After My Rebirth, I Ended Up Happily Ever After with the Saintess - Chapter 111

With the decision made, hesitation vanished.

Ye Li meticulously arranged the affairs of the Phantom Pavilion (You Ge). Lin Feng was to remain at the Xuan Yun Sect headquarters, managing daily operations and intelligence collation, with Xia Zhihe assisting in internal affairs, and Han Li focusing on training newly recruited members. Sun Xiaohou, a clever individual skilled in stealth and reconnaissance, was personally selected by Ye Li to lead a small, elite advance team to secretly follow their journey. Their mission was not to provide close protection, but to establish hidden intelligence posts along the route Ye Li and Qin Yixuan would travel, gathering local information to build a foundation for any subsequent needs. For the first time, the reach of the Phantom Pavilion would truly extend beyond the sect with Ye Li’s footsteps.

Before leaving, Ye Li went to see Recluse Muyun one last time. The master and disciple exchanged few words. Recluse Muyun simply handed Ye Li an ancient jade pendant, saying it sealed three of his full-power Divine Abilities, which might save her life at a critical moment. He then carefully instructed her on various matters requiring attention during their travels, his concern evident.

“Master, please take care. Your disciple departs now.” Ye Li bowed deeply, engraving this master’s benevolence into her heart.

On the other side, within the Azure Water Pavilion, Qin Yixuan faced a similar scene. Master Water Mirror looked at his most outstanding disciple with both pride and worry. He, too, bestowed protective treasures and cautioned her that while her Divine Source was a colossal opportunity, it could also entail enormous karma, requiring her to constantly maintain her original self and never forget her foundation.

“Your disciple will remember Master’s teachings.” Qin Yixuan bowed gracefully, her cool eyes reflecting a touch of reluctance.

The day of departure was a clear, bright morning. Without alerting many people, two streams of light quietly left the mountain gates of the Xuan Yun Sect and the Azure Water Pavilion, converging outside a remote small city named “Wangbei” (North-Gazing) on the Northern Region border.

When Ye Li’s escape light descended, she immediately saw Qin Yixuan, who was already waiting at the appointed spot.

Today, Qin Yixuan was not wearing the distinctive Azure Water Pavilion robes but had changed into a set of practical, moon-white fitted clothing, covered by a pale-green cloak. Her dark hair was simply tied back, shedding some of the Saintess’s cool, ethereal quality and gaining a touch of a pragmatic martial practitioner’s competence. She stood beneath an ancient tree, the morning light filtering through the leaves, seemingly casting a soft halo over her.

Seeing Ye Li arrive, Qin Yixuan turned, a faint, shallow curve lifting her lips: “You’re here.”

“Mhm.” Ye Li nodded. She had also changed out of the Xuan Yun Sect’s True Disciple robes, wearing a sharp black dress. Her aura was cold and austere, and standing next to Qin Yixuan—one in black and one in white, one cold and one gentle—they possessed a peculiar sense of harmony.

“Shall we… go?” Qin Yixuan asked softly, her tone carrying a hint of anticipation for the unknown journey, and a barely noticeable, subtle excitement about traveling with Ye Li.

“Good.” Ye Li replied concisely.

The two exchanged a smile, choosing not to use dazzling escape lights. Instead, they walked into Wangbei City like ordinary travelers, intending to use the city’s cross-region Teleportation Array to leave the Northern Region.

Although Wangbei was a small city, its role as a crucial hub on the Northern Region border made it quite bustling. The streets were filled with people, a mix of various cultivators, and the surrounding aura was complex. Ye Li and Qin Yixuan restrained their formidable Core Formation realm auras, blending into the crowd and appearing inconspicuous.

They could sense a few faint, hidden auras trailing not far behind them; it was Sun Xiaohou’s Phantom Pavilion team, already executing their duty.

At the city’s largest “All-Pass Merchant Guild,” they paid a hefty fee and stepped onto the cross-region Teleportation Array heading to the Central Region’s “Thousand Streams Plain.” The array lit up, spatial energy fluctuated, and after a brief moment of dizziness, the scene before them had completely changed.

The ice, snow, and bitter cold of the Northern Region were gone, replaced by a vast plain, crisscrossed with waterways and brimming with spiritual energy. The sky was an azure blue, and the air was filled with the moist fragrance of grass and wood, entirely different from the dry cold of the north.

The Thousand Streams Plain was located on the edge of the Central Region of the Thousand Regions Spirit Realm, named for the thousands of rivers and streams that traversed its territory. The power structures here were intricate; there was no single dominant top-tier sect like the Xuan Yun Sect or Azure Water Pavilion in the Northern Region. Instead, it was jointly controlled by countless sects, families, and city alliances. It was a place known for well-circulated information and prosperous commerce, serving as a vital transportation hub to the other regions of the Spirit Realm.

Stepping out of the teleportation hall, the dramatically different culture and environment sparked a sense of novelty in both Ye Li and Qin Yixuan. This was the world outside the Northern Region—vast, unfamiliar, full of infinite possibilities, and also harboring unknown dangers.

