Chapter 168: Crossing Four Realms

Bai Qingzhou looked at Wu Haoming and smiled, "Are you really willing to part with this?"

For a late-stage Qi Condensation cultivator, a few hundred spirit stones could already be considered a massive fortune, not something one could easily let go of.

"Psh! What's there to be reluctant about..." Wu Haoming said with a nonchalant expression and a cheeky grin. "If Senior hadn't stepped in, I probably would have died out in the wilderness long ago. Besides, I once promised that ninety percent of the profits from the tin stones would belong to Senior. Naturally, I can't break my word, right?"

"I never took you for such a generous brute!" He Zuo blurted out in surprise.

Even He Li, standing to the side, cast a curious glance.

"What do you know!" Wu Haoming shot a look of utter disdain right back at He Zuo.

"Only a fool would know anything about you!" He Zuo immediately retorted.

Ignoring He Zuo entirely, Wu Haoming pushed the spirit stones forward once more and said, "Please accept these, Senior!"

Meeting Wu Haoming's sincere gaze, Bai Qingzhou nodded slightly. "Very well, I'll accept these spirit stones."

With a wave of his hand, without even counting them, he transferred all the spirit stones straight into his [Storage Bag].

At present, Bai Qingzhou had no reason to refuse these two hundred spirit stones.

Ever since setting out, he had discovered that his consumption of spirit stones was alarmingly fast, with the food expenses for He Zuo and He Li making up the primary expenditure. In just two short months on the road, he had spent dozens of spirit stones purely on food. At his current rate of spending, relying solely on his remaining two hundred-odd spirit stones to reach the Heavenly Master Sect was completely out of the question. At this rate, he might not even be able to afford spiritual rice much longer.

Therefore, when wealth delivered itself to his doorstep, he gladly welcomed it.

"What are your plans for the next step?" Bai Qingzhou asked him. "Did you manage to buy a flying magic tool earlier?"

"I sure did!" With a flick of his finger, a tiny slip of paper appeared at his fingertips, delicate and compact. "See? A mid-grade Yellow-tier magic tool, more than enough for me to return to Wazifang."

Hearing this, He Zuo poked his head out and asked, "Are you leaving right now, then?"

His tone was surprisingly gentle.

This caught everyone off guard, and they turned to look at He Zuo in unison.

Noticing their gazes, He Zuo paused briefly, his expression turning somewhat unnatural. The violent gale generated when Bai Qingzhou exchanged blows earlier had almost blown him and He Li right off the magic tool. Fortunately, Wu Haoming had shielded them, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable. Thus, his attitude toward Wu Haoming had softened considerably.

Wu Haoming grinned at He Zuo. "Hehe, are you going to miss me, kid?"

"Blech!" Hearing this, He Zuo immediately retched, then raged, "You truly have no shame! Who would miss you? Hurry up and get lost!"

"Hehe!" Unbothered, Wu Haoming turned to Bai Qingzhou and asked, "Senior, are you headed to Liuyunfang now?"

Bai Qingzhou replied, "That's right, our next stop is Liuyunfang."

After a moment of thought, Wu Haoming said, "In that case, I'd like to accompany Senior to Liuyunfang."

He Zuo popped his head out again. "Why?"

"Because I need to catch a spirit boat from there to return to Wazifang. Flying all the way back by myself would take far too long, whereas a spirit boat is much faster. Furthermore, taking a spirit boat from there allows me to bypass the Four Seas Alliance, making it much safer."

Bai Qingzhou nodded inwardly. Liuyunfang was situated at the outermost border of Linjiang Prefecture and was also one of the premier large-scale marketplaces within the prefecture. The most unique aspect of this marketplace was that it was not the private property of any single alliance; rather, it was jointly constructed by multiple alliances within the territory, operating as a collective enterprise. The resident immortals stationed there were chosen and appointed through the joint deliberation of these various alliances.

Consequently, not only was the marketplace immense in scale, but it also offered numerous spirit boat flight routes. Boarding from there meant he could choose alternative paths, which, as Wu Haoming had stated, would be much safer for his return journey to Wazifang.

