Chapter 223: Entering Autumn Valley
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
“Third Senior Sister, you can’t travel directly to the Kaiyuan Galaxy and Ziyun using a galaxy teleporter because there aren’t any in the Kaiyuan Galaxy,” Zhou Donghuang said to He Mengxi. “However, I have the exact coordinates of the galaxy transporter closest to Ziyun, which is adjacent to the Kaiyuan Galaxy. I can give them to you.
“Additionally, I can also make you a three-dimensional map of the stars to show you how to get to Ziyun from the planet with the galaxy transporter.”
Zhou Donghuang was truly magnanimous.
In his previous life, he had known Third Senior Sister really well. Since she was extremely cautious and meticulous, she would undoubtedly head to Ziyun to investigate his background. Nothing less would put her heart at ease.
The moment he made the offer, Zhou Donghuang immediately fished out paper and a pen. He set to work drawing up the map and marking out the route from the galaxy teleporter with the coordinates of the Northern Wilderness of Heyu in the Akiyama Galaxy. Then he handed the map to He Mengxi.
He Mengxi did not intervene. Sooner or later, she would ask this man before her to draw an exact map of the stars.
He Mengxi was visibly shocked. Zhou Donghuang said, “I had a series of dreams in which you were a cautious person, so I concluded that you’d make a trip to Ziyun.
“Besides, I will be busy trying to break through this training stage in the days ahead, so I’m planning to stay here in Autumn Valley. That’s why I can’t take you there,” Zhou Donghuang explained.
When she took the map from him, He Mengxi looked at Zhou Donghuang with troubled eyes. In front of him, she felt transparent, as if she could not keep any secrets.
“You said earlier that you dreamed for half a year straight, but the dreams have stopped now. When did they stop?” He Mengxi asked.
Zhou Donghuang took a deep breath. “I woke up from the dream when you pa.s.sed, Third Senior Sister.”
“I died?”
He Mengxi paled. Everyone feared death, especially a woman who had just turned 34. With her current level of training, she should have lived to be 600.
“How did I die?” He Mengxi asked, somber.
“You were killed.”
Zhou Donghuang heaved a deep sigh, then said immediately, “But you can rest a.s.sured, Third Senior Sister. Now that I’m here in Autumn Valley, I will change the fate that I saw for you in my dreams.
“Besides, based on the fact that you left the Lightning Sword Sect with your father during the crisis, my dreams can be changed.
“In reality, I’ve already changed our life paths as shown in the dream by appearing in front of you and telling you all of this. In my dream, I only came to know you a hundred years from now,” Zhou Donghuang said.
He Mengxi heaved a sigh of relief. If this were the case, it would not be impossible to change her and her father’s fates.
“I’ll bring you to my father, and he will accept you into the Autumn Valley.”
He Mengxi brought Zhou Donghuang to her father, He Jin, who was Autumn Valley’s current leader.
He Jin was a man of average height and appearance. He wore a mustache and a goatee, and it was difficult to find any point of similarity between him and He Mengxi.
One could even go so far as to say that it was difficult to imagine that He Jin, who was so plain you could easily lose him in a crowd, could be the father of such a pretty daughter.
Zhou Donghuang scrutinized He Jin and at last managed to find a similarity: their ears were practically identical.
“Father, this is Zhou Donghuang, a martial genius whom I met outside. He turned 24 this year. Last year, he became an adept at the Golden Essence stage, a year earlier than me.”
As He Mengxi stood in front of He Jin, the air of maturity she had exuded earlier disappeared. She became a lively little girl, clinging to He Jin’s arm as she introduced Zhou Donghuang to him with a smile.
“Valley Lord,” Zhou Donghuang greeted He Jin with his head bowed and his hands in a fist-and-palm salute.
Of course, he was only greeting the person in front of him out of respect for his Third Senior Sister, He Mengxi.
She was the only reason he was greeting anyone at all. He would not greet the Lightning Sword Sect’s leader, even if the man appeared in front of him. If she werne’t there, he certainly wouldn’t greet He Jin, who was only the leader of Autumn Valley’s Lightning Sword Sect.
This was a result of the pride he’d acquired in his past life as a peerless adept.
“I trust Mengxi’s judgement.”
It was evident that He Jin was genial and approachable. He smiled as he looked at Zhou Donghuang. “Friend, since Mengxi has brought you before me, it’s obvious that you wish to join the Lightning Sword Sect and my Autumn Valley.”
“Yes.” Zhou Donghuang nodded.
“I can allow you to join Autumn Valley, but I must remind you of something…”
Before He Jin could finish, He Mengxi interrupted him, “Father, I’ve already told him that he’ll be kicked out of the Autumn Valley and sent to the five outer halls if he does not move to the Dharma stage before he turns thirty. He’ll go from being an inner disciple to an outer disciple.”
It was obvious that He Mengxi knew exactly what her father was going to say.
“Since you’ve already told him all of that, there’s no need for me to repeat it.”
He Jin stared at He Mengxi affectionately. “It’s a yes from me, Mengxi, so you can take him to have the proper procedure carried out.”
