The sky in this space was an eerie shade of white. The swaying bamboo that glistened with a faint light was silently moving to and fro.
Zhao Shuning vaguely remembered that the last time she came here, it was filled with soulless people mindlessly repeating the same actions, following the orders from within the mansion. But now, time had changed everything. It was already quite remarkable that this place had been so well - preserved.
Zhao Shuning roughly estimated the time. She thought that Luo Qiu should have almost completed the plan on his side. Looking back at the palace one more time, she still felt a bit worried.
Suddenly, a name popped into her mind. When she was Ye Ling in her previous life, she had once crossed paths with this person and had even helped him. If she asked him to guard this barrier, he probably wouldn't refuse.
Without hesitation, she found someone who could move around relatively freely, gave him some instructions, and then left the palace in this space.
When she arrived in the Kingdom of Cangwu, the first person that should have come to her mind was Gu Zhiruo. However, Gu Zhiruo was no longer the frail child she had once raised. Now, he was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cangwu, wielding great power. Under his rule, the kingdom was in a state of unease, and the state affairs were extremely busy. There must still be many moths in the kingdom; otherwise, Yang Hun wouldn't have dared to act so blatantly.
So, the person Zhao Shuning had in mind wasn't Gu Zhiruo, but another one - Banyue Chengcan.
Counting carefully, that person should be quite old by now. Although he had secluded himself from the world, his cultivation back then had been guided by Ye Ling. Moreover, it was Ye Ling who had helped him break through a crucial bottleneck at a critical moment.
"Miss, where are you going?"
"To visit an old acquaintance."
After leaving the palace in this space, Zhao Shuning flew towards the mountain range in her memory. Without the phoenix, things had become much more troublesome. It seemed that if she had the time, she still had to tame some flying beasts as means of transportation.
When she reached the mountain range, dawn was just breaking. As soon as she arrived, she felt a strong surge of spiritual energy. It seemed that Banyue Chengcan had raised many spiritual beasts and herbs to keep him company in this Changbai Mountain.
She walked towards the source of the spiritual energy, but her steps were suddenly blocked.
"This little rascal has learned to be on guard against others. In this secluded Changbai Mountain, he even thought of setting up a protective shield."
However, this protective shield didn't pose much of a threat to Zhao Shuning. With a few deft finger movements, in a short while, an entrance appeared on the shield, just large enough for her to pass through.
"It seems that although his spiritual power cultivation hasn't advanced much over the years, it has become more solid."
After Zhao Shuning entered the spiritual energy circle, the protective shield returned to its original state. At this moment, she didn't have the time to pay attention to her feet. Relying on her hazy memory, she walked towards the house she had built for Banyue Chengcan.
But suddenly, her vision brightened, and countless swords and daggers came flying towards her. The force behind them was truly not to be underestimated. If she wasn't careful, Zhao Shuning would lose her life among these thousands of weapons.
She narrowly managed to dodge them. Finally, all the weapons merged into one and flew back to the opposite side of Zhao Shuning.
There, a thick fog had gathered. As the fog slowly dissipated, an old man with white hair and beard rushed out.
"What kind of impudent brat dares to break into my Changbai Mountain?"
When the old man appeared, Zhao Shuning was truly startled. His hair had turned completely gray, and his beard was so thick and gray that it was terrifying. His face was mostly covered by this hair, so when he first appeared, Zhao Shuning thought he was a talking ape - like beast raised by Banyue Chengcan.
It was only after she saw that the "ape" had a pair of human eyes that she realized that the hairy monster that had suddenly appeared in front of her wasn't a beast but a living person.
This person was none other than Banyue Chengcan. But Zhao Shuning didn't recognize him immediately, and there was a good reason for this. When she first met Banyue Chengcan, he was still a young teenager.
Now, decades had passed in a blink of an eye. The once - handsome and elegant young man had turned into a slovenly old man, with most of his appearance hidden by his hair. Even if Zhao Shuning had sharp eyes, it would be impossible for her to recognize him at first glance.
"Are you... a person?"
Banyue Chengcan was already in a very bad mood when he saw that the person who had broken into his formation was a little girl. And when he saw that the little girl was looking at him with a scrutinizing look, the rage in his heart became even harder to suppress.
In his early years, he had already become a spiritual herbalist of the Seven Realms. Although he hadn't made any major breakthroughs over the years, it was he who had helped Gu Zhiruo during the military coup in the Cangwu Kingdom's royal mansion. That was why Gu Zhiruo was now able to sit firmly on the throne of the Cangwu Kingdom.
So, because of this relationship, Gu Zhiruo respected him very much, and even the people of the Cangwu Kingdom had long admired Banyue Chengcan's name.
He didn't like to be disturbed, so Gu Zhiruo had issued a strict order not to allow hunters to come to the Changbai Mountain to hunt. In this way, his peace wouldn't be disrupted. He had lived a carefree life for so many years.
But today, a little girl had broken into his formation. Not only that, but she had even managed to dodge his attack just now.
"Do you know Banyue Chengcan?" Zhao Shuning asked this question somewhat cautiously, as if she was confirming whether the person in front of her could understand her words.
Banyue Chengcan was so angry that his beard was shaking. He might be a bit slovenly and casual, but he wasn't deaf or dumb. Although he had secluded himself from the world, it didn't mean that he couldn't understand human speech.
Before he could retort, the little girl on the other side said again, "Sorry, I almost forgot that you can talk. Hello, old sir. I'm looking for Banyue Chengcan. Could you please announce my visit?"
"There are so many people who want to meet Banyue Chengcan every year. When you come to visit, did you bring a visiting card? Did you inform the ruler of the Cangwu Kingdom in advance? Have you ever thought about the consequences of breaking into the Changbai Mountain without permission?"
Zhao Shuning didn't know that the person in front of her had so many questions for her. But since she was here to ask for a favor, she had to lower her pride. She lowered her voice and replied, "I didn't know that I had to get through Gu Zhiruo just to meet Banyue Chengcan."
The person in front of him dared to call the ruler of the Cangwu Kingdom by his name?
"Are you not a subject of the Cangwu Kingdom?"
"I'm from the Eastern Wilderness."
The Eastern Wilderness was the hometown of his benefactor.
"What's your name?"
"Zhao Shuning."
Zhao Shuning? This name suddenly popped into Banyue Chengcan's mind, and he was startled. It seemed that he had heard this name somewhere. But from whom?