As the group was about to exit the dining establishment, Tieshan felt faint undulations coming from his transmission mirror. He took out the round artifact from his storage ring and saw a name emboldened on its clear silvery surface. Li Mingjian. Wasn't he supposed to be in secluded training or something?
Reining in his thoughts, he inserted some of his qi into the artifact, and a voice appeared in his mind. Where are you all?
Concentrating a small amount of qi on his fingertips, he wrote onto the mirror. We are going to the Gu Family's Residence. The text disappeared after a moment, and the surface was crystal clear again. He waited but no reply came back.
"Tieshan, hurry up," Gu Da called from the stairs. "We have to travel quite a distance before night falls."
Tieshan stored away the artifact. "Coming." He followed after the others.
On the streets of the bustling city, the girls were running around from stall to stall, purchasing anything that caught their eye. "Shouldn't we get going?" Gu Yichen asked from the right.
"The majority seems not to agree with you," Gu Da replied. Zhao Feng raised his right eyebrow, but was ignored as always.
Gu Yichen slowly turned his head from left to right. "It seems we are equal in number." No sooner had he spoken than Xiaomeng and Lingling approached Rong Ning standing with the boys. Taking one of her hands each, they pulled her along.
"Now we can say that we have completely lost the majority," Tieshan said as he approached a tea stall on the side of the busy street. The boys sat and drank the afternoon away.
"Where did you even get so much money?" Xiaomeng looked at Lingling purchasing wherever her hands reached. Her storage ring should be bursting by now. No, wait, since she was from the Sixth Peak, their storage rings were better than others.
"Senior Sisters gave me a lot of pocket money." Lingling smiled nostalgically. "I didn't get many chances to go out, so it all piled up. Since I am already here, I thought of getting some souvenirs for them."
"You can purchase something if you want." Rong Ning gave Xiaomeng a deep look. "I have plenty of money on me." For some reason, Xiaomeng felt the cold look of Rong Ning to be too menacing, as if she was forcing her to purchase something. Her right hand reached to the stall beside her and grasped something hard without even looking. It was a miniature replica of a tower.
"That will be two silvers, young miss," the middle-aged stall owner said in a husky voice. Her face was covered in a thin veil, obscuring her features. Rong Ning flicked her hand and a gold coin appeared between her fingers. "Keep the change." She tossed it to the stall owner. The woman stumbled back a bit, but caught the coin. Coughing in embarrassment, Rong Ning turned and walked away.
The boys were on their third serving of green tea when everyone gathered together. "You can lead the way now." Liu Yue gestured toward Gu Yichen. Her hair was braided with a few silvery accessories previously absent, while a pair of shiny earrings glimmered beneath the sunny sky, accentuating their golden glow.
Not wasting time, Gu Yichen stepped on his large metallic disk and took to the skies. The others also took out their weapons and followed him. The people around them were left dumbfounded, their jaws hanging slack and eyes wide open.
The kids had seemed just like a few wealthy brats coming to play around, a regular occurrence every now and then. Feeling the massive pressures leaving his city peacefully, the City Lord breathed a sigh of relief. The veiled stall owner looked at the fading backs with narrowed eyes, her thoughts a mystery.
Leaving the city, the group moved south. Xiaomeng had taken her place behind Rong Ning, her hands tightly clasping the older girl's robes. She was free from the aerial antics of Liu Yue that had nearly made her heart burst out of her chest several times already.
The terrain after leaving the city and travelling for some time had turned into a barren wasteland, no human settlement in sight. "Are we going in the right direction?" Lingling wondered aloud as the hot afternoon wind whizzed past her, blowing her neatly combed hair to a mess.
"Yes," Gu Da said while riding his sword, his voice a little blurred. "Soon you will see the outline of the Mengling Mountains. The whole Gu clan resides inside there."
"What about the sect selection then? Did the flying boat come to the mountains to take you two?" Xiao Ming's voice was filled with curiosity.
