Who let him join the Sword Sect!

Chapter 453 Junior Sister's Expired Snacks and Zhang Ze's Black Car
The train carriages on the trial route were empty, with little furnishing inside.

The only interesting thing about the train carriages was probably the 'windows'.

One side is made of a special transparent material, and through the 'window' you can see the real-time scene outside when the ley line is being transmitted.

Zhang Ze felt that those light streaks were somewhat similar to those in Interstellar Travel, and they were really dizzying to look at.

On the other side of the carriage, there were no 'windows'.

Instead, a crystal screen was installed, playing on a loop advertisements for medicines that could cure dizziness, infertility, and lower back pain.

[Kidney Tonic, tastes amazing!]

All I can say is that Lily is incredibly resourceful when it comes to making money.

The carriage was quiet. Because he was a little bored, he started talking to his junior sister about the middle finger incident.

Xiangxiang wasn't in the carriage; what he carried in his pocket was Xiangxiang's projection terminal. Xiangxiang's physical body was currently offline due to poor signal during transmission.

The junior sister sat on the bench opposite, listening to Zhang Ze speak while her hands were fiddling with something in her sleeves.

……

Zhang Ze: "That's the truth, we're going to the west on important business..."

Junior sister, "So you really didn't elope, huh? Tsk tsk tsk."

It's unclear what she was thinking before, but after Zhang Ze explained things, she looked disappointed.

Zhang Ze, "..."

Junior sister, "Never mind, it was my fault. As an apology, I'll give you a treasure."

As she spoke, she pulled the thing she had been rubbing at the beginning out of her sleeve.

Junior sister, "Here, I saw that you looked tired from holding that pose for so long, so I made you a glove."

A golden, pure gold hand, hollow inside which was a cover, was making the same middle finger gesture as Zhang Ze.

Its size was exactly one size larger than Zhang Ze's hand.

Zhang Ze: "Will I not be tired if I wear this?"

Junior Sister, "No, what I mean is, you can't move your hand if you wear this, so that even if something happens, Ah Li won't get lost."

Before Zhang Ze could object, his junior sister put the cheat device on him.

"Without Ah Li, all those near-expiry snacks that my sisters sent would be wasted."

Junior Sister was genuinely worried about Ah Li.

"Approaching the due date?" Zhang Ze was taken aback.

Chen Qin's second sister would often send her snacks. The snacks were varied, mostly pastries, with a few dried fruits.

Regardless of their style, they are all packaged in elegant ice boxes.

Those ice cream boxes are a bit too magical, giving people the feeling that eating them will grant them a long life and allow them to ascend to immortality.

Although most of the pastries ended up in Ah Li's stomach, Zhang Ze also ate some and couldn't tell at all that they were about to expire.

"What year are those snacks from?" Zhang Ze asked curiously.

He thought to himself, "It's just an additive; it's not like I haven't eaten it before."

Unexpectedly, the junior sister started counting on her fingers. After a long time, she gave up and flicked her sleeve, saying, "I can't remember. Anyway, it was leftovers from when my sister was little."

Zhang Ze, "?"

"Your sister...when she was little?" Zhang Ze asked again, uncertainly.

The junior sister nodded. "It's like when my sister was little."

In the cultivation world, all female cultivators claim to be eighteen when they go out, but the objective facts do not change according to their words.

Zhang Ze clearly remembered that Chen Qin's second sister, Chen Mumu, had become the head of the Second Sword Pavilion a long, long time ago.

The leftover snacks she ate when she was little?

Zhang Ze felt that this thing shouldn't be called a snack, but rather a family heirloom.

Those with poor spiritual cultivation can be sent away by those dried fruits.

Seeing Zhang Ze's changing expression, the junior sister asked in confusion, "Isn't this normal? Just think of those snacks as sweetened pills, right?"

"High-grade pills with a shelf life of less than a thousand years are considered inferior."

"You think it's normal for elixirs to remain unchanged for thousands of years, so why can't snacks?"

Zhang Ze: "How can that be the same?"

Junior sister, "Why can't they be the same?"

