Su Qing truly wasn't in a hurry at all.
She said she would depart in a few days, but that wait turned into a month.
Procrastinating, a classic case of chronic delay.
However...
It was time to go, she still had to leave.
Early morning.
She caressed the ginkgo tree, bidding it farewell.
This departure from home certainly wouldn't be just a quick trip to Flower-Fruit Mountain and back.
She still had many things she wanted to do...
This journey would likely take several years.
“I’m leaving, truly leaving this time. I wonder, if you had a spirit, would you miss me? After I’m gone, there’ll be no one to weed and fertilize you~”
Su Qing thought, shaking her head slightly, wondering why she was talking to a tree.
This tree still hadn't developed sentience!
Even if she spoke, it wouldn't understand.
This departure didn't fill Su Qing with much reluctance.
She had already mastered the Somersault Cloud divine ability; wouldn't it be simple to return?
Su Qing smiled and locked the courtyard gate.
She then cast a minor spell to prevent mortals from easily discovering the place.
This was to avoid the awkward situation of returning home to find it occupied.
After doing all this, Su Qing said, “Let’s go.”
Leng Xiang nodded slightly upon hearing this.
She transformed into a streak of light and returned to the Leng Xiang Sword.
The sparrows also landed on Su Qing's shoulders, looking at the courtyard with reluctance.
The sparrows seemed even more reluctant to leave the small courtyard...
Or perhaps, they were reluctant to leave the green worms in the vegetable patch outside the courtyard.
But with Su Qing traveling far, they couldn't possibly not follow.
“You all need to hold on tight,” Su Qing said with a slight smile.
She silently recited a magical incantation.
With a thought, a crimson auspicious cloud rose from the ground.
Carrying them, it sped eastward.
The surrounding scenery blurred, like chaotic lines rapidly receding.
Flower-Fruit Mountain is located in the sea of Aolai Kingdom on the Eastern Purvavideha Continent.
Back then, the monkey drifted on that sea for an unknown number of years before arriving at Shanbuzhou Jambudvipa.
It then took nearly ten years to cross Shanbuzhou Jambudvipa and reach Xi He Niu Zhou Aparagodaniya to find the Patriarch and become his disciple.
The distance involved is imaginable.
However, such a distance would not take long for the Somersault Cloud.
The sparrows perched on her shoulders originally wanted to chat with Su Qing on the way.
But before they could think of anything to say.
Su Qing had already brought them down onto a beautiful island.
This island was filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, with evergreen pines and emerald bamboos.
From a distance, one could hear the gurgling of streams, the chirping of birds, and the croaking of frogs.
Just being there made one feel refreshed and invigorated.
“We’re here already?”
“So fast! I haven’t even reacted, and we’re already here?”
“Yes, yes, Sister Xiao Qing is so fast. I wonder how far we’ve flown!”
The little sparrows were stunned by the speed.
They couldn't help but fly around, looking everywhere, filled with curiosity about their surroundings.
“Is this the Flower-Fruit Mountain that Young Mistress spoke of?”
Leng Xiang transformed into human form and looked around.
Seeing the surroundings had changed so much, she was very surprised.
She only knew the Somersault Cloud was fast, but she didn't expect it to be so incredibly swift.
In just a few breaths of time...
They had already arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain?
Before, she used to carry Young Mistress when flying, but now Young Mistress probably wouldn't need her to carry her anymore.
Leng Xiang couldn't help but feel a little regretful...
Although it was quite embarrassing, if Young Mistress always needed her to carry her when flying, she would never leave her, right?
Leng Xiang couldn't help but gaze at Su Qing, her thoughts a little muddled.
Su Qing didn't know what Leng Xiang was thinking.
She just shook her head slightly and said:
“I don’t know either. I just felt like we might have arrived at Flower-Fruit Mountain, so I stopped.”
She had stayed in Xi He Niu Zhou Aparagodaniya for decades, never having traveled far.
How would she know the exact location of Flower-Fruit Mountain?
