Jiang Ke’er was very melancholy. Things weren’t developing in the direction she had hoped; on the contrary, they were completely the opposite.
Qiao Xiaoxian seemed to have turned dark. She began to ignore Jiang Ke’er’s protests, forcibly keeping her close and watching her every moment.
Jiang Ke’er felt restless.
“What you’re doing is wrong…” Jiang Ke’er appealed to her emotions and reason.
“If it’s wrong, then it’s wrong.” Qiao Xiaoxian had an attitude that no matter what Jiang Ke’er said, she wasn’t going to let her run away.
“Ring ring ring~” Jiang Ke’er’s communicator rang.
After answering, Jiang Ke’er looked as if she had found a lifesaver.
“Shifu? Is there something you need?”
[I heard from General Li that you went to Beiju Luzhou. A strange secret realm has recently opened there. You might be interested in checking it out.]
Jiang Ke’er was slightly stunned. Just when Qiao Xiaoxian thought she would take the chance to find an excuse to escape, Jiang Ke’er shook her head.
“I’m not going.”
[Hmm? That’s not like you,] Yiqin said in surprise.
[The Ancestor Master said that secret realm might be related to your two swords and would be greatly beneficial for improving your strength…]
“I’m not going. Let the Ancestor Master explore it himself.” Jiang Ke’er shook her head firmly.
“Thank you, Shifu, for telling me this, but I have some things to take care of right now and can’t get away.”
[What things?]
“Let’s not talk about it. By the way, Shifu, have you stocked up on Ban Lan Gen?” Jiang Ke’er forcibly changed the subject.
[I’ve kept a lot.]
“That’s good.”
After a few more casual pleasantries, Jiang Ke’er ended the communication.
“Why aren’t you going?” Qiao Xiaoxian didn’t understand either.
“I just don’t want to.” Jiang Ke’er had an indifferent attitude.
Qiao Xiaoxian frowned and stared at her. “You’re hiding something.”
“…”
Jiang Ke’er didn’t bother to reply, seeming a bit listless.
This kind of cold-war atmosphere continued, day and night. Jiang Ke’er’s words suddenly became few. She no longer expressed protest to Qiao Xiaoxian, nor did she seize on Qiao Xiaoxian’s weak points to mock her.
Qiao Xiaoxian understood. This time, Jiang Ke’er was serious. She really was going to shake her off—this was a decision that was hard to reverse.
*
Another sunrise and sunset. Three consecutive days of coldness made both girls uncomfortable. But Jiang Ke’er was unusually persistent this time.
“Time to set off,” Jiang Ke’er stood up on her own and looked toward the sky.
According to the agreement, soon Jiangdu City would open the Celestial Monitoring Instrument to receive the Dragonkind and willing demon tribes.
Even though it was the day her long-cherished wish was fulfilled, seeing the joy and anticipation on her people’s faces, Qiao Xiaoxian’s smile was forced.
Rumble—
Accompanied by several thunderclaps, clouds appeared from nowhere in the clear sky. The clouds parted, revealing the appearance of another world.
It was a rich and warm place. Standing in the snow, all the dragons seemed to hear birdsong and smell the fragrance of flowers from that side.
Two lines of tears rolled down Lao Long’s face and froze into ice chips on the ground. He hadn’t even dared to dream that he could live in such a place before dying.
What his eyes saw was no longer the barren frozen wasteland of ten thousand miles, but a place with brilliant purples and reds, with four seasons, with spring warmth and blossoms—a place where he could stand, fly, and breathe freely!
They couldn’t wait any longer.
“Don’t rush,” Jiang Ke’er flew into the air to stop the dragons.
“If I were Yu Wenhua Ji, in a situation where I couldn’t defeat my opponent, I would find a way to tamper with the Celestial Monitoring Instrument.” Jiang Ke’er said solemnly, “Be careful, don’t rush in… Better safe than sorry.”
