Volume 1, Chapter 496 – Ghost-God

“It was only a small favor, Miss. No need to be so courteous.”

Sensing the goodwill in Shi Lan’s gaze, Zhao Yun unconsciously straightened up a little.

“If you have no other matters to attend to, Miss, we can set out at once.”

Being able to meet a Martial Dao Supreme as soon as possible was naturally a good thing for Shi Lan. She immediately nodded in agreement, then turned to look at Zhang Fei.

“Many thanks, Brother Yide. Please thank Lord Liu on my behalf. I will remember this favor.”

There were no free favors in this world. A chance to receive personal guidance from a Martial Dao Supreme was not something one could obtain lightly. Liu Bei had surely put in effort behind the scenes. For him to do this for no reason at all could only mean he was trying to win people’s hearts.

That, at least, fit rather well with the impression of Liu Xuande in Shi Lan’s mind.

…

After Zhang Fei took his leave, Shi Lan followed Zhao Yun all the way out of Zhuo Commandery and came to a valley outside the commandery city.

On one side of the valley stood an extraordinarily magnificent heavenly horse. Two horns rose from its head, and its entire body was snow-white, without the slightest impurity. White dragon scales covered its back, waist, and belly. As its nostrils flared, pure essence of heaven and earth swirled around them, and its aura was sacred and ethereal.

What startled Shi Lan somewhat was that this heavenly horse was also above the eighth tier. Even in the Lingyang Realm, it would count as a great figure at the level of a Demon Emperor, terrifying beyond measure.

“This is my mount. Her name is Yulan, a hybrid of a White Dragon of the North Sea and a heavenly horse.”

Zhao Yun walked to the white horse’s side and gently stroked its back, his eyes full of affection.

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Shi Lan remained standing at a distance and did not approach. She could feel a trace of hostility coming from the heavenly horse.

“Yulan is rather proud by nature and doesn’t take well to strangers.”

As he spoke, Zhao Yun began soothing her by voice transmission. Yet no matter how he tried to persuade her, Yulan still refused to let Shi Lan come close, and her hostility only grew stronger.

“No need to waste time on this. It’s more important to keep moving.”

Shi Lan shook her head slightly. With a thought, she opened the entrance to the Qiongluo Realm. A shadow blotted out the sky, and crimson wings descended, like a blazing sun suspended in midair.

Ever since entering this world, Shi Lan’s mind had remained linked to the Qiongluo Realm. Her four eighth-tier guards were on standby at all times, in case something sudden happened and she did not have time to respond.

“You go on ahead, Brother Zhao. I’ll just follow behind.”

With that, Shi Lan leapt onto Chijunyu’s back first.

At her words, Zhao Yun withdrew his gaze from the ferocious bird in the sky, asked no further questions, swung himself onto his horse, and headed straight north.

The Spear God was not in the Nine Provinces, but living in seclusion on the overseas immortal mountain, Penglai.

As one of the most famous immortal mountains in the world, rumor held that Penglai nurtured an elixir of immortality. Whoever consumed it could ascend on the spot and become an immortal, living forever from then on.

In Shi Lan’s view, that was obviously hard to believe, but it should still be a peerless spiritual land.

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Penglai was extremely far from Youzhou, but for beings of the eighth tier, this distance, impossible for ordinary people to cross in a lifetime, took no more than the better part of a day.

Above the sea, a gigantic mountain range stretching ten thousand li hovered in midair.

Once they reached the foot of the mountain, Zhao Yun dismounted and led Yulan up the mountain on foot.

Seeing this, Shi Lan opened the entrance to the Qiongluo Realm, sent Chijunyu back, and slowly followed after him.

The moment she set foot on Penglai, she discovered many precious herbs, casually planted among rocky crags and secluded valleys. Dense auspicious vapors filled heaven and earth, and treasure-light shimmered everywhere. The only flaw was that the place lacked a bit of human presence.

