The sky was high and the land was vast, and the wind birds were singing in the blue sky. Gu Fuyou and the other three suddenly had a flash of inspiration, and they had arrived at such a place. In front of them was a narrow mountain path, with only one or two dead grasses on the side, and the ground was full of fine stones. When the wind blew, the yellow sand was blinding.
The four of them didn't know where they were. Could it still be in Nanzhou? If they were in Nanzhou, how far would they be from Xuanmiaomen? The four of them had just breathed a sigh of relief after escaping death, and they didn't dare to relax immediately. Liu Guizhen said something to the three of them, and flew up to a higher place on his sword to investigate the surrounding environment.
Gu Fuyou stood up and walked to the edge of the mountain road. She looked into the distance. The sun was setting in the west. Xiaoyao City was close to Dongzhou. She wondered if this place had passed Xiaoyao City. She had to go back quickly. Xuling Sect would not let Xiaoyao City go. She had to go back and inform her father and elder brother.
At first, she impulsively argued with her father, saying that if Xu Ling Sect wanted to fight, she would fight them. But after seeing the competition in Xuan Miao Sect and the fate of Yun Ran and Ji Chao Ling, she was a little scared. She was not afraid of death, she was afraid that her Xiaoyao City, her home, would collapse and shatter like the main peak of Jingdu Mountain. She was afraid that her relatives and friends would also become a wisp of flying ash like Yun Ran and disappear without a trace.
She thought to herself that she had to go back quickly. Even if she died and turned into ashes, at least she could be among a pile of ashes.
As soon as she had this thought, she became extremely anxious. She didn't know where she was yet, and she didn't have any idea where to go. She just wanted to go back to Xiaoyao City, so she raised her foot and wanted to walk down the mountain. But as soon as she turned around, she heard a thump and a figure fell in front of her. Fortunately, Dong Li was quick-witted and supported the person.
Gu Fuyou's heart tightened: "Zhong Michu!" She reached out and touched Zhong Michu's cheek, and felt it was hot. Zhong Michu's body was always cool, but now it was burning hot. The cold water became boiling water. Gu Fuyou asked anxiously: "What's wrong with her? Why is her body so hot?"
Dong Li frowned, "The weapon that hurt her was of fire attribute. After so many misfortunes, she was worried and she was forced to use her spiritual power to summon, which made her more seriously injured. If the temperature in her body doesn't go down, something bad will happen sooner or later."
"What should we do then?"
"I have a way, but I don't have any herbs on hand."
"What herbs?"
"Heart-piercing grass, ice-heart grass, Luoshui lotus."
Gu Fuyou took out her storage bag and searched for it, but only found Tongxin Grass and Bingxin Grass. She did find Luoshui Lotus, but it had been refined into a pill. She handed all of them to Dongli and asked, "Is the pill successful?"
Dong Li shook his head: "When the spiritual herbs are made into pills, the medicinal properties will change a bit, and I can't control the dosage..."
Gu Fuyou said in annoyance, "Oh!" She originally had all these herbs, and they were of the best quality. She brought them out from the Immortal Falls. At that time, she was in a carefree situation and had not considered the long-term and comprehensive aspects. She was excited and gave most of them to Si Miao to make pills. Who would have thought that one day, there would be such a situation, not pills but herbs.
Zhong Michu's cheeks were sickly red, and her breathing was uneven. Although her eyes were closed, her brows were knitted tightly, and she seemed to be in great pain. Gu Fuyou lowered his eyes and looked at her. Xiaoyao City and Zhong Michu had been circling in her mind, and it was hard to tell which came first. Suddenly, she moved, and Ah Fu arched out, lying on the edge with his paws, flipped to the ground, crawled to Zhong Michu, touched her with his nose, and turned back to look at Gu Fuyou.
Maybe it was because Zhong Michu had been with him since birth, or because Zhen Mao was very spiritual and had excellent bloodline talent, but Ah Fu was not very afraid of Zhong Michu.
Not long after, Liu Guizhen came back and told them that this was still Nanzhou, a barren mountain next to a small town affiliated with Bailu City. Dong Li said, "Since there is a city nearby, there should be a place for trading spiritual medicines. We have to go there and see if there are any Luoshui lotus flowers."
Liu Guizhen didn't know the reason yet, so Dong Li explained it to him. Liu Guizhen thought, "That's the Zuo family's territory, so it's bound to be dangerous. This spiritual plant can be found in the various sacred mountains, but now we should avoid the people of the Zuo family." What Liu Guizhen said made sense. They had just escaped from the trap, and now entering the Zuo family's city would be like entering a wolf's den again; and the Zuo family's territory was not like the Xuanmiao Sect. In the Xuanmiao Sect, they had the protection of the elders, but they still escaped so hard. Now there were only four of them, and entering another family's territory would be like going through fire and water.
