Chapter 98

It was another early morning, the gentle breeze bringing a refreshing coolness. The mountains were filled with a vibrant energy, making one feel invigorated and at ease.

Standing at the edge of a cliff by the river, Gu Fei stretched his body, and a series of crisp cracking sounds erupted from his body, as if there were thunder rumbling within him.

This was the realm of "sinew and bone thunder" described in ancient body cultivation techniques. The "heavenly drum and thunder sound" forges the sinews and bones, not only causing the sinews and bones to rumble, but now, with Gu Fei's increasing power, even his internal organs could produce a sound like muffled thunder.

Inside and outside, he was thoroughly transformed, his body completely renewed. This was a sign of entering the ninth level of the "Awakening Me" stage. Gu Fei vaguely sensed that he was just a step away from the ninth level, as if he could break through at any moment. Yet, it felt as if there was a thin, misty veil in front of him, and although he could vaguely see the blurry image behind the veil, he could not discern what lay beyond it.

"No force, no anxiety, no discouragement..." Gu Fei murmured to himself. If others encountered such an intangible and frustrating cultivation bottleneck, they would most likely become restless and agitated. This might be the so-called "heart demon" of cultivators, a restlessness from deep within.

But Gu Fei's current state of mind was as calm as a mirror, unaffected by external things or personal emotions. He watched the flowers bloom and wither in the courtyard, and gazed at the clouds gathering and dispersing in the sky with a detached eye.

At this moment, upstream on the river, three large ships were sailing downstream, coming into Gu Fei's view. Behind these three ships, there were dozens of other vessels of various sizes.

"Hmph! These people are quite shrewd, using the Hao Tian trade fleet's ships to borrow their might. This way, no bandits would dare to attack their ships," Gu Fei said indifferently.

The bandits active along this stretch of the river only dared to attack lone or small groups of merchant ships. With such a large fleet of dozens of ships sailing downstream, those bandits would keep their distance.

On the deck of the leading ship of the Hao Tian fleet, which had a colorful flag fluttering, stood a young man with a face as smooth as powder, gazing over the railing.

The term "exquisite beauty" was indeed fitting for this "young man."

With slender eyebrows, phoenix eyes, lips like a crimson dot, and eyes like morning stars, he held a white fan and wore a light yellow robe. Standing there, he was as graceful as a willow swaying in the wind, exuding an indescribable handsomeness.

However, this exquisite "young man" was now frowning deeply, as if he had lost his soul, his gaze vacant and dazed, not knowing what he was looking at.

This "exquisite young man" was actually the thirteenth young miss of the Ling family, Ling Luoyan, who was dressed as a man.

In the short time she had spent with Gu Fei, Ling Luoyan seemed to have developed deep feelings for him. Once Gu Fei left, she lost her appetite and became emaciated with worry.

This had been a source of great concern for the maids, Xiaocui and Xiaoyue, while Zhong Bo, the loyal old servant, rarely showed his face, hiding in his room on the ship.

So many people were concerned about the item he carried, and the cautious Zhong Bo almost never left his room, even testing his food with a silver needle before eating.

"Eh? Who is that?" Suddenly, Ling Luoyan saw a white figure standing on a cliff by the river to the right.

"Gu Fei?" Ling Luoyan's body trembled, and she exclaimed, unsure if the figure was really Gu Fei due to the distance.

"Swish!" "Swish!"

As Ling Luoyan cried out, two slender figures, one in yellow and one in green, immediately rushed out of the cabin. Xiaocui and Xiaoyue, the two maids, appeared beside her.

"Miss, what happened?" Xiaocui's large, black, and lively eyes scanned the surroundings, and she asked urgently, her right hand already resting on the hilt of her sword at her waist.

"Xiaocui, Xiaoyue, come and look, is that person Gu Fei?" Ling Luoyan called out, pointing to the cliff by the river in the distance.

"Gu Fei?" The two maids were startled and immediately looked in the direction Ling Luoyan was pointing.

"There's no one there! Miss, why are you doing this to yourself!" Xiaocui said with a hint of sadness. It seemed that Gu Fei had truly entered Miss's heart.

"What? Where is he?" Ling Luoyan looked closely, but there was no one on the cliff in the distance. "How can this be? Was I really seeing things?" Ling Luoyan was disheartened and at a loss.

Xiaocui and Xiaoyue exchanged glances and shook their heads. What was love? It could make a person change so much. Their usually proud and willful Miss had become like a different person in the past few days, which was hard for them to believe.

"Why is she still dressed as a man?" Gu Fei, moving through the dense forest, felt a bit puzzled by what he had just seen.

Earlier, the white figure Ling Luoyan saw on the cliff was indeed Gu Fei, who was standing on the mountain peak, and he had also seen Ling Luoyan.

Gu Fei's vision was extremely sharp, and the distance of dozens of miles did not affect his sight. He could see Ling Luoyan clearly.

However, Gu Fei did not want to dwell on Ling Luoyan, and his momentary confusion quickly dissipated. To him, Ling Luoyan was just a passerby in his life, or perhaps not even that.

A small purple creature followed Gu Fei like a tail, but it was not after Gu Fei himself. It was after the beast crystal in his treasure pouch.

This extraordinary purple marten knew that Gu Fei was not to be trifled with, so it did not dare to get too close. Otherwise, it would have already snatched the unremarkable small cloth bag hanging from Gu Fei's waist and fled.

Gu Fei found it amusing. Everything was under his control, and the small creature had actually followed him. It seemed that the beast crystal was very important to the creature.

Leaving the Yunmeng Mountains, the terrain became flat, and ahead was a vast, endless primeval forest, like a huge, boundless green silk spread under the sky. The Yan River, which ran north to south, was like a white line on the silk.

Standing on the top of an old tree, Gu Fei looked at the scene before him, feeling awed by the grandeur of nature. The endless green stretched to the horizon, as if it had no end.

It was already noon, and the Hao Tian trade fleet's ships were far behind him. This section of the Yan River had no tributaries, so the Hao Tian fleet's ships would not fly into the sky.

Not far from Gu Fei, the small creature that had followed him all the way was staring at the ordinary bag on his waist, looking eager to try.

"Hmph! After tasting the bitter consequences, you still haven't learned your lesson?" Gu Fei said to the small creature. "My things are not so easy to steal."

"Chirp chirp!" The small creature seemed angry, jumping around on the tree top, but it did not dare to get close to Gu Fei.

Gu Fei was also speechless about the small creature. On the way, the small creature had tried to steal the treasure pouch tied to his waist whenever he was not paying attention.

This fist-sized purple marten was extremely agile and fast, moving almost as quickly as Gu Fei when he used his Eight Steps Speed.

A few times, the small creature had almost succeeded.

Just as Gu Fei was about to continue his journey, he suddenly noticed a figure approaching him quickly on the tree tops in the blazing sun.

The person soon came close, and it was a young man with long eyebrows, eyes like cold stars, a face like a chiseled statue, and wearing a tight black outfit.

"Who are you!" Gu Fei frowned, looking at the person coldly, his pupils contracting.

"The one who will take your life!" The young man in black landed gracefully on the tree top in front of Gu Fei, standing steady on the leaves, exuding a formidable and overwhelming aura.

He looked at Gu Fei calmly, a cold smile on his chiseled face.