Chapter 1457 Return
A day later, the Illusory Sea Manor’s Sect Master learned about what had happened.
“Li Shan killed the Fifth Heavenly King of the Sacred Wolf Mountain?”
Upon hearing the news, the Sect Master frowned. “Why did he kill him?”
“It’s said that he did it because of an old friend. The Fifth Heavenly King was caught in the eye of the storm. He tried to hunt Li Shan’s friend down for nearly a year. But when he was about to succeed, Li Shan and his men arrived,” a subordinate reported. “Ning Chen and the others have all left.”
“I see.” The Sect Master closed his eyes. “You will deal with the Sacred Wolf Mountain.”
“Yes, Sect Master.”
After the man left, the Sect Master murmured softly, “I’ll punish them… by adding five hundred years.”
He also knew that Ning Chen and the others didn’t dare to leave. After all, he possessed their Soul Lamps.
As for the fact that they had left in such a hurry to meet an old friend, it meant that they were afraid of Sacred Wolf Mountain, which also showed that their old friend was not very powerful.
The Sect Master was not worried since the other party hadn’t reached the Tribulation Stage.
Moreover, with the status of Ning Chen and the others, it was impossible for them to have any old friends who had reached the Tribulation Stage from a remote Star Area.
The Illusionary Sea Manor’s Sect Master was completely at ease. He felt as though he had them under his control.
If their cultivation went well, some of them might reach the Tribulation Stage in the future as his subordinates.
It was a pleasure for him to have free powerful hitmen.
Originally, the higher-ups of the Sacred Wolf Mountain had been constantly questioning the Illusory Sea Manor when they entered the state of preparedness, asking for an explanation.
As a result, the Illusory Sea Manor reacted intensely. They gathered many people as if they were preparing for a great battle.
This matter had attracted a lot of attention in the Ocean Astral Domain.
Just as many forces thought that the two giants were about to clash, the high-level officials of both sides suddenly had a meeting.
No one knew what they had said, but in the end, they calmed down and withdrew their troops.
The danger of war was gone.
Five days later.
In the Clear Stream Star Area.
On Deer Magic Star with pleasant scenery.
There were many natural wonders here, and the Giant-horned Deer was the most distinctive.
They had two horns, which were very beautiful. Their colors were different. There were many species.
Zhang Han and the others were waiting on the planet.
Many people here had never heard of the Illusory Sea Manor, but its members’ overall strength was only around the Yuan Ying Realm. The sect was about the same size as that of the Sea Dragon Star Area.
In a massive restaurant.
“Hahaha. Hanyang!”
Ning Chen laughed as he raised his arms.
He swore that it might be the most exciting moment of his life.
Bang!
The two of them gave each other a hug.
“This is great. I’m so glad that you’re still alive.”
Elder Bai wiped the corners of his eyes. Apparently, he had tears just now.
“Hey, brat!”
The other elders also greeted Zhang Han one after another, grinning from ear to ear.
“Come here, let me introduce you. This peerless beautiful lady is our sister-in-law, Zi Yan, Hanyang’s beloved wife. This lovely little girl is their daughter, Mengmeng. Hurry up and bring out your gifts,” Li Shan said.
Hearing this, Mengmeng said with a smile, “I like your straightforward character, Uncle Li.”
“Of course, we have some gifts for our first meeting.”
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Almost every one of them had taken out eighth-tier spirit treasures, which were rare treasures in the Ocean Astral Domain.
They also took out a few seventh-tier spirit treasures.
These treasures were precious as the first meeting gifts.
“This is too generous of you,” Zhang Han said helplessly.
“Now is the time for the most important thing.”
Ning Chen smiled and said, “Everyone, please take a seat.”
After the crowd sat at the dining table one after another, Ning Chen put on a serious look.
