1228 A Promise

Aside from the vast grassland within thousands of miles around the entrance, the seemingly boundless pocket world also had mountains, lakes, valleys, and highlands. The highest ground of this pocket world was the peak of a towering mountain about 2,000 meters high in the center, with jagged rocks and steep cliffs, nearly impossible to climb.

However, a magnificent and picturesque building stood aloof atop the towering mountain peak. Gu Yan'er stood at the small square in front of a classical pavilion sporting a smile while glancing around at the rolling hills in front of her. Then, she chuckled and said, "Yan'er spent two days to build a pavilion here. It's quite amazing, isn't it?"

A warm feeling aroused inside Tang Xiu's heart. This pavilion was just a miniature version of his residence in the Immortal World, the place he had lived for several millenniums there. That was why he could recognize it at a glance. "It's terrific. I never knew you had this talent, Yan'er."

The smile on Gu Yan'er's face, however, receded and she said with a downcast tone, "I have vivid memories of this pavilion, be it every spot, every scenery, and even the distance between objects within it. I even manufactured an immortal artifact which I used as my abode. Unfortunately, that artifact was destroyed by Zhu Wushou, else I would've placed it here now."

Tang Xiu held her shoulder and then gently patted it, saying softly, "Wait until we've returned to the Immortal World and I've restored my cultivation to the Supremacy Stage. I'll personally refine a palace for you. I'll guarantee that it will be exactly the same place we used to live in."

"Alright!"

Gu Yan'er looked ecstatic and heavily nodded. She sincerely hoped that her Master would be able to return to the peak. At that time, she would be able to annihilate their enemies and those damned betrayers. She vowed that she would exterminate that crazy bastard in the Immortal World, the Shade Demon Zhu Wushou.

"Xiaoxue is coming," Gu Yan'er suddenly said.

Tang Xiu followed her gaze towards the distant mountain peaks. He saw Ji Chimei and Gu Xiaoxue's figures flickering and coming fast in their direction. In just a few breaths, both of them stood in front of him.

"Greetings, Lord."

"Grand Master."

Ji Chimei and Gu Xiaoxue saluted.

"How many people from our sect come over?" Tang Xiu asked.

"80 people in total. They are now collecting treasures of this pocket world. They will be here in 2 days," Gu Xiaoxue answered.

Tang Xiu nodded in reply and said, "Set up some dwellings on a nearby mountain when they arrive! Also, since Yan'er is staying, she can instruct everyone in their cultivation. I expect their cultivation to progress by leaps and bounds soon. I wish to see quite a number of Nascent Soul experts emerge from our sect maybe in a year and a half."

"Nascent Soul Stage?" Gu Xiaoxue was surprised. "How is that possible, Grand Master? Of the 80 disciples of the sect we brought here, the cultivation level of one-third of them is just at the late-stage of Foundation Establishment. They're not even at the Golden Core Stage yet."

"I won't explain much about this. You've just come here and you have no idea about this magical pocket world." Tang Xiu faintly smiled and said, "Alright, continue searching for treasures! And do take care of all the treasures gathered by the disciples, all of which must be handed over to you."

"They all know the rules and won't hide any of it, Grand Master," Gu Xiaoxue replied respectfully.

Having said that, hesitation was cast on her beautiful face before she looked at Tang Xiu's tranquil expression and spoke in a low voice, "Grand Master, when we just arrived near Longquan Mountain, we noticed some people with special identities. We captured one of them and squeezed something from the man. It turns out that they are intel operatives of China and their main purpose here is to monitor the situation around Longquan Mountain. Further, there are many of them—about over 100."

Tang Xiu frowned and muttered to himself, "It seems that Duanmu Lin is still not assured of me! He dismissed the Special Abilities Bureau's personnel but sent so many intel operatives to keep tabs on us."

"Would you like us to drive out these intel operatives, Grand Master?" Gu Xiaoxue asked.

Tang Xiu pondered about the idea and then replied, "No need. I'll deal with this issue myself. Besides, I'll be staying here for some time after everyone else has arrived. I have the intention to drill them for 10 days."

"Understood!" Gu Xiaoxue nodded.

During these 10 days, aside from immersing himself in cultivation every day to stabilize his cultivation level, Tang Xiu spared his time to drill 80 disciples of Tang Sect hard. With the continuous assistance from pills, Body Refining Liquid, and the blood of fierce beast, their cultivation was progressing rapidly by leaps and bounds.

As people said, fine steel was forged through thousands of tempering processes.

Tang Xiu literally made them struggle in pain and happiness during these 10 days. After going through such devilish drills, even the worst among these 80 disciples had broken through the early-stage of Nascent Soul, while the best one broke through to the late-stage of Nascent Soul, just a little shy away from breaking through to the Spirit Formation Stage.

