“Ye Zhen is one of the best elites from the Flying Star House. I didn’t expect him to be injured by a luan. Those beasts are too scary.”
“It’s impressive enough that he managed to injure the luan. At the very least, we’ll be safe for now.”
“You have a point.”
Yu Shangrong appeared calm. However, he was shocked by how terrifying the luan was, considering how powerful the Flying Star House was.
In Great Yan, a Nine-leaf cultivator was peerless. However, in this place, such a cultivator was not even a match for a luan.
“Big brother, you’re hurt.”
Yu Shangrong was pulled back to the present. A young hooded girl sat opposite him. Perhaps, he found her familiar, he looked at her a second time.
Her dimpled face was not even as large as his palm. Her eyes were like crystal. She reminded Yu Shangrong of his Little Junior Sister.
Yu Shangrong did not reply to her and only responded with a smile.
The little girl said, “I’m Wuwu, a cultivator skilled in healing. I’m from the Thousand Willow Monastery… Should I heal you? I’ll do it for free!” As she spoke, she showed him her palm that was glowing with a faint red light.
Yu Shangrong said, “My apologies.”
“Huh?”
“I don’t need healing.” Yu Shangrong turned her down.
“Oh… Alright, then…” Wuwu, the little girl seemed disappointed.
Wuwu leaped off her seat when she saw two injured cultivators leaning against each other appearing outside the relay station. She seemed happy to see them as she ran out and cried out, “You’re both hurt. That’s great! I’ll heal you…”
“…”
A smile appeared on Yu Shangrong’s face. Her speech resembled his Ninth Junior Sister as well.
Unfortunately, due to the passage of time, many things had changed, and the people he knew were no longer with him. He wondered how they were faring. ‘I wonder how’s master is faring? He must be facing more troubles now that I’m not by his side…’
Whizz!
The resonance of power pulled Yu Shangrong back to the present. He turned and looked outside the relay station.
Wuwu had released a red energy on her palms before she channeled her energy into the two injured cultivators.
The unique vitality energy made the two injured cultivators look at Wuwu in awe.
Yu Shangrong did not expect the girl to actually be skilled in healing.
The people at the relay station gave her a thumbs-up.
“She’s Wuwu from the Thousand Willow Monastery! No wonder, no wonder…”
“It’s amazing for her to be so skilled at her age.”
Yu Shangrong looked at the man on the left and asked, “If I may ask, what’s the name of this place?”
The man turned and looked at Yu Shangrong probingly as he asked, “Comrade, you don’t even know where this is?”
“I’ve been on the battlefield for a long time. It’s been a long time since I returned,” Yu Shangrong replied.
“I see… This is the land of Great Tang. Judging by your accent, you’re not from around here, are you?”
‘Great Tang?’
“Oh, right.” The man smacked his forehead. “I’ve been observing you… Your sword seems unique. May I?”
“My apologies. I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you.” Yu Shangrong rejected his request. To a swordsman, his sword was more important than his life. At times, the sword even seemed like a swordsman’s wife. How could he hand it over to a stranger to inspect?
At this moment, someone exclaimed in surprise, “Look outside!”
Yu Shangrong instinctively looked over.
From the southwestern direction, many cultivators with their red lotus avatars were flying with a luan in tow.
Many people were amazed as they looked at a few towering red lotus avatars.
“The Flying Star House won!”
Everyone was in awe and shock as they stared at the colorful and huge luan in the sky.
At this moment, Yu Shangrong looked away. At the same time, he controlled his sword with two fingers. “My apologies.”
The Longevity Sword left its scabbard. It briefly flashed red before it slashed the man’s neck and returned to the scabbard.
The dead man’s hand rested on the cloth that was wrapped around the Longevity Sword. A hint of terror lingered in his lifeless eyes.
Yu Shangrong picked up his sword and left the relay station like nothing had happened. When he walked out, he looked at the luan’s corpse that was being transported east by various red lotus cultivators.
Yu Shangrong sighed softly. He crossed his arms and headed east.
The sun was setting, casting a slender shadow behind himself.
Wuwu followed him.
…
In a deserted alley.
Yu Shangrong walked as though he was an ordinary person.
The moment the sun set, the entire city turned silent and solemn.
There was no one on the streets inside the city; everyone remained indoors.
He stopped and looked behind him. “Why are you following me?”
Wuwu replied from the other end of the alley, “You killed someone!”
“He deserves it for trying to take a swordsman’s sword…” Yu Shangrong said.
“Oh. You’re the cultivator with the greatest sword skills that I’ve ever met…”
“Thank you for your praise”
“Aren’t you going home?”
Home? It would have been easy for him to answer this question if he was still in Great Yan. He could say he was going back to Brackish Mountain, the land of the melilot, or the Evil Sky Pavilion’s Golden Court Mountain. He had no home in this foreign land.
Yu Shangrong answered honestly, “I have no home.”
“Oh… I’m sorry,” Wuwu said apologetically, “I merely wanted to remind you that it’s not safe to be out and about at night. The beasts in the night sky will swoop down and catch you. Be careful.”
Yu Shangrong looked at the skies above the city. Intelligent flying beasts were beginning to appear at the edges of the sky that was lit by the remnants of the setting sun. The claws and the eyes of the beasts glowed red.
“Thank you for the reminder.” After Yu Shangrong finished speaking, he flickered out of sight.
Wuwu looked around her surrounding. She sighed as she muttered to herself, ‘I haven’t healed you yet!’
…
Great Yan. Three days later.
The cloud-splitting chariot flew past the mountains and the lands. It crossed Heaven’s Moat, the deserted desert, and the land of buried bones. It appeared in the sky three miles away from Lou Lan’s ancient city.
Onboard the flying chariot.
Mingshi Yin was looking at the towering Lou Lan ancient city as he said, “We’re almost there.”
The others stepped out and looked down at the mountains and the ancient city.
Pan Litian looked at the main city of Lou Lan and exclaimed emotionally, “This is my second time in Lou Lan. I didn’t expect this place to flourish now.”
Leng Luo said, “This is only true of a handful of its cities.”
Mingshi Yin had the best view so he saw the strange symbols on the city walls. He asked, “What are those things?”
“Lou Lan governs its kingdom with witchcraft. Naturally, that’s a Grand Witchcraft Formation,” Pan Litian said, “This Grand Witchcraft Formation is on par with the Ten Terminal Formation. However, Lou Lan’s grand shamans are either dead or too old now. It must be near impossible for them to activate this Grand Formation.”
At this moment, a huge and square purple carpet sailed toward them from Lou Lan’s royal city. The four edges were being held by several cultivators who were moving in sync. They finally came to a cloud-splitting chariot.
“By orders of the king, we’re here to receive our esteemed guests from Great Yan!”
The huge purple carpet moved forward slightly, and the flying chariot came to a halt.
One of the cultivators flew up to the chariot. He placed a right hand on his shoulder and said in a gentlemanly manner, “Kindly ride this flying carpet… This is the highest form of welcome in Lou Lan.”
Pan Litian said in a hushed voice, “Indeed. The witchcraft god they worship is embroidered at the center of the carpet. The crown has the highest status in Lou Lan. The four corners are manned by seven shamans each. There are 49 escorts in total. This treatment is usually reserved for royalty.”