“Good, you’re awake.”

Li Lang’s eyes opened wide as he looked up at where the voice had come from. A young boy in pristine beige robes stood right before him. He had both hands behind him and was looking down at Li Lang with a smile.

He appeared young, around Li Lang’s physical age, and had a lively aura. Still, Li Lang regarded him cautiously.

“Who are you?”

“Relax, child. I am Elder Nong from the Clear Heart Sect. I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”

This kid? An elder from the Clear Heart Sect?

While Li Lang was skeptical, he didn’t let it show. He could feel power, similar to the other elder, emanating from the young boy.

As if he could read Li Lang’s mind, the young boy’s next words precisely addressed Li Lang’s concern.

“Do not regard me as a child. I am over three times your age. My appearance is simply like this because I reached the Foundation Establishment realm quicker than most. ”

Fascinating. Cultivation could affect physical growth? No wait, don’t get distracted…If what he says is true, then their sect sure reacts fast… Maybe they can help save Zi Xi and Zi Xiao Mei!

“I…if you’re here to investigate about Elder Chen, then you have the right person! You have to quickly tell your sect about the evil demonic cultivator who had slain your elder and kidnapped my friends!”

The young elder furrowed his brows and gestured for Li Lang to slow down.

“Calm yourself, child, and explain everything from start to finish. I will definitely try my best to help, but I’ll need to know the entire story first.”

Li Lang did not hesitate to narrate everything that had happened at the Zi manor the day before. He made sure to even recite the words spoken by the people in his story so he wouldn’t leave out any information.

It took almost half an hour from start to finish before his retelling ended. Elder Nong’s furrowed brows hadn’t relaxed throughout the entire story.

“Are you sure Elder Chen referred to this old woman as the Abductress?”

“Yes, I’m sure of it.”

The young man closed his eyes and massaged the area between his eyes. He then let out a weary sigh before directing a look of pity at Li Lang.

“Thank you for telling me about Elder Chen’s fate. You have saved me from having to do lots of tedious investigations, but unfortunately, I cannot help your friends.”

“Why? Isn’t the Clear Heart Sect of the righteous path? Don’t you hunt down demonic cultivators? We’re talking about one who not only kidnapped my friends but killed your fellow elder here!”

“I understand… but there is nothing we can do. Even we have limits to our power. You may not know, but Abductress is a famous demonic cultivator that, I am ashamed to say, is far beyond what we can handle.”

“Then ask someone who can handle her for help!”

The elder shook his head and smiled patiently at Li Lang as if he was teaching a naive student.

“The large sects won’t act lightly. Maybe if she crossed their bottom lines, otherwise, the sects refuse to get involved for small matters, citing they are too busy dealing with the Myriad Races.”

That just means the large sect won’t move because they aren’t motivated enough to do so. If they won’t move until they can profit from it, then their so-called righteousness is just a scam!

Seeing how Li Lang’s breathing was becoming uneven, Elder Nong could easily tell the young boy was getting agitated. He quickly changed the topic.

“Anyway, where are you headed, child? I can at least help you get to somewhere safe. Someone as young as you traversing the wilderness is no joke, you know.”

“...I’m—forget it! If you can’t help directly, can you take me into your sect instead?”

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Li Lang knew the fastest way to both save his friends and learn about cultivation was to enlist the help of an expert. Experts weren’t easy to approach without being one himself. This gave him another reason to learn how to cultivate himself, as he knew he could only rely on himself at the end of the day.

“I’m sorry. According to what you say, your aptitude for cultivation is too low and you don’t possess any unique physiques despite your physical deformations. Not even I can bend the rules on who we accept…How about I bring you to Xiang Yang and find someone to take care of you instead?”

“Xiang Yang?”

“The largest city around these lands. There’ll be numerous people there, and where there are people, there are opportunities. You’ll be able to find your own path there.”

Li Lang only thought about it for a short moment before nodding his head. It would beat having to find his way by himself, and where many people gathered was exactly what he was looking for.

Elder Nong nodded and gently smiled at Li Lang’s response. He didn’t dawdle, and a wooden carriage suddenly materialized at the wave of his hand.

