1443: Arrival in the Eastern Divine Kingdom

Qin Yue hurried back to the banquet hall and demanded that his family depart at once.

The palace guards had watched the Emperor and the Captain of the Guard leave with him, yet neither had returned. They dared not let anyone leave, and so they stammered and blocked the doorway.

Qin Yue said coldly, “What? Is this how you treat your guests? If you are afraid that I have harmed your Emperor and your Captain, why not go and look for them yourselves before you say anything?”

These guards were the Emperor’s personal guards, all of whom Qin Yue had trained. Everyone had seen the Emperor’s attitude toward him, and none dared offend him too openly. They had no choice but to send someone into the garden to search.

A moment later, the guard who had gone looking returned with his face flushed crimson. He whispered a few words into the deputy captain’s ear. The deputy captain’s expression stiffened, and he immediately let them pass.

The entire Luo family left under Qin Yue’s urging, utterly bewildered. Watching them disappear, the guards sighed.

“Sir Qin Yue must be angry. I don’t think His Majesty meant to deceive him emotionally…”

“Forgive my bluntness, but I believe His Majesty would be happier with the Captain.”

“Poor Sir Qin Yue… I don’t think he’ll be too heartbroken, but he must have suffered quite a shock.”

Qin Yue had no mind to care what anyone else was saying. He led his family out of the palace and hurried toward the outskirts of the city.

Luo Yu was deeply dissatisfied with Qin Yue’s behavior. “I was only halfway through chewing, and you snatched it away! What the hell is that supposed to mean? You won’t eat it yourself, but you won’t let Daddy finish either. Are you afraid I’ll grow too tall and turn the tables on you?”

Qin Yue’s anger refused to subside. Somehow, he even felt wronged. He muttered, “That fellow wanted me to stay with him.”

Luo Yu did not understand at first. “Which fellow? Stay with him and do what?”

Qin Yue kept a stern expression. “The Emperor. He said he liked me.”

“What?!” Luo Yu froze, then exploded in fury. “Doesn’t he know you’re my wife? He wants to put horns on Daddy? I’m going back to settle accounts with him!”

Qin Yue hurriedly held him back. “There’s no need. I’ve already dealt with it.”

Luo Yu said fiercely, “What exactly happened?”

Qin Yue fell silent for a moment, then described the matter in broad strokes, carefully omitting certain details. The entire family stared at him in stunned disbelief. Luo Yu, in particular, was practically beside himself.

This had happened right under his nose, and he had known nothing about it! Damn it all! His own wife had nearly been forcibly taken away!

By the time he heard the whole story, guilt welled up in his heart.

“My poor darling wife… Let Daddy see whether you’ve lost any flesh anywhere~”

He tenderly rubbed Qin Yue’s face and body a few times, then pulled him close and kissed him.

“My wife is far too alluring. I’ll have to keep a closer eye on him from now on… Damn that bastard! Kan Miro is built like a mountain. He obviously doesn’t look like the receiving end, so why is he interested in Qin Yue too? Huh… Something doesn’t seem right…”

Luo Yu suddenly understood.

That bastard had mistaken Qin Yue for the receiving end!

What was he supposed to do? Qin Yue already disliked how small his own equipment was~

If that bastard had actually succeeded, would Qin Yue have gone straight from the dominant role to the receiving role? And if he could no longer satisfy his wife, wouldn’t his wife leave him?

Luckily, he was incredibly charming, and his wife had excellent judgment. Otherwise, their marriage would have fallen apart…

Um, perhaps he should go get a marriage certificate sometime soon! If anyone tried to pester Qin Yue again, Daddy would throw the certificate into his face hard enough to make him bleed!

Luo Li asked timidly from the side, “Are we still going back to Kannirla?”

Luo Yu thought about it. His wife had essentially fed the Emperor to someone else, and people might come looking for them to settle the score at any moment. They had magical weapons and an army; his family clearly stood no chance against them.

He stamped his foot furiously. “We’re not going back! Hurry up and move! We’ll be safe once we’re outside the barrier!”

In any case, they had already taken everything they needed. Apart from the house, they had not suffered much of a loss.

The family fled through the night and soon left Xilanibula behind.

Once they set foot on land beyond the boundary, Luo Yu and Qin Yue both felt the familiar power of magic circulating through their bodies. They let out a deep sigh of relief.

They had offended the Emperor of Kara. They would also have to inform their parents, lest the two of them return only to walk straight into the tiger’s jaws. If the Emperor of Kara took them hostage and demanded Qin Yue’s return as his wife, matters would become even more troublesome.

Luo Yu raised his hand and sent his parents a paper crane carrying a message. He received their reply soon afterward, indicating that they understood.

This communication talisman used a portable miniature teleportation array to transmit messages. It was one of Luo Yu’s patented inventions: there was no need to worry about accidental interception, and it was even more convenient and secure than sending messages by mobile phone.

Everyone finally relaxed. However, now that they were outside, no one could say what might happen. To prevent Grandfather from encountering danger, they had no choice but to send him and Luo Ling home.

After seeing the grandfather and granddaughter off, the remaining four continued their travels together. They no longer dared linger in Kara territory. All of them agreed to head north, wander around for a while, and then claim a piece of land on the continent to prepare for their future survival.

The group sat aboard Kunlun Lan and flew north for some time before turning west, heading toward the territory of the Eastern God Clan—the Eastern God Kingdom.