“We’ll drink and talk about the old days later. Let’s get down to business first. Hanyang is back. This is good news, and we are very happy to hear that he’s still alive, which he needed to achieve with great luck, so it doesn’t matter he has lost his horrifying cultivation. At worst, he can take recultivation. But this requires a large number of resources. Hanyang, you gave us so much in the past. Now we can help you. Hahaha, don’t turn us down. We’ve got a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Zhang Han couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yes. Take a look at what this is.”
Ning Chen smiled as he waved his hand.
Buzz!
A three-meter-tall white stone tablet appeared in front of everyone.
“Hmm?”
Zhang Han’s pupils contracted. Obviously, what he saw was beyond his expectations. “It’s the Chaotic Stone Tablet?”
“That’s right.”
Ning Chen nodded and said, “This is one of the Profound-grade treasures. Back then, you gave it to us to study, but we couldn’t find anything special about it. Later, I found this Chaotic Stone Tablet at an auction. Guess what? It was classified as a seventh-tier spirit treasure. I directly bought it. During that period, I studied it again, but I still couldn’t feel anything.”
“You once said that it’s hard to sense anything from the Chaotic Stone Tablet before one reaches the Tribulation Stage Eighth Tier.” Elder Bai stroked his beard and said, “We observed it for a few days. This stone is useful for those who understand it, but for those who don’t, it’s just useless.”
“Yes. The value of this Profound-grade treasure is extremely high. However…”
As he spoke, Zhang Han’s eyes narrowed.
The Chaotic Stone Tablet was a natural Profound-grade treasure. It was very valuable and precious. When he first felt it, he found that it could accelerate some changes and patterns.
This was also the origin of the perfected Divine Walking Trick. It was precisely because of the Chaotic Stone Tablet that Zhang Han comprehended the trick.
Perfect-level Divine Walking Trick required the assistance of the Treasure-searching formulas, and it was extremely formidable.
Whether in terms of fighting or escaping, it was one of the divine skills.
It was a pity that it was no match for the divine thunder over the sky.
Zhang Han had also bid farewell to his previous way of cultivation. He had basically given up on the Divine Walking Trick.
But he suddenly thought of the magical effect of the Chaotic Stone Tablet.
“The Cosmos Formation with the stone tablet as the center can speed up the changes of the Rain-falling Star.
“I now have the Thunder Body and the Great Demon Body. The Thunder Body needs a very long time to mature. It may take hundreds or thousands of years. It may need to be accelerated. With the Chaotic Stone Tablet, can I speed up the planet’s transformation?”
Zhang Han was lost in thought.
Eventually, his eyes became brighter and brighter.
“It seems feasible. If I succeed, then the Thunder Body might be able to complete its condensation within a few years!”
Zhang Han suddenly burst into laughter.
Glancing at the crowd, he said with a smile, “Sect Leader Ning, you really gave me a surprise. The Chaotic Stone Tablet is a great use for me.”
In Zhang Han’s opinion, consuming the Chaotic Stone Tablet to speed up the construction of the Rain-falling Star was a super good deal.
What he was looking at might be the only Chaotic Stone Tablet in the Cultivation World, but what Elder Bai said was right. The stone would only work in the hands of the ones who understood it.
“It’s good that we can help,” Ning Chen said with a smile. “After all, we still count on you. I guess this time, our Sect Master will add another few hundred years to our time to stay.”
“It doesn’t matter. After I reach the Tribulation Stage, I’ll ask your Sect Master to send you off respectfully in a majestic manner,” Zhang Han teased.
“It’s a deal then.” Sect Leader Ning laughed and took out a Space Ring. “Take it. We’ll be waiting for you.”
Zhang Han observed the ring with his mind, and then he fell silent.
There were a lot of spiritual treasures and all kinds of other things in the Space Ring, which should be all the savings of the nine of them over a thousand years.
Elder Bai patted Zhang Han on the forehead and said, “We are all at the Peak Stage of the Mastery Realm. I don’t know when we can break through to the Tribulation Stage. Now, we don’t really need spirit treasures. The most important thing is for you to return to the peak.”
