Wuyi Sect was one of the premier great sects in the Central Domain. Among everyone present except for Jian Chou, only the Fengmo Sword Sect, where Zhang Sui belonged, could compare with it.

Among the tens of millions of cultivators in Shijiu Zhou, perhaps because Zhang Sui and Zhou Kuang had been in secluded cultivation, they had never heard of anyone named Tao Zhang, though Xu Lan’er from before was very clear about his background.

This person came like the wind and departed without a trace, only inexplicably sighing a few words about “Yashan,” truly making it impossible to fathom his meaning.

However, Zhang Sui and Zhou Kuang had to admit: just the two characters “Yashan,” rolling once on the tongue, represented countless legends, countless stories, countless pasts, and countless tales throughout all of Shijiu Zhou…

For a moment, just because of Tao Zhang’s sigh about “Yashan,” the two also became melancholy.

After a long while, Zhang Sui slowly withdrew his gaze that had been fixed on the void, turning back to look at Jian Chou, his expression immediately becoming complex.

This woman, before him, whom they had encountered in the mortal world, was someone Fudao’s three disciples had casually brought along to make up numbers.

But she was also from Yashan.

Perhaps before long, her name would also be carved together with those many past stories, becoming a legend passed down among the cultivators of Shijiu Zhou…

Even having suffered great calamity, Yashan was still Yashan.

Zhang Sui found it difficult to control the myriad thoughts in his mind. Zhou Kuang, being more single-minded, hadn’t thought so much. Seeing that Jian Chou seemed somewhat dazed, he couldn’t help but worry more: “Senior Sister, Senior Sister?”

Hearing the voice, Jian Chou turned around and forced a smile: “I’m fine…”

“Clang!”

Suddenly, a light sound.

Jian Chou’s hand loosened, and the Nine-Section Bamboo in her grip directly fell, striking the reef with a crisp sound.

All sense of crisis dissipated. Her already powerless body could no longer support itself.

Her vision went black, and the last image in Jian Chou’s mind was fixed on this boundless sea.

Jian Chou had a dream, the only dream since her death.

She sat in a farmhouse courtyard, slowly sewing Xie Buchen’s clothes. From inside the house came the sound of an infant crying. So she hurriedly put down her needlework and walked toward the inner room.

It seemed to still be summer.

Outside the window, cicadas sang continuously, and verdant trees stood in rows, quite beautiful to behold.

Before the window sat a simple cradle, gently rocking.

Jian Chou walked over but suddenly stopped in her tracks.

Because the cradle was empty, with nothing inside.

Yet throughout the entire room echoed an infant’s cries, clear and resonant.

The Jian Chou in the dream immediately panicked, walking about everywhere, shouting, yet not knowing what exactly she was shouting.

She couldn’t find her child.

She had searched inside the house and outside as well. Dazed, she returned to the room where she did needlework, seeing that unfinished garment and the small rattling drum in the sewing basket, and…

A silver lock strung on a red cord.

In that instant, Jian Chou suddenly felt the pain of ten thousand arrows piercing her heart, no less than Xie Buchen’s sword thrust that day.

She immediately woke up, opening her eyes.

Entering her field of vision were the twinkling stars in the sky.

One by one, adorning the dark blue night sky.

The air carried a fishy, salty scent—sea breeze.

When had it become night again?

She seemed to be lying on a very flat place. The surface beneath her wasn’t very hard, but from her limbs and body came a soreness. As soon as she moved, it felt as if hundreds of needles were piercing deep within her body.

Jian Chou wanted to sit up but couldn’t bear such pain, falling back down.

Zhang Sui, standing not far ahead, immediately looked over: “You’re awake!”

He quickly walked over. Seeing that Jian Chou wanted to get up, he hesitated briefly before bending down to help her up.

Jian Chou recognized him, only feeling her head splitting with pain and her lips extremely dry and cracked.

“Where’s Xiaowan?”

Zhang Sui was startled.

Previously, seeing Jian Chou confront Tao Zhang with an imposing presence, not yielding an inch, they had thought Jian Chou was unharmed. They hadn’t expected that once Tao Zhang left, she would immediately faint—it turned out she had been forcing herself to hold on.

In his heart, he couldn’t help but feel several degrees of admiration.