The Eastern God Clan was the most powerful clan on the continent. Their territory was vast, only slightly smaller than that of the Heavenly Dynasty, though their population was far more scattered.

Kunlun Lan soon left the plains behind and crossed a mountain range as imposing as a folding screen, gradually entering the borderlands of the Eastern God Kingdom, where steep peaks rose one after another.

Along the way, Luo Yu and the others sensed numerous cave-dwelling barriers scattered sparsely throughout the cloud-wreathed mountains. The southern part of the Eastern God Kingdom was mountainous, with breathtaking peaks and secluded valleys everywhere. Strange summits shaped like pillars and bamboo shoots rose at different heights. Some peaks had already pierced beyond the firmament barrier; presumably, the grand formation disguised them as sheer cliffs beneath the sea—or, if they rose a little higher, as tiny islands upon its surface.

The nimble white cloud darted between the pillar-like peaks, winding left and right with all the thrill of a race. Luo Yu leisurely admired the scenery around them.

Now and then, an ancient pavilion’s upturned eaves appeared amid the lush vegetation covering the mountains. Wisps of spiritual mist drifted like gauze, while mountain winds carried enormous quantities of spiritual herb pollen rolling up from the valleys below, resembling a surging river of light.

The region was quiet, yet it was far from uninhabited. Luo Yu and his companions occasionally encountered one or two cultivators flying toward them before their flowing robes vanished into the mountain forests.

After traveling for a while longer, a jade-green river suddenly appeared before them. Cliffs towered on either side, ancient trees twisted together, and enormous vines cascaded down from above, draping the precipices in layers of emerald.

They followed the river for some time. Then the scenery opened abruptly into a valley packed with strange peaks.

The river stretched into a hazy expanse, its surface covered with large patches of exotic flowers rising and falling with the waves. Their leaves resembled duckweed, while their blossoms were like jade lotuses, each flower’s center bearing a stamen that looked just like a peony.

The pillar-shaped peaks on either bank were filled with fluctuations from countless barriers. Most were invisible to the naked eye, while a few faintly revealed colorful spiritual light, resembling rings of rainbow. Green vines stretched from peak to peak, draped across the mountains like ribbons and ropes.

“Oh…” Luo Yu exclaimed. “Could this be a town?”

“Most likely,” Qin Yue replied. “That enormous rock in the water may be the trade center.”

The group accelerated toward the towering boulder in the middle of the river.

From a distance, the boulder did not look especially remarkable. Only when they drew near did they realize how magnificent it was. It was as large as a mountain and shaped like an inverted cone, its lower end plunging straight into the water and transforming it into an island.

The stone was smooth and white, its walls densely covered with inscriptions, poems, carvings, and paintings.

Floating beside the cliff, Luo Yu and the others curiously examined the contents. They found every variety imaginable: declarations of love and vows to someone special; names left behind by people who believed they were approaching the end of their lives and wished future generations to admire them; displays of calligraphy, painting, and poetry; commemorations of breakthroughs; farewell messages; and, naturally, curses and insults as well.

Following the winding line of inscriptions around to the far side, they discovered several enormous golden characters:

“Thousand-Vine Immortal Gorge—White Stone Isle.”

Qin Yue urged Kunlun Lan upward through the azure clouds, and soon they could clearly see the top of the boulder.

Beautiful stone stairways and side railings had been carved into the outer surface according to the terrain, winding all the way around the rock as they ascended. Every hundred steps, there was an attractive platform enclosed within a barrier and planted with all kinds of exotic flowers and spiritual herbs.

Doors had been set into the platform walls, along with windows. Some even had small open-air pavilions. Altogether, they formed a series of simple cave residences.

A small portion of the residences stood empty. On the platforms, some cultivators in long, dark robes were reading, while others were playing go.

When these people saw Luo Yu and the others arrive, they could not help looking up at them. Still, none showed any hostility. Perhaps it was because the group clearly appeared to be Eastern cultivators.

Apart from the ring of cave residences along the edge, the top of the enormous rock was broad and level, with streets and shops built in an orderly pattern. The place was bustling with people.

The group lowered their cloud into the city and casually chose a tavern, intending to observe the local customs and atmosphere.

They made no effort to conceal their strength. The shopkeeper looked up, immediately jumped in fright, and hurried around the counter to greet them personally at the entrance, smiling ingratiatingly.

Luo Yu and the others ordered a few snacks at random and had barely chosen their seats when a waiter brought the food over. He then retreated to one side and waited attentively.

The waiter was a minor cultivator at the peak of the Energy Refinement stage. He looked about the same age as Luo Yu, with delicate and handsome features. His eyes kept drifting toward the group, filled with both longing and awe.

As the group traveled around the area, they discovered that most of the cultivators engaged in business were in the Foundation Establishment or Energy Refinement stages. Golden Core cultivators occasionally arrived on magical artifacts to shop, their expressions relaxed and unhurried.

This was hardly surprising. With such abundant spiritual energy and plentiful spiritual herbs, entering the Golden Core stage was not an unreachable goal so long as one meditated diligently. The only real concern was how to break through the bottleneck.

Author’s Note:

T.T ORZ~

I went out with my best friend last night, and this morning I had such a terrible hangover headache that I couldn’t start writing until the afternoon. This chapter is far too short, so please forgive me.

The Best Friend’s Cultivation Chronicle, Chapter 143: The Best Friend’s Cultivation Chronicle—Chapter 143, First Arrival in the Eastern God Kingdom, is now complete!