Chapter 526: Welcome to the Torch Society Base!

At the ancient ferry, you and Ji Wuqing nearly came to blows because of a single sentence from Ah Dou.

Fortunately, Ji Wuqing prioritized the bigger picture and didn't stoop to bickering with a child.

Ji Wuqing: "Children say thoughtless things, I'm not angry. Children say thoughtless things, I'm not angry..."

Ah Dou: "Uncle Chen, the female ghost says I'm a child, but I'm clearly a young man!"

You: "Dou, just stop talking and go to sleep..."

If this were a comic, you'd see Ji Wuqing's head drawn several times larger than her body, with a pile of dark squiggly lines above it and steam blasting from her nostrils.

Ji Wuqing: "I'll endure it... I'll endure it..."

Thanks to Ah Dou's interruption, Ji Wuqing actually forgot to press you about your cultivation technique.

You heard from her inner voice: I'm young and beautiful, peerlessly charming, righteous and noble, fair and just. What child wouldn't like me upon seeing me? This damned brat actually called me a female ghost! Sob sob sob...

Low-level Jiahao Behavior detected. Jiahao points +1.

After Ji Wuqing's emotions stabilized for a while, the two of you finally began discussing serious matters.

Ji Wuqing clapped her hands, and from the riverbank not far away, a small boat drifted down to shore.

After the boat docked, over a dozen people disembarked.

They were all members of the Torch Society, who had come with Ji Wuqing tonight to make contact and were responsible for escorting the Child of Destiny to the Torch Society base on Vermilion Violet Star.

You used Signal Light to scout them out.

Fifteen people: three at the Transcendent Realm, nine at the Extreme Terrain Realm, and three women with very low cultivation levels, presumably there to look after Ah Dou's daily needs along the way since he was still a child.

After all, a Child of Destiny possessed anomalous phenomena, so they couldn't exactly fly through the sky in broad daylight. They could only use normal transportation to reach the base.

The three Transcendent Realm cultivators were the decision-makers of this small team.

Ji Wuqing relayed your request.

The one in the middle introduced himself. His name was He Xiangdong, one of the Strategists of the Torch Society on Vermilion Violet Star.

This man was tall and broad-shouldered. Though already middle-aged, his handsome features were still apparent. He wore traditional human race attire with a cross-collar and right-lapped front, brimming with vigor and spirit.

He Xiangdong spoke.

"We can't possibly leave the Child of Destiny out in the world. Zhong Yanqing must go to the base. You're asking to accompany him, so I take it you want to come with us to the base as well?"

"That's the only way."

Ji Wuqing chimed in from the side: "Even though you're also a member of the Torch Society, you're still an unfamiliar face. Considering security, the base on Vermilion Violet Star definitely can't let you in."

He Xiangdong smiled: "He can go in."

Ji Wuqing was astonished. "Uncle He, isn't that way too careless? It doesn't fit the Torch Society's style at all!"

He Xiangdong clasped his hands behind his back, smiling as he looked at Ji Wuqing.

"Agreeing to let you join was already the most careless thing we've ever done."

Ji Wuqing stuck out her tongue.

"Fine, fine, why drag me into this..."

He Xiangdong then looked at you.

"Moreover, he is Chen Dong."

Ji Wuqing was even more shocked.

"He's Chen Dong?! You're Chen Dong?!"

After the great undertaking on Blazing Star succeeded, the Blazing Star Torch Society, which had been out of contact with its superiors for many years, re-established communications with Vermilion Violet Star.

Mr. Xun recounted everything that had happened on Blazing Star, from beginning to end, exactly as it was.

So your great name, Chen Dong, had already become thunderous within the Torch Society on Vermilion Violet Star.

No matter how powerful the Torch Society was, they could only hide and scatter, spending every day either protecting human geniuses or evading pursuit.

Though their mission was noble, it had to be said, it was utterly stifling.

But this time, the Torch Society on Blazing Star had pulled off something incredible alongside Chen Dong.

Unifying Blazing Star!

Slaughtering the Alien Races!

Having their own territory and population!

Controlling the resources of an entire planet!

Though on the surface, the Dragon-Man tribe and other Alien Races still controlled the situation, managing to secretly control resources and hollow out the grassroots governance from below was already an extraordinary feat.

What had happened on Blazing Star made the people here deeply envious.

Many believed that while death comes to everyone, they'd rather fall on the battlefield against the Alien Races.

So now, within the Torch Society on Vermilion Violet Star, a wave of personal worship toward you had already taken shape.

Ji Wuqing was no exception.

But the moment he laid eyes on Ah Dou on Black Wind's back and remembered being called a "female ghost," he immediately extended his displeasure to you and his expression soured again.

He Xiangdong glanced at Black Wind and said.

"Mr. Chen Dong is indeed a legendary figure. Even a Dragon-Scale Horse follows you."

Ji Wuqing was shocked once again.

"This strange horse really is a Dragon-Scale Horse?"

Ji Wuqing had felt earlier that this oddly-shaped horse seemed somewhat familiar and had assumed it was just some Exotic Beast mount.

The way Ji Wuqing looked at you gained another layer of admiration, but the moment she saw Ah Dou, that flame of admiration dimmed by a notch.

After verifying your identity and Ah Dou's, you all boarded the boat and set off toward the Torch Society base.

On the way, He Xiangdong stood shoulder to shoulder with you at the bow of the boat and said with a smile.

"If the comrades at the base knew Mr. Chen Dong had joined us, they would be overjoyed."

You raised an eyebrow.

"You call each other 'comrades'?"

"Serving the Torch Society is no plum assignment. Once your identity is exposed, you become a target for the Holy Dragon Society's pursuit. There are no benefits to be gained either, because the resources and profits we obtain are basically all used to support the geniuses who need protection. The resources anyone can get from the Torch Society are extremely limited. Most of us rely on our public identities to cultivate. Dangerous and unrewarding. To keep going in an organization like this, the only thing that sustains you is a shared conviction. That's why we are comrades."

A warm current surged within your heart.

"Yes. Now, we are comrades."

Year Sixty, age eighty-six.

You traveled by boat for several months, then by horse-drawn carriage for several more, and finally on foot through deep mountains and old forests.

The walking portion didn't strictly require using your feet, you still used your cultivation to move swiftly through the forest.

Finally, your group arrived before an ancient mountain peak.

At the foot of the mountain was a concealed cave, hidden by thick bushes. This was the entrance to the base, yet there was no formation array of any kind to keep it hidden.

Placing a formation array in such a remote and desolate place would have been like putting up a sign saying "no silver here."

He Xiangdong led you into the cave.

The cave was very long, essentially a tunnel, and you could feel that you were heading continuously underground.

After passing through the long tunnel, the space ahead suddenly opened up, radiant with brilliant light, the area instantly becoming incredibly vast.

This was a massive underground cavity, with light and heat originating from a glowing sphere at the top.

Here stood a grand city with an antique charm. Inside the city, traffic flowed and voices buzzed with life.

Outside the city stretched vast fertile fields. Amid the smoke from village chimneys, children played, and farmers toiled in the fields.

In the distance were great expanses of grassland, with horses and flocks of sheep galloping across, shepherds drinking horse milk wine and singing songs.