Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 57: Moving Forward Hand in Hand

Gao Xingchen held the letter tightly in his hand, frowning. The Dark Alliance's comeback broke their brief peace. Nan Li gently stroked the back of his hand, with a firm look in her eyes: "No matter how many storms there are ahead, we must face them together."

Ares looked at the young couple with emotion. He understood that Gao Xingchen and Nan Li were responsible for protecting the Nine Star Realm, and they had to grow up as soon as possible.

"Children," Ares said in a deep voice, "this world is full of dangers. If you want to survive, you must learn to adapt to the environment here." He pointed to a dense jungle not far away, "There are various plants growing there, some of which are edible, while others are highly poisonous. I will teach you how to identify them."

Under Ares's guidance, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li began to learn to identify various plants. Ares explained and demonstrated, describing the characteristics, habits and uses of each plant. Gao Xingchen listened very carefully and kept this knowledge firmly in his mind. He knew that this knowledge was related to their survival.

On the other hand, Xuanfeng and Ling'er were full of curiosity about the food in this world. While learning to identify edible plants from Ares, they also began to try to find new food.

"Ling'er, look, what is this?" Xuanfeng asked excitedly, pointing at a plant with red fruits.

Ling'er walked closer and observed it carefully, then shook her head: "I haven't seen it before, but it smells pretty good."

"How about...we pick it and try it?" Xuan Feng was eager to try.

Ling'er hesitated: "But, Ares said that we should not eat plants we don't know. What if they are poisonous?"

"Don't worry, I'll try a little bit first." Xuanfeng patted his chest and promised.

In the end, Ling'er couldn't resist Xuanfeng's enthusiasm, and the two of them picked some red fruits and prepared to take them back for research.

At night, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li dragged their exhausted bodies back to their residence. Although the learning process was very difficult, they all understood that all of this was for better fighting in the future.

"Xingchen, look!" Nan Li suddenly pointed behind Gao Xingchen and said.

Gao Xingchen looked back and saw Xuanfeng and Ling'er walking towards them with a plate of steaming food.

"Try what we have achieved today!" Xuanfeng put the plate on the table and looked at Gao Xingchen and Nan Li with anticipation.

There were a few pieces of grilled meat on the plate, dotted with bright red sauce and exuding an enticing aroma.

Gao Xingchen picked up a piece of steak and took a bite. Suddenly, a strange fragrance filled his mouth. The meat was tender and the sauce was sweet and sour, leaving a lasting aftertaste.

"Delicious! What kind of meat is this?" Gao Xingchen asked in surprise.

"This is the meat of a wild beast we found in the woods today. We roasted it using the method you taught us, and paired it with the sauce made from our newly discovered red fruits. It tastes absolutely amazing!" Xuanfeng said proudly.

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li smiled at each other. Although they were in a foreign land and faced many crises, their hearts were still full of hope as they had friends and delicious food to accompany them.

However, what Gao Xingchen didn't know was that the gears of fate had already begun to turn. The next day, while out exploring, he accidentally discovered an ancient cultivation secret book...

The morning light shone through the dense branches and leaves, leaving mottled shadows on the ground. Gao Xingchen walked alone in the forest, carefully identifying the plants that Ares had taught him yesterday. Occasionally, he would stop, open the notebook he brought with him, and carefully record the characteristics of some unfamiliar plants.

"Hmm?" Gao Xingchen suddenly found a faint golden light behind a bush. He carefully pushed aside the branches and leaves, and saw an ancient book half-hidden in the fallen leaves. There was no text on the cover, but it exuded a faint spiritual aura. He gently picked up the book, and the moment his fingertips touched the cover, a strange energy surged into his body, making him feel numb.

Turning the pages, ancient characters came into view. Gao Xingchen did not recognize these characters, but he could miraculously understand their meaning. This turned out to be a secret book of cultivation! The book recorded a cultivation method called "Star Secret", which was said to absorb the power of the stars and enhance the spiritual power of the practitioner. Gao Xingchen was ecstatic. This was simply a method tailor-made for him! He couldn't wait to try to practice it.

He found a secluded place, sat cross-legged, and began to guide the spiritual power in his body according to the description in the book. At first, the spiritual power was like a naughty child, running around in his body and difficult to control. Gao Xingchen did not give up. He tried again and again, constantly adjusting his breathing and mind, trying to sense the illusory power of the stars.

After an unknown amount of time, Gao Xingchen suddenly felt a cool breath slowly flowing in from the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head, running along the meridians in his body, and finally converging in his Dantian. This breath was completely different from his own spiritual power, more refined and more powerful, making him feel unprecedentedly comfortable. Gao Xingchen suddenly realized that this was the power of the stars!

