CHAPTER 274: CHAPTER 232

Lan Tian opened her eyes and smelled a disgusting odor, which nearly made her gag. It was even worse than the impurities she expelled during her initial Qi training period when she washed the marrow and cut the tendons.

Building her foundation was like washing the marrow and cutting the tendons all over again, as all the impurities were expelled from her body. She looked down at the dark, greasy, reddish impurities on her body and grimaced, then sank underwater to clean herself.

After establishing her foundation, she could fly in the air. With a wave of her hand, a peach branch floated in the void. Lan Tian’s figure flickered, and she emerged from the water to stand atop the peach branch, wobbling as she began to fly.

This being her first flight, let’s not even talk about speed—it was as slow as a baby learning to walk, her control uneven, fluctuating high and low, until she unsteadily arrived before Mr. Mo. Lan Tian then hopped down.

Mr. Mo had not yet recovered from his shock, his eyes wide and mouth agape staring at Lan Tian’s figure. Not just Mr. Mo, but also Commander Qian and the others weren’t much better. What they witnessed today surpassed their understanding.

Flying discs in the sky, big and small, a peach tree that suddenly appeared and then vanished, and people... flying with just a peach branch...

Has the world turned into a fantasy? Have they encountered the legendary Immortal?

"Girl, you..."

"Grandpa, this can’t be explained in a few words. I’ll tell you when I return," Lan Tian turned and looked at the nearby woods. "Come out!"

Rustling noises ensued, and four soldiers dressed in military uniforms emerged from the forest, their hiding spots indicating they were soldiers previously assigned here.

Such a grand event as crossing the tribulation was impossible for the few soldiers guarding this place not to hear.

Commander Qian and the others looked quite calm upon seeing these four people, not surprised at all. It would be strange if they hadn’t come.

Everyone had arrived, and Lan Tian waved her hand, raising a green mist to envelop everyone. Mr. Mo and the others had yet to react when their figures disappeared in the green fog.

Within a breath, "thud, thud, thud" sounds of heavy objects falling came from the mist, as Lan Tian pinched a spell to alter their memories, giving them a pleasant dream, leaving Mr. Mo a note and a bottle of medicine before heading towards Wuhua Mountain.

An hour later, the green mist that enshrouded them slowly dissipated. Mr. Mo, Commander Qian, and the others gradually woke up, their eyes confused as they had yet to emerge from their dream.

It took a while before they came to their senses and saw the disarray on the ground, a car flipped over in a ditch nearby, and another car partially collapsed with everyone lying on the ground.

Was there a car accident?

.........

Wuhua Mountain

Lan Tian activated all the Arrays and entered seclusion to stabilize her realm while simultaneously forging a flying sword. Now a Cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Stage, it was only natural for her to possess a flying sword.

She had already collected all the required materials, some traded with others, some found by Mr. Mo, and some sent by Wu Zongyu. The fine iron and meteorite iron were of high quality, enough to forge a Low Grade Magical Artifact.

It took half a month to stabilize her realm, after which Lan Tian stayed in the Refining Room to forge her flying sword.

In cultivation, months and years pass in the blink of an eye. After two months, having wasted two-thirds of the materials, she finally forged a flying sword. She inserted the final spell and the sword buzzed, signaling its completion.

She reached out and the flying sword landed in Lan Tian’s hand. Upon close inspection, it was a Magic Artifact without a rank—the very trashy kind. In the Cultivation World, even the Third-class Sects would not consider it. In big Sects, even outer disciples had their own Low Grade Magical Artifacts and several elixirs—a wealth far exceeding Lan Tian’s. How lavish!

Yet Lan Tian was quite satisfied. To forge a Magic Artifact in this world with such scarce Spiritual Energy was a feat in itself; one must not be greedy.

After inscribing eighty-one Arrays onto the sword, the Magic Artifact advanced to a Low Grade Magical Artifact. After recognizing the owner through a drop of blood, Lan Tian felt a close connection with the flying sword, and its command became as natural as swimming.

When Lan Tian emerged from seclusion, three months had passed outside. The valley was filled with red, tempting peaches. She plucked one and took a bite, finding that the fruit contained a richer amount of Spiritual Energy than the fruits in Taohua Valley. Unfortunately, Grandma Sun and others could not eat them; too much consumption would cause common bodies to explode and lead to death. However, they made suitable snacks for her.

More than a month of the university term had already passed. Since she was already late and wouldn’t make it anyway, she might as well wait until the next year to attend school. She could use this year to explore dangerous places. With a clap of her hands, Lan Tian cheerfully made her decision.

The first thing to do after reaching the Foundation Establishment was to learn Sword Flight. Lan Tian raised her hand and a flying sword floated in the void. With a light tap of her toes, she leaped onto the sword, and with a gesture, she controlled the flying sword, soaring through the valley.

"Whoosh"

The speed increased, and the flying sword darted like lightning into the distance, nearly throwing Lan Tian off. "Wu wu wu," the roaring wind passed by her ears, and her fluttering black hair seemed like a group of demons dancing wildly. Forget about a graceful figure; it’s already good enough if her hair didn’t become a complete mess. The flying skirt brushed against her thighs, but fortunately, there was no one on the mountaintop, otherwise, she might have exposed herself in minutes.

When the speed slowed down, her hair wasn’t a mess, and her skirt fluttered, giving off a somewhat ethereal beauty of an Immortal. Yet the speed was even slower than her Qi Cultivation Stage flight technique, sluggish and unsatisfying.

