Chapter 391 Cry for Help

Golden Puppet Pavilion.

Upon hearing his subordinate's report, Fang Shiping frowned slightly and said helplessly:

"What a coincidence! I understand. You can go and get back to work."

His subordinates were his confidants, and he trusted their words.

It is quite normal for cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage to travel outside, as there are many examples where there is not enough Five Elements Qi available for consumption within the territory of a sect.

For example, in the Golden Puppet Sect, after cultivators open up the Water Element Divine Palace and the Wood Element Divine Palace, they all need to travel outside to absorb Qi, because these two types of Five Elements Qi are very difficult to obtain within the sect.

"This subordinate takes his leave," Liu Anqing said, turning to leave.

He was speechless. He had spent a mid-grade spirit stone but hadn't even done a good job on such a small matter, which worried him and made him worry about the impression he would have on the person in charge, even though he hadn't done anything wrong.

Fang Shiping went up to the fourth floor, recounted the events, and waited for his senior master's instructions.

Yun Feihe chuckled upon hearing this, "Destined to meet but not to be together, what can be done?"

Fang Shiping began to speak:

"It's not without its advantages. When the Merchant Alliance's flying ship arrives in Xizhou again, we'll have another chance to investigate."

At that time, it should have been easy to find out the news.

Thirty years have passed, and the other party would never have imagined that their purpose in probing the location where the Azure Dragon Wood grows was to do so.

Yun Feihe raised an eyebrow and said:

"The next time the flying boat comes, it won't be me, and it's uncertain whether you'll even be able to come."

However, we can record this information. If we find out the location of the Azure Dragon Wood, we can send our people to search for it.

But don't get your hopes up too high; a lot can happen in thirty years.

Ji An and Han Yan were riding on clouds, two fiery auspicious clouds like beautiful rosy clouds, flying all the way to the southeast.

They would pass through the territory bordering the sect and Fallen Maple Valley, then continue flying for several months, crossing the boundary river, Mad Sand River, before entering the Southern Continent.

Ji An gazed at the distant mountains and said:

"Senior sister, the mountain ahead is quite high, and there is a deep valley. We can try to eat the earth and circulate our qi there."

Han Yan raised her eyebrows slightly and said:

"Junior brother has good eyesight; he can even see the valley."

She could only make out that there was a high mountain in front of her, with a faint crack in the ground, but she couldn't tell the depth at all.

"Haha, the eyesight of cultivators from the Wood Element Divine Palace will improve at the beginning. I am a cultivator at the peak of the Wood Element Divine Palace."

Ji An spoke with a hint of pride, looking down at everything on the ground as he sped along, the wind whistling in his ears, giving him a sense of exhilaration.

He traveled from the azure sea in the morning to the verdant mountains in the evening, gazing at the blue sky and climbing towards the white sun. If Xu Xiake had known his current circumstances, he would have been incredibly envious.

"Looking at a mountain makes a horse run itself to death," but "taking an airplane" eliminates this problem. In just 15 minutes, they arrived at the mountain.

At the top of the mountain, there is a large rock with three powerful and elegant characters engraved in the shadows: Yuhua Mountain.

The original ochre-red characters are now covered with small black dots, and the north side of the stone is covered with moss, telling the story of past storms.

An unknown wild grass grows stubbornly, bending over in the wind but never bowing its head.

Ji An took out a jade slip engraved with a map of the Western Continent, stuck it to his forehead, searched for his current location, and grinned:

"It's actually Yuhua Mountain. We've deviated from our course and are about to enter the area controlled by Luofeng Valley."

Flying through the air is indeed fast, but since they are unfamiliar with the routes, they are likely to take the wrong path.

Han Yan also took out the jade slip, checked her current location, and smiled:

"It's common for long-distance flights to deviate from their course; it can be corrected."

Back then, without maps, our cultivators faced immense difficulties when we first arrived in the Western Continent. We had no idea how to travel such a long distance, especially since it was teeming with demonic beasts.

"It's true that there are many demonic beasts everywhere, but there aren't that many flying demonic beasts. Moreover, those who need to travel long distances are at least cultivators in the Chaoyuan stage, so it shouldn't be that difficult."

Monsters are very particular about allocating territory and dividing hunting areas, so cultivators don't directly face too many monsters.

Ji An paused for a moment, then said:

"Senior sister, based on my experience, this type of mountain can only absorb a maximum of two strands of Earth Qi. Why don't you take over? I'll take over when we encounter the next mountain, okay?"

He now understood why Liu Yu didn't want to travel with others. Earth element energy is inherently scattered, and traveling with another person would slow down the efficiency of absorbing energy.

Ji An didn't care. Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Traveling alone is too lonely.

It's not a big deal in the short term, but if it continues for a long time, a person's personality might undergo some unknown changes.

He believes that spiritual practice is not about abandoning emotions and desires, but about facing one's own heart.

He can stay in bustling places without interacting with people, but he probably can't bear the loneliness of being alone.

It's still very important to communicate with others of the same kind, even if it's just a few idle words that have no substance.

"Then I won't stand on ceremony."

Han Yan assumed a pose, raised both hands from her lower abdomen with palms facing up, and made a "whoosh" sound.

She kept calling out, occasionally moving to a different area, and continued for about fifteen minutes, then laughed:

"My junior brother's experience is very accurate; I only consume two strands of qi."

Let's go to the valley.

Ji An nodded slightly and took out the Golden-Winged Bird Puppet from the void space.

The view from the mountaintop is expansive, allowing you to spot anything immediately; however, you must be prepared when entering the deep valley.

