Chapter 188 The Spirit Clan Territory Qingyan's face was extremely ugly...
Qingyan's face was extremely ugly. She looked at Qinglan in disbelief: "The Spirit Clan Academy is located deep in the clan's territory. Not only is it heavily guarded, but the magic arrays are also intertwined. Not to mention me, even Elder Qing could not have secretly kidnapped someone from there."
“But it really happened.” Qinglan sighed. How could she have known it was unrealistic? But it had already happened.
“Since things have come to this, let’s go to the Spirit Clan now.” Sang Zhitao tugged at Qingyan’s sleeve and said to Senior Sister Qinglan with a smile.
Qinglan nodded: "That's what I think too. Taotao is a chosen one, and perhaps she can detect clues that we don't know about."
Qingyan looked at Sang Zhitao with hesitation, and after a moment shook his head: "No, Taotao's cultivation has just reached the second realm. If she is also kidnapped by that person behind the scenes, how will we explain it to the world?"
Qinglan opened her mouth, then sighed silently: "Perhaps it's Elder Qing and the others who are hesitating, but I think..."
“Let me go,” Sang Zhitao interrupted Qinglan with a smile. “Anyway, with Qingyan by my side, I don’t think the other party is that powerful. If they are, we might as well go and fight them.”
“But…” Qingyan frowned in disapproval.
“Don’t worry, I have a feeling this matter is related to saving the world,” Sang Zhitao said again.
Hearing her say that, and seeing the determination on her face, the two looked at each other and hesitated for a long time: "Okay..."
Seeing that the two women agreed, Sang Zhitao couldn't help but smile.
"You must be very careful, you know?" Qinglan said, taking out several magical artifacts from her sleeve and handing them to her. "These are what I collected from various places. I hope they can help you."
Sang Zhitao proudly touched her pink jade pendant: "I have a super strong protective charm, don't worry."
Qinglan looked down at the pale pink jade pendant, a gentle light flashing in her eyes: "Well, having these will at least give me some peace of mind."
"Now that it's decided, the sooner the better." Qingyan thought for a moment and said to Qinglan, "Senior Sister, lend me a spirit boat."
Qinglan lowered her head and pondered for a moment, then took out a small, ancient-looking boat from her sleeve: "I acquired this boat some time ago. Putting aside everything else, its speed is top-notch."
Qingyan took the small boat and, without further delay, pulled Sang Zhitao out of the room and tossed the small boat into the air.
The tiny boat, no bigger than the palm of your hand, instantly transformed into a small covered boat.
"Let's go!" Qingyan said, pulling her onto the small boat. "Senior sister, let's go."
"Yes, be careful!" Qinglan watched the two leave, not forgetting to give them a word of advice.
This awning boat was indeed incredibly fast; the scenery of the Cloud Sea Realm flashed past Sang Zhitao's eyes, leaving only a white and blue stripe fluttering past her.
In less than two hours, the two passed through the sea of clouds with white clouds and blue sky, heading straight for the central area.
The central area of the Cloud Sea Realm consists of floating islands, with smaller floating islands surrounding a larger floating island.
Upon closer inspection, it turns out to be larger than the area of a country on Earth. However, with its towering peaks and the constant calls of birds and beasts echoing among them, it possesses an ethereal quality that surpasses the forests of Earth.
Two young boys leaped forward, swiftly unleashing two white ribbons that wrapped around the awning boat. With a gentle pull, the boat's speed decreased dramatically, and it landed steadily on the floating island.
"You've arrived?" The Spirit Clan members who had been to the Cool Cave before quickly stepped forward to greet them.
"This is the second time I've met Martial Aunt Tao Tao. I am Bai Shu. How are you, Martial Aunt Qing Yan?" The first to speak was the man who had transformed into a large tree directly above the Qingliang Cave.
“Nephew Bai Shu,” Sang Zhitao replied with a smile.
The current leaders of the Spirit Clan are all one or even two generations younger than Sang Zhitao and Qingyan in terms of seniority.
"Let's not reminisce anymore, Bai Shu, you should take us to the school right away." Qing Yan nodded to Bai Shu and urged him on.
Bai Shu didn't dare to delay and led the way, saying, "This way, my two senior uncles."
The Spirit Clan's territory was surprisingly ordinary compared to the celestial abode that Sang Zhitao had imagined.
It's not that it's as ordinary as mortals, but rather that this place is very similar to the cultivation world described in the novels Sang Zhitao had read before, lacking any of the unique and beautiful scenery she had seen before.
To describe it in detail, I can only say that it's like a natural forest on Earth with an added touch of ethereal beauty.
But the further Sang Zhitao went, the more she felt that what Qingyan was talking about couldn't possibly have originated from there.
When they followed Bai Shu into the school, they solved one formation at a time, and after walking for one or two hours, they had only solved seven or eight formations.
"It's so troublesome, won't those children have to stay here forever and be unable to leave?" Sang Zhitao asked curiously.
A boy of about seventeen or eighteen years old, following behind Bai Shu, replied with a smile, "Yes, Grandmaster Uncle, you don't know, we were sent here after we were born, and we were only allowed to leave after we had enough ability."
As he spoke, he pointed to a group of arrays in front of him: "But we don't like leaving either. Dispelling the arrays is too troublesome. We don't have the ability to get out in a day, and it will take another day to go back."
