Chapter 1751: New Bride

Zu'an’s expression hardened. He immediately unleashed a sword qi, dispersing the attacking gale-force winds.

He had just breathed a sigh of relief when suddenly his face changed. He sensed the surrounding air surging again, quickly forming fierce gale-force winds that attacked him once more.

The speed was too great for him to overthink, so he acted immediately again to blast them apart.

However, his brows immediately furrowed, because he noticed that this time the gale-force winds were much fiercer than before.

Just then, the surrounding air surged again, and a mass of clouds even began to gather overhead. Dark clouds swirled within, and faint lightning flickered, while an inexplicable murderous intent filled the air.

"Get down quickly!" Jing Teng's voice was a little anxious.

Zu'an's heart stirred. He immediately jumped down from above. He was originally on guard, expecting the mysterious gale-force winds to pursue him, but after preparing for a while, the winds seemed to lose their target and returned to calm.

The clouds that had been gathering in the sky also gradually dispersed, revealing a clear sky once more.

Zu'an said gravely, "Are there restrictions in the sky?"

"That's right," Jing Teng nodded. "A very, very long time ago, the path between mortals and immortals was severed. Since then, an extra layer of restriction was added to the sky, and no one has been able to ascend to the heavens."

"But I felt that although those gale-force winds were strong just now, they weren't impossible to deal with," Zu'an pondered, thinking that with his strength, he could still ascend further.

"It's useless," Jing Teng shook her head slightly. "Did you notice that those gale-force winds suddenly grew stronger?"

"Yes," Zu'an replied. "But there must be a limit to how strong they can get, right?"

"There is no limit," Jing Teng explained slowly, looking at their surprised expressions. "Over countless ages, countless astonishingly talented cultivators have tried to ascend to see what lies beyond, but no matter how powerful they were, they all ultimately failed."

"Eventually, it was discovered that the power of the heavenly gale-force winds is tied to your strength. The stronger you are, the stronger the winds you encounter will be. This ensures that no one can ever break through the sky."

Qiu Honglei gasped, "That sounds like some kind of grand formation, doesn't it?"

"Many seniors skilled in formations have studied it, and the sky is not a formation," Jing Teng paused. "It is the rule of the Heavenly Dao."

Everyone fell silent instantly. If it was a rule of the Heavenly Dao, then it was truly beyond human power to contend with.

Zu'an said gravely, "If we can't fly in the sky, then according to your previous description, this place is tens of thousands of miles from Zhichuan. What year and month will it be by the time we walk there?"

Jing Teng mused for a moment. "Originally, I intended to go to a nearby town to find a way to buy some spirit beasts for travel, but I just noticed your..."

Her gaze fell upon the flaming wheels beneath Zu'an's feet.

"Wind-Fire Wheels," Zu'an replied.

Jing Teng nodded. "Those spirit beasts aren't as fast as your Wind-Fire Wheels. It's better to use yours."

Zu'an asked, puzzled, "Didn't you say we couldn't fly?"

Jing Teng extended a jade-like finger and pointed to the sky. "You just can't exceed a certain height. Low-altitude flight won't be much of a problem."

Zu'an was startled. Recalling the recent situation, it was indeed as she said.

However, low-altitude flight meant significant wind resistance, making it difficult to achieve the Wind-Fire Wheels' full speed. Of course, it was still much faster than walking.

"Then I'll take you all," Zu'an said, looking at the others, feeling a bit awkward. Qiu Honglei was fine; he could just hold her close. But what about Jing Teng and Wei Suo? He couldn't exactly carry both of them.

Jing Teng seemed to sense his dilemma. She suddenly extended a vine from her hand towards him. "Just hold onto me."

"What about me?" Wei Suo was dumbfounded. "I can't fly."

Jing Teng glanced at him. She suddenly extended several more vines and wrapped him up. "As long as the speed is fast enough, you won't fall."

Wei Suo: "???"

In the end, Zu'an held Qiu Honglei and flew ahead on the Wind-Fire Wheels. A few meters behind them, Jing Teng followed effortlessly. And even further back was Wei Suo, tightly bound, dragged along horizontally with a look of utter despair.

Qiu Honglei snuggled into his embrace, her face slightly flushed. More than shyness, her heart was filled with joy. Being so intimately close to her beloved, she suddenly felt that the unknown dangers of this world were nothing to fear.

She looked down at the Wind-Fire Wheels beneath them, her eyes full of curiosity. "Won't the fire on these burn us?"

Feeling her slender, soft waist, Zu'an smiled. "No, it won't. The fire on these is connected to my will; it won't harm you. Feel free to step on it and try."

Qiu Honglei tentatively extended her foot. Sure enough, she only felt a warm flame enveloping her foot, with no sensation of burning whatsoever. Her eyes sparkled with delight: "It's really true!"

Watching the young couple in front, affectionately whispering sweet nothings, Jing Teng, behind them, looked somewhat distracted, as if remembering various past events. However, her expression quickly turned cold, clearly indicating it wasn't a pleasant memory.

Carrying four people at once, the Wind-Fire Wheels' speed was inevitably affected. Coupled with low-altitude flight, their speed was much slower than the Wind-Fire Wheels' maximum.