He then took the Golden Feathered Eagle from his spirit beast pouch, raised the puppet in his hand, and gave the order:

"This is your new companion. Take good care of him from now on."

"Later, you will provide aerial warnings. If any cultivators or large flying demonic beasts approach, immediately issue an alert."

The golden eagle stared at the little bird with sharp eyes, its black pupils filled with hostility, yet it still nodded obediently.

Ji An noticed its change in mood and said with a smile:

"You're jealous! This is a puppet, it's lifeless, and it has no conflict with you whatsoever."

He communicated with his beast tamer through telepathy and briefly explained what a puppet was.

The golden eagle let out a cheerful chirp and happily spread its wings to fly. Ji An raised his hand and released the golden-winged bird.

"Junior brother is so cautious," Han Yan smiled radiantly, feeling reassured to have such a conscientious and responsible companion.

"Hehe, I've learned my lesson, so I have to be careful."

Han Yan immediately became interested and asked curiously:

"Tell me in detail what losses you've suffered."

Seeing his companion's gossipy expression, Ji An grinned and said:

"You want to cheer me up by telling me how unhappy I am, right?"

The two joked around and rode the clouds down to the valley.

There should be underground springs in the valley, and the soil is very moist.

While his senior sister was consuming the qi, Ji An released the golden retriever and ordered it to search around to see if it could find anything.

Han Yan finished eating and smiled:

"Junior brother, I have consumed two strands of Qi. Can you try to see if you can still consume Qi?"

Encountering the next mountain peak doesn't necessarily mean you'll find a valley or a cave.

Without valleys and caves, the gathered earth energy wanders within the earth's veins, making it difficult to find an accurate place to absorb its energy.

"OK."

Ji An didn't stand on ceremony. Without making any gestures, he pursed his lips and made a "whoosh" sound.

After three breaths, he spoke:

"Not bad, two strands of Qi."

He deduced that there must be a water vein underground nourishing the land, and that ordinary spring water could not bring about such a change.

Han Yan smiled and nodded, releasing her Golden Feathered Eagle:

"Let's travel by riding beasts. We've been flying for two hours straight, and our magic power has been depleted."

The first priority when traversing the wilderness is to maintain as much magical power as possible.

"That's exactly right."

Ji An summoned the golden-haired dog back and put it back into the spirit beast bag, then rode the clouds into the sky.

He put away the golden-winged bird, checked the stored information from the patrol, and then rode the beast forward.

He took out a mid-grade spirit stone and used his cultivation technique to absorb the spiritual energy inside.

Cultivators at the Chaoyuan stage have developed a strong immunity to the violent spiritual energy in spirit stones, making them a good choice for restoring mana.

Ji An clasped his hands together and crushed the spirit stone, which had lost all its spiritual energy, into powder. The gray residue dissipated in the wind.

"Senior sister, you take charge of guiding the way, I'll practice the Silk-Pulling Spell."

Who says there's no benefit to two people eating together!

“Okay,” Han Yan replied, gaining a new appreciation for her junior brother’s diligence.

"Junior brother, it's getting dark soon, let's land."

Ji An was awakened by his senior sister's words. He looked at the stone turtle and nodded slightly with great satisfaction.

[Spell: Thread-Binding Spell (Beginner 56%)]

"Senior sister, what area are we in below? If we can determine the direction clearly, let's fly for another hour at night."

The sooner you arrive in Nanzhou, the sooner you can break through to the fourth stage of the Chaoyuan realm.

Han Yan shook her head and said:

"There are no obvious markers ahead, and it is not easy to determine the direction when flying at night."

"Then let's land and set up camp."

Ji An patted the golden-feathered eagle's back, signaling it to begin its descent.

The two found an open area, and he began to speak:

"Senior sister, how about you take the first half of the night and I'll take the second half, and we'll rotate every few days? What do you think?"

The second advantage of traveling in groups becomes apparent: if you travel alone, you have to sleep with one eye open at night.

"That makes sense, junior brother, you should rest."

Ji An nodded slightly and released all the tamed beasts from the spirit beast pouch.

The area immediately became lively, with the Azure Water Turtle, the Spirit-Seeking Rat, the Golden-Feathered Eagle, and the Rock Armored Bear, all exuding a surge of demonic energy.

The Southern Continent has many large marshes, so bringing along the Azure Water Turtle should come in handy.

"Junior brother has so many beasts to tame. You seem more like a cultivator from the Beast Taming Hall now."

Ji An chuckled dryly, "I still have two beasts I haven't brought with me!"

He assigned guard areas to the several tamed beasts, then released the Golden-Winged Bird and the Storm Thunder Eagle, and laughed:

"Senior sister, could you lend me three high-grade spirit stones?"

The Storm Thunder Eagle Puppet hasn't been equipped with the driving spirit stone yet; it's just in standby mode, so the puppet won't consume many spirit stones.

After receiving the spirit stones from his senior sister, Ji An attached them to the puppet, then took out a futon, sat down cross-legged, and began to circulate the Five Elements Wheel Sutra.

He wants to replace rest with spiritual practice.

As night fell, after an unknown amount of time, a loud, panicked scream came from afar, startling Ji An from his cultivation.

"Help!"

Han Yan leaned closer and said warily:

"Junior brother, did you hear the cries for help?"

"I heard you."

Han Yan asked somewhat awkwardly:

What should we do now?

While she should try to avoid trouble when traveling, she felt a pang of pity upon hearing the fear in the cries for help.

(End of this chapter)