Chu Lingjiao and the others were waiting ahead. They had summoned a Flying-cloud Stone. When they saw him, they did not say anything. The company leapt up the Flying-cloud Stone and soared toward Dragon Meridian Mountains.
At dusk, the Flying-cloud Stone finally landed in the Dragon Meridian Mountains. The company went into the forest below. Chu Lingjiao said, "Well, I have brought your friend out. Can you let me have the divine zither now?"
Xiao Chen walked to Luo Shangyan"s side and sighed. "Senior Sister Chu, I"m sorry, I cannot let you have the zither."
"What!" Chu Lingjiao"s countenance changed. The 12 Heartless Palace disciples saw this and instantly surrounded the two.
"This zither is too important to me. I cannot let Senior Sister Chu have it. But I can do you a favor in future to thank you... "
Before he had finished, Chu Lingjiao had yelled out coldly. "I don"t need you to do me a favor! I just want the divine zither!" Xiao Chen shook his head. "I"m sorry, I can"t let you have it."
A murderous intent began to gleam slowly in Chu Lingjiao"s eyes. "You want to go against Heartless Palace? You should know the consequences... " Xiao Chen continued to shake his head. "I wouldn"t dare. But I still cannot let you have the zither."
Suddenly, an array of sword radiances glittered. The 12 Heartless Palace disciples had brandished out their Immortal"s Swords. Xiao Chen gazed at them and said, "Senior Sister Chu, you should know that I can beat Ling Yingfeng at the Immortals League Compet.i.tion. I have the divine zither. Do you think you people can beat me?"
Chu Lingjiao smirked coldly. "Even if we can"t, I gave you three pills days ago. You think they are just antidote pills to the Illusive-Immortal Incense?"
"I know. That"s why I did not swallow them," Xiao Chen replied nonchalantly. He conjured out something on his palm. They were the three white pills.
"You!" Chu Lingjiao looked ghastly. For a brief moment, she could not speak.
Xiao Chen shook his head. "I"m sorry, but we need not become enemies." Chu Lingjiao sneered coldly. "An excellent ploy! An excellent ploy indeed!" She waved her robe sleeve disdainfully. "Let"s go!"
One disciple answered, "But Master has ordered Senior Sister to lay her hands on... " Chu Lingjiao shot her an icy glance. "I said leave! Didn"t you hear?"
The disciple did not dare disobey her. She cupped her fists slightly. The 13 of them leapt up the Flying-cloud Stone quickly and disappeared into the distance.
Xiao Chen gave a gentle sigh. He eyed the sinister-looking forest in the night. Chu Lingjiao had left him here. It would be hard to travel even on a flying sword. They might even stray into the depths of the mountains. He glanced at Luo Shangyan. He had brought her out without asking her permission. Was she really willing to come? Did she regret their departure at all?
Luo Shangyan raised her head. "Where shall we go next?"
Xiao Chen thought for a moment. "To the Qing State, the Jade Qing Sect at the Qing Province. I have a close friend there." He remembered when he came to Violet Manor, the two elders had wanted him to stay first at the Jade Qing Sect. After a month of troubled events, he had finally returned to the Dragon Meridian Mountains.
Just as well. He could then get Brother Yifeng to send men to search Xian"er out. Everywhere was a sea of faces. He could never locate her by himself.
Luo Shangyan nodded gently. "I will go where you go."
Xiao Chen smiled lightly. He thought to himself that the Zhou State was a vast state. There were several thousand kilometers between this place and White Cloud City. They might not guess where he would be now. Right now, their most important task was to find a way out of the mountains. He asked, "Senior Sister Luo, can you travel on a sword?"
Luo Shangyan raised her head. "Why do you still address me as Senior Sister Luo...?"
"Errm?" He always addressed her this way after being accepted into the Three Pure Sect. He was used to it.
