The sky is vast; the earth is boundless and magnificent, carrying wolves chasing lone antelopes, while people who have lost their homes seek places to settle.
Above the clear sky, a giant demon with wings flies through the clouds, disappearing from one cloud and reappearing in another, like a koi leaping through a dragon gate.
When it emerges from the clouds, it’s apparent that the giant demon resembles a snake, with black scales and wings spread wide about ten meters. On the back of this giant demon is a saddle-shaped seat where three people sit, navigating in and out of the clouds without knowing their destination.
A middle-aged man sits at the front of the giant demon, exuding a composure honed by time. He occasionally turns his head, his mouth opening and closing, seemingly saying something while wearing a faint smile. Behind him sit a young man and woman, both about fifteen or sixteen years old.
The middle-aged man is none other than Luo Qianye, the Sect Leader of the Chiba Sect.
Since the last encounter with a flying ship while riding a Great Demon in this area, he switched to riding the Ming Snake to avoid being left behind so embarrassingly, as the Ming Snake is not a demon specialized in flight.
The young man and woman behind Luo Qianye are his son, Luo Mi, and his friend’s daughter, Hua Xiaozhu.
When speaking of Hua Xiaozhu’s father, he is a renowned figure in East Lake. Hua Zixun, the current Clan Leader of the Hua Family, reached the Middle Profound Realm at fifty and led the Hua Family to become a powerful force. Before Hua Zixun became Clan Leader, the Hua Family ranked mid-level among Two-star forces, barely passing the Two-star force assessment threshold.
Once he assumed leadership, he turned the Hua Family into a fierce tiger, and after years of development, they almost reached the level of a giant, lacking only an Upper Profound Realm guardian for the title. Supported by major external forces, they were even more unstoppable.
Because of the unexpected early end of the Ten Talents Trial and the sudden opening of the Secret Realm, this journey was cut short, as he did not let his son get involved in the Secret Realm’s chaos. After all the Chiba Sect disciples returned with the Elder, he took his son and headed directly toward Cangwu City from Fengyuan City.
Of course, he also took along the daughter-in-law of his liking.
But as Hua Xiaozhu was the beloved daughter born late to Hua Zixun, she was cherished like a pearl. Luo Qianye, as his life-and-death friend, almost had to mortgage the sect to take her away.
Luo Qianye’s actions were naturally to send the two to join the Immortal Sect.
A father ought to seek a good path for his daughter-in-law!
At this moment, Luo Mi suddenly asked a question that no one dared to believe, "Dad, do you think the rumors we heard when we came are true? Have the Ancestors of the Hundred Sects Alliance, Qingkong Mountain, and Extreme Realm Mountain really died? They were all Upper Profound Realm, right? Could it be related to the Immortal Sect?"
Luo Qianye’s smile vanished, and he slowly replied, "Hard to say, Sect Leader Wen suddenly left without a word, likely due to urgent matters. But if the rumors are true, it might be someone from behind the Immortal Sect who killed them. Otherwise, who in East Lake would dare and have the power to do such a thing?"
"Dad, you’re the Sect Leader, even you don’t know?"
"This kind of matter, real or not, would be well-covered. Enough about it; it’s not something you should worry about now."
"Oh. Then how long until we reach Cangwu City?" Luo Mi leaned over to look at the ground beneath the giant demon, carefully clutching the corner of the seat.
Luo Qianye responded.
Luo Mi nodded and turned to the pale-faced girl behind them, "Ah Zhu, how are you?"
The girl replied warmly.
But saying she’s fine surely means there is something wrong, as she hadn’t even opened her eyes.
The girl suddenly asked, "Uncle, you’ve been talking about the Immortal Sect all the way. Are you taking me there?"
She knew about the Immortal Sect, which recently stirred up East Lake, like a sudden emergence of a giant-level Two-star force.
As a Starless Sect, they should have been quietly developing, but the Immortal Sect was different, causing trouble everywhere, even challenging Upper Extreme Realm Mountain, yet no one could restrain them. Rumor had it that the Immortal Sect had two geniuses, young with talent far surpassing all peers in East Lake, boasting Innate Purity Bodies...
At this thought, Hua Xiaozhu suddenly stared wide-eyed at Luo Mi, then glanced at the front-most Luo Qianye, a foreboding thought rising.
In East Lake, who has been closest to the Immortal Sect, if not Luo Qianye?
"Uncle, where are we going?"
"Um, just wandering around..." Luo Qianye replied with a smile.
Hua Xiaozhu nodded silently.
How could she not realize the true purpose of this trip was not simple? Of course, she wasn’t worried about what Luo Qianye would do to her; she feared he would treat her too kindly, always considering her a daughter-in-law. With their departure from East Lake nearly imminent, the destination might very well be the Immortal Sect.
Hua Xiaozhu hurriedly asked, "Uncle, you’re not planning to take me to join the Immortal Sect, are you?"
Luo Qianye remained silent for a moment. Turning back and seeing Hua Xiaozhu’s sharp-eyed gaze, he smiled awkwardly, "No, just going to observe. You haven’t joined a sect, right?"
"I’ve already decided, the other day the Three-star Mitian Sect gave me a disciple token." Although she liked being with Luo Mi, it didn’t mean they had to be together forever. Luo Mi joining the Immortal Sect was his choice, but she was different; she just wanted to aim higher. Only by standing higher could she achieve greater accomplishments.
"Uncle, if my father knew about this, he’d go all out with you."
"Going all out, he should be grateful to me. Where else can one spend gold coins to learn a fire-releasing technique? If he finds such a place, I’ll even entrust my son to him." Luo Qianye murmured softly, not letting the wind carry the small voice to anyone’s ears. Then he raised his voice quickly, "Nothing to worry about, just a visit. No need to join if you don’t want to. Just here to see my son off; once you leave, it might take ten or eight years before you return."
Luo Mi added, "Yeah, just come to see me off."
Hua Xiaozhu had nothing more to say, choosing to accept this reality in silence. Thinking about it, Luo Qianye wasn’t entirely wrong; once she left, who knew when she’d return, spending more time with Luo Mi at parting wasn’t a bad idea. Setting aside romantic feelings, given their childhood friendship, she ought to come along.
At this point, Luo Qianye looked down and saw a unique river in Xingyue City; he exclaimed joyfully, "Finally reached Xingyue City, should be half an hour to Cangwu City."
Hua Xiaozhu glanced down, her heart unmoved; this place felt barren, like a mountain village surrounded by wild lands.
Half an hour later, the giant demon descended below the city gate.
The Ming Snake landed, attracting some attention but not much surprise.
They had seen giant demons over a hundred meters long, so a mere ten-meter demon wasn’t much to marvel at.