Chapter 62: Vortex, Lightning

Another half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

Xuli Qing sat motionless in front of the barrier of the second trial, looking just like an old monk in deep meditation.

Fang Zhiyi remained quite composed, sitting quietly to the side and waiting, but the Ancient Emperor could no longer sit still. He simply stared at the barrier before him, lost in calculation.

With three of them here now, and another one still trailing behind, there were still some people missing from this barrier-shrouded mountain. If any one of them managed to obtain the Infant Transformation Pill ahead of time, it would spell trouble for him.

It was only then that she realized even if she hadn't demanded that Noble Consort Zhang thoroughly investigate the matter to the end, Yu Jinhhan's faction would have brought it up anyway.

Never had she expected to find such a vast lake tucked away right behind Tsinghua University, and the scenery was simply breathtaking.

Luo Youge had no idea how many days she had already spent here. Tumi seemed to have grown a bit thinner, his jawline sharp, and his peerless visage now bore a somewhat ruthless and chilling aloofness because of it.

Originally, she wanted to pick a broad saber, as the saber was the ruffian weapon of the arsenal with a low operational difficulty, whereas the sword was the gentleman among weapons—extraordinarily elegant, yet its learning curve was considerably higher. If one encountered a sword that was not attuned to one's soul, one wouldn't even be able to chop through mud with it.

Ran Niang's face blushed instantly, a natural pair of blushes blooming across her tender, dewy skin like newborn peach blossoms—fragrant and exquisitely lovely.

Qi Feiyan and Zhou Hao did not return all day, leaving Gu Qingnian to enjoy her peace and quiet until she spotted Zhou Hao on her way home from school.

However, Tian Yongming was in no better shape. True, he had subdued the enemy with a single sword strike just moments ago, but the nether-qi of the Shadow Fiend had also burrowed into his body along the short sword.

Imperial Concubine Pei's heart fluttered with something akin to excitement. Following her initial shock and hesitation came an overwhelming sense of joy. She had never wished for the downfall of the Empress; after all, the Empress was fair and impartial, and had never treated any of them harshly.

Yu Danqing could not help but chuckle; this truly was a biological mother. Yuxue was not even twelve years old yet, and since girls usually married around the age of sixteen or seventeen, her mother was already planning things out for her this far in advance.

Arriving at the dining room, she found four dishes and a soup laid out on the table. Zartu smiled at Yu Danqing, invited her to take the seat of honor, and exchanged a few polite pleasantries before instructing the servants to prepare several more dishes, add an extra set of tableware, and set up a separate table nearby.

In this match, the kill-to-death ratio between Night Demon and Bramble was 2 to 17, while the number of destroyed defensive towers stood at 0 to 7. Compared to the fierce neck-and-neck battle of the first game, this match was practically a total whitewash by Bramble.

"Now that the plan is complete, staying here is far too dangerous. Let's head back, shall we?" Minami said to the professor.

Along the way, Meng Fei insisted on stopping to sightsee at every single village they passed, sometimes lingering for an entire day. I sighed inwardly; at this rate, it would probably take us a whole year just to reach the Fire God Kingdom.

"Old Jiang, I will take on this favor. Just tell me what needs to be done." Having accepted the benefits, I instantly threw my principles of integrity out the window, patting my chest with a righteous and heroic air.

Aside from Huang Ruichun, leaders from places like Gulou District, Donglin, Changle, and Mishian County were also in frequent contact with Shen Mingzhe. However, due to time constraints, Shen Mingzhe could only arrange for Huang Ruichun to come over first.

Once the Phoenix arrived and engaged the Golden Dragon Commander in battle, both the Sparrow clansmen and the dragon warriors ceased fighting. They understood that the outcome of this war and their very destinies hinged entirely on the victory or defeat of these supreme martial experts.

Yet, no matter how much he tried to brush him off, he was no match for Huang Ruichun's enthusiastic persistence. In the end, he reluctantly went downstairs and followed Huang Bingchun to a rather secluded specialty restaurant.

"What? Things are this bad and you're saying it's not serious?" The Golden Donkey sprang high into the air, its prominent buckteeth nearly biting Jiang Dong in the face.

The unearthed artifacts were quite ordinary, holding nothing particularly special. Archaeological excavations of ruins were always like this; many items were already broken and dilapidated. While some Dharma instruments crafted from energy stones could indeed remain buried in the soil without decaying, one could hardly expect to stumble upon priceless treasures just by taking a casual stroll.

After a moment of thought, he fished out the bottle of Living Dragon Liquid and pried open the lid. Then, he picked up a box of wild mountain ginseng, opened it, and grabbed the ginseng root in his hand.