45: How could it be him?

【Seventh year, your group of four arrived at the Great Zhou Dynasty's capital.】

【However, after entering the capital, you, Gu Xinyue, and Ye Chuxue still had very solemn expressions.】

【On the way to the Great Zhou Dynasty's capital, you heard some very bad news.】

【You didn't expect that the matter of slaying the Sect Masters of the Three Great Sects in Qingzhou had already spread to Middle Province.】

【Moreover, everyone in Middle Province now knew that someone from the Demonic Path had come to Middle Province, and the highest Cultivator among them was at the Void Refining Realm.】

【In the eyes of these mundane world and lower-level Cultivators, you were Devil Heads who killed without batting an eye.】

【However, what counted as good news for you was that the major forces in Middle Province didn't seem to care much about you.】

【The inspections in each city were just a formality, as if in their eyes, a Void Refining Cultivator couldn't cause any waves.】

【Coupled with the fact that you had completely changed your appearance, you basically wouldn't be exposed without using specialized Spiritual Artifacts.】

【Thus, you settled down in the Great Zhou Dynasty's capital.】

【Eighth year, one year after arriving in the Great Zhou Dynasty, you had completely familiarized yourselves with the capital's environment. Your current identities were Loose Cultivator Alchemists.】

【You and Gu Xinyue, relying on your Alchemist identities, gradually gained some connections.】

【During this year, you were openly selling Alchemy products, but in reality, you were inquiring about Zhou Lingxi's situation.】

【You planned to leave the Great Zhou Dynasty directly after finding Zhou Lingxi.】

【The Middle Province South Region was still too close to Qingzhou, and with Zhou Lingxi around, you always felt very insecure.】

【Two and a half years later, you finally heard news about Zhou Lingxi.】

【On this day, everyone in the entire Great Zhou Dynasty knew a piece of gossip: on the Great Zhou Emperor's birthday, the Ninth Princess stole Spirit Medicine given to the Zhou Emperor by his ministers and was ultimately punished with three years of confinement.】

【Ye Chuxue and Wei Qing were both very confused after hearing this gossip.】

【"Su Ming, is this Ninth Princess who was confined the person you've been waiting for?"】

【Ye Chuxue had heard you mention over the past few years that you would leave the Great Zhou Dynasty once a princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty appeared.】

【After waiting for several years without news, she now heard this and found that this Ninth Princess was completely different from what she had imagined.】

【Wei Qing, who was beside her, also looked puzzled.】

【"Does she, the dignified Ninth Princess of the Great Zhou Dynasty, still need to steal Spirit Medicine? Doesn't she have everything she wants?"】

【You listened to their remarks and didn't explain anything. The Great Zhou Dynasty's imperial family had never publicly announced that Zhou Lingxi was without a Spiritual Root.】

【For the imperial family, having a useless person was a stain on their reputation.】

【However, only you knew that Zhou Lingxi was not useless, but an Immortal Eyes possessor.】

【The reason she did this was also to escape the imperial family, to escape the Great Zhou Dynasty.】

【Now that you had news of Zhou Lingxi, you decided to try a bold idea.】

【When you told Ye Chuxue and Wei Qing your idea, both of them were stunned speechless.】

【"What? You're going to the Imperial Palace?"】

【"Going to the Imperial Palace is one thing, but you're also going to abduct someone?"】

【You knew they didn't want you to take risks, but you couldn't keep waiting here for Zhou Lingxi to escape on her own.】

【Because in about ten years, the things inside the Blood Demon Secret Realm would come out, and more importantly, you didn't know how that Mahayana Cultivator had found you.】

【This time, you decided not to return to Youzhou, to see if you could avoid this calamity.】

【"Don't worry, I know the Great Void Art. I only need to know a detailed map of the Imperial Palace to return safely."】

【Hearing you say this, the two of them felt a slight sense of relief.】

【The next day, you went to the black market street and bought a map of the Imperial Palace. It detailed who lived in each palace.】

【The Imperial Palace was basically inhabited by underage princes and princesses, with Zhou Lingxi being the only exception.】

【After finding the palace where the Ninth Princess resided, you nodded in satisfaction and returned to your small courtyard.】

【At night, you glanced in the direction of the Imperial Palace.】

【The next second, your figure disappeared from the small courtyard, and a purple Void Gate appeared above the Great Zhou Dynasty's Imperial Palace.】

【You stood in the air, overlooking the Imperial Palace. After locking onto the location, you dared not linger, otherwise, you would easily be discovered.】

【Two breaths later, your figure appeared in front of the Ninth Princess's palace.】

【Looking at the two Early Stage Soul Transformation guards outside the palace, you didn't plan to engage them, but instead used the Great Void Art to directly sneak into the room.】

【Inside the room, Zhou Lingxi was curled up on the wooden bed, hugging her legs. When she noticed something abnormal, she looked up with lifeless eyes at you, who had emerged from the Void Realm.】

【Zhou Lingxi stared intently at you, her eyes changing from lifeless to shocked, and then filled with hope.】

【"You..."】

【Zhou Lingxi was about to say something, but you ruthlessly interrupted her, motioning for her to follow you.】

【With her Immortal Eyes, she could naturally see that you were different from the people in the Imperial Palace; you were a true Human Race member, so she trusted you one hundred percent.】

【Soon after, you brought Zhou Lingxi to the small courtyard in the capital.】

【In the small courtyard, Gu Xinyue and the other two had been waiting for your return, fearing that something might have happened to you.】

【After returning, you didn't have time to explain anything to them. You had to leave the Great Zhou Dynasty's capital as quickly as possible, otherwise, it would be difficult to leave once the imperial family discovered what happened.】

【At this moment, Zhou Lingxi, who was behind you, showed an incredulous look on her face when she saw Gu Xinyue and the other two.】

【She had never seen normal humans above the Foundation Establishment Realm in her life, and today she suddenly saw four of them.】

【Before dawn, your group of five left the capital's vicinity.】

【According to Wei Qing, as long as you headed north, you would reach the Great Qian Imperial Dynasty's sphere of influence.】

【The Middle Province South Region was constantly embroiled in conflict, with various Imperial Dynasties competing against each other.】

【The Great Qian Imperial Dynasty and the Great Zhou Dynasty were sworn enemies, so fleeing there was the safest option for you.】

【Three months later, you arrived in the Great Qian Imperial Dynasty's sphere of influence and settled down in a random city.】

【After three years of stability in Feilong City, all of your cultivation had improved.】

【Zhou Lingxi successfully achieved a Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, Ye Chuxue reached Core Formation Great Perfection, and although you and Gu Xinyue didn't achieve a Breakthrough, your cultivation became even more profound.】

【You were still somewhat dissatisfied with this cultivation speed.】

【The disparity in Spiritual Root made it difficult for you to Cultivate, even with the aid of your talent.】

On this day, you were Cultivating in the courtyard as usual, when Zhou Lingxi, who was beside you, spoke to you.

"Brother Su Ming, there's a Human Race member in the sky too!"

【You frowned upon hearing this and looked up at the sky.】

【As soon as you clearly saw the person, you felt as if struck by lightning, and all the hairs on your body stood on end.】

【"How could it be him?"】

...