The Cannon Fodder Turns His Sister Into A Soaring Phoenix – Chapter 428

Chapter 427: Junior Sister, the Stork of Sending Children

The sky was clear with a bright moon.

Dozens of large flying ships were parked in an open space in the deserted desert. Lanterns illuminated their sides, visible even from tens of miles away.

On the deck of the leading flying ship, dozens of Sword Sect disciples stood in neat formation. Seeing nearly a thousand cultivators flying towards them on their swords, their heartstrings were pulled taut. They immediately ordered people to man the heavy crossbows at both ends of the flying ship, aiming at the approaching cultivators.

“Enemy attack, enemy attack!! Quickly form ranks to meet the enemy!!”

Wuwuwu—!

The sounding of the horn echoed for tens of miles.

Fortunately, Yun Xi had been mentally prepared long ago. Sitting in her wheelchair, she gathered spiritual energy to her throat and roared:

— “Attack your grandma! It’s your auntie me!!”

Upon hearing this, the Sword Sect disciples on the flying ship breathed a sigh of relief and quickly withdrew their men.

Although it was just a small misunderstanding, Ye Ao, who was following Pei Lianxue, could tell from this small detail that those stationed here to rest had reached their limit, both mentally and physically.

Desertion would inevitably lead to chaos, especially with pursuers at their heels.

“Girl Pei, aren’t there any Nascent Soul cultivators accompanying you? With just you and these dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Sword Sect, can you control these tens of thousands of people?”

Pei Lianxue nodded. While recalling Ye Anping’s words before their departure, she replied:

“Yes, Senior Brother said that as long as no one dies, they will not collapse. If we encounter Demonic cultivators, Senior Sister and the Sword Sect disciples will handle them. We must not let the Qi Refining stage disciples from the Xing Tian Division and the rogue cultivators from Donghuang engage the Demonic cultivators.”

“Ah? So… you traveled thousands of miles from Donghuang to here without a single death?”

“Yes!” Pei Lianxue nodded. “Senior Brother had the Xing Tian Division make many preparations beforehand. For every thirty people, a senior disciple from the Xing Tian Division was assigned to specifically soothe their emotions. He said that as long as there is hope, they will not be restless. Moreover, Senior Brother also said that he would use some means along the way to help us maintain morale.”

Beside them, Liang Zhu, upon hearing this, inexplicably sighed with a tone of deep emotion. However, having witnessed Ye Anping’s schemes before, he seemed somewhat accustomed to it, and was only slightly impressed.

Ye Ao, on the other hand, was somewhat dumbfounded. He had expected his son to be capable, but he hadn’t anticipated him thinking so far ahead.

Ye Ao paused for a moment and asked:

“…So Ping’er asked me and Brother Liang to bring the Hundred Lotus Sect to provide support, as a means for him to boost morale?”

“Yes, and other things too…”

“We’ll talk about the rest later.” Ye Ao nodded, glancing at Liang Zhu beside him. “Brother Liang, you first arrange for the Hundred Lotus Sect disciples to take over from the Sword Sect disciples, allowing them to rest. We’ll discuss the rest of it later…”

“Understood.”

Liang Zhu nodded in response and immediately flew on his sword towards the Hundred Lotus Sect disciples behind them, arranging patrol and reconnaissance tasks.

Ye Ao and a few others landed on the deck of the leading flying ship. Zhang Yihe pushed Yun Xi to relay some miscellaneous matters to the Sword Sect disciples, and then led Ye Ao and the others into the ship’s cabin.

The group took their seats around a relatively large round table in the cabin. Yun Xi then instructed Zhang Yihe to pour Ye Ao and Liang Zhu a cup of fine tea. After that, she took a deep breath and put on the demeanor of the Third Young Lady of the Sword Sect:

“Thank you, Sect Master Ye, for bringing the Hundred Lotus Sect disciples to assist. It is our first meeting. I am Yun Xi, the Third Young Lady of the Moon Shadow Sword Sect.”

Ye Ao carefully observed Yun Xi. Although the wheelchair and the bandages around her neck were a bit jarring, her golden hair and her appearance were quite beautiful. He then smiled with relief and replied politely:

“Third Young Lady Yun, there’s no need for such formality. This old man came because my son asked me to. If you want to thank anyone, thank my boy.”