But what Zhang Sui hadn’t expected even more was that the first words Jian Chou spoke upon waking were to ask about Nie Xiaowan.

He looked to the side.

Zhou Kuang’s burly frame sat cross-legged there, with Nie Xiaowan, pale-faced and petite, lying before him.

At this moment, a deep purple radiance slowly extended from Zhou Kuang’s hands to Nie Xiaowan’s body, settling at her brow and rotating.

Jian Chou could see the fine beads of sweat on Zhou Kuang’s forehead, as if maintaining this posture was already extremely difficult for him.

Zhang Sui’s voice was calm yet bitter: “Xu Lan’er’s strike injured her heart meridian, disrupting the flow of spiritual energy in her body so it cannot self-heal. Junior Brother Zhou and I have insufficient cultivation and are temporarily unable to help. We can only do our utmost to keep her condition stable until we return to Shijiu Zhou to notify Wuwang Studio—perhaps her sect elders will have a solution.”

However, there was one thing Zhang Sui didn’t say.

That was, even if Nie Xiaowan could preserve her life, her cultivation would regress.

But seeing that Jian Chou’s condition wasn’t good, Zhang Sui couldn’t bear to tell her.

Jian Chou was silent for a long time before saying, “There will be one.”

She forced herself to struggle up from her position, only taking one deep look at the still unconscious Nie Xiaowan before looking around in all directions.

This wasn’t the narrow reef where she had originally fainted, but rather a huge island.

Jian Chou now stood beside a small stone pool on this island, with Zhang-Long stone blocks beneath her feet. Because they were near the water pool, moss had already climbed onto the stone blocks, covering the surface. On the moss were shallow impressions—marks left when Jian Chou had been lying here earlier.

Further away on the ground were lines deeply recessed into the surface.

Jian Chou recognized these as a teleportation array, though there were quite a few broken stones on top, as if it had been destroyed by someone.

“After Senior Sister Jian Chou fainted, Junior Brother Zhou and I discussed it. At that time, we weren’t far from the Thirteenth Dengtian Island, so we each carried one person and brought Senior Sister Jian Chou and Junior Sister Xiaowan together to Dengtian Island.”

Zhang Sui slowly recounted what had happened while Jian Chou was unconscious.

“We thought that on Dengtian Island, there would be arrays left by our predecessors, and we happened to still have teleportation talismans on us, so we could return to the mainland of Shijiu Zhou to seek help from our sects. But we didn’t expect…”

Jian Chou’s gaze withdrew from that somewhat aged teleportation array.

“You didn’t expect that this teleportation array would be destroyed by someone, right?”

“Yes…”

Zhang Sui observed Jian Chou, actually somewhat surprised that her thinking was so sharp.

He retrieved something from his sleeve and handed it to her, saying: “Junior Brother Zhou and I found some bloodstains near the teleportation array, and this item.”

In Jian Chou’s hand was a small fragment, jade-like, warm to the touch, with sharp broken edges.

“What is this?”

“It’s a piece of a used teleportation talisman.” Zhang Sui couldn’t tell whether the feeling in his heart at that instant was frustration or helplessness. “Still a teleportation talisman from Jianzhu Sect—look at the bottom right corner.”

Bottom right corner?

Jian Chou lowered her eyes to look, lightly moving her finger to reveal the mark that had been blocked by her hand.

The pattern of the two windows was identical to the emblem she had seen on Xu Lan’er’s clothes before.

“You mean that after she fought with us and used some secret technique to escape, she followed the previous route and beat us here first, arriving at Dengtian Island, and after using the teleportation array, she used special methods to destroy it?”

Fluctuations during teleportation would affect the final teleportation result—this was something Jian Chou had already experienced deeply.

“She should have also used arrays to assist; anyway, she teleported herself away first, then destroyed the teleportation array.” Zhang Sui’s voice was heavy. “She must have calculated that Junior Sister Xiaowan was severely injured. Destroying the teleportation array like this is meant to leave people to die…”

A heart like a snake or scorpion.

Today, Zhang Sui had truly learned this lesson.

Everything had been explained. Jian Chou should now understand the current situation.

Zhang Sui suddenly couldn’t summon any energy.

