Fang Ling was very interested in the Heavenly Dao Divine Stele, so he decided to travel with Shangguan Beifeng.
A few days later, the two arrived at the royal city of the Great Zhou.
Upon entering the royal city, Fang Ling was awestruck by its grandeur.
The city’s scale was larger than the combined size of the largest tribes of the Miao Territory, the Lan Clan and the Chuan Clan, with a permanent population of over a billion.
Above the royal city, there was a floating palace.
Though called a palace, it was actually a city within a city.
This floating city within a city was the palace of the Great Zhou!
The palace alone was as large as the entire royal city of the South Sun Kingdom.
Shangguan Beifeng represented the Shangguan Family, so the Great Zhou royal family had already prepared accommodations for him.
These temporary residences for the heirs of powerful factions were located in the palace in the sky.
“Brother Ling, I’ll introduce you to my sister later.”
“She arrived before us,” Shangguan Beifeng said.
“Brother, you’re so slow!” Suddenly, a celestial-looking woman approached.
It was none other than Shangguan Haiyue, with whom Fang Ling had interacted before.
Over three years, she had matured, shedding her former naivety.
Her legs, clad in black silk stockings, looked smooth and silky.
After running away from home, she wandered outside for over a year.
After having her fill of fun, she returned home and was grounded for two years.
It was only for this Dragon Arena Dao Conference that she had the chance to go out again.
“How did it go? Did you deal with that Suiling?” she asked.
“Father said that thing is not to be underestimated. If left to grow, it would cause untold suffering!”
“If you didn’t succeed, I’ll go myself and definitely destroy it!”
Shangguan Beifeng smiled and said, “With your mediocre skills, forget it!”
“Don’t look down on me!” Shangguan Haiyue glared at him.
“I could set up a killing array and take it down easily. What’s so hard about that?”
“No need, it’s already been dealt with,” Shangguan Beifeng said calmly.
“We have to thank Brother Ling here. If not for his righteous intervention, many more would have died that day!”
“Brother Ling, let me introduce you to my sister, Shangguan Haiyue.” He turned to Fang Ling.
Fang Ling nodded at Shangguan Haiyue but didn’t greet her verbally.
“Brother Ling, why are you wearing a mask?” Shangguan Haiyue asked cautiously.
Fang Ling replied indifferently, “I’m ugly and afraid of scaring others, so I wear this mask all year round.”
“I deserve to die!” Shangguan Haiyue felt deeply regretful.
“I’m sorry, I spoke out of turn.”
“No harm done,” Fang Ling said indifferently.
Then he added, “I’m a bit tired, so I’ll take my leave.”
“Please, Brother Ling,” Shangguan Beifeng nodded slightly, and Shangguan Haiyue smiled as they watched him leave.
After he left, Shangguan Haiyue immediately pulled Shangguan Beifeng to their temporary palace.
“Brother, who is this guy?”
“Fang Ling… I’ve never heard of this name.”
“But I do know someone named Fang Ling, though it’s definitely not him,” Shangguan Haiyue muttered.
Shangguan Beifeng replied, “I don’t know his true identity either, but anyone who can slay a Suiling must be as strong as me.”
“Better not get too close to someone with an unknown background,” Shangguan Haiyue said, pouting.
“My intuition tells me this Brother Ling is not a good person.”
“Nonsense, I think Brother Ling is quite good and worth befriending,” Shangguan Beifeng laughed.
“By the way, I have news about the person you’ve been asking me to find.”
“Really?!” Shangguan Haiyue’s eyes lit up. “Tell me quickly!”
“That person disappeared for three years without a trace, but recently was active in the Miao Territory,” Shangguan Beifeng said.
“And whatever he did, he offended the Chuan Clan tribe and the Heavenly Dao Sect.”
“The Chuan Clan’s priest has offered a huge reward, searching the world for his whereabouts.”
“And the Heavenly Dao Sect is also very interested in him, sending many people to track him down, but with no results.”
“It’s like he vanished into thin air again, just like three years ago.”
Shangguan Haiyue sighed, “What a pity…”
“Brother, do you think we could protect him if we found him?”
Shangguan Beifeng said seriously, “It would be difficult. Father wouldn’t risk offending the Chuan Clan and the Heavenly Dao Sect for him.”
“But he once saved me, and I haven’t repaid him yet!” Shangguan Haiyue said.
“Our Shangguan Family never owes anyone a favor, right?”
Shangguan Beifeng said, “We can’t openly protect him.”
“But we can help him secretly, like giving him some good array tokens.”
“I’ll keep an eye on his whereabouts. Don’t do anything rash.”
“I know, you don’t have to nag!” Shangguan Haiyue said impatiently.
“By the way, apart from those in seclusion, all the geniuses from the major factions have arrived.”
“Brother, you should hurry and find me a sister-in-law among them.”
“But let me be clear, you can choose anyone except Qing Ji from the Illusion Dance Pavilion.”
“I can’t stand her!”
“I’m here to comprehend the Heavenly Dao Divine Stele, not to find a woman,” Shangguan Beifeng said calmly.
“You should also be careful and not offend anyone!”
“Why do you have a problem with Qing Ji from the Illusion Dance Pavilion?”
“None of your business,” Shangguan Haiyue snorted and went off to do her own thing.
…
Meanwhile, Fang Ling followed the directions on his token to his residence.
Although he came with Shangguan Beifeng, he didn’t have an invitation and could only stay in another area.
Suddenly, he stopped, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
He sensed the presence of Purple Bamboo! She was here too!
He walked straight to a courtyard, where two pretty young nuns approached him.
“This is the temporary residence of the Pure Bamboo Nunnery. What business do you have here?” one of the young nuns asked.
“I need to see the Purple Bamboo Abbess. I’m her friend,” Fang Ling said.
“May I have your name so I can inform her?” the young nun asked.
“Just tell her ‘three years,’ and she’ll know who I am,” Fang Ling said.
The young nun nodded, “Please wait here, I’ll inform Elder Purple Bamboo.”
At this time, Purple Bamboo was cultivating in her room.
She was not young and wasn’t here for the Dragon Arena Dao Conference, but as an accompanying elder of the Pure Bamboo Nunnery.
“Elder, someone outside wishes to see you.”
“He didn’t give his name, but he mentioned ‘three years,’” the young nun reported.
“I don’t know what he means by ‘three years’…”
Purple Bamboo’s eyes snapped open.
Three years naturally referred to the three carefree years in the Snow Jade Purity Bottle.
“Let… let him in!” she said.
Although the aura of the person outside didn’t quite match Fang Ling’s and he wore a mask to hide his face, she could feel with her heart that it was him, without a doubt.
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