Chapter 111: Fuming

The cultivators of the Heavenly Mystery Dao Sect watched the fleeing disciples of the Azure Abyss Divine Sect, excitedly gripping their natal magic artifacts.

Laughter echoed across the entire sky.

At that moment, Su Chen's peripheral vision swept over and suddenly noticed Qingxia standing dazed on the spirit boat.

Sensing Su Chen's gaze, Qingxia hastily gathered her thoughts, came to her senses, and put away the artifact beneath her feet.

Facing Su Chen, she spoke of a scene within Cloud Sea City: 'Young Master Su, I finally caught up to you.'

Su Chen looked down at Qingxia indifferently: 'What happened?'

'The saintess, the saintess herself, is about to fall.'

Su Chen: '?'

What nonsense is this? Don't scare him.

'Since you went to Cloud Sea City, the saintess went alone; even at the city gate she didn't wear the spirit armor to resist the violent spiritual energy, not to mention the spirit explosion hasn't dissipated, and with the occasional beast tides and thick demonic aura, the saintess merely stood there for a moment.'

Su Chen: '?'

The laughter of the cultivators behind him abruptly ceased, and the atmosphere grew ever more tense.

'Why is she standing on the city wall of Cloud Sea City?'

Qingxia replied bitterly, speaking sincerely: 'I and Sect Master Liu have both advised her, but the saintess simply won't listen to us; she said that place is the closest to you, Young Master Su.'

'You didn't let her leave the city, so she didn't; you told her to wait in peace, and she did.'

'She's been waiting on the city wall, waiting for the day you return; Sect Master Liu feared the saintess would truly stay on the wall for a month, so he hurriedly had me pilot the spirit boat to chase after you.'

"..."

'Young Master Su, what do you think we should do now?'

Su Chen: '!!!'

Su Chen instantly imagined Liu Liyan standing alone on the city wall, yearning and hoping for her early return...

Just closing his eyes to picture that scene made him feel Liu Liyan was so pitiful.

He had originally wanted to nourish her meridians by letting her recuperate in Cloud Sea City.

Now it seems——

Whether using cultivation to go out would damage the meridians is unknown, but inside the city, the violent spiritual energy entering the body will certainly harm the meridians.

'Young Master, Young Master... why not bring the saintess along?'

'When you piloted the spirit boat out of the city, her gaze kept lingering on you, looking pitiful.'

'I also think the saintess is well‑bred, with a solid cultivation foundation from childhood; as for her lack of combat experience, she can gain it by first observing our battles and then gradually accumulating.'

The cultivators all said this sympathetically.

Qingxia wiped sweat from her forehead, her eyes filled with expectation as she looked at Su Chen, waiting for him to speak.

Su Chen immediately brandished the Extreme Dao Emperor Sword, faced toward Cloud Sea City, tossed a sentence to the people behind him including Black Dog, and rushed toward the city: 'Black Dog, you handle the cleanup here; I'll return to the city first.'

Having said that, he stepped on his flying sword, sliced through the void, and vanished.

Along the way, Su Chen constantly regretted.

After the system assessed Liu Liyan's terrifying love value for him, Su Chen became all too aware that her love for him went beyond deep affection; in fact, she loved him more than herself.

He thought that coming out for a month would be no big deal.

But despite all his calculations, he failed to anticipate that Liu Liyan would, while obeying his demands, stubbornly do what she thought was right—just to stand on the city wall waiting for his triumphant return, so she could be a little closer to him.

After a cup of tea.

Above the outskirts of Cloud Sea City, a void rift appeared, and from it stepped a figure.

The rift in the void visibly expanded as the figure emerged, then once again returned to calm, as if it had never appeared.

Yellow sand swirled across the heavens; Su Chen arrived in white robes, stepping on his sword, with Qingxia not far behind, appearing out of breath as if she had expended great yuan energy, though her cultivation had actually suffered no loss.

Before reaching the city gate, Su Chen had imagined many reunion scenes, but none matched this soul‑striking vision.

On the city wall hundreds of meters long.

A graceful figure stood against the wind.

She wore a silk‑cotton robe, her silver hair bound by a hairpin, no makeup, standing alone in the vast yellow sand, obsessively gazing at the distant mountains.

She saw Su Chen step out of the void.

In an instant.

Those eyes, originally about to dim, seemed to suddenly catch a glint of starlight, instantly becoming lively and dazzling.

Together with that pallid, sickly beautiful face, it instantly brimmed with life; her gaze locked onto Su Chen, as if seeing him meant seeing her whole world: 'A Chen, you're back so fast? Did you drop something?'

The completely ignored Qingxia: '...'

Su Chen stepped forward on his sword to within a hundred meters of the city wall and waved to those on it: 'Liu Liyan!'

'Come over!'

'Leave the city!'

Liu Liyan turned her face, showing a hint of hesitation, yet she firmly shook her head and pressed her lips: 'But you told me to stay obediently in Cloud Sea City and wait for you.'

'Now I've changed my mind.'

'I intend to have you come with me.'

'Come here, let this young master pinch you.'

Watching Su Chen's waving motion, Liu Liyan's lips curled imperceptibly; she lifted the long trailing cloak behind her, used yuan energy to perform the Lotus Bloom Step beneath her feet, stepping on lotuses as she unreservedly threw herself into Su Chen's embrace.

On her fair, tender face appeared a few grains of yellow sand; at her brow a glint flashed, and the moment she looked at Su Chen, her formerly lifeless, dull eyes burst with radiance.

【Ding!】

【Points increased by 2, 4, 6……】

【……】

Su Chen finally ended up joining Liu Liyan and together they left Yunhai City.

Meanwhile.

On the other side, at the east city gate.

The place where the Qingming Sect disciples were stationed.

The honorary senior brother fled back, his face full of panic, filled with anger and unwillingness; behind him, disciples followed, each one shocked, their souls unsettled, looking as if they had not yet recovered from the previous battle.

"Elder Ye!!"

The senior brother hurriedly and staggeringly ran into the city where a formation had been set up in advance.

At the moment he rushed in.

He saw Grand Elder Ye calmly sipping tea, eyes closed in meditation; upon hearing the sound, he slightly opened his eyes in surprise and asked, "Oh? Did you return victorious so quickly? Have you captured Su Chen alive?"

"Where is the inheritance? Whose hands is it in?"

"First hand it over to this Elder to see if it is, as the jade slip says, the Martial Emperor's inheritance, encompassing the four arts of pills, equipment, talismans, and formations."

But,

Just as these words were spoken,

The honorary senior brother knelt on the ground, his face full of anguish, his voice filled with bitter hatred: "Grand Elder, Su Chen led over three hundred Martial Kings, leaving Yunhai City and heading straight for the Ye family of Young Master Ye Xuan in Qianyuan City."