Without explanation, the elder carried Li Lang and placed him inside. Li Lang glanced around at the plain-looking interior of the carriage. He didn’t get to look around for long as he suddenly felt a brief moment of heaviness. He immediately realized that the carriage had taken flight, and the view from the window verified it.

“Don’t move around too much or you may hurt yourself,” the young elder said as he looked back at Li Lang’s bewildered expression through the small window at the front. “First time on a Skyrunner? Don’t worry, I’ll start slow. It may not be the most comfortable, but it’s fast.”

The carriage began to pick up speed, with the sound of wind growing louder and louder. He would’ve panicked a lot more about his safety if he had never been on an aircraft before, but that wasn’t the case.

True to his words, Elder Nong gently accelerated, but the acceleration continued for a long while.

This…this is faster than a helicopter!

Thankfully, Li Lang hadn’t received a face full of wind while they traveled at such high speeds. The carriage shielded him from the elements, but when he glanced over at Elder Nong, he saw a soft glow surrounding his body, acting like a barrier to the cultivator.

“Are you okay?” The young elder called out while keeping his eyes on the front.

“Yes…How long will this trip take?”

He glanced up at the sky for a short moment before responding.

“Hmm…We should reach Xiang Yang just before sunset.”

“But it’s still morning…”

“...Would you like me to tell you a story in the meantime?”

“...No, thank you.”

The young cultivator scratched his cheeks at being unsure of how to properly take care of a child. He soon gave up and fished out a jade slip to ponder on its contents instead.

Meanwhile, Li Lang curiously examined the passing scenery, trying to learn more about the world he found himself in.

A dense forest covered as far as he could see, with a few occasional mountains here and there. He couldn’t make out any details, though, as a fog covered every stretch of the land below. He passed the time trying to catch glimpses of the world beneath until he grew tired of his futile attempts.

Seeing how the sun was at its zenith, he wanted to enter Ruby’s artifact space, but he was hesitant to do so with a powerful cultivator beside him.

He hadn’t figured anything out when he found me while I was inside Ruby before, but he may be able to sense me entering the artifact space…I have too little information on what cultivators are capable of.

“So, Elder Nong…” Li Lang called out, trying his best to sound like an innocent and curious child.

“Yes?” The cultivator quickly stowed his jade slip and replied.

“What cultivation realm are you in?”

“That isn’t something you should ask lightly, child.” He smirked, as if having caught a mischievous child. “Many cultivators are sensitive to being asked such questions, so be mindful of asking in such a direct way. I don’t mind telling you that I am in the late stage of the Foundation Establishment realm.”

Li Lang forced out a gasp of admiration before continuing his questioning.

“So what’s the difference between you and cultivators in the Energy Gathering realm?”

“The difference is vast…Most commoners may have some attainments in the early Energy Gathering stage, but less than five out of a hundred Energy Gatherers ever breakthrough to the next major realm. Many of them are stuck at Energy Gathering even after spending their entire life cultivating. However, countless people still strive for it because it can let them live longer.”

“Even people who have poor aptitude like me?”

The cultivator gently patted Li Lang on the head.

“Yes. It is much harder without good aptitude as it requires much more time, hard work, and, more importantly, resources, but it is still possible.”

“So it is possible for me to cultivate! Can you teach me?”

The elder held his gaze on the Li Lang for a moment before sighing.

“...Sure, I can’t teach you any of our sect’s techniques, but I can teach you…the basics.” Elder Nong closed his eyes and contemplated about the manner for a brief moment. “Yes, the basics are fine. Let me warn you, it won’t be easy. Many give up, and that is fine too. If you force yourself too much, it is very possible to hurt yourself or even die.”

The two then lost themselves in their conversation and before they knew it, the sun had begun to set and they arrived at their destination.

A large city began to come into view through all the fog. It had a huge stone wall surrounding it, and Li Lang could barely see where the walls ended despite the vantage point he had.

Elder Nong headed straight for one of the entrance gates and began his descent toward it. There was a long line of people waiting to enter, and many of them had their heads turned up towards them, whispering amongst each other.

“We’ve arrived.”