The wheels rumbled onward, roaring through the mountain forests.
Vines hanging from the branches on both sides of the road were swept up by the wind, like swaying curtains of pearls.
The coachman held the reins and drank iced water from a flask. Serpentine true astral energy shielded the convoy before and behind; there was neither wind nor wave, and all was steady and peaceful. The candle flames inside the carriages did not flicker, nor did the tea ripple.
"This child... isn't she working herself too hard? We'll reach Insect Valley soon, yet she's still cultivating instead of resting so late at night. Cultivation needs a balance between work and rest too."
Li Yilin lifted the window curtain.
Beneath the night sky, the candlelight in the carriage ahead was hazy. Its lamp had yet to be extinguished. A figure occasionally appeared against the window, seemingly seated cross-legged in meditation. Seeing that solitary silhouette inevitably brought back old memories for Li Yilin, stirring sadness in her heart. She hesitated over whether to go interrupt her and tell her to rest earlier.
Grandmaster Yin Sihan beside her smiled. "After all, the Heaven Centipede Great Demon contracted by Saintess Xianghan provides powerful cultivation feedback. In just a few months, she has gone from Wolf Smoke to planting two Divine Power Seeds. That speed is extraordinary. I fear her cultivation is even faster and more fulfilling than it was at Wolf Smoke. There are six Saintesses of this generation, aged between twenty and thirty-five. She is already at mid-Hunting Tiger and has a chance to contend for the summit."
"Exactly." Qi Yuandie, the True Image cultivator at the side, chimed in. "When I was young and had just entered cultivation, I possessed an Innate Martial Bone. I too was engrossed in the Four Passes