Xu Taiping bowed to each of the Senior Sisters in turn upon hearing the words, and finally turned to Lin Buyu with a smile:

“Junior Sister Buyu, we meet again.”

“Meet again? It’s been nearly half a month since we last saw each other.”

Lin Buyu corrected Xu Taiping.

Xu Taiping was momentarily at a loss for words, thinking to himself, how could this girl Buyu remember so clearly?

“Senior Sister Ziyan, am I the only male disciple this time?”

Xu Taiping then changed the subject.

Although the Sixth Peak indeed had many female disciples, it was not without male disciples, so he was slightly surprised.

“Wishful thinking!”

Just then, a burly male disciple approached.

Xu Taiping recognized the burly disciple; it was Zhou Ao, the Seventh Disciple of the Sixth Peak who had challenged him that day.

“Junior Brother Zhou is the best in martial talent among the Seventh Peak, capable of lifting a thousand-pound cauldron, skilled in spear and fist techniques. With him here, we’ll have an extra helping hand.”

Knowing there was bad blood between the two, Xu Ziyan hurriedly stepped forward to explain to Xu Taiping.

Being able to lift a thousand-pound cauldron was roughly equivalent to the level of a martial general among warriors, and for cultivators who spared no effort in tempering their bodies, this was quite impressive.

“Greetings, Senior Brother Zhou.”

Xu Taiping nodded and cupped his hands towards Zhou Ao.

He was not one to hold personal grudges; as long as Zhou Ao didn’t provoke him along the way, he didn’t mind an extra hand.

Seeing this, Xu Ziyan breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, several cries of cranes came from the sky, and two Immortal Cranes descended onto the Cloud Ascension Platform.

“Let’s set off, everyone!”

Amidst the strong wind, Xu Ziyan turned her head spiritedly to address everyone.

…

Dongting Blessed Land.

On a black-canopied boat heading towards the entrance of Cloud Dream Marsh.

The small boat, without oars or boatman, was propelled by a cluster of blue qi from the rear, gliding slowly across the water surface, inching towards the entrance of the water stronghold ahead.

“There are three entrances to Cloud Dream Marsh. The one we’re heading to is called General’s Pass, the largest of the three and also the closest to the Dew Garden,”

At the bow, Xu Ziyan, holding a map, began to introduce the place to Xu Taiping and the others.

“By tomorrow at the latest, the barrier of Cloud Dream Marsh will open. Then, we’ll head straight for the Dew Garden. Our primary task is to pluck the Dragon’s Teeth Fruits from the Dragon Sophora tree in the garden—take as many as we can.”

“After plucking the Dragon’s Teeth Fruits, within the time it takes for a stick of incense to burn, you may take any spiritual herbs and fruits in the garden for yourself, or you can choose to sell them to the Sixth Peak.”

“But we only have the time of one stick of incense. Once it’s over, we must, according to the agreement, find a hidden place within the Dew Garden to set up a barrier and conceal ourselves,”

Xu Ziyan promised as she put away the map.

Clearly, the Sixth Peak’s goal this time was to acquire the Dragon’s Teeth Fruits from the Dew Garden.

“Additionally, there is no exit from the Cloud Dream Marsh secret realm. To leave, we must wait until the barrier of Cloud Dream Marsh is restored after seven days, at which point the barrier will automatically transport us out.”

She then added another point.

“Isn’t it said that if you find the array’s key item in the ruins, you can be transported out?” Xu Taiping asked curiously.

From what he understood from ancient texts, there were two ways to exit Cloud Dream Marsh: one was to hide and wait for seven days, and the other was to find the array’s key and be transported out from there.

“Taiping, you might not know this, but although there is indeed a teleportation array within Cloud Dream Marsh, the items needed to activate it are mostly in the hands of the beasts and Corpse Ghost leaders within the ruins. It’s not easy to obtain them,” Senior Sister Lü Su shook her head.

“Why are you telling him all this? If he wants to leave through the teleportation array, let him find it himself,” Zhou Ao said to Xu Taiping with pursed lips.

“Thank you for the reminder, Senior Sister Lü,” Xu Taiping said, ignoring Zhou Ao and cupping his hands in thanks to Senior Sister Lü.

“Also, one more thing, Taiping, you must be aware that once inside the ruins, no one will adhere to the Nine Mansions’ decree. Even if you engage in killing and looting inside, no one will care,” Xu Ziyan solemnly reminded Xu Taiping.

“I…”

“Boom!…”

Just as Xu Taiping was about to respond, a sudden whooshing sound arose.

Everyone on alert, they looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a log thick enough for two people to embrace sweeping across the water towards them.

“Bang!”

Amidst the loud noise, they watched as a cultivator on the boat ahead, unable to dodge in time, was struck by the massive log and sent flying off the boat.

Instantly, the water surface was thrown into chaos.

Some cultivators took to the air, some brandished their weapons, and some even prepared Talisman Scrolls to ward off demons.

As the cultivators on the water were both shocked and angry, a somewhat nonchalant voice came from the water ahead—”Those who fall into the water are not qualified to enter Cloud Dream Marsh. Those who resist with magic are also not qualified. Only those who can withstand three strikes from my spirit pet are allowed to enter Cloud Dream Marsh.”

Upon hearing this, there was an uproar on the water.

“Why? We all have passage tokens; why won’t you let us through?” a cultivator protested angrily.

“The rules of the Nine Mansions are as such. Go back and ask your masters and sect leaders. Besides, this is for your own good. If you can’t even dodge these few strikes, you’ll only have a dead end once you’re in the ruins,” the voice said with an irritating tone.

“Is that what you call a strike?” a cultivator said angrily.

“Isn’t it? It’s just a stick, albeit a bit longer and thicker than ordinary ones,” the voice replied shamelessly.

Xu Taiping felt the voice was familiar and immediately looked in the direction it came from.

He saw at the entrance of the water stronghold ahead, standing on a large black bear.

The bear, with glossy fur, was over three meters long and massive in size.

It stood on a large wooden stake on the water, holding a giant cedar log about thirty meters long and thick enough for two people to embrace.

Clearly, the log that had just swept across the water was held by this large black bear.

“Is it a bear demon?”

At first, Xu Taiping thought he was seeing things, but as he looked up, he immediately recognized a familiar figure on the shoulder of the bear demon—the Carefree Sect of Mount Xianxia, Oriole.