Chapter 69: A Kiss Farewell to Dongfang Xing

They found two horses along the way to hurry on their journey.

After driving the horses forward for another three or four hours, they could reach Upper Valley City in Bei Du.

The white flower patches they had come through were gone, replaced by wild rapeseed flowers covering the hills and plains. Chen Yi He and Dongfang Xing simultaneously reined in their horses.

The golden rapeseed flowers became a heaven for butterflies, which fluttered around and danced.

From afar came various bird calls, mingling together to form beautiful, moving music that plucked at the heartstrings.

Dongfang Xing was among the flowers, a little girl fully enjoying the fragrance and beauty of the blossoms.

Dongfang Xing laughed happily in the rapeseed flower patch, dancing happily.

Chen Yi He pulled out an iPhone 17 from his pocket and captured the beautiful scene, frame by frame.

Chen Yi He felt that Dongfang Xing was more beautiful and fragrant than these splendid flowers.

Every frown and smile, she resembled a celestial being.

Chen Yi He couldn't help but step forward and embrace Dongfang Xing in his arms.

Dongfang Xing shyly lowered her head, her arms lightly draped over Chen Yi He's neck.

A long embrace.

Chen Yi He actually found himself unwilling to let go of all this. For the first time he felt spring was so beautiful, so fragrant.

"Dongfang…" he loosened the embrace, Chen Yi He carefully cupped Dongfang Xing's face.

Dongfang Xing's face was red and hot, her gaze intoxicated, lost in Chen Yi He's stare.

Chen Yi He leaned in and kissed Dongfang Xing.

A farewell kiss.

Dongfang Xing waved goodbye from horseback toward Chen Yi He, tears swirling in her eyes, "We will meet again." How reluctant she was, but the Dongfang Clan needed her.

Dongfang Xing would never forget that the past month and a half returning with Chen Yi He from Nanjiang City would be the happiest, most blissful days of her life.

Chen Yi He watched Dongfang Xing disappear into the distance, "We will meet again…"

……

Within three hours, Chen Yi He alone reached Upper Valley City, finally stepping out of the boundless Southern Border. The crowds around grew larger and livelier.

Chen Yi He hastily opened a room at the inn where he had stayed before.

He sat cross-legged, back straight, hands resting lightly, eyes half-closed.

He held his breath, focused, and exhaled and inhaled.

Chen Yi He searched, searching for that invisible great hand that had repeatedly pushed him, and for the black hole that wanted to devour him. No matter how he looked, he could not find it; he scanned his body with his divine sense, but found nothing of what he sought.

Not even the words "How could my body hide your soul?" sounded.

It simply should not be.

However, he was not empty-handed; he discovered that the white light emanating from his own body had become viscous, so much that he could lift it with a single hand and hold it in his palm.

His true qi gradually solidified—this was a genuine increase in strength! Though the journey to the Thousand Heavy Gate was arduous, it still yielded results.

Chen Yi He knew he had entered the Great Accomplishment of the Three Heavens, skipping the middle stage entirely, going from initial stage straight to great accomplishment.

To be able to leapfrog stages on the Path of Essence Breakthrough, in the real world, is harder than gaining direct admission to Tsinghua or Peking University, yet Chen Yi He managed it.

This was thanks to his experience and also to the Seventh Elder's gift; as for the effort, Chen Yi He had put in a great deal.

Gathering his qi… after completing the whole set of mental techniques, Chen Yi He felt refreshed and clear, the fatigue of travel completely gone.

Chen Yi He looked at his own hands—so ordinary, yet how could they possess such tremendous destructive power?

He channeled true qi to his palms, but there was no reaction.

Chen Yi He tried to replicate Wu Rong's "Purgatory Hand," but failed. He clearly understood that as long as the person he wanted to copy was of comparable skill, he could copy them—unless that person's cultivation far surpassed his own.

Chen Yi He had previously tried to copy Xiao Feng's "Xiao Family Linked Palm," and could almost do it; why then could he not manage the Purgatory Hand?

Chen Yi He sighed, "Always relying on others' martial arts to make a living—this can't possibly be wise." He knew that because of this, many had placed a bounty on his head. Fortunately, now he was strong enough to protect himself.

