Demon Sword Sect’s Undercover
Chapter 686 - 686 685 Grouping Up to Head North

686: Chapter 685: Grouping Up to Head North 686: Chapter 685: Grouping Up to Head North Just a few days later, Bai Qingqian took care of everything concerning the Mirage; it wasn’t troublesome for a cultivator.

From start to finish, she never went to ask for news about Crown Daoist; she knew it was pointless to ask.

As Xiangfei Bamboo said, he might have already fed the fish and turtles.

Several days later, the well-prepared Bai Qingqian and Xiangfei Bamboo were led by Hou Niao to a small hill outside the city,

“There are others meeting with us, arranged by our senior brother?”

Hou Niao smiled, “There are some friends, you probably have met them before.”

The two women were very curious.

Xiangfei Bamboo’s imagination was wild, “Is it Crown Daoist’s group?

With sisters and all?”

Hou Niao chuckled, “Please, how could traveling with those people be enjoyable?

Didn’t you say they should’ve fed the fish and turtles?”

In the midst of their laughter, three figures approached from afar.

When they recognized it was the Yingtai trio, the two women were surprised, yet it also made sense.

Birds of a feather flock together, so it was not surprising that people like them would end up together.

Formalities and introductions were short.

Women had their own circles; men had their own topics of discussion.

They didn’t interfere with each other, which was quite pleasant.

The group of six took to the sky without using any floating rafts or vessels.

If they weren’t in a hurry and were simply flying for pleasure, it felt better to fly with their own bodies, to experience nature and extend their Divine Sense as far as possible.

The Yingtai trio had no specific destination, so they followed Hou Niao for the time being before dealing with their own personal matters.

“We will head south from here, first visiting my junior at the Taihao Sect, and then turn westward to the Kneecap Desert, which boasts one of the greatest achievements in recent human history, artificial afforestation; after that, we go north, where I have a winged child friend.

Brother Xiang, do you have any objections to this route?”

Xiang Anshi was enthusiastic and straightforward.

He never hid his intentions from like-minded friends,

“Very good, the general direction coincides with our objectives.

We don’t have any specific tasks this trip, mainly sightseeing, and along the way we’ll venture deep into the Yaoguang Mountain Range to find the Heavenly Lonely Star, Li Sicheng.

You know, both our Daoist lineages are isolated, we have some connections, but the distance is truly vast; one in the south and the other in the north, at the ends of the heavens, traveling is not easy.”

The Jinxiu Continent is vast and heavily populated.

The mainstream Daoist Sects, occupying the major part of the cultivation world of the continent, hold absolute dominance; however, in the remote and far-flung reaches of the continent, there are many medium and small Daoist Sects, and some don’t even have a country, just consisting of a temple, a mountain or a group of people.

Among these non-mainstream sects, the most famous and powerful, with significant influence, are the overseas Yingtai Immortal Mountain and Three Realms Mountain nestled deep in the Great Hundred Thousand Mountains of the extreme north.

One in the south and the other in the north, the cultivation world jokingly refers to Yingtai as the South Heavenly Gate and Three Realms Mountain as the Northern Heavenly Gate.

Such names reflect the strength of these Daoist Sects; it’s not as simple as just a group of people occupying an island or a mountain.

They have a heritage that goes back thousands of years, dating from the times when Jinxiu was flourishing with spiritual machinery.

Now, Hou Niao had encountered Xiang Anshi, the Constellation True Inheritor of Yingtai’s South Heavenly Gate, and the person Xiang Anshi wanted to meet was the Constellation True Inheritor of the Three Realms Mountain’s Northern Heavenly Gate, the Heavenly Lonely Star, Li Sicheng.

But when a cultivator reaches a certain level of strength, naturally, the circle they interact with rises with them.

Like Hou Niao, if not for that incident with Tang Yan of the Heavenly Kui Star, he wouldn’t have appeared at the Mirage Sea God Festival and wouldn’t have caught Xiang Anshi’s attention and recognition, which led to everything that followed.

Ordinary and exceptional began their different cultivation paths under the control of the Heavenly Dao, something Hou Niao had pursued tirelessly over the years.

If one does not want to settle for the status quo, they must climb higher and constantly keep climbing.

The South and North Heavenly Gates are worlds apart, and the distance is incredibly vast, but nothing can stop a cultivator’s steps.

To avoid isolation, to protect their interests in the face of great changes, and to avoid being excluded, it’s only natural for the South and North Heavenly Gates to draw closer.

They have always been in contact, albeit previously limited to the Nascent Transformation elders, but now it has extended to the cultivators of the Tongtian realm.

Both sides sensed something, thus the contact has become more frequent and closer.

Hence came Xiang Anshi’s journey.

According to him, Li Sicheng had visited Yingtai Immortal Island alone more than a decade ago.

As a matter of equal etiquette, he had to pay a return visit to deepen their understanding, and it also amounted to a comparison between the Constellation True Inheritors.

Traveling tens of thousands of miles was just the beginning.

The most important thing was the in-depth communication with the cultivators of the Three Realms Mountain, which could not be accomplished without demonstrating real abilities.

So, everyone’s direction was north, although Hou Niao would first make a slight detour to the west.

“That will be splendid; traveling this way, it seems we will have covered the entire continent’s Southwest, Northwest, Northern Territory, Northeast, and Southeast…”

Xiang Anshi spoke with profound meaning, “Yet, aside from the thriving Southeast which received but a brief visit, it seems Brother Hou is not too interested in the Southeast?”

Hou Niao kept a straight face, “It’s not that I’m not interested in them, but that they’re not interested in me.

Many Daoist Sects have banned me from their airspace, like Qi, Zhou, and Guo, and now, Wei Liao is added to the list.”

Xiang Anshi laughed heartily, “But the sea will never ban you, Brother Hou.

If you have the chance, I’ll wait for you in Yingtai.”

Hou Niao smiled, “I’ll definitely visit, but only after I’ve resolved my identity issue.”

The two shared a tacit smile, fully aware of the implications in his words.

It was no longer a matter for a True Disciple to resolve; becoming a Constellation True Inheritor was his ultimate goal.

The six of them traveled through mountains and waters, stopping wherever there were beautiful sceneries, historical cities, or famous landmarks.

Mostly, it was the four women who made these decisions.

Yingtai’s Nie Yingnan and Chen Zhaodi were visiting the continent for the first time after becoming artists, their memories still stuck in their childhood years, now blurred.

Xiangfei Bamboo wasn’t much better; she practiced ascetically on Bamboo Island year-round and stayed near the sea after returning to Mirage, never leaving the coastal areas.

Bai Qingqian was the most experienced among them, but her travels were nowhere near as extensive as those of Hou Niao.

Her journeys were mostly concentrated in the Anhe Dao Country, followed by coastal regions.

With the four of them joined together, their itinerary became endlessly prolonged.

Xiang Anshi had to admit that it was a mistake to bring two close junior sisters along,

“A misstep indeed.

At this rate, who knows when we’ll reach our destination?

Every city has its uniqueness, every place its scenery; they can eat from one end of a food street to the other, which must be the biggest perk for cultivators, right?”

Hou Niao consoled him, “Be content.

I bet there won’t be many more opportunities like this in the future to casually stroll through streets and sightsee…”