robe, holding a paper fan with the word 'Ink' on it, and had a handsome face. He was the typical appearance of a Confucian scholar.
"Thank you, disciple of Confucianism."
In the Nine Provinces, there is only one type of person who dresses as a Confucian scholar, and that is a disciple of the Confucian school, one of the six major sects.
The disciple of Confucianism smiled slightly and said, "Master Meng once said that human nature is inherently good, like water flows down. There's no one who's not good, just like there’s no water that doesn't flow down. Although you all may have fierce looks, resorting to robbery is only due to life’s pressures. I believe you are all kindhearted individuals who consider yourselves to be good people."
The disciple of Confucianism's words were like a hypnotic spell that made them feel drowsy and involuntarily mumble "At the outset, people's nature is inherently good."
An on-board traveler accidentally coughed, and the men came to their senses again, anger welling up within them.
Are these two really trying to get us to have a change of heart? One monk urging us to let go of obsession, one scholar urging us to recall our kindness. Do they think we, as Golden Core cultivators, are pushovers?
The angry men took out their weapons, exuding killing intent. They put seizing Jiang Li and the Pure-Hearted Holy Maiden aside for the time being, and prioritized dealing with the young monk and the scholar.
The young monk and the Confucian scholar sighed in unison, "Why did they force us to act?" Instantly, their Yuanying momentum was released, and the strong men immediately begged for forgiveness.