Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 148 The Key to Breaking the Seal

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked at each other in confusion. They were confused by this sudden visitor and his purpose. Gao Xingchen asked cautiously, "Who are you? Why do you know our names? And what do you mean by being able to cross the seal?"

The gray-robed man smiled bitterly and shook his head. "My Lords, you may not know that I am here to find your envoy. This is a long story, so please allow me to come in and discuss it in detail."

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li hesitated for a moment, but finally stepped aside to make way. The gray-robed man entered the house, looked around at the simple furnishings, and a complicated look flashed in his eyes. He took a deep breath and said slowly: "My lords, to be honest, I come from a place called 'Tianxuan Continent'..."

The grey-robed man tells a story of a bizarre world and a story about seals and hope. It turns out that the area where Gao Xingchen and Nan Li are located is a secret realm sealed in another space, and the "Tianxuan Continent" where the grey-robed man is located is the real Nine Star Realm. For thousands of years, countless people trapped in the secret realm have been struggling to find a way home, but they have never been able to break through the shackles of the seal.

"And I," the gray-robed man said excitedly, "am a member of the 'Breakers' organization. We have been searching for a way to break the seal for generations, and finally, we found it!" He pulled out an ancient parchment scroll with complex and mysterious runes drawn on it. "This is a map handed down from ancient times, which records the key to breaking the seal, and you two adults are the key figures in opening the seal!"

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li were stunned. They had never thought that they would shoulder such an important mission. Nan Li asked impatiently, "If that's the case, how can we break the seal?"

The gray-robed man solemnly unfolded the sheepskin scroll, pointed at one of the spots and said, "According to the map, we need to gather five ancient artifacts to activate the sealed energy node. These two adults, one with a strong talent for formations and the other proficient in assassination, are exactly the best candidates we are looking for."

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li felt a glimmer of hope in their hearts. They were eager to return to the vast world full of opportunities and challenges. Gao Xingchen patted his chest and said, "As long as we can break the seal, we can do anything!"

However, the gray-robed man's next words dampened their enthusiasm like cold water. "My Lords, please forgive me for being blunt, but with your current strength, you are far from being able to complete this task." He looked Gao Xingchen and Nan Li up and down, his eyes full of doubt and worry, "It takes extremely strong power to activate the seal, and you..."

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li's hearts sank immediately. They realized that the journey home might not be as easy as they had imagined.

The gray-robed man's words extinguished Gao Xingchen and Nan Li's passion, and they felt as if a huge rock was pressing down on their hearts, making them extremely heavy. Gao Xingchen clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. He suppressed his anger and asked, "What do you mean? Are we just going to give up like this?"

The gray-robed man sighed, with a hint of helplessness in his tone, "My two lords, I am not asking you to give up, but I hope you can face the reality. The power of activating the seal is extraordinary. If you are not careful, you will be wiped out. I can't let you take risks."

"Then what do you say we should do?" Nan Li's voice was as cold as ice. She had never been looked down upon like this before, and anger was boiling in her heart.

The gray-robed man was silent for a moment, as if he had made a decision. He took out a jade slip from his arms and handed it to Gao Xingchen. "It records an ancient formation called the 'Nine Heavens Star Formation', which can absorb the power of the stars and improve your cultivation. But this formation is extremely difficult to practice, and it takes a lot of time and resources. With your current strength, I'm afraid..."

Gao Xingchen snatched the jade slip and said with a firm look, "You don't have to tell us, we will find a way ourselves!"

The gray-robed man looked at Gao Xingchen and Nan Li, with a hint of admiration in his eyes, but he did not change his mind. "My lords, I will give you one month. If you still cannot meet my requirements after one month, I will have to look for someone else."

"What requirements?" Gao Xingchen and Nan Li asked in unison.

"I will come here again in a month. By then, you need to demonstrate your strength in front of me that will convince me." After the gray-robed man finished speaking, he turned into a stream of light and disappeared on the spot, leaving Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looking at each other in bewilderment.

Gao Xingchen's hand holding the jade slip trembled slightly. The gray-robed man's contempt and indifference deeply hurt his self-esteem. He had never been so eager for power, eager to prove himself, and to control his own destiny.

Nan Li walked up to Gao Xingchen and gently held his hand. Her eyes were firm and gentle. "Xingchen, let's work together. We can definitely do it."

Gao Xingchen looked at Nan Li, and a warm feeling welled up in his heart. He nodded, "Well, let's work hard together!"

As the sun sets, the afterglow of the sunset falls on the two people, casting two long shadows. They stand side by side, looking firmly into the distance, where is the home they long to return to, and where is the thorny journey they are about to embark on.

In order to seize this hard-earned hope and return home as soon as possible, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li decided to go all out. They began to practice day and night, using all their time and resources to improve their strength, while also looking for ways to increase their strength. The jade slip left by the gray-robed man became their only hope, but the difficulty of practicing the "Nine Heavens Star Array" was far beyond their imagination. As time went by, a shadow was cast over their hearts...

Time is like sand through your fingers, passing by in a flash.

Since the gray-robed man left, Gao Xingchen and Nanli have been practicing. They know that time is running out, so they dare not slack off. During the day, they practiced formations in the valley, sweating profusely; at night, they meditated and practiced under the starlight, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. The "Nine Heavens Star Array" left by the gray-robed man is profound and difficult to practice, but Gao Xingchen and Nanli relied on their amazing perseverance and talent to bite off this hard bone.

