Chapter 967 - 972: Qi Flight 2

Only the mind merges with the heavens and the earth.

How does this merging occur?

Chen Mo imagines, the heavens and earth are me, I am the heavens and earth.

In an instant, his consciousness arrives at his Dantian.

Rather than saying he arrived at his Dantian, it’s more accurate to say his consciousness merged with the suspended Three-legged Golden Crow within it.

The previously closed-eyed Three-legged Golden Crow suddenly opens its eyes, and within them, there are two clusters of golden flames.

It seems to come to life, its wings fluttering.

From Yue Ruyan’s perspective, at this moment, Chen Mo also opens his eyes, his gaze filled with golden flames.

Just as Yue Ruyan is surprised, a hot burst of Innate Spiritual Qi erupts from Chen Mo’s body, and in an instant, he shoots into the sky from beside her.

With a "bang" sound, Chen Mo hits the ceiling overhead, his head piercing through it, stuck on the roof, motionless.

Chen Mo cries out in pain, his consciousness detaching from the Three-legged Golden Crow.

"Are you alright?"

Yue Ruyan moves the table and chairs aside, then lightly jumps to pull Chen Mo down, scattering chips of wood.

Chen Mo’s skin is rough and tough, so this pain is nothing to him. He glances at the hole he made and awkwardly says, "I didn’t control the force well, used too much."

With the first experience in mind, Chen Mo is much more cautious with the second Qi Flight, hovering around the room, though his flying posture is somewhat comical, at least he manages to fly.

During the flight, his Innate Spiritual Qi is also gradually decreasing.

Since it’s Qi Flight, naturally, the consumption is of Innate Spiritual Qi.

However, the space within the room is too small, inconvenient for Chen Mo to maneuver.

Upon landing, Chen Mo approaches, pulls Yue Ruyan’s hand, embraces her delicate and soft figure into his arms, and chuckles, "Ru Yan, hold me tight."

"Huh?"

"Flying!"

Chen Mo embraces Yue Ruyan and flies out from the open window.

"Ah, no..."

Yue Ruyan gets startled; after flying out from the Observatory, a strong sense of weightlessness floods her mind, inexplicable fear overwhelms her, and she clings tightly to Chen Mo.

As Chen Mo flies higher, the whistling night wind passes by her ears, scaring Yue Ruyan to the point she dares not open her eyes, continuously saying, "Let me down..."

Chen Mo ignores her and flies faster, wanting to test the maximum flight speed. His consciousness commands the Three-legged Golden Crow to flap its wings vigorously, and his figure instantly transforms into a golden light, soaring out of the Imperial City within a few blinks.

Without a point of reference, Chen Mo has no concrete sense, but he is certain that it’s much faster than a galloping thousand-mile horse.

Of course, at full speed, the consumption of Innate Spiritual Qi is also quite rapid.

If he maintains this speed, Chen Mo estimates, within at most half an Hour, his Innate Spiritual Qi will be exhausted.

It’s already past midnight.

Even though there’s no curfew in the Capital, most shops, and residences are already dark at this hour.

Chen Mo carries Yue Ruyan, landing on the rooftop of the city’s tallest building.

"Alright Ru Yan, don’t be afraid, we’ve landed. Open your eyes and look." Chen Mo smiles as he sees Yue Ruyan still clinging tightly to him.

Yue Ruyan opens her eyes and, upon finding herself on a rooftop several dozens of yards high, her legs go weak.

Although Yue Ruyan isn’t usually afraid of heights, having been carried by Chen Mo on that flight, she feels uneasy now that they’re not on solid ground.

"Put me down." Yue Ruyan taps on Chen Mo’s shoulder, her teeth almost biting through her lip, before closing her eyes again.

"Don’t be afraid, I’m here." Chen Mo pinches Yue Ruyan’s rump.

"It’s precisely because you’re here that I’m scared." Yue Ruyan responds irritably.

"Alright, I was wrong, I just wanted to test how fast I could fly. Look, where have we come to now?" Chen Mo laughs, gently patting her back to soothe her.