She just kept flying east, flew over the continent, and stopped when she saw this beautiful island in the sea.
As for whether this was Flower-Fruit Mountain, she truly wasn't sure.
However, it was simple to confirm.
Just ask at a nearby Earth God Temple and she would know.
But Su Qing searched along the way and didn't see any Earth God Temples or Mountain God Temples.
It was as if there were no immortals in these mountains.
Let alone Earth God Temples or Mountain God Temples, she hadn't even seen any places for humans to live...
Although she hadn't seen any immortals or mortals, she did see many small demons.
These minor demons included insects, wolves, tigers, leopards, and many macaques.
Each was strange in appearance and varied in form.
Some had human forms, yet weren't quite human, ugly and crude.
Some had completely lost their human form.
Their appearances were quite haphazard.
Some demons fled upon seeing Su Qing.
Some demons hid in the shadows, coiled in trees, or concealed behind rocks.
They quietly watched Su Qing like this.
As if they were plotting against her.
Yet they never made a move, seemingly assessing Su Qing's strength.
Or perhaps they were calculating something else.
“Flower-Fruit Mountain is the main vein of the Ten Continents, the 'dragon vein' of the Three Islands, truly a blessed land. The mountain is rich in spiritual energy, making it easy for creatures to gain sentience. Seeing so many demons along the way... this is most likely Flower-Fruit Mountain,” Su Qing thought to herself.
She didn't pay attention to those minor demons.
As long as these fellows didn't actually try to scheme against her, she couldn't be bothered with them!
Moreover, Flower-Fruit Mountain had the Seventy-Two Cave Demon Kings...
Leaving aside whether she could defeat them... even if she could, getting involved would ultimately be troublesome.
She was here to sightsee, not to look for trouble.
She just didn't understand why there wasn't even an Earth God Temple on Flower-Fruit Mountain...
Could it be that no immortals truly resided on Flower-Fruit Mountain?
But if she thought about it carefully, perhaps even if there were minor immortals, they would likely be driven away by those demons, right?
Su Qing didn't mind the demons, but Leng Xiang said:
“Those demonic creatures seem to intend harm to Young Mistress. Shall I slay them?”
“Don’t stir up unnecessary trouble... If they truly don't value their lives, it won't be too late to kill them then.”
Su Qing shook her head slightly...
Leng Xiang heard this and said no more.
She merely, in the form of a hairpin, kept an eye on the surrounding demonic creatures.
Su Qing ventured deeper into the mountain forest, and after observing several spots, she truly felt this place was a blessed land.
Here were crimson cliffs and strange rocks, sheer walls and peculiar peaks.
In the forest, besides demons, there were also long-lived deer and immortal foxes, and on the trees, spiritual birds and black cranes.
Although it was autumn, the jade flowers and exotic grasses showed no signs of wilting.
Instead, various fruit trees were laden with fruit.
One could see macaques scurrying on the fruit-bearing trees, playing and frolicking, picking peaches and eating fruit... what joy.
Su Qing casually picked a peach, wiped off the dust with her sleeve, and put it into her mouth.
She found the taste quite good... even better than the peaches grown in Patriarch Bodhi's Cave of the Slanted Moon and Three Stars.
Before long, the sparrows who had flown out to explore returned.
“Sister Xiao Qing, we found the strange rock you mentioned!”
“Yes, yes, it’s right there on the mountain!”
“So tired, so tired. Sister Xiao Qing, we’re not flying anymore, not flying anymore.”
Saying this, the sparrows landed on Su Qing’s shoulders, unwilling to move.
They just stared at the fruits, their faces full of desire.
Su Qing felt helpless. She had intended to praise them, but seeing them like this, she couldn't bring herself to.
She could only nod slightly and ask them in which direction the strange rock was.
“Just up the mountain ahead!” one sparrow replied.
Hearing this, Su Qing leaped directly, disappearing from the sight of the demons, and went to find the strange rock.
Seeing Su Qing vanish, the demons immediately scattered.
Each returned to report to their respective Great Kings in the mountains.
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