Translator: CinderTL
Song Wen retrieved a Blood Demon Pill, swallowed it, and began refining the medicinal pill's Spiritual Qi to enhance his cultivation.
Since Chi Pei hadn't yet set out, Song Wen was determined to maximize his cultivation progress in the meantime.
Several months passed in the blink of an eye.
One day, the Yin-Yang Transmission Array finally stirred to life.
At the center of the formation, an Array Disk the size of a millstone glowed faintly with a silvery-white radiance.
Song Wen pointed at the Array Disk, and immediately Shi Man's voice echoed from it.
[Ye Hua, Young Master Chi Pei has confirmed our departure for Phoenix Feather City in three days. You must reach Cloudveil City as soon as possible to avoid missing the departure time.]
[Senior Shi Man, rest assured, this junior will arrive in Cloudveil City within three days,] Song Wen replied.
After ending the transmission, Song Wen probed his Storage Ring with his divine sense.
Given their destination—the Rotting Miasma Ridge—he needed to prepare medicinal pills for healing, spiritual power restoration, divine sense recovery, detoxification, and other contingencies. Better safe than sorry.
After verifying the remaining quantities of these pills in his Storage Ring, Song Wen dismantled all the formations within his cultivation cave.
Since he didn't know when he would return, or even if he would return at all, he naturally had to take these formations with him.
As the formations dissipated, the fetid mud and sewage from the swamp flooded into the cave, which had been submerged underwater.
With a swift movement, Song Wen pierced through the muck and soared into the sky above the island, flying toward Cloudveil City.
After flying several miles, Song Wen stopped abruptly, turned around, and headed back toward Ye Bing's Ice Ling Island.
Before long, Ice Ling Island came into view.
"Immortal Maiden Ye Bing, I have come to pay my respects," Song Wen called out to the swirling white mist before him.
After a few breaths, a voice emerged from within the mist.
"Senior Gou Jun, Senior Ye Bing is away from the island. She has instructed that no outsiders are to enter Ice Ling Island during her absence. We hope Senior Gou Jun will not take offense."
Song Wen recognized the voice as belonging to Ning Qiao, a female cultivator with a golden core who served under Ye Bing.
"Where has Ye Bing gone? When will she return?" Song Wen asked.
"Senior Ye Bing did not inform this junior of her destination or return date. However, she has been gone for several months," Ning Qiao replied.
Song Wen found this intriguing.
In recent years, Ye Bing had been tirelessly searching for the spirit herbs needed to refine the Void Union Primordial Breakthrough Pill. Her absence of several months suggested that she had either traveled to a distant location or was facing perilous circumstances requiring a cautious approach.
"How is the Demon Haze Grass growing lately?" Song Wen inquired.
"Senior, the Demon Haze Grass is thriving," Ning Qiao responded.
"Good. Ensure you continue to care for it diligently and allow no mishaps. If you succeed in cultivating more Demon Haze Grass, I will reward you handsomely," Song Wen casually promised, with no intention of fulfilling the pledge.
With that, he turned and departed.
Three days later.
A towering mountain ten thousand li southeast of Cloudveil City.
Song Wen stood at the mountain's peak, gazing into the distance.
This was the rendezvous point Shi Man had given him after he contacted her from Cloudveil City.
A faint sense of unease stirred within Song Wen.
Why would Chi Pei choose such a remote location for their meeting?
It was as if he were deliberately concealing his movements, wanting to keep his impending journey to Phoenix Feather City a secret.
As the sun reached its zenith, a figure appeared in the distant sky.
It was Shi Man, who descended gracefully to land beside Song Wen.
"Greetings, Senior Shi Man," Song Wen said, cupping his hands in a respectful bow. "Senior, why have you come alone? Where is Young Master Chi Pei?"
"The young master will arrive shortly. What's your hurry?" Shi Man's tone was sharp with impatience.
Song Wen immediately sensed her foul mood and refrained from pressing further.
Fifteen minutes later, two more figures arrived in succession.
However, Chi Pei was not among them. Instead, they were a peak Divine Transformation Stage cultivator and a late Divine Transformation Stage duty disciple from the Veiled Moon Hall, both male cultivators.
The two men greeted Shi Man before standing silently in place. They completely ignored Song Wen, the "Nascent Soul Stage" cultivator, not even glancing at him despite his respectful bows.
Shi Man made no effort to introduce Song Wen to the newcomers.
Song Wen had already obtained a detailed list of Veiled Moon Hall disciples from Wu Yuan, so he naturally recognized the two newcomers.
The peak Divine Transformation stage cultivator was named Tang Gui, while the late Divine Transformation stage cultivator was Sang Bu.
After waiting for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, two figures arrived side by side.
It was none other than Chi Pei and Qi Luo.
"Greetings, Young Master Chi Pei," the four who had arrived earlier said respectfully, clasping their fists in salute.
Only Shi Man, while performing the ritual bow, glanced intentionally or unintentionally at Qi Luo, who stood behind Chi Pei. A flash of venomous resentment flickered in her eyes, as if she were staring at her father's murderer.
Chi Pei's gaze swept over the four of them before he spoke.
"Now that everyone has arrived, let's depart immediately."
With a wave of his hand, a Giant Flying Ship, roughly thirty meters long, materialized in mid-air.
"Board the ship," Chi Pei commanded, stepping onto the ship first.
The other five followed suit.
Chi Pei suddenly produced a jade slip and tossed it to Shi Man.
"Shi Man, this contains the Jin Family's flight route between Phoenix Feather City and Cloudveil City, which I obtained from them. You'll pilot the ship along this route."
"As you command, Young Master!"
Shi Man accepted the jade slip, turned, and strode toward the ship's prow.
At the prow stood a stone disk etched with intricate runes, serving as the ship's control nexus.
Chi Pei continued, "Tang Gui, Sang Bu, you two are responsible for maintaining vigilance and preventing any dangers along the way."
Tang Gui and Sang Bu responded in unison, each moving to opposite sides of the ship's railing to patrol the surroundings.
Chi Pei tilted his head slightly, glancing at Qi Luo beside him, before turning and walking toward the ship's stern tower.
Qi Luo looked at Song Wen with a faint smile.
Then, with a light step, she followed Chi Pei's retreating figure.
The pair soon disappeared into the ship's stern tower.
By this time, under Shi Man's control, the Giant Flying Ship had gradually accelerated, soaring into the high skies.
The ship's speed was astonishingly fast, the fastest Song Wen had ever experienced, far surpassing even the Jin Family's vessels. In just six months, they had already reached the vicinity of Phoenix Feather City.
Throughout the journey, Qi Luo remained confined within the stern tower, never once emerging.
Chi Pei, on the other hand, occasionally appeared on deck.
Yet each time he showed himself, his face betrayed an unmistakable weariness. After a brief respite, he would retreat back into the stern tower.
Shi Man, who was piloting the ship, would occasionally glance back at the stern tower, a hint of resentment flickering in her eyes.
Instead of directly entering Phoenix Feather City's airspace, the ship followed Chi Pei's prearranged instructions, halting ten thousand miles outside the city in mid-air.
After six months of seclusion, Qi Luo finally reappeared, her face flushed with radiance and vitality.
Chi Pei emerged alongside her, his face pale and gaunt, his brow furrowed with deep fatigue.
(End of the Chapter)
---
📖Read (RDC) on Pa.treon@CinderTL - c1318. [+2]
🔑Read upto Ch1134 for FREE visit 🄲🄸🄽🄳🄴🅁🅃🄻.🄲🄾🄼!
💥Translated (7) Series, (5.3K+) Chapters, (7.7M+) Words.