The first thing the three of them did after leaving Ji Dan was to buy a horse for Fang Hui.
Ming Li needed to conserve her star power, so she also requested a horse, resulting in all three riding on horseback out of the city.
After leaving the city, Qian Li continued muttering: “Actually, using Wind Pursuit would be faster than riding horses. These aren’t even quality steeds, their speed is just…”
Ming Li: “Only you have reached the Perfected Realm in Body Techniques.”
Fang Hui: “You want to waste your star power rushing to deliver yourself to your enemies?”
Qian Li fell silent.
As they moved farther from Ji Dan’s city walls, the thousand homes with their glowing lights faded behind them. Qian Li never once looked back, riding his horse at the front, leading the way.
The route from Zhu Que State to Ji Dan was firmly imprinted in his mind, committed to memory thousands of times, never forgotten.
They traversed through the forest under the cover of darkness, surrounded by towering trees. Venomous creatures emerged at night, forcing them to advance with caution.
Ming Li asked: “Where will your enemies ambush you?”
“Hard to say.” Qian Li scratched his head. “Perhaps they’ve been watching us since we left the city.”
Ming Li looked up at the towering trees and said, “This place seems quite suitable.”
Qian Li glanced at the brightly colored venomous snakes hanging from tree trunks, carefully avoiding them: “Indeed.”
Then he looked back at Fang Hui, who was lagging: “Can you manage?”
Fang Hui caught up with a gloomy expression and said, “No.”
“Alright,” Qian Li said, “let’s rest here for a while.”
He threw a sharp dagger that sliced a venomous snake on the tree in half, causing it to fall to the ground. Dismounting, he walked over and said, “Remove the fangs and it’s edible. Want some?”
Fang Hui dismounted and said, “I’d rather die than eat that.”
Ming Li held the horse’s reins and looked into the depths of the forest: “You could ask its owner if they want to eat it.”
“What owner?” Qian Li turned back, startled by a sudden fierce wind. The supposedly dead snake on the ground suddenly opened its mouth and lunged at his neck.
Qian Li reacted extremely quickly, instantly releasing his star power to form a protective shield. The snake, however, shattered his shield with one bite. Qian Li used this moment to counterattack—the small daggers that had been hovering beside him spun rapidly, shredding the snake into pieces.
“Young man, quite quick on your feet.”
A black shadow appeared on the branch where the snake had been coiled. Several cultivators of unfathomable power suddenly emerged from the silent forest.
They had been hiding among the trees, revealing themselves only after the peace was broken. Under their black hoods, pairs of eyes with indiscernible intent studied the young people in the darkness.
Ming Li looked up at the black-hooded figure standing on the branch. His voice was hoarse as he spoke, his gaze passing over Qian Li to land on the young woman below. With a hint of admiration, he said: “Impressive that a little girl could spot me first.”
Little girl.
The address once again reminded Ming Li of the reality that she had returned to being seventeen years old.
Fortunately, not many people in this world had seen a Northern Dipper Pilgrim before. Otherwise, Ming Li, not Qian Li, would be in the most danger right now.
Qian Li scratched his head, glancing around at the people surrounding them, and exclaimed: “No way, you sent so many people just to capture a young kid like me?”
The black-hooded elder, Snake Skull, said: “They’re just here to watch. Capturing a young kid like you doesn’t require this many people.”
Qian Li nodded: “I thought so too.”
“So shall you, elder, make the first move alone?” he asked.
Snake Skull looked at the other two: “Should these two young friends join in as well?”
Ming Li and Fang Hui silently led their horses away, turning their backs.
Qian Li: “…”
He wiped his face, smiling without humor: “We agreed that when danger comes, we each fly our separate ways.”
These two kept their word.
Snake Skull laughed a couple of times, completely at ease: “Boy, it seems you won’t surrender obediently.”
Qian Li said helplessly, “Because I don’t want to die yet.”
Snake Skull crouched down, looking at him from above: “I won’t kill you. I just need to leave you with one breath to bring you back.”
Qian Li shrugged: “Then I’d be better off dead.”
From the corner of his eye, he tracked Ming Li and Fang Hui as they walked farther away. Seeing that neither of them looked back once, he returned his attention forward and laughed awkwardly: “You said only you would make a move, right? You’re all so advanced in years, please don’t do something as shameless as ganging up on me.”