Dong Li said, "That's true, but we have to search in the sacred mountain and hide from the Zuo family. It will take more than a day or two to find the elixir. I'm afraid Mi Chu's injury won't last that long."
Gu Fuyou said, "Let's go to the city." The two looked at her, and she said, "The Zuo family suddenly attacked the city, and now everyone is still in the Xuanmiao Gate. People outside may not know that we have escaped. We sneak into the city and come out after finding the elixir. Even if they get the news, the Zuo family will think we are fleeing in the mountains and dare not enter the city. Their main force will search in the mountains, and the city is safer."
Dong Li said: "You are right."
The three of them discussed and decided. Gu Fuyou took out the shape-changing mask he bought from Youzou City Gate. It was a gadget that would change one's appearance when worn on the face. Although one could see the abnormality after a long look, and a person with a high level of cultivation could immediately see the clue, it was better to have something than nothing, and it was better than having nothing to cover up. The three of them put on the mask and immediately changed their faces.
Dong Li wanted Zhong Michu to stay and have someone else take care of her. This way, even if something happened after entering the city, they would not be caught together. Moreover, the three of them carrying a seriously injured person would be too conspicuous. Even if they left the city safely at this moment, the Zuo family would be able to find their whereabouts after investigating in the future.
Gu Fuyou felt that if the medicine could not be retrieved, Zhong Michu would not live long. She would die anyway, so if they all went together, there would be more helpers and more care. Dong Li said, "But if we take her with us, we will eventually attract attention."
Gu Fuyou pondered for a while and said, "Why not..."
Dong Li asked, "What's worse?"
"Let Senior Sister change back to dragon body."
Liu Guizhen was stunned. Gu Fuyou and Dong Li looked at him and sighed. Liu Guizhen didn't know Zhong Michu's identity. Now that they had experienced life and death together, there was no need to be too wary of him. Letting him know about this might help avoid some misunderstandings later.
Gu Fuyou said: "Let's make her smaller so we can carry her with us. It will be more reassuring and safer."
Dong Li sighed, "She is in a coma now. Even if we want to change her back, I'm afraid we won't be able to do it." Although she temporarily stabilized Zhong Michu's condition, even if she could understand what she was saying, her body might not obey her.
Gu Fuyou knelt beside Zhong Michu and suddenly fell silent. After a while, she said, "I'll try." She licked her lips, seemed a little nervous, took a deep breath, and called out, "Nanzhu Jun."
Dongli was a kind-hearted woman, and she understood what she meant when she heard her call out like that.
Gu Fuyou said, "Transform into a dragon body." She used the power of the contract. As long as the spirit beast understood the command, its body would react instinctively. She had promised Zhong Michu that she would not use the contract to force her to do anything, otherwise she would be struck by lightning and die a miserable death. But now she just wanted to heal her injuries quickly. She would use whatever method was the most convenient and safest. She didn't care about the punishment from heaven or the promise.
Gu Fuyou had never tried it before, so she didn't know if it would work. She stared at Zhong Michu. After a while, a layer of mist appeared on Zhong Michu's body. The mist became thicker and thicker, and finally turned milky white, like a cloud. After the cloud dispersed, a white dragon coiled on the mountain path.
This size is not much different from when she was carried to the canyon, it should be her normal size. Liu Guizhen couldn't help but take two steps back and said, "Is the senior sister really a dragon? How come..." Dong Li nodded. He paused, he was not a person who liked to get to the bottom of things, he knew that this was not the time to care about these things, so he stopped asking.
Over there, Zhong Michu transformed into a dragon, but the narrow mountain path was not big enough for it. The white dragon's head was propped outside, and it slid softly down the cliff. Gu Fuyou quickly hugged its body and repeatedly called out, "Nanzhu Jun, it's too big, make it smaller." Soon after he finished speaking, the white mist on the white dragon's body dissipated, and its body became smaller.
"Smaller, smaller."
It continued to change to the size of a small snake, about an inch long, and Gu Fuyou could hold it in both hands.
Liu Guizhen: “…”
Dong Li: “…” It was the first time that Dong Li saw Zhong Michu transform into a dragon, and he looked like this.
Gu Fuyou put the white dragon back into her pocket, asked Ah Fu to shrink as well, and went in to look at it. She then flew on the sword with the two of them and headed for the small town.
