Inside the City Lord mansion, in one of its residential houses.
A person could be seen pacing back and forth in a private courtyard in an anxious manner, his heart in turmoil. Various expressions flashed across his youthful face as thoughts of Ye Ziyun's whereabouts occupied his mind.
This person was none other than Nie Li. In order to enter the city lord mansion and get closer to Ye Ziyun, Nie Li had to reveal some of his talents to convince the Ye Zong that he was someone worth nurturing and needed to be put under the protection of the City Lord mansion.
Luckily for Nie Li, after entering the Heavenly Sacred Border, he had a chance encounter with the lingering soul of one of the ancestral founders of Glory City.
Ancestral Founder Ye Yan.
And after some coaxing on his part, Nie Li managed to convince Ancestral Founder Ye Yan to follow him.
By attaching Ancestral Founder Ye Yan's lingering soul to a bird-type soul puppet, this allowed ancestral founder Ye Yan to leave the Heavenly Sacred Border without the worry of his soul dissipating.
With the backing of Ancestral Founder Ye Yan, Nie Li was eventually allowed to enter the City Lord mansion.
Delighted, the first thing he did was to visit Ye Ziyun's courtyard, wanting to see her after a long time apart.
But to Nie Li's shock, he discovered that Ye Ziyun had gone out to the outside world alongside Xue Hui and his group.
Panic crept into Nie Li's heart. The first thing he did was ask Ancestral Founder Ye Yan to fly to the outside world and search for their whereabouts.
Nie Li knew it was a long shot; the chances of finding them were slim to none with how vast the Divine Continent was.
All Nie Li can do is grit his teeth in frustration. He remembers the promise he made to himself when he came back after his death and that is to protect Ye Ziyun at all costs.
But how could Nie Li do that if Ye Ziyun was out there somewhere out of his reach?
"I swear, if something bad were to happen to Ziyun, I'm going to destroy you, Xue Hui, both body and soul." Nie Li's frustration simmered into anger, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes.
Right now, he hated Xue Hui more than anything in the world. He even suspected that this was Xue Hui's way of getting back at him after he extorted a huge amount of Demon Spirit Coins from him the other day.
Scowling, all Nie Li could do was stew in his own anger. He wanted to go out there and follow them, but he didn't even know where they were right now. He drove his fist into a nearby tree, shaking loose some of its leaves.
He was hoping that Ancestral Founder Ye Yan would find a clue about where they were. He needed to be by Ye Ziyun's side to ensure her safety.
He was snapped out of his thoughts when he sensed someone's aura approaching his direction.
Looking in its direction, Nie Li saw a grey-robed old man standing not far from him. Nie Li recognized him as Ye Ziyun's uncle, Ye Xiu, someone whose strength was only below Lord Ye Mo and the City Lord.
A glint of hope flashed in Nie Li's eyes. It was clear from the way Ye Xiu approached him that he needed something from him. 'Maybe Elder Ye Xiu knows where Ye Ziyun is,' he thought. Without beating around the bush, Nie Li asked Ye Xiu his intentions for looking for him.
Somewhere in the outside world, there was a giant plateau that housed a small human settlement.
This place was called the Heavenly Plateau, one of the remaining surviving human habitats in the Divine Continent.
Because of the plateau's natural landscape, no demon beasts were able to climb up to where the people were living, making the place relatively safe.
But it had one downside: the land surrounding the Heavenly Plateau was barren, infertile land where only a handful of vegetation could grow.
This caused the food situation in the Heavenly Plateau to be extremely dire. Many people had no choice but to rely on hunting to survive, a daunting task that often resulted in injuries and even death.
So it was no surprise when Chen Linlin, Xiao Ning'er, Ye Ziyun, and the trio of girls were speechless from shock upon seeing the horrible living conditions in the Heavenly Plateau.
Ever since they could remember, all the adults around them claimed that Glory City was the only surviving civilization in the world.
But the people around them completely contradicted that notion. While it couldn't be said that the people of the Heavenly Plateau were living comfortably, they were holding on.
At the same time, the sudden appearance of so many new faces attracted everyone's attention in the Heavenly Plateau.
Especially since those faces belonged to Chen Linlin, Xiao Ning'er, and Ye Ziyun. The sight of the three of them made the hearts of everyone who saw them stir.
They were known as the three goddesses of the younger generation, their looks were the stuff of dreams for many young men in Glory City. So it was no surprise that even the people of the Heavenly Plateau found their existence dream-like.
