Transmigration: A person in a martial arts world, cultivating to ascend to immortality

On the official road, a huge caravan of dozens of people and ten carriages slowly approached from a distance.

At the head of the caravan, riding horses, were three people: two men and one woman.

All three were dressed in dark blue, close-fitting outfits. The two men appeared to be older, around thirty years old. The woman was the youngest, only in her early twenties.

"Brother, I just don't understand why you insist on bringing that pretty boy surnamed Jiang along on the journey?" Gu Rong said, turning back to give a cold glance to the two figures, one tall and one short, sitting comfortably on the carriage. "Look at how carefree these two are; they might cause some trouble for our caravan in the future!"

"Second Brother Rong, how could you say such a thing about Mr. Jiang!"

Gu Lan glared at Gu Rong. "Mr. Jiang is elegant in speech and kind in character. He won't cause any trouble! Besides, we are going the same way as Mr. Jiang, and Brother Yi had a very pleasant conversation with him. What's wrong with having him travel with us?"

"Lanmei, you—"

When Gu Rong heard Gu Lan glare at him fiercely for the sake of another man, he felt a pang of sympathy and revealed a sorrowful expression.

"Humph!"

Gu Lan gave a soft snort, quickly turned her head away, and stopped looking at Gu Rong. She shifted her gaze to the elegant figure in turquoise sitting on the carriage behind her. It was as if a pebble had been thrown into her heart, slowly rippling outwards.

The eldest brother, Gu Yi, then spoke up, "Alright, you two, stop arguing. There hasn't been a moment of peace on this journey." As he spoke, he looked at Gu Rong, "You and Mr. Jiang are complete strangers, and you've never had any grudges against each other, so why is he so hostile?"

Before Gu Rong could answer, Gu Lan raised her chin and interrupted, "Because of jealousy, huh? Some people just can't stand anyone being better than them!"

"Jealous of him?" Gu Rong laughed angrily. "What a joke! Me, the second-in-command of the Gu Clan Chamber of Commerce, jealous of a lazy, good-for-nothing wanderer? Impossible!"

"The second-in-command of the Chamber of Commerce?" Gu Lan teased, "When I get back to Jinwu City, I'll ask Young Master Xichao when he gave the Chamber of Commerce to you!"

"Lanmei, you—you—"

Gu Rong was trembling with anger, but whenever he saw Gu Lan's cute and playful face, all the accusatory words that were about to come out of his mouth melted away, and he couldn't utter them no matter what.

"enough!"

Gu Yi said sternly in a low voice, "Look at the two of you, what kind of behavior are you now? Don't forget who you are!"

Seeing that Gu Yi had gotten angry, Gu Rong and Gu Lan immediately stopped arguing and turned their heads away, not wanting the other to appear in their sight.

Jiang Yuchuan, the culprit who started the argument between the two, couldn't help but smile after hearing the conversation.

"Why are you laughing for no reason, sir?"

Qi Changqing chewed on the osmanthus cake in his hand while tilting his head to look at Jiang Yuchuan.

"It's nothing," Jiang Yuchuan shook his head slightly. "I just remembered something interesting."

"Ok."

Qi Changqing didn't ask any more questions and continued to eat the pastry in his hand.

More than half a month had passed since the two of them left Sheng'an City.

After more than half a month of cultivation, Jiang Yuchuan successfully broke through to the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment.

As for how he met Gu Yi and his two siblings, it all started a few days ago when they shared a table at a restaurant in a town.

Gu Yi was a talkative and sociable person, so he quickly took the initiative to chat with Jiang Yuchuan.

This conversation immediately captivated him with Jiang Yuchuan's profound knowledge and extraordinary insight, and he regarded him as a close friend.

Upon learning that Jiang Yuchuan was heading to the same destination as him, he invited Jiang Yuchuan and his companion to travel with his caravan without hesitation.

Jiang Yuchuan's current plan is to go to Baiyun Temple on Ziyun Mountain to catch up with Xuanxi.

Jinwu City happened to be on the only way to Ziyun Mountain, so he accepted Gu Yi's warm invitation and boarded his caravan to travel together.

The sun shone brightly, and the sky was clear and blue.

Gu Yi's caravan set off at dawn and has been traveling non-stop for more than three hours.

Although the caravan was still traveling on the wide and flat official road, there were no houses or people to be seen on either side; instead, there were rows of tall and lush trees.

