Chapter 174 Misunderstanding

When going together with Hu Li to the Foreign Affairs Courtyard to handle the procedures for leaving the continent, Feng Ke'er's heart had been pounding anxiously. Firstly, she always felt that her identity jade token had been obtained in an unimaginably bizarre way, making her feel guilty at heart. Secondly, for nearly four years, she had been a complete invisible person in the Spirit Realm.

All records concerning her within the Alliance were zero, yet she possessed the cultivation level of a First-Tier True Immortal. In short, anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she was full of contradictions and incongruities. With an alliance as powerful as it was, could they not have doubts?

However, she had to survive and make her way in the Spirit Realm, and the Alliance was an obstacle she could not bypass. Sooner or later, she would have to face this day.

Therefore, gritting her teeth, she took a large step into the Foreign Affairs Courtyard.

Hu Li's heart was also hanging by a thread as he followed closely behind. Although his master never put on airs, they were outside now, and the proper etiquette still had to be strictly observed.

However, matters went much more smoothly than the master and servant had imagined.

Upon reaching the inner courtyard, Hu Li, familiar with the paths, stepped up to lead the way on the front side.

Handling the continent departure procedures fell under the jurisdiction of the Identity Jade Token Management Office. The gates there had been wide open for a long time. Right below the entrance, a woman dressed in crimson was anxiously craning her neck and looking out. Upon seeing the master and servant, she eagerly hurried over from afar, bowing deeply with her hands cupped: "This humble one respectfully welcomes the Exalted Immortal."

Feng Ke'er was stunned. What kind of play was being put on today?

"Who are you?" Hu Li was also completely baffled, reaching out to block the person. However, as soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it immensely. Judging by her attire, the person before him should be a manager-level figure within the Foreign Affairs Courtyard. Alas, this sort of fellow was notoriously difficult to deal with and should not be offended lightly.

Unexpectedly, the crimson-robed woman did not even dare to raise her head, maintaining her deeply bowed posture: "Reporting to the Immortal, this humble one is the manager of this place."

"Has the manager here been replaced?" Hu Li furrowed his brow. If he remembered correctly, the previous manager of this place was a middle-aged female cultivator who looked somewhat like a rice dumpling. Furthermore, the managers of the Alliance usually put on huge airs. Even though their cultivation levels were much lower than his, they would still bully him for being a beast cultivator whose bloodline was allegedly less noble than theirs, addressing him merely as "Fellow Daoist" rather than honoring him as "Exalted Immortal" as was done today.

"Reporting to the Immortal, when you graced us with your presence last time, the previous three managers were blind to seniority and offended you. Therefore, all of them were stripped of their duties. This humble one is the new manager of this place and, having just learned of the Exalted One's personal arrival, has been waiting here to pay respects." Sweat dripped from the crimson-robed woman's forehead, dropping into the sandy ground with a soft pat before instantly vanishing.

Such a thing had actually happened. Hu Li gently stroked the silver lotus imprint between his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth twitching as he turned sideways to look at the "Exalted One."

Feng Ke'er had recovered her wits long ago and had been watching the spectacle from the side all along. Goodness gracious, how could she have forgotten that this was the world of cultivation! In the realm of cultivation, the strong were always revered. Although her cultivation level was nothing much in the entire Spirit Realm, she happened to be in the Southern Spirit Continent, which was a world for newcomers.

In this region, the cultivation level of a True Immortal was synonymous with the strong!

She, the Great Immortal Feng, was the Exalted One of the Southern Spirit Continent!

A mere manager was not qualified to converse with her directly, which was why this manager had completely discarded her past arrogance and accepted Hu Li's blocking gesture without protest.

Feng Ke'er waved her hand and said to Hu Li, "Business comes first."

Hu Li cupped his fists and turned to say, "Well, it's nothing major. My master wishes to travel to other places, so she came by to give a notice."

Upon hearing this, the manager was so frightened that she dropped to her knees with a thud, repeatedly crying out, "Please, Exalted One, spare your wrath."

The freshly minted "Exalted One" was left completely baffled. Which of this woman's eyes had seen her in "wrath"? Out of nowhere, where was her "wrath" supposed to have come from?!

At this moment, Hu Li communicated with her via divine sense: "Master, with your current identity, you can summon Alliance managers at any time and place."

Damn it! Feng Ke'er glared at him: "Why didn't you say so earlier!"

Hu Li chuckled awkwardly: "I only just read it through mind-reading."

"Forget it, tell her to hurry up with the task," Feng Ke'er sighed, massaging her temples. All in all, it was due to the ignorance and excessive caution of both master and servant that such a misunderstanding had arisen.

