Chapter 119: Leaving Earth

“You’re heading to the cultivation world just to gather medicinal herbs—do you really intend to come back?” The Black Dragon, seemingly caught by a sudden thought, asked with unrestrained joy. Though its tone was cheerful, the expression on its dark face was fierce enough to frighten children to tears.

Tang Wei, perhaps accustomed to such appearances, remained unfazed and replied matter-of-factly, “Of course! I’m doing well here. Why wouldn’t I come back? My family, friends, and senior brothers are all here! I don’t have the heart to leave them behind. If it weren’t for the need to find herbs, I wouldn’t want to wade into the mess of the cultivation world at all.”

“Do you really plan to cook me another pot of that soup? Unconditionally?” the Black Dragon asked incredulously.

“Yes! It’s rare to meet someone like you who truly appreciates good things. That gives me a great sense of accomplishment in preparing my medicinal soup. I must cook several more pots to thank you for your recognition. You might not understand this feeling, but seeing my carefully crafted dishes praised by those who taste them means more to me than anything else.” Tang Wei likely sensed how much the soup had helped the Black Dragon, especially with the example of Little Xue, so she quickly seized the moment to spin her words. She was surprisingly adept at this, continuing to persuade without flinching. Although the Black Dragon wasn’t completely fooled, it was so delighted that it was nearly overwhelmed.

“Then hurry along and set off! I won’t keep you any longer.” The Black Dragon’s grin deepened until its face wrinkled; it didn’t want to argue and was eager to send Tang Wei on her way.

Tang Wei’s heart leapt with joy, though her expression remained reluctant. “Senior, why are you rushing me off? There’s no urgency in gathering herbs. It’s rare to find such good company. I’d like to chat with you some more!”

“No chatting, no chatting. Go attend to your business! The sooner you leave and return, the better. We can talk again when you come back!” Thinking of the rich spiritual energy contained in the soup, the Black Dragon was bursting with excitement, wanting to shout with joy. Its dantian, silent for thousands of years, seemed to loosen slightly. What did this mean? It meant that with this medicinal soup, the Black Dragon had hope of advancing. Alas, there wasn’t enough of the soup, and it hadn’t figured out exactly what was going on. The soup was all gone. But no matter—Tang Wei, the one who could make the soup, was still here, and she had promised to cook another pot!

Acting on its own accord, the Black Dragon pulled Tang Wei to the teleportation array. It took out a few treasured spirit stones and embedded them in various positions, used its claws to lock in the coordinates—all without asking if she agreed. Without a word, it pushed her into the center of the formation and immediately activated it. Watching the dazzling flashes of light emanate from Tang Wei within the array, the Black Dragon felt as if it had swallowed honey—sweet beyond compare. Gradually, Tang Wei’s figure began to blur and fade.

After the elation, a grave realization struck the Black Dragon: it hadn’t clarified any questions, nor understood the details of her master’s formation. How could it be so hasty in sending her off? Oh no! Nothing the master had instructed had been accomplished! This was trouble. The Black Dragon immediately tried to halt the teleportation, rushing in to retrieve Tang Wei—but as it moved, it accidentally shifted the coordinates. Looking up, it saw no sign of Tang Wei’s figure. She had already been teleported somewhere else, the coordinates clearly altered.

Did the coordinate shift matter? Whether Tang Wei arrived at her intended destination was unknown. There was a risk she might have fallen into a rift in time and space, never to return. Even the Black Dragon couldn’t say if she was still alive. Tang Wei, you’ll have to rely on your own luck now!

Meanwhile, Zixuan, due to the depletion of spiritual energy, had fainted and lost track of Tang Wei. Unlike her luck, he collapsed in a deserted forest, with no one to save or awaken him. Fortunately, it wasn’t a primordial jungle; otherwise, he would have become prey before waking. When he regained consciousness, he was utterly weak, barely able to move. Reluctantly, he retreated into his spatial realm to restore his spiritual energy.

Three days passed before Zixuan fully recovered and exited his spatial domain. Though he knew Tang Wei was still angry and would not enter the space to await his apology, he held onto a faint hope and asked the little spirit to notify him immediately if Tang Wei ever entered the space.

