Chapter 6: Lanlandai (Part 2)

Li Ran said, “Hmm, let me check the map to see how to proceed. It seems even more dangerous here.”
The landscape here was even more desolate—there were no signs of human activity, and the land was utterly ravaged. From above, it was clear that the ground had fractured into countless pieces, mountains were broken, and the water from the lakes had long since vanished, leaving behind grotesque, ugly lake bottoms that resembled giant scars. Plants like trees were completely dead, with only a few withered trunks lying scattered across the ground.
From time to time, cracks suddenly appeared on the ground and expanded instantly. These were new spatial rifts causing damage to the surface.
Guo Shier turned back and glanced around for a moment before saying, “The area behind us is completely ruined. Damn it, those two freaks have cut off all our escape routes.” Even though they couldn’t see the two of them, and after flying for so long, they could still see the dark horizon—proof of the spatial collapse.
Monier habitually patted Guo Shier’s head and said, “Don’t worry. Anyway, we’re leaving here soon.”
Guo Shier obediently lowered his head to let her pat it, as he was already much taller than her. Cereslin almost laughed—Guo Shier was quite amusing at this moment. She now understood that Monier held a significant place in his heart.
“By the way, Masteress, have we been using the Soul Scripture for you?”
Monier nodded. “Of course. Without that scripture, we wouldn’t have progressed so fast.”
Hearing this, Guo Shier felt slightly relieved. Reciting the scripture regularly meant that they could be reborn after death, so he wouldn’t have to worry about the fate of his master and masteress. Although rebirth wasn’t a pleasant thing, it was better than having one’s soul scattered.
Li Ran said, “This journey might be even harder, but no matter how difficult, we must get through. And we can’t go too slowly.”
The group glanced back once more. The black, curtain-like area of spatial collapse seemed to have closed in a bit more, and everyone nodded in agreement. This place was definitely not suitable for staying long. They flew forward again. This time, under Li Ran’s deliberate restraint, their speed had slowed down significantly, but it was still extremely fast.
The team carefully navigated the dangerous areas, gradually approaching their destination.
……

Five months later, the team was once again blocked by a large area of space collapse. Li Ran said, “We’re already very close to our destination—just a few more days away. But if we want to bypass this collapsed area, it’s hard to say how long it will take. It seems we don’t have much time left. Have you noticed recently that space has started to stabilize, with many spatial cracks disappearing on their own?”
Qi Wu Zhen replied, “This collapsed area… must be quite large. There’s no way to pass through it head-on. We just need to find the shortest route around it.”
Guo Shier said, “I’ve scanned both sides, and there’s no end in sight. We’ll just have to pick one at random.” After thinking for a moment, he added with a smile, “How about… letting Seraphine choose? Hehe, I believe she has good luck.”
Seraphine wasn’t polite at all. She simply pointed to the left and said, “Fly that way!”
Monier laughed and asked, “Why not go to the right?”
Guo Shier said, “It doesn’t matter whether it’s left or right. Since Seraphine chose the left, we’ll go that way.”
Monier giggled and said nothing more.
Li Ran said, “If that’s the case, let’s go this way. Be careful of the spatial cracks—let’s cross together.”
The group flew toward the left. The collapsed area was huge. The team was about a kilometer away from it, and they could see the ground completely vanish, replaced by a pitch-black expanse like a curtain. Moreover, the collapsed area was still slowly expanding.
The situation here was extremely dangerous, so everyone became even more cautious, flying at less than one-tenth of their usual speed. Ku Mu reminded them, “It’s best to stay further away from the collapsed area. New spatial cracks keep appearing here… Be careful!” Before he could finish speaking, a new spatial crack suddenly appeared.
Li Ran quickly rolled to the side. Since the entire team was connected by chains, the others rolled along with him. Everyone was drenched in cold sweat. Even someone as reckless as Qi Wu Zhen couldn’t help but curse.
Repeated dangers forced the team to retreat another kilometer. Although they still weren’t out of the dangerous zone, things were much better here.
After days of hard flying, the team finally managed to bypass the collapsed area. Everyone felt utterly exhausted. Flying under such constant stress, on high alert at all times, was incredibly draining. They would rather fight the enemy for days than continue flying in such tension.
Wang Dayang complained, “I want to sleep… Ah, even just for a while would be good.”

