Chu Lingwei quickly set up a barrier with spatial power and summoned the Phantom Cat to search for the formation's core.
"Yes."
Chu Lingwei had not spent a month here in vain.
No matter what kind of barrier or restriction it was, there was always a switch. If this switch was sealed, this place would become a death trap, and one could only wait to die.
The underwater city was different. Meng Qinghe would frequently dispatch people from here to run errands for them, which meant this was still just a barrier, a barrier beyond her imagination.
As long as it was a barrier, there had to be a way to open it.
Within this month, Chu Lingwei sensed the flow of spiritual energy within the barrier, the wind direction, and the water flow, finally finding a place that was different from all other areas. This should be the switch to open the barrier.
"Weiwei, it's open."
The Phantom Cat's surprised voice came, then quickly subsided. "But I can't break it."
"You all step aside, let me."
Chu Lingwei waved her hand, directly putting the Phantom Cat and the Water Robe into her spatial ring. In her hand appeared the Nine Phoenix Cry Fan, which she had never used before.
All formation cores would obediently retreat if a more powerful existence appeared before them.
When Meng Qinghe heard of Chu Lingwei's sudden disappearance, he was enraged and quickly rushed to the place where Chu Lingwei had vanished. Before he arrived, a powerful spiritual force shook the heavens and the earth, causing the entire underwater city to tremble precariously.
"Who?!"
Meng Qinghe desperately wanted to kill someone at this moment. To tamper with his underwater city was to court death.
"Patriarch, something's wrong, the barrier of our underwater city has been broken." A supreme-level powerhouse appeared at the spot where Chu Lingwei had been. A hole had been torn in the barrier.
"Chu Lingwei, it seems I truly underestimated you."
Meng Qinghe ordered them to quickly repair the barrier. If those who defied his warnings found this place, it would be very troublesome.
Chu Lingwei sat on the divine-grade flying artifact, thousands of miles away from the underwater city by morning, completely unaware of Meng Qinghe's fury towards her.
"It seems one has to rely on oneself for everything."
Chu Lingwei looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, feeling utterly at ease.
"Weiwei, how did you find the location of the underwater city's formation core?" The Phantom Cat was very puzzled. If it were to search for the formation core, it might not even be able to find it.
"When you can't find the formation core, you can try looking for similar things around you. Wherever is different, it indicates a problem there."
Chu Lingwei was merely making a guess. She had searched the underwater city for over a month and hadn't found any trace of the formation core. However, she had traversed the underwater city so many times that the place was overlooked by everyone. She just took a gamble, and it actually succeeded.
"Really?" The Phantom Cat tilted its head, trying to think. It always searched for formation cores based on its skills and cultivation, never realizing that it could find them using such a method.
"Of course, it's true. If you don't believe me, you can try it yourself later."
Chu Lingwei stood up. There were no cultivators around; in fact, there wasn't a single living creature.
"What place is this?"
Chu Lingwei summoned the Water Robe. Water was her home, and she should be more familiar with it than anyone.
"This should be the East Sea." After carefully identifying, the Water Robe confirmed, "This is no longer the domain of the South Sea; it is very, very far from the South Sea."
"How far?"
The Phantom Cat hadn't heard any cultivators mention training in the East Sea.
"At our current speed, it would take ten years." the Water Robe replied.
Chu Lingwei and the Phantom Cat gasped. It was so far.
"Weiwei, when can we go back? Do we really have to wait ten years?" The Phantom Cat was on the verge of tears, longing to return to the Cultivation Academy, where life was comfortable.
"How could that be? We'll find a teleportation array; it shouldn't take that long."
Returning on their flying artifact might take ten years, but using a teleportation array would only take a few months.
"Yes, why didn't I think of that?" The Phantom Cat's eyes lit up. Teleportation arrays were much faster than flying artifacts.
"We should land first and find a town or an island. There should be teleportation arrays there."
"Master, I'll go and scout."
Song City.
"Young Master, you've returned." The manager of the Leng family's restaurant saw their young master return and immediately went to greet him. "Fairy Chu, she..."
"What happened to her? Did she cause trouble?"
A hint of pampering flashed in Leng Xingzhi's eyes. His junior sister looked delicate, but she was no less capable of causing trouble.
"Fairy Chu went out to sea a month ago and hasn't returned since." The manager knelt before Leng Xingzhi. "I've already sent people to inquire, but there's no news."
Leng Xingzhi's expression turned cold, but there was not much anger on his face. "At sea, she should be at the Meng family's place then."
"However, a few days ago, there was a tremor at sea, and the Meng family members secretly came to the island, seemingly searching for someone. I'm worried they are looking for Fairy Chu." If that were the case, the manager wouldn't be worried at all; their young master could rescue Fairy Chu anytime.
What worried him the most was that Fairy Chu might not be at the Meng family's place.
"Oh, that's something she would do." Hearing this, Leng Xingzhi couldn't help but chuckle. Even he admired his junior sister's destructive capabilities. "Never mind, I'll go to the Meng family to take a look."
With that, Leng Xingzhi turned and vanished.
Underwater City.
"Why are you here?"
Meng Qinghe's eyes overflowed with anger upon seeing Leng Xingzhi. "Do you really think this is your Leng family's territory?"
"Where is Weiwei?"
Leng Xingzhi didn't wait for an invitation and sat directly opposite Meng Qinghe. "You brought my junior sister to your underwater city without any explanation. What are your intentions?"
"Leng Xingzhi, this is between Miss Chu and me. What does it have to do with you?" Meng Qinghe's hands were clenched tightly around the armrest of his chair. If he could act freely right now, Leng Xingzhi would have been a corpse already.
Leng Xingzhi let out a scoff. "Patriarch Meng, you are truly ill-informed. Chu Lingwei is my junior sister from the Leng family, and she will be my Dao companion in the future. Her affairs are my affairs."
"Leng Xingzhi, Chu Lingwei will never like you." Meng Qinghe suddenly stood up and burst into laughter. "Tell me, if she knew what happened to the Phoenix clan in the past, would she still be with you?"
Leng Xingzhi's eyes turned cold. He dared to threaten him.
"Leng Xingzhi, tell me, given Chu Lingwei's personality, would she be with the descendants of those who exterminated her clan?"
Meng Qinghe laughed even louder. Even if Chu Lingwei had feelings for Leng Xingzhi, what of it? She would not be with Leng Xingzhi.
"Tell me, will she avenge their Phoenix clan?"
Leng Xingzhi looked at Meng Qinghe's laughter, a killing intent flashing in his eyes. He unleashed a surge of spiritual energy, and Meng Qinghe's body, like a fallen wild goose, crashed heavily to the ground.