.
As night fell, the sky was dotted with diamond-like stars. The crescent moon gently caressed the Milky Way, casting a faint light across the earth, adding a touch of mystery and romance to the silent night.
Due to the jet-black scales of the Split Sky Dragon, even those on the ground looking up at the sky would have found it difficult to spot. After a day of continuous flight, Xiao Ling and his companions had reached the edge of the Tagor Desert.
Above the Split Sky Dragon, Xiao Ling continuously shifted his hand seals, controlling the flames in the medicine cauldron before him, nourishing the embryonic pill within.
The substance within was the fifth-grade Douling Pill. To save time, Xiao Ling refined all the herbs he had collected from Yue Mei during the flight. He had already refined one Douling Pill, and the embryonic pill before him was made from the last of the herbs.
When the pill was fully formed and emitted a layer of energy ripples, Xiao Ling easily dispersed it and put the pill into a porcelain bottle that had been prepared long ago. With a flash of white light, it disappeared into the storage ring.
Zi Yan, who had been watching the scene from the side, propped up her head, wiped her eyes, yawned, and said to Xiao Ling, "Xiao Ling, I've taken too many herbs today. I need to rest for a while."
Seeing Zi Yan's expression, Xiao Ling said with some resignation, "Who told you to take so many pills today? I originally intended them to last you a week, but you finished them all in one day."
Hearing Xiao Ling's words, Zi Yan scratched her head, looked away, and said with a guilty look, "I've been sitting on the back of the Sky Seat with nothing to do. There are only a few decent herbs in this desert. I was bored, so I ate all those pills."
Xiao Ling sighed and understood. After all, Zi Yan was no ordinary cultivator. She didn't rely on practice to improve her cultivation, but simply on consuming herbs. Zi Yan, who had never practiced seriously, couldn't do it even if she had nothing to do. She could only eat the pills in her hand.
Picking up a map, Xiao Ling examined the route depicted on it. After finding their current location, they discovered that Stone Desert City was not far away. Seeing this, Xiao Ling began to make plans.
Patting Zi Yan's head, Xiao Ling said, "When we get to Stone Desert City, I'll find you a place to rest."
Feeling the caress of his hand on her head, Zi Yan nodded and replied, "Hurry up, I'm so sleepy."
As soon as she finished speaking, Zi Yan felt her body go limp and fell into Xiao Ling's arms.
Seeing this, Xiao Ling pulled her into his arms. Watching the purple energy radiating from her, he said with some resignation, "Just a few more minutes and we'll reach our destination. Stay awake for a while. Remember this lesson. Don't consume so many herbs next time."
Zi Yan, drowsily, replied, "I know, I know. I definitely won't consume so many herbs at once next time."
Giving Rayquaza a signal to speed up, Xiao Ling steadied Zi Yan before returning his gaze to Stone Desert City.
After flying for a few minutes, the outline of a huge city located on the eastern outskirts of the Tagor Desert also appeared faintly in Xiao Ling's sight.
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Gazing at the nearby Stone Desert City, Xiao Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Zi Yan wasn't completely asleep yet, just a little sleepy. A few steps would be no problem for her.
If he were to carry a sleepy little girl into the city and be misunderstood, and word spread, they'd think Xiao was into copper smelting.
Landing a few hundred meters from Stone Desert City and putting away his Rayquaza, Xiao Ling took Zi Yan's hand and walked into Stone Desert City.
Compared to cities within the empire, the desert city had a more rustic and solemn feel, perhaps due to its proximity to the Tagor Desert. Its defenses were also far more fortified than those within the empire, with heavily armed soldiers patrolling the city. His
spiritual perception spread, and the entire Stone Desert City appeared in Xiao Ling's mind like a floor plan. In a courtyard south of the city, Xiao Ling detected a familiar presence of the Serpent People.
Having found their destination, Xiao Ling took Zi Yan's hand and headed south of the city. After turning a few streets, a courtyard, almost as large as the Xiao family compound in Wutan City, came into view.
Above the courtyard, a banner fluttered in the wind, bearing the words "Motie Mercenary Group" in large letters, exuding a faint aura of blood and strength.
This was the mercenary group founded by Xiao Yan's two brothers in the original novel. Xiao Ling intended to let Zi Yan rest here for a while and, by the way, abduct Qing Lin, who was still working as a maid there.
Outside the courtyard, several burly men stood upright, weapons in hand, their sharp gazes scanning the passersby. The faint smell of blood emanating from their bodies revealed that they were true men of steel, men who had fought on the edge of a knife, not the rookies who thought they were mercenaries just because they had a weapon on their waist.
As Xiao Ling and Zi Yan walked towards the Motie Mercenary Group, the burly man in the lead noticed the commotion and cast his gaze towards the two of them. Seeing that Xiao Ling and Zi Yan had quite delicate looks, he thought they were some young man or woman from a certain family who came to hire mercenaries.
He walked forward and blocked the two men's way, saying, "Sir, it's getting late today, and the brothers in the mercenary group have gone to rest. If you need to hire mercenaries, let's talk about it tomorrow."
Xiao Ling shook his head, handed a token with the word "Xiao Ling" written on the front and the name of the Xiao family on the back to the burly man, and explained, "The leaders of your mercenary group are Xiao Li and Xiao Ding, right? My name is Xiao Ling, from the Xiao family of Wutan City, so I can be considered their cousin. My companion was not feeling well when passing by Shimo City this time, and it happened that two cousins in the clan had a piece of land here, so I planned to stay here for a while and catch up with them. I will accompany my companion to rest first, and then go to see the two cousins later."
After listening to Xiao Ling's explanation, the burly man understood Xiao Ling's purpose. Although he didn't know whether the families of the two leaders were from the Xiao family of Wutan City, looking at the expression of the young man and the fact that he took out the family token, he thought it should be true.
After returning the token to Xiao Ling, the leading man arranged for a man to lead Xiao Ling and Zi Yan to the accommodation area, while he himself went to the captain's residence to report the matter.
After placing the token in his ring, Xiao Ling took Zi Yan's hand and followed the man, walking for a distance through the compound. After a while, they arrived at the mercenary group's residential area.
(End of this chapter)