Arrival at Ye City

Half a month later, Su Qian led Xiao Yan and Xun'er to their planned destination—Horizon City.

When Su Qian brought Xiao Yan to a blackstone square in the center of Horizon City, Xiao Yan stared at the massive black hole in the middle of the square, over thirty meters wide, so astonished that he could not even close his mouth.

Seeing Xiao Yan's reaction, Su Qian burst into laughter, as though he had recalled something amusing, before explaining,

"That is a spatial wormhole. It can greatly shorten the time needed for long-distance travel. That is also why we only need three months to reach the Central Domain. Only experts above the Dou Venerable level can construct such a thing, and once it is built, it requires daily maintenance by Dou Sects. It is something that can only be found in the Central Plains."

Dou Venerables built them, and Dou Sects maintained them...

As he silently imagined it, Xiao Yan swallowed hard. He had not even entered the Central Domain yet, but this single wormhole had already given him quite a shock and made him even more eager to see the prosperity and wonders of that place.

"First Elder, then let's hurry up and go."

Xiao Yan urged him in a hoarse voice. His voice had become like this because he had been studying that Earth Tier sonic Dou Technique lately, leaving Xun'er both distressed and amused whenever she heard him.

Su Qian was not as impatient as Xiao Yan. "No rush. There are unexpectedly many people here. I'll find out what is going on."

These were naturally the words of an experienced elder. After telling the two of them to wait for a while, Su Qian drifted away. It was only a short while before he returned.

Unable to bear hearing Xiao Yan strain his broken-gong voice any further, Xun'er took the initiative to ask, "First Elder, is there something wrong with the wormhole here?"

Su Qian waved his hand. "It is nothing. I have already asked around. A treasured land called the Heavenly Mountain Blood Pool in the Northern Region of the Central Plains is about to open, so many people are rushing there. It has nothing to do with us."

Xiao Yan interjected, "Since there's no problem, First Elder, let's go quickly. I can hardly wait any longer!"

Hearing Xiao Yan's hoarse voice, Su Qian laughed and scolded him as well,

"What are you in such a hurry for, brat? We still have a long road ahead of us! Save your voice and practice that Dou Technique properly!"

After saying that, he took out an item and pulled along the dejected Xiao Yan and the Xun'er who was covering her mouth to stifle her laughter as they stepped into the wormhole...

Along the way, they switched from wormholes to magical beasts, then from magical beasts back to wormholes. Just when Xiao Yan was nearly about to forget where they were headed, Su Qian finally stopped at a city.

"We're here."

Xiao Yan jolted upright, his face full of delight. His voice had returned somewhat to normal now, though it still carried a hint of huskiness.

"First Elder, is this the Pill Region?"

Su Qian shook his head. "The Pill Region is not somewhere one can enter so casually. I have an old friend here. He holds some influence within the Pill Tower and may be able to help us."

Xiao Yan naturally did not understand, but Xun'er's eyes turned as she whispered to him,

"This should be Ye City, the base of the Ye Clan, one of the Pill Tower's Five Great Clans. First Elder's friend is most likely an elder or someone of similar standing within the Ye Clan."

After Xun'er's explanations over this period of time, Xiao Yan was no longer as ignorant of the Central Plains as before. He quickly realized what she meant.

"So this is one of the Five Great Clans. I never expected First Elder's connections to be so extensive, that he even knows someone of this stature."

Having silently offered a bit of flattery, Xiao Yan saw Su Qian accept it with a faint smile. Then, with a nostalgic look on his face, Su Qian said,

"He is merely an old friend I met in my younger days. Back then, he was still a beardless little brat. In the blink of an eye, so many years have passed, and now he is a Seventh-Grade Alchemist. When it comes down to it, he is far stronger than this old man."

"Seventh Grade!" Xiao Yan froze on the spot. He had never even seen a Sixth-Grade Alchemist, much less a Seventh-Grade Alchemist. He suddenly felt somewhat restrained.

Xun'er keenly sensed Xiao Yan's nervousness. She gently took his hand and said softly by his ear,

"Don't be nervous, Brother Xiao Yan. Xun'er believes in you. Whether in Dou Qi or alchemy, your future achievements will certainly not stop at the seventh grade."