“Let’s find a place to settle first and gather specific information about this area,” Ye Li suggested. Traveling was not about blindly wandering; information was crucial.

Qin Yixuan naturally agreed. They found an inn in “Wanchuan City,” the largest city on the Thousand Streams Plain, that was situated in a quiet environment and had a clean background (Sun Xiaohou’s advance scouting).

After settling in, Ye Li quietly met with Sun Xiaohou, who was already waiting there, using the Phantom Pavilion’s special communication method.

“Pavilion Master!” Sun Xiaohou greeted Ye Li with a mixture of excitement and reverence. After more than half a year, his cultivation had also progressed significantly, reaching the peak of the Meridian Condensation Realm, and his eyes were even more astute.

“What is the situation?” Ye Li asked directly.

“Reporting, Pavilion Master, Wanchuan City’s situation is complex. There are three main powers: the Wanchuan Alliance, which controls the city’s order and the teleportation arrays, formed by several local large families; the Hundred Treasures Chamber, which monopolizes over seventy percent of the Plain’s commerce, has a mysterious background, and is rumored to be linked to some major merchant associations in the Central Region; and the Thousand Streams Water Mansion, a monster race power located deep within the swamps outside the city, which generally keeps to itself and avoids conflict with the human race.” Sun Xiaohou quickly summarized the preliminary intelligence. “The city has been relatively calm recently, with no major events reported. We’ve already rented an inconspicuous courtyard in the city to serve as a temporary base and are trying to connect with some local small-scale intelligence vendors.”

Ye Li nodded; Sun Xiaohou was very efficient. “Well done. Continue gathering information. Focus on the movements of the Central Region’s major powers, unusual events, and especially… rumors concerning ancient ruins, strange fragments, or mentions of the ‘World-Eater’ (Shijie) and ‘Great Void’ (Guixu).”

“Understood! Your subordinate accepts the order!” Sun Xiaohou acknowledged the command and quietly withdrew.

Returning to the inn, Ye Li shared the information she had gathered with Qin Yixuan. Qin Yixuan also took out some jade slips she had brought from the Azure Water Pavilion regarding the Central Region’s culture and customs, and the two studied them together.

Over the next few days, they did not rush to leave Wanchuan City. Instead, they behaved like ordinary cultivators, strolling around the city to familiarize themselves with the environment. They visited the crowded market, witnessing all kinds of strange items from various regions; they went to the tea houses where cultivators gathered to exchange views and listen to various news; they even concealed their cultivation and accepted a few simple city tasks to experience the life of the local cultivators.

Throughout this process, the rapport between the two grew daily. Ye Li’s calm decisiveness and Qin Yixuan’s delicate insight complemented each other perfectly. Qin Yixuan discovered that Ye Li was not as aloof as she appeared; she had unique insights into many things, and the occasional trace of world-weariness, unbefitting her age, only made her more curious. Ye Li, in turn, increasingly appreciated the kindness and resilience hidden beneath Qin Yixuan’s cool exterior, as well as the moments of genuine girlish innocence she occasionally revealed.

One evening, the two stood at Wanchuan City’s famous “Guanlan Platform” (Wave-Viewing Platform), admiring the sunset. Below them, a vast river surged endlessly, and in the distance, a magnificent scene of water meeting sky unfolded.

“Only after leaving the Northern Region does one realize the vastness of the world,” Qin Yixuan sighed softly, watching the sunset’s afterglow turn the river surface gold and red. “Before, when I was in the Pavilion, I always felt the Northern Region was the center of the world. Now, it seems that was merely a frog looking out from the bottom of a well.”

Ye Li stood with her hands behind her back, the river breeze rustling her hair: “The world may be vast, but the Dao is one. No matter where we are, we must only hold firm to our original heart and keep moving forward.”

Qin Yixuan turned to look at Ye Li’s profile, outlined by the setting sun, and her heart stirred slightly. She suddenly felt that with such a person as a travel companion, this long path of cultivation no longer seemed so lonely and cold.

“Ye Li,” she suddenly spoke, her tone serious, “The road ahead may encounter many unexpected dangers. We… must look out for each other.”

Hearing this, Ye Li turned, meeting Qin Yixuan’s clear and earnest gaze. The sunset’s afterglow fell into her eyes, as if igniting two warm flames. Ye Li’s heart was gently touched. She nodded, her voice soft but carrying the weight of a promise:

“Good.”

One word, heavy as a thousand jun.

The sun completely dipped below the horizon, night fell, and Wanchuan City lit up with ten thousand lamps. The two young women stood side by side on the high platform, gazing at this strange and vast world. Their journey of exploration had officially begun. Their destinies, too, would become more closely intertwined during this shared journey. And the hidden pieces of the Phantom Pavilion had been quietly laid, spreading like a spiderweb deeper into the Thousand Regions Spirit Realm.