Mountain Sea Tour, the Dao's Resonance Hidden Amid Mortal Worldly Affairs

While the roar of Starfall Sea still echoed in their ears, Shen Hao took Zi Xuan's hand and set out on a journey across Hongmeng. They did not ride Dao resonance transformed into streaks of light, but walked like ordinary cultivators along winding mountain paths. Wild grass by the roadside glistened with morning dew, dampening the hems of their robes, while the fresh scent of vegetation mingled with the fragrance of earth and slipped into their nostrils in delicate threads.

Shen Hao's steps were neither hurried nor slow as his gaze swept over the villages along the way. Within fenced yards, elderly women were drying spiritual grain seeds, their golden kernels gleaming beneath the sun. Under the great locust tree at the village entrance, several children chased and wrestled, waving little swords woven from bamboo branches as they shouted, "Protect Hongmeng!" Their childish voices echoed through the valley.

Zi Xuan watched with smiling eyes, looping her arm through Shen Hao's as she said softly, "Listen to those children. They sound so much like you did back then."

Shen Hao paused slightly, then laughed. He remembered how, in his youth, he too had waved a wooden sword and vowed to protect the peace of his village. Back then, he had known nothing of Dao resonance or spirit veins. With nothing but burning blood in his chest, he had dared face the Demon Beasts in the mountains. Looking back now, that pure heart of protection had been the starting point of his path of cultivation.

The two arrived at a roadside tea stall near the village entrance and found a wooden table to sit at. The proprietor was an old man with grizzled hair and beard. Seeing that the pair possessed extraordinary bearing but not the slightest arrogance, he smiled and brought