"No," Gu Yichen replied from the front. "We were taken to the previous city and boarded the ship from there. The Mountains are full of uneven spiritual energy currents that can cause lasting damage to the ship if not navigated properly."
"Wait a moment!" Liu Yue shouted. "What if something happens to us there?"
"What are you so worried about? Both of us are there to guide the way." Gu Da said confidently. Temper your heart and control your pride, the old man's voice rang in his mind.
"But what if you were not there?" Lingling looked incredulous.
"You can just throw him ahead." Gu Yichen pointed at Tieshan, who just smiled back. He raised his hands and showed his bulky bronze muscles outlined beneath his robes. On his back, the words were written: Unless it can kill me instantly, I can take care of it. Everyone behind him nodded, not bringing up the few instances where these words had lost their meaning.
As Gu Da had said before, the outline of a mountain range soon appeared in everyone's sight. Under the evening sun, it looked as if the whole mountain range was burning and the greenery below was fighting back, forming a clear dark dividing line. "Wow!" Xiaomeng blurted out. Looking at the pictures drawn by others and experiencing the actual wonder of nature were completely different experiences. "Hmm," Rong Ning nodded in acknowledgement.
The mountains grew larger and larger as they moved toward them. Finally, the group landed at the foot of the Mengling Mountains. The greenery of the forests stretched before them, making it a completely different world from the grey barren lands behind them.
Gu Yichen put away his floating disk in his storage ring and gazed behind at the others. "Stay within ten steps of each other. If, by any chance, you hear something or see someone who should not be here, ignore it completely. And if someone still manages to get lost," his gaze roamed over all the troublemakers, "do not move further from your original place."
Gu Yichen took the lead while everyone lined up behind him. The rear was guarded by Gu Da. The densely packed green trees in front of them turned on their trunks and parted, granting them entrance. Stop! A voice echoed in Gu Da's mind, stopping him in his tracks.
The group had barely taken twenty steps when they were enveloped by the shadows of the forest. Gu Da suddenly found that everyone in front of him had vanished into thin air. One moment they were there. The next, they were gone without a trace.
Even after blinking several times, only the dense foliage filled his vision. He had predicted that something like this was very likely to happen given the nature of the people he was travelling with. However, this exceeded his expectations by far. And it didn't seem natural at all.
"What happened?" he asked.
There were several arrays. The voice of the old remnant soul came into his mind.
"Are you really sure about this, old man?" He had his doubts about this. "Just three years ago there was no such thing here. And even if there was now, someone would have sensed it."
The arrays were not there originally. They suddenly spread out underneath everyone's feet, starting from the front. The remnant soul explained.
The front. Gu Da's lips tightened. Gu Yichen would have stopped something like this if he wanted to.
Aren't you the least bit worried about them all? The old man asked without any emotion.
"I am more worried about the demonic beasts in the Mountains." Gu Da shrugged his shoulders. "Don't tell me, even after all these years, you think they need someone to worry about them." Gu Da carefully traversed the familiar route and made his way toward the Gu Residence at the center.
Elsewhere in the Mengling Mountains, Tieshan threw a controlled punch at the rabid six-legged demonic wolf lunging at him. His fist, coated in dark qi, hit the black demonic beast squarely in the face. The beast was flung into the forest, smashing through several trees before collapsing.
Several more beasts followed after it. This time three of them attacked together. Sidestepping the first, Tieshan drove his fist into the second wolf's gut, dropping it to the ground as drool spilled from its hanging jaws. The third one stopped cold in its tracks and, spinning around, rushed back into the forest.
Seeing no chance of winning, the first wolf also tried to escape, but Tieshan had appeared in front of it. He raised his fist at the whimpering demonic beast. "Now, lead the way toward the center." The wolf lowered its head and whined in acknowledgement. Under Tieshan's threatening gaze, it began to walk toward a specific direction.
In another place, Liu Yue and Xiao Ming fell from midair. They turned their bodies and landed on their feet, blowing away heaps of fallen leaves. Looking around, they had appeared in a small clearing, surrounded by tall lush trees on all sides. The branches of the trees had spread out too far and were now covering the whole sky above the small clearing, allowing only a few golden streams of light to pass through.
