Chapter 403

Chapter 403: Yu Zhao, It Has Really Been a Long Time!
After leaving Long Fei Fei, Yu Zhao went to see Yao Wuji. When she learned that Yao Wu Jidid not have a jade pendant, she offered one to her on her own, which moved Yao Wu Jito tears.

When Yu Zhao was worrying over the three jade pendants she still had left, she suddenly heard roars coming from the opposite side of Chaozong Gorge. The sound even felt a bit familiar.

A large Flower Leopard Beast with smooth, shiny fur flashed through her mind.

She immediately had an idea and turned to walk toward the other side of Chaozong Gorge.

When she arrived, she happened to see Hua Tu being beaten up one-sidedly.

The one beating him was the chieftain of the Three-Eyed Leopard Clan.

The cause was that Hua Tu had accidentally let it slip that he had seen the Bixi Dragon-Tortoise by Yu Zhao’s side long ago.

Of course, back then he had not known that Bai Ran was the Bixi Dragon-Tortoise. He had treated the Bixi Dragon-Tortoise as a little snake in heat.

The Three-Eyed Leopard chieftain was so angry that he pinned Hua Tu down and gave him a fierce beating.

The sounds Yu Zhao had heard were Hua Tu’s miserable screams.

“Hua Tu.” Yu Zhao called out.

Hua Tu had been lying on the ground with his rear raised, silently crying.

When he heard the voice behind him, his eyes widened with surprise. Ignoring his injuries, he let out a howl and leaped in front of Yu Zhao, looking her up and down, “Yu Zhao! You are back!”

Yu Zhao nodded: “How old are you this year?”

Hua Tu was about to answer when he suddenly remembered all the storybooks he had read. His expression turned wary as he asked: “Why are you asking that?”

He had heard that young women did not like men who were much younger than them, and they also did not like men who were much older.

So should he report his age as higher or lower?

Hua Tu’s rarely used brain started spinning quickly.

Seeing his eyes darting around, Yu Zhao did not bother guessing what he was thinking. She simply took out a jade pendant and tossed it at him.

Hua Tu had no guard up in front of her. With a yelp, he took the jade pendant full on.

Then the jade pendant bounced off him and floated back to Yu Zhao’s side.

A hint of regret flashed in her eyes.

It seemed Hua Tu did not meet the requirements.

“It’s fine now. Since you are hurt, rest well.” She said this, then prepared to go find Bai Mei and the others to test whether the problem was age or race.

Hua Tu did not understand why Yu Zhao wanted to leave right after seeing him. But when he saw the disappointment in her eyes, he became anxious and flustered. His thick tail almost left afterimages as it lashed, as he shouted: “Yu Zhao! Did I do something wrong? I can change!”

“You did not do anything wrong. Stop overthinking.” Yu Zhao answered.

“But…” Hua Tu lowered his head slightly, feeling down.

Yu Zhao looked at his big furry head. She suddenly rose on tiptoe and reached out to rub his head.

Hua Tu: !

“It’s really nothing. I still have things to do, so I will go first. I will explain it to you slowly later.” Yu Zhao said, then turned and left.

Hua Tu watched Yu Zhao leave in a daze, still shocked at being petted. Beside his ears came the noises of his companions.

“Rumble rumble.”

He turned his head and saw two Flower Leopard Beasts. One was lying on the ground with a silly look, and the other had raised its paw to slap the first one’s head.

It did not hold back at all. Each slap made the other Flower Leopard Beast’s big head bang loudly.

Yet neither leopard felt anything wrong. They both made rumbling sounds that seemed half mocking, half proud.

A strong wave of shame rushed over him. Hua Tu was furious from embarrassment. He lowered his front body, let out a low growl, and pounced forward.

The two leopards yelped strangely and ran away at once.

Yu Zhao went around the area where the Demonic Beasts were gathered. In the end, she returned with the same three jade pendants untouched.

Demonic Beasts were not within the selection range.

