Luo Chaoge opened her eyes in the midst of her breakthrough.
Seeing Qi Yan standing blankly beside her, Luo Chaoge quickly reined in her fierce aura of sword intent soaring into the heavens. She felt a little awkward instead, unsure how to begin.
Both knew her earlier claim that they were "childhood sweethearts" had been a pretext, and neither had taken it seriously. But saying it before her master this time clearly carried a hint of pleading with him through their "intimate relationship." Against the backdrop of their helping each other, it took on a somewhat ambiguous air.
It seemed the more she used that label, the more real it became.
Fortunately, Qi Yan was not so narcissistic as to think she actually wanted anything romantic with him. They had simply been returning peaches for plums, helping each other out, so he soon broke the awkward silence. "Um... congratulations on reaching Golden Core."
Luo Chaoge came back to herself too and smiled. "Shall we walk?"
They walked side by side toward the edge of the woods. Only after strolling for quite a while did Luo Chaoge ask softly, "Why... did you take poison? Weren't you afraid something would happen before the spell took effect?"
Qi Yan gave a dry cough. "I was the one who drew that Golden Core old man here. I didn't want to drag you into trouble."
Luo Chaoge said, "Whatever led up to it, swallowing that poison couldn't have been easy."
Qi Yan smiled without answering, changing the subject instead. "Your sect considers Witchcraft an evil art?"
Luo Chaoge said, "Don't you find Witchcraft a little sinister yourself? All those sacrifices and curses on human bodies."
Qi Yan thought for a moment. "It's just ancient. It looks sinister, but surely it's different from the demonic path, whose very foundations are things like killing people, refining souls, and harvesting others to replenish yourself."
Luo Chaoge said, "Besides looking sinister, there should be some historical reasons too, though I don't really know the details... personally, though, I think what matters most is how people use it."
"So that's why you didn't react when you saw me using witch curses right from the start?"
"Yes. I'd never encountered anyone who used Witchcraft, after all, so I had no real idea of it and naturally felt no resistance either. But apparently the older generation really dislikes it. My master merely finds it repugnant, which is comparatively mild. Some people consider it taboo and won't rest until they've eradicated it. Be careful out there. Don't use these things too freely in public, or you might grow new branches of trouble."
"Understood." Qi Yan paused, but still said, "Your master... might be the senior who best fits my dreams of immortals out of everyone I've met so far. I suppose I should thank him for letting me know that this world truly does have immortals."
"Oh?" Luo Chaoge finally turned to look at him. "You don't blame him for treating you so badly?"
"No."
"Then... what are the immortals you dream of like?"
"I don't know, but they certainly shouldn't be like what your master condemned-scrabbling like flies and dogs, fighting for power and profit, betraying trust and loyalty. Anyway, with my little bit of cultivation, spouting lofty principles would only make people laugh. I'll find my own road someday."
Luo Chaoge looked up and pondered for a long while before sighing softly. "Master told me to settle things, but I only became more deeply involved instead. That was my mistake. Go and walk your road without worrying. I'll handle your clansmen and ancestral graves as my own affairs."
There was nothing unusual about those words. As long as you didn't let your mind wander, it was simply the assurance Luo Chaoge ought to have given anyway.
Yet, strangely enough, both their minds wandered in the same direction at that very moment: under what circumstances would a woman treat a man's clansmen and ancestral graves as her own?
The air fell silent again, and Luo Chaoge's face gradually flushed red.
Qi Yan immediately helped steer her away from the awkwardness. "Then I'll leave it to you... I should go. No need to see me any farther."
As he spoke, they emerged from the dense woods. Sunlight spilled down, and the distant road was shrouded in dust.
Luo Chaoge breathed a sigh of relief and took several spirit stones and a few bottles of pills from her ring. "Under the terms you proposed back then, I should have escorted you away, but now that the demonic sect is plotting against Anding City, I can't go far. Take these for your travel expenses... unfortunately, I didn't know I would meet you when I left, so I didn't bring much..."
Qi Yan made no empty show of politeness. He took them and tucked them into his clothes. "Thanks."
