Chapter 601
"When you feel the depths are unfathomable and the distance is insurmountable, you must act promptly..."
"About thirty thousand feet, I suppose."
"...?"
Qian Bufan leaned back slightly.
He remembered that anything below thirty thousand feet was considered heavy water.
"I could have explored further down, but dawn is approaching. Let's save it for next time."
Li Mo sighed, his tone tinged with a hint of nostalgia.
His descent to the seabed was not just to temper his body; he also brought out the Gui Xu Atlas, hoping to find traces of the Gui Xu (Return to the Void).
Unfortunately, the atlas showed no response at the seabed, at least not at thirty thousand feet.
"By the way, Elder Qian, have you ever tried diving into the deep sea?"
"Yeah, I have. Hehe..."
Qian Bufan's smile felt a bit forced, and his once proud posture had shifted to a slight lean back.
Damn...
Is this kid Li Mo even human?
As a seasoned practitioner, he figured thirty thousand feet was probably his limit. Even if he could withstand the pressure, his physical body would surely collapse.
Was this merely the starting point of the pressure Li Mo felt?
And with that vast inner world of his...
Suddenly, Qian Bufan realized something.
Reaching the fifth realm didn’t contradict his inability to protect his juniors. In fact, having broken through made him more acutely aware of the terrifying and profound energy within Li Mo's body.
So, was he merely granted the qualification to witness how monstrous his junior was?
"Elder Qian? Elder Qian? Why are you drooling?"
Li Mo noticed the wisdom in Qian Bufan's eyes, a glimmer of drool trailing from the corner of his mouth.
"Xiao Mo, even though Shang Wu is your master, respect is still due."
Qian Bufan's gaze suddenly cleared, and he spoke earnestly, "But you absolutely must not learn from her!"
One Shang Wu had already left the little second of Donghuang Domain speechless.
A supercharged version of Shang Wu?
He couldn't even bear to think about it!
"Actually, I don't respect her that much..."
Li Mo cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Who can be like my master, always in a rebellious phase, right? I'm about to get married and have a family, Elder Qian, you really don't trust me enough."
"That's true, that's true... you have Xiao Bing'er."
Qian Bufan smiled kindly, then suddenly paused:
"How did you know you’d have a son and a daughter? Hiss... Did Old Xue tell me something last time that...?"
"Let’s talk about it in the clouds."
"Hey, I feel like there's something I haven't wrapped up..."
"I've already prepared the sea silk garments, what else could there be?"
Li Mo summoned the Jindouyun (Cloud-Somersault), taking the two of them up into the sky.
The speed of the Jindouyun wasn’t fast; after all, Elder Qian had just broken through and needed to stabilize his realm. Plus, he couldn’t just teleport with others in tow.
...
In the East Pearl Tower, in a giant seashell house in the backyard, Lan Tian was dreaming sweetly. Yesterday, her benefactor had told her that he would personally cook for the engagement banquet, promising a different delicious dish every day.
"Steamed bear paws, steamed deer tails..."
"Roasted flower duck, roasted goose..."
"Snow spirit ginseng soup, royal jelly cake... gurgle..."
Lan Tian stirred a bit, biting down on her pillow, then opened her eyes in confusion.
She wiped her drool, yawned, and a tear slipped from the corner of her eye, falling to the ground with a soft thud, already transformed into a pearl.
"I'll give Benefactor Mama a string of pearl necklaces then."
Lan Tian pulled out a small box filled with pearls from under her bed, placing the newly fallen one inside before stepping outside.
She lazily stretched, marveling at the beautiful weather, and excitedly went to knock on Li Mo's door.
But after knocking for a while, no one answered.
"The boss left today. Didn’t he tell you?"
A passing servant said.
"Eh?!"
Lan Tian's smiling face instantly froze, her eyes glazed over, as if struck by lightning.
...
"There's news from Li Mo; he has already left Qizhen Haishi."
At Heifeng Mountain, a notorious no-man's land between the East Sea and Donghuang Domain, where bandits and rogues often roamed, the terrain was rugged and treacherous.
Lingxi Sect chose this place to keep a low profile.
After all, the promotion of Qingyuan Sect and the engagement of Li Qun Jianhao and Han Xianzi were both sanctioned by the Emperor of Dayu, and they couldn’t afford to be too conspicuous.
