inspire-indiana 107 To Sirius City
107 To Sirius City
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Except for the first day, Gao Zhun spent the entire time with Gao Ling.
At this time, Gao Ling was already three years old and had already learned to write. Under the guidance of Madam Zhu, she gradually began to lay a solid physical foundation for her future cultivation. Watching the little figure practicing her steady horse stance in the courtyard, Gao Zhun couldn't tell whether he felt sad or gratified. He just watched quietly, as if he wanted to permanently imprint that little bit of brightness in his heart.
Two hours later, Gao Ling's horse stance training for the day was complete, and he had half an hour to rest.
Noticing Gao Zhun's strange gaze, Gao Ling toddled over to her side, tugged at Gao Zhun's sleeve with her chubby little hands, and stared at her with her big, watery eyes: "Sister, are you going out to train again?"
Gao Zhun's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and a flash of surprise crossed her eyes. She gently ruffled Gao Ling's fluffy, soft hair and said softly, "Why would Little Ling'er think that way?"
Seeing that Gao Zhun did not answer her question directly, Gao Ling turned her head away, not looking at her. The moment her face turned away, her eyes were filled with tears: "Little Ling'er knows that her sister has not gone out for two years. Mother said that cultivators must not work in isolation. Going out to experience is a necessary process. Little Ling'er will not be willful. I just hope that if Little Ling'er also starts cultivating in the future, her sister can take Little Ling'er with her."
Gao Ling's voice grew softer and softer as she spoke, until she began to choke up. Gao Zhun felt a sharp pain in her heart, as if her heart was being ripped apart. She bent down and hugged Gao Ling tightly.
Although she had long known that Gao Ling was naturally gifted and much more mature than her peers, Gao Zhun felt heartbroken by her sensible yet stubborn words. However, she had a reason to go: "Little Ling'er, I'm bringing you lots of little gifts when I come back. Also, I promise that if my little Ling'er goes out to gain experience in the future, I will definitely accompany her and never break my promise."
Gao Zhun rarely makes promises, but at this moment he was truly heartbroken. Gao Ling, upon hearing this, also shook off her dejection and smiled through her tears, extending her right little finger to indicate, "Sister and Ling'er make a pinky promise, then Ling'er will believe you."
“Okay, sister and little Ling’er pinky swear.” With that, Gao Zhun solemnly extended his right index finger and intertwined it with Gao Ling’s.
After making a pinky promise, Gao Zhun looked at the crowd gathered in the courtyard, handed Gao Ling back to Madam Zhu, and said with a smile, "You've all arrived."
These words were mainly spoken to Gao Qi and Gao Yaobing, since the other eight people had been in her courtyard the whole time and had not left for a moment.
"Let's go." Gao Zhun gestured for them to enter the training room again. After activating the restrictions and formations, he took out ten storage bags and handed them to everyone: "These are all pills refined from Enlightenment Fruits."
Gao Qi and Gao Yaobing each took out a bottle of pills from their storage bags to examine them. They smelled the fragrance and observed the color. Their gazes toward Gao Zhun were somewhat meaningful. To be able to produce a pill without any impurities and with each one almost exactly the same, this person was no ordinary person, not to mention that he had to complete such a large quantity within ten days.
Gao Yaobing gave Gao Zhun a deep look: "Sister Zhun said before that she refined pills for me and Qi to repay a favor from the past. However, the value of these pills is too high. If Sister Zhun has no other request, Qi and I may feel uneasy and develop inner demons."
Gao Yaobing's words were quite obvious, and Gao Zhun could guess them as well, but she still waved her hand and said, "This pill only cost me some low-grade spiritual herbs and a few high-grade spirit stones, it's not worth much money. However, if Sister Yaobing and Sister Qi are really worried, I would be extremely grateful if the three of us sisters could help each other in the future."
"Mutual support?" Gao Yaobing and Gao Qi exchanged a glance, then both nodded: "It can be seen from this pill that the prospective sister is a blessed person. It is also a blessing for Qi and me to have a close relationship with her."
After saying that, Gao Yaobing and Gao Qi took their leave. Although the two had not yet fully integrated into Gao Zhun's small group, they showed their closeness in how they addressed each other. The only thing that prevented them from becoming true friends was that they lacked time to spend together.
After Gao Yaobing and Gao Qi left, Gao Zhun no longer needed to worry about revealing the identities of those present. He pulled Xuan Yuan Huanyu into a quiet room, leaving the other eight people, including A Zhong, outside.
"Cousin, what's your opinion on the matter I suggested to you earlier?" Gao Zhun went straight to the point as soon as they entered the quiet room.
The matter that was previously proposed to her? Xuan Yuan Huan Yu frowned, thought carefully for a while, and then looked somewhat surprised: "Xiao Zhun, you don't mean the trip to the Demon Realm, do you?"
Seeing that Xuanyuan Huanyu hadn't forgotten, Gao Zhun nodded and said, "That's right, it's the Demon Realm. My master, Elder Lei, told me that someone had discovered traces of my father, Gao Zhilin, in the Demon Realm. In addition, Senior Wuya in the Mysterious Palace said that I am a hybrid of human and demon. I want to find out all of this."
