A month passed in the blink of an eye.
"Don't all look so glum. Once I'm settled over there, I'll come back to bring you all with me," Li Xuan said, forcing a smile as he looked at the crestfallen faces of Yue Fuyao and the others.
Li Xuan also felt a pang of sadness at parting, but he had no choice. He had to leave, for the sake of those around him and for himself.
"Brother Xuan, go forge ahead with peace of mind. We'll handle things here," Yue Fuyao said, stepping forward to embrace Li Xuan before speaking with resolve.
Li Xuan nodded at her words, then his gaze fell upon Zhou Wenjing and Liu Jiaqi. Seeing his attention, the two women also stepped forward and melted into his embrace.
"Li Xuan, aren't you going to see the children?" Yue Caixuan asked after a moment, looking at Li Xuan.
Li Xuan shook his head slightly and replied, "I've already seen them."
"Already seen them?" Yue Fuyao was taken aback. Li Xuan had been with them the entire time.
Li Xuan nodded with a smile. "While you were in seclusion, I went to see the three little ones. I must say, they make me proud. However, they were all undergoing trials, so I didn't reveal myself."
The others nodded in understanding, realizing there was no longer any regret.
"Alright, once I've established myself over there, I'll return to fetch you all," Li Xuan said, sweeping his gaze over everyone.
"Brother Xuan, take care of yourself," Yue Fuyao said. The other women shared her sentiment, understanding the reasons behind Li Xuan's departure. Their primary concern, however, was Li Xuan's safety.
"I will," Li Xuan replied. With a thought, an aura surged. The next moment, spiritual energy from heaven and earth poured in ceaselessly.
In an instant, he breached the void.
Accompanied by a cascade of multicolored light, Li Xuan vanished from his original spot.
"Has he left?" Li Zhouzheng, who had been meditating, simultaneously opened his eyes and murmured, gazing in the direction of the Cangmang Continent.
The next moment, Li Zhouzheng's figure flickered and disappeared. Everything around him vanished with him.
Li Zhouzheng vaguely recalled what the Heavenly Dao Brush had told him: to advance further, he had to tightly cling to Li Xuan. And all Li Zhouzheng could do was protect the people around Li Xuan.
Li Xuan's departure undoubtedly presented Li Zhouzheng with an opportunity.
Nanyang Continent, the Northern Territory.
Boom!
One day, with a roar, a fiery light descended from the sky. The boom could be clearly heard for tens of miles around.
"Xiao Qi, go take a look." A carriage halted, and as the curtain was pulled aside, a beautiful face appeared. Following the command of the woman in the carriage, the woman standing before it nodded and then streaked towards the source of the sound.
Soon, Xiao Qi returned. However, this time she was carrying a man.
"Still alive?" As Xiao Qi returned, the woman from the carriage also alighted. After glancing at the man on the ground, she asked Xiao Qi.
"Reporting to Miss, he's still breathing. However, this place is quite remote, and his appearance may not be a good omen," Xiao Qi replied with a nod.
The woman pondered for a moment, then said, "Since he's still breathing, have him moved to the carriage behind. Regardless, he's still one of us humans. If he dies, we'll bury him here."
"Yes," Xiao Qi acknowledged with a nod and then, carrying the man again, walked towards the rear.
"Let's continue. We must reach Fengya Ridge before dark," the woman said, withdrawing her gaze and giving the order.
Soon, the convoy resumed its journey.
As the sky gradually darkened, the convoy's speed increased. The expressions of the accompanying guards grew more serious, their gazes scanning their surroundings vigilantly. It was evident that the area had become more dangerous with the onset of night.
"Cough cough..." At this moment, a soft cough was heard from the rearmost carriage, but it was quickly drowned out by the rumbling of the wheels.
"Cough cough... Where am I?" The man slowly opened his eyes and muttered to himself as he scanned his surroundings.
"Damn it, Young Master, you're finally awake!" The next moment, a voice echoed in the man's mind.
This person was Li Xuan, who had ascended from the Cangmang Continent to the Four-Dimensional space.
Li Xuan tried to shake his head, but as he attempted to sit up, a sharp pain surged through him.
Hiss!
Li Xuan gasped, feeling as if his body was utterly useless for the first time in years.
"Little Brush, what's happening to me?" Li Xuan dared not move further and asked mentally.
"Young Master, this is due to your bad luck. You ascended without a guiding platform. Falling from such a height, even your robust physique couldn't withstand it. Fortunately, your body is strong; someone else would have been killed outright," the Heavenly Dao Brush explained.
Li Xuan blinked. Ascending required a guiding platform?
"Also, Young Master, this is partly my fault for not informing you beforehand. But it is rather strange; by all accounts, there should have been a guiding platform upon your ascension, which would have appeared nearby after you familiarized yourself with this realm," the Heavenly Dao Brush said sheepishly.
Li Xuan felt speechless but knew he couldn't entirely blame the Heavenly Dao Brush.
"The spiritual energy in this Four-Dimensional space doesn't seem much richer than in the Three-Dimensional space," Li Xuan observed, frowning slightly as he surveyed his surroundings.
"Young Master, you shouldn't assume everything in the Four-Dimensional space is superior to the Three-Dimensional. If I'm not mistaken, you've landed in the worst possible place," the Heavenly Dao Brush stated.
Li Xuan could only offer a wry smile. It seemed to be a case of 'when it rains, it pours.' However, even weak spiritual energy was better than none.
The next moment, Li Xuan endured the intense pain and sat down. After an internal examination, he felt a sense of helplessness. The fall had shattered the spiritual energy within him. Had he not followed the sword qi tempering from the inside out as instructed by the yellow-shirted woman, his internal organs would likely have been destroyed.
In such a scenario, Li Xuan would truly have been unable to survive.
Soon, Li Xuan extracted ten percent of the spiritual power from the Lingxi Sword Body. After circulating it through his body, the pain began to subside. Upon confirming there were no other issues, Li Xuan closed his eyes and began to absorb the spiritual energy from the surroundings.
Fifteen minutes later, Li Xuan had managed to recover only one percent of his spiritual power. He estimated that at this rate, it would take him at least a full day to regain his peak condition.
A day was not a long time for Li Xuan.
Just as Li Xuan was absorbing spiritual energy, a startled cry suddenly jolted him awake.
"Not good, enemy attack!"
...