The black-haired girl clenched her teeth and dashed forward.

　　The bull-like stocky man wasn’t too quick-witted—although the island was small, the ocean was vast and boundless! Moreover, Chu Chu wasn’t like those resentful spirits that were anchored to a place, she could leave the island without problems.

　　As long as she could leave the island and get into the sea, she was confident in escaping them by relying on her excellent swimming ability. While dashing toward the sea, Chu Chu tore part of her skirt off as to avoid getting hindered by it while running.

　　“Ape Four, stop her, quick!” the wolf-like man running on his four limbs bellowed.

　　Next, the man with long arms sped forward, quickly reducing the distance between him and Chu Chu.

　　However, he was still a tad slower than her.

　　Chu Chu closed in on the sea. Afterward, she jumped and submerged in the water like a beautiful mermaid, disappearing beneath the surface of the sea. Her swimming ability was indeed top-notch…

　　Although the three men chasing her could also swim, they were no match for Chu Chu’s speed.

　　“What a pity, she managed to get into the water. We were so close to enjoying that little girl,” Bull Two said while standing on the shore and picking his nose.

　　The wolf-like man gave him a supercilious look. He really didn’t know how to deal with this idiotic Bull Two.

　　Next, he stretched out his hand and tapped on the communication device beside his ear, saying, “Shark Nine, Whale Eight, that girl managed to run into the sea. Gather a few people and go catch her.”

　　After saying this much, he tapped on the device once more to change the channel. “Fox Ten, preparations are complete; you should also get ready to go into action. We’ll try to force that girl into a hopeless situation and give you a chance to befriend her and obtain the sword technique from her hands. Remember, you’ll have only one opportunity.”

　　They too were coveting the sword technique of the Chu Family.

　　Those guys from the ‘Illusory Sword School’ thought they had sealed all information off, but there were already quite a few sects and schools that knew about the Chu Family’s sword technique. However, most of these sects and schools were very strong and had no use for this small sword technique.

　　As for the Illusory Sword School, it was precisely that small school that was trying to create difficulties for the Chu Family.

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　In the Heavenly Island, inside that beautiful sea of flowers with missing patches beside Nine Lanterns’ temple.

　　“Roar~” The deafening roar of a lion echoed throughout the surrounding area. This roar was capable of intimating and scaring whoever listened to it.

　　This technique was precisely the ❮Buddhist Roaring Lion’s Technique❯.

　　Song Shuhang received a few pointers from Nine Lanterns and started to practice the technique. At this time, his roar already carried a hint of the demeanor of the king of the beasts.

　　Nine Lanterns sat cross-legged in midair, with two golden lotuses supporting her body. “Not bad. I barely taught you anything and you’ve already grasped the fundamentals of the technique. Now, you only need to practice diligently. Moreover, if you obtain an innate skill after opening your Mouth Aperture, it should have a pretty good effect if you use it together with the Roaring Lion’s Technique.”

　　After saying this much, she shot a glance at the nearby Lady Onion, who was still stuck to the enlightenment stone. “Come, you should also give it a try.”

　　A small mouth appeared on her green onion sprout. Afterward, she also roared, “Meow~”

　　“…” Song Shuhang.

　　“…””Nine Lanterns.

　　“Were you trying to act cute just now? What I taught you is the Roaring Lion’s Technique; therefore, try to roar like a lion!” Nine Lanterns tried to keep her emotions under control. “Try once more. This time, be sure to roar as loudly as you can!”

　　On the enlightenment stone, Lady Onion swayed left and right, as though she was gathering power.

　　In the next instant, she opened her mouth and roared, “Meow, meow, meow~”

　　Bulging blue veins appeared on Nine Lanterns forehead.

　　“Stop fooling around, what I taught you is the Roaring Lion’s Technique, not the Roaring Cat’s Technique! If you dare to meow again, I’ll pluck your green onion sprout! I’ll give you one last chance, try to copy what Song Shuhang did and roar with all your strength!” Nine Lanterns threatened Lady Onion while wearing a scary smile on her face.

　　Lady Onion’s body trembled all over.

　　Then, her green onion sprout swayed once more. This time, she seemed to have accumulated enough energy to perform the technique. “Meow, sob~ meow, sob~ sob, sob~”

　　Toward the end, Lady Onion had started to cry…

　　The bulging blue veins on Nine Lanterns forehead increased thricefold.

　　Seeing the situation, Song Shuhang tried to save Lady Onion. “Ahem. Miss Nine Lanterns, restrain your anger. Seeing Lady Onion’s appearance, I don’t think she’s doing it on purpose. Maybe this technique isn’t compatible with her? Moreover, she’s still very small right now. Perhaps she’ll be able to use it correctly once she reverts to her previous state?”

　　Nine Lanterns furrowed her brows. “Forget it. Lady Onion can learn the Roaring Lion’s Technique from you later. I don’t care anymore.”

　　Song Shuhang made a hollow laugh and put Lady Onion and the enlightenment stone away.

　　Lady Onion was moved and was on the verge of tears.

　　Nine Lanterns beckoned with her hand and said, “Alright, you already understood the fundamentals of the Roaring Lion’s Technique. Be sure to carefully practice it after leaving the island; it will be of great help in opening your Mouth Aperture.”