“My master has lived here in seclusion for a long time. In his lifetime, he has only taken three disciples, so it’s a bit deserted.”

As the two climbed toward the summit, a figure was descending the mountain. He looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with a sturdy build, sharply defined black-and-white eyes, a face as fair as if powdered, and a height of over nine chi. He wore plain clothes, and his long hair was bound with a silver crown.

What drew Shi Lan’s attention even more was the divine steed following behind him. It stood over a zhang at the shoulder, its mane and coat dancing in the wind, crimson like flowing magma, its aura extremely violent.

As the man and horse came down from the summit, they moved with the momentum of thousands of troops and horses. The invisible pressure they gave off was sharp as a blade and intensely oppressive.

In the blink of an eye, man and horse swept past Shi Lan and Zhao Yun. Once they left the foot of Penglai, the man mounted in a single motion, turned into a crimson rainbow, and disappeared beyond the horizon. From beginning to end, his gaze had never once swept toward the two of them.

“Who was that?”

Watching the crimson rainbow vanish into the horizon, Shi Lan could not help asking.

“Lu Fengxian, a hero of this age second only to the absolute peaks, and the sole disciple of my martial uncle Li Yan. He is peerless with both halberd and bow, and the blood and qi in his body are mighty enough to prop up the heavens and drive the seas.”

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Light blazed in Zhao Yun’s eyes, battle intent surging faintly beneath the surface.

“The Red Hare by his side is also one of the finest divine steeds in the world. He also commands an invincible cavalry, guarding the frontier.”

Lu Bu the Ghost-God was renowned across the land of the Nine Provinces. The foreign tribes beyond the frontier all quailed at the mere mention of his name. A true man born between heaven and earth ought to be like that.

Snort.

When Zhao Yun praised Red Hare, Yulan flicked her tail and gave a somewhat displeased snort.

“Is he married?”

Thinking of the changes in Liu, Guan, and Zhang, Shi Lan asked the question almost instinctively.

Since Liu, Guan, and Zhang had all long since started families, then by all logic, Lu Bu should have taken a wife and had children as well.

“He married long ago!”

The moment Shi Lan asked that question, Zhao Yun’s heart tightened and his expression changed slightly. He hurriedly added:

“He has only one wife, and the two of them are deeply devoted to each other. Their daughter is already grown.”

“Is his wife very beautiful?” Shi Lan asked again.

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“His wife, Diaochan, is indeed famed throughout the world, a beauty said to eclipse the moon and put flowers to shame, though I have never seen her myself.” Zhao Yun grew even more tense, to the point that he almost began to sweat. “Still, I imagine the world has exaggerated things.”

“That fellow was probably here to seek martial guidance from my master. We should go up first and find my master.”

Seeing that Shi Lan seemed about to ask more, Zhao Yun spoke first, leading Yulan toward the summit.

Shi Lan was still somewhat curious about Diaochan, that long-famous beauty, but seeing Zhao Yun like this, she could not very well press further and simply followed him in silence toward the summit.

Half an hour later, the two were already standing at the mountain peak.

The summit had been directly shorn flat by some great power, turning it into a vast martial arena. The open ground was paved with gold and laid with jade, and hidden within it were innumerable spirit patterns, forming a grand array that suppressed the entire immortal mountain.

At this moment, the arena was in utter disarray, covered in cracks and halberd marks. Clearly, it had experienced a great battle not long ago. Under the nourishment of the spirit array, those cracks and halberd marks were slowly repairing themselves at a speed visible to the naked eye.

A figure stood in the center of the arena, with a long spear at his side, its blade cold as frost and pointed straight at the sky. He looked around forty years old, tall yet not coarse in the least, his build extremely well-proportioned. His long brows were sharp as blades, and his eyes were deep as an abyss.

Zhao Yun stepped forward respectfully and dropped to one knee in salute.

“Greetings, Master.”

There was no doubt that the man before them was one of the few absolute peak experts in this world.

The Penglai Spear God, Tong Yuan.