Imitating the arrogant demeanor of a powerful master's servant to absolute perfection, Hu Li delivered the message from a lofty height: "My master says, forget it, and orders you to get to work quickly."

"Thank you, Exalted One. Thank you, Immortal." The new manager scrambled up trembling with fear. Having received explicit permission, she welcomed them with utmost reverence, leading them directly to sit at the primary seat facing east: "Exalted One, please take the seat of honor."

Feng Ke'er did not decline either; she lifted her robes and sat down cross-legged in a swaggering manner.

Next, the new manager retrieved her identity jade token and Hu Li's, tapped them with a spirit pen, and then respectfully returned them with both hands. From beginning to end, the manager did not raise a single question.

After completing the procedures, the new manager respectfully sent the master and servant off.

After walking a dozen steps, seeing that the woman was still maintaining her deeply bowed posture, Hu Li could not help but marvel, "She didn't even deduct the drafting fee!" Since Feng Ke'er had put on such grand airs, he, as her bound guardian beast, could not act too petty either, so he had found it inappropriate to inspect the token right in front of the others. Only after leaving the building did he cup the identity jade token inside his sleeve and channel spiritual power into it.

As a result, he discovered that his identity had changed from a "Southern Spirit Continent Beast Cultivator" to a "Bound Guardian Beast Cultivator," while his merit points had not decreased by a single bit.

Hearing this, Feng Ke'er also took out her own identity jade token and channeled spiritual power to inspect it. The records inside had changed as well: the three words "Southern Spirit Continent" were gone, replaced by the line "Personal Bound Guardian Beast Hu Li," and her merit points remained zero.

"Even if you lent her the courage, she wouldn't dare," she put away her jade token and laughed heartily. Alright, this Great Immortal's identity had finally been made official and transparent in the Spirit Realm.

At that moment, a call came from behind: "Fellow Daoist Feng, please stay your steps."

Well then, "Great Immortal Feng" had instantly reverted to "Fellow Daoist Feng." Presumably, this person's status was not low. Suspiciously, Feng Ke'er turned around. She saw a beautiful woman clad in flowing purple robes stepping upon auspicious clouds as she descended from the sky.

"Fellow Daoist Feng, looking so hurried, where are you headed?" She walked up, smiling gracefully and asking.

By this time, Feng Ke'er could already tell that the other party also possessed the cultivation level of a First-Tier True Immortal. Moreover, she was one hundred percent certain that she had never met this person before in her life.

Therefore, she also smiled and cupped her fists in greeting: "I am Feng Ke'er. May I ask your esteemed name, Fellow Daoist?"

The purple-robed beauty cupped her fists in return: "You flatter me. I am Gu Yuling, Right Executive Elder of the Southern Spirit Continent Alliance Branch. Just humble old me."

Upon hearing this, Hu Li's eyelids twitched violently. He quickly lowered his gaze, adopting a humble and submissive expression to mask his unusual reaction.

"So it is Elder Gu, I have long heard of your esteemed name." Feng Ke'er broke out in a cold sweat—uh, she really seemed to be a thunderously renowned figure, though please forgive her lack of knowledge for genuinely never having heard of her before. Furthermore, since they had never even met prior to this, what on earth did this person mean by chasing after them specifically?

Unexpectedly, Gu Yuling covered her mouth and giggled like a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl: "Little Sister Feng is truly a fascinating person."

Danger. It felt as if the channel was about to switch to domestic palace intrigue! Feng Ke'er's heart skipped a beat, but she bit the bullet and chuckled, "Where, where, Sister Yuling flatters me too much." Wasn't it just a matter of putting on a show of intimacy? Please, they were both millennium-old spirits, who couldn't pull that off!

Upon hearing this, Gu Yuling affectionately linked arms with her: "I heard that Little Sister is leaving the Southern Spirit Continent?"

It had been several centuries since anyone had linked arms with Feng Ke'er like this, let alone a complete stranger. However, under circumstances where friend and foe were indistinguishable, she could not simply yank her arm back and cause the other party to lose face. In fact, she had to forcibly suppress her internal discomfort and maintain a facade of harmonious joy: "Having lived here for so long, I am naturally reluctant to leave. But I have some matters to attend to, so I am relocating to the Central Spirit Continent."

Gu Yuling let out an "oh," one hand still linked with Feng Ke'er while she gestured with her other hand in an invitation: "Since we happened to run into each other, I will accompany Little Sister to the ferry and see you off."

