The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 107 The five people from Lanting County went their separate ways

In the depths of the Black Forest in the eastern part of the Western Shu Kingdom on the Floating Continent, near the altar of the Sleepless Clan.

Shijia soldiers were escorting the black-clad members of the Sleepless Tribe.

The men in black looked like they were ready to be killed or tortured, and would rather die than submit.

"Take him away, back to Wu." Ishikawa waved his hand.

"Wait, where's Yao? He was just here a moment ago?" Han Yue asked.

"You actually know Black Tiger's name?" Ishikawa said.

"Yes, Qi Yuan wrote to me and told me that," Han Yue replied.

"Yao, come back!" Ishikawa shouted.

However, only the echo from the depths of the forest answered him; the black tiger did not appear.

"Did it go to find that black monster?" Luo Yifei guessed.

“It’s possible. We awakened that monster. Yao must have sensed its threat,” Ishikawa said.

“We must leave here quickly and go to the Kingdom of Wu to find my father,” Ishikawa said, his tone filled with determination and resolve.

After a series of twists and turns, they finally left the Black Forest, but as soon as they arrived in the county town, they heard the rumors.

"Have you heard? The Path to Immortality is about to open, in Lanting County," a swordsman in the hotel said mysteriously.

“No need to keep your voice down. Everyone knows now. It’s just the site of the Orchid Pavilion, right? The place where the legend of the Orchid Pavilion took place,” said another martial arts practitioner wielding a knife.

"The ancient site of Lanting in Lanting County was left behind by the ancient sage Lanting Shangren before his ascension. Every thousand years, a strange phenomenon appears in Lanting County, which is said to be the opening of the path to immortality. As long as one enters it, one has the opportunity to attain immortality," the swordsman said in a low voice, his eyes filled with longing and desire.

"The path to immortality? Isn't that just a legend? How could it possibly exist?" Han Yue said with some disbelief.

"Hmph, what do you know? This is a legend passed down from ancient times. How could it be baseless? Moreover, every time a strange phenomenon appears, many martial artists go to explore it, and some of them never return." The swordsman said, his tone carrying a hint of mystery and awe.

"What exactly is the Path to Immortality like? Is it like the legends say, with immortals waiting for us inside?" Luo Yifei asked curiously.

"Well, I don't know. But it's said that those who enter the path to immortality will experience some strange encounters, and some even gain great power as a result," the swordsman replied.

Listening to their conversation, Ishikawa's heart was stirred. He remembered his purpose: they were going to another world to rescue people, and this path to immortality might be their chance. He decided that, no matter what, they had to go to Lanting County to find out what was going on.

“We need to get to Lanting County as soon as possible,” Shi Chuan said, his tone firm and determined.

“Yes, maybe the Path to Immortality is our only chance to go to another world,” Luo Yifei said, thinking to himself that if this was also a time tunnel, there might be a chance to return to Earth. If not, they could always go to Mount Emei to see if that tunnel was still open.

They hurriedly left the hotel and headed towards Lanting County. Along the way, they encountered many martial arts practitioners with the same goal, all yearning for and anticipating the path to immortality, and advancing towards the same objective.

After several days of trekking, they finally arrived at Lanting County. The county town was bustling with activity, filled with martial arts practitioners from all over. Some gathered together to discuss the legends of the Path to Immortality, while others searched for clues on their own, hoping to find a way to enter the Path to Immortality.

Ishikawa and his companions were no exception; they inquired throughout the county town, hoping to find some useful clues. However, they discovered that although the legend of the path to immortality was widespread, very few people truly understood its mysteries.

In Lanting County, there were already many martial arts practitioners and cultivators exchanging treasures at the market.

On their second day in Lanting County, Luo Yifei and Shen Lixi also wanted to visit the market.

“We won’t go. There are too many people coming and going here; we probably won’t find any useful information. Shi Hao and I will head back to Wu first. We still need to bring these Sleepless Clan members back with us,” Shi Chuan said to the two of them.

"I'm not going either. I'm heading back to Free City. I heard the Wu Kingdom has withdrawn its troops. As the city magistrate of Free City, I should have gone back long ago," Han Yue said.

Ishikawa coughed awkwardly twice. "Han Yue, the Shi family army did not harass the people during their occupation of the city. We were only there to excavate the five-colored stones."

"Understood. We're all just trying to make a living. Farewell." Han Yue clasped his hands in a fist salute to Ishikawa, then turned to Luo Yifei and the other man, asking, "What about you two? After you've finished shopping at the market, are you going to stay for a while? Or are you going back to the Western Continent? Would you like to come along?"

In Han Yue's eyes, Luo Yifei came to the Eastern Continent to find Shen Lixi, and now that he has found her, he naturally has to go back. And going to the Western Continent, via Free City, is the best option.

Luo Yifei and Shen Lixi exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.

"No, we may have to stay in the Eastern Continent for a while longer. We still have some things to take care of," Luo Yifei said.

"Alright, take care of yourselves." Han Yue nodded and turned to leave.

The group said their goodbyes to each other.

The Shi family father and son, along with their army and the Sleepless Clan, were the first to leave.

Watching Han Yue's figure disappear into the crowd, Luo Yifei and Shen Lixi began their market tour. They wandered through the crowd, looking at the dazzling array of treasures on the stalls, stopping from time to time to examine them closely.

However, they didn't find anything particularly useful. Most of the treasures were just ordinary weapons and elixirs, which didn't offer much help to their cultivation.

Just as they were about to leave, a stone on a stall caught their attention. The stone's surface was covered with strange patterns, seemingly containing some kind of mysterious power.

"Boss, how much is this stone?" Luo Yifei asked as he stepped forward.

"This stone is a treasure," the shopkeeper said mysteriously. "It's said to come from a mysterious place and contains powerful energy. However, I don't know exactly how to use it."

"How much?" Luo Yifei asked directly, ignoring the shopkeeper's words.

"Five hundred taels of silver." The shopkeeper held up five fingers.

Luo Yifei frowned; the price was indeed a bit high. However, he felt that this stone was somewhat unusual, so he gritted his teeth, took out his silver, and bought it.

Back at their lodgings, they began to study the stone. However, no matter what they tried, they couldn't activate the energy within it.

"It seems we've been tricked," Shen Lixi said with some disappointment.

“Not necessarily.” Luo Yifei refused to give up. “This stone is definitely extraordinary, we just haven’t found the right way to use it yet. I’ve used my spiritual power to investigate it, and it does react, but we just don’t know how to use it.”

"Stop researching, let's go to Mount Emei. According to you, Lin Hai is on Mount Emei, so he should be able to find that tunnel. And the rumored newly built Red City should be the location of the time tunnel. Let's go take a look," Shen Lixi said.