Standing at the gate of the old house in the east, Wang Hao peered inside, hoping to catch a glimpse of that red-clad figure again. Unfortunately, he waited for a full quarter of an hour but still couldn't see the person he was looking for.
"What does this girl mean? She helped you out a lot once, and now she can't even say goodbye?"
Wang Hao muttered to himself, wondering why that girl was still avoiding him.
Three days have passed since that night, but Dongfang Bai has been deliberately avoiding him. Even when he goes to find her, she always makes excuses to avoid him.
Now that I'm about to leave, they didn't even come to see me off.
"It's just touching most of your body, what's there to be shy about? In modern times, which massage therapist doesn't massage most of their customer's body?"
As a modern person, he expressed his incomprehension of the excessive reserve of the ancients.
"Well!"
With a regretful sigh, Wang Hao entered the carriage that had been waiting for him.
The carriage was prepared at Granny Song's request. Although it was not luxurious, it was very sturdy, and several thick blankets were placed inside to prevent bumps on the journey. There were also some tea and snacks prepared on the side walls. It was really very thoughtful.
Seeing that Wang Hao was seated, the driver urged the two fine horses toward the ferry.
What Wang Hao didn't notice was that shortly after he left the town, two figures appeared from the side, watching the carriage depart; it was Granny Song and Dongfang Bai.
Dongfang Bai's expression was quite complex at this moment, showing a mixture of embarrassment, annoyance, and frustration, as well as a hint of reluctance.
Granny Song remained silent and did not disturb her young mistress.
As someone who had been through it all, she naturally understood the shyness of newlyweds in this regard, especially her own daughter, who appeared Tyrannical Dao but was actually conservative and reserved at heart.
This is something that only the young lady can figure out on her own; outsiders can't help her.
However, Granny Song kept glancing at Dongfang Bai's lower abdomen, secretly wondering if the girl was pregnant. The battle that night had been quite intense; the sounds of lovemaking lasted for most of the night.
In addition, he had calculated the timeline, and these few days were Girl Bai's fertile window, so the chances of her getting pregnant were very high!
Neither Wang Hao nor Dongfang Bai expected that the sound of patting their bodies to activate and gather the Bloodline Power would be misinterpreted by Granny Wang as some kind of lovemaking gesture, leading to this misunderstanding.
On the other side, Wang Hao sat in the carriage and arrived at the nearest canal ferry in the afternoon. He then headed north overnight, intending to visit the Dugu Family to read the martial arts manuals inside and improve his martial arts foundation.
It must be said that although Emperor Yang of Sui became the last emperor of the country, the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal he built was indeed a great benefit to future generations. If one were to travel by land and take a horse-drawn carriage to reach the Dugu Family, it would take at least half a month, but by boat, one could travel through the Beijing–Hangzhou Grand Canal and then the Yellow River in just three days.
Moreover, this type of river transport involves almost no consumption, unlike horse-drawn carriages where horses need water and grass.
Most importantly, Wang Hao is simply too heavy. His current weight has reached a terrifying two thousand jin, which is too much for a regular carriage to bear.
The two fine horses that had pulled the cart earlier had only taken him to the canal ferry; they had almost exhausted themselves traveling dozens of miles.
This is only because the road is flat; if it were muddy, we might have had to stop halfway.
Therefore, someone like him can only travel by boat, and specifically, by a large boat!
Wearing a straw hat, they boarded the boat and three days later finally arrived at the ferry closest to the Dugu Family's home.
After glancing at the path leading west from the ferry crossing, Wang Hao turned his gaze to the continuous mountain range to the east.
" The Dugu Family is truly ruthless; they actually located their clan deep in the mountains and rivers."
Looking at the continuous mountain range, Wang Hao couldn't help but complain.
The Dugu Family is a truly reclusive family. They have even moved their clan's territory deep in the mountains. From there, it would take at least a hundred miles of mountain road to get there, making it impossible for ordinary people to get there.
