“I understand. All the decisions I make currently are not only for myself. I will not be reckless.” Ling Lan turned back. Her gaze was sharp but clear. She didn"t lose control of her emotions because of her concerns.
Number One lowered his head and hid the approval and satisfaction in his eyes. He said, “Go ahead.”
Ling Lan stepped forward firmly, leaving the learning s.p.a.ce in a blink of an eye.
“Ling Lan, if you want to wear the crown, you have to bear the weight. This is the path you chose. No matter what happened, you must follow through it with determination,” Number One said softly. Then, he slit the air and returned to his dimension and started meditating.
Ling Lan returned to her mindscape. Her mindscape was still withered, filled with wounds and scars.
“This can"t continue. I must find a way to recover my spiritual power.” Ling Lan took a deep breath and sat down. Even though she knew that using her spiritual power to cultivate would bring her great pain, she still decided to do it.
Once she activated her spiritual power, her head started hurting, as though someone used a hammer to knock her. The pain that came from the depth of her mind so she could fall unconscious to rid of it if she desperately wanted to.
However, that was impossible for the determined Ling Lan. Ling Lan gritted her teeth and resisted the terrifying pain. She forced herself to congregate a thin wisp of spiritual power.
Luckily, Ling Lan had already tormented herself for two lifetimes so she had a high tolerance for pain. Anyone else would have fainted from the pain and failed.
Ling Lan controlled the wisp of spiritual power that was about to disperse. She used the Divine Command sect"s method of cultivating spiritual power to regenerate her spiritual power slowly. She did it again and again. Every time she used the method, the pain each time would get stronger. She gritted her pearly white teeth so forcefully that cracking sounds could be heard from her mouth. Her mouth was filled with the taste of blood.
Ling Lan couldn"t care less about all these. She fully focused on forcing herself to remain conscious and not lose to the excruciating pain. One hour pa.s.sed. Two hours pa.s.sed… Ling Lan"s perseverance finally succeeded. Spiritual fountains started appearing in her withered mindscape. It slowly nourished the dry ground. As the amount of water kept increasing, Ling Lan"s face, which had a hideous expression due to the pain, turned calm again.
She pa.s.sed the most difficult obstacle!
Ling Lan slowly opened her eyes and let out a satisfied smile.
If her father, Xie Yi, Little Four, Little Blossom, and all her other friends weren"t waiting for her to save them, she might not have been so harsh on herself. As expected, humans needed to be forced.
However, Ling Lan remembered Number One"s warning. Haste will not bring success, and the cultivation of spiritual power was the same. She must relax when she needs to. Ling Lan decided to pause her cultivation for the time being and return to the rainbow palace to take a look at what had happened during these few days.
Ling Lan opened her eyes. Little White, who had been guarding her all these while, shouted happily when it saw her opening her eyes.
It knew that its master was cultivating but the memory of what happened a few days ago still frightened it. It was afraid that its master would lose consciousness for many days again.
Ling Lan smiled as she hugged Little White. She didn"t mind how messy and dirty its fur was. She still rubbed it forcefully.
Then, the ground of the swamp opened again. Ling Lan slowly walked out of the hole.
The swamp was still the ‘reed field". It looked like nothing huge had happened. Ling Lan floated in mid-air and disappeared the next second.
When she returned to the rainbow palace, she saw the servants guarding outside her room. They were elated to see her. “Lord Gen, Guardian Ji and Guardian Yu have important things to report to you.”
“Oh?” Ling Lan raised her eyebrows. She sent these two people out to deal with the matters in Lord Gen"s territories so they would take at least ten days to finish touring the territories. Why were they back so early?
“Okay. Ask them to wait for me in the main hall,” Ling Lan ordered. No matter what happened, she would meet them first.
“Yes, Lord Gen.” The servants left respectfully and called for Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei to enter the palace.
Ling Lan tidied herself casually and placed the red gown the servant prepared for her over her shoulders.
Just before going to the main hall, Ling Lan thought of something. She asked Little White who was washing itself too. “Little White, how many days has it been since I entered the swamp for cultivation?”
Little White counted with its tentacles before replying, “Seven days, master.”
Seven days had pa.s.sed by unknowingly. That meant Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei weren"t very early.
Ling Lan shifted her body and appeared in the main hall. She flicked her red gown slightly and floated down from the sky before landing stably on her ice throne.
The combination of her cold and handsome face and the dazzling and vibrant red gown made her look enchanting and beautiful, even when her hair was short and black. Yu Shangfei and Ji Ming, who were waiting in the main hall, were shocked.
This was the first time they saw Ling Lan"s face clearly. But, they were only able to take one look at her. The next second, when they looked at Ling Lan again, they couldn"t see her face clearly anymore.
However, that one look was enough to make a lasting impression in their minds.
They controlled their astonishment and paid their respects. “Lord Gen.”
“What"s the matter?” Ling Lan asked sternly. Little White jumped into Ling Lan"s arms obediently. Everyone knew that their new Lord Gen had a very cute little pet. Lord Gen liked it very much. The people in the rainbow palace liked it too. They would feed Little White occasionally, and Little White never rejected any of the food. Ling Lan didn"t care about that either as Little White"s stomach was made of steel. If someone wanted to poison it… it was a waste of their time.
The new Lord Gen was a man of few words. Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei only met Ling Lan a few times but they knew that this was their new master"s style.
“The leaders of the three big factions, Jimu, Feihuang"e, and Tianpingyuan, which are under my territory, would like to meet Lord Gen,” Ji Ming replied hurriedly.
“Why?” Ling Lan raised her eyebrows.
Ji Ming glanced at Yu Shangfei. Yu Shangfei rushed forward and kneeled down. “This is all my fault. I drank too much at the welcome party of the leader of Jimu and accidentally revealed some of your details. Please punish me.”
Ling Lan stopped stroking Little White. Ji Ming and Yu Shangfei suddenly felt a sharp gaze dismembering their bodies. Ji Ming"s heart shuddered. He also kneeled down. Yu Shangfei placed both hands on the ground, not daring to look at Ling Lan"s eyes.
“What did you say?” Just when the two of them were unable to resist Ling Lan"s force of presence anymore, she finally spoke.
“I just said that Lord Gen is more powerful now. That"s all.” The perspiration on Yu Shangfei"s forehead dripped on the marble floor. The amount of sweat almost formed a puddle, and this was caused by just a simple release of Lord Gen"s force of presence. If their master really got angry, Yu Shangfei didn"t know how he would die.
“Ji Ming, I don"t have to tell you what punishment you"ll receive, right?” Ling Lan glanced at Ji Ming indifferently. Ji Ming nodded quickly. “Yes, Lord Gen.”
“Three days later, ask them to meet me here.” Ling Lan disappeared after she finished her sentence.