Despite this, they still covered over a thousand li in a day. They could have covered more ground, but they couldn't avoid encountering various dangers that needed to be dealt with along the way.

There were bandits blocking their path, others coveting Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng's beauty, demons coveting their flesh and blood, and even some curious about what exactly Wei Suo was, being dragged along behind them.

However, with Zu'an's profound cultivation now and Qiu Honglei assisting him, they were truly unstoppable.

Qiu Honglei's expression grew increasingly excited. She really enjoyed the feeling of fighting side-by-side with Zu'an.

Jing Teng, meanwhile, was secretly astonished. Some of the interceptors they encountered along the way had strength comparable to her own, yet none could withstand the might of his single sword strike. How did this man cultivate? So young, yet so powerful?

And the crucial thing was, he was quite handsome...

She quickly regained her composure. Seeing that it was getting late, she spoke. "Before it gets dark, let's find a place nearby to rest. The wilderness is very dangerous at night."

Zu'an asked curiously, "The ones we've encountered so far haven't been difficult to deal with."

"At night, some much more powerful beings come out to roam. They're many times stronger than anything we've met during the day," Jing Teng replied.

Although Zu'an wanted to reach Zhichuan sooner to complete his mission and find the whereabouts of the other women, her words were clearly not without basis. Coupled with Wei Suo, whose face was almost turning green behind them, he ultimately stopped: "A night's rest sounds good too."

As soon as they landed, Wei Suo ran to a corner and began to retch loudly. Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng both distanced themselves in distaste.

Zu'an, however, went over and patted his back, asking with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Motion sickness... ugh..." Wei Suo hadn't even finished answering before he started vomiting again.

Zu'an: "..."

Indeed, being dragged behind like that for the entire journey had been very hard on him.

"Oh, look, there's a manor ahead. It seems like they're holding a wedding celebration," Qiu Honglei said, pointing to a courtyard not far away.

However, it was less a manor and more a fortified stronghold, complete with surrounding walls, battlements, and watchtowers.

In these chaotic times, it was not surprising for local strongmen with some power to build fortified strongholds for defense. In fact, if there were only an ordinary residence out here in the wilderness, that would be more suspicious.

"Who goes there?" Just then, a cloud of dust rose as a group of people on horseback returned from a distance and surrounded them.

Zu'an noticed their attire. They wore some armor, but not much, clearly not a regular army. They indeed resembled armed farmers.

He replied, "We are travelers passing through this area. Seeing that it's already dark, we hoped to find a place to stay for the night."

The burly, dark-skinned man leading them laughed heartily. "You've arrived at just the right time! We're celebrating a wedding here, so come join us for a celebratory drink."

Someone next to him quickly advised, "Brother Zhang, be careful, it might be a trick."

The dark-skinned man replied, "Don't worry. This young man looks respectable; he doesn't seem like a bad person. Besides, who would bring two women with them to commit villainy?"

As for Wei Suo, who was off to the side, he was simply regarded as a humble follower and didn't even warrant a mention.

"Our young mistress has always been kind-hearted, and today is her big day. If she knew we turned guests away and they were harmed by evil spirits, she would surely blame us."

Seeing him say this, the others immediately said no more.

Hearing the big man's invitation, Zu'an cupped his hands in a gesture of respect. "Then we shall impose!"

So the group followed the riders into the manor. Along the way, they chatted and learned that the man was named Zhang Yong, the head of the manor's guards.

And today was the day of their young mistress's wedding, where she was taking a husband into her family.

Wei Suo couldn't help but exclaim, "With such a large manor, no wonder she isn't marrying out but is taking a husband to live with her family."

"Why do these good things never happen to me?" Thinking back to how the Princess of Brightmoon City took Zu'an as her live-in husband, and now he was accompanied by an ethereal beauty like Qiu Honglei, Wei Suo felt increasingly disheartened.

As they entered, they were suddenly stopped. An old man who looked like an accountant handed them several slips of paper. "Are you relatives of the groom or the bride?"

From the looks of it, they were expected to give a wedding gift.

Zhang Yong immediately felt embarrassed. "Uncle Wang, they are passing travelers I just invited."

At this, Zu'an smiled. "No worries, it's only right to give a gift."

After speaking, he took out some gifts and handed them over. The old accountant immediately beamed with delight. "Oh, my, how very kind of you, how could you be so generous..."

Although he said this, his hands had already accepted the gifts.

"How should I address you all?" The old accountant picked up his brush, ready to record it on the gift registry. The registry was already densely filled with various names and the gifts they had presented.

Zhang Yong slapped his forehead. "Look at my memory! I actually forgot to ask for your names just now."

Zu'an was about to answer when Jing Teng's voice transmission suddenly rang in his ear: "Don't give your real names."

Zu'an was startled, but immediately understood. He calmly stated, "My name is Wu Yanzu."

Hearing him say this, Qiu Honglei, being smart, immediately thought of an alias: "My name is Qiuxiang."

Jing Teng calmly stated, "Jing Tian."

Wei Suo listened, wide-eyed and dumbfounded. But he wasn't foolish and quickly said, "Wei Xiaobao."

Meanwhile, deep within the manor, in a boudoir, a woman dressed in a large red bridal gown with a veil over her head slowly opened her eyes. She murmured to herself, "Oh, they seem very much like the people the Ghost King mentioned."