Inside Tiandao Sect's Offering Spirit Hall, an Aura Refining youngster was dozing off when he suddenly heard a light "pew pew" sound. He immediately woke up with a start.
He rubbed his eyes and was about to go back to sleep, but when he looked up, he saw that one of the Natal Lamps in the front row had been extinguished.
He looked at the position of the lamp and saw that there was no more light inside. He was scared out of his wits and was at a loss for what to do. Eventually, he ran out of the hall. "Martial Uncle, Martial Uncle, it's bad!"
The Foundation Building steward of Offering Spirit Hall was facing Yue Xiaozhu. He was a bit impatient to be disturbed. "What's with all the noise!
Which Martial Uncle had fallen?
There's no need to make such a fuss! "
"No, it's not which grandmaster!" The youngster panted. "It's, it's the first row …"
"The first row?!" The steward was terrified. He promptly stood up and rushed into the hall.
About a quarter of an hour later, Lu Daquan, who stayed behind to guard the sect, received the news that Fairy Fengqing died. Several days later, Liu Dingyuan in Kunzhong City received the news …
* * *
Bixuan Court's Transporting Formation had been destroyed. Now, there was no sign of human habitation in Linhai Town; only ruins were left.
Mo Tiange stood above Linhai Town and sighed. "A small town disappeared just like that …"
Qin Xi's tone was much colder. "This is only the beginning. If the world is really in chaos …"
Mo Tiange was silent.
What Hu Po said was too shocking. It was related to the end of several eras since the Distant Past era. Now, did they also usher in the end of an era?
They could only hope that Hu Po's speculation wasn't true and that the world hadn't fallen into chaos yet.
A dog's bark came from the ruins. A thin and small figure ran out of the ruins, followed by a wild dog. One man and one dog were fighting over a black object whose original appearance couldn't be seen.
This person was thin and small. Judging from his appearance, he was only eight or nine years old. Facing the wild dog, which was almost as tall as him, he wasn't afraid at all. He used both his hands and feet, looking extremely fierce.
"There's someone else!"
Mo Tiange was astonished. This child was obviously a mortal and didn't have any spiritual aura on his body. It really wasn't easy for him to live until now.
The wild dog swiped down with its paw, tearing off a piece of flesh from the child's leg. However, the child did not make a sound. He ferociously rushed forward and bit down on the wild dog's neck. Even though he was injured by the dog's paw, he did not let go.
The wild dog's neck was bitten open, and fresh blood flowed into its throat. The child became even more ferocious. It wasn't until the wild dog's blood ran out and it gradually lost its strength that the ferocious glint in his eyes slowly weakened.
When the wild dog died, he sat on the ground and gasped for breath. But after a while, he forced himself to stand up and dragged the dog's body to the edge of the water to wash away the blood. After checking it vigilantly, he returned to his nest step by step.
This could really only be considered a nest. In the ruins of Waterfront City, he had built a nest with straw and bricks.
After entering the kennel, he looked at the dog's corpse hungrily and wolfed down the black thing. Then, he dug out some weeds from the straw, chewed them up, and applied them to the wound.
Just as he finished doing this and got up to hide the dog's corpse, the sound of someone stepping on the straw came from outside.
He immediately dropped the dog's corpse, picked up a brick on the ground, and hid next to the cave.
A shadow appeared at the entrance of the cave. Without looking, he lifted the brick and hit it hard.
"Ah!"
In the next moment, he cried out in pain. His hand holding the brick was caught. That person smiled, and something gently knocked his head. "Little guy, you're so ruthless."
Someone's here!
The child widened his eyes in shock. He suddenly raised his head and looked at the smiling young woman holding a fan in front of him. The thing that knocked his head just now was that colorful fan.
"Fairy … Fairy!"
As soon as he regained his freedom, the child knelt down and kowtowed desperately. "Fairy, please save me! Fairy, please save me!"
"Get up first," Mo Tiange said.
The child was excited for a while before he finally stood up.
Mo Tiange looked him up and down. He was dark and thin. She couldn't see his appearance, but his eyes were full of vitality. His whole body was drenched in blood, and some of his wounds had even begun to fester.
She wrinkled her brows and asked, "Does it hurt?"
The child was stunned. Thinking about how he often snatched food from the mouth of wild dogs these days, his eyes were filled with tears.
He was struggling to survive all the time, so he didn't have time to think about this kind of question. Now that someone asked him so gently, he couldn't control his tears.
"It hurts." He sobbed and wiped away the tears that fell from his eyes.
Mo Tiange sighed and gently waved her hand. A cloud of water vapor wrapped him up.
The child only felt very comfortable. When he woke up, he didn't feel any pain at all.
He looked down and saw that there were no wounds on his body.
There wasn't even a scar!
He was so happy that he promptly knelt down and kowtowed. "Thank you, Fairy! Thank you, Fairy!"
"Get up!" She swung her sleeves and lifted him up. "Answer a few questions for me."
The child nodded while sobbing. "Fairy, please ask."
"Why are you here alone?
Where are your parents and relatives? "
The child said, "Fairy, I have no parents and relatives for a long time. I'm an orphan."
This answer wasn't surprising. Judging from the way this child fought with wild wolves for food, he definitely wasn't raised by a happy family.
Mo Tiange continued to ask, "Why are you alone here?
Where are the other mortals? Are they all dead? "
The child said, "Since those sea monsters suddenly appeared, a lot of people died. Later, I heard that immortals came to the west of the mountain, so those sea monsters didn't continue to hurt people.