This was also the first time Yun Xi and Ye Ao had met, so the polite greetings could not be skipped.

However, despite it being just pleasantries, Yun Xi vaguely felt that Ye Ao and Ye Anping had nothing in common.

Ye Ao gave her the impression of a kind person. She had previously thought Ye Anping to be somewhat devious, and thus assumed Ye Ao would be a strict father who was difficult to approach.

However, in the very next moment, Ye Ao uttered a sentence that struck everyone present like lightning:

“Besides, didn’t Third Young Lady Yun send a betrothal letter before, asking to arrange a marriage between my son and someone from your family? This can be considered me, an old father-in-law, coming to rescue my son’s wife, haha…”

“Ah?”

Yun Xi’s face instantly froze, and her eyes slowly widened, thinking she had misheard.

What was that?!

But at the next moment, she suddenly felt the icy killing intent emanating from Pei Lianxue beside her. She immediately took a deep breath and stood up from her wheelchair:

“Sect Master Ye? Please don’t speak carelessly, I did not…”

Ye Ao was also stunned, not knowing what was going on:

“Hmm? Did you not?”

Pei Lianxue narrowed her eyes beside him: “Sister Yun…”

Liang Zhu, sitting to the side, looked at the scene, as if seeing his Sixth Brother caught in a Shura field due to “Tianchong.” He couldn’t help but feel delighted. He picked up his tea, using it to hide his smile.

It was Zhang Yihe who reacted first and quickly interjected:

“Sect Master Ye must have misremembered. The one who sent the betrothal letter to Young Master Ye was the Eldest Miss of the Sword Sect, not the Third Young Lady.”

“Oh~” Ye Ao was surprised for a moment and waved his hand. “Ah, look at my memory, I’m so sorry, so sorry. My wife has been a bit restless lately…”

Zhang Yihe, on behalf of Yun Xi, indicated that it was alright and waved his hand. He casually added:

“Besides, even if the Third Young Lady was interested, Young Master Ye wouldn’t dare to agree! How thick-skinned must one be to dare marry the Third Young Lady as their cultivation partner?!”

Pei Lianxue blinked and thought it made sense. Yun Xi was safe, so she nodded in agreement:

“Mm… that’s true.”

“???”

Yun Xi’s lips parted slightly, and she was unable to utter a word for a long time. She slowly sat back into her wheelchair, with a blank expression as if she had resigned herself to fate…

Liang Zhu was somewhat disappointed that there was no catfight among the girls, so he simply steered the conversation back. He took out a map from his storage bag and spread it on the table:

“As instructed by Young Master Ye previously, after I, Sect Master Ye, and the Hundred Lotus Sect disciples meet with Third Young Lady Yun, we will take over from Third Young Lady Yun and Miss Pei to escort the tens of thousands of people to Jianmen Pass. We will travel along this route, pass through the Sword Sect, and then cross the northwestern border of the Southern Domain to return to the Western Regions. Does Third Young Lady Yun have any objections?”

Yun Xi nodded: “Uh… no problem. Young Master Ye mentioned it before, the Hundred Lotus Sect will meet us along the way.”

“Then it is decided. Third Young Lady Yun and Miss Pei should go and rest first. I will handle the rest with Sect Master Ye…”

“Okay.”

The others had no objections and nodded in agreement.

And at this moment…

ROAR—!!!

A distant dragon roar shattered the calm atmosphere of everyone present. The five people inside the room, except for Yun Xi, all hurried to a window, pushed it open, and looked up at the sky.

About a hundred li away in the starry night sky, a mass of dark rain clouds was rapidly drifting towards them, as if urinating as it flew, moistening all the yellow sand along its path, and striking the roof of their flying ship with a “patter” sound.

Liang Zhu and Ye Ao’s faces immediately became solemn, worried that the dark cloud would stop directly above them. Fortunately, the dark cloud seemed to be just passing by. After pissing on their heads, it flew directly overhead and headed northwest.