In those days, there were practically no mountain paths, and the mountains were teeming with wild animals. Even martial arts masters would have a hard time venturing in, let alone finding a small village amidst so many towering mountains.
Fortunately, Wang Hao was no ordinary person. As soon as he entered the mountains, he met up with Wangcai, who had been chasing after him. Then, riding on the guy's back, he advanced deeper into the mountains as Dugu Qiubai had instructed.
In the past two months, Wangcai has grown even larger, and its strength has reached a terrifying 70,000 jin. So even though it was carrying the Shameless Greatsword weighing 10,000 jin on its back, it was still easy for it to carry Wang Hao, thus fulfilling Wang Hao's dream of becoming a husky knight.
Wangcai was quite fast, crossing more than a dozen mountains in an Tokiomi before stopping at the summit.
Looking down from Wangcai's back, you can vaguely see a small village hidden at the foot of the mountain; that must be the Dugu Family!
After letting Wangcai disappear into the woods behind him, Wang Hao straightened his clothes and walked down the mountain towards the village.
"Brother, this must be the Dugu Family!"
Upon arriving at the village entrance, Wang Hao asked a young man who was chopping wood with a wooden sword a question, while secretly observing the man.
Although the opponent was wielding only an ordinary wooden sword, an extremely sharp sword aura emanated from its blade, causing the wood to be sliced open as easily as tofu.
This is clearly a cultivation method, and it's no wonder they're from the Dugu Family. Anyone you randomly encounter has the cultivation of the Grandmaster Realm, and it seems they could advance to the so-called Half-step Innate at any moment.
Even more terrifying, according to his senses, there were no fewer than a hundred Grandmaster- level experts in this small mountain village with fewer than a hundred households, and thirteen of them were at the Half-step Innate Realm, making them far more terrifying than the famous sects in the martial arts world.
You practice swordsmanship too?
Straightening up, the young man turned to look at Wang Hao, as if he had noticed something, and a fierce fighting spirit appeared in his eyes.
"Yes, I practice swordsmanship too!"
Smiling and nodding, Wang Hao picked up a piece of wood that the young man had split open, intending to use it as a longsword.
He had already sensed the opponent's fighting spirit and understood that this battle was unavoidable. Moreover, he also wanted to test the strength of the Dugu Family.
"Shall we have a fight?"
"Let's fight!"
Seeing Wang Hao's actions, the young man became even more excited. After receiving Wang Hao's affirmative answer, he immediately raised his wooden sword and thrust it forward, a wisp of incomparably sharp sword energy gathering at the tip of the sword.
Although it's a wooden sword, with the added power of its sword energy, it's far more terrifying than an iron sword.
Wang Hao did not hesitate and also condensed a sword aura on the wooden strip in his hand to clash with it.
This person's swordsmanship is indeed extraordinary. Not only is his sword energy sharp, but his sword techniques are also close to perfect, making it difficult to find any flaws. He would be considered a top-tier Grandmaster -level expert in the outside world.
However, Wang Hao is stronger, and his Sword Dao is more profound. Especially after being guided by Dugu Qiubai during his days at the old Dongfang residence, he has made rapid progress. Not to mention a Grandmaster Realm, he would dare to fight even a veteran Innate Realm expert.
In this way, Wang Hao did not move his body at all, and with only his right arm and the wooden stick in his hand, he completely blocked the young man's attacks, appearing relaxed and at ease.
" Qingshan, step back!"
After a long struggle, an elderly man who had appeared out of nowhere spoke up, signaling the young man to step back.
Upon hearing this, the young man called Qingshan, though unwilling, stepped back.
He was well aware of the vast gap between himself and the young man in front of him. He had just used all his strength, but he still couldn't do anything to the other party, and he couldn't even make the other party sway.
The gap in strength between the two sides is too great; continuing the fight would only lead to further humiliation.
