After being reborn, all I want to do is run away.

Chapter 554 Birds fly into the forest, fish swim back to the sea

Before dawn the next day, after bidding farewell to the goddess in the main hall, Shen Xu left the temple under the cover of darkness.

Instead of using the teleportation array, Shen Xu used his flying light to leave Hundred Flowers City directly.

On Goddess Peak, watching the streak of light flash across the distant horizon, Li Linghui asked, puzzled, "Master, why won't you let me go with him?"

"He's looking for a safe place. The more people who know, the greater the risk. He doesn't trust you, and forcing yourself to go will only make him resent you."

But he will eventually come back, and this time will be enough for your feelings to begin to blossom.

"Master, was my choice right? He is a person who yearns for freedom, but I only want to keep him by my side."

"I won't give you any advice. Whatever you choose, you will have to pay the price for it," the goddess said calmly.

……

Above the flying light, Shen Xu looked at the Goddess Peak, which was becoming increasingly distant and blurry under the morning light, and felt an indescribable sense of joy.

He didn't actually stay in Hundred Flowers City for very long, but it felt like an eternity.

There's an old saying that every second of an unhappy day feels incredibly long.

He experienced too much in Hundred Flowers City, suffering too much scheming and pain.

Now that he can finally get away from that place of trouble, how could he not feel happy?

He learned from Qingyun that the goddess's ascension to sainthood did not affect the four sword saints; on the contrary, it helped them break through their current realms.

He then knew that he had done what Zuo Chen wanted him to do.

He had done everything he could for Xingchuan Domain, and he had also done his best to fulfill his promise to Zuo Chen.

Nothing in Xingchuan could hold him back anymore.

Thinking of this, Shen Xu took a deep breath, stood up, and looked at the distant horizon with boundless pride.

"My journey, Shen Xu, is like a bird returning to the forest or a fish returning to the sea; I am no longer bound by any constraints."

……

By the time Shen Xu arrived in Tianjian City from Chiyuan City, it was already evening.

The reason it's so complicated is that the only place with the inter-domain array is the Seven Luminaries Sect, and the only place with the teleportation array to the Seven Luminaries Sect is Heavenly Sword City.

It's not that the Crimson Yuan Sect didn't have it, but rather that he wasn't qualified to ride it.

In addition, it doesn't take that long to get from Hundred Flowers City to Heavenly Sword City.

Now that he has nothing to do, he is naturally interested in savoring the local customs and culture of the Crimson Origin Sect.

So they were delayed in Chiyuan City for a while.

Actually, it wasn't really a delay; he learned quite a few interesting things in Chiyuan City.

The most talked-about topic was naturally the matter of Goddess Peak, after all, it would be difficult for the second half-saint of Xingchuan Domain not to attract attention.

Everyone was wildly speculating about everything concerning this goddess. Rumors were flying everywhere in Chiyuan City, but most of them were positive guesses. No one dared to make up stories about the goddess.

After learning that he came from Hundred Flowers City, everyone asked him about the goddess, but he could only say that he knew nothing about her.

Secondly, there was the matter of the Human Race Temple appearing in Ningzhou, something Shen Xu had never heard of before.

The people described the situation in fantastical terms: the world was plunged into darkness, a river of starlight appeared, seven celestial staircases stood, a magnificent palace was built, and the earth's veins were revived...

Shen Xu felt that these people were exaggerating. It wasn't that he hadn't been to the temple before, but there weren't so many special effects back then.

However, Shen Xu initially thought that the person who attracted the Human Race Temple was Li Xiaoyi, but after hearing everyone say that strange phenomena were spreading throughout Ningzhou, he felt that it might not be her.

After all, he had never seen such a strange phenomenon in his previous life.

I wonder how big a tsunami his little butterfly caused.

Finally, there was the matter of the Chiyuan Sect's internal affairs. Shen Xu really didn't expect that Master Yanyang had made two preparations.

The Song family's act of betraying their own kin to report Yan Yang Shangren to the Sword Alliance for colluding with the demonic path left Shen Xu speechless with admiration for the brilliance of their move.

Even if they lose the bet at Goddess Peak, they can still preserve the Song family's legacy.

Song Han returned to the Chiyuan Sect, relinquishing the Song family's power within the sect for thousands of years and ending the Song family's era in the Chiyuan Sect.

The Xie family, who also belonged to the disciples of the Crimson Origin Sect, took over the Crimson Origin Sect.

It is said that Venerable Chiyuan has tolerated the Song family's power in the Chiyuan Sect until today, which shows his magnanimity.

However, the Song family cannot be said to have lost. The goddess still has feelings for the Song family. How much benefit Song Han can get from the goddess depends on his own abilities.

Upon arriving at the teleportation plaza in Tianjian City, Shen Xu inquired about the teleportation time to the Seven Luminaries Sect and discovered that the earliest he could reach it was by noon the next day.

