Heavenly Dao Engine

Chapter 116: Chapter 0126: Successfully Connecting All Twelve

Chapter 116 -0126: Successfully Connecting All Twelve

Tomorrow is the Lantern Festival, wish everyone a happy Lantern Festival in advance.

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After giving Wang Haiyan a storage bag, Zhao Qian kept one for herself. Of the remaining five, she handed two to Huang Liuyan and placed three next to Hu Niu, who was keeping watch over Qi Tian.

Huang Liuyan returned the two storage bags Zhao Qian gave her, saying, “These are of no use to me. Keep them. Take this time to rest. Once Qi Tian has recovered, we’ll move on.”

Wang Haiyan approached, taking great care, and asked, “Senior, can we travel together later?”

Originally, Wang Haiyan and his group were worried about traveling with Qi Tian, fearing further conflicts. But now, they have understood that each member of Qi Tian’s party is incredibly powerful. They need to seize this opportunity and form a team together for when it’s time to return to their safe house. Breaking through on their own would never be as effective as breaking through under Qi Tian’s team, which provides them with a higher chance of success.

Huang Liuyan didn’t speak but looked at Zhao Qian instead, saying, “You go and ask the princess if she is willing to accompany them.”

Wang Haiyan didn’t dare to waste any time and hurriedly sought Zhao Qian. In the past, Zhao Qian would have given a direct response, whether agreeing or not depended on her word. But now, Zhao Qian wouldn’t do this. The potential shown by Qi Tian is growing greater and greater with each encounter. He’s become even stronger than her in certain areas. They needed to seek his opinion on having such a teammate.

“Wait a moment. I need to ask Qi Tian for his opinion,” Zhao Qian said.

“Alright.” Wang Haiyan hurriedly agreed. In his opinion, consulting Qi Tian’s opinion was entirely reasonable. If Qi Tian were in his team, he would seek Qi Tian’s opinion for everything. This was necessary respect for the powerful, a common rule among cultivators.

Qi Tian didn’t keep Zhao Qian and Wang Haiyan waiting for long. Or perhaps it should be said that the Fourth Grade Divine Elixir that Huang Liuyan had given him was extraordinary. In such a short time, it had refilled his dried-up meridians with ample True Essence.

“Qi Tian, how are you feeling?” Zhao Qian asked.

“I’m good, thank you for your concern, Princess.” Qi Tian responded, smiling as he stood up.

Hu Niu brought over the three storage bags Zhao Qian had placed next to her and handed them to Qi Tian.

“What is this…” Qi Tian asked.

Zhao Qian said, “These are the storage bags of the three native cultivators you killed. I picked them up for you.”

“Thank you.” Qi Tian thanked Zhao Qian with a nod and a smile. He then took one of the bags and handed it to Wang Haiyan, saying, “Brother Wang, this is for you. If it wasn’t for your double-horned bow, I wouldn’t have been able to kill the enemy. Consider this as payment for renting your bow, and for the protection of your Fish Scale Array.”

Wang Haiyan quickly waved his hand, saying, “Qi Tian, you’re embarrassing me. The princess already gave us a storage bag, and for that, we’re deeply grateful. If we take yours, it wouldn’t be right. However, if you really want to do something for us, please allow us to return to the safe house with you. We are not helpless, we can be of help.”

Qi Tian nodded immediately, saying, “Alright. We are all from the same sect. Traveling together just makes sense.”

Elated, Wang Haiyan quickly bowed, saying, “Thank you, Qi Tian. Princess, since Qi Tian has agreed, you…”

“Alright, follow us then. But remember, you must follow orders. No independent actions,” Zhao Qian sternly said.

“Yes.”

“Quickly dismantle the Fish Scale Array. We are setting off immediately.”

Wang Haiyan quickly called for people to dismantle the Peachwood Fish Scale Formation.

At this time, Qi Tian approached Zhao Qian and handed her the Storage Bag he had originally intended to give to Wang Haiyan. “Princess, you take this Storage Bag,” he said.

