A Thousand Li Away

With his golden wings flapping, Zhang Xuezhou, feeling dizzy and disoriented, rushed out of the underwater palace.

He happened to be in the water palace just as Ao Qing was recovering from his shock.

After exchanging a few words, Ao Qing, who thought he was just drinking with the eldest brother, immediately agreed to shake his head and sway his body a thousand times before they began to compete in leaping.

Before Ao Qing could even finish his thought, Ao Li returned with Dong Zhongshu.

Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to try and see if Ao Li would let him run him over.

Soaring into the sky, Zhang Xuezhou rose from the deep water, transforming into a crooked golden light above the Gaoyou Lake.

The Demon Power within his body was incredibly strong. The only way Zhang Xuezhou could think of to return to normal was to continuously consume the Demon Power, thereby restoring himself to his original state.

The only demonic spells he used that utilized his Demon Power were the Technique Within the Clouds and the Drowsiness Technique.

Compared to the low-level spell of Drowsiness Technique, which consumes a Demon Power, Technique Within the Clouds is undoubtedly more suitable for quickly expending Demon Power.

As the golden wings spread across the sky, Zhang Xuezhou felt a chill creep into the warm weather.

He felt as if he were piloting a fighter jet performing somersaults, and the world before his eyes was spinning.

As he tumbled and flew through the air, the only thing he could maintain was to quickly change direction whenever the landscape flashed before his eyes, so as to avoid plunging headfirst into the air and losing his life.

"Hey, slow down, you almost crashed into me..."

A slightly familiar voice came from inside, and Zhang Xuezhou didn't pause.

A giant blue dragon seemed to flash through his eyes, then rolled away and disappeared without a trace, and he didn't hear a word the other person said afterward.

"Hey, isn't this... you know what?"

After a series of dizzying leaps and bounds, and realizing that no matter how he flew up, down, left, or right, he would hardly crash to the ground in a moment, Zhang Xuezhou relaxed slightly in his dazed state.

He only regained his senses when he heard a sound again.

"That's some kind of flying technique! It's quite unique!"

Your wings are even more beautiful now!

"I'm so envious of golden wings!"

The incessant chatter kept entering his ears, yet it kept pace with Zhang Xuezhou's rapid leaps. After thinking for a while, Zhang Xuezhou finally remembered Bilan, whom he had met in a secret place Chang'an City.

Pilan was a bird demon, and he had discussed bird nests with the other party; the other party was one of his only two bird friends.

"Where am I?" Zhang Xuezhou shouted.

"This is Bashu, the place you said you could find Zhu Shiyin," Pilan replied.

"We've actually arrived in Sichuan?"

The journey from Jiangdu to Bashu is over three thousand li, and even flying in a straight line would take two thousand li.

This was the journey they took nearly three months, involving a horse-drawn carriage and a waterway.

Zhang Xuezhou never imagined that he could fly such a long distance after regaining consciousness.

He shook his head vigorously, feeling his mind clear up a bit, the dizziness he used to feel was gone, and the dripping sound in his head subsided.

Under normal cultivation conditions, even if Zhang Xuezhou reached the Golden Wing stage of Technique Within the Clouds, he would only be able to fly three to five hundred miles. Now, he has flown two to three thousand miles at a rapid pace, which is obviously due to the excessive amount of Demon Power poured into his body.

"I really envy your strong demon bones. Without good demon bones, you couldn't possibly support the ability to fly upside down like that!"

Pilan looked at Zhang Xuezhou with envy, feeling that the other's agility was superb.

For the bird demons, flying is an innate ability, and it is also something they constantly compare and compete with.

After comparing the two, Pi Lan clearly acknowledged Zhang Xuezhou's flying ability.

Although Zhang Xuezhou's speed in flight was not as fast as Zhang Xuezhou's, his ability to somersault, spin, fly up, down, left, and right in the air, and switch directions at will, was almost unmatched by any bird demon.

"Not many bird demons can fly like you," Pilan said enviously. "If any bird demon had this ability, they wouldn't even need to practice flying speed to save their lives."

Am I really that amazing?

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head, feeling dizzy and disoriented, which greatly enhanced his potential for flight.

He flew around in all directions and found that he could operate it when he was awake, without much discomfort.

This was an unexpected gain for him after leaving the Gaoyou Water Palace.