"Do you know what happened?" Liu Yue looked at her friend.
"Beats me." Xiao Ming shook her head. "I am feeling a little thirsty. Let's drink some water first." She walked to the pond in the middle of the clearing. The water in it was as clear as a mirror. She bent down and scooped up a handful of water. The next instant, several thick green vines shot out from the pond, their target unmistakably her.
Xiao Ming slammed her hand on the ground and inserted her qi. Everlasting Bloom! Green vines shot up from behind her, their surface mottled with black dots. The green and the mottled vines intersected in the middle, wrapping around each other, trying to uproot one another. This struggle continued for a few moments before Xiao Ming's darker vines won and pulled the owner of the green vines from inside the pond.
A large pink lotus emerged from the water's surface, its size nearly half as large as the pond. The green vines had originated from its center, which looked like a gaping maw, with razor-sharp thorns lining its insides. The mottled vines lifted and slammed the demonic plant hard into the ground. A few of its thick white roots were still extending into the water, drawing out a blue aura from the pond. The pressure it radiated was similar to a Fifth Layer Core Formation cultivator, just a minor realm above them.
Liu Yue darted to the pond and dipped her hand in the water. She circulated her cultivation technique, Nine Rivers Jade Scriptures. The spiritual energy extended from her hand like a blue haze and in an instant enveloped the whole pond. The water level began to recede at an alarming pace, coalescing into a blue sphere in Liu Yue's hand.
Sensing the danger to its life, the demonic lotus started to thrash wildly. Its vines shot toward Liu Yue in a crazed charge. Xiao Ming used her vines to counter them, but a few slipped through. Liu Yue raised her hand toward the direction of the attacking vines. Nine Rivers Water Shield. Her qi gushed forth and formed a blue spherical shield around her.
The green vines slammed into the protective shield, unable to pierce through. Xiao Ming used this moment to deal with them. Her vines enveloped and strangled them, only to tear them apart at the end.
Losing even its means to attack, the demonic lotus could only wait to be slaughtered. As all the water was compressed, the bottom of the pond came into view. It was several times deeper than what the girls had thought. At the very depth, the white roots of the demonic lotus were wrapped around a small object, whose blue glow pierced even through the tight enclosure.
Xiao Ming clenched her right hand and her mottled vines coiled around the demonic lotus and raised it in the air. Liu Yue raised her hand toward the immobilized demonic plant. Nine Rivers Blade. The qi released from her palm formed a blue disk, with sharp, pointy edges, that easily dwarfed her own height. The blade drove straight into the demonic lotus, cleanly cleaving it in half. Then it accelerated and minced it into small pieces.
"Hey, no need to go that far," said Xiao Ming.
"It's a demonic plant." Liu Yue raised her eyebrows. "Isn't this your specialty? Shouldn't you know how many of its safeguards could still be remaining?"
"Do you seriously expect me to remember such things?" Xiao Ming asked back. Her hand unclenched and all the black dotted vines retreated into the ground.
"What about the high scores you get during the annual examination then?"
"Don't you already know I just use my little ones to steal a few copies? And I also share them with you at all times."
"Yes, but just on the morning of the test." Liu Yue glared at Xiao Ming. The water disk dissipated into thin air. "And you still manage to get worse marks than Rong Ning."
"You really want to take the discussion there?" Xiao Ming's gaze clashed with Liu Yue's. "The last I remember, you were the one who ran to her to tattle about me sneaking out last month."
"I didn't tattle! And you would have done the same if you went through what I did. It is your fault for not properly checking the formation arrays, leaving me to take the blame."
"Just say it clearly that you are afraid of a little beating."
"You!" Liu Yue pounced on Xiao Ming, who tried to get out of the way. But due to the short distance, she was still caught. The two girls rolled on the ground as they thrashed about, pulling each other's hair while trying to get an advantage.