Soon, the two began discussing food safety issues at Four Continents.

Of course, neither of them expected to come to any conclusions; they were just chatting about such trivial things to kill time.

Soon after, the carriage 'stopped', and the scenery outside the window returned to normal. In the unopened underground station, apart from a Medicine King Valley disciple who was dozing off, only the sword spirit was active.

Looking at his sleeping disciple, Zhang Ze sighed. He wondered how long this leisurely time would last. He figured his brother would soon be sent off by his master to carry out various missions.

The place they emerged from was not the entrance to Medicine King Valley, but an ancient city called Tianqiao, three hundred miles away from their sect.

Tianqiao City was once a bustling passage connecting the east and west, but due to various reasons, it gradually declined and became an ordinary medicinal herb cultivation greenhouse in Yaowang Valley.

However, once the hub station opens, this place should become lively again.

After leaving the underground station, Xiangxiang reappeared, floating behind Zhang Ze like a stand-in, guiding him and Chen Qin, who were visiting this place for the first time.

When the ley lines teleported her, she had already arrived here in advance through another terminal set up in this location and checked the subsequent itinerary.

According to the arrangement, Zhang Ze will meet with Granny Anya in the center of the Sacred Tree Department, Fucheng.

Meanwhile, after learning about the arrangements, Xiangxiang also relayed Zhang Ze's questions to him.

However, Anya's mother-in-law's answer was ambiguous.

Only one word.

Come.

It’s confusing.

"By the way, how's Sister Wang doing lately?" Zhang Ze asked casually.

Xiangxiang said, "It's great. She said she really likes Sizhou now, it's like a dream."

As they spoke, Zhang Ze, with his hands tucked in his sleeves, followed Xiangxiang's lead and used the technique of shrinking the distance to an inch to walk towards a land bridge.

The land bridge was not formed naturally, but rather shaped by magical power.

Medicine King Valley and Western Barbarians built this land bridge connecting the two places in the weakest and narrowest part of the Central Continent Wasteland.

For a period of time in the past, this land bridge was still open, but it has been out of use since the emergence of the Great Valley Master Qin.

There was no other way; the other side of that land bridge was right next to the territory of the Sacred Tree Tribe.

There needs to be a proper attitude when it comes to preventing theft.

After crossing several valleys and arriving at the entrance of the land bridge, Zhang Ze couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the scene to the west.

"Damn, no wonder Valley Master Qin has been so eager for that thing. With such a divine object right under our noses, who wouldn't be envious?"

The land bridge is very long, with no end in sight, but you can clearly see the divine object at the end.

A giant golden tree rises from the distant mist, soaring into the sky, its presence awe-inspiring.

That is the sacred tree of the Western Barbarians.

Its existence can satisfy anyone's mysterious fantasies about legendary giant trees. Compared to it, the giant trees in Linglu Valley and the mother tree of Changzhou are just seedlings.

This thing stands tall and upright here; it would be strange if it didn't inspire faith in people.

To be honest, if it didn't cause a diplomatic incident, Zhang Ze would have liked to pick a couple of leaves, take them home, and enshrine them for good luck.

"Wow..." The junior sister was also surprised to see him in person for the first time.

Although I had seen this sacred tree in some images before, no matter how realistic the images were, they were not as awe-inspiring as seeing it in person.

That tree had an indescribable aura about it.

"Let's go, there are people waiting for us there."

Zhang Ze nudged his junior sister's shoulder, gesturing for her to look over there.

At the entrance to the land bridge, a group of people were waiting for them. Judging from their attire, several of them were cultivators from Medicine King Valley, and the rest were from the Sacred Tree Tribe.

To be honest, Zhang Ze was quite disappointed, because he thought the people of the Sacred Tree Clan would be more special. They wore those mystical clothes, carried mystical magical implements, and had tree branches sticking out of their hands and heads, looking like they were going to cast spells on your ancestors if you offended them.

The barbarians he encountered in his previous life were mostly like this.

However, apart from their slightly dark skin and the battle markings etched on their exposed skin, the people in front of them did not share any of the stereotypes that people from the Eastern Continent had about barbarians. On the contrary, they were somewhat excessively trendy.

