Chapter 713: Re-entering Miaojiang

Chapter 713: Entering Miaojiang Again

It turned out that people's perception of Zhao Changhe was still slightly off from reality.

When no one was watching, the imagined horse-riding didn't happen either; he wasn't used to or fond of such outdoor activities.

He honestly flew halfway, let Wuzhui rest, and stopped at a town inn for a meal and a night's stay, booking a single room to sleep together—and indeed, he delivered his "public duty."

After all, Wuzhui wasn't a flying vehicle; it couldn't go anywhere on a whim. As a horse, it needed to eat and rest. While it rested, the humans had nothing to do, and doing what came naturally was only logical.

He thought it was just fulfilling an obligation, but once they started, Zhao Changhe truly felt it wasn't a duty at all—it was his own desire. The earlier listlessness had nothing to do with being an old married couple, bored with each other. Their emotions were still so fervent and unrestrained, longing to meld together.

What old married couple? This was clearly a reunion sweeter than a honeymoon, suppressed by all sorts of troubles until now, not even daring to express their passion openly.

That so-called listlessness was merely the weight of unspoken worries. Now that everything had settled, in this remote, nameless town inn, they finally let loose their longing for each other without restraint.

And then, Lady Yue met her tragic fate.

She had roamed the world alone, fought for half a year, and never collapsed into a limp mess even when wounded and exhausted. But this time, her eyes rolled back, and she lacked the strength to move even a finger.

Who knew who was the greatest enemy of a female warrior?

The most tragic part was that she dared not faint, even though she wanted to, because the unfamiliar martial insights transmitted through their dual cultivation filled her, a lifelong seeker of the martial path, with joy and craving. As she was being worked over, moaning involuntarily, she gritted her teeth to comprehend the knowledge he sent her—an indescribable sensation.

This fusion of dual cultivation, for a young couple journeying together, had a great benefit: it allowed both to fully perceive each other's current skills and cultivation status, enabling better coordination and planning for future battles. It was truly a partnership of two as one.

For instance, Yue Hongling had mentioned the remnant sunset sword intent left in others' bodies for future tracking—a technique she hadn't known before, and Zhao Changhe couldn't have known it in advance. Conversely, Yue Hongling knew Zhao Changhe could learn the residual shadow method from the Heavenly Book, but she couldn't know if he had mastered it yet. Their coordination had gaps.

Dual cultivation infinitely shortened the time needed to understand each other after a long separation; all that understanding was achieved in one session.

Moreover, Zhao Changhe's imagery proved useful to Yue Hongling.

In the far east, the sun rose before their eyes, climbed to the zenith, and spread morning clouds across the sky. The Spirit Clan had a similar imagery, but that was a false small world; here, it was real—the sun, moon, and clouds of this world, invaluable to Yue Hongling's sword intent.

In cultivation, Zhao Changhe now surpassed Yue Hongling. If in the past, dual cultivation had Yue Hongling supplying Zhao Changhe, now it was the reverse—he was nourishing her.

Just one session of dual cultivation, and Yue Hongling felt her cultivation had grown a notch, her sword intent undergoing a subtle transformation, equivalent to months of hard training.

"You really are..." Yue Hongling lay limp, her jade arms around his neck, feeling the lingering rhythm of his breathing on her body, and said weakly, "Sometimes I feel that being by your side is like being with fate itself..."

"If you'd felt that way earlier, would you have stopped running and just used me as your fate?" Zhao Changhe laughed.

At that moment, the female warrior sister was indeed holding onto him—not just with her arms around his neck, but with her legs still wrapped around his waist, refusing to let him pull out, whether for the last traces of pleasure or the lingering insights.

The strength in those waist and legs—if you hadn't experienced it, you couldn't imagine it. A weakling without cultivation would probably be crushed to death; she was truly a wild mare.

After all, she seemed to be the only one among his beauties who had trained in body forging, while the others focused on qi cultivation. Her Supreme Sword Body, now perceived through dual cultivation, was nearing perfection; the next step was just the flying sword immortal...

Yue Hongling's reply was equally fierce: "Should I have cut off your thing earlier and hung it on me as fate?"

Zhao Changhe couldn't help but laugh.

"Hmph." Yue Hongling trembled slightly, finally loosened her legs from his waist, and let them fall limply to the sides, bouncing gently.

After a few breaths, she said, "Our imageries have a sense of succession—did you feel it?"

Zhao Changhe nodded. He hadn't felt it before, but as his own imagery flowed toward the Milky Way, he increasingly sensed the connection from sunset to stars. After sunset came the stars.

In their relationship, it was entirely fitting to say Yue Hongling was his guide, and even in martial imagery, it was the same. Zhao Changhe didn't find it romantic; instead, it stirred a faint unease.

If all this was Blind's arrangement, it was too... divine.

And the imagery he ultimately sought transcended all this, as seen in the forging of the Galaxy Sword—the sun and moon were contained within the myriad stars, meaning Yue Hongling had become his wing? "What you must master is us, who master them."

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.

Was it that no matter how he walked, he could never escape the predetermined frame set by someone?

Zhao Changhe silently withdrew from their connection, pulled out the Heavenly Book, and wiped his gun—this, at least, couldn't be decided by you, could it?

Yue Hongling: "?"

Blind: "Zhao Changhe, you motherf*cker..."

...

Zhao Changhe ignored Blind's fury. If she had the guts, she could hit him.

The couple rested for the night, rose at dawn, and continued flying. By late morning, they arrived over Dali. The pressure from the Northern Frontier and the Li family weighed heavily on their minds; they truly had no leisure for sightseeing.

Though it was the twelfth lunar month, Dali wasn't too cold—not just compared to the northern scenery, but even warmer than the Central Plains. Watching the changes in people's clothing along the way, Zhao Changhe was fortunate to experience the transition from winter to spring within two or three days.

What was more striking was that Dali's previous chaos was no less than the Central Plains—lust for power, private schemes, foul stench, various tribes standing in conflict, bureaucratic and chieftain oppression, sharp ethnic divisions. Apart from a few market towns with some bustle, the area around Erhai Lake was war-torn and desolate.

Now, looking down from above, the grasslands around Erhai were dotted with herds of cattle and sheep, shepherds singing; fishing boats drifted leisurely on the lake, their songs harmonizing.

Further away, Dali city was bustling with people. Closer, Taoyuan Town had grown into a major hub second only to Dali around Erhai, its population exploding beyond the capacity of the valley town.

The once chaotic Miaojiang had truly become a paradise.

Yue Hongling looked down at the peaceful scene below, sighed deeply, and murmured, "It wasn't in vain that we fought for our lives back then... It seems Sisi has done really well."

Zhao Changhe frowned, saying nothing.

Yue Hongling asked curiously, "What are you thinking? Is there something wrong?"

Zhao Changhe said, "No flaws... but maybe I'm overthinking. In this era of gods and demons emerging, chaos has sprung up everywhere, especially with some delighting in pure disorder. I don't think they would let Miaojiang off without reason."

Yue Hongling paused, then said softly, "You have a point."

Zhao Changhe continued, "Especially since Sisi's cultivation isn't high. After Lei Zhentang's death, Miaojiang didn't even have a single Earth List expert. In theory, it's the easiest place to invade. It's remote, and its chaos wouldn't directly affect the world's situation, so it's understandable if it wasn't the first target, but there's no way it would be completely ignored. Such peace now... either it hasn't started yet, or it's already underway."