　　After saying this much, she stood up and arrived in front of Song Shuhang by walking on the golden lotuses appearing beneath her feet at each step. Then, she stretched her hand toward Song Shuhang and said, “Come, it’s time for you to leave the island.”

　　Song Shuhang got excited immediately—he was finally going to leave the Heavenly Island.

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　Unknowingly, a huge red moon had appeared in the sky of the Heavenly Island.

　　Nine Lanterns pulled Song Shuhang’s hand and stepped on the golden lotuses, rising into the sky with each step.

　　After each step, the golden lotuses beneath her feet would disappear and reappear in the place she was about to step on.

　　Golden lotuses were blooming and withering with her each step.

　　So cool! Song Shuhang thought to himself.

　　Unfortunately, it was a buddhist technique, and you would turn bald if you kept using it. On the other hand, just how cool would be the scene of a scholarly man stepping in the air with golden lotuses blooming under their feet?

　　“Miss Nine Lanterns, are we headed toward the most mystical place on the island?” Song Shuhang asked.

　　To his understanding, it was time for him to seal his own memories.

　　But he was very curious as to why the seniors in the group chat decided to seal their own memories before leaving the Heavenly Island.

　　What secret was the island hiding? Even the seniors in the group were willing to have their memories sealed to protect it…

　　“The place we’re heading to is the real ‘Heaven’,” Nine Lanterns said with a smile.

　　The real ‘Heaven’? Is it a place somewhere in the sky? Song Shuhang thought to himself.

　　While he was rising higher and higher in the sky, he saw a few black dots on the edge of the forest—it was the group of the old professor that had separated from them earlier.

　　“Miss Nine Lanterns, can I ask you a favor? Could you help those people come out? After all, the Heavenly Island is a very dangerous place, and it’s very easy for a mortal to lose their life here,” Song Shuhang asked Nine Lanterns a favor.

　　It was the best he could do to help those passengers. If Nine Lanterns was unwilling, there was nothing he could do.

　　“Don’t worry. Mortals aren’t in danger in this place. We usually don’t force mortals to leave. Only if they go into the ancient city and carry out the transaction in the Starry House will they be able to leave the island,” Nine Lanterns said with a smile.

　　After hearing her reply, Song Shuhang was immediately relieved.

　　Afterward, the two of them kept rising higher and higher in the sky.

　　They kept going till they arrived in front of that huge red moon.

　　At this time, Song Shuhang discovered that the huge red moon in the sky was in truth the entrance to a long, long tunnel.

　　The insides of the tunnel were full of red light. Therefore, if one were to look at it from below, they would mistakenly believe that it was a circular red moon.

　　“Let’s enter.” Nine Lanterns took the lead and entered that red-colored passage.

　　Song Shuhang also entered the tunnel, since he was being led by the hand.

　　Speaking of which—Nine Lanterns has been holding my hand for quite some time now, she won’t get pregnant, right?

　　Bleah, bleah, bleah!

　　❄️❄️❄️

　　After entering the tunnel and traveling for a hundred or so meters, Song Shuhang felt the scenery before his eyes brighten.

　　What appeared before his eyes was a paradise filled with magical mist and a myriad of glittering golden rays, and above the thick layer of clouds was a gigantic gate.

　　The gate was deep-green in color and seemed as though it was made of glass; it was shining very brightly, as though it had been adorned with precious stones!

　　There was also a signboard on top of the gate and three dazzling words were engraved on it: Southern Heavenly Gate.

　　But these three words were written with two different handwritings.

　　The words till ‘Southern Hea-‘ were written by one person, while the following ‘-venly Gate’ was written by another person with different handwriting.

　　It almost seemed as though someone had cleaved the signboard in two and the missing part had been added later by a different person.

　　It wasn’t only the signboard, the huge and magnificent gate also seemed to have been fixed several times.

　　It was easy to neglect at the first glance due to the blinding light the gate was emitting, but if you were to examine the gate closely, one would notice that it was damaged in many spots.

　　“The Southern Heavenly Gate? The same Southern Heavenly Gate of the Heavenly City in legends?” Song Shuhang turned his head around and looked at Nine Lanterns.

　　The Southern Heavenly Gate itself wasn’t a big deal since there were tons of ‘Southern Heavenly Gates’ in China. However, the Southern Heavenly Gate Shuhang saw right now reminded him of the Southern Heavenly Gate of the legendary Heavenly City. Moreover, this place was called ‘Heavenly Island’. Was it possible that this Heavenly Island was in truth the Heavenly City in legends that ruled over the whole world?

　　“This is indeed the Southern Heavenly Gate. However, we aren’t in the Heavenly City you think of.” Nine Lanterns looked at the dazzling gate before her eyes and sighed with emotion.

　　“Just… what’s happening?” Song Shuhang asked while looking at the badly damaged and patched Southern Heavenly Gate.

　　“Each cultivator would ask the same question after coming here,” Nine Lanterns replied.

　　Let alone cultivators, every man that knew about Chinese legends would ask this question, Song Shuhang thought to himself.

　　Nine Lanterns started with her explanation. “According to what a senior told me… the Heavenly City was blown to smithereens in the past. Anyway, the Heavenly City in legends and the Heavenly City I’m talking about are two completely different entities. The fact that this gate is also called ‘Southern Heavenly Gate’ is merely a coincidence.”