If you threw them into King of Fighters, they would fit perfectly as a new team of characters.

As both sides curiously sized each other up, a female cultivator stepped forward from the other side of the line.

She was dressed in plain white attire from Medicine King Valley, with a gentle expression and her hair styled in a long braid that cascaded down her chest, giving her the appearance of a naturally beautiful wife. Combined with her identity as a physician from Medicine King Valley, the visual effect was equally striking.

Before Zhang Ze could even greet her, the older sister suddenly ran up, hugged her junior sister tightly, and buried her in her arms.

"Let go, let go... I can't breathe." The junior sister tried to break free from the embrace, but the suppression from the realm made her unable to move.

She never imagined that she would one day be the one to be "killed" by breasts; usually, it was she who "killed" Zhang Zelai with her breasts.

The female cultivator showed no sign of letting go, covering her junior sister's head while stroking her head.

"You've grown so much in the blink of an eye, Mom misses you so much."

Mother?

Zhang Ze had a look of smug satisfaction on his face. Just as he was about to delve deeper into the old man's secret history, his junior sister unleashed a sword talisman and broke free.

The sharp sword energy vanished around the female cultivator, who took a step back, her beautiful brows furrowed as she looked at Chen Qin, utterly perplexed.

"Mom remembers you weren't a cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect? Why do you know Sword Sect techniques?"

Junior sister, “…”

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ze realized it was a misunderstanding rather than a huge piece of gossip. He sighed in disappointment, put away his spectator mood, stepped forward, and coughed lightly.

“Senior Ruyue, you have mistaken someone for someone else. This is not your eldest daughter, she is from the Sword Sect. This is your daughter.”

As he spoke, Zhang Ze picked up the small walnut and connected to Li Yueqi's communication.

"Screw it, I'm busy here."

It was a mess over there, with the occasional sound of panting and screams of "Give me my hair back!" coming from all over.

"It's nothing, just a little misunderstanding here. I met your biological mother."

Zhang Ze turned to the side, allowing the mother and daughter to see each other through a small projection screen, but the scene was not as warm as he had imagined.

Li Yueqi opened her mouth, unsure of what to say, and finally blurted out, "Hello, Auntie."

Qin Ruyue looked puzzled, her eyes darting back and forth between Li Yueqi and Chen Qin, muttering to herself, "This one is cuter. This one is definitely my daughter."

To prevent the little love left between the Li mother and daughter from disappearing completely, Zhang Ze pretended that the signal was bad and hung up the call.

"Well... if there's nothing else planned, let's go see my mother-in-law," Zhang Ze said, clearing his throat to change the subject.

The barbarian tribesmen from the Sacred Tree tribe who came to greet him exchanged glances. After a moment, a young man who looked about the same age as Zhang Ze stepped forward, bowed to Zhang Ze, and said in fluent Eastern Continent language, "This way, please."

The boy's voice was low, as if he was deliberately speaking in a low voice.

Only Qin Ruyue went with them from Medicine King Valley; the other cultivators left after confirming that nothing was wrong.

"The tribe is currently under blockade. There is a maze set up by my Sacred Tree tribe on the land bridge. Two..." The boy turned around and looked at Xiangxiang. He was not sure if she was a 'person'. Although he could see her presence, he could not sense her figure. The barbarian's spirit listening technique did not work on Xiangxiang.

"...Please, all three of you, don't move around rashly, otherwise it will be trouble for everyone if something goes wrong." The boy finally changed his mind.

Zhang Ze said he didn't care, but he was very interested in the sentence that the tribe was under blockade, but he noticed that the boy and the barbarian kings around him did not seem to want to explain it.

Zhang Ze turned to look at his junior sister, gesturing for her to ask Qin Ruyue.

"Call me Mom and I'll tell you..." The little junior sister heard the devil's whisper.

Junior sister, “…”

They're abducting children over there, and they're starting to cast spells here.

