In less than a month of living together, Wu Yu had gotten to know them all very well.
And in this month, the Ancient Ink Camp also got a measure of what kind of person Wu Yu was. After all, Xu Zidong"s gang were all old hands, and they knew people"s nature with one look.
They had gambled in not killing Wu Yu, and he had indeed not leaked the information.
Within the Ancient Ink Residence, he was much safer.
Wu Yu felt that this group of people were not bad either. They were like real siblings, and had come together a long time ago. Their numbers gradually grew, and they fought back to back through everything. Amongst them, Yun Mo had come in the latest, just about a thousand years ago.
Their boss was Xu Zidong, with the Towering Sky Immortal City destinable immortal treasure. He was also the only 7-realm immortal lord.
Second was Qin Chuan, who lived by the sword. He had the Mountains and Rivers Sword, a destinable immortal treasure. He was a 6-realm immortal lord.
Third in command was Qing Yuli, who liked to laugh and love. He was a little like the Full Moon of Nanshan, and was a 6-realm immortal lord. He had the destinable immortal treasure called the Forgetful Smile Scroll.
Forth was Ye Yi, A 6-realm immortal lord wielding the Nine Regional Soul Piercer. He was reticent and broody, but also an interesting character.
Fifth was Jin Kaiwen, a well built and candid guy. He was also a 6-realm immortal lord, and had the Hammer of Heaven destinable immortal treasure.
Sixth was Wu Xiao, who was especially quick to mirth. He liked to fight up close and had a powerful body to match it. He was a 5-realm immortal lord, and his Blue Skies Battle s.h.i.+rt destinable immortal treasure was also respectably strong.
Seventh was Huang-Pu Yijun, an elegant prince with a suave manner about him. He liked to play with his Phantom Immortal Thorn Dagger, and was a 5-realm immortal lord.
Eighth was Yang Wenlan. She was the only girl, and was a 5-realm immortal lord.
Last was, of course, Yun Mo. He was a 4-realm immortal lord, but he was younger, and was considered the most talented of them all. His future was bright, and his elder siblings dubbed him as the Little Genius.
This bunch was an odd a.s.sortment. They were about to face the Great Void Immortal Path, but they still had the heart to laugh and joke. Their relations.h.i.+p was just like Wu Yu, Nanshan, and Xixi’s. It was to be envied.
Wu Yu very quickly joined in. Very soon, they were also calling him dao brother. As they grew more familiar with Wu Yu, they intended to make him their 10th member. After all, their squad was all Great Ancient Ink Realm people.
The only one who still had strong doubts about Wu Yu and watched him like a hawk was Yun Mo, who had blurted out their secret at the start.
"d.a.m.n, this kid"s body is something special. Jin Kaiwen and I are together and can"t take him down!" In the yard, Wu Xiao and the burly Jin Kaiwen were casually beaten down by Wu Yu. This was unthinkable.
"That"s even more incredible than an immortal beast." Jin Kaiwen was in disbelief as well.
"Hey, boy, what secrets are you hiding in that body of yours? Let Big Sister examine you thoroughly." Yang Wenlan came chasing him gleefully.
"That"s right, have a taste of little sister"s skills."
They were already old, but they still lived like kids.
In the night, Xu Zidong said, "Cultivation must have color. I consider myself an interesting person, and so, being with a bunch of interesting people, the entire horizon of dao cultivation becomes interesting...."
"Indeed. I really envy you seniors. However, I had better earn your trust honestly and slowly. Haha...." Wu Yu was still rather realistic. He knew that they could not fully trust him for now. After all, there was too much at stake.
"Actually, I"m a rather good read of people. You have your secrets, but clearly they"re not going to be used against us. I don"t see much darkness in your heart either," Xu Zidong said.
"Thank you." He was indeed grateful that they had not killed him after leaking their secret to him, and had even brought him along.
As time pa.s.sed, it looked like they were settling in to pa.s.s the 20 years here. In another few months, Wu Yu had become very familiar with all of them. Besides the suspicious Yun Mo, everyone else hailed him as dao brother.
After all, Wu Yu quite liked their cultivation approach. Together, they would converse and convene, sounding out ideas and insights. Occasionally, they would also indulge in some entertainment, playing poker or mahjong. It was an eye-opening experience for Wu Yu.
As Wu Yu spent time with them, he came to realize that compared to a dry cultivation of dao, learning to savor life itself was also a dao.
But there was still no news of his Immortal King Token, and this group obviously would not let him leave. This made Wu Yu a little unsatisfied.
Of course, there was still time, and he was not especially anxious.
One day, about a month later, something happened.
On this day, Wu Yu was with them, when suddenly there was shouting outside the Ancient Ink Residence.
"Xu Zidong, we"ve finally found you and your lot. Come out, all of you!"
Their faces changed.
"You blabbed?" Yun Mo immediately bristled with killing intent against Wu Yu.
Xu Zidong"s face hardened. "That"s the voice of the Qing"E Immortal Lord. They"ve come knocking."
Hearing Xu Zidong"s words, everyone"s faces changed as well. But clearly, this had nothing to do with Wu Yu.
"Let"s go!"
Xu Zidong and the group headed out, and Wu Yu naturally followed.
