"Guan Li is not a good person."
Before returning to their rooms, Ji Buwang stopped and said to Xu Yi.
Ji Buwang stood in the darkness, his brows furrowed, his slightly raised forehead indicating his inner turmoil.
The thought of Guan Li accompanying them to the Nine Continents Continent and then joining the Xuanji Sect made Ji Buwang restless.
The Xuanji Sect had strict rules, a result of centuries of rigorous requirements. Ji Buwang couldn't predict, and therefore could hardly accept, the impact Guan Li's joining would have on the sect.
Xu Yi looked at Ji Buwang intently, then suddenly smiled, "Ji Buwang, I think you've been with Bai Shan for too long and have been influenced by him."
Ji Buwang paused slightly.
"We agreed to bring Guan Li back and teach him the methods of cultivation, but that doesn't mean he has to join the Xuanji Sect. We only need to be a guide, allowing him to touch the threshold of cultivation. The rest depends on his own destiny."
How could Xu Yi not see Ji Buwang's hidden worries? It was precisely because of this that she found it amusing.
Who said that by bringing Guan Li back, they had to be responsible for the rest of his journey? They only needed to fulfill their previous promise.
Ji Buwang's old face flushed, a faint blush, imperceptible to the naked eye, creeping up behind his ears.
He nodded vaguely at Xu Yi and quickly returned to his room, closing the door.
Once Xu Yi's view was completely blocked, a rare hint of regret and annoyance flashed in his eyes.
That's right, he must have been influenced by Bai Shan, to the point of not understanding such a simple truth.
And to have acted foolishly in front of Xu Yi...
Ji Buwang closed his eyes and took a deep breath, wishing he could use the law of time reincarnation to erase the scene just now.
However, with his spiritual power alone, he could not use the law of time reincarnation, so he could only shut himself in his room and sulk alone.
Xu Yi blinked at Ji Buwang's retreating back, let out a light laugh, and leisurely returned to her room.
The next day, as the sky brightened, Xu Yi and Ji Buwang almost simultaneously stepped out of their rooms, and Guan Li had already been waiting outside for a long time.
He had changed into casual clothing, carried a travel bag, and a smile completely different from the previous night graced his lips, his demeanor respectful yet maintaining a distance.
Xu Yi sighed inwardly. Guan Li was adaptable; if his spiritual roots were excellent, he would surely achieve great things in the future.
"Two immortal elders, I have already settled all my sect affairs and can depart at any time."
Guan Li was unaware that Xu Yi and Ji Buwang had seen everything that happened last night. However, he had acutely sensed that Ji Buwang's gaze towards him was even colder than the day before. He quickly reminded himself in his heart to lower his attitude further and absolutely not provoke the two of them.
"We depart immediately."
"Yes!"
Xu Yi and Ji Buwang stayed in the royal city for a brief day before embarking on the road to Green Sea.
Green Sea was actually a vast forest located north of the Beast King Continent.
It was named Green Sea due to its continuous verdant landscape.
Legend had it that the Beast King was born in Green Sea, and even now, tribes with the Beast King's bloodline still lived in Green Sea.
However, Guan Li scoffed at this notion.
"Descendants of the Beast King? They're just a group of uncivilized barbarians. They never interact with outsiders, nor do they leave Green Sea. From birth to death, they guard that land. Pitiful."
These were Guan Li's inner thoughts, which he did not voice due to his uncertainty about Xu Yi's and the other's temperaments.
But the disdain deep in his eyes was genuine.
Seeing this, Xu Yi thought inwardly that the influence of the Earth Tribe's ancestors on their descendants seemed to be profound.
No, it should be said that the influence of the Four Symbols elder on the Earth Tribe was profound.
The tribes she had encountered before regarded the Beast King as an eternal belief and did not treat people from other tribes maliciously.
They were like devout believers, accepting ancient traditions and adhering to unchanging rules.
In contrast, Guan Li was a rebel who defied tradition and broke rules.
No wonder the ancestors of the Earth Tribe were called apostates by their people.
The source of all this was the Four Symbols elder, and the different beliefs he instilled in the people of the Earth Tribe.
Xu Yi could not judge whether the actions of the Four Symbols elder were right or wrong, so whenever she heard Guan Li mention the elder, she listened attentively but remained exceptionally silent.
Green Sea was thousands of miles away from the royal city.
With Xu Yi and Ji Buwang's travel capabilities, they could reach it in less than five days, but because of Guan Li, the journey was doubled.
By the time the three arrived at Green Sea, even Xu Yi's mood had become somewhat urgent.
She was still concerned about the Soul Dissolving Bell in the West Water Domain. She wondered if the secret realm in the West Water Domain had opened while they were confined here, and if they could reach it before the secret realm closed.
"Two immortal elders, according to the ancestral records, when the Four Symbols immortal entered Green Sea, he disappeared in the deepest part of Green Sea. The method to return to the Nine Continents Continent must be there."
Guan Li showed no signs of fatigue from the journey; there was even a hint of excitement on his face.
He knew he was one step closer to his goal.
The three, like inconspicuous pebbles, vanished into Green Sea in the blink of an eye.
...
"Coo coo."
"Coo coo coo!"
Rustle—
As the bird calls ended, several figures emerged from their hiding places.
The quiet, deserted forest suddenly gained a more vibrant atmosphere.
"Leader, everyone is here."
"Mm, let's take the prey and head back."
The man called leader looked up at the sky and replied loudly.
"Oh, oh!"
Cheers immediately erupted from the surroundings.
A group of people dragged out their hidden prey from various locations, forming two columns, and quickly traversed the forest.
They carried prey several times larger than themselves, yet they could move swiftly and surely on steep mountain terrain, like monkeys on level ground.
Half an hour later, a settlement hidden in the forest gradually appeared before them.
The tribal members on watch in the distance also spotted their movements and blew their wooden whistles forcefully.
Whee!
The piercing sound of the wooden whistle roused all the tribal members still in their wooden houses.
They stood by the watchtowers at the edge of the tribe, waiting for the return of the warriors who had gone hunting.
Among them, an elderly woman, extremely frail, with two white braided pigtails reaching her knees, was particularly eye-catching.
She walked with a tremble, yet her posture was exceptionally upright. Her eyes were not cloudy like those of ordinary elders, but bright like mountain springs.
She stood at the very front of the welcoming party, her face filled with a loving smile.
"Witch, we're back."
The leader of the Li Tribe saw the old woman and quickly hurried forward, casually throwing the prey on his shoulder to the ground, preparing to help her.
The aged witch waved her hand gently, refusing his assistance.
"Bring the prey back first, the children are waiting impatiently."
At the rear of the group, there were four or five young children, only reaching their knees, clinging tightly to their mothers' arms, their eyes constantly looking outward, searching for their fathers' figures.
"Alright."
The leader laughed heartily, shouldered the prey, and led the way into the tribe.