Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
Three people were cautiously making their way through a dark forest.
Xu Miaoran led the group. She was wearing coarse clothes and had bound her head with some flower-printed cloth, and her face had been covered in plaster. Her delicate skin had been hidden under this disguise, concealing her beautiful appearance. Rather than a fairy of Horizon Ocean Pavilion, she appeared more like a village girl.
Behind her were Xian Tao and Hong Yuan. They were also dressed up like village girls, even carrying baskets that held herbs they had picked in the mountains.
As the three of them were walking, Xu Miaoran suddenly stopped and tossed out a piece of gauze, and the three of them vanished from sight. A few moments later, a cultivator flew overhead. He looked around and saw that nothing was wrong before going on his way.
The three of them waited for a while to ensure that there was nothing else, and then put away the gauze. "It's fine. Let's keep going."
She dropped her head and continued to play the part of a village girl as she moved forward.
Hong Yuan stood up and patted the dirt off her body. "Young Lady, I must say: since you have the Crimson Illusion Gauze, why exactly are we disguising ourselves? Wearing these clothes is suffering, and I haven't even been able to take a bath. I've gotten absolutely filthy since we entered the mountains."
"Shut it," Xu Miaoran brusquely said. "You think I want to do this? But you think it's that easy to get through Godhead Palace's seal? The Crimson Illusion Gauze isn't all-powerful. If someone somehow finds us, we can only rely on this disguise. There are many mountain people living around the Spirit Mountains, and every year, some of them go into the mountains. Although Godhead Palace has locked down the entire mountain range, it hasn't completely cut it off. This disguise is our best cover."
Hong Yuan grumbled, "In my opinion, is Godhead Palace really anything to be afraid of? Even if they find us, do you really think they would dare to do anything to the young lady? Godhead Palace isn't afraid of entering open hostilities with my Horizon Ocean Pavilion?"
Xian Tao jabbed Hong Yuan's forehead with a finger. "You! Is there a brain in there or not? The young lady naturally isn't worried about Godhead Palace doing anything to us, but don't forget why the young lady is here. If Godhead Palace discovers us, what do you think they will do?"
"What will they do?" Hong Yuan foolishly asked.
"That's why you're stupid!" Xian Tao bluntly said. "The young lady came here to see Tang Jie. If Godhead Palace finds us, while they naturally wouldn't dare to kill the young lady, do you think they wouldn't dare to follow the young lady to find Tang Jie? The moment we find Tang Jie, Godhead Palace's hunters might surround us, and rather than helping Tang Jie, the young lady would have harmed him."
Hong Yuan opened and closed her mouth, unable to say anything. After a while, she said, "No wonder she didn't notify Tang Jie after entering the mountains. This was probably what she feared."
"Correct," Xu Miaoran replied. "Tang Jie is in the middle of fighting with Godhead Palace, so we would only distract him. We have to find the right moment, making sure that everything is safe, before informing him."
"Then how long do we have to wait?"
"Let's wait and slowly search. So long as we are patient, a chance will come," Xu Miaoran casually replied.
Tang Jie had taught her these words. In the time she had spent together with him, she had learned many things from him.
One of the most important ones was patience.
Tang Jie had been stuck in Nadir Hill for more than half a year now, and Xu Miaoran had been away from home in search of her boyfriend for at least half a year.
In terms of speed, it didn't actually take that long to go between Great Wind Island and the Spirit Mountains, but she had run into various obstructions. 33926
Xu Miaoran had pulled out all the stops in order to get through all those various blockades without being found by Godhead Palace and Horizon Ocean Pavilion.
Before all this, she had been a proud daughter of heaven, but after leaving home, she had acted like a fugitive wanted by Horizon Ocean Pavilion. Every day, she was playing hide-and-seek with the people who had come to find her, dueling against them in intellect and courage.
Xu Miaoran had never experienced such difficulties before, and this game of hunted and hunter was probably the toughest trial in all of Xu Miaoran's life.
There was no need to waste so many words describing all the challenges she had faced. Just seeing how she had changed was enough.