Just as Gu Yi was about to turn around and call out to the caravan to stop and rest, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded from the woods on both sides.

"Something's wrong!"

Gu Yi and his two companions immediately became alert.

"Everyone, prepare for battle!"

Upon hearing Gu Yi's order, the people around the carriage immediately drew their swords and knives, their eyes fixed on both sides.

Seeing this, Qi Changqing also picked up the sword that was placed aside.

This sword was the very one that Lu Jingchen had given him as a birthday gift when he was at the Lu residence.

He hasn't used it even once so far.

The moment Qi Changqing picked up his sword, nearly a hundred figures darted out from the woods on both sides, and in no time, they surrounded the caravan from head to toe.

"Bandits?"

Gu Rong immediately recognized the identities and origins of these people.

“These aren’t ordinary bandits!” Gu Yi said gravely. “There are quite a few skilled fighters among them!”

Gu Yi was the strongest of the three, having broken through to the early stage of first-class several years ago. Therefore, he only needed to glance at them briefly to get a general idea of ​​their strength.

Of the nearly one hundred people who suddenly appeared, a full third of them had reached the second-rate level of strength.

Such a large number of second-rate martial artists is definitely not something that these bandit forces, who only know how to burn, kill, and plunder, could produce!

What's more, the leader of this group hasn't shown up yet!

To command so many second-rate martial artists, one would need considerable strength to command respect. Therefore, the leader of this group is highly likely to be a first-rate fighter!

This is what Gu Yi is most worried about.

This group of people, who suddenly appeared and resembled mountain bandits, surrounded Gu Yi's caravan, but did not make a move immediately.

Because Gu Yi and the others were wary of the strength of this group of people of unknown origin, they did not dare to make any rash moves.

After a brief standoff, two more figures slowly emerged from the woods.

Both men were burly, middle-aged men with remarkably similar features, including their eyebrows, eyes, nose, and mouth. If one only looked at their appearance and disregarded their height, it would be almost impossible to tell them apart.

"You two are the two heroes of the Northwest?!"

Based on their appearances and builds, as well as the two ball-handling knives of the same shape and size in their hands, Gu Yi immediately guessed their identities.

Cao Xi looked at Gu Yi and said with a smile, "You do have some insight, recognizing the identities of my brother and me at a glance!"

"The Northwest Duo?" Gu Lan looked at the two men, muttering incredulously, "Weren't they said to have offended a powerful figure and been crippled? How come they're here..."

Although Gu Lan's voice was soft, the two brothers still heard it and were instantly reminded of that shameful and embarrassing experience.

"Bullshit! Bullshit!"

The two brothers immediately flew into a rage, jumping up and down, pointing at Gu Lan and yelling insults.

"You little wench, don't talk nonsense! Be careful, or I'll strip you naked and sell you to a brothel!"

"You little wench, your words are so awful, you'd better cut your tongue out!"

Gu Lan had never heard such vulgar language before. Her face flushed red, and she was both ashamed and angry. Ignoring her current predicament, she retorted sharply:

"So what if they're the two heroes of the Northwest? What's so great about them! We are the Gu family's merchant caravan from Golden Crow City. Others may fear you, but the Gu family doesn't! You'd better get out of the way with your men right now! Otherwise, if the Gu family pursues this matter, you won't be able to bear the consequences!"

Gu Rong raised his chin, his voice sharp but weak, and chimed in, "That's right! Our Gu family has been officials for three generations, and we have good relations with many martial arts sects. You mere dozens of bandits can't afford to offend us. If you know what's good for you, get out of the way!"

Upon hearing Gu Lan and Gu Rong's words, the Cao brothers, Xi and Bei, immediately shook their heads and burst into laughter.

"Big brother, look, they still want us to move aside."

"That's a huge joke."

After laughing, the two brothers immediately put on fierce expressions, brandished their long swords, pointed them at Gu Yi and the other two, and shouted:

"We don't care if you're from the Gu or Wang family. Put your things down and get out of here, or don't blame us brothers for being ruthless!"

Cao Bei glanced at Gu Lan and added, "You can leave, but this little vixen must stay!" After saying that, he looked at the carriage behind them, and when he saw Jiang Yuchuan and Qi Changqing, his eyes lit up instantly. "Those two should stay too! They're so handsome, selling them to a brothel along with this little vixen will surely bring in a lot of money!"