Chapter 72: Chapter 70: The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

The more Du Youqian learned about the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert, the more questions he had.

How did these Nine Countries form? Why were they a Land of the Dead Spirit where no one could surpass the Golden Core Realm? Why did the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert have so many strange rules, such as the Demon Sects being forbidden from performing large-scale Blood Sacrifices, Upper-class Sects being barred from bullying Lower-class Sects, and all ranked Sects having to stay in their designated places? Who made these rules, and why did they exist?

And why were the Nine Countries of Momenan Desert so isolated, with no interaction with the greater Cultivation Realm outside? Records on these matters were scarce.

When he snapped out of his thoughts, he smiled and asked, "Don’t you want to see the world outside?"

Lin Sha smiled gently. "It doesn’t matter to me. As long as I can be by your side, Qing Lang, I’ll go anywhere."

"So you’ll leave with me right now?" Du Youqian joked.

Lin Sha’s gaze was resolute. "Alright. Let’s go. I don’t have anything to pack."

Du Youqian immediately regretted making that joke.

He could only give an awkward smile and change the subject.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Upon arriving in the Jin Kingdom, Du Youqian had originally planned to visit his birthplace from a past life: the Fang Family Ancestral Residence in Dangshan County.

It wasn’t out of nostalgia, but rather a desire to see how the seed he had casually planted back then was growing.

He wondered about that junior named Fang Yuantang, and whether he had managed to achieve anything with the Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture—a profound yet incomplete Cultivation Technique—and what insights he might have gained during his Cultivation.

Du Youqian had high hopes for this Cultivation Technique.

Although he had only managed to redeem the Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture from the Chongzhen Sect, Elder Tao had told him that there was also a Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture and, according to legend, even a Nine Transition Celestial Dance Scripture, which corresponded to the realms after Golden Core and even higher, indescribable levels of power.

However, the Chongzhen Sect no longer had copies of them.

Perhaps the Taihe Sect, a First-Class Sect among the Profound Sects, would have a copy of the Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture.

As for the Nine Transition Celestial Dance Scripture, its traces could likely only be found in the greater Cultivation Realm outside.

The Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture had no specific requirements for one’s Spirit Root Attribute, making it very suitable for someone with Five Spirit Roots.

Du Youqian hoped he could research it, complete its missing parts, and in the future, switch to cultivating the Three Transition Celestial Dance Scripture or even directly to the Seven Transition Celestial Dance Scripture.

However, after being pestered by Lin Sha for a few days, he felt that if he stayed in the Jin Kingdom any longer, his life might be in danger. He could only flee in disgrace, giving up on seeing Fang Yuantang.

After bidding farewell to Lin Sha, Du Youqian first headed south into the territory of the Han Kingdom.

Then, on the banks of the Han River, he rented a boat and traveled east with the current.

This time, there were no beautiful women on the boat, and certainly no interesting children.

Du Youqian spent his days immersed in an ocean of knowledge, perfectly content.

During occasional moments of boredom, he would think with disappointment, ’Why are there no demons in Momenan?’

’If it were like the web novels I read three lifetimes ago, a demon would leap out of the water to block my path or demand a Blood Sacrifice from a small fishing village on the shore, and I could eliminate it with ease.’

’I’d get to eliminate a demon to protect the Dao, enjoy the adoring gazes of the crowd, and pass the boring time.’

’It would be even more fun if the Dragon Race existed. A handsome young man like myself might even be snatched away by a Dragon Palace princess to be her husband.’

At other times, Du Youqian would seriously ponder certain issues.

For instance, how to deal with Helan Ruojin.

Combining the intelligence he had obtained from the East Sea Market with the details Lin Sha had gradually revealed, he now knew Helan Ruojin like the back of his hand.

Of course, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that Helan Ruojin had a hidden trump card.

No, an old fox like him definitely had a hidden trump card.

But Du Youqian always planned with a margin for error, assuming the worst of his enemies.

The fact was, according to his plan, eliminating Helan Ruojin was practically a sure thing. At most, he and Lin Sha would suffer minor injuries.

If Monkey came along, they could even send Helan Ruojin to his Reincarnation at an even smaller cost—just a few light injuries and some depleted supplies.

As for his own safety, Du Youqian was the least concerned.

He possessed several Secret Techniques and Elixirs that consumed his lifespan, so as long as Helan Ruojin didn’t have a way to kill him instantly, he wasn’t afraid at all.

And once his Cultivation reached Qi Cultivation Perfection, he would use a Celestial Demon Sacrifice Pill to forcibly break through to Foundation Establishment, activate the Reverse Blood Qi Transformation Technique to nearly double his strength, arm himself to the teeth with Spiritual Artifacts, and stand within a Tier Two Array...

At that point, forget a Foundation Establishment Third Layer Cultivator like Helan Ruojin; even a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator wouldn’t be able to kill him instantly.

The only thing that troubled Du Youqian was his inability to precisely control his remaining lifespan.

If he accidentally burned too much Essence Blood and ended up dying of old age before Helan Ruojin was dealt with, he would be leaving his teammate, Lin Sha, in a terrible position.

He would have to strategize with Lin Sha and come up with a sound battle plan to prevent that from happening.

Upon reaching the border of the Han Kingdom, Du Youqian switched to a boat from the Wu Kingdom and continued east down the river.

After entering the Wu Kingdom’s territory, Du Youqian felt his heart, long as still as an old well, begin to grow warm.

It seemed as if the very air of the Wu Kingdom was filled with a magical power, stirring within him a host of strange expectations.

When he was still about a thousand li from Soul-shaking Mountain, he could no longer stand the turtle-like pace.

Tossing a few ingots of silver to the boatman, Du Youqian found a secluded spot and boarded the small Flying Boat he had crafted himself.

Several hours later, he arrived at Soul-shaking Mountain.

He piloted the Flying Boat to a landing near the Daoist Temple.

As he descended, he saw a young, raggedly dressed girl stumbling along in the distance, her face and hands covered in bloody scratches from the grass and branches.

The girl was clutching an object in her hand that looked vaguely familiar.

It seemed to be the token he had once given to Liao Leizhong.

’A descendant of the Liao Family?’

Du Youqian paid the strange girl no mind. What did a descendant of the Liao Family have to do with him?

After landing, he quickly put away the Flying Boat and rushed toward Long Ruzhen’s grave.

She had been resting here for forty long years...

’Are her and Master’s graves already overgrown with weeds?’

Du Youqian’s heart surged with emotion, and he nearly stumbled on a rock.

When he looked up, however, he saw that the peach tree he had planted with his own hands all those years ago was now in full bloom.

Pink blossoms swayed in the breeze, their fragrance carried on the wind.

Beneath the tree stood a slender, girlish figure in a pale green dress.

From the look of her figure, it was clearly Long Ruzhen.

The figure seemed about to turn its head.

Du Youqian’s heart pounded violently, as if it were about to leap from his chest.

He rubbed his eyes hard. When he looked again, there was no one under the peach tree.

There was only the solitary tombstone, standing all alone.

The person he longed to see was gone without a trace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I came to see you... I’m sorry it took me so long."

Du Youqian murmured to himself as he pulled the weeds from the grave and used Magic to clean the tombstone. "We only had the fate of a single lifetime together, but that one life was wonderful and warm enough."