At the same time, Nanli was learning a unique defensive technique from several local women in the village. This technique is called "Soft Cloud Step", which emphasizes the use of softness to overcome hardness, and resolves the enemy's attack through flexible steps and keen insight. At first, Nanli did not think much of this seemingly weak technique, but as she learned more, she gradually discovered the mystery behind it.

"The key to the Soft Cloud Step is anticipation and leveraging force," an elderly woman explained as she demonstrated. "You need to learn to observe your opponent's movements, predict their attack trajectory, and then use your own flexibility and skills to neutralize their force."

Nan Li listened carefully and practiced continuously. She found that although the "Soft Cloud Step" seemed simple, it actually required extremely high skills and reaction ability. Every successful attack required accurate judgment and appropriate movements.

"Very good, you are very talented." The older woman looked at Nan Li with appreciation, "I believe that as long as you practice diligently, 'Soft Cloud Step' will become a great weapon in your battle."

As night fell, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li returned to their residence. Neither of them could hide the joy on their faces and they couldn't wait to share their gains today.

"I found a secret book of cultivation that can increase my spiritual power!" Gao Xingchen said excitedly.

"I learned a new defensive technique that allows me to be more flexible in combat." Nanli also said with a smile.

The two smiled at each other, their eyes full of hope. They believed that as long as they kept working hard, one day they would be able to overcome all difficulties and protect the peace of the Nine Star Realm.

However, they didn't know that danger was quietly approaching. At this time, in a dense forest not far from them, Xuanfeng was fighting fiercely with a huge beast...

Xuan Feng's figure shuttled through the dense forest, and every swing of his sword brought with it a sharp sword aura, forcing the huge beast to retreat again and again. This beast looked like a tiger, but it had wings, was covered with hard scales, and spewed hot flames from its mouth. It was obviously not an ordinary beast.

"Roar!" The beast roared, flapped its wings, and stirred up a gust of wind, blowing the surrounding trees all over the place. It opened its bloody mouth and a pillar of fire rushed straight towards Xuanfeng.

Xuan Feng did not dare to be careless, and dodged the attack of the fire column with a flash of his body. However, the residual power of the fire column still forced him back several steps.

"Damn it!" Xuan Feng cursed inwardly. The strength of this beast was far beyond his expectations. He knew that if he continued like this, he would be defeated sooner or later. He had to find a way to end the battle quickly.

At this moment, the beast attacked again, its sharp claws clawed at Xuan Feng with a sound of breaking through the air. Xuan Feng waved his sword to resist, but felt a huge force coming, the whole person was knocked back several meters away, and the tiger's mouth was also numb.

"No, the power gap is too big!" Xuanfeng's heart sank, he knew he had reached his limit.

However, just when he thought he was doomed to fail, a strange force suddenly emerged from his body. This force was warm and powerful, and instantly flowed through his body, making him feel full of strength.

"This is..." Before Xuan Feng could react, the beast had already pounced on him again. He subconsciously swung his sword, without using any skills, just relying on instinct.

However, this sword contained unprecedented power. The sword energy turned into a golden blade of light, which instantly disintegrated the beast's attack and knocked it away.

"Roar!" The beast let out a painful howl, fell heavily to the ground, struggled for a few times, and then stopped moving.

Xuan Feng stared at his hands in disbelief. He could feel that his strength had been greatly improved. Where did this strength come from?

At this time, Ling'er was picking herbs in a valley. She carefully identified the various herbs and put them carefully into her medicine basket.

"Huh?" Suddenly, Ling'er heard a faint groan. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw a furry little animal curled up behind a boulder, covered in wounds and looking very weak.

Ling'er ran over and held the little animal in her arms. She carefully checked its injuries and found that its leg was broken and there were many scratches on its body.

"Poor little thing." Ling'er stroked its fur lovingly, took out some herbs from the medicine basket, crushed them and applied them on its wound.

The little animal seemed to sense Ling'er's kindness and licked her hand weakly. Ling'er smiled slightly and continued to treat it.

Under Ling'er's careful care, the little animal's injuries gradually recovered. It was full of gratitude to Ling'er, and followed her closely, becoming her companion.

Just when Gao Xingchen, Nanli, Xuanfeng and Ling'er were trying hard to adapt to the new environment and improve their strength, they suddenly received news from the Nine Star Realm.

The "Dark Alliance" seems to have found a way to control spiritual pets. Many spiritual pets are controlled by them and become their combat tools.

This news made Gao Xingchen and others realize that the situation was more serious than they thought. They must return to the Nine Star Realm as soon as possible to stop the conspiracy of the "Dark Alliance"!

However, just as they were preparing to set off, they discovered that the passage leading to the Nine Star Realm was blocked by a powerful force, and they could not pass through directly!