Chapter 489 490: A Strange Sense of Crisis

'This situation... could it be Meng Yingluo's doing?' Chen Dong's heart skipped a beat.

'Did she actually go after my own master and directly drain his cultivation?'

But then Chen Dong dismissed the thought. Peak Master Fu Xiao was a Late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. With Meng Yingluo's strength, it would have been impossible for her to succeed. Unless…

'Unless Peak Master Fu Xiao did it willingly!'

'But why would Peak Master Fu Xiao let Meng Yingluo devour his cultivation? If he did it willingly, it must mean he knew about her having two souls in one body from the very beginning.'

Chen Dong's fingers tapped a light rhythm on the table. "Where's Meng Yingluo? Peak Master Fu Xiao's youngest disciple."

Yu An replied, "I'm not too clear on that. The people from Sharp Sword Peak and our Cyan Sword Peak aren't on close terms."

Seeing Chen Dong about to fall into thought again, she coughed lightly to interrupt him. "Don't overthink it. The sect has its reasons. For now, you need to decide on your arrangements."

Chen Dong smiled faintly. "I choose to stay by Peak Master Zisang's side!"

'Yu An is right,' he thought. 'The Cyan Sky Sect clearly knows more than I do. If even Peak Master Fu Xiao willingly gave up his cultivation, I don't need to worry so much.'

Yu An froze. "Aren't you afraid Master will beat you to death?"

"Of course I'm afraid. But compared to the other two options, this has to be better, right?"

Yu An gently shook her head. "That's not what I expected. I thought you were the type to endure loneliness for the sake of love."

Chen Dong said flatly, "You've got the wrong idea."

Yu An nodded. "In that case, get ready. We'll set off for Lexian City as soon as possible."

"Are you coming with us?"

Yu An stood up, puffing out her impressive chest. "Of course. I have to protect you, especially you!"

Chen Dong's teeth began to ache again. Yu An looked virtuous and gentle, but she was a genuine Nascent Soul Stage cultivator. And although she was a Sword Cultivator, he couldn't feel a trace of Sword Intent from her. She looked like the sweet, bookish, older-sister type who would be very easy to bully.

That's why even though she was in the Nascent Soul Stage, Chen Dong doubted her combat prowess.

Chen Dong didn't have much to prepare. Aside from the Spirit Stone deposit for the rented Celestial Mansion, all his valuables were on his person, and the same was true for Murong Qing. And Chen Dong didn't even plan on getting the refund, since the Cyan Sky Sect would be collecting it anyway.

He called over the Hotel Manager, handed him the Mansion Array Talisman, and asked him to return it on his behalf.

Then he said to Yu An, "I'm ready!"

"You have it easy. I'm the one who has to take a detour every time just to bring you Spirit Stones!"

Chen Dong replied nonchalantly, "Doesn't Cyan Sword Peak take the biggest cut? The whole Drunken Immortal Brew business is run in the name of Cyan Sword Peak and the Cyan Sky Sect. Besides, I'm just following Peak Master Zisang's orders. I wouldn't dare run off without her command!"

"What's wrong? Are you having regrets, Chen Xingzou?"

"No."

"Good. Martial Uncle Tian is from my Cyan Sword Peak. For a lucrative venture like this, who else would you turn to? However, I must warn you. Many disciples on Cyan Sword Peak are still unhappy with you. In their eyes, you're a fickle, heartless scoundrel. You'd best keep a low profile once we get to Lexian City."

"Huh?!!"

Chen Dong was stunned. Yu An's cool gaze told him she wasn't joking. 'She probably thinks the same way, too!'

'A man who could drive Tian Sisi to walk the Path of Extreme Emotion, and now he has another Dao Companion by his side... He's definitely not a good person!'

And it was true. In her heart, Yu An felt that Martial Uncle Tian had been terribly wronged. If not for her own calm disposition, and the fact that the Drunken Immortal Brew business brought considerable income to Cyan Sword Peak, she would have wanted to run Chen Dong through with her sword a couple of times herself.

This was also why Zisang Jin had given the task of liaising with Chen Dong to Yu An. Anyone else from Cyan Sword Peak probably would have started a fight with him by now.

Chen Dong and Murong Qing had nothing to prepare, and neither did Yu An. She had arrived early and already taken care of her affairs.

And so, the three of them left the hotel and headed for the city gates.

"Just the three of us?" Chen Dong asked.

He felt as if someone was watching him, but with so many Cultivators on the street, it was impossible to tell who it was.

"Juejian Peak is garrisoned here in Ningxian City. Why would Cyan Sword Peak need to send a bunch of disciples for no reason?"

'Well, we're leaving soon anyway,' Chen Dong thought, 'so there's no point in worrying about it. I'm probably just being paranoid after hearing the Demon Race might be making a move on me.'

The three of them left the city, and Yu An immediately took to the air.

He and Murong Qing followed. Chen Dong frowned and asked, "Don't we have a Flying Boat or something?"

Ningxian City and Lexian City were far from close. Flying under their own power like this would be exhausting.

Yu An said, "I didn't expect you to choose to stay with Master, so I didn't prepare one. Besides, Flying Boats are so expensive! They're flashy and impractical. Wouldn't it be better to spend those Spirit Stones on something else?"

That bad feeling hit Chen Dong again. "How about we go back and buy a Flying Boat?"

"Forget it. Your travel speeds are fast enough. We'll get there in about ten days!"

They were already on their way, so Chen Dong had no choice but to follow. He was starting to see that Yu An was incredibly frugal with her Spirit Stones. The storage pouches she gave him were always the lowest grade, and she herself wore no expensive accessories.

They flew for two days straight, and Chen Dong couldn't help but complain, "Why doesn't the sect repair the Teleportation Arrays?!"

Originally, there were Teleportation Arrays between the major cities of the Floating Shadow Realm. But after the Human Race lost the great war, they destroyed many of them to slow the Demon Race's advance. Even after the Guardian Array was raised, the Cyan Sky Sect had no intention of repairing them.

Yu An explained the reason. "We don't have enough materials. Void Nether Crystals, in particular, are far too scarce."