Boom—!
Yun Suxin was startled awake by a loud noise.
Looking out the window, it was already dawn. At this time, most of the disciples of Spirit Intuition Valley were either cultivating or working in the spirit fields, so she wanted to see who was making such a ruckus! How disturbing!
Her room was situated at a higher elevation, above a waterfall in Spirit Intuition Valley; with just a glance, she could observe most of the valley.
As soon as she opened the door, she was greeted by darkness.
She saw that a diamond-shaped object had somehow lodged itself in the illusion formation of the mountain gate in the distance, casting a large shadow as it blocked the early morning sun. The disciples of Spirit Intuition Valley were now scurrying around the top of the mountain gate like ants in a hot pot, completely in chaos.
“It appears to be… a flying boat?!”
Yun Suxin squinted her eyes, using her sharp eyesight to discern the details of the flying boat.
It was a medium-sized flying boat; they had some in Spirit Intuition Valley as well.
But she had never seen anyone fly a boat that way, directly impaling it into someone else’s mountain gate’s illusion formation?
This was clearly a provocation!
“Young Mistress, something’s gone wrong!” A disciple of Spirit Intuition Valley stumbled over to Yun Suxin, his face filled with panic. “A flying boat has impaled our illusion formation, right at the formation’s core, and the outer layer of the illusion has already been broken!”
“I’m not blind,” Yun Suxin frowned and said coldly. “Do you know which sect the other party belongs to?”
“Reporting to the Young Mistress, judging from the flags and insignia on the flying boat, they are from Sword Pavilion.”
“Sword Pavilion? Are you sure?!” Yun Suxin’s first reaction was disbelief.
Sword Pavilion could afford a flying boat, given that they were notoriously poor?
If Sword Pavilion could afford a flying boat, she would eat that boat!
“Disciple, I’m not too certain either, but there is indeed the Sword Pavilion’s symbol on the flying boat.” With the Young Mistress’s question, that disciple became unsure as well. Sword Pavilion was indeed powerful in swordsmanship but desperately poor; even if they earned something, it was usually spent on maintenance for their flying swords.
“Should we report this to the Valley Master? I’m afraid the visitors might not be friendly.”
Thinking about her mother’s current situation, Yun Suxin shook her head.
“No need, go invite Elder Liang, let him accompany me to investigate the identities of those people!”
…
Meanwhile.
On the flying boat, the violent shaking had also awakened Yue Qianchi and Li Qingran.
“It’s already daytime… No wonder it’s an advanced Gathering Spirit Array; cultivating for one night is equivalent to half a month’s training on Sunset Peak.” Yue Qianchi stretched comfortably, sensing that something was off outside the window.
Was the sky that blue and the clouds that white when they checked into the inn yesterday?
She looked towards Li Qingran beside her, her eyes widening in surprise.
“Junior sister, you’ve broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage! Your cultivation speed is so fast! Truly different from someone who enjoys the benefits of an advanced Gathering Spirit Array every day~”
Li Qingran halted her breathing technique, and just after opening her lively eyes, she heard Yue Qianchi’s teasing words. Her face immediately turned beet red as she stammered:
“What honey pot? Sugar jar… Senior sister, don’t talk nonsense. If you need, you can come and practice with me on top of Sunset Peak every day; I can just ask Master for permission. Master seems mysterious, but he’s actually very kind; he’ll definitely agree.”
“Let’s not, okay?” Yue Qianchi was tempted but didn’t want to be a third wheel, nor did she want to be seen again, even if the other party might be a cold, white-haired old man.
Li Qingran wanted to persuade her further when Yue Qianchi had already interrupted her with a playful gesture.
“Ah!” Li Qingran blushed and shrank back into the gauze tent.
Yue Qianchi squeezed her hands with a grin, “You’ve developed pretty well; you’re almost catching up to me. Get up; we need to set off.”
Two minutes later, after getting ready, Li Qingran and Yue Qianchi pushed the door downstairs.
They wondered why the tavern was completely empty until they reached the front door, at which point both of them froze in shock.
