Ascending to the Clouds Alone

A fine crack appeared on the body, and the aura of spiritual energy had faded by more than half, obviously caused by the collision just now. Even the secret patterns on it had lost their luster.

Lin Su thought to himself:

This belongs to that fairy, perhaps as important as my zither. I'll pick it up and return it to her so she won't worry.

When he reached out and touched the jade slip, a strange sensation came from the slip, just like when playing the zither, after the strings were plucked, the strings would continue to vibrate.

Lin Su grew up listening to his mother's zither music and has been learning the instrument for over ten years.

During this time, he learned not only the five notes of the pentatonic scale, but more importantly, the keenness to observe things closely and understand their meaning.

The secret patterns on the scroll were now in his hand like a lone string about to snap.

Upon closer inspection, Lin Su frowned; the string was not straight!

Then, he traced the lines with his fingertip and touched a slight depression, which was the point where the lone string was stuck, and it was stuck.

If you want to get it back, the usual methods simply won't work.

This kind of knot cannot be forced open. You must pull the stuck string out in the opposite direction and then pull it back in the same direction to untie it.

So he pressed his thumb against Jian's back, imbued his index finger with spiritual energy, and immediately exerted force.

With a very soft "pop," like a bubble being popped, the string snapped, and the jade slip's restriction dissipated.

In an instant, lines of text entered his mind.

……

Lin Su forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart and followed the voice deep within, looking down:

Unloading point: Chixia Ridge

After that, there were countless entries.

……

"Lin Su | Bone Age 17 | Qi-Inducing Stage | Usable"

"Han Xiangyu | Bone Age 41 | Qi Refining Level 13 | Sufficient"

"Pei? ... | ...? Nineteen | ...Qi Level Four | Available"

……

The surrounding sounds seemed to be completely sucked away, and the information kept crashing into his mind, hitting his heart again and again.

Even bone age and cultivation level are marked? How can it be so clear?

Do some people think that these five hundred-plus cultivators are not even human?!

"Cultivation of Immortality", "Future", "Great Dao"...

All the hopes and dreams of the past ten years or so were shattered in this moment.

Lin Su's fingers trembled, and even his breathing became shallow.

He only snapped out of his daze when the sharp edges of the jade slip hurt his fingertips, and hurriedly hid the jade slip in his sleeve.

Han Xiangyu, sitting opposite the low table, still had his eyes closed, as if the tremor had never happened to him.

Lin Su opened his mouth, but the word "Uncle Han" stuck in his throat and he just couldn't get it out.

The boundary marker outside the window was still flying backwards, and there was nothing in front of the Thousand Machine Shuttle.

However, Lin Su learned that there was a place ahead called Crimson Cloud Ridge!

At the front of the shuttle, the female deacon had just steadied herself when she subconsciously reached for her waist.

Her expression changed drastically, and the next moment, her voice, imbued with spiritual energy, pierced through all the noise in the cabin:

"Which fellow Daoist has seen my jade slip?"

The cabin fell silent, and Lin Su's heart nearly jumped out of his throat.

What should I do if I get caught?

Should we return the jade slip voluntarily? Or try to throw it away?

Hopefully, she won't find out about me!

Oh no! She's coming this way!

Lin Su's mind went blank for a moment with a "buzz," and his heartbeat became even more rapid.

"Snapped!"

A rough, large hand patted heavily on his trembling shoulder.

That was a really hard blow; half of his body went numb, and the numbness and pain instantly brought him back to his senses.

Han Xiangyu placed his hand on Lin Su's shoulder and glared at him, saying:

"What are you staring at! Did you ignore everything I just said?"

The roar was urgent and fierce, startling everyone around, who all turned to look.

Seeing his blank expression, Han Xiangyu was furious and jumped up in anger.

This standing up conveniently blocked most of Lin Su's view and also blocked the female deacon's view.

Han Xiangyu secretly increased the pressure with her fingers, pinching his shoulder several times in succession.

"what!"

He cried out in pain as Han Xiangyu pinched him, but the pain somewhat dispelled the panic in his heart.

Only when the female deacon got close did Han Xiangyu stop, instantly changing his expression as he turned around, puffing out his cheeks in a fawning manner, and repeatedly cupping his hands in greeting:

"Fairy, please forgive me, please forgive me."

Immediately afterwards, he turned to Lin Su and berated him again:

"You naive bumpkin! You think picking up a shiny little stone is a treasure? You've offended a fairy! Just wait till I get my hands on you!"

Lin Su lowered his head and stared at his toes, not daring to breathe, only sweat pouring out in layers.

He could clearly feel the female deacon's gaze fixed on him.

In front of her, I felt as if I had been stripped naked, completely exposed, with nothing left to hide.

The female deacon stopped two steps away, her divine sense sweeping over Lin Su before returning to Han Xiangyu, and she already knew what was going on:

This person possessed abundant spiritual energy, yet had not yet reached the Foundation Establishment stage; he certainly wouldn't dare to act recklessly. However, there was a trace of spiritual energy on his body that seemed strangely familiar.

"Fellow Daoist is joking; that is not a stone." Her voice remained gentle.

After speaking, he shifted his gaze to Lin Su's tightly clenched sleeve:

"It's nothing more than a trivial booklet that, if lost, would cost you your life."

Unable to discern the true meaning behind those words, Lin Su felt his mind reeling.

Just then, several divine senses swept over.

With his Qi Refining stage cultivation, he couldn't discern the exact number and level of the energy, but he could sense that two of them were the most powerful, like mountains pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.

It was as if any slight movement would result in it being instantly crushed into dust.

At this moment, Lin Su just wanted to throw that "life-threatening talisman" away as quickly as possible, the farther the better.

"The fairy is asking you a question, are you deaf? Hurry up and put your hand out!"

Han Xiangyu pretended to shout angrily, grabbed his sleeve, and yanked it hard.

Lin Su was immediately pulled forward and fell down.

In the midst of this struggle, he suddenly felt his sleeve empty; the jade slip had been silently taken by Han Xiangyu.

"Uncle Han?... "

"Shut up!"

Han Xiangyu shouted, then forcibly pried open Lin Su's hands and laid them out in front of the female deacon.

My palms are empty!

Then, deliberately turning his hand over, he said:

"Look, fairy, this country bumpkin is so timid, he's nothing..."

At this point, Han Xiangyu's voice suddenly stopped.

Lin Su was waiting for him to finish speaking, waiting for the female butler to leave, waiting for everything to end peacefully, and then continuing to curl up in this corner, hoping that none of what had just happened had ever occurred.

But that's simply impossible!

Han Xiangyu stood there stiffly, his neck already discolored.

It was a strange yellow, somewhat like withered autumn leaves, and also somewhat like the yellow paper burned for the dead.

The color climbed up to his ears, slowly spread across his entire face, and then reached his forehead, even staining his scalp.

In just a few breaths, his entire upper body turned yellow, and then back to blue.

Suddenly, he abruptly pulled his hand back, clutching his chest tightly, and collapsed onto the low table with a thud.