He gave her some time to calm down, and they started to cultivate the Yin and Yang Qi. This time there was no increase in realm for Wu Long but he did approach further to the 9th level.
Hua Ziyan, on the other hand, was astonished to find how strong his Yang Qi became after he used up the cores and neidans to temper his body with Golden Yang Dragon Body, instantly taking her to the peak of 2nd level of the Qi Manipulation Realm, and breaking through to the 3rd level with energy to spare, which she then used to consolidate the realm. .
She was still vexed about the fact she did not have any stamina to clean him up, as he just washed up and clothed himself, so she decided that she should purchase some Yin attribute medicines from the Treasury hall after, so she can properly cultivate and train her stamina.
—
“He came back?”
Grand Elder Zheng asked a retainer, who worked in the Mission Hall and came to report that he had seen Wu Long finalizing his mission, in an astonished tone of voice.
‘Those idiots! did they not find him?’
He thought as he paced a bit in frustration in his study. His position was not really that shaky, but he felt extremely nervous about the blunder of his son with Hua Ziyan. And now there was the fact that such a good opportunity when Wu Long willingly left the sect was lost.
‘I hope they don’t wander in search for him for long while he’s already peacefully cultivating back in the sect…’
“…those imbeciles! Incompetent idiots!”
After he waved the retainer away and thought inwardly while looking out of the window into the distance, but his frustration got the best of him and he started loudly cursing.
—
Ye Ling arrived at her master’s mansion around the time Wu Long cultivated with Hua Ziyan.
She was asked to wait, as the sect master was in her private part of the mansion. Even attendants were not allowed to set foot there so they relayed to her that Ye Ling has come through a communication jade.
She waited for quite a long time, as Lian Zhiqiu arrived. There was slight rosiness to her as if she was exercising not too long ago.
Ye Ling was used to this appearance over the years, but today her master looked a bit more excited and there was a feeling of contentment in her gaze.
“Apprentice greets the master”
Ye Ling made a formal greeting but Lian Zhiqiu waved her hand to dismiss it as usual, she did not like very ceremonious things with her disciples. She would still accept it from her subordinates, but that is only because they are usually not actually in contact with her for long.
“Master, I wanted to ask if it would be possible for Wu Long to travel outside the sect for some time…”
“Absolutely not!”
Just as Ye Ling started, Lian Zhiqiu abruptly dug her feet into the ground on the matter.
Ye Ling was looking at her a bit surprised, as she never saw her master so agitated, there seemed to even be some distress mixed in her gaze. Not to mention that she has only started.
Lian Zhiqiu also seemed to realize how sudden her response was and took a deep breath.
“Why does he need to leave anyway? What about Ziyan? Who’s going to cultivate with her?”
She then asked in a softer voice in order to mitigate the awkwardness.
“He needs to travel. I do not know his reasons but I trust that if he says that he needs to there must be matters important enough for him, as for Ziyan, she is only starting to dual cultivate, so it is good if she gets to digest her experience and takes time to reevaluate her knowledge, as well as ponder on her techniques”
Ye Ling gracefully shook her head as she did not even bother to ask Wu Long why he needed to travel or where he wanted to go as these were inconsequential to her. Her trust in him only rose as their bond, both emotional and cultivational, became stronger.
“Haaa… Li’e-…no…Ling’er, even if I do agree with your reasoning on Ziyan, I still have to say no since sect rules were made for the disciples’ own safety. I need to ensure that he is safe in the sect or else he needs to state a purpose and destination that warrants the risk”
Lian Zhiqiu sighed and made a pondering face. After a few moments of silence, she suddenly turned back to Ye Ling.
“His memories…are they…”
“No, he said that his memories have not yet returned”
Lian Zhiqiu nodded at Ye Ling’s answer, returning to her pondering expression and looking through the window again.
“Master… I think he will be safe outside, he can defend himself quite well, even I am not a match for him, so…~”
As Ye Ling continued to explain her reasoning Lian Zhiqiu only listened, and a light of frustration appeared in her eyes.
‘I know he will be fine, but I won’t! You’ve already told me how strong he was when you returned, who’s going to worry about such a monster?! … You stinky girl, you don’t care about your master at all. Haaa… I just found a good one…’
She thought inwardly.
“…and even if he is safe here, he should have the freedom to-…”
“Alright, alright. I know how stubborn you are, you won’t give up and pester me for days on end. Haaa…”
Lian Zhiqiu interrupted the calm stream of words coming from Ye Ling with a defeated sigh.
“Fine, he can go”
She finally gave in and said somewhat begrudgingly, as if sulking about something.
“Thank you, master”
Ye Ling happily smiled, not surprised by the somewhat childish behavior of this woman, who everyone outside regarded as a mysterious existence. She was long used to how her master behaved when there were no outsiders around.
After they talked a bit more about Ye Ling’s health and a little more on other topics, Ye Ling left while Lian Zhiqiu sat at her desk in melancholy.
“Haa… it’s going to be boring for a while…”
She said, lamentedly.
—
Wu Long stayed in the sect for two more days, making it a week and a half since they returned from the trip to the imperial capital.
Once he was sure that Ye Ling’s injuries will be fine and have no lasting effects, he finally set off. There were no long emotional goodbyes since he would return, and time was relative for cultivators, months did not mean much to Ye Ling and Hua Ziyan who both already had a natural lifespan above 500 years ahead of them with their current cultivation bases, and meant even less for Wu Long as he was certain to reach expansion of natural lifespan in the coming future.
He was not in a hurry though since he now finally had the strength to defend himself, so the level of emergency to quickly raise his cultivation was lower. He could finally focus on his cultivation base being stable without taking the risk of an unstable foundation for speed of cultivation. With his natural talent, making too fast progress in cultivation will be detrimental to its stability and foundation.
There was also the matter of his young appearance. His cultivation technique would lock his appearance at the age he reaches Qi Manifestation Realm. Since being too young looking felt weird to him, and he wanted a little more height for the feeling of his combat techniques he used with his more mature body to feel right. He looked relatively mature for his age, and at 20 he would be at more or less optimal appearance. It was not like he was not able to adjust his age after, he just preferred to advance his appearance naturally in the time being until he reached that realm, since he was not in a position to cultivate fast anyway.
Standing at the edge of the Spiritual Land that belonged to the Yin Yang Unity Palace, Wu Long looked into the distance.
He wore a bamboo hat and a cloak that covered his clothes from the snow and shielded him from the cold wind.
‘To the Wood Spirit Continent…but first, I have to make a detour”
He thought to himself, as he checked the map he bought in the Imperial City.
His first destination was the Tingren Kingdom, located two kingdoms south, as that was the location of the Supreme Master Pavilion, that, according to Zhao Wuji, practiced lust cultivation.
He could pass through either Gutian or Fantian Kingdoms on his way, but the Gutian Kingdom had a territorial dispute with the Tuamei Kingdom that the Yin Yang Unity Sect was located in, so the border was very chaotic. So his optimal choice would be the Fantian Kingdom.
Once he decided on the direction, he sped off, causing the snow where he stood to flow into a furious dance in the air.
He had a long journey ahead of him, as the continent stretched in a long curved line, and he would need to cross most of it while on the way to the southern sea through which he could reach the Wood Spirit Continent.