Due to the limitations of one’s aptitude, some people would never be able to reach the Tribulation Stage in their entire lives. However, some people could increase their cultivation levels without much obstruction.
Zhang Han’s aptitude had long been shown.
“We’ve got everything I need here.”
Zhang Han was silent for a moment and then made obeisance to them.
“Well, enough with the courtesy. Let’s start drinking later. Hanyang, you haven’t reached the Tribulation Stage yet. Let’s see if we can get you drunk.”
Elder Bai put on a rather treacherous look. He waved his hand with a smile.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A table of white jade jars of wine appeared.
Just the wine jars alone had the aura of fifth-tier spirit treasures.
What kind of wine would be stored in the wine jars refined by fifth-tier spirit treasures?
Zhang Guangyou secretly swallowed a little.
“It seems that they keep their good wine here.”
“Uncle Zhang, I heard that you also like to drink. Men are supposed to be like this. Come on, I’ll pour a glass of wine for you.” Sect Leader Ning got up with a smile.
They were all Zhang Han’s peers, and they respected Zhang Guangyou and Rong Jiali very much.
Friends and brothers were supposed to be like this.
“That won’t be okay!”
Zhang Guangyou grinned from ear to ear. He raised his hand and said, “When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Since you all use the jars to drink, I can’t lag behind. I’ll drink in the same way.”
“Okay! You’re so forthright, Uncle Zhang. Shall we drink a jar together?” Sect Leader Ning seemed to have a smirk on her face.
“Old Ning, that’s not cool!” Elder Bai glared at him and said, “Uncle Zhang, don’t listen to him. This wine is called Immortal Intoxication. I’ve learned how to brew it from the Al Pike Clan. This has been stored for five hundred and thirty years. Even we can get drunk after drinking two or three jars of it. Today, we’ll get Zhang Han drunk. Uncle Zhang, you shouldn’t get drunk.”
Mengmeng grimaced and made a face when she heard that.
“You want to get my dad drunk? Humph, you wish!”
Zi Yan was sitting next to them with a smile.
She found it nice to see Zhang Han’s old friends.
She still remembered that when she learned that Zhang Han had traveled in the Cultivation World for 500 years, she had wondered how many Divine Women and Saintly Women Zhang Han had slept with.
After all, Childe Zhang in Shang Jing used to have a lot of ex-girlfriends.
However, the birds of a feather flocked together. It was not difficult to tell from the details of their posture that Sect Leader Ning, Elder Li Shan, and Elder Bai were very upright.
“Cheers!”
Everyone raised the wine jars high.
They all began to gulp down the wine.
Gurgle!
After Zhang Guangyou took three big sips, his eyes widened as he felt the shock.
The wine jar was put down, and his face was red.
“Great, great wine!”
Plop!
He lay prone on the table and began to snore.
“He’ll be okay.”
Ning Chen smiled and said, “I guess that he’s drunk. This wine can help one cultivate. Feel free to try it, everyone. You won’t get drunk if you drink only a little.”
Mu Xue poured a cup of wine and took a sip with Chu Qingyi.
Clatter!
The two of them were instantly in a daze.
Mengmeng grinned with a look of disgust and was not willing to drink.
Zi Yan, however, was a little curious. She sat next to Zhang Han, dipped her chopstick in the wine, and licked it.
A burning sensation spread from her throat to her stomach.
It was very spicy.
But then she had a fresh feeling. The taste made her feel refreshed.
It seemed that the wine tasted nice.
However, Zi Yan did not intend to drink it. She just wanted to taste it a bit.
Then, she looked at the others.
Except for the ten people including Sect Leader Ning and Zhang Han, the others didn’t drink much. Grand Master Chu was also tasting wine with a small cup.
Those ten people drank up all ten jars in this round.
“Cool!”
Sect Leader Ning burped and said, “It’s been a thousand years. Hanyang, I’m so happy to see you.”
“This is amazing. Amazing indeed.” Elder Bai echoed.