"Does it have to be this complicated for everyone, no matter who's coming in or out?" Sang Zhitao continued to ask.
The boy shook his head: "Not really. Uncle Bai Shu isn't our teacher, which is why it's so complicated for him to come. If it were our teachers, it would be much simpler."
Bai Shu had just unraveled a formation. He raised his hand to wipe his sweat and said helplessly, "If spirit masters are as troublesome as I am, wouldn't they be exhausted from going in and out every day?"
As he spoke, he looked into the distance and said, "The Spirit Master has come to pick us up."
As soon as he finished speaking, a ripple appeared in the space in front of him, and a woman in white with white hair slowly emerged from the ripple.
"Let's go..." She nodded slightly to Sang Zhitao and Qingyan before speaking to Bai Shu and the other two.
Bai Shu and the boy took a few steps back in unison and said respectfully, "Thank you for your trouble, Master Bai Ling."
Sang Zhitao was still wondering what the two were doing when she saw Bai Lingshi wave his sleeve. She and Qingyan felt a dizzying sensation and were swept into a void.
Before they could react, their eyes lit up, and the complex array and Bai Shu disappeared, revealing a classroom in the middle of a forest.
Various small wooden stools and chairs are scattered around, and above them is a high platform with a suspended mirror.
The surrounding trees are lush and vibrant, creating an indescribable sense of comfort.
On a high platform, more than twenty children were protected within layers of arrays, with seven or eight spiritual masters carefully guarding them.
Sang Zhitao was curiously looking around when she suddenly felt a slight warmth in her chest. She frowned and couldn't help but sniff the air.
The subconscious action of taking a few steps forward startled Qingyan and Bai Lingshi, and even the cautious guardian spirit masters couldn't help but cast their gazes over.
"What's wrong, Tao Tao?" Qing Yan frowned.
"Don't speak!" Sang Zhitao waved her hand to interrupt her.
Take a few steps to the left, a few steps to the right, walk a circle forward, and then tentatively explore backward.
Sang Zhitao walked back and forth in this classroom.
She finally stopped in the middle of the first row.
“This place…” Sang Zhitao frowned, looking at the table in front of her that seemed no different from the others. “It’s so strange…”
"What did you find?" Qingyan frowned and strode forward.
Sang Zhitao pursed her lips and after a long while said, "This aura... is so strange."
A slight warmth was rising in her chest, something familiar to Sang Zhitao; it happened whenever she encountered something real or related to reality.
However, the aura she could sense in front of her was completely different from the aura she remembered.
The true aura was like darkness that could devour everything, containing a violent power that could ignite all inner evil.
But the aura before me was different. It was peaceful and serene, as if it transported me back to the womb before I was born.
When Sang Zhitao smelled it, she couldn't help but feel an urge to curl up and enjoy the tranquility.
"What scent?" Qingyan sniffed around for a long time after hearing her words, but found nothing.
"You can't feel it?" Sang Zhitao asked, somewhat surprised.
Bai Lingshi frowned, stepped forward to sniff, and shook his head at Sang Zhitao.
Sang Zhitao was taken aback for a moment, then frowned and asked in confusion, "Didn't anyone else feel anything either?"
Bai Lingshi was taken aback and turned to look at the other spirit masters protecting the children.
The spirit masters were not far from Sang Zhitao and the others. As cultivators, they had highly sensitive senses, so even though Sang Zhitao and the others were not speaking loudly, they could hear them clearly.
But they shook their heads, indicating that they felt nothing and smelled nothing at all.
“Strange…” Sang Zhitao frowned. “It can’t be that I’m special and only able to smell it?”
"Teacher... Teacher..." Just as the three of them circled the table and chairs a few more times, a little girl of seven or eight years old, who was protected by the formation, cautiously approached a spirit master from behind and said something.
He was a refined scholar dressed in blue, with gentle and kind eyes. He listened attentively to the young girl's words with his head slightly lowered.
After a long while, she looked at the little girl with comfort and said to Sang Zhitao and the others, "Yueyue said that when her brother was taken away, she smelled her mother's scent, but it disappeared in an instant."
"How old is her brother?" Sang Zhitao thought for a moment and then asked.
Without any hesitation, the scholar replied directly, "Seventeen years old."
Sang Zhitao touched the table, thought for a moment, and then said, "Are there any special characteristics of the children who were taken away, such as age, gender, or attributes?"
The scholar thought for a moment, but had no clue, so he looked up at Master Bai Ling.
Bai Lingshi pondered for a moment before replying, "The children taken away from the Spirit Clan range in age from fifteen to eighteen, and include both boys and girls, with different attributes as well."
"If you want to use children for something, wouldn't the younger the better? Children of this age are basically adults. What's the point of arresting them?" Sang Zhitao was completely confused and had no clue.
"Perhaps it's because children of this age, although they possess spiritual energy and a certain level of cultivation, haven't yet formally embarked on the path of cultivation?" Qingyan couldn't help but say.
"Hmm? At this age, you're not cultivating?" Sang Zhitao asked with a puzzled expression.
Qingyan then realized that since Sang Zhitao and he were both from the divine beast clan, there were some things he had forgotten to tell her.
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