Chapter 61: Teleportation, Interception, and Another Breakthrough in Cultivation!

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Along the way, Ziling remained silent. Even when Tulu spoke, she gave no reply. This struck him as odd.

“What exactly is the plan?” he pressed, frowning as he followed Ziling back to Huangyun City. They entered an old shop that looked as though it had seen better days.

Outside stood over a dozen flagpoles, all weathered and battered, and the shop itself was so dilapidated it was impossible to tell what business it conducted.

“Who—who are you? What do you want?”

As the two made their way to the back courtyard, they ran into a slightly plump middle-aged man. He had been out for a stroll, but upon seeing them, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped in shock.

Without a word, Ziling’s sword flashed coldly in the air—a streak of sword energy cut through, and the man’s voice was abruptly cut off as he collapsed to the ground.

Tulu opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Ziling, wasting no words, led him straight into a dilapidated thatched hut in the back courtyard.

Tulu’s heart gave a violent jolt. The floor of the hut was engraved with a massive teleportation array!

“That man just fainted,” Ziling said suddenly, offering an explanation.

Tulu started, then let out a soft laugh.

Perhaps it was his imagination, but Ziling seemed a little embarrassed. “This is the only teleportation array in Huangyun City that leads directly to the prefectural capital. Though it’s been abandoned for years, it’s not damaged. We’ll use it to teleport to Taixu Prefecture, then double back toward Huangyun City to intercept them.”

Tulu was surprised. “We’re not teleporting directly near Mount Huangqi?”

Ziling shook her head. “Teleportation arrays leak spiritual energy, which would attract monsters to destroy them in the Great Wilderness. It’s not practical to set them up there. Besides, there’s more than one route from Huangyun City to the prefecture; we couldn’t possibly place arrays on every path. So, we can only teleport to the prefecture first.”

“We’ve set up checkpoints along the way. It won’t be easy for them to break through; at the very least, they won’t escape our detection.”

Tulu nodded in understanding. Here, after all, the prefectural governor held sway. Even if influential figures were friendly with the old city lord of Huangyun City, at best they would send one or two to assist. They wouldn’t openly antagonize the governor, which meant the advantage was on their side.

As he pondered this, Ziling had already activated the array.

“Let’s go!”

Tulu nodded.

The two stepped onto the array. A cascade of iridescent light enveloped them, and then a tremendous force seized them—an instant later, both vanished without a trace.

This teleportation was unlike the spatial passage in Divine Wind City. Tulu only felt a bout of dizziness, and when clarity returned, he found himself inside a small room.

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It was another shabby thatched hut, but the spiritual energy in the air was much denser than that of Huangyun City.

When he came to, Ziling was sitting with her eyes closed, sensing for news.

After several breaths, she opened her eyes. “Zituo Peak has been intercepted at Mount Huangqi by more than a dozen of our half-step Violet Palace cultivators. They’re fighting now. We need to head for Mount Huangqi.”

“Wait!” Tulu quickly stopped her. “Just the two of us?”

“We don’t lack people for a head-on confrontation. The path is lined with my forces. Our aim is to launch a surprise attack while they’re engaged. Our only target is Zituo Peak. Quality over quantity.”

Tulu understood and hurried to keep up with her.

After leaving the hut, they found themselves on the outskirts of a small city at the prefecture’s edge. Once beyond the city, they headed straight for the Great Wilderness.

Tulu could clearly feel the spiritual energy in the world steadily thinning as they advanced, soon returning to the level found in Huangyun City.

They had truly entered the wilds.

After half a day’s journey, Ziling suddenly stopped.

“What is it?” he asked.

“The battle at Mount Huangqi is over. Zituo Peak escaped. We lost seven half-step Violet Palace cultivators, but on their side, only three were wounded.”

She bit her lip in frustration. “Those old foxes of Taixu Prefecture, just to hinder us, actually bestowed their people so many rare treasures!”

“So what do we do now?” Tulu felt the situation growing more difficult. The people sent by those big shots were all half-step Violet Palace experts. If they also carried hidden trump cards, their combat strength might even surpass his.

“We wait! Wait until we catch wind of their whereabouts again.”

With that, Ziling alighted to the ground. With a flick of her sword, she unleashed a wave of sword light that carved a trench over ten meters long and opened up a crude cave in the rock face ahead.

She entered without hesitation.

Tulu hesitated for a moment, then followed her inside.

The two sat facing each other within the cave.

As always, Ziling only spoke when necessary and otherwise kept silent. Tulu, unsure of what to say, felt a bit awkward.

Amidst the silence, however, his mind gradually settled.

He recalled the battle at Mount Huangqi: they had lost seven, while the enemy suffered only three wounded. The pressure weighed on him.

His Dragon Order had been recharged, but his supply of Thunderstones was nearly exhausted.

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Though he trusted in the Dragon Order’s defenses, reality left him uneasy.

“I’d better refine the spirits of those three plants,” he thought.

Glancing at Ziling, he left the cave and opened another one outside, sitting down within.

Ziling noticed his departure and looked up, but said nothing, returning to her meditation.

Half an hour later, enormous tree roots burst through the walls of her cave, startling her out of her meditation as they pierced through the space.

“What’s happening?” she exclaimed.

Before she could make sense of it, all the roots withered away, turning to foul-smelling liquid that dripped onto the ground, filling the air with a nauseating stench.

She covered her nose at once and rushed out of the cave.

In moments, the stench filled not just the cave, but fractured the very rocks of the mountainside, as if rotting them from within.

“This is the miasma of the Five-Poison Grass. Is he cultivating?” Ziling narrowed her eyes. At that moment, a message reached her.

Her expression tightened. She glanced toward Tulu’s cave, hesitated, but decided to wait.

As the poisonous miasma flooded the area, a pure white lotus suddenly blossomed amidst the fumes, radiating a sacred aura.

The three energies tangled together for several hours before finally dispersing.

Inside the cave, Tulu opened his eyes.

Before him stood three incarnations: the Millennium Root, the Five-Poison Grass, and the Water Lotus—side by side.

He narrowed his eyes, absorbed them into himself, and his aura surged. His cultivation instantly reached half-step Violet Palace!

With body and incarnations united, the power in his dantian became almost tangible—he was but a breath away from crystallizing it fully.

His cultivation had reached an unprecedented peak.

“Not good!”

At that moment, he received a message from Ziling. Without time to savor his newfound strength, he hurried out of the cave.

“Sorry!”

“Three hours ago, Zituo Peak was intercepted by our people at Black Camel Ridge. We have to go, now!”

Ziling said no more. Once Tulu emerged, she set out without delay.