"Xun'er..." Xiao Yan looked back at her, deeply moved. "Thank you..."

His words were ruthlessly interrupted by a certain old fellow immersed in his memories.

"That's right! Xiao Yan, this old man believes in you too! Stay in the Central Plains for ten or twenty years, and you certainly won't be inferior to that old fellow!"

"...Thank you, First Elder... (￣□￣)"

Xiao Yan and the others entered the city and went straight to a manor in the city center. From its exterior alone, it was clearly magnificent and lavish, showing that the clan within possessed extraordinary power.

Just as Xiao Yan was privately thinking that his First Elder seemed completely out of place with this setting, Su Qian suddenly let out a long roar.

"Ye Zhong! An old friend has come to visit. Are you still alive?"

The voice of a Dou Sect instantly spread throughout the entirety of Ye City, while also triggering the manor's defenses. Experts continuously flew into the sky from within the manor, but because Su Qian's words carried no hostility, they did not fly over and merely watched from afar.

"Su Qian?! Hahaha, is that you, you old ghost?"

As the voice rang out, a man flew from the Ye Clan and headed straight toward Su Qian. Once the others saw that Su Qian truly was this man's friend, they immediately returned to the ground and stopped paying attention, clearly indicating that this man held no low status within the Ye Clan.

The person who landed before Su Qian was also an old man. In Xiao Yan's eyes, he did seem somewhat more vigorous than the aged First Elder, but not by much.

Both old men had white hair and beards. They should have been at an age when nothing could stir their hearts, yet they now grabbed each other's arms, unable to suppress the smiles on their tree-bark-like faces.

"You old bastard, you finally decided to come see me! I thought you'd spend the rest of your life hiding in that backwater of yours!"

"I was passing by and decided to take a look at you. You old ghost still hasn't died, huh? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Truly, calamities live for a thousand years."

"Bullshit! Do you understand the value of a Seventh-Grade Alchemist? You'll definitely die before I do!"

Anyone who saw this scene would understand that these two shared an extremely deep friendship.

"I've been meaning to ask. These two children behind you... are they your grandson and granddaughter?"

"No, they are my students. I came to find you this time because of this child..."

"Forget that for now. No business talk today! You old bastard have only come once after all these years. Tonight, the two of us will drink until we drop!"

Su Qian could only reveal a wry smile, though he was somewhat tempted as well. Xiao Yan naturally was not so tactless. Once the Ye Clan arranged accommodations for the two of them, he pulled Xun'er away.

As they walked, Xun'er said with a smile, "I never expected the First Elder to have such a side to him. It truly is surprising."

"Yeah. It seems that even the First Elder had a youthful time."

"Hahaha, what silly things are you saying, Brother Xiao Yan..."

The two of them strolled along slowly. Xiao Yan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Xun'er, didn't you say you were going home for a visit? When are you planning to return?"

At the mention of this topic, the smile on Xun'er's face stiffened slightly, but it quickly returned to normal. "After things settle down on Brother Xiao Yan's side. Once everything is going smoothly for you, I'll go back for a visit."

Xiao Yan rubbed Xun'er's hair. "You silly girl, do I need you to worry about me? With the First Elder here, what is there to fear?"

Xun'er did not speak after that. Following a moment of silence, she suddenly asked somewhat bashfully,

"Brother Xiao Yan, would you blame Xun'er for not telling you about the power behind me?"

Xiao Yan was slightly stunned. He had not expected Xun'er's silence to be because of this. After thinking for a moment, he asked a question as well. "Would you harm me?"

"Of course not!"

"Then neither would I."

Hearing Xiao Yan's resolute answer, Xun'er's smile bloomed once more. Its warmth was so dazzling that Xiao Yan found it difficult to look at her directly.

"Um... it's getting late. I should go rest too."

"Brother Xiao Yan!"

Xun'er called out to stop Xiao Yan, who was about to flee. She spoke softly but firmly,

"One day, I will tell you about my origins!"