The Path of Cultivation is Long, and This Way is Lonely

With the conflict resolved, everyone could sit down and talk at leisure.

Chen Xia explained his plan to return to the Blue Sky Sword Sea to Li Yang. Li Yue stood nearby with her arms crossed, listening excitedly and chiming in.

"When the Fourteen Sons of Vast Sky gather, the Blue Sky Sword Sea will be the most powerful force in this star realm. With several saints working together, won't we be able to walk sideways through the star realm?"

"That's indeed the case," Chen Xia nodded, then curiously asked Li Yue, "But what does that have to do with you?"

Li Yue rolled her eyes, "My aunt will be the future Grand Elder of the Blue Sky Sword Sea, second only to you. Of course, I can benefit from that."

"Hey, that's not how it works. I, the Grand Consultant, haven't spoken yet. I should be counted as one of the top people too," Emperor Capital suddenly interjected.

"Haha, let me introduce myself, I'm the Grand Steward," Qiu Li also laughed.

"Grand General," Chi Yu spoke briefly.

Li Yue was stunned.

It turned out there were four people right below Chen Xia.

She gave Chen Xia a long look and said, "In that case, my Li Family won't have much benefit after all."

"Isn't being under the protection of the future Blue Sky Sword Sea a benefit?" Chen Xia retorted.

"Uh, I guess it counts for something," Li Yue rolled her eyes again.

The process of returning to the Blue Sky Sword Sea wasn't particularly difficult, divided into three stages.

First, gather all the cultivators of the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

Second, wait for Chen Xia to recover.

Third, return.

Simple, right?

So Li Yang quickly understood and saw no problems with it. It was just a matter of standing in the Blue Sky Sword Sea, not a big deal.

Then the six of them started staring at each other.

"How about a couple games of chess?" Chen Xia suddenly asked.

No one responded. Emperor Capital and Qiu Li didn't want to suffer, while Chi Yu and Li Yang didn't know how to play.

"Sure, sure," only Li Yue nodded in agreement.

So it turned into four people watching two terrible chess players play.

It was indeed engrossing.

There was a stimulating feeling of wanting to curse but not daring to.

Emperor Capital's face even turned red from holding back, breathing heavily.

"What's wrong with you?" Chen Xia asked curiously.

"Nothing, just feeling shy," Emperor Capital replied.

Chen Xia's hand holding the chess piece paused, unable to understand Emperor Capital's extraordinary thoughts, and continued playing.

One game took half a day, with Chen Xia taking back moves ninety-three times, but it was still okay, at least he didn't cheat.

Li Yue rested her head on one hand. She didn't really know how to play chess either, but she was smart enough to learn as she played.

The problem was that she was learning from Chen Xia's style, so the more she played, the stranger it became.

This approach seemed a bit off, didn't it?

That's why they could play for half a day.

When the game finally ended, Chen Xia stood up, patted his blue robe, and said to Li Yang,

"We'll be at Chi Yu's ancestral star. If you want to come now, come with us. Otherwise, come by yourself later."

"I'll come later. I still need to go back and handle the Li Family's affairs," Li Yang replied.

"Alright."

The six of them agreed, and the team grew stronger with one more member.

Chen Xia and the others returned to the ancestral star, waiting in the small house.

During their brief absence, a minor event had occurred on the ancestral star.

The White Jade Sect publicly challenged one of the Three Mountains, the Mysterious Gate Mountain, to advance through combat.

This was the rule for sects to advance.

Mysterious Gate Mountain wasn't afraid, so they accepted. They would select five cultivators with the highest realm in the sect to participate in the battle. The rules were based on wins only, so not all five cultivators had to fight.

For example, a clean sweep of five wins would suffice.

The White Jade Ancestor and Emperor Zhou specifically discussed the order of appearance, finally deciding to put Emperor Zhou in the final position, saying,

"Mysterious Gate Mountain might not know of your existence. You being the final player is excellent from any perspective."

"I've pondered this countless times. The strength difference between White Jade Sect and Mysterious Gate Mountain is just you. As long as you win the final match, White Jade Sect will become White Jade Mountain!"

Emperor Zhou chuckled, "It shouldn't be a big problem, but you've only given half the deposit. Shouldn't the other half be paid now?"

"After the battle, regardless of the outcome, it will be given to you," the White Jade Ancestor said solemnly.

"I'll trust you for now. If you have any intention of cheating or tricking me, your entire White Jade Sect might not be safe. The big shot behind me is beyond your imagination," Emperor Zhou threatened in a low voice.

The White Jade Ancestor didn't respond. By now, most of the major sects in the star realm knew that Emperor Zhou had a powerful backer.

But who it was exactly remained uncertain.

First, they could rule out the Saint of Emperor Capital, because Emperor Zhou was previously a cultivator under the Saint of Emperor Capital. Now that he suddenly claimed to have a powerful backer, it naturally couldn't be Emperor Capital.

And since Emperor Zhou dared to say this, it must be someone even more powerful than Emperor Capital.

Otherwise, changing allegiances would be a capital offense, and Emperor Capital would crush him with one hand.

The fact that Emperor Zhou was still alive further verified the truth of the matter. Emperor Zhou had also revealed a bit about this powerful figure, once sighing,

"That level of circle, I'm afraid I'll never be able to touch it. Even in the star realm, only a handful of top cultivators can touch it. Being a Saint is the threshold to enter this circle."

Such a statement was worth its weight in gold.

The White Jade Ancestor was even more fearless now. Since Emperor Zhou's backer was so terrifying, he could act boldly. He had just received news that the Red Saint was away on a journey, so he could act even more freely.

The battle between White Jade Sect and Mysterious Gate Mountain was set for the ninth day of the month.

As soon as the news spread, it caused a stir among the major sects of the ancestral star. They all came to watch, planning to join in on the excitement.

Bai Lu stood outside his cave dwelling, also hearing this news. While his fellow disciples were excited, he couldn't feel happy.

He always felt a barrier between himself and the White Jade Sect, like there was a wall separating him from his fellow disciples and elders.

His childhood friend Hao Lin had sought him out a few times, always with a smile, talking about their childhood days and how close they were back in their hometown.

But he only ever talked about their hometown, nothing about the present.

Bai Lu just listened, occasionally agreeing.

"Oh, by the way, Yun Jun and I are planning to become Dao partners in September. Will you come?" Hao Lin suddenly asked, his smile hiding a hint of triumph.

Bai Lu was stunned. He turned his head and after a while, softly said,

"No need."

"Are you sure you won't come?"

"Mm," Bai Lu's words were few, even fewer than before.

After that, Hao Lin never came again. Bai Lu only vaguely heard about him and Yu Jun becoming Dao partners.

Thinking about it, the two were indeed suitable for each other. They came from the same hometown, entered the sect together, cultivated together, and finally becoming Dao partners was to be expected.

Bai Lu didn't like Yu Jun, he just couldn't understand.

On this path of cultivation, why is it that as he walked...

He ended up alone?