Once reckless and daring, she was now very composed, and she had gone from being very straightforward to thinking carefully before acting. It wasn't like she had given up the emphasis on authenticity sought by Horizon Ocean Pavilion, but all the various trials she had faced had instinctively caused her to develop a habit of being cautious and wary.
She had been able to escape the pursuit of Horizon Ocean Pavilion partially because the people of Horizon Ocean Pavilion weren't willing to use too much power for fear of killing her, but it was also partially due to her own efforts.
She had broken out of the encirclement of 36 Sword Disciples of Horizon Ocean Pavilion, escaped from three True Inheritor senior brothers sent by her father, and ultimately became a fugitive wanted by Horizon Ocean Pavilion, causing various sects across Endsea to mobilize to capture her, and she still succeeded in escaping their encirclement…
As Tang Jie was miraculously escaping from Godhead Palace again and again, Xu Miaoran was also setting her own records. The only reason she didn't cause as much of a stir as Tang Jie was that nobody died in the middle of this pursuit.
The difficult escape had caused Xu Miaoran to totally leave her ivory tower, allowing her to experience the "real, cruel, yet wondrous world" that Tang Jie had spoken of. It allowed her to completely understand her shortcomings and understand the gap between her and Tang Jie.
But the setback didn't beat down this tenacious girl, instead spurring her on to try even harder.
Actually, Xu Miaoran was a true genius. It was just that her background meant that she could get everything she wanted without much effort, which had caused her to become a little lazy. When she put all her effort into it, her latent potential finally had the chance to erupt with astonishing strength.
In just a few short months, Xu Miaoran's cultivation level had risen by leaps and bounds, and she had reached greater attainment in Cognitive Creation. If she weren't worried about weakening herself and becoming Tang Jie's burden, she would have already entered the Three Witherings.
For these reasons, even though she had already entered the Spirit Mountains, she remained cool-headed and cautious.
Even though she hoped to see Tang Jie a little sooner, she knew that she had to wait and bide her time for a better moment.
Thus, in the last few days, she had suppressed her excitement and perfectly played the part of a village girl wandering the mountains.
Like Tang Jie, she chose to familiarize herself with this area and understand the situation rather than ignorantly rush in.
In the process, she had gradually grasped some details that even Xi Canhen didn't know. For example, Godhead Palace was only responsible for locking down the core area. Outside of the core area, the various minor sects of Nadir Hill had set up their own blockade, and there was also the sealing formation that encircled the mountains. All in all, there were three layers.
To get into the Great Mountain to find Tang Jie, one first had to get through the sealing formation, which they had already done, as the great formation was easier to get into than to get out of. After that, they had to get through the blockade of the minor sects, and finally, the blockade set up by Godhead Palace.
Only at that step could Xu Miaoran notify Tang Jie that she had arrived.
For this reason, Xu Miaoran had been waiting this whole time.
It was just like how she had broken through the blockade of Horizon Ocean Pavilion, waiting for the right chance.
She didn't know what this opportunity would look like, but she knew that life was full of changes. So long as she patiently waited, that opportunity might suddenly fall from the heavens.
Luck always favored the prepared. This was a valuable lesson Xu Miaoran had learned in that half a year she was being chased all over the place. She might not have been able to reach Tang Jie's level, where he could create opportunities, but at least she knew how to welcome them.
Thus, the opportunity came.
The momentous transformation of the Spirit Mountains effected by the battle between Tang Jie and Godhead Palace was Xu Miaoran's best chance.
In the middle of that heaven-shaking shift, everyone was in a panic. As mountains rose and fell, all that was familiar was destroyed, replaced by a new and strange existence.
While everyone else was panicking, Xu Miaoran began to infiltrate the region.
Utilizing that major shift, she had passed through the perimeter blockade and reached Godhead Palace's blockade.
Alas, the shifting had stopped there, and Xu Miaoran was forced to halt her progress and continue to move around the region as a village girl, carefully avoiding all possible hidden dangers.
This was a most dangerous moment for Xu Miaoran. Her group was currently caught in the middle, able to neither advance nor retreat.