After her anxiety eases a bit, Yue Ruyan opens her eyes again, stunned, "This is... outside the palace?"

Although she had kept her eyes closed before, she knows it hasn’t been long.

It seems like just a few breaths (a breath is about 21 seconds).

In a few breaths, they reached outside the palace.

At this speed, by morning, they might reach Youzhou.

"Ru Yan, could you let go of me?"

"Why? I want to change my posture to let you enjoy the night view of the Capital fully."

"Huh? Again..."

"Don’t worry, I’ll fly slower this time."

"No, you’re lying again."

"Honestly, lying makes me a dog."

"How often have you been a dog?"

Chen Mo: "..."

After Chen Mo’s persistent persuasion, Yue Ruyan decides to trust him once more.

This time, Chen Mo holds Yue Ruyan from behind.

When flying, he’s on top, Yue Ruyan below, facing the ground.

Though she can’t wrap her arms around Chen Mo, making her feel insecure, he indeed doesn’t deceive her, he’s not flying fast, and she can enjoy the entirety of Celestial River City below.

"Hold me tighter," Chen Mo says, though his speed isn’t fast, he flies high, Yue Ruyan still feels scared.

"I’m already holding very tight, if I hold any tighter, I’m afraid I’d break your waist and squeeze your chest flat." Chen Mo laughs.

Yue Ruyan hums softly, ignoring him, tense as she enjoys the night scenery.

After Chen Mo completes a round of flying, Yue Ruyan begins to adapt, her body learning to relax.

"Let’s go see Yiren."

Chen Mo takes Yue Ruyan, heading towards the Original Wei Prince’s Mansion.

...

Original Wei Prince’s Mansion.

The entire mansion is silent.

Inside the side room, lying on the bed, amidst the dense deathly aura, feeling he’s about to pass at any moment, Si Song is speaking with Nalan Yiren.

He’s very weak, his voice small.

"Yiren, don’t bother with me anymore. I know the state of my body, it can’t be cured, your grandfather has been waiting for me down below for a long time. I should go to him, once I die..."

"No." Before Si Song finishes, Nalan Yiren interrupts him, saying, "I said you wouldn’t die, so you definitely won’t die."

Nalan Yiren holds back tears, her face full of stubbornness.

"You silly girl, no one is immortal. I’ve lived so many years, it’s enough, I should be satisfied, please allow me to go." Si Song knows he is still alive because Nalan Yiren has paid a tremendous price; he doesn’t want to burden her.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up..." Nalan Yiren almost screams, turning her head away to wipe the tears from her eyes, then looks at Si Song, "I said I can heal you, so I definitely can. The Taotie Gu is about to successfully transform for the fourth time, once it does, my blood will surely heal you. Don’t say anything more, just rest."

Seeing the tears in Nalan Yiren’s eyes, Si Song opens his mouth but ultimately doesn’t speak.

As for her saying the Taotie Gu will transform four times, Si Song thinks it’s merely words to comfort him.

After all, a Taotie Gu can only transform three times in its lifetime.

After leaving the side room, Nalan Yiren wipes the tears from her eyes, ready to enter the palace.

The Taotie Gu has awakened from its slumber.

The purple hue on its abdomen has deepened.

As she takes a step.

"Who’s there?"

Nalan Yiren suddenly senses something, raising her head to look.

"Yiren."

Suddenly, two figures descend from the sky, landing in front of her.

"...Your Majesty, Ms. Ruyan?" Nalan Yiren is momentarily stunned, then realizes Chen Mo has reached the Celestial Human Realm and can fly: "Why are you here?"

"Trying out the feeling post-breakthrough." Chen Mo looks at Nalan Yiren’s weary face, sighs in his heart, and asks, "How is the Great Elder?"

"Not good."

Nalan Yiren shakes her head, then disregards Yue Ruyan’s presence, stepping forward to grab Chen Mo’s hand, "Let’s go, time to cultivate."