A loud wailing sound could be heard in mid-air. It was the birdman who caught the flame.

　　In a blink of an eye, the birdman with protruding wings has flown away at the speed of light and what was left were some curled feathers falling from the sky.

　　Shen Lian took out a shiny looking elixir that smelled really good. The troopers were drooling just by looking at it.

　　The young adult seemed like the leader of the troopers. Although the troopers were drooling they were still on high alert and kept an eye on Shen Lian.

　　Shen Lian was not bothered by the attention and placed the elixir into the young man’s mouth. This elixir was not a medicine to heal wounds but this ‘Nine Fragrance Ginseng Pill’ contained the essence of nine different magical herbs and was used to restore a person’s Qi of vitality.

　　The flame mark in between the eyebrows of the young man went off, leaving only scars behind. But after swallowing the Nine Fragrance Ginseng Pill, the flame slowly regained its color, though it was a lot dimmer than before.

　　When the young man woke up, Shen Lian smiled.

　　The young adult politely thanked Shen Lian, “Mister Daoist, thank you for the elixir. My name is Jimeng and I will repay you when I return to my tribe.”

　　Although he conversed in the Donggi’s dialect, he was very courteous and respectful and that was something Shen Lian did not expect.

　　Shen Lian asked, “How do you know that I am a Daoist? Have you encountered anyone else like me?”

　　Jimeng replied, “The Doyen of our tribe has once traveled the world and encountered people like you. I was only able to determine your background after you gave me the elixir.”

　　Shen Lian knew better that people with superhuman powers like them could reach places that ordinary human would never reach. They could go to the vast ice lands, the peak of the highest mountains or even the beyond the clouds. It was not unusual to encounter superhumans like that once in a while.

　　Although the ratio of cultivators to ordinary human was one in a million.

　　Shen Lian asked, “What’s the beef with that birdman?”

　　Jimeng flustered in anger and said, “He is from the ‘Winged Men Tribe’, one of the hundred tribes of the Kun Mountain. He would not have been so powerful if he did not steal and eat the celestial almond that we were escorting. Earlier on, I mistook you as his accomplice and that’s why I assaulted you.”

　　He continued, “After consuming the celestial almond, one would have the ability to control the wind and thunder. Our Doyen assigned us to escort it to the celestial market organized by the Xuantong Demon King and exchange for some other items back. We didn’t expect that creature would steal and eat it. Are you on your way to the celestial market too?”

　　Jimeng explained the situation to Shen Lian. Although he looked of similar age as Shen Lian, he was groomed by the tribe’s doyen since he was a kid and he was smarter than his fellow clansman. His Doyen once told him that Daoist generally looked young, would not age and would not die. The more skillful Daoist could set the ocean ablaze while the less skillful one flies across the sky and drill through the ground. They have the knowledge to produce magical medicine that could treat the dead or they could use it to start a plague and kill an entire tribe.

　　The Doyen also once said, most Daoists would never take the initiative to harm others because of bad karma.

　　Shen Lian pondered slightly and said, “Your tribe is so far away from here and it seemed like you don’t know how to fly. How did you cross the vast ocean?”

　　Jimeng stood up and answered, “Since you’re curious and there’s nothing for us to hide. Our tribe’s Doyen cast a spell to send us over. Our destination was somewhere near Xuantong Demon King’s celestial market. But something went wrong and we landed in the middle of the ocean and was assaulted by the Winged Men tribe. We were an easy target for the Winged Men tribe and that’s why we came and seek refuge on this island. At least the island could provide us with some geographical advantage.

　　As for why would our tribe heard of the Xuantong Demon King’s celestial market, that’s because the Xuantong Demon King once made a trip to our tribe and our former Doyen has rescued him with witchcraft. He is a sentimental person and communicates with us regularly.”

　　Shen Lian smiled, “You don’t have to explain so much to me. If you want to go to the celestial market, I can bring all of you there.”

　　Jimeng had some doubts but he eventually gave in. That was because the Doyen once told him to never turn down an offer of help made by a powerful person, it would invite disaster otherwise.

　　Besides, a true warrior would not be able to fight alone without the help of others. A brave warrior would also repay the kindness of others and know how to overcome difficulties.

　　Shen Lian was somewhat amused. What type of sorcery could actually transport the entire troop to somewhere so far away? This must be something that involved the mysterious dimensions and it was not something Shen Lian could do currently.

　　Actually, Qing Xuan once had a magic talisman that could access different dimensions. But the talisman was taken away by the immortal Zhenren that went missing. Because the immortal Zhenren would always go on exploration trips to discover the mysteries behind different spaces and hence, the magical talisman was assigned to him for safekeeping.

　　Among the four main Daoist sects, the one that specialized in the Space of Dao was the Taisu Sect.

　　Speaking of the Taisu Sect, Shen Lian could not help but be reminded of Ruoxi. As the chief of a sect, part of the reason why he left the mountains was because of the Temple of Longevity but the more important reason was because he wanted to take Ruoxi back with him. It has been sixty to seventy years since, he was not sure if Ruoxi could still recognize him.

　　It was just that Ruoxi was the one and only blood relative he had and he would never abandon her no matter what.

　　Moreover, he has now the chief of Qing Xuan and that alone was sufficient to protect her.

　　Jimeng could sense a slight depression in Shen Lian but he did not know the reason why. Although they had lost the fairy almond, they still had to go and meet the Xuantong Demon King, or in the words of the Doyen, a token of courtesy.

　　He got distracted for a short while and saw the endless movements of Shen Lian’s fingers. Even if he had perfect eyesight, all he could see were shadows. Soon, a hurricane came by and wrapped them up in the sky.

　　The troopers were hugging each other in the wind and Jimeng too, was scared. But he knew that this was a Dao spell and hence suppressed his fears.

　　After a while, they arrived on the shore. Shen Lian hung on in the void but the troops landed on a raised platform that was freshly made.

　　Jimeng recalled seeing Shen Lian pointed on the ocean to build this platform before he tossed them down.

　　There were yellow halos spinning around on the platform.

　　There was a sea of clouds in the sky and there were many different architectures beneath the clouds.

　　This sea of clouds was like flat and motionless land in the void. A building that looked like a palace in the clouds.

　　An intelligent cultivator would be able to tell that only ‘The Forbidden Technique of Xiaozhu Clouds’ could create a building as such in the sky. Incenses were burnt in the center of one of the buildings as a faint fragrant lingered around.

　　Behind the curtains, someone said, “Tong Er, some guests arrived. Please go and welcome them.” The voice sounded empty and it was hard to tell if it was the voice of a male or female.