Miao Wangqing, who was originally a little sad, trembled upon hearing this, and then her pretty face flushed red from the ears down.
Miao Wangqing had never expected that Gong Chenying, who rarely spoke, would say such a thing. Instantly, much of the sadness of parting was gone.
Although everyone here except for Gong Chenying's father knew about the matter between her, Li Wuyi, and Li Changting, no one had ever said it in front of other outsiders. In an instant, she was both shy and annoyed.
On the side, the smile on Li Wuyi's face froze, and he also became a little embarrassed.
Gong Chenying, on the other hand, smiled brightly, like a plum blossom in winter, which immediately made the somewhat oppressive atmosphere a little more relaxed.
Yun Chunqu was stunned when he saw Gong Chenying's sudden smile. After being fellow disciples for decades, how many had seen Gong Chenying smile?
"Sixth Senior Sister is absolutely right. Senior Sister Li has been pestering Eldest Senior Brother for so many years, but she still hasn't succeeded. We are all rooting for Fourth Senior Sister.
At that time, on the day Eldest Senior Brother and Fourth Senior Sister become Dao Companions, we eight senior brothers and sisters must gather at Little... Little... Bamboo... Peak!"
Lin Daqiao, with his long arms and legs, felt an inexplicable excitement when he saw Li Wuyi's sheepish look.
Whenever this Eldest Senior Brother was thwarted by Miao Wangqing and Li Changting, he would "discuss the Dao and Dharma" with them.
Every time, they would be spoken to by the other party like a wheel, to the point of being miserable but unable to fall asleep. In the end, Li Wuyi would leave with satisfaction.
If any of them showed a trace of dissatisfaction during the Dao discussion, then the Dao would not be the Dao but a bruised and swollen face, and the Dharma would not be the Dharma but a cry to heaven!
It was rare to have such a chance to vent in front of their master. It was just that after Lin Daqiao's momentary pleasure, he found that the surrounding atmosphere had suddenly solidified again.
He immediately realized something, and his words trailed off at the end.
He and his senior brothers would only talk about Li Yan and Zhao Min falling into the Yin Demon Cliff crevice in private, discussing their chances of survival.
But they never dared to talk about such things in front of their master and martial mother.
"Alright, it's getting late. Junior Brother Wei, we'll meet again!"
The big man had also heard about the war between the two realms from Gong Chenying these past few days and knew that one of Wei Zhongran's disciples and his daughter had both fallen into the two-realm barrier.
Although he looked rough on the outside, to be able to cultivate to the Nascent Soul realm, he was already as cunning as a fox and very shrewd. He immediately interrupted everyone's conversation.
His external qi wrapped around Chenying, and the two of them flew up from the bamboo forest into the high sky. As their voices echoed, they had already flown swiftly into the distance.
They left quite decisively.
In the air, Gong Chenying's beautiful eyes looked down through the waves of the vast bamboo sea and finally landed on a courtyard...
"It's inevitable to be reluctant. After all, you have cultivated here for decades. But, it's also time for you to go home!"
The big man looked at Gong Chenying, his eyes filled with infinite tenderness.
"It's nothing, Father. Let's go!"
Gong Chenying withdrew her gaze from below, but another voice sounded in her heart.
'A Ying, when you form your core, I will accompany you on a trip to the Wind God Continent!'
Seeing the big man and Gong Chenying instantly disappear over the horizon, Zhao Zhi's eyes still shimmered with tears.
"Is there any news from Father?" she suddenly asked via voice transmission.
"Not yet. I don't even know where he is exactly now.
Even with Father's cultivation, he has to be careful in everything he does on the Forsaken Continent. It would be troublesome if he were targeted by a Spirit Transformation cultivator.
I heard that the Forsaken Continent is vast and boundless, much larger than the Desolate Moon Continent. It's not easy to find Min'er and Li Yan."
Wei Zhongran replied via voice transmission. He had another sentence in his heart that he didn't say. Zhao Min and Li Yan might not have been lucky enough to enter the Forsaken Continent; it was more likely that they were already dead. It was just that the distance between the continents was too great, and the laws of heaven and earth were also different, so the sect's soul lamps might not be able to sense it.