"The old gentleman must be Senior Dugu Ye! I am Zhu Yanzu, and I have come to the Sword Hall to cultivate on the orders of my master, Dugu Qiubai. This is a letter from my master to all of you seniors!"
Following Dugu Qiubai's instructions, Wang Hao bowed to the old man and handed him the Profound Iron Sword Token.
" Sword Hall!"
Upon hearing Wang Hao's words, the young man Dugu Qingshan's expression changed drastically, a hint of fear appearing deep in his eyes, clearly indicating that the Sword Hall was no ordinary place.
"It really is Goudan's Xuan Profound Iron Sword Token!"
After carefully examining the Profound Iron Sword Token for a long time, the old man finally confirmed that the token was genuine. He did not immediately open the letter, but instead put it into his sleeve.
" Goudan? Could that be the real name of that old guy, Dugu Qiubai? Dugu Goudan?"
Wang Hao's expression was somewhat strange. He knew that Dugu Qiubai was just a title. According to the old man Dugu Qiubai, members of the Dugu Family could obtain the title of Dugu Qiubai when they broke through to the Innate Realm and traveled in the martial arts world.
However, the old man never revealed his real name. Now it seems that his real name should be Dugu Goudan. No wonder the old man refused to reveal his real name.
That name is really tacky!
"Since you are Goudan's disciple, then follow me!"
The old man's cloudy old eyes sized up Wang Hao, and he nodded, signaling Wang Hao to follow.
Wang Hao naturally wouldn't refuse and quickly followed.
Dugu Qingshan had remained silent until now, gritted his teeth and followed.
The small mountain village was not large. The three of them soon arrived at the end of the village, where there was a mountain wall with a huge cave carved out by man in the middle.
That was the Sword Hall of the Dugu Family, a secret place where martial arts classics were stored.
Of the thirteen Half-step Innate experts that Wang Hao had sensed earlier, twelve were in the Sword Hall, making a total of thirteen including the old man who led the way.
" The Sword Hall is located deep within the cave. You can go there on your own; someone will bring you food on time."
The old man pointed towards the depths of the cave, indicating that Wang Hao should go there on his own.
Thank you!
Nodding, Wang Hao stepped deeper into the cave.
"Chieftain, I..."
Seeing Wang Hao walk deeper into the cave, Dugu Qingshan hesitated for a moment, but finally looked at the old man with a resolute expression, clearly preparing to follow him in.
"Sigh! You should go too! But don't push yourself too hard. If you can't hold on, step down, otherwise you'll ruin your foundation and have no future!"
With a sigh, the old man waved for Dugu Qingshan to go inside.
Although there are great opportunities within the Sword Hall, they are also accompanied by Great Wind, even life-threatening ones, and cannot be forced.
However, he also understood how much of a blow this younger generation had suffered today. A young man of similar age possessed Sword Dao far surpassing his own, and even with all his might, he couldn't make the opponent sway in the slightest, let alone force him to retreat.
He wasn't someone who couldn't accept defeat, but he couldn't tolerate the alarming gap between himself and his peers, so he had to become stronger!
"Thank you, clan chief!"
After bowing to the old man, Dugu Qingshan resolutely stepped into the depths of the cave.
Leaving aside Dugu Qingshan who was following behind, Wang Hao, who was in front, walked slowly forward while observing his surroundings.
At the top of the cave were many stones resembling fluorescent stones, whose shimmering light illuminated the dark cave, allowing him to see everything around him.
This should be a natural cave, which was later carved and expanded by humans to become what it is today. There are also very obvious sword marks on the surrounding cave walls, indicating that it was expanded Sword One.
"Huh? Power?"
As they ventured deeper into the cave, Wang Hao seemed to sense something, his gaze fixed intently on the depths of the cave.
He could sense a pressure coming towards him, not a physical pressure, but a mental pressure, as if there was some terrifying presence deep in the cave.
Moreover, this pressure felt familiar to him, having appeared many times in his memories of his Primordial World past life.