Normally, without guidance from the two of them, the little spirit could neither freely enter nor exit the space, nor scan the outside world with its consciousness. Yet, with Zixuan’s request, the little spirit could maintain spiritual communication with him inside the space. However, this method was futile for finding Tang Wei, as she had never contacted the little spirit. Thus, relying on the little spirit to locate Tang Wei’s whereabouts was impossible; Zixuan would need to find another way.

Zixuan was indeed searching everywhere for Tang Wei. Although he knew she had entered the spatial realm, he was powerless to locate her. Just moments ago, he suddenly sensed his soul had lost connection with the space, sparking panic. Unable to believe it, he tried with all his might to enter the space again, but the once effortless entrance now yielded no response.

The space was fused with both their souls; this situation implied only two possibilities: either Tang Wei’s soul had dissipated—which was unlikely, as no one in modern Huaxia could harm her to that extent—or Tang Wei was no longer in this realm.

Having recently navigated the affairs of the four great families and sects, with only a vague understanding of the cultivation world, Tang Wei’s rash plunge into it likely brought danger. Considering this, Zixuan’s anxiety grew. He slammed his palm onto the ground with all his might, shattering the mountain peak beneath him into rubble, cursing inwardly, “Damn the Ouyang family. Last time they schemed against us, I held back. But now, daring to send this woman to ruin my relationship with Weiwei—I won’t let you off! If anything happens to Weiwei, I swear to wipe out every last one of you, leaving no chickens or dogs behind.”

His fists clenched so tightly his palms began to sweat, yet it barely relieved his fury. Just as he was about to vent further, the ground beneath his feet cracked with a loud sound. The stones around him crumbled into fist-sized fragments, gradually sinking. Zixuan recalled his actions and glanced at his hands, realizing his impatience had caused this. But there was no time to worry about that. Finding Tang Wei was more important. Since no one was hurt, it wasn’t a serious problem—he doubted even the Dragon Might would dare touch him. He leapt onto his flying sword, which had barely settled beneath him, when a loud crash turned the mountain peak into a flat plain.

Confident in Tang Wei’s affection for her family, Zixuan believed that no matter how angry she was with him, she would never leave without informing them—especially with her father and mother here, not to mention Yaya and Chongchong. She wouldn’t abandon everything just to avoid him. Zixuan’s confidence lay not in guessing himself but in his faith in Tang Wei; she simply wasn’t that heartless.

Back at the Tang residence, Zixuan first found Tang Jun to confirm Tang Wei’s return. Indeed, she had come back, leaving behind substantial supplies and a note saying she was just out to clear her mind and would return soon. Hearing this eased half of Zixuan’s worries; at least he could now confirm Tang Wei was safe and had not been harmed—only gone to the cultivation world. This ruled out the first possibility. As for her safety there, Zixuan was confident he could find her quickly and shield her from any harm.

Wasting no time, Zixuan briefly instructed Tang Jun, bid farewell to Tang’s parents, and swiftly flew on his sword to the Heavenly Lake atop Changbai Mountain. Unlike Tang Wei’s cautious approach, he dove straight into the lake, using all his spiritual power to sink to the bottom. Finding the cave was effortless.

With his understanding of formations, Zixuan did not need to probe cautiously like Tang Wei. A simple scan with his divine sense revealed the formation’s principles. At his cultivation level, breaking it was possible, but unnecessary since he was already a Golden Core stage cultivator.

The scene was the same, the situation identical, yet it posed no challenge to Zixuan. If even a woman like Tang Wei could handle it, how could Zixuan, a clever man, be stumped? He wondered what the ancestors of the four great families and sects had been thinking—if they wanted to block other forces from entering the cultivation world here, couldn’t they have assigned someone a bit smarter? The Black Dragon was powerful but foolish.

In a few words, Zixuan extracted all the Black Dragon’s secrets and left it with a puzzling mystery to ponder. Before the dragon could fully grasp the situation, Zixuan activated the teleportation array and vanished.

Though efficient, this approach caused him to miss the news about Tang Wei’s teleportation mishap before her departure. It seemed Zixuan still had much effort ahead if he hoped to find her.