Chapter 102: Pink Clouds Rising
By the time the jade box regained its previous state, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue had used up more than half of their remaining spirit stones.
Even then, the brown stone had yet to show any changes.
It lay buried a metre in the ground and showed no indication of sprouting roots or a stem.
"Is it really a seed?"
Jiang Yue began to doubt as he glared at the round stone.
At first, they suspected the stone was a seed because the jade box reacted the same way it did whenever a plant was thrown in.
However, after so many spirit stones, they began to worry that the stone wasn’t a seed but something else.
"It could be the seed of a sacred tree..." Yu Nianzhen trailed without finishing his thoughts.
According to legend, there were nine sacred trees in the cultivation world.
Each of those trees was born when the world opened, and all had gone extinct with time.
That Yu Nianzhen had gotten a seedling from the ten-storey pagoda showed his extraordinary fate.
Considering that, it was unbelievable that he could encounter another sacred tree seed so soon after.
When he thought this, he sighed and looked at the brown stone.
He forced himself not to think about it, but a hidden expectation had already sprouted in the depths of his mind.
However, he couldn’t afford to dwell on the matter for the time being.
Not only did he not have enough spirit stones to continue feeding the box, but they also needed to sneak out from the trade valley as soon as possible.
"Let’s wait and see." He finally said.
"It’s all we can do."
Jiang Yue leaned closer and ruffled Yu Nianzhen’s hair.
He then chuckled lightly and closed the jade box while the other was dazed by his behaviour.
"Are you looking to be punished?" Yu Nianzhen asked.
His eyes were no longer solemn.
Instead, a hint of mischief coloured his persona, and he reached for Jiang Yue.
Before the other could react, he was pulled on Yu Nianzhen’s lap.
"Don’t you dare..."
However, Jiang Yue did not get a chance to finish his words.
Firm lips covered his own, and a tingling warmth spread from there to every part of his body.
An uncontrollable moan escaped his lips, and his arms went around the other’s neck.
He wiggled his hips, and a masculine groan echoed in the tent as a firm bottom nudged a hard shaft.
Yu Nianzhen grabbed the naughty hips to stop them from moving, but he didn’t remove the person from his lap.
Instead, he deepened the kiss and two tongues tangled together in a wild dance.
When they couldn’t take it anymore, they broke apart and fell into a hug.
Jiang Yue’s head was against the left side of Yu Nianzhen’s neck.
His hot breath fanned the other’s neck, causing goosebumps to form on the skin.
Unable to help himself, Yu Nianzhen groaned and pinched Jiang Yue’s bottom.
"Don’t think I am not keeping count."
Jiang Yue chuckled and held the other tighter.
He had no doubt that Yu Nianzhen was keeping count, but he didn’t mind paying the debt plus interest.
In all honesty, he was looking forward to that today.
He felt like he had already waited a lifetime and every day he continued to wait was more unbearable than the previous.
’I only need to wait a little more than a year.’ He told himself as he forced himself to calm down.
He wiggled out of Yu Nianzhen’s lap and took back his previous position.
"Who would allow themselves to be spanked when they could kiss instead." He mumbled under his breath, but the other heard it clearly.
Yu Nianzhen forced his lips not to smile when he heard the words and saw the twinkle in the other’s eyes.
This was a game they played.
One of them would make a mistake, and the other would try to punish them.
Yu Nianzhen had taken to spanking Jiang Yue as punishment, but the other had quickly learned a countermeasure.
Whenever Yu Nianzhen was going for the kill, he would turn the tables instead.
This was expected, but they didn’t change the routine.
After all, punishments were never meant to be punishments.
"Don’t be naughty." Yu Nianzhen said and removed a jade tablet from his storage ring.
This jade contained the original map of the secret realm with recent additions from both their explorations.
From the leaves, they needed to go north to find the allied forces.
However, it was impossible to blindly undertake the journey.
Before that, they needed to carefully study the map.
If they were diligent, they could identify possible ambush points and places where the allied forces could be hiding.
In this way, they would minimise danger to themselves and approach the allied forces undetected.
"We can’t take the direct route." Jiang Yue said as he examined the map.
The direct route was the shortest and only had three places that were good for an ambush.
Although the ambush points were fewer than some of the other routes, one of the points was incredibly dangerous.
If they were ambushed at that point, it would be difficult to escape without using teleportation talismans.
Even though they had teleportation talismans, Jiang Yue was still reluctant.
It wasn’t just because he didn’t want to separate from Yu Nianzhen, it was because the place had a natural formation.
If things went wrong, they would have to leave their lives there, and Jiang Yue didn’t want to take the risk.
"I agree."
Yu Nianzhen had also seen the problem.
It was rare for a topography to form a natural formation.
When it happened, the formation would be more powerful compared to one laid out by a cultivator.
From the map, the two knew the place had a natural formation, but they didn’t know the effect of the formation.
Because of that, they didn’t dare to travel blindly.
"We should detour to the west for a few kilometres and then head north."
Yu Nianzhen pointed out his suggestion, and Jiang Yue studied the route.
If they followed Yu Nianzhen’s route, it would take two or three more days to reach the first place they suspected as the base of the allied forces.
This was because they would need to travel by water for a while before they could get back on land.
However, the inconvenience was made up for by the reduced risk.
If they travelled by water on the first part of the journey, it would be difficult for pursuers to follow them.
"We should have bought another map." Yu Nianzhen suddenly said.
Their map from the Sea Cloud sect was detailed, but it had some blank areas.
There was also the possibility that some details were incorrect due to misinformation or geographical changes over the years.
If they had remembered earlier, they would have bought an extra map from the information trader to compare.
Although it was possible to still do so now, they couldn’t take the risk.
The moment they left their tent, someone would notice.
Because of that, they had agreed not to leave their tents until it was time to sneak out of the trade valley.
"Don’t worry too much." Jiang Yue said.
He was also regretful, but it was too late to change their plans.
"We can compare with..."
At that moment, a loud bang was heard outside.
In the modern world, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue would have associated the sound with a bomb blast.
In this world, that sound could only be made by the explosion of a high-grade thunder seed.
The two looked at each other and then rushed outside.
"What’s going on?" Bai Ruyue shouted as soon as she emerged from the adjacent tent.
Unfortunately, the two boys didn’t know and thus couldn’t answer.
Instead, they turned their attention to a fire several metres away.
"That place belongs to the border guards." Wang Xue’er said.
Her lips curled in a frown as the fire raged and screams echoed in the valley.
"We should leave."
Yu Nianzhen was resolute and waved his hand to take back the array plate that protected their tent.
He didn’t know what was happening, but there was only one force in the secret realm that could attack the border guards.
"This should be done by the Death Flower Ascension Front."
Jiang Yue gritted his teeth and looked at the fire.
Several figures were running out of the burning tents, and hooded people were approaching them from another direction.
The enemy group comprised of no less than twenty cultivators.
They wore the customary black robes and black face masks.
However, something was different this time around.
Rather than weapons, each of them held a pink flower.
The flowers were beautiful, but when they saw them, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue were filled with dread.
Although it was dark in the middle of the night, they could see pink smoke rising from the flowers.
The smoke rose ten metres in the air and began to condense like a cloud.
With every breath, the area covered by the smoke expanded a few metres.
