After finishing their meal and resting briefly, the cloud boat landed in a suburban area not far from a town.
Shi Yu led the group off the boat. Along the way, she approached an elderly woodcutter to ask for directions. The woodcutter was merely a mortal without any cultivation. Seeing the faint treasure radiance shimmering from their spirit robes, he realized they were cultivators and immediately prostrated himself in fear. “Greetings, Immortal Masters!”
Stepping forward to help him up, Shi Yu asked, “Old sir, we were passing through and lost our way. Could you tell us which prefecture and town this is?”
The woodcutter bowed deeply in trepidation. “In response to the Immortal Master, this is a small town near Xialiao City in Wangxi Prefecture, Huining Prefecture.”
They had actually reached Huining Prefecture.
Besides Changyuan Prefecture, Wanchou Prefecture also bordered Changhe Prefecture and Huining Prefecture. When they exited the Wangliang Ancient Desert on the border of Wanchou Prefecture, they had used a Flying Star Dragon-Wandering Talisman to teleport a thousand miles in an instant. A slight deviation in direction over a thousand miles naturally widened the gap, so it was not surprising that they ended up here.
Shi Yu thought to herself, If I remember correctly, the Su Clan Su Guanying hails from is in Huining Prefecture. I wonder how she has been doing since we parted in the ancient desert.
Setting those thoughts aside, she checked her map. Thankfully, the general direction was correct. Now that she knew their location, all they needed to do was follow the map toward Shiyan Academy, located in Tianyuan Prefecture at the center of the East Continent.
Having clarified the way, Shi Yu reached out, intending to retrieve a few spirit stones for the woodcutter. She paused, however, and instead produced a few pieces of silver that had been tucked away at the bottom of her chest for a long time. To mortals, spirit stones were immensely valuable; wearing them long-term could strengthen the body and extend life to a degree.
However, seeing how old the woodcutter was, giving him spirit stones might attract malicious eyes and bring disaster upon him. It was better to give him ordinary currency.
Overwhelmed with gratitude, the woodcutter accepted the silver, weeping tears of thanks as he repeatedly kowtowed to them.
As they were leaving, an idea struck Shi Yu, and she casually asked for the current date. The answer they received, however, left everyone deeply astonished.
The time mentioned by the woodcutter indicated that over half a year had passed since they first entered the Wangliang Ancient Desert!
The group exchanged glances. Mo Tong turned to the woodcutter with a gentle smile and asked, “Old sir, could you have misremembered the date?”
The old woodcutter frantically waved his hands. “When answering an Immortal Master, this old man ponders every word twice before daring to speak. How could I make a mistake?”
Shi Yu thanked him for his trouble, turned around, summoned the cloud boat, and leapt aboard.
Qingzhou and the others followed her back onto the boat.
To their perception, nowhere near that much time had elapsed. From entering the ancient desert to traveling with Su Guanying's merchant caravan, and then heading to the Cave of Ten Thousand Ghosts to await the full moon, only about half a month had passed in total. That was an undeniable fact.
And inside the secret realm, it felt as though they had only stayed for a few days.
Adding it all together, how could more than half a year have gone by?
Shi Yu pondered for a moment before offering a guess. “After entering the secret realm, we remained inside the Nine Underworlds Diagram the entire time. Illusion arrays filled the diagram, and because of that, we likely failed to perceive the passage of time. So much time slipped by without us realizing.”
“That is the only logical explanation.” Qingzhou nodded, casting his gaze downward.
However, this presented a problem... Their original schedule to arrive before Shiyan Academy's enrollment was already tight. Now that half a year had slipped away in the blink of an eye, it caught them completely off guard.
Shi Yu rubbed her temples, nursing a growing headache as she sighed lightly. “Let's hurry along, then.”
...
Over the next few days, Qingzhou and the others took turns steering the cloud boat toward Tianyuan Prefecture, while Shi Yu spent most of her time inside her room crafting talismans.