In Chen Yi He's mind rose the Seventh Elder's words: "Believe that in the near future you will create your own sword technique."

"Thank you, Master."

"But what should we do next?" Chen Yi He muttered to himself, he was alone, with no idea where to go next, let alone any plan. "Alas, the Dragon King is gone, and the East is absent."

"Why think so much? Go have a drink!" Chen Yi He shook his head, cast aside his worries and confusion, went downstairs to the hall to drink.

Chen Yi He resolved to keep a low profile; he could not reveal his identity by drinking. So he used a small cup, not a large bowl.

Across from his table sat two martial artists—a monk and a swordsman—who also seemed to have returned from the Southern Border after taking in the festivities.

"Good thing we didn't enter the Thousand Heavy Gate, or we wouldn't have made it out alive!" said the swordsman.

The swordsman's blade stood upright on the table.

"Indeed, it's a shame we didn't catch Chen Yi He, or else our trip wouldn't have been in vain," said the monk.

The waiter just happened to bring the wine jug to Chen Yi He's table, pouring him a drink while laughing at the two martial artists: "Gentlemen, you've lost more than just a wasted trip—I'd say you've lost a mountain of gold and silver!"

The monk heard none of the waiter's mockery, even thinking the waiter was praising them: "If Chen Yi He fell into my hands, heh heh, I'd make a fortune!"

Chen Yi He shook his head, thinking, "Blatant boasting—this monk shows no semblance of a monastic."

"One million taels of gold—you couldn't spend it in several lifetimes!" the monk lamented.

"You should just wash up and go to sleep." The waiter, having poured Chen Yi He's drink and about to leave, said with a smile.

Who would have thought the monk would lose his mind, grabbing the waiter's neck and smashing the wine jug onto his head with a crack— the jug shattered, liquor splashing everywhere.

Chen Yi He was startled by the monk's savagery.

The monk, seeing Chen Yi He looking at him, glared and shouted, "What are you looking at! You damned thing!"

Chen Yi He just took a scolding; he found it amusing and didn't talk back, but his eyes remained fixed on the monk.

The monk, being stared at, felt a creepy sensation; in spring he felt a chill creep up his heart, though he had drunk plenty, he ought to feel hot!

Chen Yi He did not want to stir up trouble.

But the monk, emboldened by drink, wanted to mess with Chen Yi He. He stood before Chen Yi He with a fierce aura, pointed at Chen Yi He's nose, and shouted, "What the hell are you still looking at?!"

Chen Yi He said nothing, gave a slight smile, then grabbed the two fingers the monk was pointing at him with and gently bent them back.

The monk covered his fingers and wailed. He flung himself onto the table, frantically slamming the table, slamming it in agitation.

"I... I know you..." The monk had seen Chen Yi He on the tenth floor of the Returning Wild Goose Pavilion; his impression of Chen Yi He was truly profound! Chen Yi He had merely applied simple makeup, not a full disguise.

The commotion here drew the attention of everyone in the inn's lobby; all eyes were fixed on Chen Yi He and the monk.

Chen Yi He was extremely annoyed; he didn't want to expose his identity, or else he wouldn't be able to drink in peace!

"You are..." the monk had not yet spoken.

He was just beheaded with a single knife strike.

The monk's round head rolled several times on the ground, one rolling out of the inn, leaving a thin trail of blood.

"Ah! Someone's been killed!"

"Ah! How terrifying!"

"Ah! Wahhh!" At that moment, the timid people rushed out of the inn, fleeing in all directions, no longer paying attention to what the monk was saying.

Chen Yi He glanced at the swordsman; obviously, the swordsman had recognized his identity.

Chen Yi He raised his wine cup toward the swordsman and said, "Thank you."

The swordsman gave a slight smile, said nothing, raised his cup to Chen Yi He, downed the wine in one gulp, then picked up the sword standing upright on the table and strode out of the inn. No one dared to stop this murderer.

Seeing the waiter hiding in the corner, Chen Yi He smiled and said, "What are you afraid of? Come over and pour the wine!"