Outside the tavern was no longer the bustling Clear River City, but an expanse of rolling green mountains and clouds stretching for miles.
“What, is this a flying boat?” Yue Qianchi spotted the core of the spirit formation for the flying boat not far beside the tavern door.
Six spirit crystals inside were shining brightly.
Two of the spirit crystals were almost depleted of energy.
Clearly, this flying boat had carried them and the entire tavern through the night.
“The tavern has been uprooted…” After inspecting around the tavern, Li Qingran reached that conclusion.
Well.
It seemed like something Master could pull off.
This flying boat was definitely provided by Master, so they could reach Spirit Intuition Valley faster.
How thoughtful of Master, still thinking about her and considering her, even when trapped in confinement. Even while moving the tavern, he must have used some divine ability to ensure she and her senior sister could continue their cultivation without interruption.
Master, you’re so good!
Li Qingran placed her hand on her chest, feeling a warmth inside, mixed with a bittersweet sensation.
Master had done so much for her, yet she couldn’t help him right away…
“Wow! Junior sister Qingran, we’ve arrived at Spirit Intuition Valley!”
Yue Qianchi’s loud shout pulled Li Qingran from her thoughts.
Wait, had they really arrived at Spirit Intuition Valley? So soon?
She leaned towards Yue Qianchi and, together, they peered over the edge of the flying boat. As the morning sun rose, the scenery became even more magnificent. The green valleys were serene, flowers blooming profusely, and vast spirit fields surrounded the canyon, with a cliff protruding in the valley from which waterfalls cascaded down, resembling a jade ribbon falling from the heavens.
This waterfall was the symbol of Spirit Intuition Valley.
Indeed, they had reached Spirit Intuition Valley.
“Two little mice from Sword Pavilion, huh?”
A cold snort rang out.
Li Qingran and Yue Qianchi looked up in the direction of the sound.
They saw that at some point, a woman in a green garment and a bald man had dropped down from the top of the tavern. The woman in the green garment wore a veil, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes filled with cold starlight and anger. The bald man beside her, brawny and stout, with rouge on his face and a black blade slung over his shoulder, looked rough but exuded a strong aura of powerful cultivation.
“Who are you calling a little mouse? Do you believe I can cut you in half with one sword?!”
Yue Qianchi stood in front of Li Qingran, drawing the Xuanwu Heavy Sword from her storage bag and pointing it at the two on the tavern roof.
“It’s you?” Yun Suxin ignored Yue Qianchi, her gaze fixing on Li Qingran as she snorted coldly and sneered, “I didn’t expect you to join Sword Pavilion. Tsk, tsk, entering such a poor sect, your fine talent is wasted.”
“What’s wrong with Sword Pavilion?” Yue Qianchi’s face flushed with anger. She lifted her sword, ready to confront Yun Suxin, when suddenly a tremendous pressure descended upon her, rendering her unable to move.
It was the bald man beside Yun Suxin!
Yue Qianchi’s heart sank.
This pressure felt different from the insurmountable feeling in front of her master; it was direct and pure, an overwhelming force, indicating that the other party’s cultivation level was likely at the Yuanying stage. Just from the way the woman in green spoke, she could determine her identity: Yun Suxin, the Young Mistress of Spirit Intuition Valley.
She could tell from the figure as well; after all, she had touched it; the feel was quite good, slightly better than Li Qingran.
But that wasn’t important!
What was important was that things were about to become complicated.
Yun Suxin surveyed Yue Qianchi’s ashen face, her smooth jaw held high. “Hmph! You stole this flying boat, didn’t you? No wonder it directly crashed into the illusion formation. Now, you from Sword Pavilion have crashed into the outer formation of my Spirit Intuition Valley, and you still want to argue with me? How audacious!”
“Why say so much, Young Mistress?” The bald “man” next to her had grown impatient, his face contorting into a scowl as he muttered, “Leave it to me to handle; we’ll chop off their limbs and throw them into the dark prison, waiting for Sword Pavilion to come and compensate for the ransom!”