Luo Shangyan smiled slightly. "Never... never mind." She thought for a moment and said, "I am still at Lv 8 Qi Refining Realm. I cannot fly on a sword."
"Alright." Xiao Chen nodded and took out the Unsullied Sword from the Divine Vessel. He magnified it two times. The body of the sword trembled as Xiao Chen strenuously tried to control it. Was it because he hadn"t travelled on it for so long?
"Chen... Are you, are you alright?" Luo Shangyan asked, gazing at his continually swaying Immortal"s Sword.
"I"m alright. We can probably travel for nearly 20 kilometers." Xiao Chen said this and pulled her up the sword. When they stepped on the sword, however, the sword sank with a loud clang. It could no longer ascend to soar.
"What happened? I could still fly on it in the Human World!" Xiao Chen was quite startled. He could travel on his sword without the help of Mountain Gate Formation in the Human World. The Spiritual Qi in Violet Manor was even more plentiful. How come he couldn"t fly on it now? Could the requirements for sword flying here be higher?
Luo Shangyan looked somewhat embarra.s.sed. "Let"s wait until tomorrow to decide... "
"Very well. We have no other choice."
Two of them searched out a small cave. They were afraid to be discovered by their pursuers and did not start a fire.
It seemed to be the seventh or eighth month in Violet Manor. The Dragon Meridian Mountains was unusually cold. Xiao Chen sat at the mouth of the cave, staring fixedly at the lone moon in the sky. Cold gales kept blowing over from the mountains.
Without noticing it, he had been in Violet Manor for over a month. Were Father and the others doing well in the Human World?
Xiao Chen sighed quietly. After an eventful month, he had gradually realized that the present cultivators were no longer as good as the past. They could no longer execute many skills like the Divine Sense. The Immortal"s Practice was really declining. As a man from the past with ancient cultivation methods, should he feel blessed or sorrowful?
He smiled lightly. Suddenly, someone draped a perfumed, gauze shawl over his shoulders. He turned and smiled. "Senior Sister Luo, aren"t you asleep? Don"t worry, I will keep guard."
Luo Shangyan did not say anything. She sat gently by his side.
"By the way, Senior Sister Luo, tell me in detail what happened over the last months." Formerly, he lacked a chance to ask her this. Now, Luo Shangyan could take the opportunity and relate slowly.
Luo Shangyan nodded. She started to relate the happenings over the last months. They talked until dawn, as if they could go on forever.
Xiao Chen clenched his fists. Skygale Sect nearly destroyed the entire Xiao family... although Tiangu Zi was dead, the Skygale Sect in Violet Manor was still standing...
Luo Shangyan saw a brutal, terrifying expression in his eyes. She said quietly, "Junior Brother Xiao, you are getting tired. Go in and have a rest."
Xiao Chen nodded and left a Divine Sense outside near the cave opening. He helped her in. The two of them slept in each other"s arms. Early the next day, Luo Shangyan woke before he did. She went outside the cave to fetch some clean water.
After a wash-up, they went to the cave opening. Xiao Chen gazed into the distance and surveyed the scene. He saw meandering mountains looming endlessly. Where they disappeared into must be the depths of the Dragon Meridian Mountains.
He heard that there was an Archean ruin there. He began to a.s.sociate it with the Immortal Century Continent where he had resided. After several millennia, the lay of the land had changed. Mountains had disappeared into rivers, seas had turned into solid land. He wondered if he could still find the former lands where he had lived. Or the ruins of Mystic Cyan Sect.
He wanted to go into the depths of the mountains badly. Yet, right now, he could not. He could not risk Luo Shangyan. The two of them relied on their memory and made their way out of the Dragon Meridian Mountains. They encountered a few intercepting demonic beasts along the way and Xiao Chen took the opportunity to slay them. He took their Internal Elixirs. Finally, at dusk, they ended up at a Qing State border town.
Dense crowds had congregated in the town and it was teeming with people. It was quite different from what a border town should be. Something big must have occurred here recently.