It's impossible for me to go back to Tianjian Mountain. I'll never be able to go back to Tianjian Mountain in this lifetime. I can only find a hotel to spend the night in.

In addition, the pill tickets of the Four Directions Sword Alliance cannot be circulated in the Seven Luminaries Sect. He needs to exchange the pill tickets he has for pill tickets issued by the Ningchuan Sect at the Heavenly Sword Merchant Guild.

He doesn't know how much the handling fee will be, but it will definitely be a number that will make him extremely uncomfortable.

As night fell, Shen Xu wandered aimlessly through Tianjian City, just as he had when he first came here.

Back then, he was just a junior cultivator who had just entered the ninth level of the Qi Nourishing Realm, but now he is a Qi Sea cultivator who can fly on a sword.

Although it's still not enough in this dog-eat-dog world, at least it has managed to protect itself.

After he sends Uncle Wang and the others to Ningchuan Domain, he can go find materials for Core Formation and attempt to break through to a realm he never reached in his previous life. Just thinking about it excites him.

Suddenly, Shen Xu's gaze sharpened, and he intensified the illusion spell on his body, completely merging himself into the darkness.

"Junior Brother Wu, what's wrong?" A woman in a red dress asked with concern, looking at Wu Qi who seemed stunned.

"I think I saw a friend."

"where?"

"It was just a fleeting feeling; perhaps I misread it." Wu Qi shook his head, but the trace of doubt in his eyes remained.

"I guess you're under too much pressure. It was a bit too hasty of you to challenge Lu Qingshan right after you came out of seclusion. In fact, if you had just waited another year or two, he definitely wouldn't be your match."

"Senior Sister Xiang, you don't need to worry about me. Although his cultivation is stronger than mine, cultivation is not the decisive factor in the outcome of the battle."

I have a friend who has never fought a battle against someone of equal cultivation level; fighting against opponents of higher cultivation levels is as easy as eating and drinking.

Although I am not as powerful as him, if I cannot even defeat Lu Qingshan, how can I possibly keep up with him?

Are you talking about Shen Xu?

"Senior sister, do you know him too?" Wu Qi asked with a surprised expression.

"He's the uncrowned king of this year's Sword Selection! There are very few people in the entire Sword Alliance who don't know him."

Not only that, I also heard that he easily defeated a true disciple of the Tianhe Sword Sect at the peak of the Qi Sea stage with his cultivation at the early stage of the Qi Sea stage. He's simply a monster!

Before Miss Xiao Yi suddenly appeared, he was the most powerful new disciple of the Sword Alliance besides Lord Qingmu.

"If you want to catch up with him, your current attitude isn't enough!" the woman in red laughed.

Upon hearing this, Wu Qi fell silent, but soon a bright smile appeared on his face. "It's alright, let him show off for now. Sooner or later I'll leave him behind."

"This guy!" Shen Xu chuckled.

As the lights in front of him grew dimmer, Shen Xu finally arrived at his destination.

"Shopkeeper, I need a room! I'd like the third room on the second floor."

He stayed in the room he had previously rented, so he could say he had finished what he started.

……

The following are the author's rambling thoughts, which are included in the main text because there are things to say that I can't put down.

(To be honest, I never thought I would write a novel of more than a million words, even though the plot is only in its middle stage.)

But I really didn't expect this volume to be so long, more than four hundred chapters.

This is actually because the author has no experience in writing long novels, and always tries to fill in many details, and sometimes tries to pad the word count. In reality, many parts can be glossed over.

Moreover, the author had no idea what kind of story he wanted to write at the beginning. He originally wanted to write a traditional story of cultivating immortality, leveling up, fighting monsters, and roaming the world, because he grew up reading such stories and longed to write one himself.

But later I realized that I wasn't really good at it, and since everyone was there for the introduction, I changed my style halfway through.

You might have noticed that after joining the Four Directions Sword Alliance, I rarely wrote about the protagonist's battles anymore. Instead, I focused more on the story's strategy and the interactions and emotional entanglements between the protagonist and his many female companions.

However, since the title and synopsis have already set the tone for the story, the protagonist is bound to run away, but he also really wants to help those around him through the disaster, and I can't change it from the beginning.

Therefore, the protagonist sometimes appears hypocritical, wanting to have his cake and eat it too.

However, all of this is temporarily over. In any case, Lao Shen has gained the freedom he has long awaited today.

But there is no true freedom in this world. No matter how well he hides himself, his many female confidantes will find him one by one, and their entanglements with him will resurface. (Otherwise, what would I write?)

And our prisoner Shen will find a second goal he is willing to do anything to achieve in his new life and adventures.

I will also try to speed up the pace and not write in such a drawn-out manner.

I seem to have rambled on a bit. Tomorrow, let's begin Volume Three – The Storms of Ningzhou!