Chapter 194: Arbitrarily Shoving Someone In
Zhai Xiaotian took out a Token.
He made no particular preparations. He simply pinched the Token and said to Zhan Sheng, "Brace yourself. Your first long-distance teleportation may cause extreme discomfort. You must endure it."
With that, he squeezed it hard.
The Token crumbled into dust.
A white light suddenly exploded before Zhan Sheng’s eyes.
Then came the jarring pain of her body and soul being shaken and torn.
The pain wasn’t physically prominent, but it made Zhan Sheng feel like the world was spinning around her.
In that instant, she saw her body seemingly dissolve into countless fragments before she fell into a boundless, dark space where everything became nothing.
This sudden sensation threw Zhan Sheng into a momentary panic.
It wasn’t a fear of teleportation, but of the void in that instant. It was as if she had fallen into a deep sleep, unable to perceive anything, yet she could clearly ’see’ that emptiness.
The feeling that she was the only one left in the universe, a silent void between heaven and earth—it was enough to inspire ’fear’ even in someone like Zhan Sheng.
It was like what one might feel after death: the perception of nothing at all.
The moment felt both infinitely long and fleetingly short.
When she came to, the scenery before her had changed dramatically.
Her soul returned to her flesh, leaving her with a buoyant sensation, as if her feet couldn’t find solid ground.
Zhai Xiaotian, at her side, turned back to look at her. Seeing she didn’t have any particular reaction, he was a little surprised. "This is your first long-distance teleportation, and you barely reacted at all?"
Zhan Sheng simply said, "I was unconscious for a moment."
’My body should have been in pain, too, but the system nerfed our pain sensitivity, so I didn’t feel much.’
It was the void during the teleportation, a helplessness that even consciousness couldn’t overcome, that was truly frightening.
"That’s a good thing, too," Zhai Xiaotian said. "Teleportation involves the mysteries of time and space. Countless people have cultivated to the Great Dao without ever mastering its Magic Technique. For you to adapt so well on your first try, it seems I’ve underestimated you."
Zhan Sheng: "..."
Even she couldn’t help but blush a little.
’My lack of a strong reaction was probably thanks to the system dialing down the pain.’
’Zhai Xiaotian was reading too much into it, and it was making her feel embarrassed.’
In reality, there was something the system hadn’t told her.
The fact that the teleportation wasn’t difficult for her was both related and unrelated to the system.
It was related because the players’ souls arriving in this world was, in itself, a cross-world teleportation.
The system had already gotten them over the most difficult hurdle. A local teleportation like this would have barely any effect at all.
As for what Zhan Sheng had seen, it was likely because her soul and this world were not, after all, a single entity. This kind of teleportation caused a momentary incompatibility between her body and soul, and since her consciousness couldn’t return to the modern world, it created a strong sense of unease.
Of course, the system would never explain this. If it did, Zhan Sheng would immediately realize that Yunzhou was, in fact, another Otherworld.
Unsure how to respond, Zhan Sheng turned her attention to the scenery before her.
A look of astonishment flashed in her eyes.
The Taixue Sect was a Sect built to wind its way up a mountain canyon.
In the center lay a valley, lightly shrouded in morning mist. A silver ribbon of a waterfall cascaded from a thousand-foot cliff, shattering into millions of icy crystals that wove a tapestry of flowing silk across the ochre rock face.
The valley floor was a riot of color, with layers of magnificent trees crisscrossed by small paths. Occasionally, a few spiritual beasts could be seen darting playfully among them.
All sorts of simple cabins had been built along the winding paths that climbed the valley’s rock walls on either side.
They were stacked one upon another, converging toward a single point. Further up the mountain, grander structures began to appear, culminating at the very peak with a complex of magnificent, intersecting grand halls.
It was like an Immortal Cloud Palace.
This was the Taixue Sect.
"This is the entrance to the Taixue Sect."
Zhai Xiaotian spoke, then took out a Paper Talisman and crushed it. A short while later, a young girl with her hair tied in a bun, dressed in the pale pink robes of a child disciple, hurried out from the valley.
She looked to be no older than eleven or twelve.
Yet Zhan Sheng could sense a cultivation aura stronger than her own.
’At least Foundation Establishment Stage.’
The girl was cheerful and lively. She stepped forward, cupping her fists in a respectful bow to Zhai Xiaotian. With a smile and a voice still tinged with childishness, she said, "Senior, Master had me wait here for you for quite some time."
Zhai Xiaotian gestured toward Zhan Sheng. "I was only responsible for bringing her here. Her name is Zhan Sheng. I’ll leave her to your Sect now."
The girl nodded. "Understood."
Zhai Xiaotian turned back to Zhan Sheng. "I have some business to attend to, so it’s not convenient for me to go inside. This is as far as I can take you. From now on, you’ll follow the instructions of this senior sister."
Zhan Sheng nodded as well. "Of course, Senior Zhai."
After settling these matters, Zhai Xiaotian took up his wine gourd again, took a swig, and departed with a smile.
He came and went in a flash. Zhan Sheng realized she couldn’t even see how Zhai Xiaotian had left.
The caution in her heart grew a little more.
Turning to the young girl, Zhan Sheng adopted a respectful attitude despite the other’s youth. "Hello, Senior Sister."
"You can just call me Senior Sister Chu Qi."
The girl named Chu Qi chuckled. "Come with me. Master is in seclusion and has instructed me to arrange for you to cultivate temporarily in the valley. First, let’s go test your Spirit Root, shall we?"
Zhan Sheng had never had her Spirit Root tested, so she naturally nodded in agreement.
The valley had seemed large from a distance, but entering it revealed an even greater complexity.
The trees grew in dense groves, and spiritual beasts—some familiar to Zhan Sheng, some not—popped out from all over from time to time.
Their attitudes were uniformly unafraid of people.
They had one thing in common: the spiritual beasts here were generally no higher than the Third Rank.
’This valley must be for welcoming new recruits,’ Zhan Sheng thought. ’The true disciples are probably all in the Cloud Palace.’
"We are a Beast Taming Sect, so all newcomers must first learn how to raise spiritual beast cubs. Junior Sister Zhan Sheng, have you ever had any experience with this?"
Zhan Sheng answered honestly, "I have not."
This finally piqued Chu Qi’s curiosity. She turned back to size up Zhan Sheng. "You’re already this old. Why was your Spirit Root discovered so late?"
’It seems Zhai Xiaotian told the Taixue Sect a little about my situation,’ Zhan Sheng realized.
Following Zhai Xiaotian’s instructions, Zhan Sheng explained, "I was born in the wilderness. My parents lived deep in the mountains to hide from demon beasts, so they never had my Spirit Root tested. That is, until I met Senior Zhai."
Chu Qi nodded thoughtfully.
Deeper in the valley lay a vast lake, with a beautiful and elegant round tower standing in its center.
A network of bamboo walkways crisscrossed over the lake’s surface. A shimmering light would occasionally flash from within the water, as if something was swimming inside.
Someone in the round tower watched as Chu Qi led a female cultivator inside.
By now, Zhan Sheng’s face had been modified by the system again.
All in all, she looked much better than before.
Her features weren’t particularly distinct, but the beautification had been cranked to the max.
At the very least, she could be called "pretty."
Zhai Xiaotian hadn’t questioned Zhan Sheng’s slightly but noticeably altered face.
Someone grumbled in a low voice, "He’s been off roaming the world for his own enjoyment all these years. He has no idea what our Sect is facing, yet he still dares to just shove someone in here!"