Jian Chou examined this island, asking him: “Do many people pass through this Dengtian Island?”

“Not very many. We arrived near dusk, and not a single person has passed by yet.” Zhang Sui shook his head. “Besides, even if someone passed by, it wouldn’t help—no—one would be willing to take us, and there probably wouldn’t be anyone who could repair the teleportation array.”

Teleportation arrays involved spatial laws and weren’t that simple.

Given this, Jian Chou suddenly had nothing more to say.

This island was much larger than the previous Zhanye Island, extending beyond sight.

There was no need to consider the possibility of a second teleportation array on this island. If Jian Chou were Xu Lan’er, she wouldn’t make such a grave error. If Jian Chou were Zhang Sui, she also wouldn’t overlook such a life-saving possibility.

She racked her brains but couldn’t think of any solution.

“Cough cough…”

Suddenly came a series of coughs came.

Jian Chou and Zhang Sui both looked toward the sound, but it wasn’t Nie Xiaowan who had awakened—it was Zhou Kuang coughing as he struggled to stand up.

“How is it?”

Jian Chou immediately asked.

Zhou Kuang walked over, his expression dark and heavy, shaking his head: “My cultivation is limited; I’m powerless to help. Moreover… moreover her injuries are too severe and can’t be delayed any longer. We must return to Shijiu Zhou as quickly as possible to find someone to save her.”

“…”

Quickly leaving here to return to Shijiu Zhou—easier said than done?

Zhang Sui also felt entirely bitter.

Jian Chou’s gaze slowly passed over the two men’s faces, finally settling on Nie Xiaowan.

She still remembered this girl’s shyness when they first met, her later playfulness, the shock upon learning her innate battle disc was one zhang in size, and her cuteness when speaking of the Left Three Thousand Minor Assembly…

Now she lay here motionlessly, and even her breathing was very weak.

Blinking her eyes, Jian Chou slowly lowered her eyelids, turning to face Zhou Kuang and Zhang Sui: “Along this journey, though Jian Chou was previously unacquainted with you two junior brothers, I have been extremely fortunate to receive your assistance.”

Zhang Sui instinctively frowned.

Zhou Kuang said nothing.

They both knew Jian Chou should have something to say.

“It’s just that now Xiaowan is severely injured, truly urgent beyond delay. Jian Chou knows that with your cultivation levels, crossing the sea yourselves to return to Shijiu Zhou should be manageable, but if you bring two people, I’m afraid you won’t be able to continue.”

Jian Chou’s voice was light and gentle.

Zhou Kuang immediately realized what she wanted to say: “Senior Sister Jian Chou, we—”

His voice cut off abruptly.

Zhou Kuang turned around—a hand had been placed on his shoulder. It was Zhang Sui who shook his head at him.

Seeing this, Jian Chou smiled slightly, her heart immediately lightening, and said to the two: “However, I still must trouble you both. Please take Xiaowan with you first. You’ve already told me that the Thirteenth Island is very close to the mainland of Shijiu Zhou, so it shouldn’t be far. We can’t be certain when someone will come here, and we don’t dare gamble—we can’t afford to.”

“Then what about you?”

Even with Zhang Sui’s restraint, Zhou Kuang still couldn’t help but ask directly.

Zhou Kuang’s cultivation was lower, so taking one person would be very taxing, but for Zhang Sui, it wouldn’t be a problem.

But if they took Nie Xiaowan away, what about Jian Chou?

“It’s now been over a day, nearly two days, and the time I agreed upon with my master is approaching.”

Jian Chou pointed to the Nine-Section Bamboo lying on the ground, saying: “I’ll rest a bit and should be able to recover some strength, using this to defend myself. Though the hidden realm of Qingfeng Nunnery is dangerous, you’ve all said Yashan is formidable, so my master should have no problems. I was originally supposed to wait for him here anyway, so I won’t go to Shijiu Zhou with you.”

This reasoning was perfectly logical.

Jian Chou’s ability to protect herself should be no problem.

Zhang Sui and Zhou Kuang had both personally witnessed Jian Chou, with only Qi Refining cultivation, using the Nine-Section Bamboo to forcibly withstand Xu Lan’er’s Lanyuan Strike, and that was in haste. If Jian Chou could recover, facing ordinary dangers should be manageable.