However, when Tang Xiu just left the pocket world, he received a call from Duanmu Lin and learned that some Seniors of the state wanted to see him in Shanghai. But after he agreed about the appointment time and was about to depart, Chen Shaohua came out of the pocket world to find him and seemingly had something in mind.

"What's the matter?"

Chen Shaohua hesitated first. Then, he answered, "I'd like to follow you later, Sect Master."

A weird expression sported on Tang Xiu's face as he observed him for a while. Then, he asked, "Why do you want to follow me? Isn't it a good thing for you to keep cultivating in the pocket world? Besides, you've reached the mid-stage of Nascent Soul, you may even be able to reach the late-stage in 6 months. It's likely that you could also break through to the Spirit Formation Stage in less than 10 years."

Chen Shaohua pointed to his chest and forced a smile. "I know my cultivation is quite powerful now, Sect Master. But I recently found that my foundation is a bit shaky and unstable due to improving it too fast. That's why I'd like to follow you while honing my state of mind. I'll go come here when I feel that it's the right time."

Mental state?

Tang Xiu narrowed his eyes and asked him, "You can sense the mood and other issues pertaining to mental state now?"

"That's right!" Chen Shaohua nodded and said, "I always felt upset and irritated when I was practicing. The fluctuation of my mood is too much, I can't fully immerse myself in cultivation. I can't fully unleash the might of mid-stage Nascent Soul power even if I want to."

Tang Xiu pondered about it and said, "I see. Go back to the pocket world and inform the other 80 disciples who have arrived that they must leave 2 months later and return to Nine Dragons Island to take shifts with the other batch. Do remember to tell them that every one of them must not reach the stage of Spirit Formation first and stay at the late-stage of Nascent Soul. No matter who is it, anyone who has fully stabilized their cultivation with their mental state can keep up with it, they can report to me about their situation and I'll give them a trial before attempting to break through to the Spirit Formation Stage."

"Then what about me, Sect Master?" Chen Shaohua asked again hastily.

Tang Xiu chuckled and said, "Well, you can tag along since you feel you can practice while toughening yourself by following me! I'll be waiting for you in Shanghai."

"Understood!" Chen Shaohua was overjoyed. After saluting Tang Xiu respectfully, he bolted away to the entrance of the pocket world at the speed of lightning.

This time, Tang Xiu didn't bring anyone after leaving the pocket world. He even left Tang An to cultivate there.

****

Xuyang Town, at Wenxin Hotel.

After Tang Xiu arrived outside the entrance of the hotel, he sensed that many people in the surroundings were focusing their attention on him. With his keen sense, he could tell that they were members of the state intelligence department.

"Hey, you. Come here!"

Tang Xiu halted his pace and waved to a man and a woman who acted like a couple several meters away. The two people hesitated before they came to Tang Xiu.

"What's up?" the young man asked.

"Help me contact Duanmu Lin," Tang Xiu faintly said. "Tell him that there's something I need to discuss with him and to wait for me at the Everlasting Feast Hall in Shanghai. Also, if he is accompanied by anyone, tell him to bring them along to that place as well."

The young man's face slightly changed and he replied, "I don't understand what you're talking about, Sir."

Tang Xiu hummed and directly took out the small green book from his interspatial ring. He showed it to the two people and lightly asked, "You get what I said now?"

"Understood!"

The man and the woman disguised as a couple hurriedly nodded and saluted.

Tang Xiu shook his head and then walked into Wenxin Hotel and came to the lobby on the first floor. He looked at the listless female there and lightly said, "Give me a car key."

When the female saw Tang Xiu, she suddenly looked excited and respectfully replied, "Which car would you like to ride, Boss? All cars are in the backyard, you can choose any of these keys."

"Don't look that awkward. You gotta be careful since the walls have ears," Tang Xiu said.

"Understood!" the female looked more energetic after hearing this.

Someone from the Tang Sect had bought Wenxin Hotel, and even the previous owner of this hotel had become an intel operative of the sect. Moreover, due to the particular incident in Longquan Mountain, she also learned about Tang Xiu's identity.

Tang Xiu randomly picked a key and brought it to the backyard. There were a dozen cars with different brands parked in the backyard. The headlights of an off-road Mercedes-Benz then flashed when he pressed the button on the key.

"Let's head to Shanghai directly."

He had no plan to go by train or plane. As of recently, he spent his time in arduous cultivation while drilling the sect's disciples. Although he made great progress in cultivation, he was perfectly aware that it was best to alternate tension with relaxation. So, he made up his mind to give himself a break and drove alone on the way back and regarded it as having a good rest and taking a vacation for himself.

The western regions had beautiful scenery and, although the roads were quite bumpy, the excellent features of the off-road he drove did a great job to alleviate it. He rarely encountered anyone on the road, so he pushed the speed over 200km/h for an hour and a half.

"Gotta be fast and find a gas station!"

That was exactly the first thing Tang Xiu did when he arrived at Halagu City.