"This really is an ancient cultivation cave..." Zoe Shen picked up a piece of gray-black stone. With a squeeze of her hand, the stone crumbled, releasing a faint trace of spiritual energy.
Nora Xiu noticed it too. "Sister Zoe, these are spirit stones that have been here so long they've turned to clay..."
Zoe Shen nodded. "Yes, these spirit stones have been left out for too long, so they've turned to earth. There's still some spiritual energy in the soil."
"This is a teleportation array..." Nora Xiu walked to the edge of a hexagonal platform, touching the grooves as she spoke.
"What is teleportation?" Zoe Shen hadn't been cultivating long and still didn't understand many things.
Nora Xiu was different. Joe Di had left her with a portion of cultivation knowledge through his spiritual imprint, so she understood much more than Zoe Shen.
Nora Xiu explained, "I've heard that teleportation arrays are grand formations set up by array masters, using certain laws to create a space-transferring array..."
"A space-transferring array..." Zoe Shen murmured, feeling that it was almost unbelievable.
She had heard of array masters, but those who could set up teleportation arrays were simply astonishing.
"This teleportation array must lead to the Cultivation Realm." Nora Xiu's tone was calm. As long as she stayed with Joe Di, he would eventually take her away. So this teleportation array didn't matter much to her.
A thought stirred in Zoe Shen's heart. Nora Xiu would go with Joe Di, but she herself would not. After meeting Joe Di, she would return here alone and use the array to teleport to the Cultivation Realm.
Since she had chosen the path of cultivation, she would strive to become the strongest.
It was just like when she first chose to train in ancient martial arts—she eventually stood at the very peak, becoming the first to step into the Half-Dan Realm.
"Let's head out first," Zoe Shen said, her heart burning with excitement. She no longer wanted to stay here.
She wanted to greet Joe Di as soon as possible, then leave this place.
......
As Nora Xiu and Zoe Shen flew out of the Ural Mountains, in the Earth Alliance base at Kabe River Town, a gray-haired man was still roaring at Sahe, "I told you before, all you had to do was stall Zoe Shen. Why did you let her enter the Ural Mountains?"
Sahe had explained countless times, but his superior seemed completely unable to understand, and the roaring had never ceased.
"Useless, fool! We didn't bring Zoe Shen here to kill her, and even if we did, now's not the time." The gray-haired man cursed as he smashed his teacup down.
Failing to keep Zoe Shen here was not good for the development of the Ural Free Alliance. At the very least, their alliance couldn't replace the Earth Alliance's place in people's hearts.
......
Zoe Shen and Nora Xiu never returned to Kabe River Town. Although Zoe Shen could now fly on her sword, Kabe River Town was too far from the Lethe Mountains. After flying alone for a while, she still took Nora Xiu's ship back to Lethe Temple.
Zoe Shen was still exhilarated by the thrill of sword flight, while Nora Xiu's mood was gloomy. They had been gone for more than half a year, but Joe Di still hadn't returned.
"Nora, don't worry. Joe Di is much stronger than us. We made it back from the depths of the Ural Mountains, so Joe Di will be fine too." Zoe Shen quickly comforted Nora Xiu.
Originally, she had planned to meet Joe Di, then bid farewell to both him and Nora Xiu before heading to the Cultivation Realm herself. Now that Joe Di hadn't returned, Zoe Shen could only swallow her words and stay here with Nora Xiu.
......
As Zoe Shen kept Nora Xiu company in seclusion at Lethe Temple, the Earth Alliance grew increasingly lax.
No one knew that Zoe Shen was cultivating in seclusion at Lethe Temple. Rumor outside was that Zoe Shen, Mulin Te, and Wade had all perished in the Ural Mountains. Tang Xueshan and Rovik disappeared while hunting a fiend beast in the Amazon rainforest.
Of the Earth Alliance's Half-Dan experts, some disappeared, some died, and in the end, the Earth Alliance finally faded into the river of history.
With the Earth Alliance gone, all sorts of alliances and factions sprang up in its place. These new alliances no longer cared for Earth's safety; their only concern was their own development. Whether Earth lived or died, or how many human cities were destroyed, none of it mattered to them.