At the same time, it was also possible that the two of them had entered other continents or were lost in the Chaotic Flow Space.
It was just that the last possibility was also that they were already dead. With their Foundation Establishment cultivation, there was no chance of them surviving in the Chaotic Flow Space. A single astral wind could take their lives.
But he couldn't say this, otherwise Zhao Zhi's last glimmer of hope would be completely extinguished.
The "Father" they were talking about was, of course, the Wei family's ancestor.
After the war between the two realms ended, he had decisively torn open the void and left, but to the outside world, he said he was in seclusion for arduous cultivation.
So, even with the relationship between the Gong family and the Wei family, they really thought the other party was in seclusion.
...
At dawn, in a wooden house, golden sunlight streamed through layers of branches and leaves.
Inside the wide window, on a sturdy and simple wooden table, was a vase filled with various wildflowers picked from the forest, emitting waves of different fragrances that filled the entire wooden house.
The morning breeze blew in gently from the wide window, carrying the unique moisture of the forest, making the flowers in the vase sway irregularly, their fragrance drifting.
A young girl in a white dress, with a pair of moon-white bare feet, stepped on the floor made of round logs and sat sideways at the table.
She was holding a classic book made of some unknown demonic beast's fur, reading it intently.
Her other hand was on the table, subconsciously playing with a wood carving of an ancient ape about an inch in size.
The ancient ape was black all over, its form lifelike. Its long arms were slightly bent and hung down, almost the same length as its entire height.
Its wrinkled face revealed a pair of fierce eyes, its lips were slightly curled up, and its sharp teeth were intertwined. Although its body was mottled and peeling, it was smooth and shiny all over.
The ancient ape wood carving kept flipping on the table as the young girl with jade-like fingers played with it.
"This is a high-grade puppet, yet it's not a toy!"
A soft and charming voice suddenly sounded behind the white-robed girl. The white-robed girl's finger, which was playing with the ancient ape, paused.
Then, as she gracefully turned around, she saw a young woman in a green gauze dress standing behind her.
The young woman's eyes held the myriad charms of a mature woman, and her pair of fox-like eyes were captivating.
Under the green gauze, a large area of snow-white skin was exposed, making one unconsciously fall into a trance with just one glance.
"Greetings, Grandmaster!"
The white-robed girl immediately stood up and curtsied gracefully.
"Alright! Rou'er, ever since you asked for the 'Thousand Luo Ancient Ape,' you often take it out. Little girl, are you thinking of your sweetheart? Hehehe..."
The young woman in the green gauze dress had eyes like silk and chuckled lightly.
A blush immediately spread across Bai Rou's face. She waved her sleeve, and the ancient ape on the table had already disappeared.
"No, I'm not. Grandmaster, what brings you here so early in the morning?"
Shuang Qingqing, in the green gauze dress, covered her mouth with her fair hand and giggled at Bai Rou's shy appearance. The snowy abundance on her chest trembled, full of charm.
"I asked Old Gu back then. He said that after he went down the Yin Demon Cliff crevice, he didn't find Li Yan's aura. He should have been swept into the two-realm barrier.
He returned to the Malevolent Spirit Sect but found that that boy's soul lamp was actually a fake. What a good move, to be able to deceive Wei Zhongran even when lighting the soul lamp.
But Zhao Min's soul lamp is still burning brightly. But you have also seen the Chaotic Flow Space. The dangers within are truly unimaginable!"
Bai Rou simply stopped talking, just bowing her head. Shuang Qingqing saw that this successor she had brought back was unwilling to talk more.
"Alright, let's not talk about it!
You have been in the clan for seven or eight years. A few days ago, you passed the family's assessment. Today is the first day of the month. The clan will hold a sacrificial ceremony and officially accept the few disciples who passed the assessment this time into the sect.
Later, after you go through the process, you can truly learn the clan's puppet arts. To say that these old guys are annoying, they neither ascend nor pass away, just clinging to these old tunes and not letting go.
