The Return Journey

"Second Uncle, let's go."

Liang Zhaohuang opened his eyes and looked at the clan leader, Liang Xuelin.

Clan Leader Liang Xuelin, however, pointed at the "Lotus Pond" placed on the ground and said:

"Zhaohuang, I'm afraid this Lotus Pond has been refined by you. Only you can pick it up. I can't move it at all."

There was such a thing?

Liang Zhaohuang looked at the "Lotus Pond" on the ground and reached out to pick it up. He only felt that it was light as nothing, without much weight at all.

But thinking of how this "Lotus Pond" had previously been a pool of water, and how it had changed when it devoured his magical power and the "Five-Colored Buddha Light," it was only normal for there to be something strange about it.

Now was not the time to study this "Lotus Pond," so Liang Zhaohuang could only put it into his sleeve first, and the two of them quickly left.

After leaving the Cave Mansion and entering the Dark River, the two of them stealthily made their way outward.

But before they had gone far, an unexpected change occurred. The large number of Five-Colored Koi living in the Dark River seemed to have sensed something and all began swimming toward Liang Zhaohuang.

Even when the two of them used spells to drive them away, the Five-Colored Koi, which had previously fled at the slightest movement, now all acted contrary to their usual nature. They kept swimming toward Liang Zhaohuang, and even when they could not get close, they lingered around him without leaving.

Seeing this, Liang Zhaohuang's heart suddenly stirred. He took out the "Lotus Pond" from his sleeve and held it out in his hand.

Sure enough, those Five-Colored Koi all swam toward the "Lotus Pond."

Liang Zhaohuang hesitated for a moment, but still sent magical power into the "Lotus Pond." Immediately, a sheet of five-colored light swept out from the "Lotus Pond," and wherever it passed, it drew the approaching Five-Colored Koi one after another into the "Lotus Pond."

At the sight of this, the Five-Colored Koi lingering around them were not frightened away. Instead, like moths flying into the flame, they charged over one after another, rushing into the five-colored light and being taken into the "Lotus Pond."

In only a quarter of an hour, Liang Zhaohuang felt signs that the magical power in his dantian was about to bottom out. The "Lotus Pond" was still a terrifying "bottomless pit."

Fortunately, however, it no longer had that terror from the beginning, as if it wished it could devour him whole. He could cut off the input of magical power at any time.

There were still vast numbers of Five-Colored Koi in the Dark River rushing toward him. Liang Zhaohuang had no choice but to swallow a "Jade Ginseng Pill," squeezing out every trace of magical power with all his might.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and the magical power recovered from swallowing the "Jade Ginseng Pill" was also about to be consumed completely. Liang Zhaohuang knew that he had to stop.

In this dangerous place, he had to leave himself some magical power for self-preservation.

At the same time, more than half of the Five-Colored Koi in the Dark River had already been taken into the "Lotus Pond." Liang Zhaohuang had not counted them carefully, but by estimation, there were probably as many as five or six hundred.

At this moment, there were still forty or fifty Five-Colored Koi lingering around them, but he could only let them go and leave them alone.

"Second Uncle, go."

Liang Zhaohuang took the "Lotus Pond" back into his sleeve and said in a low voice.

By now, he had little magical power remaining, and could only do his utmost to protect himself. Opening the way and sweeping away the threats around them could only be left to Clan Leader Liang Xuelin.

At the same time, he took out another "Jade Ginseng Pill" and swallowed it, beginning to recover his magical power.

Swallowing "Jade Ginseng Pill" continuously like this was not a good choice. Where there was medicine, there was poison, and spirit pills inevitably contained pill toxins. Swallowing spirit pills repeatedly within a short time would cause pill toxins to accumulate, and clearing them out afterward would be quite troublesome.

Moreover, for Liang Zhaohuang to swallow "Jade Ginseng Pill" directly while on the move, without stopping to circulate his cultivation method and refine it, made his efficiency in using the "Jade Ginseng Pill" extremely low. Nearly half of its medicinal power would be wasted.

But at this moment, whether it was pill toxin or waste, these were prices that had to be paid.

Liang Zhaohuang understood this distinction very clearly.

Clan Leader Liang Xuelin had been guarding at his side the entire time, protecting Liang Zhaohuang's actions. Hearing this now, he said no more and directly stealthily traveled ahead.

Although there were still thirty or forty Five-Colored Koi lingering to their left and right, trying to charge toward Liang Zhaohuang, with this number, Clan Leader Liang Xuelin could already use spells to raise waves, pushing them away and blocking them, so they would no longer obstruct their stealthy movement.