Ye Ao furrowed his brow, recalling something he had read before:

“I’ve heard that in ancient times, Yinglong controlled the wind and rain. That dragon roar and this dark cloud…”

Before he could finish, everyone was astonished to find that vines and tender shoots were growing on the wooden walls of the flying ship’s pavilion.

They immediately understood that the rain just now was indeed the sweet dew from Yinglong. However, they were all amazed that this sweet dew, imbued with the spiritual energy of spring, had directly revitalized the spiritual wood on the flying ship.

Liang Zhu twisted his eyebrows and walked back to the table. He glanced at the map and traced his finger back along the trajectory of the dark cloud, finally landing on the words “Seven Dragon Valley.” He squinted and said:

“I once saw in some ancient books in the Imperial Sect’s secret library that there is an Yinglong underground in Seven Dragon Valley, and Seven Dragon Valley is on Sixth Brother’s route. I don’t think this is a coincidence.”

“Brother Liang, are you saying this dragon has something to do with Ping’er?”

Because he couldn’t understand the causal relationship between Ye Anping and the dragon, Liang Zhu was unsure, but he felt in his heart that it was highly likely caused by his Sixth Brother.

“At least, it’s impossible for it to be completely unrelated to him.”

“…”

Ye Ao felt as though he was lagging behind an update. Every time he came out with Liang Zhu, his son’s actions repeatedly shocked his ordinary little cultivator’s heart.

What on earth did he do in his past life to have such a son…

Pei Lianxue, listening to their conversation, also felt inexplicably happy:

“Senior Brother is so amazing, hee hee…”

Bang bang—

However, it was at this moment that two rather heavy knocks on the door attracted the attention of everyone in the room again.

Yun Xi came back to her senses and quickly called out:

“Come in!”

A Foundation Establishment stage disciple wearing the Sword Sect’s uniform entered the room, cupping his hands. He held a jade slip and said:

“Eldest Miss has sent good news, saying they have already killed Gui Qinghe, the Young Master of the Ghost Spirit Sect who was pursuing them, along with fifty Core Formation stage cultivators he brought with him. Among the more than three thousand Sword Sect disciples and Xing Tian Division disciples, there were only minor injuries, and no one was lost! She asked Third Young Lady to inform everyone of this news to boost morale.”

One piece of good news after another arrived. Yun Xi couldn’t control her emotions for a moment. Ignoring her fractured right foot, she stood up from her wheelchair and asked with surprise:

“Really?!”

The Sword Sect disciple who entered nodded and replied:

“It is absolutely true.”

“Then, as Eldest Sister instructed, spread the word.”

“Yes!”

The Sword Sect disciple cupped his hands in acknowledgment but seemed to have not finished speaking and did not turn to leave. Instead, a hint of worry appeared on his face, and after a moment of silence, he said:

“There is another matter…”

Seeing his expression of bearing bad news, Yun Xi paused, then sat down, nodding her head:

“Speak.”

“Second Young Lady has not sent any jade slips for six days, and neither the carrier pigeons nor the spirit beasts we sent have returned.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yihe couldn’t help but knit his brows. He glanced at the map on the table and asked:

“Were the jade slips intercepted by Demonic cultivators? Or have Second Young Lady and the others already…”

Yun Xi reacted quickly. She stood up and threw a straight uppercut, shutting Zhang Yihe’s mouth. She glared and roared:

“Damn it, Zhang Yihe!! If you don’t speak, no one will think you’re dead!!!”

“…”

After roaring at Zhang Yihe, Yun Xi turned to the Sword Sect disciple who had come to report and questioned him:

“You’ve lost contact for six days, why are you reporting it now?!”

The Sword Sect disciple found it difficult to speak and lowered his head:

“Uh… because…”

Seeing him like this, Yun Xi immediately limped and charged forward, clenching her fist:

“You bastard!!”

Liang Zhu glanced at the Sword Sect disciple and stepped forward to stop Yun Xi, advising:

“If Third Young Lady Yun wants to punish this person, we can discuss it later.”

Since Ye Anping’s plan did not mention how to handle this situation, he pondered for a moment and then looked at Pei Lianxue, asking:

“Miss Pei, did Young Master Ye’s brocade pouch mention what to do in such a situation?”

“…No.”

