“I’m thirsty, boo....” he said, yawning. He was a bit surprised; after beginning to practice cultivation, he'd found that he didn’t need to sleep as often, but just now, he'd slept for quite a long time. Rubbing his eyes, he stood up and looked around for Du Lingfei.
When he didn't see her, he didn’t think too much of it. Walking out of the cave, he looked over at the rising sun and then stretched lazily.
“I must have tired myself out too much recently. Man, what a good night’s sleep.” At the moment, he felt more energetic than ever, as though a boundless life force were pulsing inside of him. His nine spiritual seas were golden through and through, and he was completely and fully in the Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment stage.
His aura had ceased to focus inward, and with every breath he took, he could almost hear waves crashing in his spiritual seas.
He felt better now than he ever had before, and decided to meditate for a bit, both to familiarize himself with his Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment and its Heaven-Dao aura, and also to wait for Du Lingfei.
After two hours passed, and Du Lingfei hadn’t returned, Bai Xiaochun opened his eyes, feeling somewhat nervous.
“Still not back yet?” he thought. He pulled out a transmission jade slip and sent a message to her, but it did as much good as throwing a rock into the sea. There wasn’t any response at all.
“What’s going on?!” He shot to his feet and immediately began to search the area. By the time evening fell, he’d looked everywhere, but hadn't found a single trace.... Du Lingfei... had disappeared!
By this point, he was wracked with anxiety, and had the feeling that something bad had happened. Face ashen, eyes bloodshot, he expanded his search.
“Where are you, boo!?
“Du Lingfei, where are you!?!?
“Du Lingfei....” He searched for four days in a row, looking everywhere he could think of. Soon his hair was disheveled, and he looked like he was losing weight. However, Du Lingfei was nowhere to be found.
“Did I say something wrong, boo? Why are you hiding from me? Tell me!
“Du Lingfei, come out, wherever you are!
“What happened!?”
He was going mad with anxiety by this point. Eventually, he went back to the cave where he had last seen her, and searched the entire place with a fine toothed comb. Unfortunately, the result was the same as before.
He wasn't sure why, but his heart hurt. It felt like someone was ripping it into pieces, and was a feeling the likes of which he had never experienced before. Clutching his hands tightly at the pit of his stomach, he thought back to how he had fallen asleep for no apparent reason, and then his heart sank. Eventually, a blank look appeared in his eyes.
**
The fact that Bai Xiaochun had been away for so long without returning caused the sect to send out even more people to find him. Hou Yunfei led a team, as did other key disciples from the south and north banks. Even Li Qinghou helped.
When they finally found him, he was sitting outside of that cave, his eyes bloodshot, his face gaunt. He looked bedeviled.
When Li Qinghou saw him, he felt a twinge of pain at the sight, and asked, “Xiaochun, what's wrong?!”
Bai Xiaochun shivered. Eyes blank, he turned to look at Li Qinghou and murmured, “Uncle Li, Du Lingfei... is gone.” Previous Chapter Next Chapter
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Chapter
173: The World!
As he was escorted back to the Spirit Stream Sect, Bai Xiaochun maintained his silence. Occasionally he would look over his shoulder in the direction of the cave where Du Lingfei had gone missing.
Li Qinghou issued orders for the Spirit Stream Sect and the cultivator clans to search for Du Lingfei. However, not a single clue turned up. It was as if she had vanished into thin air.
This strange turn of events was taken seriously even by the higher echelons of the Spirit Stream Sect’s leadership.
Because of the disappearance of Du Lingfei, Bai Xiaochun lost all excitement at having reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment.
The sect held a grand ceremony, and Bai Xiaochun’s name gradually came to be known throughout the entire cultivation world of the eastern Lower Reaches. News spread about the fierce fighting over heavenstring energy in the Fallen Sword World, and soon, people were saying that Bai Xiaochun had surpassed Master Limitless.
However, Bai Xiaochun didn’t really care much about all of that.
He received a hefty reward from the sect, and when the other disciples looked at him, their eyes shone with respect. Even the prime elders and the patriarchs gazed upon him with admiration. And yet, his heart was filled with disappointment.
During the grand ceremony thrown by the sect, Bai Xiaochun revealed the corpses of the disciples who had lost their lives in the Fallen Sword World. Everything went quiet. The peak lords and the sect leader looked on sadly, as did the prime elders from Mount Daoseed.
After the ceremony was over, many people realized that Bai Xiaochun seemed a lot quieter than before. It was as if he had forgotten about things such as glory and the pride. People would often see him alone on Fragrant Cloud Peak, looking lost.
He was like a different person, and many of the disciples who were close to him felt horrible.
Bruiser ran over from the north bank. Apparently he could sense Bai Xiaochun’s dark mood, and simply sat next to him to keep him company.
Big Fatty Zhang came a few times, but was never sure what to say, and simply sat there sighing. Hou Yunfei also visited to keep him silent company.
Hou Xiaomei came to comfort him, as if to remind him that even though Du Lingfei was gone, she was still there.
“Big bro Xiaochun, I won’t go missing….”
Xu Baocai came with lots of rumors. For instance, Gongsun Wan’er had gone missing, but her soul lamp hadn’t burned out. Her brother Gongsun Yun had gone crazy looking for her, but hadn’t been able to find her.
Xu Baocai had talked to all of the disciples who came back from the three Foundation Establishment Holy Lands, and had compiled all of the information into a comprehensive report. He also had information about all of the Chosen from the other sects.
“Sect Uncle Bai, you probably didn’t hear that while you were in the Fallen Sword World, a Chosen unexpectedly rose up in the Primordial Spirit Hollow. He’s an amazing disciple from the Pill Stream Sect!
“His name is Lin Mu, and he turned out to be a real dark horse in the competition. That ‘Mu’ character in his name is the same character from the word ‘tomb’! He actually mastered the Pill Stream Sect’s most powerful grand magic, the Primeval Medicinal Daoseed Incantation! It was only later that on that a lot of the Pill Stream Sect disciples realized that he had secretly planted Daoseeds in them. Eventually, he reached Earthstring Foundation Establishment with eight Tideflows!
“In the Lone Hell Pocket Realm, another shocking Chosen rose up. Her name is second only to yours, Sect Uncle Bai. She’s from the Blood Stream Sect, and wears a mask with a plum blossom on it. She completely stomped on everyone else in the Holy Land, and became the second person from the Blood Stream Sect after Master Limitless to reach the peak of Earthstring Foundation Establishment, nine Tideflows! She slaughtered countless other disciples. It was completely brutal. They call her Devilwitch Xuemei! 1
“Now that I think about it, it seems like there was something really strange going on in the Foundation Establishment Holy Lands. Dark horses popped up everywhere! Although, you were obviously the most shocking dark horse, Sect Uncle Bai, and the strongest of them all. You reached Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment!
“This time around, the Spirit Stream Sect really took the glory!