The two traveled stealthily all the way, and with no further accidents, they soon left the Dark River and entered the river outside.

There were no changes in the river either. Only those dozens of Five-Colored Koi still chased closely behind them.

The two could only ignore them. They left the river and went ashore, and each immediately activated a "Wind-Walking Talisman," quickly rushing toward the interior of Ning Province.

Those dozens of Five-Colored Koi chased them as far as the river, but could not go ashore. They could only linger by the riverbank, leaping out of the water from time to time, powerless to continue the pursuit.

Instead, the constant leaping of these Spirit Fish attracted the attention of a demon bird hidden among the clouds in the sky.

These Spirit Fish were also an excellent delicacy for demon birds, and of great help to cultivation.

Unable to resist the temptation, the demon bird became a black shadow descending from the sky. It swept across the river surface at extreme speed, grabbed two Five-Colored Koi, and rushed back into the sky.

The Five-Colored Koi in the river were immediately startled and fled in all directions, diving one after another into the depths of the river.

Although the demon bird had moved swiftly, it still alerted the "Imperial Sky Guard." A Flying Boat quickly arrived and patrolled above the great river, but discovered nothing in the end and could only leave.

By this time, Liang Zhaohuang and the other had already traveled stealthily and cautiously all the way, quickly hurrying out of Yongchang Commandery.

Because they had their "harvest" on them, the two of them were even more cautious on the return to Ning Province City. They would rather make detours and move slowly than allow the slightest mishap.

Fortunately, perhaps luck was with them. They encountered no accidents all the way to Ning Province City.

They waited in Ning Province City for a Flying Boat returning to Yang Province. This time, however, it was not as quick as when they had come. The two of them waited for more than a month before a suitable Flying Boat passed by.

Moreover, this Flying Boat was not returning to Yang Province along the route through Yi Province and Jing Province, but rather along the more southern route through Jiao Province and Guang Province, then entering the territory of Yang Province.

Compared with the Jing Province and Yi Province route they had taken when coming here, the southern Jiao Province and Guang Province were both border provinces of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, where the war zones were located, and were therefore even more dangerous.

Jiao Province was the main battlefield between the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty and the Demon Race, while Guang Province was also long plagued by invasions.

But Liang Zhaohuang and Liang Xuelin had no other choice. A Flying Boat taking the Yi Province and Jing Province route would not arrive until nearly five months later.

The night was long and dreams were many. Leaving aside how many unforeseen changes might occur in those five months, perhaps one sudden war between the Demon Race and the human race would drag them into it and leave them dead in a foreign land.

The cost of five months alone was far beyond what they could support.

While in Ning Province City, food, clothing, lodging, and cultivation—every single thing the two of them did required spirit stones.

The Liang Family had only just established its clan less than a hundred years ago, a poor and humble household with limited spirit stones saved up. This time, they had brought out nearly a third of them.

After deducting the cost of taking the Flying Boat there and back, there was already not much left. Waiting in Ning Province City for over a month had nearly used it all up; if they kept waiting, they would have no spirit stones to support them.

Moreover, this trip to Ning Province was to seek an inheritance, a matter tied to the rise and fall of the clan. To avoid any mishaps, they would rather do less and make fewer mistakes, do nothing and make no mistakes, unwilling to grow new branches outside the joint.

Things like bringing some goods to resell between the two provinces, or relying on their talisman-making skills to earn some spirit stones, were all directly abandoned by them.

So, they could only take a little risk and board the Flying Boat on the Jiao Province and Guang Province route to return to Yang Province.

They could only trust that the second-rank aristocratic family, the "Changfeng" Liu Clan, with its many years of experience and strength in operating Flying Boats, could ensure the safety of this flight.

On the Flying Boat, the two of them were almost constantly on tenterhooks, deeply afraid of encountering some accident. This flight was not only related to the life and death of the two of them, but also to the Liang Family's hope, leaving them no choice but to be careful and cautious.

For more than two months of flight, including stops at Jiao Province City and Guang Province City, Liang Zhaohuang and his companion kept shrinking back in the compartment where they stayed, never stepping out even half a pace.

Finally, the Flying Boat landed at Ganquan Mountain outside Yang Province City. With not a single accident along the way, both of them let out a long breath of relief.

Heartfelt thanks to fellow reader "Black Cloud Daoist" for the tip and support!

Heartfelt thanks to fellow reader "Magical Mengmengda" for the tip and support!