When everyone arrived at the city gate, they looked up and saw that it was Xiaocheng. The Xiao family was in charge of the city, but because the Xiao family was dependent on the Zuo family, they could not make decisions on many major matters and could only manage some trivial matters. At this moment, the city gate was not under martial law, so the news must have not been passed on. The three of them hurried into the city to look for the Luoshui lotus.
The three of them split up and searched in three different directions. This was a small city, and the resources were not as abundant as those in Wantong City. It took a lot of effort for the three of them to find the elixir, and when they were about to leave the city, the sun had already set.
The three of them just met and felt that the street was a bit chaotic. When they walked to the city gate, they saw a cultivator from the Zuo family, and there was a young man beside him. Gu Fuyou thought he looked familiar, and after a few more glances, he vaguely remembered him. It turned out to be the person who was bullied by the Zuo family outside the gate of Xianluo that day - Xiao Zhongting.
The three of them passed the guards at the city gate and had only taken a few steps when suddenly someone shouted, "Stop!"
The three of them were stunned and slowly turned around. It turned out to be the monk from the Zuo family: "The city is under martial law now. All travelers coming and going will be strictly checked."
The monk raised his chin, and the guards on both sides of the city gate came forward. The three of them couldn't help but hold their breath, thinking that this was a message, and they were arresting them? No matter what, they had to be prepared and secretly accumulate strength, waiting for any unusual movement, and then they would force their way through.
Xiao Zhongting suddenly shouted, "Wait a minute." He bowed to the monk and said indifferently, "Sir, these three are obviously not the four Xuanmiao Sect disciples you mentioned. When they entered the city, I checked them carefully and found that they were just ordinary travelers. Let them go. We will close the city gates and search for the four people in the city."
They had never seen Xiao Zhongting when they entered the city. This man was really lying with his eyes open, but they also knew that he was helping them, so they were not as tense as before, and would not fight back as soon as others moved.
The monk did not answer. Xiao Zhongting had no choice but to raise his hand and signal the city gate guards to search for the man. The city gate guards received the signal from the young city lord and just stepped forward to search the pockets of the three people, then retreated.
The Zuo family monk then said, "No one is interested, please leave immediately."
The three of them left the city in a hurry. When leaving, Gu Fuyou looked back at Xiao Zhongting and found that he was also looking at her. Her heart skipped a beat, afraid that he might find out something, so she quickened her pace and left in a hurry.
After reaching the outside of the city wall, the three of them boarded Dongli's spirit sword and flew eastward. Only after they had walked a long way could they breathe a sigh of relief. The three of them returned to the barren mountain and found a cave to rest for a while. Liu Guizhen found firewood to start a fire, and Gu Fuyou asked Zhong Michu to change back to human form so that Dongli could heal her. Zhong Michu's injury was not light, and it would take more than a day or two to recover, but the fever had finally subsided.
After a busy day, it was already dark outside. After experiencing so many separations and deaths, life and death, they were all a little dazed and exhausted.
The three of them discussed where to go next. People from a small place like Xiaocheng came just to look for their four little disciples. Other places might not be much better. If the entire South Continent was under martial law, they would be unable to move, let alone gather the inner disciples outside. As for Shou Yiyuan Zun, they didn't know where to find him and seek justice.
There are only two ways now. Go to Xiaoyao City and ask Gu Wanpeng to borrow people to find the disciples of Xuanmiao Sect, or go directly to another continent to seek justice from the other three sects. Going northeast from Xiaocheng is Dongzhou; going southeast from Xiaocheng is Xiaoyao City. The three places form a triangle.
Gu Fuyou was concerned about Xiaoyao City, and had been a little restless before. Now she was determined to go back to Xiaoyao City. Even if Dongli and the others were going to go somewhere else, she would have to go back to Xiaoyao City to feel at ease. Dongli said, "Then let's go together. First, we can remind City Master Gu to be on guard early. Second, we have a place to recall the disciples of Xuanmiao Sect, and we can also increase the manpower of Xiaoyao City. It will be better if both sides can help each other."
Gu Fuyou nodded heavily after hearing this. She was originally worried that if they disagreed, they would have to go their separate ways, and she didn't know if she could return to Xiaoyao City safely. Liu Guizhen also thought that this was the right thing to do, and seeing that they both had the same idea, he no longer had any objections.
The three of them made up their minds and adjusted their breathing for a night. The next day, Gu Fuyou still had Zhong Michu transform into a dragon, put it in his pocket, and hid it. He and Dong Li chose a wilderness road and headed southeast.