Fang Ying slept on Li Yang"s lap for over an entire day, causing him to guess that she had likely stayed awake at his side for the entire month he had been unconscious, probably not even cultivating to pa.s.s the time. When she finally did wake up and opened her eyes, she quickly closed them again and stretched her entire body across his lap."Yang"er, breakfast, I need breakfast."
Fang Ying twisted and turned while stretching her body, rolling on Li Yang"s lap like a small cat wanting to be pet. Li Yang rolled his eyes in the face of her antics, poking her forehead as she rolled onto her back.
"Now, what was it you said when I woke up? You think a person like you deserves my breakfast? I think I"ll follow your lead and stick to those words."
Li Yang moved his finger around a little after poking Fang Ying"s forehead, tracing her face with it. No matter how much he looked at her, he never found himself get tired of it. Fang Ying stretched out her own arm, poking the bottom of Li Yang"s chin, a crafty smile slowly appearing on her face.
"Actually, I said "You think a reckless person like you deserves my breakfast?", don"t twist my words to suit your agenda. And you see, you may say that you"re going to follow my lead, but I have one large advantage over you, I can do this."
Fang Ying slowly moved her finger down, softly tracing Li Yang"s neck and making her way towards his chest. At the same time, she tilted her head slightly and looked at Li Yang with upturned eyes and slightly puffed out cheeks, aiming to finish him off with one swift move. Li Yang tried to keep a steely face, but quickly caved in and leaned down to plant a kiss on Fang Ying"s lips, clicking his tongue after the act.
"Tch, that"s just cheating and you know it."
Fang Ying raised her upper body as Li Yang was pulling away, giving him a quick kiss before laying back down on his lap again. She flashed him a bright smile, clearly not the least bit remorseful about her actions.
"Yup, but it works, doesn"t it?"
Li Yang could only let out a sigh, she was correct, there was no way he could reject her when she looked at him like that. He raised her upper body and stood up from the couch, placing her down again after standing up. He swiped his interspatial ring and took out everything he needed to make a rather simple meal out of the meat and vegetables they had, using his own fire to heat the pans.
It didn"t take long for the food to be done and placed on the table, Fang Ying springing up from the couch and pulling it closer to the table. Langshen appeared out of a ripple in s.p.a.ce, as if he had been able to notice the moment food was ready. The three of them proceeded to eat the grilled meat and roasted vegetables, Fang Ying telling Li Yang about the various things that happened while he was unconscious. Hearing about her encounter with the ma.s.sive eye that called itself Xing Yuyen, his brows furrowed for a short moment before smoothening out again.
"So something like that happened, huh? Well, not like there"s much we can learn as we are right now, its a matter best left for the future. What about your little birdies, have they found anything?"
They had no one they could ask about Paragons or Xing Yuyen, the best they could do was check the libraries of their clans once the compet.i.tion ended. Fang Ying put aside her now empty plate after Li Yang stated his question, her brows furrowing slightly as she stretched out her arm and raised three fingers.
"They might have. They discovered a strong discharge of energy on the fourth island to the east, it looked consistent to the energy discharge that occurs when certain rare treasures are born. There are three problems we have to consider first. The first is, as I only saw the memories of the energy discharge, I was unable to determine how much energy it contained and what sort of element it. The second is that such a rare treasure is definitely guarded by a terrifyingly strong Demonic beast, it might very well be a Divine Beast. The third is that the energy discharge was too grand, it must have attracted the attention of almost everyone who entered this place, they will all be heading there."
Some rare treasures were much like powerful cultivators, they would create quite the commotion when they were born or managed to strengthen themselves. Some treasures were so strong or strange that they could even take on human shape and cultivate just like a normal person, Fang Ying had once heard about a scythe and a bow that was supposed to be like this. Li Yang listened to Fang Ying list the three problems she had discovered, but his lips slowly curled into a knowing smirk.
"You said all that, but you already know exactly what I"m going to say, no?"
Fang Ying"s own lips also started to curl up into a smirk. After spending so much time together, how could she not know exactly what Li Yang would say in a situation like this? She leaned back in the couch, using her Qi to draw a simple map of the surrounding area in the air.
"Yup, I"ve already marked up the fastest route we can use to reach the island, I also had my birds find some areas where we can hide should there be a need for it."
The map was simple, but clearly marked, each possible path they could take explored and drawn down. Li Yang looked at the map for a short moment before his gaze landed on Fang Ying as he stated his honest feelings.