Guo Shier said, “It’s best to keep moving here; we can’t stop.”
Wang Dayang said, “I know. That’s why I sigh. Alas, there’s no choice but to keep flying.” No one could rest. Originally, one person could fly while the others rested, but that wasn’t possible here. In case of danger, everyone had to work together. If one person flew while the others rested, they wouldn’t be able to fully avoid danger, which could result in injuries or even deaths.
So no one could rest. The only one who remained energetic was Serichelin. Whenever she got tired, she would lie down on Guo Shier’s back to sleep. Since they were connected by chains, she didn’t have to worry about falling from the air, so she was in the best spirits. This was also why Guo Shier asked her to choose the direction—because she was the most alert.
Li Ran said, “We’re almost there… Push harder! Hehe, once we reach the destination, we’ll find a relatively safe place to rest.”
All seven of them were tenacious. These months had been extremely tough; they could hardly find a place to rest. Continuous flying and constant dodging of dangers had pushed them to their limits. Guo Shier said, “Alright, we’ve arrived at our destination. I’m going to sleep for a few days!”
Everyone agreed they needed to get some serious rest. Li Ran couldn’t help but say, “Damn it, stop talking! If you keep going… I want to sleep now!” Everyone burst into laughter. Given Li Ran’s usually serious personality, it was rare to hear him speak like this.
Before the laughter faded, someone slowly emerged from the collapsed area. Everyone was stunned. Guo Shier couldn’t help but curse inwardly. He hadn’t expected that after being away for so long, this guy would still follow him like a shadow.
Lan Landai spotted the seven of them at a glance. Her figure swayed slightly as she blocked their path.
Li Ran frowned. This woman was extremely powerful. Although they had fought before, he had no chance of defeating her. He said warily, “Lan Landai, what do you want?” It was rare for him to speak in such a submissive tone, as he didn’t want to make enemies with her at all. After all, she could move in the void. If they were ambushed while passing through a passage, it would be terrifying.
Lan Landai glanced at everyone and asked indifferently, “Where is Xing Yunzi?”
Li Ran was furious inside but couldn’t vent it. He said coldly, “We’ve only met Xing Yunzi once. We’re neither friends nor enemies. Besides, you were fighting when we left. How could we possibly know where he is?”

Lan Landai pondered for a moment before asking, “Who are you people?”
The others were furious—this woman was utterly arrogant, only thinking to ask about their origins now, which showed that she had never taken them seriously from the start.
Guo Shier said, “We’re just passersby. Who we are isn’t important. What matters is that we don’t want any involvement with you!”
Lan Landai couldn’t help but laugh and said, “Oh, you’re not convinced, huh? Hehe… I don’t care about those without strength. But you do have one qualification.” These words left everyone speechless. It was clear she looked down on them. The only reason she spoke to them was because they had fought her before—though they hadn’t gained an advantage, they hadn’t suffered either. That was why she acknowledged them slightly; otherwise, she would have dismissed them outright and might even attack at will.
She then added, “What matters isn’t whether you want to be involved with me or not, but whether I want to be involved. If I do… can you refuse?”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile bitterly. This was a domineering queen-level expert. He said, “We really don’t know where Xing Yunzi went. We’ve been on the road the whole time and have never seen him.”
Lan Landai said, “I know. But I’m not here for that…”
Li Ran said sternly, “Then why are you here?”
Lan Landai asked, “Did you make a deal with Xing Yunzi?”
Guo Shier was slightly shocked. He knew this woman had fought Xing Yunzi over a spiritual spring, and that spring was now in his possession, placed inside the small secret realm on the altar. As soon as the spiritual spring was placed in the secret realm, its environment changed drastically—almost unbelievably so. All the plants in the realm quickly blossomed and bore fruit. The environment changed almost daily. Some plants that had been transplanted there were on the verge of withering, but after the spiritual spring entered the ground, they rapidly recovered and grew vigorously.
So Guo Shier would never hand over that spiritual spring. He said, “We just exchanged some things.”
Lan Landai asked indifferently, “Xing Yunzi said he traded the spiritual spring away. Was it with you?”
Li Ran replied firmly, “No, he didn’t trade it with me!”
Qi Wu Zhen also said, “No!”
Neither of them was lying. Xing Yunzi had traded the spiritual spring with Guo Shier, not with them.

Lan Landai had a sharp gaze. She intuited that Li Ran was not lying, but she never expected that it wasn’t Li Ran who was doing the trading, but Guo Shier on the other side. As such, she couldn’t detect anything unusual. Slightly discouraged, she asked, “What did you trade? Let’s see if there’s anything suitable; I can trade with you too…” Such experts were extremely rare, and she couldn’t help but become interested. Those who could trade with Xing Yunzi must have something valuable, as she knew well of Xing Yunzi’s extraordinary insight.