Elder Snake Skull flashed down to the ground while the other black hoods climbed up trees to watch the show.
“You have the will to resist. Good,” Elder Snake Skull nodded. “Let me see what kind of miraculous power a member of the Zhao Clan possesses.”
Qian Li raised his hand to grasp the small dagger floating at his side. When he brought his hands together and then extended them, the small dagger transformed into a slender, slightly curved long blade.
“I’m afraid you’ll be disappointed,” Qian Li held the hilt with one hand, still gripping it as he would a small dagger, with the blade facing behind him.
*
The atmosphere in the forest gradually became eerie.
Ming Li and Fang Hui walked far enough to ensure they wouldn’t be affected by Qian Li’s battle before stopping to look back. Both could sense the fluctuations of star power from that direction. The forest’s nocturnal venomous creatures all detoured to avoid the area.
“The fight has begun,” Fang Hui said.
Ming Li secured the horse’s reins. “The people who came are at least at the Five Meridians Perfected Realm.”
They certainly mastered more spiritual techniques and were more skilled with them. Add to that the superior weapons they likely possessed, Qian Li’s chances of victory were extremely slim.
Fang Hui frowned. His poor health, combined with traveling all night, left him exhausted, yet he couldn’t afford to let his guard down.
He opened his bamboo tube and pulled out a book Ming Li hadn’t seen before, quickly flipping through its pages.
Ming Li stood quietly beside him, looking in Qian Li’s direction: “Which of your star meridians are in the Innate Perfected Realm?”
Fang Hui answered: “The Second Heavy Eyes, the Fourth Thunderous Roar, the Eighth Spiritual Court, and the Sixth Yang Meridian.”
Four meridians in the Perfected Realm.
For someone his age, it demonstrated considerable talent.
When Ming Li heard him mention the Eighth Palace Spiritual Court Meridian, she understood why, despite his poor physical condition, he always managed to cling to life, half-dead but never fully succumbing.
Because the Spiritual Court Meridian governed mental power, and with his innate perfection in this meridian, though physically weak, his spirit was several times more resilient than others’.
Ming Li broke off a tree branch and pointed it at Fang Hui: “Since you neither practice body techniques nor use circulation incantations, I assume you specialize in Spiritual Court formations, the Eight Meridians Array.”
Fang Hui looked up briefly from his book: “You know quite a bit.”
It didn’t sound like sarcasm, merely a plain statement of fact.
“So do you,” Ming Li politely returned.
Fang Hui continued turning pages: “If you’re willing to cooperate, I can trap those five people for one day, creating at least a day’s distance between us.”
Ming Li said, “One day is too short. They’ll catch up quickly.”
Fang Hui pressed his finger on the page, somewhat surprised: “You’re willing to help?”
Ming Li said, holding the branch: “I can’t just stand by and watch someone die.”
Qian Li was currently the only person in the world with a blood connection to her junior sister.
By lineage, Qian Li would have to call her junior sister “cousin sister.”
If Qing Ying knew that Qian Li had been captured by the ruler of Zhu Que State, she would certainly go to rescue him.
Her little junior sister had a lively and adorable temperament and was the best at acting coquettish. When she was young and found cultivation boring, it was always her junior sister who came to cheer her up, bringing interesting trinkets every day to alleviate her boredom.
Back then, she wasn’t yet the exalted Pilgrim in the eyes of the world.
She had also misunderstood her elder brother, and their relationship had become strained. It was only through her junior sister’s back-and-forth mediation that their relationship hadn’t deteriorated further.
“I know an advanced formation called Mirage Sea, which can trap enemies regardless of realm or rank,” Fang Hui said, pinching the upright page. “Setting up the formation requires Qi circulation incantations, so I cannot complete it alone. With my current strength, I can only trap them for one day.”
Ming Li calmly said, “You set up the formation pattern first, and I’ll modify the natural energy flow within it later to extend the time.”
Fang Hui put away his book and rolled up his sleeves. Dense black runes appeared on his fair arms, slowly flowing around them. As Fang Hui pointed out formation positions in the air, the necessary runic characters flew out and settled into place.
High-level customized abilities minimally require the Spiritual Court Meridian at the Perfected Realm. They could even bypass the massive consumption of star power, as long as their mental strength could sustain it. However, any formation inevitably requires circulation meridian incantations to be both offensive and defensive.