Of course, merely picking the right spot wasn’t enough.
Qiao Ziyu pondered, "If we disguise ourselves as horse bandits, we might still escape the scrutiny of Dayu..."
"Since we’re going to disguise ourselves, let’s go all the way."
The elder steward, deep in thought, seemed quite experienced in such matters:
"Why don’t we operate under the banner of the Huàn Mó Jiào (Demon Summoning Sect)?"
"Eh?"
Qiao Ziyu paused for a moment.
It was well-known that Li Mo had a grudge against the Huàn Mó Jiào.
In Tianren City, he had personally thwarted their ancestral god's revival, so it was only reasonable that they would seek revenge.
"Alright, let’s do it!"
---
**Chapter 697: This is Heaven!**
"It seems something's off ahead?"
Standing on the clouds, Li Mo furrowed his brow, sensing something amiss.
Now that his senses were sharp, any anomaly would spark his curiosity.
Sure enough, a group of figures appeared ahead, numbering no less than a hundred, each riding flying beasts.
"Cloud riding? What kind of trick is this?"
"Probably someone who has comprehended the inner world related to clouds and mist. Just two people; they don’t seem like practitioners."
"Just returned from Qizhen Haishi; they must be looking to make a quick profit."
"Playing mahjong every day is so boring."
"True, but we’re bandits now; if we don’t rob, I might forget how!"
The voices drifted on the wind.
Li Mo: "?"
If nothing went wrong, he was probably... about to be robbed?
**[Name: Luo Yexian]**
**[.....]**
**[Evaluation: After the Huàn Mó Jiào made a shocking move in the imperial capital, they were hunted by the Dayu Sky Patrol. Left with no choice, they scattered and became bandits to hide their tracks.]**
**[Recent Encounter: Observed the end of Qizhen Haishi and prepared to fulfill their duties as robbers.]**
Li Mo never expected to run into an old acquaintance while being robbed.
Despite the number of people on the other side, Li Mo felt no disturbance in his mood; after all, his inner world thrived on the presence of more people.
"However..."
Li Mo turned to look back.
Elder Qian's realm was not yet fully stabilized, and as a newcomer to the outer realm, he was still far weaker than Luo Yexian. In a direct confrontation, Elder Qian might not be able to protect himself.
"Elder Qian, don’t say a word; I’ll protect you."
The disciple of Qingyuan Sect, Little Li, in the inner realm, said as he donned the Wuxiang Liuli Sha (Formless Glazed Silk).
"Alright."
The outer realm elder complied readily.
Just as they were speaking, a voice rang out.
"Stay right there!" Luo Yexian charged ahead.
"This mountain is mine, this tree is mine; if you want to pass... eh, are we in the sky?"
"We're robbing you; be serious!"
"Hmph, have you heard of our... our infamous reputation in the Qingyise Gang?"
"You know, according to Dayu law, robbers have their cultivation stripped, their martial rights revoked for life, and are exiled to the North. We’ve committed such heinous crimes; I hope you understand the gravity of the situation."
It was clear that the members of the Huàn Mó Jiào were inexperienced at robbing.
They didn’t seem very practiced.
Well, they weren’t professional bandits to begin with; they even looked down on ordinary robbers, feeling they weren’t even in the same league.
"Enough, a gang can only have one leader. What are you all babbling about?"
After scolding his subordinates, Luo Yexian turned back, ready to flash a menacing smile.
However, before he could even lift the corners of his mouth, he froze.
As the mist cleared, a familiar figure emerged, enveloped in celestial energy, exuding an aura that reached the heavens. Faced with the sudden robbery, his expression remained unchanged.
"He... Heitu Shangxian?!"
Luo Yexian's body trembled.
Little Li sighed, revealing a look of pity: "I merely closed my door for a while; how did you end up in such a predicament?"
It seemed he hadn’t expected that the Huàn Mó Jiào, once allied, would turn to banditry.
Under his gaze, the members of the Huàn Mó Jiào showed signs of shame.
"We... sigh, a child without a mother; it’s a long story... So you were in seclusion; I was wondering why I hadn’t received your reply."
Luo Yexian's eyes brimmed with tears as he poured out his grievances.
Qian Bufan: "?"
How did Little Mo... become so familiar with the members of the Huàn Mó Jiào, even speaking to them like an older brother?
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