Seeing his bulging clothes, Luo Chaoge asked, "You don't have a storage ring?"
Qi Yan laughed. "Half an hour before you stopped me to negotiate, I was a discarded pawn suffering from deadly poison who could have died at any moment. I don't have anything that high-end."
Luo Chaoge hesitated, then simply pulled the ring off her hand and held it out. "Here."
Qi Yan froze. Spirit stones and pills were fine, however many he took, but a ring was a little...
But looking into Luo Chaoge's clear eyes, Qi Yan paused, then accepted it anyway with a smile. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."
There had been at least three opportunities to tease their interactions in a romantic direction, but Qi Yan had taken none of them. There was a little more appreciation in Luo Chaoge's gaze as she looked at him, and she smiled readily. "All right, I won't see you any farther. I hope that when we meet again, I'll see you walking the road you wanted. I'd like to know what your road to immortality will be like too."
With that, she turned and strode away.
Qi Yan watched her retreating figure until it vanished into the woods, then lowered his head to look at the ring in his hand.
Earlier, he had said he no longer really knew this woman, had no idea of her temperament, and was deeply wary of her. Now she appeared plainly generous and openhearted, genuinely quite a fine person.
Unfortunately, they were no longer neighbors... even their supposed "next meeting" might never come. Plenty of people never even visited the neighboring commandery in their entire lives, let alone crossed the sea.
Barring anything unexpected, this might be farewell forever. Why get all clingy?
Qi Yan let out a long breath, organized the ring's contents, and set off on his journey.
If fate allowed, they would meet again. For now, finding a master and learning was his foremost priority. She wanted to see what his road to immortality would be like? First, he had to get on that road!
As long as money was not a headache, simply traveling generally brought little trouble. Qi Yan traveled beneath the stars and moon for several days, making his way straight to the coast.
The vast sea was full of unforeseen dangers. It held powerful exotic beasts, demons, demonic rogue cultivators who plundered at will, and all manner of strange, mysterious phenomena far beyond the winds and waves of an ordinary world. Thus, even powerful cultivators who could fly rarely crossed the sea, and the continents tended toward self-sufficiency.
Of course, there was still a little contact, such as Jiang Jinyue coming to Tianliang Continent. There were also exchanges of resources, treasures, and the like. Though limited, these were enough to turn this coastal city into a classic cultivation market, with a dazzling array of shops and stalls selling treasures and pills, and even spirit pets. The country bumpkin Qi Yan was overwhelmed by the sights as he entered the city.
He had imagined that, with so little contact between continents, there would be no maritime trade, and the coast would still have fishing villages or the like. Instead, it was like this... when he reached the shoreline, streaks of light occasionally crossed the sky-flying treasures traveling back and forth. Others simply rode clouds and mist, flying on their own. How was he supposed to travel with a setup like this?
Dear customer, could your flying treasure give me a lift? Or could you carry me on your back?
There were boats, but most were ordinary fishing boats that did not look particularly large, probably used only for coastal fishing. There was just one ship that looked quite substantial, but it was heavily guarded and probably not the sort that took passengers.
In midair, Jiang Jinyue sat cross-legged on a cloud, watching Qi Yan blunder about like a headless fly. She laughed until her eyes curved into crescents.
"Sure enough, waiting by the sea was all it took to catch you, you little bastard." Jiang Jinyue gleefully watched the show. "So you thought you could shake me off? Let's see how you get to Heavenly Prefecture Continent."
Come to think of it, her divine sense could detect Qi Yan again now. Was it a matter of distance, or did Qi Yan have some secret concealment art he used while running away?
In fact, it was simply because he had put the jade pendant inside the ring... unless he deliberately activated its effects, they essentially would not manifest.
Down below, a rather frustrated Qi Yan found a boatman. "Excuse me, do your boats go to Heavenly Prefecture Continent?"
The boatman shook his head. "Large merchant ships go there occasionally, but they might not even make two round trips in a year, and they have to hire cultivators as escorts. Boats like ours only fish near the coast. Going farther is too dangerous. Heaven knows what monsters are in the sea."