“Yes, Father,” Mengxi agreed. She stared at He Jin longingly, unwilling to leave. She finally left with Zhou Donghuang when her father shot her a startled look.
“That brat. She’s never been this clingy before.”
He Jin shook his head and chuckled at her longing gaze. His eyes filled with even more affection.
The procedures for entering the sect were not conducted in Autumn Valley but Earth Hall, one of the Lightning Sword Sect’s five outer halls.
However, accompanied as he was by He Mengxi, the sole daughter of He Jin, the Autumn Valley Leader, things went smoothly for Zhou Donghuang. Everything was settled within an hour.
Zhou Donghuang collected a total of three items.
The first was a high-quality spirit stone. Only inner disciples could collect spirit stones.
The second was an ident.i.ty token for the Lightning Sword Sect’s inner disciples. It was a silver token shaped like a sword with the word ‘Lightning’ carved onto it. Zhou Donghuang’s name was carved on the reverse side.
The last item was a red metal badge in the shape of a maple leaf, and his name was again carved on the back. This was the symbol of Autumn Valley’s disciples. He pinned the badge to his chest.
“For inner disciples, there are a total of four valleys, and the Autumn Valley is one. There is also the Spring Valley, the Summer Valley, and the Winter Valley. Including you, there are 56 of us in the Autumn Valley.
” Inner disciples who graduate to the Primordial Soul stage before turning 100 are eligible to become core disciples. Then, they can leave the Four Valleys and head to Lightning Peak to train.
“Lightning Peak is where the core disciples and the sect’s strongest gather and train. Every once in awhile, some of the sect’s strongest hold lectures there.
“As the leader of Autumn Valley and one of the pillars of the Lightning Sword Sect, my father goes there to give a few lectures every year.
“Core disciples collect ten high-quality spirit stones every year.”
Zhou Donghuang listened to He Mengxi’s explanations. He thought about Ziyun, where the five strongest sects had miniature, inferior-quality spirit stone veins. He could not help but sigh.
It was obvious that the Lightning Sword Sect had deep pockets by comparison.
And not only that—based on what Third Senior Sister had told him in his previous life, he knew that the Lightning Sword Sect was the top sect among the Hengliu Stars.
Initially, when he had learned that the nemesis of the Dharma adept who had left behind the Soul Shaper was in the Hengliu Stars, he had thought it was a coincidence because he had already been planning to head to the Lightning Sword Sect to train.
After reaching Tianxun in the Luohe Stars, he’d learned from the Luo family that his fiancée, Luo Qinghan, was also in the Hengliu Stars. This was too much of a coincidence.
“Third Senior Sister told me in my previous life that there were adepts at the Divine Transformation stage in the Lightning Sword Sect. With their power, they should have at least one small-scale, high-quality spirit stone vein and several large-scale, mid-quality spirit stone veins.”
Zhou Donghuang’s heart skipped a beat.
“Let’s go back to Autumn Valley, and I’ll introduce you to the other disciples.”
After He Mengxi brought Zhou Donghuang back with her to Autumn Valley, she took the skies. She officially introduced Zhou Donghuang to a group of disciples and informed everyone that there was a new disciple in Autumn Valley.
“Why don’t you introduce yourself, Junior Brother?” He Mengxi prompted Zhou Donghuang.
She had referred to him at first as ‘Junior Brother Zhou,’ but he insisted on her calling him ‘Little Junior Brother’ instead. Since he was so adament about this, he Mengxi could only agree. After all, he was the only one she could rely on to change her and her father’s fates.
She also had a thought—a fleeting one, which she never vocalized nor shared with Zhou Donghuang. She wanted to change the fate of the whole of the Lightning Sword Sect so that they might avoid eradication.
“h.e.l.lo, everyone. I am Zhou Donghuang.” Zhou Donghuang stepped forward. He looked around at the levitating crowd surrounding him and greeted them.
“Haha! h.e.l.lo, Junior Brother Zhou!”
“Junior Brother Zhou is so handsome. Is it okay if I seduce you?”
“Junior Brother Zhou is only an adept at the Golden Essence stage, but he’s already a part of Autumn Valley. It seems like the valley leader has a lot of faith in Junior Brother Zhou’s martial talents.”
“Junior Brother Zhou, you haven’t picked a training ground yet, have you? Why don’t you stay at mine? There’s a yard nearby where you can rest. I’ll guide you when I have time this evening.”
Even in the worlds beyond planet Earth, good looks were useful. The power of charm was ubiquitous in the universe’s endless expanse.
The most welcoming of all were the female disciple. They cast flirty glances at him.
Many male disciples stared at him, jealously.
“That punk. Did the valley leader accept him without Junior Sister Mengxi’s knowledge?”
Huang Long, the disciple who had brought Zhou Donghuang to He Mengxi two hours ago, floated over. He had his guesses.
“Then again, it’s only been two hours. How did he go from being at the Silver Essence stage to the Golden Essence stage? Did he break through in two hours?”
Zhou Donghuang was hovering right in front of He Mengxi. Golden swirls of inner Yuan conspicuously surrounded him.