Chapter 1746: New Bride

Zu An's expression tightened. He immediately swung out a sword qi, dispersing the attacking fierce winds.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, his expression suddenly changed. He sensed the surrounding air surging again, quickly forming fierce winds that attacked him once more. The winds were so fast that he had no time to think, immediately striking again to disperse them. He frowned instantly, realizing the fierce winds were much more powerful this time.

Just then, the surrounding air surged again, and a mass of dark clouds began to gather overhead. Within them, lightning flickered faintly, and an inexplicable sense of dread filled the air.

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

Zu An's heart stirred, and he immediately jumped down. He had been prepared for the mysterious fierce winds to pursue him, but after a moment, they seemed to lose their target and calmed down again. The clouds that had been gathering in the sky also gradually dispersed, revealing the clear sky once more.

Zu An said in a deep voice, "Is there a restriction in the sky?"

"That's right," Jing Teng nodded. "A long, long time ago, the path between heaven and man was severed, and an additional restriction appeared in the sky. No one has been able to go up since then."

"But I felt that although those fierce winds were strong, they weren't impossible to deal with," Zu An mused, thinking that with his strength, he could still ascend.

"It's useless," Jing Teng shook her head slightly. "Did you feel those fierce winds suddenly grow stronger just now?"

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

"There's no limit," Jing Teng slowly explained, seeing their surprised expressions. "Throughout countless ages, countless incredibly talented cultivators wanted to ascend and see what lay beyond. But no matter how powerful they were, they all failed in the end. Later, everyone finally figured it out: the power of the fierce winds in the sky is linked to your strength. The stronger you are, the stronger the winds you encounter, which means no one can ever break through the sky."

Qiu Honglei let out a surprised sound. "That sounds like some kind of large formation?"

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

Everyone fell silent instantly. If it was the rules of the Heavenly Dao, then it truly wasn't something human power could contend with.

Zu An said in a deep voice, "If we can't fly, then, according to your description, this place is more than ten thousand miles from Zhichuan. When will we ever reach it if we walk?"

Jing Teng pondered for a moment. "Originally, I planned to go to a nearby town to find some spirit beasts for transportation, but I just noticed your..." Her gaze fell on 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. Let's use yours instead."

"Didn't you say we couldn't fly?" Zu An asked doubtfully.

Jing Teng extended a slender finger and pointed to the sky. "You just can't exceed a certain height. Low-altitude flight won't have much impact."

Zu An was startled, realizing that had indeed been the case. However, low-altitude flight would encounter significant wind resistance, making it difficult for the Wind Fire Wheels to reach their normal speed. Still, it was much faster than walking.

"Then I'll take you," Zu An said, looking at everyone. He felt a bit awkward. Qiu Honglei was fine; he could just hold her close, but there were still Jing Teng and Wei Suo. He couldn't possibly carry both of them.

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

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

Jing Teng glanced at him and suddenly extended several vines to wrap around him. "As long as we're fast enough, you won't fall."

Wei Suo was utterly confused.

In the end, Zu An flew ahead, holding Qiu Honglei and riding the Wind Fire Wheels. A few meters behind them, Jing Teng followed effortlessly. Further back was Wei Suo, trussed up like a zongzi and dragged horizontally through the air, his face an expression of utter despair.

Qiu Honglei snuggled into his embrace, her face flushed. Beyond her shyness, she felt a surge of happiness. 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 their feet, her eyes full of curiosity. "Won't the fire on these burn us?"

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

Qiu Honglei tentatively extended her foot and indeed, felt only a warm flame envelop it, without any burning sensation. Her eyes lit up. "It's true!"

***

Watching the young couple in front affectionately whispering to each other, Jing Teng, trailing behind, seemed lost in thought, as if recalling various past events. But her expression quickly turned cold, clearly not a pleasant memory.

Carrying four people at once, coupled with low-altitude flight, the Wind Fire Wheels' speed was inevitably affected. The group's speed was much slower than the wheels' peak performance. Nevertheless, they still covered over a thousand *li* in a day. They could have covered more distance, but they encountered various dangers along the way that needed to be dealt with. They encountered bandits, those who coveted Qiu Honglei's and Jing Teng's beauty, demons who craved their flesh and blood, and even some curious about what Wei Suo, being dragged along, was.