The others also began to talk about the past, the future, and various other things.
They had a lot of food and wine.
In the end, Sect Leader Ning, Elder Bai, Elder Li, and the rest of the nine people got drunk.
Elder Bai shouted loudly, “I’m not drunk! Don’t stop me, I can keep drinking. If I don’t get him drunk this time, I don’t know when I’ll be able to do it.”
His voice was so loud that many pedestrians on the street outside stopped and looked over.
Unfortunately, they couldn’t see those people on the top floor of the restaurant. They only knew that some big shots were drinking and having fun here.
“I think we’ve drunk enough.”
Zhang Han smiled. He had drunk five jars of wine, but his face remained unchanged.
“Not enough. Come on, let’s continue to drink.”
At this time, one of Sect Leader Ning’s men came in slowly.
“Elder Ning, it’s about time. Should we…?”
In the end, Ning Chen and the others were sent away by that subordinate.
The man also looked at Zhang Han in confusion.
The several elders of the Illusory Sea Manor were all drunk, but Zhang Han looked completely sober.
“That’s amazing.”
“Dad, you’re awesome!”
Mengmeng gave him a thumbs-up and said, “I didn’t expect you to be so great at drinking!”
Zhang Han said happily, “Of course, I am. After all, I’m your dad.”
Looking at his eyes, Zi Yan slightly pursed her red lips. “This guy is still pretending.”
They went all the way back to their spaceship.
After they entered their room, Zhang Han lay down on the bed with a plop.
“Oh, no, I have to sleep for a while. Those people are really good at getting me drunk.”
After saying that, he fell into a deep sleep.
He slept soundly for three days and three nights.
It had been a long time since he had slept like this.
When he woke up, he could feel that his beloved was in his arms.
“You’re awake?”
Zi Yan was flipping through a book. When she saw Zhang Han wake up, she smiled and said, “I’ll make porridge for you.”
As she spoke, she was about to get up, but Zhang Han suddenly grabbed her wrist and gently pulled her back to his arms.
“Let’s cuddle for a while.”
“You’ve slept for three days.” Zi Yan reached out her hand and touched Zhang Han’s chin.
“It seems that the wine was specially prepared for me.” Zhang Han shook his head.
Immortal Intoxication was very precious. It was supposed to be stored in a specific place instead of a Space Ring.
Perhaps Li Shan had specially told the guys to get him drunk with some good stuff.
It was obvious that they had succeeded, but they had also suffered a lot.
Getting drunk was what Ning Chen and the others had planned for a long time. They wanted to get drunk because they didn’t want to part. They just regarded it as a dream. When they woke up from the dream and found that it was real, they would still be happy.
“Alright, I’ll make some porridge for you.”
Zi Yan got up. Wearing a sling nightdress, she walked to the kitchen on the side of the room.
Zhang Han rested his hands on the pillow and looked at Zi Yan’s graceful figure. The long legs under her nightdress were exposed, and her slender arms were simply tempting.
Zhang Han also got up, walked behind Zi Yan, and hugged her. He could clearly feel her wonderful figure.
“I don’t want to have porridge. I just want to eat you.”
“What are you doing? It’s still in the middle of the day.”
“There’s no daytime or nighttime here.”
“…”
It wasn’t until three hours later that the two of them could have porridge and some food. Then, they went out. Everyone was cultivating, so they sat in the lounge for a few hours.
Mengmeng and the others came out of their rooms in succession.
“Now we’re having a real exploration!”
Mengmeng’s interest was piqued.
“Are we going back the same way we came?” Grand Master Chu asked.
“Let’s take the latest route set by the system. We took some detours on the way here,” Zhang Han said.
“Okay.”
Grand Master Chu gave the order.
The system reported, “The flight time will take about half a year. Please prepare the Energy Stones in advance. The spaceship is about to enter the planned route.”
On their way here, they would occasionally encounter a lot of bad turbulence in the starry sky.