Those who were still alive all went to the immortals through their connections. I-I'm young, and I'm also a little beggar. They didn't call me, so I didn't have time … "
"I see." Mo Tiange sighed. "Are there other people?
Don't tell me you're the only one left? "
The child shook his head. "There were a few people a few days ago, but I haven't seen them in the past few days."
Mo Tiange nodded.
Even if they were lucky enough to survive, the conditions were so bad that not many people could survive until now.
"Fairy," seeing that Mo Tiange didn't speak for a long time, the child said anxiously, "Please take me with you. I-I'll do anything for you. I can do any kind of rough work …"
Was he worried that she would leave him behind?
Mo Tiange stared at him and said, "I don't need a manservant."
"T-Then …" Before he could finish, he heard her say, "You have dual spiritual roots of wood and fire, and you have a firm will. You're a very good seedling for cultivation. Let me ask you, are you willing to go back to Xuanqing School with me to seek immortality?"
The child opened his mouth and stared at her blankly.
Mo Tiange smiled. "What? You don't want to?"
The child seemed to wake up from a dream. He knelt down and kowtowed desperately. "Thank you, Fairy! Thank you, Fairy! Oh, no, thank you, Master! Thank you, Master!"
"Wait," Mo Tiange said, "I'm just taking you to the school. Whether we're fated to be master and disciple depends on the future."
"Oh," the child answered blankly.
"What's your name?" Mo Tiange had always liked obedient children.
"My name is Xiaoliang."
"Okay. Xiaoliang, come with me."
"Yes, Fairy."
She led the child out of the ruins. Qin Xi was already waiting in front.
"How was it? Is there anyone else?" she asked.
Qin Xi shook his head with a sigh. "No."
Mo Tiange went to look for the child, so he flew around the surrounding area. Unfortunately, there were no other survivors.
"Then let's go." Mo Tiange didn't feel conflicted. Finding one was already good enough.
Qin Xi nodded and summoned his flying cloud.
Fairy Fengqing destroyed the Ten Thousand Li Canoe, so they could only rely on themselves now. Alas, Nascent Soul cultivators should have the air of Nascent Soul cultivators. Without a portable Immortal's Cave magic weapon, they'd be too embarrassed to go out.
Master had a cloud carriage and a gazebo, Fairy Fengqing had a thatched hut, and the only thing they had was a Ten Thousand Li Canoe. They could barely use it to show off, but now they had nothing else.
They rushed to Kunzhong City, travel-worn.
Seeing that the sky above Kunzhong City was full of all kinds of magnificent flying boats and flying cars, Mo Tiange said enviously, "When are we going to buy a flying boat from the sect?
It'll definitely be very impressive when we go out! "
Qin Xi cast a glance at her with a smile. "As a Nascent Soul Lord Daoist, you can mobilize the flying boat at will. Why do we need to buy one?"
Mo Tiange said, "The sect's flying boat is always different from our own."
Qin Xi shook his head and said, "On the surface, you look the same as those sect cultivators who started as elite disciples, but on the inside, you're completely different. You can do what you can for the sect, but you can't trust it wholeheartedly."
Mo Tiange was dumbfounded. Does he mean I have some reservations in my heart?
…
Qin Xi landed on the platform under the guidance of the welcoming cultivators. Someone came to greet them. "… Martial Uncle Shoujing, Martial Uncle Qingwei."
The two of them saw that it was Han Qingyu.
"Qingyu." Qin Xi showed a rare smile. "How have you been?"
"Thank you for your concern, Martial Uncle Shoujing. Master, grandmaster, and the others are all doing well," Han Qingyu answered with a smile.
Mo Tiange wanted to call her Senior Martial Sister Han out of habit, but she felt it was inappropriate, so she smiled at her as a greeting.
"Martial Uncles, since you've returned safely, you should quickly go see grandmaster. Grandmaster didn't say anything when you lost contact with him these days, but he was actually quite worried."
"Alright. Go do what you need to do."
Qin Xi was about to leave, but he suddenly remembered something and pointed at Xiaoliang who was hiding behind Mo Tiange. "We saved this child in the Eastern Sea. His spiritual roots are quite good, so I'll leave him to you for the time being."
Han Qingyu carefully looked at Xiaoliang then nodded with a smile. "Rest assured, Martial Uncle."
After Qin Xi and Mo Tiange left, Han Qingyu reached out to hold his hand, but Xiaoliang looked vigilant and kept his hand behind his back.
Han Qingyu smiled then lowered her body and asked, "Little Brother, what's your name?"
Xiaoliang stared at her vigilantly for a while before answering, "… Xiaoliang."
"Xiaoliang?
Don't you have a surname? "Han Qingyu was puzzled.
Xiaoliang turned his head and watched their backs as they left. He said, "My … my surname is Mo."
"Eh?" Han Qingyu was surprised.
Xiaoliang turned back and said seriously, "Can I say my surname is Mo?"
Han Qingyu looked at his serious expression and said gently, "Of course you can. What surname do you want? You can decide."
Xiaoliang finally showed a small smile. His eyes once again followed their backs. "… Elder Sister, you call them martial uncles. Are they very powerful?"
"Of course!
They're the Grand Supreme Elders of Xuanqing School, the best cultivators in the world. "
"Ah!" Xiaoliang said in a daze, "Then … Then can I become their disciple?"
"En?"
Seeing his serious expression, Han Qingyu stroked his head and said with a smile, "Then you have to work hard."