Although he had flown quite a distance from Jiangdu, his brain had recovered to about 60-70% of its previous state, and he had even gained some impressive flying skills. Zhang Xuezhou was quite satisfied with himself.

His Demon Power was still abundant and not depleted, so returning to Jiang should not be difficult.

This prompted him to ask Pilan for directions.

"Hey, don't go! Help me find that Zhu Shiyin, and I'll thank you for it!"

Upon seeing Zhang Xuezhou ask for directions and prepare to fly away, Bi Lan quickly blocked his way.

"I don't know where that damn guy is either," Zhang Xuezhou said. "You'll have to ask Kong Ning for help with this!"

"Miss Kong said she lost her precious sword several years ago and hasn't found it yet, so I can't count on her to help find the Zhu Shiyin," Pi Lan said. "Besides, she's had a lot of bad luck these past two years. Not only did she lose her sword, but she was also beaten up. She said she's going to practice her martial arts diligently now because there's a big operation she needs to participate in sometime, so she doesn't lose her life and be unable to help me!"

"A major operation? What major operation?"

Pilan's mouth, as always, couldn't keep a secret; he blurted out whatever he had heard.

Zhang Xuezhou didn't mind; he was quite curious about what big move Kong Ning was planning.

"It seems to be related to some emperor," Pilan said, scratching his head. "I'll ask around more next time and then I'll tell you!"

"Alright!"

Pi Lan's information was obviously limited, but Pi Lan's request for Zhang Xuezhou to seek help did pique Zhang Xuezhou's interest.

"Hey sis, I happen to be looking for two people too. You travel all over the place and have a lot of information, could you help me think of a way to find them?" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Who is it?" Pilan asked curiously.

"One is named Li Shaojun, and the other is named Yao Yuanguang," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Is the Yao Yuanguang you're talking about the swindler from Dongtianmen?" Pilan asked.

"He's a fortune teller, so he shouldn't be considered a fraud, right?" Zhang Xuezhou asked uncertainly.

"Nine out of ten of his predictions are wrong," Pilan said. "Three days ago he said I could find the Zhu Shiyin here, but I've been wandering around here these past few days and just happened to run into you. I even gave him Thousand Flower Wine as payment for his divination skills!"

"Zhu Shiyin?" Zhang Xuezhou asked, then asked, "Where was Yao Yuanguang three days ago?"

"He was in Chang'an City. I ran into him at my friend's place!"

"They went to Chang'an City?"

Zhang Xuezhou was taken aback, only to realize that he was fortunate to have stumbled upon Bi Lan by chance. If Bi Lan hadn't reminded him, he would have had to go to the area near Mount Tai to search for Yao Yuanguang.

"How could Yao Yuanguang even cheat a poor person like you out of his Thousand Flower Wine? Let's go find him and demand justice!"

Zhang Xuezhou touched the Eye of the Bashe in the Heavenly Robe Pouch and realized that Yao Yuanguang was indeed quite skilled at divination.

Although Pilan didn't encounter Zhu Shiyin, he did meet Zhang Xuezhou, who possessed the Eye of the Bashe, so he was somewhat involved in physiognomy.

Yao Yuanguang was indeed hard to find; otherwise, the King of Huainan wouldn't have needed to ask him for help.

After thinking it over, Zhang Xuezhou felt that once he returned to Jiangdu and Lady Yourong, he needed to go back to Chang'an City as soon as possible to see if he could find an opportunity to rescue the remaining Zhang Household Village people from Yao Yuanguang.

He's so full of Demon Power that it's making his head hurt; he should be able to fly back and forth a few times.

Especially since Pilan is a powerful demon skilled in flight, he might be able to take him along, or learn some better flight techniques from Pilan, allowing him to utilize his Demon Power more effectively.

He was thinking quickly, not caring that Dong Zhongshu was still trapped in the Gaoyou Water Mansion.

As long as Dong Zhongshu wasn't beaten to death on the spot by Ao Li, things wouldn't be so urgent, and Zhang Xuezhou could take care of some personal matters first.

If there's enough opportunity, that's a different story.

In short, Zhang Xuezhou felt that he should deal with whichever task was simpler first, since his lucid time was limited and he couldn't afford to dawdle.

I think you make a lot of sense!

Upon hearing that Zhang Xuezhou was willing to help seek justice, Bi Lan became excited and couldn't wait to find Yao Yuanguang and get back the Qianhua Wine that had swindled him from.