Godhead Palace was searching all over the place, and the other sects were casting their own nets, so nobody could say when a net might come down. While it might not be able to catch Tang Jie, it could possibly catch Xu Miaoran.
Xu Miaoran was well aware of what would happen if she were caught. Even if they didn't dare to kill her, that didn't mean that they were so afraid of her as to do absolutely nothing to her. For them, this was an excellent card to play against Tang Jie.
This was exactly why she was being very, very careful. Not only that, she was even prepared to commit suicide. She might not actually carry out those plans, but she would definitely make sure those people looking for her would act with restraint.
After doing all this, Xu Miaoran continued to wait things out in the mountains, silently waiting for another opportunity to come.
Some people really did enjoy the kindness of the heavens.
Just when Xu Miaoran thought that she would have to wait for a very long time, the opportunity really did come.
On this day, Xu Miaoran was keeping watch in the forest as usual, scouting out Godhead Palace's patrol routes and shift changes, looking for any holes.
Godhead Palace was currently using a web-type defense.
They had set up observation points at set intervals, keeping watch on all movement around these points. The advantage of this method was that it allowed them to maximize the area under their control and could ensure that no one would sneak through. But the disadvantage was that it was rather inflexible, and the large distance between points meant that they couldn't reinforce each other. If they came under attack, they could easily be isolated and be subjected to 'divide and conquer'.
But Nan Ningjiang wasn't afraid of this. He was more afraid that Tang Jie wouldn't come out, for he had many plans ready for once Tang Jie did emerge, with King Canis He Changan being his greatest trump card.
From Tang Jie's perspective, he needed to separate his opponents in order to kill them. From Nan Ningjiang's perspective, he needed Tang Jie to move so that he had a chance to capture him. The two of them knew what the other side needed to do, so they didn't mind giving the other side opportunities.
But before then, Tang Jie put most of his focus into the Great Mountain and had no plans to play this game of cat-and-mouse with Nan Ningjiang just yet. However, both he and Nan Ningjiang were sure that this day would come eventually.
Tang Jie would definitely bite down on the bait, and Nan Ningjiang would get his chance.
In this long clash, the one who laughed last would be the winner.
Xu Miaoran didn't know all of this, but she instinctively watched those observation points and tried to see if her opportunity could be found there.
As she was observing, there was an explosion in the sky.
A person plummeted from the air.
Everyone was alarmed by this sight.
It had to be understood that these were the Spirit Mountains. The sky was a forbidden zone here.
Low-altitude flight was not a problem. So long as one didn't fly too high, one wouldn't run into any resistance. But if one flew just a little too high, the Great Mountain might strike one down, just like the brazen Master Xuan Zhong.
For this reason, cultivators usually went on foot after entering the mountains, and the blockade had been deployed on the ground. Even if one were using low-altitude flight, at that altitude, one would be spotted at a glance.
Thus, they hadn't expected someone to drop from the sky. Close inspection revealed this to be a white-haired old man in a Daoist robe.
The old Daoist seemed completely unaffected by the Great Mountain. His landing spot happened to be an observation point, and he was facing ten Bloodbath Hall disciples. The Bloodbath Hall disciples were alarmed by the old Daoist, wondering where he had come from. On the other hand, when the old Daoist saw these ten people, he murmured in surprise, "So many big ones!"
Everyone was baffled by these words, and then the old Daoist began to point at them while counting, "One, two, three, four… nine, ten… ten big dummies!"
He held his belly and laughed, as if he was the real dummy here.
A Bloodbath Hall disciple couldn't help himself and barked, "Hey, old Daoist, what are you babbling about? Who are you, and how did you get here?"
"What are you wasting time with him for?" another Bloodbath Hall disciple shouted. "This place has been sealed off, and no one can go in or out. Since he's here, let's seize him first."
"Careful that it's not a disguised Tang Jie!" another person shouted.
The ten Bloodbath Hall disciples assumed formation, taking out ten short golden spears and stabbing them in unison at the old Daoist.