Jiang Ke’er took out a Magic Crystal and flew to the entrance of the Space Channel. Lifting her hand, she threw the crystal inside.
Zzz—
Everything was fine before crossing the channel, but just as the crystal was about to land on the other side, the scene at the landing point suddenly changed! The other end of the teleportation channel abruptly shifted from Jiangdu City to another expanse of white frozen land.
“Watch out!”
At the same time, a terrifying suction force came from inside the space channel! With nothing to hold onto in midair, Jiang Ke’er was pulled in almost instantly.
Without a word, Qiao Xiaoxian turned into a flash of light and grabbed Jiang Ke’er’s hand.
Thwang—
With the explosive sound of a mechanism springing, a Sleeve Arrow shot against the suction force toward the ground.
Qiao Xiaoxian quickly changed the Sleeve Arrow mechanism to Jiang Ke’er’s wrist and called out, “Projection!”
A distorted force came from the Sleeve Arrow wristband, trying to teleport Jiang Ke’er to the arrow’s location.
But the surrounding space was chaotic, and Jiang Ke’er could hardly break free from the suction force!
Zzz—
A soft sound.
Because she had given the Sleeve Arrow to Jiang Ke’er, Qiao Xiaoxian’s figure was caught by the suction force and disappeared into the space channel.
Jiang Ke’er’s heart suddenly panicked for no reason.
The projection’s teleportation force conflicted with the chaotic space rules of the Celestial Monitoring Instrument, and it crackled around Jiang Ke’er.
She felt she could be twisted into a pretzel at any moment. In the end, the suction force won, and Jiang Ke’er’s body uncontrollably entered the Celestial Monitoring Instrument’s channel.
At the moment she was sucked in, a feeling of… relief welled up from the bottom of her heart?
Bang—
Before she could think more, her body slammed heavily onto the ground.
She opened her eyes, and a pitch-black barrier light curtain immediately filled her vision, making her heart sink to the bottom of a valley.
It really was an ambush. Who could it be, and how could they control the Celestial Monitoring Instrument?
“Stinky Dragon!”
Jiang Ke’er shouted loudly, frantically checking her surroundings.
All around was a white snowfield and wilderness. Apart from the barrier light curtain, there was no sign of Qiao Xiaoxian.
Wait, a barrier?
Jiang Ke’er trotted to the edge of the barrier. Sure enough, through the light curtain, she saw Qiao Xiaoxian searching around on the other side.
It seemed the projection spell’s teleportation force had disrupted the landing point of the Celestial Monitoring Instrument, causing her and Qiao Xiaoxian to appear in different places.
Bang bang bang.
Jiang Ke’er picked something up and smashed it against the barrier wall.
Qiao Xiaoxian quickly noticed Jiang Ke’er and rushed to the edge of the barrier.
“I’ll come rescue you right away.” Qiao Xiaoxian frowned, seeming very flustered. “Don’t be afraid, I’ll think of something…”
Seeing the other’s anxious expression, Jiang Ke’er’s heart ached.
“Silly! Look carefully! It’s you who’s inside!” Jiang Ke’er gritted her teeth. “Why are you still thinking about me at a time like this!”
Qiao Xiaoxian was briefly stunned, then her whole body relaxed.
“You’re not in the barrier… that’s good…”
“Good my ass!”
An inexplicable anxiety made Jiang Ke’er restless. She hacked and slashed, using every skill she had to bombard the barrier before her.
The barrier didn’t budge.
Jiang Ke’er noticed the surroundings looked somewhat familiar. This place was exactly the border area between Beiju Luzhou and the Kingdom of Dasi.
Passing cultivators were walking nearby, and they too were stunned by the sudden enormous barrier.
The barrier was completely endless. News kept coming from the Communication Stone: someone saw the barrier in the southwest corner of Beiju Luzhou; someone saw it from the due south; someone from the middle and due west as well…
This barrier had actually enclosed most of Beiju Luzhou!
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