Even the trio of girls had a unique charm that was only slightly below the three goddesses. Each and every one of Xue Hui's companions was a breathtaking beauty.
So one could imagine the commotion they caused when these beauties all came together in the Heavenly Plateau.
"Whose family do these beautiful ladies belong to? I have never seen such eye candy in my life."
"You think they belong to one of the elders?"
"No, no, I'm pretty sure they are not from here."
"Nonsense! Are you telling me they're outsiders? Who could survive traversing the land below? Even the patriarch does not dare to travel far from our Heavenly Plateau."
"Maybe they are. I mean, look at them carefully, their skin is like well-crafted jade. No scars nor blemishes can be seen. It doesn't matter how pretty you are in our Heavenly Plateau; there's no way you can get that kind of complexion if you live here."
One after another, the surrounding people voiced their opinions. Everyone was curious about the identities of the gorgeous ladies before them.
Then out of nowhere, the sound of small footsteps tapping on the dusty ground caught the attention of the gathered crowd.
A bowl of wood-powdered congee in her hands and a fist-sized piece of unknown beast meat dangling from her mouth, Xiao Julin's small frame walked toward Xiao Ning'er and the others, drawing everyone's attention. For some reason, they all had looks of envy in their eyes.
One should know that a fist-sized piece of meat like the one Xiao Julin was eating could cost a hefty amount of copper coins in the Heavenly Plateau.
It was so expensive that people here did not usually eat it in one go like Xiao Julin was doing.
For them, the way to enjoy such precious ingredients was to cure the meat into jerky and scrape it little by little to add flavor to soupy dishes like wood-powdered congee or blue rock soup.
The sight of the meat dangling from Xiao Julin's mouth caused the gathered people to gulp enviously, followed by audible growls from their stomachs.
It was funny to think that everyone's attention was on the piece of meat, stealing the spotlight from Chen Linlin, Xiao Ning'er, and Ye Ziyun.
Just by that reaction alone, one could tell how famished the people of the Heavenly Plateau were.
The sight of people staring hungrily in Xiao Julin's direction raised an alarm in Xiao Ning'er's heart. Worried, she quickly pulled Xiao Julin to her side, shielding her from everyone's sight.
"Don't walk around so carelessly. We're in unknown territory; it'll be dangerous if you get separated from us," she softly reprimanded, her delicate fingers moving to fix Xiao Julin's loose strands of hair.
Before responding, Xiao Julin slurped the piece of meat in her mouth, swallowing it completely.
"Okay. Julin thought you liked congee, so Julin brought this." Xiao Ning'er's lips curled into a smile, warmth filling her heart. "We just had a meal earlier. I'm still full; you can have it if you want."
Eyes gleaming, Xiao Julin tipped the bowl toward her mouth, finishing the congee in mere seconds.
The sight surprised everyone except the girls. They already knew Xiao Julin had a big appetite; no matter how much she ate, she always had room for more in her seemingly endless stomach.
"Little one, where did you get that food anyway? Wait, where is the boss?" Mei Lin asked, relieved that everyone's attention was focused on Xiao Julin's food instead of her. The stares of the crowd were starting to agitate her.
"Big bro bought it for Julin. Big bro is there, he's…" she trailed off, looking at Mei Lin. Xiao Julin's face scrunched up as she tried to remember something.
Her funny expression caught the girls' attention.
Unbeknownst to everyone, Xiao Julin was trying to recall the words she had learned the other day while listening to Mei Lin. It felt strange on her tongue.
"He's… um… he's… Big bro is umm… Big bro is flirting with a pretty lady over there," she blurted out, feeling oddly proud that she remembered the word.
Xiao Julin's words were like thunder exploding in the girls' ears.
In shock, the girls snapped their heads toward the congee shop.
As they did, they saw Xue Hui immersed in conversation with a pretty shop lady. Although she wore simple clothes that did nothing to diminish her beauty, she had a calming charm that men would find soothing.
Noticing the faint blush on the shop lady's cheeks and her charming, flustered smile, Chen Linlin, Xiao Ning'er, and Ye Ziyun all looked in their direction with deadpan expressions.
Picking up the avatar of chaos, Chen Linlin, Xiao Ning'er, Ye Ziyun, and the trio of girls moved toward the congee shop.
Although their expressions did not change, there was an indescribable air around them that spelled danger.
The sight even frightened some of the nearby men, causing them to instinctively step back.
"Is flirting bad?" Xiao Julin wondered while being carried.
End of chapter 75
.
.
.
.
If you like my story, and want to support me, you can read advance chapter to my patreon.com/AxelDeAxist