Han Fei closed his eyes and began frantically absorbing the cultivation method and insights of the Power of Heavenly Dao. A flood of memories surged into his mind.
Old Ancestor Hongjun said, "Your soul is too fragile. I have sealed away the rest and left only the first form in your mind. Once your cultivation gradually grows stronger, the sealed memories will automatically unlock."
Han Fei said, "Understood. Many thanks, Old Ancestor Hongjun."
"Ding! Hongjun's points have reached one thousand. Keep up the good work."
Chiyou said, "No way, right? Hongjun just gave him some lousy Power of Heavenly Dao technique and got a thousand points straight away? I've been here for years, and my points still haven't reached a thousand. Only Old Huang and Hongjun have a thousand now, right?"
Pangu said, "Sorry, my points have also reached one thousand. I got there when the group leader attained the Golden Body."
Fuxi said, "Chiyou, don't be discouraged. We have all seen the effect your Void Walking has had on the group leader. Once he can freely use Teleportation, your points will probably reach one thousand."
Thinking it over, Chiyou found that made sense. After all, Han Fei could currently only use extremely short-range Teleportation when forced into a desperate situation. He still did not truly understand the essence of Teleportation, and that would take time.
Chiyou fell silent. He wondered whether he should create some sword techniques that Han Fei could use to improve his combat strength. That might earn him some points.
Aside from Chiyou, Yan Di was equally frustrated. He was currently working hard to teach Han Fei Flame Arts. Under the influence of spiritual energy, Han Fei's flames had already turned golden, nearly the same color as his Golden Body.
However, Han Fei spent every day busy improving his combat strength and had no time at all to practice alchemy.
The only one without any points was Fuxi. He had passed on the Eight Trigrams Array. Although Han Fei had received it, he had not truly absorbed it yet. Once he absorbed the insights and experience of the Eight Trigrams Array, Fuxi's points would naturally rise.
Of course, Han Fei's mind could not yet hold so many memories. He needed a higher cultivation and a stronger soul.
Cold sweat streamed down Han Fei's forehead. It was caused by his mind containing such a vast amount of memories.
Once he had finished receiving the memories, Han Fei let out a heavy breath.
"It's finally over."
He reviewed the memories in his mind and began carefully interpreting the Power of Heavenly Dao.
After confirming that there was nothing he did not understand, Han Fei began circulating the Power of Heavenly Dao. At the same time, Hongjun guided him from the side.
As his spiritual energy circulated, a Taiji diagram five meters in diameter slowly descended above Han Fei's head. Han Fei stood at its very center.
The Taiji diagram slowly rotated, half red and half green. As its light flickered, a miniature Taiji diagram appeared on Han Fei's forehead.
At that instant, Han Fei could clearly sense everything around him. The spiritual energy around him could become his eyes.
He slowly withdrew his spiritual energy and aura, because he sensed Qi Xuanxuan had reached the door.
Hongjun said, "The Power of Heavenly Dao can be an auxiliary ability, or it can be a special power. It depends on how you use it. However, I still recommend using it for support. Borrowing the power of the Heavenly Dao will cause backlash to your body."
Han Fei nodded and stood up to open the door for Qi Xuanxuan.
"Why are you here?"
Qi Xuanxuan said, "I went to accept some missions."
Han Fei asked, "What rank?"
Qi Xuanxuan said, "Three B-rank missions and two A-rank missions."
Han Fei was speechless. "Didn't they say you need to be above the fifth level of the Spirit Gathering Realm to accept A-rank missions? How did the Mission Hall allow you to take A-rank missions? And two of them at that?"
Qi Xuanxuan smiled. "Yes, my cultivation is insufficient, but I said I would be doing the missions with you, so they approved them. Didn't you say you wanted to go out for a walk? I know you haven't returned home in ten years, so I accepted missions in the East Continent Empire. That way, you can take the chance to visit your family."
Han Fei froze. "Home? My memories of my family are already vague, but it would be good to go back and take a look. After all, my father is very important to me."
Han Fei had only been ten when he left home, and his memories were limited to his childhood. Therefore, he did not have much sense of belonging.
Once everything was prepared, Han Fei and Qi Xuanxuan set off for the East Continent Empire.
Within the territory controlled by the Tianyuan Divine Sect, aside from the nearly thousand-li area surrounding the sect itself, there were also the Four Great Empires, arranged in a fan shape around the Tianyuan Divine Sect.
