A wooden boat flew through the sky beneath the aurora.

Xu Qing, still disguised as a middle-aged man, sat cross-legged on the deck, perusing some ancient records. Seated opposite him was the beautiful Yunmen Qianfan.

“Senior,” she said softly, “if we follow the route assigned by the clan, it’ll take about half a month to get to Darkcloud City. However, according to the divinations I’ve performed, it’s highly likely that the route has already been leaked to the enemy.

“Therefore, I planned a different route. We’ll pass Skywater Lake and Mount Ninesongs, then go through the Desert of Time before reaching an ancient teleportation portal. I have a way to activate that portal, and then we can just teleport directly to the Greatcloud River, which is right by Darkcloud City. This route will add about five days to the journey….”

About six hours had passed since they left the Spiritdust Mountains.