As expected, after receiving the secondary lotus of the Emperor's Nether Lotus from Lu Xiaotian, Yu Xiaoqiao also cultivated a Lotus Avatar. It was simply weaker than Lu Xiaotian's had been in the past. Since the secondary lotus was inherently limited, Lu Xiaotian couldn't tell whether it would eventually let her cultivate her Lotus Avatar to the Mahayana Realm, as his had.
The Realm of True Wood was a fine place for Yu Xiaoqiao to cultivate. Now that she had formed a Lotus Avatar, both her true body, which was starting her cultivation anew, and her Lotus Avatar needed extensive experience. Once she left the Realm of True Wood, she might not find a better place to go—especially with other sword embryo cultivators still outside.
After weighing it over again and again, Lu Xiaotian decided to leave Yu Xiaoqiao in the Realm of True Wood.
Several days later, in the Scarlet Moon Desert, a flying vessel slowly rose from the ground. Those accompanying Lu Xiaotian on this trip were Luo Ping'er, He Hu, Hong Yue, Yun Xiaoqi, and the couple Dong Feng and his wife. They had once drifted out of Cloudflight City, too. Now, taking advantage of Lu Xiaotian's connections, they were returning to Cloudflight City to look into some old grievances. Dong Feng and his wife didn't say exactly what it was about, and Lu Xiaotian didn't ask.
In the years that the Scarlet Moon Desert had ruled the Chaotic Demon Domain, the major powers—such as the Eastern Bear Emperor, the Purplefire Wolf Lord, and the Netherdeep Earthworm Matriarch—had remained as firmly established as ever. But when it came to the shifting of smaller powers, neither the Scarlet Moon Desert nor the Eastern Bear Emperor and the others had paid much attention to the scattered, smaller factions. They