"Um... fairy lady, where are you taking me?"
Chun Xiaobai endured the bone-piercing wind high in the sky and shouted.
The woman in red did not even turn her head. Her cool voice drifted back to him.
"I'll take you to Immortal Cultivation!"
At the words "Immortal Cultivation," Chun Xiaobai should have jumped for joy, yet right now, he could not feel happy at all.
From their flying speed alone, faster than a rocket, he could tell this woman's cultivation was anything but low.
She might well be a holy maiden or an elder from some major sect.
If she really kept him at her side and watched him every day, escaping would probably be harder than climbing to heaven.
Enduring the wind that sliced past his ears like knives, Chun Xiaobai ventured a question.
"Immortal lady, are you taking me... to join your sect?"
Only then did the woman in red turn her head and cast him an indifferent glance, a trace of contempt in her eyes.
"You? You are not yet qualified to enter my sect."
"Huh? Not qualified?"
Not qualified? Perfect!
Chun Xiaobai inwardly rejoiced. Being qualified was exactly what he feared!
As long as she did not tether him right under her nose, his legs belonged to him. Couldn't he go wherever he pleased?
Whatever schemes she had, once he found a chance to slip away, he guaranteed that this woman would never see him again in her life.
Suddenly, the woman in red held out a purple-gold Command Token.
"Take this. Reach the Golden Core Stage within ten years. Otherwise... die."
Chun Xiaobai paid no attention to her warning. His gaze was fixed firmly on the palm-sized purple-gold token in her hand.
With a thought, he activated it.
[Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye] activated.
The Command Token burst with dazzling blue light in his eyes.
"Holy crap! Pure gold!"
This thing was probably worth more than everything he had amassed during his years as a bandit put together.
Most importantly, it was easy to carry.
Chun Xiaobai snatched it up. His wrist suddenly sank, making him stumble and nearly plunge out of the sky. Fortunately, an invisible barrier held him up.
"What is this thing? Why is it so heavy?"
"Could it be an immortal's magic treasure?"
Chun Xiaobai hefted it in his hand, then examined it again. There was a character on it that he did not quite recognize.
A flicker of surprise crossed the woman in red's eyes.
This "Command Token" weighed two hundred jin. Ordinary cultivators needed to circulate their spiritual energy just to hold it steady, yet this fellow, who had no cultivation whatsoever, could toy with it in one hand?
As expected of someone bearing the War God Bloodline.
She snorted inwardly, a hint of anticipation quietly surfacing in her eyes.
Once this War God Bloodline enters the immortal path, let's see what you things, neither gods nor ghosts, have left to say.
Crack!
Chun Xiaobai brought the purple-gold token to his mouth and bit down hard, nearly chipping his teeth.
"Fuck!"
"This damn thing was forged from an alloy! I'm rich! I was just worrying about startup funds for Immortal Cultivation, and here they are!"
Watching his shifty eyes dart around, the woman in red vaguely sensed that something was amiss, so she warned him.
"Keep the token, keep your life. Lose the token, lose your life!"
"Don't worry, don't worry!" Chun Xiaobai hurriedly tucked the Command Token into his clothes and patted it as though it were a precious treasure.
The moment we get there, I'll find a pawnshop and pawn it for spirit stones!
What could you do about it then?
Still, he was a little puzzled about this "Golden Core Stage."
He knew Immortal Cultivation was divided into stages, but he did not really understand how advanced the Golden Core Stage was, that reaching it would take ten whole years.
Still, aren't you underestimating me a little too much?
He possessed a heaven-defying cheat like the [Treasure-Seeing Divine Eye]. He was practically built from a genius template.
Ten years?
If I couldn't reach the Golden Core level within a year, that would be an insult to my identity as a transmigrator!
Watching the islands beneath his feet race backward like pieces on a game board, he knew that each of them might well be a mortal kingdom.
This world really was absurdly vast!
It strengthened his dream of Immortal Cultivation all the more. Only with sufficient strength would he have the right to set foot in every corner of the world.
And even soar beyond the nine heavens.
At the same time, he raised his estimate of the woman beside him and the standing of her sect yet another notch.
This woman definitely has one hell of a background!
They flew for half a day.
Chun Xiaobai had already lost track of how many tens of thousands of miles they had traveled.
Beneath his feet were no longer scattered islands, but boundless wilderness and endless mountain ranges.
Though they were still at the same altitude, the peaks here were far taller and more majestic than before. Occasionally, he could see palm-sized clusters of buildings nestled among the mountains. Those were probably cities.
"As expected of the cultivation world. Even a single city is bigger than the territory of an entire mortal dynasty back there."
Chun Xiaobai took a deep breath.
Even the air here was fresher and sweeter than at his Black Wind Stronghold. As it entered his lungs, all thirty-six thousand pores on his body tingled with comfort.
He turned his head and stole another glance at the woman in red beside him.
They had been flying for most of the day, and his legs had gone numb, yet this woman still looked utterly unruffled. Not even her breathing had changed.
Once again, he silently raised his estimate of her cultivation by another level.
"Watch those mongrel eyes of yours."
The woman in red spoke without warning. Her voice was quiet, but carried a bone-piercing chill.
A wise man doesn't swallow a loss that's right in front of him!
Chun Xiaobai hurriedly withdrew his gaze and pretended to admire the scenery, looking down at the mountains and rivers again.
He suddenly noticed that they were slowing down. Their destination was clear: they were heading toward a relatively level stretch of mountains in the distance.
Their altitude was gradually dropping too.
Soon, a vast, neatly arranged complex of buildings appeared before him. Along its broad roads,
he could also see quite a few ant-sized figures moving about.
The woman in red took him straight over the city, flying toward the mountains behind it, which were wreathed in spiritual energy.
"Damn, so many immortals!"
Chun Xiaobai saw many figures riding multicolored flying swords, gourds, and even paper fans, converging from every direction on a huge circular platform at the center of the mountains.
The woman in red also brought him down onto the plaza beneath that enormous circular platform.
The moment they landed, they drew quite a few gazes. Yet those people merely gave Chun Xiaobai a hurried glance, seemingly unable to see the woman in red, before rushing toward the mountaintop again.
The instant the woman in red's toes touched the ground, her body swayed almost imperceptibly.
Chun Xiaobai happened to catch that tiny movement.
I knew it. How could flying that fast cost her nothing?
Serves you right for showing off!
The woman in red immediately circulated her spiritual energy, forcibly suppressing the injuries that had flared up inside her again. Then she spoke to Chun Xiaobai.
"This is the Eastern Realm Flying Immortal Platform. Disciples are recruited here once every ten years. You may join any sect."
"Any sect?"
Chun Xiaobai had thought this woman would forcibly shove him into some branch sect of her organization, or hand him over to a subordinate to watch. He had never expected her to let him choose freely.
Well, that makes things easy!
He immediately thumped his chest and solemnly promised.
"Rest assured! Within ten years, I'll definitely get you a Golden Core and show you just how formidable this great... how formidable I am!"
"Hmph!"
The woman in red snorted. Only a greenhorn like this, a newborn calf unafraid of tigers, could utter such wild boasts.
Still, she gave him an icy reminder.
"Don't try any tricks. All the land you can see, and every sect upon it, is my private property. I have the final say over all of it."
Before you continue