Chapter 479: Chapter 479

She paid no mind to the crowd at the mansion gate who were dumbstruck, nor to her little disciple who, though currently dizzy and muddled, was subconsciously using the faint energy sense he had cultivated to barely keep his footing. He stood there obediently on the long sword, allowing the slightly cool evening wind to sweep wantonly over his entire body as he remained utterly bewildered.

Clouds seemed to drift past them continuously by their side.

Underfoot... oh! A glance downward and he hurriedly raised his head again!

For the first time, he felt the Imperial Capital was so incredibly small.

What to do? It was fine not looking, but one look and his legs truly went weak, even his head felt a little dizzy.

Especially since it was clearly visible that while this long sword was longer and wider than the one his master had used before, it was obviously not large enough to accommodate his entire foot.

"What are you still standing there for? We are a full hundred *zhang* high. If you really fall, this master cannot save you!"

This was no lie. After all, she had already exerted herself greatly to pull off this grand display. At this moment, standing here, she could at most barely maintain the image of a lofty master; she had no spare energy to rescue anyone.

Her heart ached over the spirit stones she had expended, and An Ning's tone unconsciously cooled for a moment.

"Oh! Oh!" "This disciple understands!"

Uncertain if this was true or if his master was teasing him again, Sima Rui hurriedly raised his head, channeled his true energy, and firmly protected his small self to avoid being blown down by the increasingly strong wind.

It's just... glancing at his master by his side, clad in a blue robe, pure and transcendent, with even her hair barely ruffled by the wind, and then looking at himself—though there was no mirror in sight—Sima Rui instinctively knew his current outward appearance must not be very good.

While trying his best to maintain balance, Sima Rui subconsciously raised his hand to pat down his own disheveled long hair.

Amidst his excitement, a rare trace of annoyance surfaced on his face.

He must have embarrassed his master just now with his unsophisticated appearance, right? Right! He definitely had!

Thinking of this, Sima Rui temporarily forgot his dream of "flying," his mind solely occupied with whether his clothes were tidy when he ascended, if his hair was messy, and most importantly, whether he had upheld the demeanor befitting a lofty master's disciple.

It was only when An Ning, standing beside him, felt compelled to speak up with exasperation that he snapped out of it. He hurriedly cleared his mind and began to wholeheartedly enjoy this rare sensation of being "high above."

The sun set in the west, and soon a vast expanse of fiery red glow appeared on the horizon. Beneath their feet, mountains, forests, and cities grew increasingly tiny. Occasionally, a bird or two would fly past their side.

The slightly cool evening breeze brushed against their cheeks from time to time.

After so many lifetimes, this was a rare occasion for An Ning to stand high in the sky once more. Even if it was only for a fleeting moment...

This wonderful feeling was enough to savor for a long time. After circling the mountain forest once, a quarter of an hour later, the two quickly descended at the foot of a scenic mountain outside the capital.

As for the reason... well, of course, it was because the spirit stones couldn't sustain the consumption any longer...

Although she had stockpiled quite a few back in the city lord's mansion, as the saying goes, the days ahead are long, and one should save where one can, right?

Without reaching Foundation Establishment, and with the external spiritual energy being pitifully thin, logically speaking, even with all of An Ning's cultivation experience, soaring on a sword? That was naturally impossible!

But what kind of place was West Flame City back then? As everyone knew, it was a gathering place for artifact refiners. Over all these years, even with the weakest talent for artifact refinement, just to be safe, An Ning was still capable of crafting a long sword activated by spirit stones.

Of course, the prerequisite was thanks to the original host's exceptional aptitude!

Otherwise, no matter how good the spiritual artifact was, without even reaching the third layer of Qi Refining, wanting to activate it would be a pipe dream.

Coincidentally, just last year, she had broken through that boundary.

Sigh, since that was the case, if not now to put on a show and quell the restless thoughts of certain people, then when?

It's just... looking at her disciple not far away, who had finally snapped out of his earlier excitement and was about to dutifully "be filial" by selling out his Imperial Father to come warn her to be careful...

Putting away the long sword in her hand, An Ning couldn't help but give a light hum, casting an almost imperceptible glance at the little fellow:

"Rest assured, your master here has a sense of proportion and is not as easy to bully as you think!"

That's right. Remembering the crushing defeat during their earlier chess game, Sima Rui couldn't help but smile a moment later.

His master was merely indifferent by nature; the necessary sharpness of mind was never lacking.

Thinking this, Sima Rui hurried forward, skillfully taking the blanket and tea set his master produced, and deftly began setting things up.

Even when outside, his master must not suffer any grievances.

Over here, master and disciple continued their refined and carefree ways. However, outside the Xie residence, having witnessed the True Person "fly" away in front of everyone without so much as an extra glance in her direction, and seeing the nearly instinctive kneeling and the gaze of near-fanatical worship before her...

Outside the Xie residence, Lady Ouyang's vision went dark, and she instantly collapsed to the ground!

Only one thought filled her mind: It's over!

At the same time, within the Imperial Capital, Emperor Xuanwu, upon receiving the news, let his teacup fall instantly:

"Wait, what did you just say? The True Person, she..."

After the attendant repeated the words mechanically, time and again...

In an instant, boundless regret flooded his entire being.

"Zhou Si, do you think the True Person might know..."

Know what? Emperor Xuanwu did not finish the sentence. Not far away, Zhou Si, who vaguely guessed something, lowered his head fiercely.

But an emperor was always an emperor. He soon thought of remedial measures. After an unknown length of time, his hoarse voice was heard:

"Wu Yang Marquis's Household, how audacious! To dare offend the True Person so! Order that..."

Unfortunately, before he could finish, the sudden sound of a familiar drumbeat erupted from outside.

Simultaneously, outside the great hall, a young servant in blue clothes stumbled and scrambled in: "Yo... Your Majesty, the grievance drum! Someone outside is beating the grievance drum!"

As these words fell, Emperor Xuanwu's face turned ashen once more.

Yet, worse was to come. Before he could even find time to deal with this matter, another young servant soon stumbled in to report, his expression even more panicked than before:

"Terrible, terrible, Your Majesty! The True Person... the True Person has just sent word to the temple, saying she is taking her disciple out to travel and wander!"

"The True Person also... also said..."

Hardly daring to look directly at the emperor's livid face, the little eunuch stammered, "She also said... the date of return is uncertain..."