Back in the Earth Alliance's heyday, its word was law on Earth. When powerful fiend beasts appeared, the Earth Alliance would rally, and many experts would unite to fight the threat. But now, with so many alliances, none obeyed the others; everyone minded their own business.
Earth's martial artists and fiend beasts had fallen into chaotic, unorganized battles.
Yet no matter how fierce the fiend beasts or how scattered the martial artists, the area around Lethe Temple remained perfectly peaceful.
The grand array set up by Joe Di prevented even the strongest fiend beasts from approaching.
At that moment, a teenage boy and girl were rushing toward Lethe Temple, each carrying a first-rank fiend beast in their hand.
A young woman stepped out from the mists of Lethe Temple. She looked at the approaching boy and girl, her eyes full of affection. "Lethe, Autumn Waters, cultivation isn't just about fighting fiend beasts; you also need to train in seclusion. If you keep wandering the Lethe Mountains, there may not even be a single rabbit left here someday."
"Aunt Yu, we know! Where's my mom?" the boy said, sticking out his tongue.
Another, even younger girl came out from inside. Seeing the woman, she darted into her arms. "Mom, I heard there are lots of high-level fiend beasts in the Amazon. My brother and I want to go check it out. The Lethe Mountains are so boring—there's nothing worth fighting here."
The woman snorted. "No way. With your current cultivation, you want to go to the Amazon? Back then, even Senior Tang was so powerful and still disappeared in the Amazon."
The girl pouted, "Our cultivation isn't that low! My brother and I are both at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, just like Aunt Yu. Mom, you're only at the seventh level of Golden Core."
The young woman who forbade them was Nora Xiu. She was now at the seventh level of Golden Core, and the two teenagers were twins—her and Joe Di's children.
The elder was named Autumn Waters, the younger Lethe. Lethe's name commemorated Lethe Temple, but it also meant 'gazing through autumn waters.' Both were born with cosmic meridians, their talent utterly extraordinary and their comprehension unmatched. If Nora Xiu were better at teaching, both might have already reached Golden Core.
The young woman who came out first and kept Nora Xiu company was Zoe Shen.
No matter how good Zoe Shen's talent or how abundant her cultivation resources, she couldn't compare to Nora Xiu, whose meridians had been opened by Joe Di's Ninth Prime Law. Still, in just over ten years, Zoe Shen had reached the seventh level of Foundation Establishment—an impressive feat.
Seeing Nora Xiu frown, Zoe Shen spoke up, "Nora, you can't blame Lethe and Autumn Waters. You've probably noticed that the higher our cultivation on Earth, the slower our progress becomes. It's fine for us, but Lethe and Autumn Waters have exceptional talent. I suspect the reason they haven't reached Golden Core is because Earth's laws are too weak. It's much harder to advance here."
By now, Zoe Shen was no novice. Earth wasn't a cultivation planet, and reaching this level relied entirely on Nora Xiu's resources. In a true cultivation realm, with such resources, their progress would likely multiply.
Not only Zoe Shen, but Nora Xiu had thought of this too. She sighed, "Of course I know, but Big Brother still hasn't returned. I'm really worried about him."
She knew Zoe Shen wanted to use the teleportation array beneath the Ural Mountains to enter the Cultivation Realm, but she herself wanted to search the cosmos for Joe Di.
Joe Di had once said he would leave Earth to undergo tribulation. Now, so many years had passed and he still hadn't returned. She was starting to want to go search for him.
But she also knew, with her current strength, searching the void for Joe Di would be no different than courting death.
She trained diligently, but just as Zoe Shen had said, the higher their cultivation on Earth, the slower their progress became.
"Nora, how about this? Let's travel through all the major fiend beast regions on Earth and wipe out some of the stronger ones. It might take a year or two. If Joe Di still hasn't returned by then, we'll go to the Cultivation Realm." Zoe Shen suggested.
She felt she needed to break through Foundation Establishment and reach Golden Core quickly, or her cultivation speed would slow even further. It wasn't anything else—just that she was getting older.
Nora Xiu hesitated for a long moment, glanced at the expectant faces of Lethe and Autumn Waters, then sighed and nodded. "Alright, let's do that."
(That's all for today's update. Good night, friends!)