Chapter 1 "Boom!"

Due to the impact, the off-road vehicle tilted forward slightly, but returned to normal in an instant, almost unaffected.

Everything happened too fast.

Before it even began, it was over. The off-road vehicle continued to speed along, clearly indicating that the "unclean" thing had already been cut in two by Lanche at the chassis.

"What was that just now?"

The still-shaken Zhuzui muttered.

Gu Nanfeng was calm and collected. He lowered the car window and extended his palm. Lanche, wrapped in a pile of fragmented mechanical parts, floated over.

"This thing is called 'Diqiu' (Earthworm)," Gu Nanfeng said casually, "like 'Feng Tong' (Wind Eye), it's a surveillance device with little offensive capability, but it's extremely stealthy and has some minor harassment abilities... like puncturing tires. It's clear that we've been targeted by the people of Nagano City since we left Dadu."

"Wait... targeted?"

Zhuzui realized something was wrong and hurriedly said, "That doesn't sound very auspicious."

"You can drop the 'seems'," Gu Nanfeng said.

Gu Nanfeng waved his hand, and the pile of mechanical parts fell apart in the wind, scattering with the sand across the deserted wilderness.

"With 'Feng Tong' above and 'Diqiu' below, they clearly don't have good intentions." Gu Nanfeng said calmly, "I left Nagano eight years ago, hiding my name and disappearing. I suppose they want that to continue, or for me to just die out here."

As far as the "New Faction" is concerned...

Gu Changzhi slumbers in Qingzhong.

The "future family head" appointed by the Tomb Keeper's decree was defeated in the struggle and chose to go north.

This situation isn't unacceptable... but the Apostle's Relic has revived, and the Young Master of the Gu family is returning home, which isn't good news.

Zhuzui scratched his head and muttered, "In a typical story, would there be an assassination attempt next? Are those guys in Nagano City trying everything to stop you from going back?"

"Indeed, typical," Lu Nanjin commented blandly.

The orange cat in Gu Shen's arms nodded in agreement.

"That's why I stayed in Beizhou for eight years..." Gu Nanfeng said softly, "Only after achieving mastery of swordsmanship did I return to Dongzhou. I'd like to see who dares to stop me?"

Zhuzui was the first and only one to applaud, "Young Master has great spirit!"

Indeed... it's true that those people in the New Faction of Nagano City don't want Gu Nanfeng to return to the city, but it's also true that they don't have any real means to prevent it.

Diqiu, Feng Tong... What's the use of these little trinkets?

What can they do by hindering him for a while?

In the face of absolute strength, these tricks are useless.

As for assassination... that's even more absurd. Who has the confidence to complete an "assassination" against the accomplished Lanche of the twelfth level of the Deep Sea? Even if two Envoys joined forces, Gu Nanfeng could completely escape the siege.

The Art of Riding the Wind.

Gu Nanfeng's "speed" can be said to be top-notch in the Five Continents.

"They know I'm coming back."

Gu Nanfeng raised his head and said quietly, "And now, I also know... that they know."

...

...

The journey was long, two days and one night.

Fortunately, Zhuzui's bad luck seemed to have disappeared temporarily.

After the Diqiu attack... the rest of the journey was surprisingly smooth. From Jiangnan to Jiangbei, Gu Nanfeng chose a rather desolate off-road route because of the straight path.

This was a "trek" Gu Shen had never imagined.

After passing through the desert wind and sand, the Dadu District was left far behind.

Although the wind and sand were strong, the Jiangnan area was not so rugged. Soon, Gu Shen saw his homeland.

Qinghe.

A wide river separated the two banks.

On the other side of the car window, less than a hundred meters away, was the roar of the Qinghe River. In the distance, there were overlapping mountain shadows. In this era of full Deep Sea connection, "desolation" seemed to be a kind of luck.

Undeveloped, which also meant untrodden.

The orange cat in his arms shifted its body and nudged Gu Shen's chin.

A blurred three-dimensional map appeared before Gu Shen's eyes. He looked out the window, and a vague mountain was outlined in the rolling river in the distance.

"Five Old Peaks..."

Gu Shen immediately understood the meaning of the mountain shadow marked by Chu Ling.

He smiled silently.

The Qinghe River was a large river that separated Jiangnan and Jiangbei.

He never thought that one day he would be on the other side of the Qinghe River, looking back at the homeland where he grew up.

During his time away from Qinghe, the Five Old Peaks would occasionally send emails, and Gu Shen would reply as soon as he had free time. Every once in a while, Gu Shen would talk to the grandmother and children of the Five Old Peaks. He was now a researcher at the Dadu District Research Institute, with a bright and promising future.

In fact.

If another version of himself in a parallel universe had such a life, it wouldn't be bad.

Night fell on the first day.

Gradually, the sound of the river faded.

Crossing the Qinghe River meant that the four major districts of Dadu, Yinghai, Qinghe, and Hongshan in Jiangnan were all left behind.

The climate in Jiangbei was cold. When they first arrived at the area bordering Jiangnan, which was the Qianjiang District, a branch of Qinghe, Gu Shen didn't feel a significant difference, but as they traveled into the night and arrived at Jiuning District, it became increasingly cold.

It was said that the northernmost Tundra District was comparable to Beizhou, with perennial snow and ice. Because the temperature was too low, even the [Heaven's Eye] project of the Dongzhou Federation was difficult to carry out.

Although it was cold... the three transcendents didn't feel anything unusual.

Gu Shen didn't find it boring. He focused on practicing the Jingzhe Breathing Technique all the way, constantly feeling the ebb and flow of his spiritual power. Now, he hardly needed to rest and could keep his spirit in a full state.

As for the other two... Lu Nanjin was constantly immersed in her so-called "infiltration cultivation."

She decided to give up the Deep Water Zone spiritual trials and try to seek a breakthrough by purely relying on her own consciousness, without relying on external forces, just like the ancient cultivators of Beizhou.

And the first step was to integrate her transcendent power into her daily habits.

A crack was opened in the car window.

She constantly manipulated the wind, condensing sand particles.

And this was a misery for a certain unlucky guy... all the way north, the cold wind was biting, and Xing Yun in the back seat was freezing pale. The cold wind from the crack in the window kept blowing in his face. He pulled the thick cotton coat he was wearing tighter and sniffed.

These three people in the car were really "steel and iron bones," each more resistant than the other.

Why couldn't these guys take care of the feelings of this mortal like himself?

He asked to turn on the heating... but was ruthlessly refused by Gu Shen.

It wasn't because Gu Shen was deliberately doing this.

But... he vaguely guessed the pattern of Zhuzui attracting "misfortune."

If Zhuzui and the contactor were regarded as a whole, and Zhuzui himself was not suffering from misfortune, then in all likelihood, the unlucky aura would descend on other people.

But assuming that luck was conserved.

Then... it would seem the problem could be solved simply by keeping Zhuzui shrouded in "misfortune".