Zhao Qian retorted, “What’s this? Do you think just because I’m a girl, I need your protection? Or do you think just because I’m the Princess, you need to flatter me?”

“You misunderstand”, Qi Tian replied. “I was merely thinking of our friendship. Why should I let you suffer any loss?”

If we’re friends, zip it and take this Storage Bag of yours back. If you insist on giving it to me, I’ll return the Wind-Chasing Soul Piercing Spear you gave me as well. Don’t think you’re the only one who understands the concept of clear accounts between friends — I do too,” Zhao Qian said, her eyebrows furrowing in displeasure.

Embarrassed, Qi Tian found himself speechless at Zhao Qian’s assertiveness. His only option was to pocket the Storage Bag once again.

Zhao Qian finally allowed herself a smile, her eyes sparkling like stars at dawn. “Let’s be quick about it — we should get going,” she said.

It wasn’t long before the group was ready to leave. Qi Tian and Wang Haiyan stepped forward as the vanguards, followed by Zhao Qian and Huang Liuyan, as Li Xue and others trailed at the back.

Zhao Qian acted as the glue that held the team together. Her status and position naturally made her the leader of this temporary team. Her knowledge of troop arrangement from her time back in the King Zhangbei Manor was far from extensive, but it was more than what Qi Tian, Wang Haiyan and the others had. Under her organization, everyone found their place and was able to contribute as per their capacities.

In addition to assigning roles, Zhao Qian also laid out two clear rules. First, their main goal was to return safely. All other actions should facilitate this objective. Second, she would personally manage all the spoils. Distribution would take place only upon their safe return. Half the spoils would be evenly divided among everyone, while the remainder would be distributed based on individual contributions.

Despite worries about Zhao Qian’s judgement of their contributions, with her standing, and Qi Tian and Huang Liuyan — two of the strongest — not challenging her, the others had no choice but to remain silent. It was, after all, them who had begged to travel with Qi Tian’s team.

Once everything was settled, Qi Tian and the rest set out. Qi Tian and Wang Haiyan led the way, both keeping a distance of approximately one mile between them and the rest of the team. This five-hundred-meter distance enabled them to provide support to others at the shortest notice. They didn’t need to scout like soldiers, as one mile was sufficient in the open plains.

They travelled for half a day and into the night before they finally stopped to rest. The only troubles they encountered were the occasional indigenous cultivators riding Demonic Birds. These individuals would simply gaze at them from a distance without attacking.

If it were just the three of them, Qi Tian and his team could have reached the Safe House by now. However, due to some members of Wang Haiyan’s group lacking their own rides, their travel speed was significantly slowed down.

Despite slowing down their journey, Wang Haiyan’s group actively contributed during their overnight rest. They set up the Peachwood Fish Scale Formation and even cooked dinner without any help from Qi Tian’s team.

After a simple meal, Qi Tian took Hu Niu to one corner of the formation to cultivate.

Wang Haiyan had initially thought of using the night to build a rapport with Qi Tian. His astonishment grew when he learned that Qi Tian didn’t even spare a minute and threw himself into cultivation. His astonishment turned into horror when Qi Tian began taking Essence Qi Pills and Coagulation Essence Pills to cultivate his Meridian Restoration Skill, releasing anguished screams suppressed to the best of his ability.

Qi Tian chose to work on the thirteenth meridian, not the fifth, this night. This meridian originally provided a strength of 270 pounds, and he hoped to unblock it to a fully restored state by the end of the night.

Despite having had some experience unblocking the first meridian, Qi Tian found the pain caused by the Meridian Restoration Skill on the thirteenth far beyond his expectations.

With clenched teeth, and sweat drenching his clothes, Qi Tian pushed through the night. By dawn, he had successfully restored the thirteenth meridian to its fully unblocked state. His total fully unblocked meridians now numbered twelve, leaving only the fifth and ninth meridians unattended.

This night’s practice resulted in Qi Tian’s strength increasing by a mere thirty pounds, totalling 4170 pounds, without the use of the Heavenly Dao Engine. This seemingly small increase had the potential to magnify his future efforts manifold.