Even if they met the requirements, they still could not form contracts.

So Yu Zhao simply handed the three jade pendants over to her sect and let Sect Master Ji Yuan handle them. She herself settled down to wait for the day the Dao Arena would open.

…

Seven days later.

Clarity Sound Temple.

Yu Zhao, Zhou Jin Yue, Bu Yan, and the others who had obtained the right to enter the Ancient Dao Arena all stood in front of the Ancient Array Formation. The elders of each sect stood behind them.

The place was crowded with people, yet it was silent.

Above the Ancient Array Formation, the light curtain showing the locations was still there, but the number of light spots on it was now almost one quarter fewer than before.

Everyone could not help sighing when they saw it.

After they waited for nearly an hour, the light curtain finally moved.

The light spot at the very center of the curtain suddenly rushed out as if it were alive and flew straight toward Yu Zhao.

She instinctively wanted to dodge, but found that the space around her had been sealed by an invisible force. She could not move at all and could only watch as the light point drilled into the space between her brows.

Right after that, her body flew upward out of her control.

At the moment her feet left the ground, more light spots flowed out of the curtain and entered the brows of the others.

The rest of them also flew up into the sky one after another.

Yu Zhao had thought the entrance to the Dao Arena would be inside the Formation Array Arts. But her body passed right over the Formation Array Arts, pierced the clouds, and kept rising.

When she looked down, all she could see was drifting mist and clouds.

She wondered to herself: [Where are they trying to send me?]

The mysterious power did not seem to plan on answering Yu Zhao’s question. It carried her higher and higher.

Gradually, Yu Zhao stopped thinking about anything else. Her mind emptied, and memories she had pushed to the back of her mind began to surface again.

Her weak and useless past life.

Wanderer Bright Moon’s turbulent life.

Senior Chang Sheng’s many insights in his search for the Way of Longevity.

More and more fragments wrapped around Yu Zhao like mystic threads, tightly binding her.

The confusion in her eyes grew deeper. She even began to feel a faint, suffocating pressure, as if she could not breathe.

A faint voice sounded in her ears: “Yu Zhao…”

[Who is Yu Zhao?]

“Yu Zhao… Yu Zhao…”

[Are they calling me?]

“Yu Zhao… It is time to come back…”

Yu Zhao felt a coolness sweep through her. Her mind suddenly cleared, and the messy thoughts faded like the tide going out.

A bright light burst in her eyes.

[No matter how many distracting thoughts disturb me, my heart will not move.]

Boom!

A clap of thunder sounded.

The scene before Yu Zhao twisted and shattered.

The world spun.

She opened her eyes in a wide Dao arena.

She was sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion. There was no one else around her, only a field of cushions spread across the floor.

With a rough count, the number of cushions matched the number of light spots exactly.

The corners of Yu Zhao’s mouth lifted slightly.

[Ancient Dao Arena.]

She had entered.

Since she did not know what was going on, Yu Zhao did not dare move around on her own. She sat obediently on her cushion and waited for the others to arrive.

Looking at the empty cushion beside her, she quietly guessed in her heart who the next person would be.

She thought the first to appear would be Zhou Jin Yue, Senior Sister Zhou, or Senior Sister Liu Zheng of the Heavenly Sword Sect. If not them, it should at least be someone like Fang Cheng Lang or Cui Jue.

But she never dreamed that the second person to appear would be Ye Cong Xin.

As Ye Cong Xin’s figure slowly appeared on the cushion beside her, Yu Zhao’s body reacted faster than her mind. She turned her hand and struck out with a palm.

But at that moment, the cushion under Ye Cong Xin exploded with bright light. It blocked Yu Zhao’s attack and sent it back.

Yu Zhao’s body swayed backward under the strong rebound force.

A sharp look flashed between her brows.

But when Ye Cong Xin came back to her senses, her face looked even worse than Yu Zhao’s, as she said: “Yu Zhao! It has really been a long time!”