FZZZ!
Pei Qiqi’s jade-like left hand sc.r.a.ped across the void like a carving knife.
As she did, spatial blades streamed out from her fingertips and split open a brand new spatial rift.
“Let’s go. To realm number thirteen.” After she said these words, one figure after another flew into the spatial rift and disappeared.
Soon, Zhao Heng, Nie Tian, and Pei Qiqi were the only ones left.
“You go first,” Pei Qiqi said.
The reason why the late Saint domain Zhao Heng hadn’t left was because he was using his domain to protect her and Nie Tian from the harmful impurities in the starry river.
Zhao Heng went blank briefly before asking, “Me?”
Pei Qiqi nodded.
“But if I leave, you two...” Zhao Heng said with a concerned expression.
“We’ll be fine.” With these words, Pei Qiqi summoned an air-transportation spiritual tool from within her ring of holding. After jumping on board, she beckoned for Nie Tian to join her.
Nie Tian did as he was told.
The air-transportation spiritual tool was none other than the Lightning Shuttle Pei Qiqi had obtained many years ago. However, as soon as Nie Tian landed on it, he was struck by a peculiar feeling that he had fallen into another dimension.
Numerous complicated patterns were carved inside the Lightning Shuttle, all of which had unusual spatial fluctuations flowing inside of them.
After staring blankly at the Lightning Shuttle for a few seconds, Zhao Heng snapped out of his daze, and realized that changes had been made to this Lightning Shuttle that allowed it to fend off the mixed energies in the starry river.
He put his heart at ease and vanished into the spatial rift without saying anything else.
Now that they were the only ones left, Nie Tian grinned heartily and said, “Congratulations, Senior Martial Sister Pei. I was worried about you when you were taken away from the Realm of Maelstrom by that ice phoenix. Who would have thought you would later obtain that Heaven Nourished spatial treasure in the Shatter Battlefield, and win the Void Spirit Society sectmaster’s favor.”
“But my master died, and I couldn’t save her,” Pei Qiqi said with a sad face.
“Master Zhen...” Nie Tian sighed in grief, unsure how he could make her feel better.
He had already learned about Pei Qiqi’s encounters over the past years through various sources, so he didn’t need her to walk him through them again.
Pei Qiqi looked at him and asked, “How have you been?”
“I’m terrific,” Nie Tian said with a self-mocking smile. “I became a ‘glamorous’ Son of the Stars, and my sect gave me the Domain of Heaven’s Boundaries, the Domain of Heaven Python, and the Domain of the Falling Stars. And my cultivation base is progressing steadily. All I want now is to know where my parents are. Other than that, life’s been treating me well.”
“Me too,” Pei Qiqi muttered. “I also want to know my parents’ whereabouts.”
Nie Tian went blank for a moment before suddenly remembering that Pei Qiqi’s parents had been members of the Void Palace Sect from the Realm of Split Void.
The Void Palace Sect had once been the most powerful sect throughout the Domain of the Falling Stars. However, they had discovered a secret spatial tunnel, and moved their entire sect out of the Realm of Split Void. There hadn’t been word of them since then.
Years ago, Pei Qiqi had been convinced that the floating continent had been the place where the Void Palace Sect had relocated their headquarters, and had thus insisted on going there.
However, she hadn’t found any sign of the Void Palace Sect there after a thorough search.
The reason why she and Zhen Huilan had stumbled into the Domain of Heaven Python was also because she had suspected that the Void Palace Sect had been somewhere in the Domain of Heaven Python.
However, not only had the result proved that the Domain of Heaven Python had nothing to do with the Void Palace Sect, but Zhen Huilan had also died at the hands of the Xing Clan.
“You’re a member of the Void Spirit Society now. Have you still not found out anything about the Void Palace Sect’s sudden disappearance?” Nie Tian asked curiously.
Pei Qiqi shook her head. “I’m still looking for clues, but haven’t found much about it yet. I’m happy to see you again though. I thought I’d return to the Domain of the Falling Stars these days, but who would have thought that you were also summoned to join this operation in the Domain of Nether Heaven.”
Nie Tian smiled. “I’m happy to see you too.”
“How are Uncle Hua and Li Ye?” Pei Qiqi asked with a lightened tone.
“The Domain of the Falling Stars isn’t troubled by wars anymore. They should be doing pretty well.” With these words, Nie Tian looked into her eyes and said, “Back in the day, you made adjustments to that teleportation portal set up by Zhao Shanling, allowing us to teleport back to the Domain of the Falling Stars through it. But why didn’t you show yourself? Uncle Hua was very worried about you.”
Pei Qiqi lifted her chin, her cool, gem-like eyes fixing on Nie Tian’s. “What about you?”
Nie Tian went blank. “What?”
“Were you worried about me?” Pei Qiqi asked.