Because Zhang Ze had developed his own system of principles and was proficient in all methods, he had a slight understanding of everything and had already figured out how to use the land bridge.

Displacement.

By listening to the spirits, one 'hears' the voice of the target location and then swaps the two locations.

It is somewhat similar to the spatial array techniques of the human race, but with slight differences, because the ritual of this land bridge disturbs the shallow sea.

Because of the passage through Middle Continent and the influence of the Sacred Tree ahead, it is not easy to 'hear' the voice of the destination.

Looking at the boy's back, which was already sweating, Zhang Ze felt that he was about to lose his way.

Zhang Ze didn't know what these barbarians meant, but it was clear that the boy was not up to the responsibility of activating the land bridge.

Moreover, for some reason, the barbarian kings and shamans around the boy, who were of higher rank, did not help him.

Not wanting to waste time, Zhang Ze stepped forward and patted the boy on the shoulder, "Let me do it."

"What...what are you doing?" The boy trembled, whether from fright or nervousness, his face flushed red.

But because the person was somewhat dark-skinned, Zhang Ze didn't notice.

"Go to the Sacred Tree Department. I already understand this thing; it's just a matter of choosing a destination..."

As he spoke, Zhang Ze gestured for the boy to step back, and he placed his left hand on the faceless stone statue at the head of the bridge.

Deep blue battle runes began to spread from his palm, gradually covering the stone statue, and the surrounding space began to tremble as Zhang Ze cast his spell.

Lu Qiao and the faceless stone statue, which had been unresponsive to the boy, were activated by Zhang Ze.

The boy's eyes first showed shock, then filled with resentment. He bit his lip and remained silent.

Qin Ruyue released her grip on her junior sister and looked at Zhang Ze thoughtfully.

Xiangxiang and her junior sister had the same expression, both looking like they thought Zhang Ze was really amazing.

As for the barbarian kings, their reaction was somewhat strange; none of them intervened to stop Zhang Ze's overstepping of his authority.

A barbarian king who looked like a middle-aged man raised his hand and pressed down on the boy's shoulder.

The middle-aged man spoke to the boy in a barbarian language, “Your mother-in-law gave you one last chance, but you didn’t seize it.”

"Accept failure, my child."

“The sacred tree needs a more qualified leader, whoever he may be.”

When the middle-aged man said this, he didn't seem too disappointed; on the contrary, he felt somewhat relieved and at ease.

However, this feeling of reassurance lasted only a short time.

Because he found Zhang Ze's methods to be somewhat unorthodox.

Normal people don't use land bridges like that.

To put it simply, the wasteland of Zhongzhou under the land bridge is like a construction site with an electric motor running at full speed, constantly chugging along.

Although the sacred tree was not quiet, it constantly attracted people's attention and distracted them.

For a normal person to reach the other side correctly, they need to find a barely perceptible ringtone amidst the constant buzzing of the electricity.

But Zhang Ze wasn't a normal person; he was too lazy to look for that ringtone.

He chose the most attractive sacred tree as his target.

Land bridge, start!
A flash of white light appeared before their eyes, and the oppressive aura of the sacred tree delivered a punch to every barbarian who had boarded Zhang Ze's black car.

It was a tremor from the depths of one's soul, irresistible, leaving one only to kneel in worship.

However, just as all the barbarians were about to kneel, the oppressive aura vanished in an instant.

Because Zhang Ze and his men jumped out of the car halfway through the journey.

They landed steadily and the group appeared on the other side of the bridge.

"We've arrived... Um, what's going on? Did I take the wrong turn?"

Zhang Ze, who had no idea what he had done, turned around in a daze and looked at the few barbarians behind him whose faces were as pale as if they had lost their color.

The middle-aged barbarian king glanced at the space obliterated by the pressure of the sacred tree, forced himself to compose himself, and gave an awkward smile.

"No... I haven't gone to the wrong place. Please wait here for a moment while I go and inform Granny Anya."

He decided to make one last effort and persuade his mother-in-law to reconsider.

It wasn't because of any selfish motive.

Instead, he felt that sometimes it was safer to use a normal person instead.

(End of this chapter)