Even after a while, there was no winner. Finally, Xiao Ming sobbed, "My… hair… hurts."
"Mine hurts too." Liu Yue slightly loosened the hold of her hands on Xiao Ming's hair. "If you leave mine, I will also leave yours."
"Really? Last time you pulled hard just as soon as I let go." Xiao Ming made a dubious face.
Liu Yue tsked. She let go of Xiao Ming's hair and pulled her hands back. Feeling the instant relief, Xiao Ming's mind cleared. A glint appeared in her eyes as she looked at the face in front of her.
"Just try it." Liu Yue made a solemn expression. Not listening to her provocation, Xiao Ming also released the hair in her hands and turning sideways lay on the ground.
Taking a breather, both girls stood up and somewhat tidied up their disheveled appearance. The scratches on their faces were visibly healing due to the potent healing ability of a Core Formation cultivator.
Liu Yue closed in on the dried-up pond. The white roots had thinned and completely shriveled to black. She jumped down. As her feet touched the earth, she swung her hand. A strong gust of wind rushed ahead and blew away the remnants of the demonic lotus. Only a small jade vial remained, potent water qi leaking from the closed lid.
A primordial hunger clawed at Liu Yue. It appeared so suddenly that her legs went weak, bringing her to her knees. The qi in her body rampaged, trying to escape and claim what it desired. It took all she had to barely keep it at bay. "Are you okay?" Xiao Ming's frantic voice came from beside her. She raised her trembling hand and pointed at the vial fallen in front of her.
Xiao Ming took four large strides and, bending down, picked up the cold vial. Even she could feel the immense energy stored inside it. Looking at Liu Yue's shaking body curled up on the ground, she had second thoughts of giving this to her. "Hurry up." the faint voice of her friend brought her out of her reverie. She darted beside Liu Yue, and kneeling on one leg, brought the vial to the fallen girl's lips. She would deal with the repercussions later, if there were any.
The vial broke and the nine golden drops that were inside it rushed into Liu Yue's mouth. The hunger disappeared just as it had come, leaving behind no trace. Her rampaging qi went still like an obedient child. She took the support of her hands placed on the ground and stood up.
"Feeling okay now?" Xiao Ming worriedly asked from the side. Liu Yue nodded. "Whatever it was, it is gone now." She closed her eyes and concentrated on her Dantian. The perfect Golden Core peacefully nestled inside her had nine blue dots engraved on it. Other than that, she didn't detect any changes.
The two girls jumped out of the pond. Liu Yue gestured at the small concentrated water suspended in the air. Water started to drip down from the blue sphere and fill the dried-up pond. The speed of the releasing water gradually increased. There was no need for further interference; it would fill itself by night.
"Okay now. Where should we go from here?" Liu Yue asked.
It seemed like Xiao Ming had several questions bottled up, but she didn't ask them. Liu Yue herself was confused by this situation which felt too convenient. She didn't know whether this would prove to be a blessing or a curse.
Xiao Ming's hands touched the ground as she felt the flow of energy spreading beneath the Mengling Mountains. Although she could not use Spiritual Energy before achieving Nascent Soul, sensing it was not a problem for her. "I think we need to go there." She pointed at her right. "Most of the spiritual energy in these Mountains is converging there." Getting up, she led the way and Liu Yue followed in her steps.
Unlike what Gu Yichen had said, they didn't see any other person, nor did they hear any familiar voices. A few Foundation Establishment demonic beasts that crossed their paths were ignored completely. Most would just whimper and steer clear of the duo. A few who overcame their instincts and tried to attack were swatted away, breaking a bone or two as a price.
By the time they exited the woods, the night had already fallen. In front of them, Gu Yichen stood with his hands spread out in a welcome, the lighted torches illuminating his face.
"Yue'er, you better stop me," Xiao Ming said with her teeth clenched. "Or else, I am going to bash in that smiling face of his."
The wind whistled beside her as Liu Yue had already acted upon her thoughts and rushed at Gu Yichen.