Mirage Sea could make enemies within its range replace themselves with puppets according to their thoughts, creating over eight thousand different scenes to trap those inside the formation.
The reason Fang Hui had turned and left without a word was to escape the black hoods’ line of sight so he could set up the formation without worry. Otherwise, he would have been stopped by the black hoods as soon as he began.
Ming Li watched as Fang Hui gathered his strength and earnestly set up the formation. His star power merged with the fixed black runic characters, drawing out fine lines connecting each point, gradually revealing half of the formation.
Looking at the faintly glowing lines of star power, Ming Li blinked. As her gaze moved past the runic characters to fall on Fang Hui, Zhou Zixi’s image floated in her mind.
*
It was the second year after she became a Pilgrim.
Northern Dipper was at the height of its glory, with disciples applying in numbers tens of times greater than in previous years. Coincidentally, the Four Directions Competition was held at Northern Dipper that year, with disciples from various martial academies and sects coming to challenge.
Ming Li hadn’t made an appearance; she had no interest in such events. At the time, she was researching another Pilgrim’s miraculous ability. She only came to Tian Quan Mountain to watch after hearing from her senior brother that this batch of disciples was quite impressive, and her junior sister Qing Ying was also participating in the trials.
Because she rarely ventured out, even most Northern Dipper disciples didn’t recognize her, let alone people from other academies and sects.
Ming Li sat with her brother at the very edge of the viewing stands, blending into the lively crowd. Even the academy principals across the high platform didn’t notice her.
That was also the first time Ming Li saw Zhou Zixi.
Before that, she had heard her senior brother Chen Zhou mention that Northern Dipper had recruited a very talented disciple this term—eight meridians awakened, five meridians at the Innate Perfected Realm.
Such a realm didn’t seem particularly talented to Ming Li, as Northern Dipper had many such individuals.
It was only during this competition that Ming Li understood what her senior brother meant by “very talented.”
The young man in blue robes standing on the platform had a tall, straight figure and calm eyes. His handsome, aloof face attracted attention even when he was just standing there doing nothing.
His opponent had Perfected Realms in both Body Techniques and Qi Circulation Meridians. From this perspective alone, he was at a disadvantage from the start, as these two were very effective against someone who primarily focused on Spiritual Court Eight Meridians Formations.
But the result defied everyone’s expectations.
When his opponent’s star power erupted and he swung his fists, sending fierce winds toward the young man, the youth raised his hand to point out a formation. His sleeve fell back, revealing an arm covered in dense black markings that rotated rapidly. In just two moments, he completed the advanced formation Mirage Sea.
Before him were four or five hundred purple star lines, intertwining to form a trap with over eight thousand variations.
His opponent’s star power dissipated just one step away from him. The natural energy flow between the two was reversed, stirring up a hurricane that ruffled his clothes and hair.
The Mirage Sea’s range was precisely controlled to cover just the space between the young man and his opponent on the competition platform.
Ming Li finally understood why her proud and picky senior brother had praised the same person multiple times in front of her.
Because his formation-setting speed was too fast.
Such a complex, advanced formation completed in just an instant—for someone of his age and realm, it was indeed a rarely seen talent.
After the outcome was decided, the young man waved his sleeve to withdraw the formation. Amid everyone’s gaze, he slightly bowed his head. As he turned to leave the platform, his eyes inadvertently met Ming Li’s in the distance.
It was the young man’s fleeting glance.
*
Having grown accustomed to her junior brother’s formation-setting speed, Ming Li remained silent as she watched Fang Hui’s half-completed formation diagram.
The purple star lines connected and transformed at an increasing pace, yet they still couldn’t compare to Zhou Zixi’s formation-setting speed.
Ming Li looked in Qian Li’s direction. The star power fluctuations there were becoming increasingly evident, with two forces colliding, startling countless birds in the forest.
She could only hope he would hold out a little longer.,
Ming Li said to Fang Hui, “Continue. Don’t mind me.”
She used the tree branch to adjust the star lines Fang Hui had already set up. She moved quickly, changing several hundred trap arrays into killing arrays. Fang Hui noticed and looked at her in surprise.
Because Ming Li’s movements in modifying the star lines were too practiced, Fang Hui asked: “Did you create this?”
Ming Li didn’t even blink as she replied: “It was my junior brother.”