Unexpectedly, the journey home was peaceful.
It was as if the weather didn’t want to disturb their good mood after their reunion.
During this period, a lot of interesting things happened, and they took a tour of some fun places.
“Judging from the time in Hua Territory, today is the New Year. Mengmeng is already 18 years old.” Zi Yan smiled and said, “My daughter has grown up.”
“Of course.” Mengmeng said with a proud look, “I’m a grown-up. I get to date someone from now on.”
Hearing this, Zhang Han looked embarrassed, and he said in a soft voice, “Don’t worry. You can’t rush it. Matured cultivators have to be 180 years old at least, not 18 years old.”
“Alas, I’m 39 years old. I’m almost 40 now.” Zi Yan grinned.
“But Mummy, you still look like you’re in your twenties. We’ll really look like sisters to others,” Mengmeng said.
“How about I refine some Beauty-maintaining pills for Mengmeng so that she can maintain her current state?” Zhang Han suddenly felt that his proposal was very good.
“No. I don’t want to take that. I’ll take some when I’m at my most beautiful time. A girl would change a lot when she matures. I’ve just turned 18, and I’ll look even more beautiful later,” Mengmeng muttered.
“Get over yourself,” said Zi Yan.
“…”
Mengmeng’s 18th birthday was celebrated on the spaceship.
Zhang Han and Zi Yan had made the birthday cake themselves.
Zhang Guangyou and Rong Jiali had made exquisite gifts, which were a stone sculpture of a spaceship. Inside the spaceship, the crowd was sitting at a table with a birthday cake, candles, and a lot of smiling faces.
Mu Xue, Chu Qingyi, and Grand Master Chu’s gifts were all quite special.
Mengmeng was now 18 years old.
Zhang Han had been there for Mengmeng over the past 14 years.
He felt like he was in a dream, and time flew.
All the memories were like a piece of dessert, which was refreshing and sweet.
Their journey remained unimpeded for half a year.
“Beep! We’ve arrived in the Astral Domain of Vast Heaven.”
A system prompt popped up.
Everyone once again gathered in the lounge.
They looked at the Astral Domain ahead.
“We’re back!”
“Let’s go back to the Chu Family’s place first.”
The spaceship once again jumped into the secondary space.
Twenty days later, they arrived at the Heavenly Double Star where the Chu Family lived.
They entered the space station and came to the Beast Overlooking Peak.
“Big Brother, you’re back!”
Taoist Lord of Azurepeak and Old Taoist Honghu were both excited.
“We managed to find more than a dozen people with the bounty we put out. We have a total of 39 people here.”
“I’ll contact them now and ask them to come back. Almost all of them are traveling on the Heavenly Double Star.”
A few hours later, Zhang Li and Liang Hao were the first to arrive.
“Dad, Mom!”
Zhang Li was relieved to see Zhang Guangyou and Rong Jiali, and she cried for a while.
Liang Mengqi, Rong Jiaxin, Wang Ya, Wang Ming, Wang Zhanpeng, Lei Tiannan, and many others were also there.
More than 30 people were gathered together.
“Is there still no news about Changqing and Zhao Feng?”
A few people were missing.
Some of them were training on the Vast Heaven Star.
But there was still no news about several other people, such as You Huo, Zhang Mu, Chen Changqing, and Zhao Feng.
Zhou Fei and Liang Mengqi were both very worried about them.
Seeing this, the others tried to comfort these two.
“They should be fine. Changqing is the famous Emperor Qing. He made a name for himself back then and is a legendary figure. He will be okay. Xiaofeng is so calm and steady. They will definitely be fine in the face of all kinds of situations.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Chen Changqing asked, “How many crystal stones have you dug today?”
Zhao Feng, “I’ve dug three thousand crystal stones. What about you?”
Chen Changqing said, “More or less. Let’s work harder. We’ll be able to eat when we get five thousand crystal stones.”
Zhao Feng said, “Okay. Let’s do it. “