From east to west, they were the East Continent Empire, Great Success Empire, Red Dust Empire, and Cloud Mountain Empire.
The East Continent Empire was where Han Fei's family was located. Han Fei's father was one of the empire's three great ministers, holding military authority and renowned throughout the entire East Continent Empire. This was one reason Daoist Sanyuan had visited the Han Family, allowing him to discover Han Fei's Supreme Spiritual Root.
On Tongtian Peak, Qi Xiaotian was reviewing something.
Uncle Jian suddenly appeared. "Sect Master, the hidden guards report that Xuanxuan and Han Fei have left the Divine Sect."
Qi Xiaotian's pen paused. "Oh, I understand."
Uncle Jian frowned. "Shouldn't we stop them?"
Qi Xiaotian said, "Why stop them? I cannot protect Xuanxuan for her entire life. Sooner or later, she must go out and make her own way in the world."
Uncle Jian said nothing more and turned to leave.
Qi Xiaotian suddenly said, "Have Qin, Qi, Shu, Hua follow them in secret."
Uncle Jian nodded. "Understood."
Han Fei and Qi Xuanxuan quickly headed toward the Tianyuan Mountain Range to the southeast. The Tianyuan Divine Sect had four official roads leading outside, each corresponding to one of the Four Great Empires.
The two of them took the road farthest to the left.
The official road cut through the Tianyuan Mountain Range. After entering the mountain range, dense forests lined both sides of the road. If not for this fairly broad official road, Han Fei would have thought he was deep within the Tianyuan Mountain Range.
Fortunately, they could see passing merchant caravans every hour or two. After all, the Tianyuan Divine Sect required vast amounts of supplies every day, which demanded an enormous supply network.
As the sky gradually darkened, Han Fei said softly, "It's getting dark. It seems we'll have to spend the night here today."
Qi Xuanxuan said, "Wouldn't it be better to leave the Tianyuan Mountain Range in one go? Wouldn't it be dangerous to delay here?"
Han Fei shook his head. "This should be the very center of the Tianyuan Mountain Range, but since it is an official road, the hidden guards must have cleared out the high-level demonic beasts nearby. It should be safe. Besides, this place is relatively close to the Tianyuan Divine Sect, so the chances of encountering danger here are very low. Once we leave the Tianyuan Mountain Range, though, that may not be the case."
"Besides, even if we aren't tired and don't need rest, our mounts do. Otherwise, they won't be able to endure it."
Qi Xuanxuan looked at the Swift Beasts beside them and could only nod.
Swift Beasts were a relatively common means of transportation. Because they ran quickly and had abundant stamina, they were favored by most Martial Artists. Their cultivation was also low, not even reaching level five, making them easier to capture.
After tying the two Swift Beasts to a large tree nearby, Han Fei used Flame Arts to ignite a pile of firewood. He then took out some dried meat and roasted it over the fire.
"I looked around. There are basically no demonic beasts nearby. They were probably cleared out, so tonight we can only eat dried meat."
Qi Xuanxuan did not care much about what she ate. What mattered was who she ate with.
As the night deepened, Qi Xuanxuan sat cross-legged in meditation. Since they were in the wilderness, Han Fei did not close off his five senses.
Just after midnight, Han Fei sensed a trace of ominous aura.
Rustling sounds came from the forests on both sides of the road, the noise of vegetation being disturbed as people passed through the dense woods.
Though faint, Han Fei could still easily detect it now.
Whoosh, whoosh... After several dozen breaths of silence, countless hidden weapons shot out from the dense forest and flew directly toward Han Fei and Qi Xuanxuan.
Buzz. At that moment, the miniature Taiji diagram on Han Fei's forehead lit up, and the broken sword immediately left its sheath.
In Han Fei's eyes, all the hidden weapons around him seemed to slow down at the same time.
Each hidden weapon was a metal spike the length of a palm and as thick as a finger. The purple gleam upon them indicated that they were highly poisonous.
Clang, clang... A chain of sparks flew. Sword light flashed repeatedly from the broken sword in Han Fei's hand, knocking every incoming metal spike away.
Thud, thud, thud. More than half of the hundred metal spikes embedded themselves in the surrounding trees, while a few fell to the ground. Not a single one passed Han Fei and harmed Qi Xuanxuan behind him.
After all the hidden weapons had been knocked down, Han Fei held the broken sword in reverse and shouted coldly, "Who dares carry out an assassination at the foot of the Tianyuan Divine Sect? What audacity!"
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