/*unedited*/

As the group approached the huge ancient structure, a group of cultivators meets up with them.

"Welcome to the teleportation gate. This gate usually didn't cater to normal people like you and would only be used by royalty. But you must be grateful to the emperor because he granted you this access." the man in the middle said with a haughty expression.

This man is the manager of the teleportation gate and is a highly favored cultivator of a powerful clan in the main city of the empire, the city of Xi.

Because he was stationed in this faraway place which holds great significance to the empire, he feels that he is like the king of this place and none would dare defy his words.

The manager despises mortals the most because of their powerlessness and he deemed them to be useless creatures. No one can be blamed for his mental att.i.tude because most of the n.o.ble clans in the main city of the empire of Xi have the same ideology. They even wanted to raid s.h.i.+n County when they heard of the advancement in that place.

But when their spies told them of the power these mere mortals hold, they were struck dumb.

Who would have thought that mortals can have such a power?

So because of this many clans' ideas and mindset about mortals began to change. But this does not mean every one of them has the same mindset, many of those younger generations still have the same mindset especially those who are spoiled and silk pants.

The manager of this place is a young man who would always try to win favor from the royal family. However, since it is not the royal family and just mere mortals he would not show politeness to them.

"I don't care who you lot are, but using this teleportation gate is too costly. So I need all of you to pay up!" the young manager said with a sneer.

He would not let this mere mortal uses the gate just like that. But when his companions heard this they showed a panicked expression. They didn't know what happened, but right now, they are in the presence of a powerful elder. They never would have expected that this manager of theirs would be blind enough to offend the people sent by the emperor.

When the people turned their gaze to the old man, fear immediately grasped their hearts.

When the old man on the side saw this, anger suddenly showed on his expression.

When his aura erupted, everyone in the area suddenly felt that it is hard for them to breathe. The suffocating pressure of a high-level cultivator made the young manager's expression turned pale.

"You young one should change your ways. You are a disgrace to the emperor. I Gung Xi command you lot to remove this clown in this place!" shouted the old man which made everyone shook.

Everyone is now on the ground and unable to move.

Suddenly, a soft and gentle hand touches the strong and callous hand of the old man.

"Stop it. Please… I… I can't breathe." The gentle voice of the beautiful middle-aged woman beside him echoed to his ears waking and calming the old man from his anger.

The woman beside him seemed to be in pain and she grasped her chest with her small hand.

"Sorry… sorry… I didn't control myself… here let me help you." the old man said in a calm and caring tone.

He didn't know why he would do this to a woman he barely knows, yet deep in his heart, he felt calm and happy while helping her.

This strange happening caught the eyes of the Qian Li and the rest of the people in the area, which made Fu Rong Bai blush.

In her years living as a village healer, she was too focused in her own work that she hasn't had time for relations.h.i.+ps. So this is a first for her to be coaxed and helped gently by someone, so she felt shy.

The awkward feeling between the two made everyone silent. But the women in the group are showing a happy expression on their faces. They have seen how Fu Rong Bai worked hard to help a lot of the people in the base. Everyone is calling her 'mother Bai' because of her real age. Although she looks like a very attractive middle-aged woman, everyone knows that Fu Rong Bai is already in her 70's. Yet, ever since she was drafted to the army, many people in the s.h.i.+n County realized that she is becoming younger and more beautiful as time goes by.

"Mothe Bai, are you alright?" asked one of the women who stood next to Fu Rong Bai as she held one of her hands.

With a shy nod, Fu Rong Bai forcefully calmed herself down. But as soon as she turned her gaze towards the old man, she saw his clear eyes looking straight at her. It is either due to her age or mentality, Fu Rong Bai suddenly found the face of the powerful old man very pleasing to her eyes.

After this event, the group was led to the gate and the att.i.tude of the three people suddenly became lively. This is especially to Fu Rong Bai.