Zhang Sui and Zhou Kuang exchanged glances, already understanding each other’s thoughts.

—Zhou Kuang had been convinced.

Seeing that neither of them spoke, Jian Chou knew her words had taken effect. She smiled: “Time is of the essence—you should hurry and go first.”

“But…”

Zhou Kuang still felt that leaving like this wasn’t what a true man should do.

Zhang Sui was more flexible and better understood what Jian Chou needed at this moment. He patted a small pouch at his waist, and when he extended his hand again, five stones white as jade lay in his palm, along with a yellow paper talisman.

“Please accept these, Senior Sister Jian Chou.”

“What are these?”

Jian Chou felt these stones looked somewhat familiar.

Zhang Sui explained: “These are five low-grade spirit stones. Directly absorbing the spiritual energy stored within spirit stones will be faster and purer than absorbing it through meditation and breathing exercises. As for this paper talisman, it’s called a Qianlei Talisman—it can emit a lightning strike for Senior Sister’s self-defense.”

…These were indeed exactly what she needed most right now.

Jian Chou needed to recover and needed things for self-defense in case of an emergency.

She didn’t act coy, generously extending her hand to accept the items, smiling at Zhang Sui: “Then I won’t be polite.”

Seeing this, Zhou Kuang also slapped his forehead: “I also have two here, take them!”

Two low-grade spirit stones lay in Zhou Kuang’s palm.

Jian Chou smiled and accepted them as well.

“That’s about enough—this is my first time seeing spirit stones, and so many at that. If there’s an opportunity later, I’ll repay you.”

“Senior Sister Jian Chou is too kind—originally, we should be the ones repaying you.” Zhang Sui hesitated briefly, then untied a token from his waist and gave it to Jian Chou, saying: “Please also accept this.”

Jian Chou took it.

This was a token that seemed made of ebony, with a sword on the front and two seal characters on the back reading “Fengmo.”

Zhang Sui said, “Fengmo Sword Sect in Shijiu Zhou naturally doesn’t dare compare with Yashan. It’s just that Yashan is a towering tree that attracts wind—if Senior Sister reports the name of Yashan, it might bring unnecessary trouble. Later, if… if there’s no news from Shanren’s side and someone passes by the island, Senior Sister holding a Fengmo Sword Sect token will make things easier.”

Such thoughtful consideration.

Jian Chou hadn’t expected this. She raised her eyes and carefully examined Zhang Sui from head to toe. He remained as silent as before, seemingly reserved and taciturn.

But the words he had just spoken were almost more than all the previous days combined.

Jian Chou gripped the token tightly and slowly nodded: “I understand.”

Only then did Zhang Sui feel relieved, letting out a breath.

He walked over and carefully picked up the still-lying Nie Xiaowan, summoning his sheathed sword to float beside him.

Zhou Kuang also threw his axe down and stepped onto it.

Jian Chou knew they were about to leave and simply stood in place watching.

Zhang Sui was about to ascend when he turned back one more time, staring fixedly at Jian Chou.

Jian Chou found this strange: “Is there something else?”

Zhang Sui hesitated for a long moment before finally asking: “Does Senior Sister Jian Chou have a dao companion?”

“Dao companion?”

What did this mean again?

She didn’t quite understand.

Zhou Kuang, who had already risen into the air nearby, nearly tumbled down headfirst. After barely steadying himself, he glared at Zhang Sui with the look one gives a beast.

But Zhang Sui was completely oblivious.

After hearing Jian Chou’s confusion, he paused briefly, then smiled softly: “I understand now.”

Having said this, he directly embraced Nie Xiaowan and ascended into the air on his sword.

“Take care, Senior Sister Jian Chou.”

Jian Chou watched them depart, two streams of magical artifact light disappearing one after the other into the dark horizon.

She blinked: “What is a dao companion anyway?”

Her body weak, she sat back down on that zhang-long stone slab. The moss had a somewhat astringent smell that she could detect.

It seemed to be late at night now. Above the water stream, many mayflies fluttered about like a cluster of dust motes, transparent and tiny.

A newly born mayfly slowly flapped its transparent wings, landing on the emerald Nine-Section Bamboo beside Jian Chou, remaining perfectly still.