With a smile, Nie Tian said, “Of course. I was worried for your safety. The main reason why I entered the Shatter Battlefield was because I wanted to find you and bring you back. If it weren’t because I couldn’t find any trace of you, I would have joined you and Zhao Shanling when you went to kill the head of the Xing Clan.”
“How worried were you?” Pei Qiqi asked again.
“Very very worried,” Nie Tian said loudly.
The corners of Pei Qiqi’s mouth rose as she asked with a faint smile, “Like you were worried about Dong Li?”
Nie Tian froze, as if he were struck by lightning.
At this moment, images of his first encounter with Pei Qiqi flew into his mind.
The first time he had seen her, her graceful and cold beauty had shocked him. He had also felt a strong sense of inferiority when facing her.
Even till this day, he still had that feeling.
Images of the two of them fighting side by side in the Void Illusion Mountain Range and hiding from Li Langfeng filled his mind.
After them came images of him, Pei Qiqi, and Dong Li joining up and fighting Su Lin from the Heaven Palace Sect and the others on the floating continent.
Whether he admitted it or not, he knew that he had special feelings for Pei Qiqi.
Before he knew it, Pei Qiqi’s image had already been branded in the deepest part of his mind. There was no erasing it.
FZZZ!
The spatial rift Pei Qiqi had opened quite some time ago started to shrink.
However, neither of them seemed to notice it.
Moments later, Nie Tian still didn’t give his answer. Seeing that the spatial rift was about to close up, Pei Qiqi sighed inwardly and said, “It’s about time. Let’s go.”
Nie Tian nodded repeatedly. “Oh... a-alright.”
“Moron!” Pei Qiqi cursed in a low voice before steering the Lightning Shuttle into the spatial rift.
In the next moment, they appeared in the thirteenth realm in the Domain of Nether Heaven. Huang Jinnan looked over his shoulder at them and asked with a meaningful look in his eyes, “Can we get down to business now?”
With her usually cold face, Pei Qiqi said, “My secret incantations only allow me to capture spatial fluctuations, but it’s not my strong suit to search for people.”
Huang Jinnan smiled. “It’s alright. I’ll have my subordinates search for disciples of the Nether Spirit Society. We’ll be good as long as we don’t run into their sectmaster.
“Here. Take these Sound Stones. We’ll be able to communicate through them as long as we’re in the same realm.”
He handed out two Sound Stones.
Pei Qiqi and the late Saint domain Void Spirit Society expert each took one. Nie Tian had fought alongside Huang Jinnan two times already. He had a similar Sound Stone.
“Okay, so we’ll stay put,” Pei Qiqi said. “If any of you are in trouble, we’ll come to your aid immediately.”
“Great,” Huang Jinnan said, secretly congratulating himself.
Void Travel allowed Pei Qiqi to travel freely among all fifteen realms in the Domain of Nether Heaven. Therefore, if she wanted, she could show up at any place in this realm in a split second.
With her and that late Saint domain guard at their backs, Huang Jinnan and his subordinates would feel much safer spreading out to search. After all, they would be able to call for backup whenever needed.
“Alright, let’s not waste any more time,” Pei Qiqi said, looking somewhat impatient.
“What about you, Nie Tian?” Huang Jinnan asked.
“I...”
“He’s staying here.” Pei Qiqi interrupted Nie Tian.
Huang Jinnan chuckled. “Alright, we’ll take a look around. You guys do what you’ve got to do.”
With these words, he arranged for his Void and Saint domain subordinates to spread out in all directions and search for surviving members of the Nether Spirit Society.
As soon as they left, the late Saint domain expert from the Void Spirit Society also flew into the distance without saying a word.
The man had entered the spatial rift first earlier, instead of staying with Pei Qiqi and becoming a third wheel.
He did the same this time.
Even though he didn’t talk much, he was clearly not just another stubborn senior, but a sensible person.
All of a sudden, Nie Tian and Pei Qiqi became the only ones left in this area again.
“Were you talking to me when you said ‘moron’ earlier?” Nie Tian touched his nose.
“We were the only ones there. I sure as h.e.l.l wasn’t talking to myself.” Pei Qiqi shot him a sideways glance and sat down on the ground. She gently closed her eyes and started practicing cultivation.
As she did, her spiritual sea in her dantian region and her qi and blood started to thrum with curious spatial fluctuations.
Nie Tian’s face grew long as he sat down beside her. He mixed his soul awareness with power from his star souls and released Star Eyes into his surroundings.
At the same time, his bloodline power’s keen perception also spread into his surroundings.
“There seems to be a chilly aura in the spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth in this realm. Such an aura has a hint of Phantasm Qi’s features. It seems to be soul-nouris.h.i.+ng, and helpful to those who practice soul incantations.”
After sensing around for a while, Nie Tian took out the Spirit Pearl.
The five evil spirits whizzed out as soon as they received Nie Tian’s consent.