“So…”

Liang Zhu looked at the map, at the winding route where Second Young Lady was written. After some thought, he realized that the Sword Sect’s Second Young Lady and Feng Yu Die were leading a group of Core Formation stage cultivators from the Xing Tian Division.

And among the Hundred Lotus Sect disciples that he and Ye Ao brought, there were only a few Core Formation stage cultivators.

So, if Second Young Lady Yun’s side encountered a problem, even if they rushed over now, it was unlikely they could change anything.

After a moment of silence, he said:

“Given Sixth Brother’s temperament, he must have prepared corresponding compensatory measures. Since he didn’t tell you anything, we will proceed with the original plan and lead the group to Jianmen Pass first…”

However, he was interrupted by Pei Lianxue in a very small voice:

“I’ll go and see…”

“Hmm?”

“Second… Feng Yu Die should also have Senior Brother’s brocade pouch. She obeys my every word, so naturally she obeys Senior Brother. If something like this has happened, it means that Feng Yu Die’s side has encountered something Senior Brother didn’t anticipate, or they made a mistake…”

Liang Zhu looked at Pei Lianxue’s extremely serious expression at that moment and retorted:

“But even if you, Miss Pei, go with the Hundred Lotus Sect disciples, it’s unlikely to resolve the situation…”

“I’ll go alone. Even if I encounter danger, I can escape.” Pei Lianxue interrupted again. “When we were in the Northern Region before, Prefect Li said that if something happened that Senior Brother didn’t anticipate, we should be the ones to help him rectify it. That’s what it means to be cultivation partners. Senior Brother used to take care of us all by himself…”

Suddenly, Ye Ao, who had been silent the whole time, spoke up:

“Alright! Hehe… Brother Liang, Ping’er didn’t originally ask me to follow you. You lead these Qi Refining stage cultivators to Jianmen Pass according to the original plan. I’ll accompany Miss Pei to take a look over there. Feng Yu Die is over there, right? She’s also my son’s cultivation partner…”

Slap—

Pei Lianxue suddenly slammed the table:

“She is not!”

“Ah? She’s not?”

Pei Lianxue nodded sternly:

“No!”

“Uh…” Ye Ao blinked and looked at Pei Lianxue with her puffed-up cheeks and fierce expression. He then awkwardly chuckled and waved his hand. “Alright, alright, if she’s not, she’s not. Miss Pei, I’ll accompany you.”

Seeing that even Ye Ao had spoken, Liang Zhu didn’t say much more. He cupped his hands and said:

“Then please be careful. Young Master Ye previously said that he seemed to have invited the Demon Emperor to assist, but the Demon Emperor is not on the side of immortal cultivators. If Sect Master Ye encounters him, please exercise caution.”

“Ah? Who?!”

“The Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, Hu Mu.”

“Hiss— How did the Demon Emperor get involved with Ping’er… No, could it be that she has a daughter, and Ping’er has charmed her?”

“I don’t know about that, but Sixth Brother mentioned in the plan Elder Tong gave me that the Demon Emperor will take action.”

“Fine.”

Ye Ao nodded, then walked to Pei Lianxue’s side and patted her shoulder.

“Miss Pei, shall we go on my crane? You haven’t ridden a celestial crane before, have you? Legend has it that the red-crowned crane is a auspicious beast that delivers children. Perhaps if you ride my crane, I can hold my grandson or granddaughter soon.”

Pei Lianxue pouted blankly and whispered:

“Sect Master Ye, Senior Brother said before that only children believe that red-crowned cranes deliver children. Red-crowned cranes don’t deliver children, they only poop…”

Ye Ao was stunned and reached out to hit the back of her head.

“Ouch…”

“Hiss— You wooden girl! Am I not trying to hint at something? I’m urging you!”

“Oh…”

After all, if they had a granddaughter or grandson, Madam Kong Yulan would likely stop thinking about having more younger siblings for Ye Anping, right?

— Ye Ao thought to himself. Looking at Pei Lianxue’s dazed and uncooperative appearance, he sighed softly, walked out of the room with his hands behind his back, and shook his head in lament:

“Alas… an old steed in the stable still harbors ambitions~”

…