Seeing Gao Zhun's determined eyes, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu knew that he had made up his mind. Now he was not asking for her opinion, but asking if she would like to go together.
“Alright, I’ll go to the Demon Realm with you. But, Xiao Zhun, promise me you won’t act rashly. You can only investigate secretly.” Xuan Yuan Huan Yu couldn’t quite explain her feelings. She had a feeling that something unpredictable would happen on this trip, which made her uneasy whenever Gao Zhun mentioned the Demon Realm.
"Okay, I promise you." Gao Zhun nodded, and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief. Although she had been to such a remote place as the Yatian City Domain before, Ah Zhong had accompanied her along the way. But this time, she could not take Ah Zhong with her on the trip to the Demon Realm, as Ah Zhong had equally important things to do here and could not leave.
The thought of possibly embarking on an unknown journey alone in this strange world made Gao Zhun feel a little uneasy. However, it would be different if Xuan Yuan Huan Yu accompanied him. Although her cousin appeared to be a cold and aloof queen in front of outsiders, she was very considerate to him. Moreover, as Xuan Yuan Huan Yu said, with her by his side, he might be able to be more cautious.
Seeing that Gao Zhun didn't seem to be just going through the motions, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu felt a little less uneasy. After calculating the time, she set the departure date for three days later.
Because the Gao family did not have a direct teleportation array to the Demon Realm, three days later, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu and Gao Zhun were teleported to Tian Lang City, the closest city to the Demon Realm. If they wanted to get to the Demon Realm, they could only hire a guide in Tian Lang City to lead them out of Death Valley.
To avoid being recognized, Gao Zhun and Xuan Yuan Huanyu disguised themselves so that only those at the Tribulation Transcending stage could recognize them. For ease of movement, they both transformed into handsome men. Upon arriving in Tianlang City, they immediately found the Heavenly Observation Bureau under the city lord's jurisdiction. In the entire Tianlang City, only the Heavenly Observation Bureau could provide them with a guide to lead them out of Death Valley.
"How about this one named Mei Zijie?" Gao Zhun randomly picked out a jade slip from a pile of guide introductions, and after a quick glance, he was quite satisfied. He then pushed the jade slip into Xuan Yuan Huan Yu's hands: "Take a look."
Xuanyuan Huanyu nodded after reading it: "We don't have much time to waste. Since we both think it's suitable, let's go with Mei Zijie."
Having made her choice, Gao Zhun took a storage bag filled with spirit stones and walked to a trading device. Seeing the Gu family's distinctive logo on the corner of the device, she knew that this was another product of the Gu family.
Gao Zhun placed the jade slip and storage bag into the corresponding slots, and a communication stone appeared in his hand. At the same time, the communication stone rang: "Fellow Daoist Huangzhu, Fellow Daoist Moyu, see you at the North Gate."
A thousand miles straight ahead from the North Gate lies the entrance to Death Valley. Most cultivators and guides who wish to pass through Death Valley meet there, including Gao Zhun, Xuan Yuan Huan Yu, and Mei Zi Jie.
Because flying was prohibited within the city, it took Gao Zhun and Xuan Yuan Huan Yu an hour to travel from the Heavenly Observation Bureau to the North Gate of Tianlang City. Along the way, they witnessed many lecherous men trying to manipulate respectable female cultivators. The two secretly rejoiced that they had both transformed into male cultivators; otherwise, with their good looks, they would have caused countless disturbances along the way.
Upon arriving at the North Gate, Gao Zhun and Xuan Yuan Huan Yu immediately noticed that the atmosphere there was a bit off. Fortunately, they managed to find Mei Zi Jie among the group of cultivators. As soon as Mei Zi Jie saw his employer arrive, he immediately came forward and casually placed a restriction to prevent anyone from eavesdropping or peeping.
"Fellow Daoists, the timing of your decision to traverse Death Valley is truly ill-timed," Mei Zijie said bluntly to Gao Zhun and Xuan Yuan Huanyu as soon as he saw them.
Gao Zhun and Xuan Yuan Huanyu both saw the surprise flash in each other's eyes. Since Xuan Yuan Huanyu didn't like to talk to strangers, the task of negotiating with Mei Zijie naturally fell to Gao Zhun.
Gao Zhun asked, "Fellow Daoist Mei, could it be that something unexpected happened in Death Valley without our knowledge?"
Mei Zijie nodded and sighed upon hearing this, "Alas, what a change! Who can say otherwise? But we don't know if it's a blessing or a curse. We just passed through the Enlightenment Fruit Secret Realm, and suddenly another large-scale secret realm has appeared?!"
Judging from Mei Zijie's tone, even this native of Tianlang City was puzzled by the changes that had occurred in Death Valley. However, neither Gao Zhun nor Xuan Yuan Huanyu ignored Mei Zijie's last sentence: Death Valley had suddenly become a large secret realm!
"Fellow Daoist Mei, what exactly happened? We hope you can tell us in detail," Gao Zhun asked hurriedly. Her trip to the Demon Realm was time-limited; she needed to return before the Gao Family Disciples' Grand Competition. She had less than four years left, and if an unforeseen event was unavoidable, she would have to abandon her trip. (166 Reading Network)