Speaking of which, Ye Feng truly lived up to his status as an elder of the Qianji Kill Pavilion. Even with only about 30% of his cultivation base remaining, it only took him a bit of effort to send these poor people away.
Ye Feng lifted the restriction of the shield. Then he said, "The barrier set up in Changle Town was destroyed the moment you entered. Now, we can't go back that way. Yan'er, do you have any other places to go?"
"Grandpa, what do you mean?"
"If your mother isn't in a hurry to see you or you don't have any urgent matters at the moment, come back to the Qianji Kill with me first."
Zhao Shuning was just about to refuse when she felt the barrier shake again.
"Grandpa?"
"Now, let's go. We must find a waterway as soon as possible. When I set up this formation, I used the five elements - metal, wood, water, fire, and earth - as the basis. At that time, I left the wooden gate and the water gate. The wooden gate, which was the barrier in Changle Town, has already been destroyed. Now we can only escape through the water gate."
Ye Feng was a bit unaccustomed to using the word "escape".
Zhao Shuning thought for a moment.
"Grandpa, come with me."
There was a fishing village about a hundred miles away, and adjacent to it was a vast sea. Zhao Shuning never thought that the place she had accidentally stopped at would now become an important passage for her to escape.
After Ye Feng sent those people to various places, he followed Zhao Shuning to the fishing village.
It had to be said that Ye Feng's mount was truly imposing. The Night Harpy under him was said to not be Ye Feng's contracted divine beast, but just a monster guarding his clan.
On the back of the Night Harpy, Zhao Shuning couldn't help but voice her doubts.
"Grandpa, do you know who launched that powerful mental attack on me in Changle Town?"
Ye Feng looked solemn.
"This should be related to the Qin family."
"Do you mean Qin Anxin?"
Ye Feng shook his head.
"Not Qin Anxin. Qin Anxin is just a woman from the Cangwu Kingdom and the legitimate daughter of the Qin family. Yan'er, do you know that the reason the Qin family can gain a foothold in the Cangwu Kingdom is because of the powerful force behind them."
Zhao Shuning listened attentively, and Ye Feng continued, "Among the predecessors of the Qin family, there was one extremely powerful person. Calculating the time, he should have lived in this world for two hundred years."
"Two hundred years?"
"Yes. His name is Qin Sheng. He is the ancestor of the Qin family and has extremely high attainments in mental power. When you entered this barrier, apart from me and that white - eyed wolf noticing, it was also the Qin family."
Zhao Shuning said, "The Qin family has such a powerful backer. Why does Gu Hanxun still dare to deal with Qin Anxin like this?"
Ye Feng smiled.
"Qin Sheng has been missing for fifty years. I'm not sure if my perception last time was just an illusion."
"Moreover, even if Qin Sheng comes back, with Gu Hanxun's means, it's not certain that he can't subdue him."
Zhao Shuning raised her eyebrows. It seemed that Grandpa had an extremely high opinion of Gu Hanxun.
"It's not that I have a high opinion of him. That kid really has the ability. It's a pity that he didn't use it for the right purpose."
This time, in order to achieve his goal, Gu Hanxun even dared to imprison Ye Feng. Although he didn't punish him, in Ye Feng's view, this was already unfilial.
Ye Feng glanced at Zhao Shuning.
Then he said, "Yan'er, stretch out your hand."
Zhao Shuning obediently stretched out her hand.
Ye Feng just lightly felt her pulse and said happily, "Your talent is no less than that of Gu Hanxun. In fact, you're even a bit stronger than him."
Zhao Shuning withdrew her hand.
Ye Feng continued, "The descendants of my Ye family are all extraordinary. If your mother had listened to me and not married Luo Hao, your achievements would surely be much greater than they are now."
Zhao Shuning didn't refute because she thought Ye Feng was right.
Zhao Shuning had already witnessed some of Ye Feng's abilities. Just from this meeting, her admiration for Ye Feng grew even deeper. He was the first ninth - rank alchemist she had ever met, apart from her master. Such an achievement would be respected by everyone in the Dongze Wilderness five hundred years later.
"Okay, we're here."
Near the fishing village, Zhao Shuning found the sea. Fortunately, there was still a small boat on the dock. Following the fishermen's custom, Zhao Shuning placed some silver coins on the mast of the boat before untying the rope.
"Grandpa, get on the boat."
"Okay."
But before Ye Feng could get on the boat, there came a very noisy sound of footsteps from the direction of the fishing village. Zhao Shuning and Ye Feng looked at each other and quickly got on the boat.
Was it Gu Hanxun who had caught up? Now that Grandpa's abilities hadn't fully recovered, they couldn't fight the enemy head - on. It was better to avoid them for the time being.
Just as Zhao Shuning untied the rope, the sky - filling flames were already approaching.
"How could they be so fast?"
Ye Feng said in a low voice, "The speed of the iron cavalry is naturally not slow."
Zhao Shuning said, "How about I fight them?" As she said this, she was about to roll up her sleeves and get ready for a fight.
Ye Feng quickly stopped Zhao Shuning.
"Child, I don't know who you take after. You're so impulsive. If Gu Hanxun were really that easy to deal with, do you think I would have been trapped in that secret room by him for decades?"
Zhao Shuning stuck out her tongue.
Ye Feng continued, "Let's go back to the Qianji Kill first. Once we're there, your mental power can recover quickly, and we won't be at his mercy anymore."
Zhao Shuning nodded. She raised the sail and cut the rope. The small boat gradually moved away from the dock.
In less than a moment, the iron cavalry reached the dock. At the head was Gu Hanxun in dark purple clothes. At this moment, his face was covered with frost, and his eyes were filled with unfathomable gloom.
The small boat that Zhao Shuning and Ye Feng were on suddenly shook violently. They managed to stand firmly and then noticed that there was a cold chain in Gu Hanxun's hand. The other end of the chain was actually their small boat.
Zhao Shuning stood at the bow of the boat. By now, the sky was slowly brightening. Zhao Shuning looked around and saw that the dock had been completely blocked by Gu Hanxun.
Gu Hanxun really reacted incredibly fast. In just a moment, he had been able to detect their presence and successfully traced the direction of their escape.
"Are you leaving?"
Gu Hanxun asked hoarsely, his scarlet eyes staring directly at Zhao Shuning at the bow of the boat.
Zhao Shuning looked at Gu Hanxun on the opposite side. Now he was riding a horse and had put on boots. He could walk. Zhao Shuning felt regretful. She had exhausted all her efforts to make him stand up again, but unexpectedly, her actions had now become an obstacle to their escape.
"Are you leaving?"
He spoke again, raising his voice a bit with a hint of anger.