As she slowly scrutinized the runes on the relic looking gate, her expression suddenly changed. This is because she can actually understand what the symbols mean.

In the base, not only her knowledge in medicine is highly praised but also her high understanding and knowledge in reading runes and their combined effect.

It is known that there are only two people in the base that's very proficient when it comes to runes. One is their founder and real master, s.h.i.+n Jiao, and the other one is 'mother Bai'.

When she saw the symbol of the gate she feel that there is something wrong with it. Although this is her first time in seeing the said edifice yet everything seems familiar to her. Inside her mind, she could already rearrange the runes and make it more effective. Right now, from the looks of the gate, she is sure that if the eleven of them enter it, the gate would drain all of the energy in their bodies.

This is because the gate is structured to only be able to be used by cultivators. And it needed a large amount of Qi as a fuel because the runes on the gate are not aligned properly.

So, she didn't think twice and immediately stepped back and said.

"Captain Li, you can't enter this gate. It is only for cultivators and us mortals cannot use it else we perish with our body being sucked dry."

When the rest of the group heard this, they could not help but also take a step back away from the gate.

"What are you talking about? The princes and his majesty the emperor have already used this gate for many times and yet nothing happened to them." the gate operator suddenly said with an expression of being displeased.

Although he is afraid of the old man behind the group, however, he could not let just anyone spread rumors about this gate relic of the empire.

Qian Li didn't bother with the gate operator and turn her attention toward Fu Rong Bai.

"Mother Bai, is what you said true?" she asked.

Fu Rong Bai nods her head in confirmation, while the two who are also researchers but in the field of arrays knitted their brows.

Yet, they have to admit that Fu Rong Bai's accomplishments when it comes to runes are hundredfold more superior to theirs. So they also didn't disagree with her.

Suddenly the old man behind the group asked in a concerned and troubled voice.

"So what should we do then? If you cannot pa.s.s this gate today, then the convoy of the princes on the other side would have waited in vain. We cannot let this happen." The old man said with a little troubled expression in his face.

When Fu Rong Bai saw this she too felt a bit worried. So she decided to tell them her idea. She didn't know if the people in this place would believe her or not, but she need to try.

"I you trust me, can actually rearrange the runes and correct its alignments. Then it would not need too much Qi energy to use anymore, and would also let the people in empire travel through this gate smoothly from now on." She said with confidence br.i.m.m.i.n.g in her clear eyes.

The old man could not help but look at her in admiration deep in his heart, yet he forced to never let it show.

"No way! This is an old relic from the past. Many of our array formation experts said that this relic is unreadable and must not be touched else we risk its destruction." said the gate operator with anxiousness in his heart.

He can see that the elder favors the beautiful mature woman beside him, so he must stand his ground no matter what or else the emperor would have his head.

"You said that it cannot be changed base on what?... This is just because the array formation experts do not understand the meaning of the runes and its formation," said Fu Rong Bai trying to reason it out with the gate operator.

"No way, I would stand my ground and never let you people touch this relic. Even… even if you force me, I will fight against you." he said in a slightly forced voice as he tries to hide his fear.

The old man took a glance at Fu Rong Bai and thought for a while, then said.

"Are you a hundred percent sure about this?" He asked while looking straight in her eyes.

When their eyes met, a tinge of blush appears on her white cheeks as she quickly nods her head.

"Alright, as an elder of the empire. I Gung Xi permit it." the old man said in a commanding voice which sends s.h.i.+vers to the spine of those onlookers on the side.

With this command, the gate operator turned pale as he tried to resist. But suddenly he found his vision blurring.

Before he knew it, he was already struck by one of the soldiers and carefully laid to the ground.

"Mother Bai, you can start now." Qian Li said.

From her backpack, Fu Rong Bai carefully took out a small flat metallic board and turned it on. If s.h.i.+n Jiao could see this, he would be amazed because the underground base was able to make a low-end laptop on their own by following his simple computer prototype.