The sun’s fading glow painted the sky crimson as the cloud boat rode thick clouds through the air, freely weaving through the azure canopy. Compared to the vast sky, the sizable cloud boat was like a light leaf floating on a boundless ocean, utterly isolated from the noise and turmoil of the mortal world below.
Before she knew it, night descended, bringing a brilliant field of stars.
Amid wisps of floating cloud mist, Shi Yu lay on the cloud boat’s deck, gazing up at the starlight filling the sky and reaching a hand out toward the heavens. The stars seemed so close, giving her the illusion that a gentle tug would tangle the entire tapestry of the night sky.
Of course, an illusion was just an illusion. Shi Yu curled her fingers slightly and tugged at empty air; naturally, the starry sky did not change in the slightest. Amused by her own whim, she chuckled softly and lowered her hand.
The wind howled past her ears as Shi Yu drifted in thought for a while longer, until young Ji Yu shouted excitedly from nearby, “Big Sister, dinner's ready!”
She sat up, dusted off non-existent dirt from her clothes, and walked over to the three of them.
Dinner had been prepared by Qingzhou. His culinary skills were exceptional, and knowing Shi Yu’s taste intimately, he had made a few simple dishes—each rich in color, aroma, and flavor, and all favorites of hers.
The cloud boat’s prow was currently stuffed with ample spirit stones, allowing it to speed forward on its own without requiring constant oversight, so the four of them could sit down to eat together.
The food was set on a low table. As Shi Yu sat cross-legged, Mo Tong quietly assisted, scooping four bowls of spiritual grain and setting them down. Taking a bowl of spiritual grain, Shi Yu cast a glance at Mo Tong.
When Qingzhou wasn't around, Mo Tong was fairly talkative, but with Qingzhou present, he became taciturn and quiet, acting like an invisible man and doing his utmost to minimize his presence.
She looked back and forth between the two, sensing an undercurrent flowing between the main body and the avatar, a subtle tension that was hard to put into words.
Yet Qingzhou's expression remained unchanged. Looking at her, his smile retained its familiar soft and shy warmth. “Ah Yu, eat up.”
It yielded no clues whatsoever.
Shi Yu chose not to pry further and picked up her chopsticks.
Though she had achieved fasting, she did not abstain from food entirely. Eating these spiritual grains and vegetables nourished with Life Spring water helped nurture Qi and cleanse the body—not to mention that she had never cared to suppress her appetite for good food.
Ji Yu was young and still in the middle of a growth spurt, devouring his food like a whirlwind. As he gulped down bites, he flashed a thumbs-up at Qingzhou. “Big Brother Qingzhou, this is so delicious, so delicious!”
Shi Yu shot him a glance, well aware of the boy's flatterer tendencies. Sure enough, before the meal even ended, Ji Yu had already sidled up to Qingzhou, showering him with praise after praise and practically offering his total devotion, a sight that made her chuckle.
Amid such an amusing scene, the melancholy of departure gradually drifted away.
...
Mo Tong had run the shop for a long time and gathered many good items, among which was a map of East Continent that stretched a full zhang long when unfolded. Though far from completely precise and containing quite a few errors, it was more than sufficient for planning routes and setting directions.
At present, the cloud boat followed the map, flying directly toward the central region of East Continent.
Shiyan Academy was located in Tianyuan Prefecture at the heart of East Continent. Moving from Changyuan Prefecture meant crossing five whole prefectures in between—a journey spanning hundreds of thousands of miles.
Previously, traveling within Changyuan Prefecture from Lingtai Prefecture to Hengze Prefecture had taken nearly a month. Traversing multiple entire prefectures would take a year or more if relying solely on the cloud boat.
Shiyan Academy recruited students only once every five years. Shi Yu had spent two years in the Yanyang Realm, then guarded President Song during his breakthrough, dealt with the Fang Clan, and spent time in seclusion at the spirit node and handling various matters upon returning to Lingtai Prefecture. Consequently, less than a year remained until Shiyan Academy's next recruitment.
At the cloud boat's current speed, there was no way she would make it in time.
Missing this recruitment drive meant waiting another five years.
Five years was nothing to cultivators with long lifespans, and waiting would do no real harm.
However, Shi Yu had seen the true geniuses of this world in her memories. If she wanted to catch up to them, she could not afford complacency or slackening.
Five years was something she could not afford to wait. Thus, she had to reach Shiyan Academy in time for this upcoming recruitment.
“It's not as though there are no options... Among Tier-4 spirit talismans, there is the Flying Star Dragon-Wandering Talisman, which transforms a cultivator into a flying star to streak across heaven and earth, traversing a thousand miles in an instant with a single card.” Gazing down at the sweeping grand panorama of rolling mountains and crisscrossing rivers beneath the cloud boat, Shi Yu murmured to herself.
If she threw dozens or even a hundred of them into the journey, she would certainly make it.
“It's a good idea, just ridiculously expensive,” she muttered.
Crafting this talisman required specific types of Five-Elements Sand, spirit jade dust, and spirit beast blood. Fortunately, items like the Xuanpin Pearls she had bought back in Hengze Prefecture could be put to use, and the corpse of the Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon inside the Fate-Tapping Bell still offered plenty of beast blood to draw from.
The Xuanpin Pearls she had selected were all of top quality, more than enough to grind into powder and mix into talisman ink. As for the Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon, it was a Wind-attribute spirit beast that had been exceptionally powerful in life, and its blood retained every bit of its spiritual nature inside the Fate-Tapping Bell, making it ideal for crafting this talisman.
However... aside from these materials, two key components were still missing from her inventory.
One was phosphor powder from the wings of a spirit butterfly known as the Phantom Spectral-Jade Butterfly, and the other was Jade-Blood Cold Gold, an ore occasionally found only in places where sha Qi and Yin Qi converged.
The former was easy enough to handle. Heading south after leaving Changyuan Prefecture lay Hundred Flowers City, governed by the Hundred Flowers Sect. The city enjoyed eternal spring with flowers in full bloom year-round, and aside from various spiritual flowers, it produced all kinds of spiritual bees and butterflies. She would surely find Phantom Spectral-Jade Butterflies there—information she had learned from Mo Tong's map of East Continent.
The latter, Jade-Blood Cold Gold, was somewhat troublesome. It appeared only where sha Qi and Yin Qi gathered. If Shi Yu required only a small amount, keeping an eye on major auction houses and trading firms along the way might yield some.
But the Flying Star Dragon-Wandering Talismans she needed to craft were far more than one or two, so the required Jade-Blood Cold Gold was naturally no small amount either.
“In that case, I might have to visit Wanchou Prefecture to gather it...”
Wanchou Prefecture was not on Shi Yu's planned route, but it did not stray too far off course. It lay in roughly the same direction, requiring only a slight detour.
Shi Yu's concern was not the lost time from a detour, but the fact that Wanchou Prefecture was truly a hotbed of trouble.
According to what President Song and the others had mentioned previously, Wanchou Prefecture was rife with toxic swamps and poisonous miasmas, infested with evil cultivators, and its border with Changyuan Prefecture saw constant slaughter and endless strife.
Furthermore, she had killed Pei Yanji. Although she had thrown the token bearing the three words "Xuanyin Ruins" directly into the Yanyang Realm, there was no guarantee the force behind him possessed no other means to track her.
After a moment of contemplation, Shi Yu's expression settled. Why hesitate and look back and forth? How can we cultivators lose heart before even arriving?
Her mind was made up; she would go.
And so, the cloud boat set off toward Hundred Flowers City first.
Rate on N.U.
