1358 Teleportation Array
"If you have the time to complain, let's use it to continue our search," Tian Yang said to her.
"Okay…"
After spending a few more days asking thousands of people around the Southern Stronghold, they were still unable to find Huang Xiao Li's parents.
"Hey, Tian Yang, you came here to train, right? Are you sure you want to spend so much time here? I think I can do this by myself." Huang Xiao Li suddenly said to him.
"I've had enough life-or-death situations for now, I want to take it easy for a bit," he calmly said.
"Moreover, I am still trying to solidify my previous breakthrough. Until I am fully used to my new strength, I'll help you."
"Thank you…" Huang Xiao Li mumbled.
"With that being said, we've spent an entire week in this place without learning anything about your family. I think it's safe to assume that they never made it here," he continued a moment later.
"What else can we do? It's not like we can go to the other cities. We'll most likely die before we even make it there." Huang Xiao Li released a hopeless sigh.
Tian Yang maintained a moment of silence before speaking, "Actually, there is a way to visit the other cities without encountering any magical beasts, but it'll be very expensive, hence why I hadn't brought it up until now."
"What method?"
"The Array Masters have made a breakthrough in their techniques not long ago. They call it the Teleportation Array, which will allow anyone to teleport from array to array as long as these arrays are set up. However, it costs a tremendous amount of spiritual energy for each use, so they have to keep feeding the array spirit stones or treasures to keep it functioning."
"I've heard my father mention this Teleportation Array to his fellow Array Masters before!" Huang Xiao Li said.
"Your father was an Array Master?" Tian Yang didn't know this and was quite surprised to learn it, as Array Masters are rare existences in the Divine Heavens.
"Yes… he's only a level 2 Array Master though."
"That's still plenty impressive."
"Anyways, these Teleportation Arrays are available on the Desolate Continent, correct? How much would it cost to use these arrays?" Huang Xiao Li proceeded to ask.
"I'm not sure since they price it based on the distance. It could be anywhere from several hundred spirit stones to several thousand—if not even more."
"If it's just several thousand, it won't be a problem," she declared in a confident tone.
"..."
Tian Yang was speechless, and he asked what had been on his mind for some time now, "Just how rich are you?"
"I only have about three hundred thousand spirit stones left," she responded nonchalantly.
"Only three hundred thousand?! That's a lot! Why are you even carrying around so much money?!" Tian Yang exclaimed in a shocked voice.
"I don't usually carry so much with me, but since we were going to the Desolate Continent, known for rare treasures, I planned on buying a thing or two…" she said.
"Just so you know, I always have less than 10 spirit stones in my possession. And it's not because I keep the rest somewhere else. I am simply broke." Tian Yang said in a somewhat prideful manner, leaving Huang Xiao Li speechless.
"How is it even possible to have so little when you are a Spirit Lord? You also do a lot of risky sect missions. That alone should've given you a decent amount of money."
"I use them immediately to boost my cultivation. That way, if someone tries to rob me, I won't have much to give them and therefore won't feel bad about it."
"That is such a weird way of thinking…"
"You won't think like that once you get robbed." Tian Yang shrugged.
"So you've been robbed before?"
"Plenty of times!"
"Is that really something to be proud of?"
"Of course. Most robberies end up as murder, so it's impressive to remain alive after being robbed many times."
"Anyways, let's head to the Teleportation Array," said Tian Yang.
"Okay, but where will we go?"
"Let's head to the Western Stronghold first, then we can go to the Northern Stronghold and Eastern Stronghold. We'll save the Central Stronghold for last."
Tian Yang didn't want to say it out loud, but the chances of the Huang Family surviving the other cities were near zero.
'If her family had been teleported to anywhere that isn't near the Southern Stronghold, they would most likely perish to magical beasts before reaching the city,' he sighed inwardly.
He harbored the assumption that Huang Xiao Li's family might no longer be in this world, a weighty realization that he chose to keep to himself. Nonetheless, he remained committed to assisting her in the search.
They arrived at the Teleportation Array sometime later.
"It will cost 5,000 spirit stones for one of you to reach the Western Stronghold," said the Array Master managing the Teleportation Array.
"F-Five thousand…" Tian Yang broke into a cold sweat after hearing such a large figure.
He could cultivate for decades with 5,000 spirit stones.
"I understand. Here's 10,000." Huang Xiao Li handed over the money without hesitation.
Her actions caught the attention of several people there.
In these people's eyes, Tian Yang and Huang Xiao Li were young and fat sheep that could easily be exploited.
Yuan felt their gazes but decided to remain silent.
After entering the Teleportation Array, they were instantly teleported to the Western Stronghold.
"Let's go!" Tian Yang suddenly grabbed Huang Xiao Li's hand the moment they exited the Teleportation Array and started running away, dragging her along.
"Huh?! What happened?!" Startled by his actions, Huang Xiao Li asked in a puzzled tone.
"Because you carelessly took out so much money, we've attracted some bad people!" he briefly explained.
"What?! That's ridiculous!"
Sure enough, shortly after they left the Teleportation Formation, another group of people that also came from the Southern Stronghold appeared in the Western Stronghold.
"I found them! They are running away over there!" One of these individuals pointed at Tian Yang while alerting the rest of the group.
"After them!"
The group consisted of four individuals, and to follow Tian Yang using the Teleportation Array, they had to expend 20,000 spirit stones. Naturally, they assumed that Tian Yang and Huang Xiao Li possessed sufficient resources to not only cover their own expenses but also yield additional gains, prompting their decision to pursue the duo.
