klisemfg Chapter 1812
Chapter 1812
The pale blue flames of the campfire danced quietly, casting a warm glow on the surrounding cold rocks.
Bai Li nestled beside Chen Xuan, her fingertips still stained with a little grease from the roasted meat. She gently wiped them with a silk handkerchief as she softly recounted the trivial matters that had happened in the Immortal Abode these past few days, her tone filled with subtle joy.
“Master, I have been tending the herb garden for the past ten days using the ‘Spirit Rain Technique’ you taught me. The ‘Purple-Veined Lingzhi’ that I brought back from Qilin City has finally sprouted new buds. The Five Immortals said that at this rate of growth, it will be ready for medicinal use in another hundred years.”
"And the 'Nine-Leaf Scrophularia' you improved last time has actually formed crystal cores at its roots. I checked the ancient books, and this is a sign that the scrophularia has become a spirit!"
She raised her hand to gesture the shape of a lingzhi mushroom, her eyes sparkling.
"By the way, Master, I haven't slacked off in my cultivation either. I've finally reached the threshold of the third level of the 'Northern Darkness Cold Technique' that you instructed me on before. Last night, while meditating, the cold energy in my dantian even condensed into a small ice crystal!"
Chen Xuan held the white jade wine pot in his hand, listening to Bai Li's rambling narration, a gentle smile always on his lips.
He nodded occasionally in response, his gaze falling on the girl's vibrant profile. The loneliness and anxiety he felt from his long journey through the void gradually subsided, becoming exceptionally calm.
He knew all too well what it felt like—traversing alone in the boundless void, with only the deathly silence of nebulae in his ears and only the unchanging darkness and starlight before his eyes. If he hadn't been able to see Bai Li often, even with his firm Dao heart, he probably would have been driven to madness.
"Master, how far are we from the Ziwei Nebula?" Bai Li handed the last piece of roasted, golden-brown venison to Chen Xuan. This venison came from the spirit deer raised by the Five Immortals in the Immortal Abode World. Although it had no intelligence, its meat contained a faint spiritual energy and was tender and juicy.
As she handed him the meat, her fingertips inadvertently brushed against Chen Xuan's palm. Remembering the long journey, she couldn't help but whisper a question.
Chen Xuan took the roasted meat and took a big bite. The aroma of the spiritual meat spread in his mouth, and with the immortal wine that slid down his throat, his fatigue dissipated considerably.
He swallowed his food before slowly speaking, "It'll be soon. At my current pace, I estimate it will be there in about two and a half years."
"Another Kun year is needed?" Bai Li frowned slightly upon hearing this, then went behind Chen Xuan and gently massaged his tense shoulders and neck with her slender fingers.
She could feel the residual Daoist energy emanating from her master's shoulders and back from the frequent use of secret techniques, and she could also sense the weariness hidden in his aura. Her heart ached. "I wonder if other cultivators travel as hard as we do?"
Chen Xuan felt comfortable from her massage, closed his eyes slightly, and shook his head with a smile: "Of course not. If a cultivator is not in a hurry, he will usually take a specially made warship or flying magic weapon, let his servants or spirit beasts take care of the driving, and he will then safely go into seclusion inside the magic weapon."
“Cultivators go into seclusion for decades at the very least, and for hundreds or even thousands of years at most. By the time they emerge from seclusion, they have already arrived at their destination. They don’t need to travel day and night like we do.”
At this point, he opened his eyes, his tone tinged with a helpless, bitter smile: "We are different. We are racing against time and cannot afford to delay even a little. It is only right that we work harder."
Bai Li paused, her gaze unconsciously turning towards the direction of the Purple Star Nebula, where starlight merged into a pale purple mist in the void, so distant it seemed forever unreachable.
She murmured softly, her voice filled with worry: "I wonder how Xueqi is doing now... She's all alone in that hell, what will happen to her...?"
Upon hearing Lu Xueqi's name, Chen Xuan's smile vanished instantly, replaced by a serious expression.
He put down the roasted meat in his hand, his fingertips unconsciously tracing the rim of the wine jug, and said in a deep voice: