Sanctuary Starfield Journey

Mo Bei walked through the forest to the foot of the mountain range, looked up, and decided to climb its highest peak, a peak made entirely of stone.

Mo Bei searched for a foothold, and after a long time, finally found a spot that looked like she could climb. She grabbed onto it with one hand and looked for the next place to grab on with the other, thus cosplaying as a gecko.

Soon after, Mo Bei faced a dilemma, as the next climbable spot was quite a distance away, requiring a large jump. After mentally preparing himself, Mo Bei took the plunge, only to fall. Then, the Wings of Thunder and Flame unfolded; after all, without using spiritual techniques, it truly was the end.

Mo Bei floated slowly until she could grasp the protrusion, then retracted her Thunderflame Wings and obediently began to climb.

A few days later, Mo Bei rested halfway up the mountain. Looking up, he wondered how much higher it was. "It's still this high!" he thought. It seemed he'd have to climb for several more days. Mo Bei decided to enjoy the scenery first. Looking down, the house in the middle of the lake island was clearly visible. Deng Kaiyang, bound and gagged, was also inside, but Mo Bei didn't know it. After a short rest, Mo Bei resumed his climb.

A few more days passed, and Mo Bei successfully reached the summit. Of course, he rested along the way; cultivators aren't superhumans. Standing at the highest point, Mo Bei looked around: nearby was a sea of ​​books, and in the distance were settlements and buildings. Hmm? What's this path leading into the forest? And beside the path... there's a stone path leading up the mountain? There are even streetlights! Mo Bei was amused by this, but then he slipped and fell.

Just then, Chen Jiahong pulled Mo Bei and Deng Kaiyang out of the small world. Mo Bei said, "It's been so long, and you finally let me out. I even climbed a mountain." Deng Kaiyang, lying on the ground, whimpered, "I couldn't move for more than 10 days, and you put food on the ground like I was a dog." Chen Jiahong sealed his mouth, and Deng Kaiyang immediately fell silent. Was this kid just naturally quiet? Chen Jiahong explained to Mo Bei, "One second in the outside world is 16 days in my mental universe." Mo Bei had also learned this in junior high school: people with high mental strength can adjust the time flow of their mental universe.

Chen Jiahong untied Deng Kaiyang. Deng Kaiyang was preparing to unleash his spiritual power and loosen his muscles when he was struck by Chen Jiahong's [Tribulation Lightning]. His outward projection, with a natural vertical radius less than 3 meters, was interrupted and scattered into countless colorful particles. Deng Kaiyang scratched his head, about to speak, when Chen Jiahong spoke up: "It's because you haven't moved in too long. It's all your fault." The two were like two peas in a pod: "You can't mimic my speech!" Deng Kaiyang condensed a seed in his hand, applying a negative status effect to Chen Jiahong, but it resulted in [Nourishing], restoring 4% of his health (due to the blood pact).

Chen Jiahong looked down, pondered for a moment, and then said, "They all have black mud on them, which should be the source of their transformation. Once the black mud is gone, they should mostly return to normal." He was subtly implying to Deng Kaiyang not to accidentally injure them. Deng Kaiyang, like a helpless husband, complained, "I finally got a mission, and they wouldn't let me fight! Now they say I can't accidentally hurt them! I really can't take it anymore!" Chen Jiahong patted Deng Kaiyang's head, then summoned water from his small world and poured it over the four people below. Deng Kaiyang immediately turned red and hot, exclaiming, "No! Don't touch my head like that! What do you take me for?!" Chen Jiahong used the remaining water to cool him down. Mo Bei felt that everything had its counter.

The people below acted as if nothing had happened, continuing to search for normal people as usual, completely disregarding their soaked state. Chen Jiahong pondered, "So it's water-borne black mud... This symptom is similar to the deprivation of willpower... Nipawan..." 666, the villain from the first part, Nipawan, is still chasing after them. Chen Jiahong chose to ignore these people and gestured for them to follow him to the palace.

Mo Bei and his companions appeared and disappeared on the rooftops, while Chen Jiahong noted down reservoirs or other places with water sources along the way. Mo Bei couldn't help but sigh, "Smart people really do have sharp minds. They come up with solutions in seconds, and even after failing, they immediately come up with new ideas." Chen Jiahong replied, "I'm not smarter than the average person. If you were me, you would be even better." Mo Bei nodded, "The humility of a smart person, coupled with such ability."

Approaching the palace, Chen Jiahong launched an attack on Deng Kaiyang, immediately flying away after inflicting [Electrified] status. He then used his spirit skill 5, Thousand Lightning Tribulation, to target Mo Bei with trillions of thunderbirds, increasing both their movement speed by 80%, critical hit rate by 20%, and critical damage by 50%, while also purifying their minds and bodies. Deng Kaiyang countered with his spirit skill 1, Creeping Branches, binding Mo Bei. Finding no target to restrain, he transformed into vines, piercing through the roof and sliding down. Mo Bei, due to the sudden acceleration and the hole in the roof, fell, followed by a giant "Cupid"-shaped arrow striking the spot where they had been just seconds before.

Mo Bei was startled; the arrow had penetrated at least 3 meters into the ground, and the rooftop had been more than 10 meters above the ground. Chen Jiahong looked towards the palace; someone saw it and immediately turned and hid deep inside. Recalling the crater still bubbling with hearts, he couldn't help but cough a few times: "Cough cough... This mutant is quite strong; they all have their own consciousness and their strength isn't low, although their displayed cultivation level is quite low..." He took one last look and immediately left.

Chen Jiahong flew down and pulled Mo Bei up, while Deng Kaiyang swung onto the roof and lifted Mo Bei up.

The distant palace appeared dilapidated, its former glory long gone. The enormous screen remained unattended, still broadcasting the Heavenly Inspection Tour. Presumably due to the black mud, it was neglected and overgrown with vegetation.

The palace, indistinct from a distance, reveals its immense size only up close: over a thousand steps, two rows of ornamental trees serving as its last guardians amidst the deserted palace, and the central chevron-patterned stone carvings stained with black mud, some more, some less, seemingly cracked, through which glimmers of light shine. The steps are covered in dust, with only a few clean spots where vines occasionally climb or weeds sprout from the cracks. One ant breaks away from its colony, followed by many more, until only a lone one remains, occasionally calling back its companions.

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