They were like the bean soldiers, capable of fighting together. All ten of them had linked their spiritual powers together, so even though they were only at the Mortal Shedding Realm, when they stabbed their spears in unison, they could match the full-strength attack of a Spirit Ring True Person.
The energy spear they manifested let out a brilliant glow as it shot at the old Daoist.
The crazy old Daoist saw the energy spear and giggled. "Fun, fun!"
He reached out to grab the energy spear.
As a spear made of spiritual energy, it had no substance, yet the old Daoist actually managed to grab it. The energy spear wriggled like a snake in his hand, but it was unable to break free.
Everyone was stunned by this sight.
How strong could one be, to casually grab another person's spell art attack as if it was solid?
At the very least, the likes of He Yueyang and Li Song could not do this.
Master Xuan Zhong might have been capable of doing it, but not to a Spirit Ring–tier attack. Meanwhile, that crazy old Daoist was holding the energy spear with seemingly little effort, even giggling, like he had gotten some interesting toy.
The ten Bloodbath Hall disciples wanted to pull back their spears, but they couldn't. They could only watch as they felt their spiritual energy draining away. So long as the energy spear existed, they were forced to provide spiritual energy to maintain it, and they couldn't stop it.
Alarmed, the lead disciple shouted, "Release the spears!"
The ten of them let go in unison, and with a boom, the spear dissipated while a massive backlash sent the ten of them flying.
The old Daoist saw this and gasped. "Wow! Flying people!"
He thrust out his hands, and ten threads of spiritual energy flew out from his fingers and wrapped around those ten people. Subsequently, the ten people floated in the air rather than landing back down.
The ten of them shouted as they were tossed around in the air, but no matter how they attacked, the old Daoist didn't seem to care. Even though it didn't seem like he had any sort of defensive barrier, any attack aimed at him would give off a thud as if striking metal and leave not even a scratch on his skin.
It was the leader of the disciples who realized that this was trouble, so while he was "flying", he managed to pull out a message talisman, which flashed with light as it sent out the warning signal.
With the signal sent out, reinforcements from Godhead Palace were bound to be here soon.
The old Daoist didn't seem to care, continuing to wave his hands around, The spirit threads grew thicker and thicker, gradually taking solid form and binding those people tightly like ropes. With a wave of his hands, he brought the ten of them behind him, fanning them out behind his back like they were ten tailfeathers. The old Daoist then formed his hand into a beak and excitedly shouted, "Peacock! I'm a peacock!"
He was treating those ten people like the tail of a peacock.
Xu Miaoran was dumbfounded by this sight.
The reinforcements from Godhead Palace came quickly.
As the old Daoist was showing off, the sounds of flight came from the distance.
The surrounding observation points had responded first.
Xu Miaoran thought that the old Daoist would also play around with these people, but surprisingly, when the old Daoist saw several dozen people rushing over, he immediately shrank back, shouting, "I'm not playing with you guys anymore!"
He turned and fled.
But though he fled, he was still dragging those ten Bloodbath Hall disciples behind him. As he flew around, those ten disciples went up and down like they were the tail of some creature.
The Godhead Palace disciples naturally couldn't let this go. After seeing this, even if this guy wasn't Tang Jie, they couldn't let him pass, and they roared in fury as they gave chase.
Explosions began to ring out as other members of Godhead Palace converged on the area, surrounding that contemptible old Daoist, and trails of smoke could be seen moving into the distance. Meanwhile, Xu Miaoran's area was instantly deserted.
Xu Miaoran was taken aback at first, and then she realized what was happening. Wasn't this the best chance to get through the blockade?
Excited, she hastened back to her hiding spot and called out Xian Tao and Hong Yuan. "Let's go."
"'Go' where?" The mischievous and somewhat dumb Hong Yuan hadn't realized what was going on yet.
"To see Tang Jie!" Xu Miaoran loudly replied, rushing to the depths of the forest like an arrow.
She rushed past the blockade and into the depths of the Great Mountain.
A bold and courageous advance!
The moment she entered the depths of the mountains, she finally took out a long-range talisman and wrote, "I'm in the mountains."
Those four words seemed to be bursting with meaning.
Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnovel(.)com