Junjie slowly lifted his feet and placed them on the levitating sword before hoisting his whole body on top, half expecting to go crashing into the floor. To his relief, it hardly budged and stayed floating even after he placed his whole weight upon it.
"I know you probably feel skeptical because I haven't shown you the power of Qi, or at least being applied in this manner. Just trust the energy of the Earth, it will guide you to greatness Junjie." Xingjuan sounded quite profound as she said that.
"Right, of course... toward greatness, got it." Junjie, meanwhile, was more focused on maintaining his balance because it definitely wasn't easy! It's a lot harder than it looks anyway. Soon enough Xingjuan said,
"I'm going to start moving now, try not to fall off. I wouldn't want you snapping your neck."
"Hold on you said wha-"
Without any further delay Xingjuan set off into the sky carrying two promising youths behind her. It didn't take long for Junjie to adjust to balance and delegate the task to his subconscious. That way he was able to take in the view and talk.
He watched as they soared at a nigh incomprehensible speed through the sky. The sight was stunning, a roof of clouds blocked most sunlight, leaving a dim landscape, although that made it beautiful in its own kind of way.
Below him, and for as far as the eye could see ahead, was a mountainous region with no sign of bamboo anywhere. The jagged cliffs appeared devoid of life, giving it a feeling of mystique and subtle eeriness. While Junjie reflected on the landscape Xingjuan and Lihua were making small talk.
"So Lihua, when are you finally going to get out of my hair and go to school or a sect or something."
"I'm not sure, but why am I the first one you think of getting rid of, what about that guy behind us? Look at him." They both silently stared at Junjie, who was staring down.
"He looks like a lost turtle."
"Lihua, I'm not entirely sure that's a good insult, however to answer your question its because I'm running out of things to teach you and plus I count Junjie as a part of the family now, he's akin to the son I never had."
Lihua looked unconvinced and replied with a small frown,
"I guess even cultivators go senile."
"I'm signing you up for a sect after we get home."
Lihua almost looked horrified as she scrambled to apologise,
"Alright! I'm sorry sister Xingjuan, please let me stay a little longer."
"Alright, maybe just a few months more"
Xingjuan then muttered under her breath,
"I definitely wouldn't want to be your sister though, you're crazy."
They continued in silence for another minute or two before Junjie spoke up from behind,
"Wait just beyond where the cliffs end, I think I see something." Junjie spoke in awe, acting like the giddy child he was.
"You should be seeing the entrance to the city by now. I forgot to warn you but the cities get pretty large, even this one is considered smaller." Xingjuan informed.
As they approached at a swift pace, Junjie began to see a city surrounded by a sturdy stone wall extend into the horizon and, numb to the shock, still let out a quip,
"On the smaller side huh?"
"Okay Junjie I'm just giving you some forewarning now but we are about to begin descending because we are a few hundred meters up. Brace yourself."
Junjie clenched the muscles in his body, prepared for a steep drop, though no such thing came. In fact, the decline was rather smooth.
'Yeah yeah, who needs to prepare anyway? Do I look like some kind of child.' The decline was so smooth that Junjie almost felt insulted.
As they got closer to the entrance of the city, Junjie's breath caught in his throat. He didn't see anything fantastical, all he saw was a queue of normal people, although to Junjie that was shocking.
Obviously when Xingjuan mentioned going to the city, the thought of people had come to his mind, but it hadn't really registered until this point. These were the first people, aside from the Xu family, that he had seen since waking up alone.
When they touched the ground a few people turned around and gawked at them, although they weren't slow to notice one of the three cultivators gawking back.
"Real cultivators! Those guys are powerful cultivators that can use flying swords. How mythical!" One remarked.
"My eyes have been blessed this day by the beauty of cultivators!" A strange, short, fat man said.
Junjie turned in slight confusion toward the mother-daughter duo and asked,
"Is it not normal to be a cultivator or use a flying sword or something?"
"Yeah no not really. Though it goes without saying my mother is quite powerful, cultivators in general don't typically come to small cities like this, so for residents cultivators, let alone ones who can fly, must be pretty rare." Lihua casually said.
When she finished explaining, Junjie didn't reply back and they started moving forward. They moved toward the crowd and all of the people moved out of the way for them without asking questions. Being a cultivator is a symbol of status and it is only natural that the lowly citizens will move out of the way for these esteemed people.
When they arrived at the front, they came head-to-head with two burly men with swords at their hips. Their robes hardly covered their shredded physique.
"Three silvers please." The guard on the right said. His face portrayed no emotion making him quite intimidating.
Xingjuan complied in silence, handing him three silver coins. On the coin was a peculiar, fiery pattern akin to the flames of a phoenix. After giving the coins a quick once over, the guard said,
"Welcome to Fanrong city, try not to cause trouble fellow taoists." He slightly bowed his head before looking at the next entrant.
Junjie moved slightly ahead of Xingjuan and Lihua, only muttering,
"Oh wow."