It seemed she had very tactfully abandoned the pretense of a "chance encounter." Feng Ke'er greatly appreciated her astuteness and good judgment: "Thank you very much."

Next, this inexplicable Gu Yuling genuinely escorted the master and servant all the way to the guiding light sphere. Even after the light sphere had flown far away from the ferry, Feng Ke'er could still see her purple figure standing steadfastly on the docks.

"Can you figure out what she's trying to do?" Feng Ke'er asked via divine sense. That woman had cast a barrier upon herself beforehand, so apart from her cultivation level, Feng Ke'er could perceive nothing else and had to rely on Hu Li's mind-reading ability.

Hu Li sighed: "Her sea of consciousness has seal restrictions placed upon it; my mind-reading is useless." This time, Feng Ke'er had advanced two tiers in succession, and due to the contract talisman, he had also benefited immensely—he had discovered that during this period, regardless of the other party's cultivation level, he had never encountered a sea of consciousness he could not read. The sole exception was Gu Yuling.

Alarm bells instantly rang loudly in Feng Ke'er's heart: "It seems she knows about your abilities and was prepared for it in advance. By the way, do you know what her background is?"

Hu Li replied: "She is originally a collateral descendant of the Hu family of the Eastern Spirit Continent and has long been responsible for the Hu family's affairs here in the Southern Spirit Continent. After advancing to a True Immortal, she was appointed as the Right Executive Elder by the Southern Spirit Continent Alliance branch. She has a bold and forthright personality and enjoys a great reputation in the Southern Spirit Continent." Seeing Feng Ke'er's expression of awkwardness, he made a fist to cover the smile at the corners of his mouth and lightly cleared his throat: "However, Master rarely walks about outside, so it is only natural that you are unaware of her renown. Besides, Master's responses just now were also entirely appropriate."

Alas, she could no longer afford to remain this ignorant. Feng Ke'er turned her head to look toward the direction of the Central Spirit Continent and changed the subject: "When we arrive at the Central Spirit Continent, let us not rush to settle our residency. It will not be too late to settle down after we have clearly inquired about all the rules and customs." This was what they called sharpening the axe before chopping wood.

Hu Li thought the same way.

In the Spirit Realm, the influence of noble clans and the Alliance was immense. Cultivators almost universally, whether openly or covertly, attached themselves to various great clans. Ah, rogue cultivators truly had a difficult time getting by.

However, ever since he ascended, no noble clan had come to approach him. He had carefully analyzed the reasons for this: firstly, his surname was Hu; secondly, he had publicly announced that his master was in seclusion. Therefore, others mistakenly assumed that his master was a descendant of the Hu family and did not dare to provoke them rashly. Meanwhile, since he was merely a beast cultivator, he was unworthy of the Hu family's notice, which was why the Hu family had not sought him out either.

All those with vested interests had simply been waiting for his master to emerge from seclusion.

And look, the moment his master showed herself, Gu Yuling had impatiently sought her out.

Fortunately, the Hu family was extremely arrogant, boasting that the surname "Hu" was noble. Aside from direct descendants who bore the surname Hu from birth, the numerous collateral descendants were not permitted to use the surname Hu unless recognized by the family.

With the Hu family's vast branches and numerous leaves, collateral descendants were as numerous as the hairs on an ox. Who could keep track of everyone? Thus, Gu Yuling was thoroughly confused as well.

However, as a collateral descendant of a cultivation family, how could she not understand the explicit rules and hidden conventions of the Spirit Realm? If she and her master exposed any more flaws regarding these matters in the Central Spirit Continent, it would be difficult to fool the discerning eyes of the crowd much longer.

"Earlier, it was all my oversight," Hu Li said earnestly via divine sense. "Now that Master's cultivation has risen, there is no telling how many pairs of eyes are watching us in the dark. Fortunately, I now have some people under my command. They operate in the shadows, so things are still somewhat convenient. I shall issue orders right away to make thorough inquiries from multiple angles."

Feng Ke'er smiled faintly and agreed. Back in the lower realm, he had been an intelligence spymaster cultivated directly by Goddess Nüwa. Naturally, she felt at ease with him handling matters.

+++++++Divider++++++

I was wondering why the recommendation tickets suddenly increased over the last couple of days. So that was why. Heh, this pit is as thoroughly dead as a pit can get, but this author is terribly afraid of breaking promises. Therefore, this afternoon at six o'clock, there will be another update.

Also, thank you all for your support. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

Tongtian Baodian 174_Tongtian Baodian Free Full Text Reading_Chapter 174: Misunderstanding update complete!