"By the G.o.ds, woman, I love you."
Fang Ying smiled brightly in response to Li Yang"s declaration, waving her hand and causing the map to vanish, a content expression on her face.
"I know, but keep telling me."
There was no telling when the situation on the island that had experienced the energy discharge would change, so they chose to not waste too much more time. Li Yang originally wanted to use the secondary hearts he nabbed from the Devil"s Grasp Vine to cultivate, but now it seemed like they would have to temporarily put that aside.
Fang Ying stored away all the furniture and the glowing crystals she had placed around the cave, the three of them quickly leaving the cave and closing it up behind them. They headed to the eastern edge of the island, Fang Ying pointing at the distant island while talking.
"I"ll leave getting us across the water to you, Langshen"s been getting a bit pouty because we"ve used him solely for transportation lately."
Li Yang raised an eyebrow and turned his gaze onto Langshen, who turned his head away in a pouty manner, causing Li Yang to involuntarily let out a chuckle. Jinwu and Shenlong occasionally acted like this, so seeing Langshen act like this reminded him of them.
Li Yang crouched down at the edge of the island, the fingers on his right hand just barely touching the water. A burst of soul-freezing cold energy was unleashed by his fingers, freezing the surface of the water and forming a surface just large enough for the two of them to walk shoulder to shoulder.
They stepped onto the ice and quickly started making their way across it, not wanting to attract the attention of any Demonic beast that might lurk within the ocean. Li Yang got an idea as they were making their way across the ocean, grabbing onto Fang Ying"s hand and sliding forward. His feet unleashed icy cold energy that continuously froze the water in front of them, the two of them ice-skating across the vast ocean.
Had it not been for the fact that they were rushing towards their destination and that there were probably countless Demonic beasts lurking in the ocean, Li Yang could have easily spent at least a day or two just ice skating here with Fang Ying.
Since Fang Ying had mapped the best routes for them ahead of time, they were able to avoid any needless troubles and arrive on the island they were heading for after only a little over a day. This island was a little strange, it was shaped like a very thick donut with a large lake at the center, a tall volcano standing on a small island in the middle of the lake. The area directly around the lake was strangely arid, almost desert-like, while the rest of the island was covered in a dense tropical jungle filled with bugs, some as large as a man"s fist.
When the two stepped onto the island, waves of energy washed over them, originating from the volcano located at the center of the island. Li Yang let the waves of energy wash over him, whistling slightly after feeling how chaotic and intense they were.
"It seems like your birdies saw correctly, these remnant waves of energy could only be the result of some pretty darn good treasure being born. But, I"d say that the guardian of that treasure won"t just hand it over just because we ask nicely."
Li Yang"s eyes turned towards the center of the island, he could feel the presence of an incredibly strong Demonic beast there. It seemed to be hiding the energy from its bloodline, so he couldn"t tell if it was a Divine Beast or not, but he was certain that it was terrifyingly strong, probably stronger than the panther they had encountered in the palace. Fang Ying also looked towards the center of the island, but she simply shrugged her shoulders in a casual manner.
"Well, not like we"ll get a chance to ask the guardian nicely, not with so many people here. Same as usual?"
She could tell that there were already quite a few people on this island, almost half a thousand people already. And all these people were gathered in one spot, they had clearly banded together because they were able to sense just how strong the Demonic beast guarding the treasure was. Li Yang took his eyes away from the center of the island, copying Fang Ying and shrugging his shoulders.
"We don"t have much choice, they shouldn"t be so dumb as to start a fight here, in front of the Demonic beast guardian. Well, even if they end up being that dumb, it"s not like they can stop us if we try to run away. It would be a shame to give up on the treasure and the Demonic beast"s body, but it"s better than dying."
Them fighting against each other would only give the Demonic beast the chance to ambush them, only an idiot would start a battle here. The two locked on to the group of people and swiftly made their way over, quickly reaching the group at the edge of the lake that served as the center of the island. The group was made up of people from all the various clans and sects, as well as a fair share of unaffiliated cultivators, all of them glancing curiously at the two newcomers.
But while everyone was gazing curiously at them, a familiar emerald-haired and brown-eyed man stepped forward. The future patriarch of the Tian clan, Tian Zheng, swept the two of them with a quick glance, greeting them politely.
"Junior Sister Ying, you"ve arrived. This should be Li Yang, no? I"ve been looking forward to meeting you."