"We took one Immortal King Token from the Green Lotus Sky. The people of the Green Lotus Sky know that we have an Immortal King Token. We had thought to come here to hide, where they would not be able to find us. How could they?" Yang Wenlan was crestfallen, as she confided in Wu Yu.
This indeed had nothing to do with Wu Yu.
They were within the immortal design, and had not gone outside. From where they stood, they could see about a dozen people outside, and they were all immortal lords! Their leader was an old, white-haired man dressed in green and wearing an unfriendly expression. When Wu Yu and the others appeared, they could also see through the immortal design.
"Big Brother, it must be Wu Yu who led them here!" Yun Mo said to Xu Zidong.
"Shut your mouth for a moment." Xu Zidong glared at him.
At this moment, the Qing"E Immortal Lord laughed. "How deep you"ve burrowed! Our master, the Green Lotus Immortal King, spent a fortune on an Omniscient Eye of Heaven so that we could find you! You must have gotten enough Immortal King Tokens; otherwise, you would not be cowering here like chickens."
This showed that they had found this place without any help from Wu Yu. Yun Mo glowered, his plan to discredit Wu Yu a flop.
Wu Yu knew why he hated him. Firstly, he did not trust him. Secondly, he had blurted out their secret and brought inconvenience to the group. Thirdly, because of Wu Yu, he had been admonished by his elder siblings many times, and it had nurtured the anger in his heart. After all, he was the youngest and most doted on. And now they were clearly intent on bringing Wu Yu within their folds.
However, Wu Yu was more preoccupied with the Green Lotus Immortal King!
Wasn"t that the first level of heaven he arrived on when he came to the sky palaces?
To think that he would actually come head to head against the lord of the Green Lotus Sky, the Green Lotus Immortal King himself.
Wu Yu heard Huang-Pu Yijun say softly, alarm written on his face, "We"re in trouble now. To think that the Green Lotus Immortal King would personally come. Seems like he"s going to plunder Immortal King Tokens for his disciples...."
An immortal king himself had come to hunt Immortal King Tokens for his disciples.
The Qing"E Immortal Lord was the first disciple of the Green Lotus Immortal King. He continued, "You took the Immortal King Token of our Green Lotus Sky. What boldness! Our master is furious. As punishment, we give you three days to hand over three Immortal King Tokens. Thrice the price. Let that be a lesson to you. Let me give you a word of advice: don"t force our master to act. Otherwise, all of you will be f.u.c.ked up so bad you might even lose your lives! And don"t think of escaping either. We have the Ancient Ink Residence surrounded!"
They had three days of consideration time to hand over three Immortal King Tokens!
Everyone in the Ancient Ink Camp looked grim.
Jin Kaiwen said, "Everyone, we"ll fight our way out! We earned these Immortal King Tokens with so much difficulty. How can we just give away our blood, sweat, and tears!? We"ll fight our way out. I don"t believe they dare to start a fight. The Green Lotus Immortal King might not have arrived yet. We have a chance, and once we cause a commotion, they"ll be in trouble too!"
Wu Xiao said, "The Green Lotus Immortal King might be nearby. If we fight our way out, we"re still no match for him at all. The Green Lotus Immortal King alone could clean all of us up. And he could do so without making a fuss. We"ve been nailed good and proper. I think we had better bow to this wave. Here, I choose not to go to the Great Void Immortal Path. I will hand over my Immortal King Token."
Xu Zidong said, "Calm down. We have three days" time. Let"s go back and discuss."
They were extremely dispirited. Back in the great hall, they sat in the lotus position, facing each other.
Yun Mo said urgently, "The Immortal King Tokens we have are worth a fortune. How can we let them climb all over our heads? I won"t stand for it! An immortal king is not allowed to join the contest for Immortal King Tokens. The Green Lotus Immortal King is despicable! I will report him!"
Qin Chuan scoffed. "And to whom will you complain to? He is at our door, demanding our Immortal King Tokens for his disciples. What can we do? Stop speaking words of anger."
Qing Yuli rolled his eyes. "Well, we were always afraid of meeting this kind of enemy. Immortal kings have power and authority. He can finish us off all too easily, without making even the slightest ripple. I think it"s quite merciful of them to only demand three Immortal King Tokens."
They were very unhappy, but reality was cruel. Evidently, they had all forgotten about Wu Yu now.
Xu Zidong said, "In three days’ time, if we do not hand over three Immortal King Tokens, the Green Lotus Immortal King can just waltz in. I fear that we will lose all our Immortal King Tokens before we even catch a glimpse of him. He is mindful of his reputation and does not want to come across as too harsh. He only asked for three...."
Otherwise, he would have just s.n.a.t.c.hed all of them. But in that case, the Ancient Ink Camp would definitely not stand for it, and would’ve rushed out preemptively to fight them. The commotion would expose all of them.
"So should we play ball and hand them over?" Jin Kaiwen was still not happy. His eyes were inflamed, as he recalled how much they had sacrificed and how hard they had worked for these Immortal King Tokens over the years.
Everyone hung their heads in despair.
But at this time, Wu Yu suddenly said, "I have a way to protect everyone"s Immortal King Tokens."