Shiyan Academy held enrollment only once every five years. If they missed this opportunity, they would have to wait another five years. With only a few months remaining, traveling hundreds of thousands of miles by cloud boat alone would never get them there in time. Their only realistic chance of making it was to rely on the instant thousand-mile teleportation of the Flying Star Dragon-Wandering Talisman.
However, crafting this talisman was arduous. Even at peak condition, crafting seven or eight a day was her absolute limit. Furthermore, while she had enough Jade-Blood Cold Gold, her supply of Phantom Spectral-Jade Butterfly scale powder was extremely tight. With little stock remaining, she could only wait for the Phantom Spectral-Jade Butterflies inside the Fate-Tapping Bell to produce more.
A single Flying Star Dragon-Wandering Talisman could only transport one person. With four of them in total, she could not leave anyone behind. Since they were companions traveling together, they had to go together. As a result, the sheer quantity of spirit talismans required was extraordinarily high, making it a daunting challenge no matter how she calculated it.
On this day, Shi Yu was drawing talismans in her room. Having just finished one, she paused to regulate her breathing and rest. At that moment, a soft knock sounded at her door, followed by Ji Yu's tentative voice. “Sister?”
Shi Yu walked over and opened the door.
Standing outside, Ji Yu scratched his head. “I hope I didn't disturb you, Sister?”
Shi Yu gave a faint smile. “I just finished one and was taking a break.”
Ji Yu smiled back. “That's perfect! We just finished cooking, so come eat, Sister!”
Following him out to the cloud boat's deck, she saw that the tableware was already set. The fragrant spiritual rice emitted clouds of steaming heat, each translucent grain glistening and inviting.
Shi Yu sat at the table and picked up her bowl and chopsticks, only to notice the three of them repeatedly glancing at her face. She could not help asking, “What is it?”
“...”
“Ah Yu, your complexion looks unwell.” After a brief silence, Mo Tong set down his chopsticks and spoke softly.
Shi Yu's lips were pale, and her once radiant, fair skin lacked even a trace of color, appearing almost translucent under the sunlight. She looked completely drained.
She had been crafting talismans day and night recently. How could the mental and spiritual energy required for a Tier-4 spirit talisman compare to ordinary Tier-1 or Tier-2 talismans? Each time she finished one, she would drink some Life Spring water and swallow pills to regulate her breathing and recover. Even so, her vital energy remained severely depleted, placing a heavy burden on her body.
An ordinary person pushing themselves like this would likely have suffered damaged meridians and a shortened lifespan long ago. Fortunately, Shi Yu possessed Life Spring water, so it was merely a severe depletion of energy; a few days of recuperation would restore her without harming her cultivation.
Even so, continuing like this in the long run was simply unsustainable.
Ji Yu bit his chopsticks, glancing at her, then at Qingzhou and Mo Tong, before mumbling, “Sister, why don't you rest for a few days?”
He spoke cautiously, as if terrified Shi Yu might refuse.
Shi Yu lifted a mouthful of spiritual rice into her mouth. Seeing the worried expressions on all three faces, she paused briefly before suddenly chuckling. “It's fine. If we can't make it this time, at worst, we can try again next time. It's just waiting five years, after all. For us cultivators, five years pass in the blink of an eye.”
She had indeed been a bit too anxious.
Because in her memories, she had seen how brilliant the true prodigies of this world were, making her eager to take that next step, catch up with them, and settle a few matters.
And Shiyan Academy was undoubtedly her best choice at the moment.
Yet if they truly could not make it, there was no need to be obsessed with gain and loss. She would not fall into despair over losing this single opportunity; after all, there was never only one path ahead.
As the cloud boat sailed forward, picturesque scenery unfolded below them—lonely peaks standing tall amidst rolling seas of clouds.
Qingzhou suddenly looked up, his eyes curving into a gentle smile. “How about Ah Yu goes ahead to Tianyuan Prefecture alone first, while we catch up slowly later?”
Shi Yu was startled.
Rate on N.U.