However, with Zu An's profound cultivation and Qiu Honglei's assistance, they truly encountered no obstacles. Qiu Honglei's expression grew increasingly excited; she loved the feeling of fighting alongside Zu An. Jing Teng, meanwhile, was secretly astonished. Some of the challengers they encountered along the way had strength comparable to hers, yet none could withstand the might of his single sword strike. How had this man cultivated to be so powerful at such a young age? And what's more, he was quite handsome...

She quickly snapped out of her thoughts. Seeing that it was getting late, she said, "Let's find a place nearby to rest before it gets dark. The wilderness is very dangerous at night."

"The ones we met along the way weren't hard to deal with, though," Zu An said curiously.

"At night, much stronger beings emerge," Jing Teng replied. "They're many times more powerful than what we've encountered during the day."

Although Zu An wanted to reach Zhichuan earlier to complete his mission and find the whereabouts of the other women, Jing Teng's words were clearly not without basis. Coupled with Wei Suo, whose face was turning green from motion sickness, he finally stopped. "A night's rest sounds good," he said.

As soon as they landed, Wei Suo rushed to a corner and vomited loudly. Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng both distastefully moved away. Zu An went over and patted his back, asking with concern, "What's wrong?"

"Motion sickness... ugh..." Wei Suo hadn't even finished his answer before he vomited again.

Zu An was speechless. Being dragged behind like that had indeed been very hard on him.

"Oh, there's a manor ahead. It looks like they're celebrating a wedding," Qiu Honglei said, pointing to a courtyard not far away. But rather than a manor, it was more like a fortified village, surrounded by walls, battlements, and watchtowers. In these turbulent times, it wasn't surprising that local strongmen with some power would fortify their homes for defense. In fact, it would be more problematic if there were only an ordinary house out in this wilderness.

"Who goes there?" Just then, dust kicked up as a group of people on horseback returned from afar, surrounding them.

Zu An noticed their attire. They wore some armor, but not much, clearly not regular soldiers. They seemed more like armed farmers. He replied, "We are travelers passing through this area. Seeing that it's getting dark, we're looking for a place to stay for the night."

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

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

The dark-skinned man replied, "Don't worry, this young man looks respectable, not like a bad person. Besides, who brings two women along to do bad things?" As for Wei Suo, standing by, he was simply regarded as a small follower, not even needing a special mention. "Our young mistress is always kind-hearted, and today is her big day. If she knew we turned people away and they ended up harmed by evil spirits, she would definitely blame us."

Seeing him say this, the others immediately fell silent.

Hearing the big man's invitation, Zu An cupped his hands in greeting. "Then we shall intrude!"

So, the group followed the riders into the manor. Along the way, they chatted, learning that the man was named Zhang Yong, the head of the manor's guards. And today was the day their young mistress was marrying into the family.

Wei Suo couldn't help but exclaim, with such a large manor, no wonder she wasn't marrying out but bringing a man into the family. "Why do these good things never happen to me?" Wei Suo felt even more dejected, remembering how the Princess of Bright Moon City had taken Zu An as a live-in son-in-law, and now he was accompanied by a heavenly beauty like Qiu Honglei.

As they entered, they were suddenly stopped by an old man who looked like an accountant. He handed them several invitation cards and asked, "Are you relatives of the groom's side or the bride's side?" This gesture clearly meant they were expected to give a gift.

Zhang Yong immediately looked embarrassed. "Uncle Wang, they are passing guests whom I just invited."

Just then, Zu An smiled. "No matter, we should indeed give a gift." After speaking, he took out some gifts and handed them over. The old accountant immediately beamed with joy. "Oh, you're too kind, too kind, how can we accept this so easily..." Although he said this, his hand had already taken the gift.

"What are your names?" the old accountant asked, picking up a brush to record on the gift ledger, which was already densely filled with various names and their respective gifts.

Zhang Yong also slapped his forehead. "Look at my memory, I completely forgot to ask your names just now."

Just as Zu An was about to reply, Jing Teng's telepathic message suddenly sounded in his ear: "Don't use your real names."

Zu An was startled but immediately understood. He calmly replied, "My name is Wu Yanzu."

Hearing him say this, Qiu Honglei, being clever, immediately thought of a pseudonym. "My name is Qiuxiang."

Jing Teng said indifferently, "Jing Tian."

Wei Suo listened, dumbfounded, but he wasn't stupid. He immediately said, "Wei Xiaobao."

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