The next day, Chen Cuo and his party left Dingxiang City.
"So this is the Flying Boat! I'd heard so much about it, but today's my first chance to ride one!"
Seated aboard the Flying Boat, Cui Qiang grew more excited as the wind howled past on either side.
Unlike when Chen Cuo had carried him through the clouds before, this time the Flying Boat bore and protected him, giving him a sense of steadiness and safety.
With that reassurance, the sight of the clouds and the earth below left him refreshed in body and spirit.
Only now did he savor the joy of flight.
What was more, things had changed since their arrival: the two of them had grown close to the legendary True Person Soaring. Naturally, their spirits were higher than ever!
If anything still bothered them, it was that their master differed somewhat from the revered Immortal Dao teacher they had imagined.
At that thought, both of them glanced toward the front.
Little Pig was chatting merrily with Xietongzi, Little Turtle perched atop his head.
Indeed, Xietongzi of the Kunlun Sect had also hitched a ride on the Flying Boat.
"...I see. In that light, the credit for what happened forty years ago was mostly yours. Quite a hidden tale."
As he listened to Little Pig, Xietongzi offered the occasional comment.
"What's past is past!" Little Pig waved a hoof, looking as though the memories were too painful to revisit.
Beside them, Xiang Ran watched Xietongzi warily.
She had originally resolved not to yield, even if Xietongzi invoked his standing as a senior fellow cultivator. She wanted no further entanglement with this Longevity cultivator from Kunlun.
But Xietongzi had also received word from his sect concerning the Turks' advance south. Kunlun had even contacted Great Hua Mountain,