I brought them a genius in artifact refining, and they still have this set of rules, that set of regulations. No wonder that after so many years, the clan's territory has not expanded, and it's all so lifeless..."
Shuang Qingqing sighed with dissatisfaction, a look of disdain on her face.
Ever since the war on the Desolate Moon Continent ended, she had brought Bai Rou back to the Wood Flow Sect, and then she had disappeared for more than twenty years.
When she returned, her cultivation had recovered from the initial stage of Nascent Soul to the mid-stage. Then she requested that Bai Rou leave the Desolate Moon Continent with her and take her to a place where artifact refining flourished to cultivate.
Bai Rou was still a little reluctant at that time. She couldn't let go of her master in the Wood Flow Sect, nor could she let go of the Desolate Moon Continent.
Shuang Qingqing told her that the Wood Flow Sect had been entrusted to the care of the Malevolent Spirit Sect. She had helped a lot in this great war, and with Gu Jiuqi's clone staying in the Malevolent Spirit Sect, the Wood Flow Sect would soon be able to move and settle down near the Malevolent Spirit Sect, where there would be no more worries.
Moreover, Shuang Qingqing had lost many of her memories of artifact refining, so she had to go back to her clan.
Firstly, Shuang Qingqing wanted to regain her memories, and secondly, to let Bai Rou learn the clan's top-tier mechanical puppet arts.
After much persuasion, Bai Rou finally agreed. So, after seeing that the Wood Flow Sect was well settled, she followed Shuang Qingqing across the realm.
They were gone for more than ten years. The Verdant Continent was not adjacent to the Wind God Continent and the Desolate Moon Continent. They needed to constantly teleport and forcibly tear through the barrier space.
Fortunately, Shuang Qingqing only needed to protect her in the Chaotic Flow Space, and she also had a surprisingly defensive cloak magical treasure that helped them to be safe in the Chaotic Flow Space.
In the end, the two of them arrived on the Verdant Continent without any danger.
Along the way, Bai Rou finally knew the danger of crossing continents. In her view, even if she reached the Nascent Soul stage in the future, she probably wouldn't dare to easily enter the Chaotic Flow Space.
During the crossing, she couldn't cultivate in peace either, so to this day, she was still only at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.
But her mind had been tempered to be much tougher. Her previous gentleness had gradually faded from the surface, replaced by a more restrained maturity.
According to Shuang Qingqing's observation, Bai Rou was only one epiphany away from forming her core.
However, now that she was in the clan, for an artifact refiner, an epiphany was not like other cultivators. Perhaps a certain artifact refining session would bring a moment of inspiration and sudden enlightenment.
After Bai Rou tidied up a little, her white dress was very simple and elegant. She gently closed the door of the house and flew away with Shuang Qingqing.
'If Junior Brother is well, has he already returned to the sect?' she thought to herself, unconsciously tightening her grip on the ancient ape in her sleeve. She didn't believe that Li Yan and Zhao Min would perish so easily.
One of them gave a sense of mystery, and the other had a deep background. It was absolutely impossible that they didn't have life-saving trump cards.
...
In a city on the Verdant Continent, in the middle of a bustling street, was a particularly eye-catching row of shops.
The storefronts were lined up in a row, with seven or eight large doors open. On the roof of the row of shops, the ancient seal characters "Gui Qu Lai Xi" exuded a sense of solidity and stability.
At this moment, a continuous stream of cultivators was coming in and out, making it seem exceptionally lively. In a private room on the second floor facing the street, a graceful and charming figure sat sideways by the window.
Her silhouette was exquisite, with a slender waist and full hips. She was holding a cup of fragrant tea and looking down at the street.
The woman was wearing a light green form-fitting palace gown, which lifted her full peaks high. Her hair was styled in a high bun, her skin was as white as snow, her teeth were like jade, and her beautiful eyes were full of waves, radiant and charming.
The side of the form-fitting skirt was slit high up, revealing a large area of fair skin at her crossed legs that made one's heart beat faster.
"Miss, how long are we staying on the Verdant Continent this time?"