"Then how would an ordinary person get to Heavenly Prefecture Continent?"
The boatman gave him a long, strange look. "What would an ordinary person go to Heavenly Prefecture Continent for? You're not some fugitive who committed a crime, are you?"
He looked ready to call for help. Qi Yan hurriedly waved his hands and backed away. "I'm just a wanderer."
"What cultivation do you have to go wandering? Scram, scram."
"Hahaha..." Jiang Jinyue rolled with laughter. "Who'd have thought this fellow would be so determined to go to the Heavenly Evolution Sect? That earns him a few points."
With a headache, Qi Yan went to a roadside restaurant to fill his stomach first.
Perhaps he should put off crossing the sea and stay in this coastal market to cultivate for a while? The supplies here looked pretty good, and being a trading hub, it should be relatively strictly managed and reasonably safe...
But he had barely sat down when he heard a drinker saying, "Hey, have you heard? In Anding City, a thousand li south of here, there's a ruthless fellow called Qi Yan who blew up his own ancestral graves and slaughtered his entire clan!"
Qi Yan: "..."
I didn't kill them all. Don't spout nonsense...
Someone else said, "I heard. Apparently, he even used evil Witchcraft."
"What's even crazier is that there's a bounty on him in the black market too. I heard it might be from the Extreme Dao Sect."
Qi Yan: "..."
What sort of secret art does the Extreme Dao Sect have? How did killing one small fry get the whole sect informed and a bounty issued?
Others were saying, "What a ruthless man. He's cut himself off from both the righteous and demonic paths. Could he be Nascent Soul or higher?"
I miss Little Crybaby. At least she only guessed middle or late Golden Core.
Qi Yan truly did not know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed his original judgment had been right. Many people throughout Anding City knew about things like him blowing up his ancestral graves. Once word spread, who cared about the causes or consequences? There really was nowhere for him to stay. He could only go out and brave the world.
Now there was this damned business with the Extreme Dao Sect too, making it even less possible to stay. His idea of hiding in this coastal market to cultivate died before it could get started.
But how was he supposed to leave? Was he supposed to imitate Brother Monkey, lash together a wooden raft, and paddle out to sea in search of immortality? Brother Monkey was a chosen son of heaven. Could an ordinary person imitate him?
As he pondered, snatches of the surrounding conversation continued drifting into his ears. "The Extreme Dao Sect still has time to put bounties on people? I heard the Resounding Sword Sect destroyed one of their secret bases early yesterday morning. A whole bunch of Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation cultivators died."
"I heard. Apparently, it started when people from the Extreme Dao Sect went after Luo Chaoge, only to run straight into Qin Poxu lying in wait. Then he followed the vine to the melon and uncovered a major hidden base."
"Apparently, Luo Chaoge shone brilliantly in that battle. Not even nineteen, and she's already broken through to Golden Core, with vast and pure sword intent. Even the Resounding Sword Sect itself was badly shaken. I've never heard of such a young Golden Core."
"Exactly. My grandmaster was over a hundred and seventy when he reached Golden Core, and plenty of people already praised him as a genius. I can't make sense of this nineteen business. Could the Resounding Sword Sect be exaggerating?"
Indeed, if he had not met Little Crybaby, Qi Yan would likewise have thought reaching Golden Core before nineteen was utterly outrageous. Normally, reaching Golden Core at a hundred or two hundred already made someone an absolute talent... more precisely, reaching Golden Core at any age was impressive. Plenty of people never broke through and died when their lifespans ran out.
No wonder Qin Poxu personally protected Luo Chaoge's cultivation from the shadows. He truly treated her like a treasure.
He only hoped Little Crybaby's master could be as normal as Qin Poxu.
While he was eating and thinking to himself, a sudden commotion rose outside the restaurant. Qi Yan instinctively turned to look. A large party was escorting a carriage past the entrance, and the sea breeze lifted its window curtain, revealing a poised, gentle face beautiful enough to topple cities and kingdoms.