A month is neither long nor short, but for Gao Xingchen and Nan Li, it feels like years or even decades of hard training. Gao Xingchen's attainments in formations have improved by leaps and bounds. The originally complex and difficult to understand "Nine Heavens Star Formation" has become handy in his hands, and its power has also been greatly improved. Nan Li's assassination skills have also reached a higher level. His figure is erratic and his moves are as fast as lightning, making it difficult to defend against.

A month later, when the gray-robed man arrived as promised, he was shocked by the scene before him. The originally desolate valley was now filled with spiritual energy and full of vitality. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li stood side by side in the center of the valley. Their aura was several times stronger than a month ago, and their eyes were full of confidence and determination.

"It seems that you have not been lazy during this period." The man in gray robe said lightly, without any emotion in his tone.

"We have tried our best." Gao Xingchen said in a deep voice, "Now, can you tell us what you need us to do?"

The gray-robed man did not answer Gao Xingchen's question. Instead, he slowly stretched out his hand and pointed to the sky. "Can you touch that star?"

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked in the direction the gray-robed man pointed and saw the night sky dotted with stars. One of the stars was emitting a dazzling light, as if it was within reach, yet out of reach.

"That is..." Nanli frowned slightly, feeling vaguely uneasy.

“That is one of the nine stars in the sky, and it is also the only path to your hometown.” The gray-robed man said calmly, “Only if you have enough power can you touch it and open the door to your hometown.”

Gao Xingchen took a deep breath, he knew that this was the real test. He mobilized all his spiritual power, formed seals with his hands, and mysterious runes flew out of his hands, turning into a beam of light that shot up into the sky and headed straight for the star.

However, when the light column was still some distance away from the stars, it seemed to hit an invisible wall, shattered with a loud bang, and turned into light spots all over the night sky and dissipated.

"No way?" Nan Li's heart sank when he saw this.

The gray-robed man shook his head, a trace of disappointment flashed in his eyes, "Your strength is far from enough."

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li's faces suddenly turned extremely ugly. They had been practicing hard for a month and thought they were strong enough, but they didn't expect that they were still so vulnerable in the eyes of the gray-robed man.

"Is it true... that we have no hope?" Gao Xingchen clenched his fists and asked unwillingly.

The gray-robed man was silent for a moment, and turned away without saying anything, leaving only one sentence echoing in the valley:

“Hope always lies in the hands of those who never give up.”

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked at the gray-robed man's departing back, their hearts filled with bitterness and reluctance. Could it be that they really had to give up this hard-earned hope?

At this moment, Gao Xingchen's eyes accidentally fell on a huge rock deep in the valley. There were some ancient runes carved on the rock. He had never seen these runes before, but they gave him a sense of déjà vu.

"What is that?" Gao Xingchen's heart moved, and he vaguely felt that this huge stone might be hiding some secrets, and this secret might be the key to improving their strength...

The words and back of the gray-robed man were deeply engraved in Gao Xingchen's heart and could not be dispelled for a long time. He knew that the gray-robed man did not attack them intentionally, but hoped that they could recognize the reality. Only with strong enough power can they break the shackles of fate and return home.

"We can't give up, Xingchen, there must be other ways!" Nanli held Gao Xingchen's hand and said with a firm look.

Gao Xingchen nodded. Nan Li has always been his strongest support in this strange world. Her trust and support are his driving force to move forward.

"You're right, there must be other ways!" Gao Xingchen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He scanned the valley, hoping to find a glimmer of hope.

Suddenly, his eyes focused on a huge rock deep in the valley. The rock had a strange shape and its surface was covered with traces of time, as if it had been standing there for countless years. On the surface of the rock, there were some ancient runes carved. Gao Xingchen had never seen these runes before, but they gave him a sense of déjà vu.

"That is..." Gao Xingchen's heart moved, and an inexplicable sense of familiarity surged in his heart, as if those runes were calling him.

He walked quickly to the boulder and carefully observed the runes. The lines of these runes were simple and full of the vicissitudes of time, but they also contained a mysterious power, as if they were whispers from ancient times, telling him something.

Gao Xingchen stretched out his hand and gently stroked the runes. A strange energy flowed through his fingertips into his body and exploded in his mind.

Pictures flashed through his mind: the ancient altar, the mysterious ritual, the vast starry sky...those pictures were so real, as if he had experienced them personally.

"This is...an ancient formation!" Gao Xingchen suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with shock and surprise. He finally understood where that familiar feeling came from. Those images were what he had seen in his dreams, and those ancient runes were the key to the ancient formation!

"Xingchen, what's wrong?" Nanli noticed that Gao Xingchen was acting strangely and asked quickly.

"I may have found the key to improving our strength!" Gao Xingchen pointed at the runes on the boulder and said excitedly, "This is an ancient formation. If I can master it, we will have hope of opening the door to our hometown!"

Nan Li looked in the direction of Gao Xingchen's finger, and saw that the runes on the boulder were emitting a faint light, as if responding to Gao Xingchen's words.

"Really? That's great!" Nan Li couldn't help but get excited. Gao Xingchen's discovery undoubtedly brought them new hope.

However, Gao Xingchen felt somewhat uneasy. The ancient formation was profound and it was not easy to master it. Could he really succeed?