"That makes sense. Let's travel together for another half a month, then," Bai Qingzhou affirmed.

"Understood!"

"I have to endure you for another half a month! What terrible luck!" He Zuo crossed his arms and said with a helpless sigh.

Wu Haoming walked over to He Zuo's side and flashed a wretched grin. "Hehe, kid, I know you're going to miss me!"

"Crap!"

"Hahaha..."

The four of them flew off in the direction of Liuyunfang.

Time slipped quietly away. The four would fly at sunrise and rest at sunset, pushing forward ceaselessly along their arduous journey.

After ten days of such intense traveling, He Zuo could no longer suppress his complaints, frequently sighing in distress until a thorough scolding from He Li finally forced him to stop.

Fortunately, on the eleventh day, at sunset, the four stumbled upon a small town. They concealed their identities to enter, used secular silver coins to rent a few rooms, enjoyed a proper bath, and slept soundly.

Though such accommodations fell far short of the inns found in marketplaces, for travelers exhausted by days of relentless journeying, it was more than satisfying. The next day, after a night of rest and recuperation, the four of them were brimming with vitality once again.

They set off anew.

Aside from meditating and resting, the group would often chat endlessly while riding the magic tool.

"You're heading to Chuzhou?" Wu Haoming asked, his face a mask of astonishment.

He had just learned that Chuzhou was the destination of Bai Qingzhou and his companions.

"That's right!" He Zuo replied with a proud expression.

"Isn't Chuzhou years away from here?"

He Zuo looked somewhat smug. "Oh ho! I never took you for a brute, looking all dim-witted as you are, yet you actually know where Chuzhou is?"

"You underestimate me too much! Not only do I know where Chuzhou is, but I also know the names of every single region within it!"

"I don't believe it. Let's hear them, then!" He Zuo wore an expression of utter disbelief.

"Hmph!" Wu Haoming let out a cold snort, then said loudly, "Chuzhou is divided into ten domains in total! They are the Northern Chu Domain, the Zuli Domain, the Purple Copper Domain, the Wuwei Domain, the Hanzhong Domain, the Guanghan Domain, the Jianning Domain, the Yong'an Domain, the Xianghe Domain, and the Yongchang Domain."

Hearing this, He Zuo grew somewhat suspicious and immediately turned to Bai Qingzhou. "Senior Brother, is he right?"

Bai Qingzhou gave a soft nod of silent affirmation. Everything Wu Haoming had said was completely accurate.

Seeing this, He Zuo turned back, looking at Wu Haoming in amazement. "Well I'll be! You weren't just faking it!"

"Hehe!" Looking rather pleased with himself, Wu Haoming continued, "Which region in Chuzhou are you heading to? Let me see how far away it is."

"Uh..." Hearing this, He Zuo scratched his head and muttered, "I completely forgot which region it was..."

"It's the Yong'an Domain," He Li chimed in coldly from the side.

"The Yong'an Domain..." Wu Haoming rubbed his beardless chin, paused for a moment, and said, "To get to the Yong'an Domain, you have to cross four regions to reach it! They are the Jiuzhen Domain, the Cangwu Domain, the Jianning Domain, and finally the Yong'an Domain."

"You really do know your stuff!" He Zuo remembered that getting to the Yong'an Domain required passing through four domains, so hearing Wu Haoming rattle them off left him quite surprised.

"Of course! I even know the names of the eight regions in our Lizhou."

"What are they called?" The statement instantly piqued He Zuo's curiosity.

"Hehe, listen carefully. The eight domains of Lizhou are the Cangwu Domain, the Yayue Domain, the Zhuyai Domain, the Nanhai Domain, the Taishui Domain, the Rinan Domain, and last but not least, our current location, the Jiuzhen Domain!"

"Tsk tsk! You may look like a brute, but you're actually quite well-read," He Zuo praised in wonder.

Gazing into the distance, Wu Haoming sighed softly, "What can I say? Who doesn't harbor a heart that longs for adventure..."