Lan Tian practiced for three to four days before she mastered the trick. First, she formed a spiritual energy shield around her, stepping on the flying sword, soaring through the valley, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes left, sometimes right, fast when it should be fast, slow when it should be slow, only then feeling like she was soaring through the heavens.

After getting enough fun out of flying, Lan Tian returned to the farm on her sword. What had been a journey of a few days was completed in half a day.

Lan Tian set off in the latter half of the night, reaching the farm just as dawn was breaking. The edge of the sky turned white, and a streak of red swept across, dyeing the clouds crimson.

Before leaving, she had instructed Mr. Mo. Mo Junhua and Hua Jifeng were seriously injured, and it was not suitable to move them right away. They stayed on the farm first, and she would decide what to do upon her return.

After Foundation Establishment, the range of her Divine Sense expanded fivefold, reaching the span of a Golden Core Stage cultivator, covering an area of five to six miles radius.

Passing through the small woods, at the edge of the forest stood a two-story small building with green bricks and black tiles. The second floor was made of wood, showing signs of age.

A few small vegetable patches were cultivated in front of the house. Vegetables were planted but not growing well, and there was no one in front or behind the house. She didn’t know if they had gone into the mountains for training or out to clear more fertile land.

Her Divine Sense swept over the building. On the first floor, in the great hall, Mr. Mo, Su Qing, and several soldiers were eating breakfast. On the second floor, on the left room, lay Mo Junhua and Hua Jifeng, with two guards standing at the door. Commander Qian, Zhang Tian, and Ding Lei were nowhere to be seen; they probably had gone back to their unit headquarters.

"Mr. Mo, when is the Camp Commander’s Wife coming back?" Su Qing asked listlessly. The Camp Commander’s Wife left a note forbidding anyone from moving the Camp Commander and others, then up and left. Until now, there has been no news. Where did she go, and what is she doing? It’s all unknown.

Mr. Mo was extremely stubborn, treating a chicken feather as an imperial edict. Just because of that note from the Camp Commander’s Wife, he really didn’t allow anyone to take them to the Military District Hospital for treatment. The injuries on the Camp Commander and that young man looked abnormal, dark and charring, with a burnt smell; they didn’t look like injuries from a car accident. The skin was torn, flesh gaped open, even the hair was scorched, and it seemed like they were no longer alive, yet no doctor had been called to treat them.

Instead, Mr. Mo often went in to change their dressings. Su Qing wanted to go in and check but was not allowed. He didn’t even make a fuss before the two imposing guards at the door gave him a cold look, and Su Qing dared not even fart. The opposite party’s aura was too strong; he couldn’t beat them, let alone allow others to enter. Besides seeing the Camp Commander on the first day, Su Qing hadn’t seen them since. Two to three months had passed, and he didn’t know if they were alive or dead.

Commander Qian didn’t seem to care that Mr. Mo refused to transport them; he didn’t make a fuss and was very diligent in his execution, as if eager to fulfil their needs. It was unclear what the old man’s background was.

Furthermore, that young man who arrived with the old man, why does a man need to be so good-looking? He couldn’t be eaten like a bun. Ever since he arrived at the camp, the female soldiers in the culture department went crazy over him. Their eyes lit up, and each of them salivated. Don’t think that Su Qing didn’t hear it.

The young man even had personal escorts. Once, he overheard the battalion commander privately call him Crown Prince. His background was big, too big for him to even imagine. According to the plays he’d seen, in ancient times, the emperor’s son, the next emperor, was referred to as Crown Prince. Could this be the same?

The battalion commander was sly and cunning, and didn’t say a word to him. Just commanded him to stay and look after the Camp Commander, then he ran off with Zhang Tian and Ding Lei. If he had known it would be so boring here, without a training ground, he wouldn’t have stayed. Other than digging the soil, it was just digging soil, digging pits for three months, which was annoying to death.

The other four soldiers fully played their role as the backdrop, focusing on their meal, knowing that the more one knows, the faster one dies.

"How would I know?" Mr. Mo glared at Su Qing. He also wanted to know when the girl would come back; the ointment was almost out, and the two hadn’t woken up yet. "When she should be back, she’ll naturally return. Why ask so many questions? Just do your job well."

Mr. Mo was like a tinderbox ready to explode. Su Qing was baffled. May he ask what his job is?

"Aren’t you her grandfather? Wouldn’t she tell you where she was going?" Su Qing was not afraid of him at all, having spent enough months with him to know that the old man was all bark and no bite, so he asked with full confidence.

Mr. Mo was so angry that he blew his beard and stared wide-eyed. Does he not understand respect for the elderly? Didn’t he see his expression of "I’m very angry, don’t talk to me"?

He was anxious as well and even made a trip back to Sun’s house to ask if they knew where the girl had gone. He wanted to arrange for someone to pick her up, but to his surprise, even Grandma Sun and the others didn’t know where the girl had gone. Before she left, she told them she went into seclusion with her Master, and when she would return was unknown.

Su Qing was such a fool and didn’t understand how to read the situation; such high matters were beyond him. He continued to pursue the matter, "Mr. Mo, don’t you find it strange, where did the injuries on the Camp Commander come from? Why were we uninjured, and only the two of them were hurt? I checked; it was not caused by a car accident."

The memory of that day was strange; no matter how hard he tried to think, his brain was fuzzy as if covered by a veil, unable to see the truth clearly. He only remembered that after they arrived here, two cars flipped over...