After about half an hour, Tang Ning saw the men with swords were looking towards the sky with expressions of respect and anticipation. She followed their line of sight and looked up, and could hardly believe what she saw. There was a man, brandishing a sword, up in the sky, and flying towards them.
For the first time, she saw anyone flying in the sky. At that moment, she suddenly recalled something the old monk had once told her.
"One may soar through the clouds with an established foundation."
The man in the sky must be a cultivator who has achieved the Foundation Establishment Level, thereby allowing him to soar through the clouds for a thousand miles!
Tang Ning became curious, and she attentively observed the man in the clouds. He was an old man, around 70 or 80 years old. He was thin and scrawny, like a shriveled plant that was about to wither, and didn't look much healthier. In fact, Tang Ning felt that his days were numbered.
However, he looked like a rather majestic and celestial being, as he stood on his sword and glided through the air, the sleeves of his robes fluttered in the wind.
Too bad, his godly and majestic aura was marred by the man's cold and haughty demeanor.
"Look! A deity! It's a deity! The gods have come to save us! Oh, heavenly one, help, save us!"
The sight of the elderly man descending from the sky made the captives feel so overjoyed and ecstatic that they knelt on the ground and began kowtowing to him. They prayed and pleaded for this celestial being to rescue them.
Not wanting to stick out like a sore thumb, Tang Ning let out a soft sigh and knelt down as well.
She has never before knelt to anyone in her life.
Tang Ning thought to herself, "Panic and fear must have caused these people to lose their wits, so they believe a deity would appear out of nowhere. They are even kowtowing and praying to him! I bet that old man is in cahoots with those men."
"Greetings, Wise Sage!"
The men with swords knelt on one knee and cupped their hands in front of them, as an obeisance to the elderly man.
"Please rise!"
The elderly man steadily and safely landed on the ground and gave a dispassionate acknowledgment to the men with swords. He scanned the captives who were tied to the rope, pausing briefly when he saw the little monk, then looked away.
Gasps of astonishment were heard, when the elderly man waved his hand and conjured a little boat out of thin air before everyone's eyes. The boat gradually grew larger into a suitable size.
"Bring everyone on board," ordered the elderly man. He turned and boarded the boat.
Tang Ning and the other captives were then shoved onto the boat. Few captives still harbored naive hopes of being rescued and cried, "Oh, heavenly deity, spare us, please! Oh, deity…"
The elderly man stood on the boat with his hands clasped behind his back. With his back facing the captives, he was unmoved and did not heed their cries.
"Shut up!"
One of the men with swords walked up to the captives who were shouting and kicked one of them to the ground. The man drew his sword partially and warned, "I'll cut off your tongues if you make any more noise!"
The captives instantly went quiet after listening to the man's warning. With ashen faces, they sat in the small boat trembling in fear.
Tang Ning's looked around with curiosity and awe at the boat that was transformed from being palm-sized to a size big enough to accommodate 70 to 80 passengers. She saw the elderly man standing at the front deck give his command.
"Up!"
The boat began to rise upwards, and soon it was high up in the sky, soaring through the clouds.
Even though the boat was scurrying through, it took them a full day to arrive at their destination. The boat slowed down and by the next morning, came to a stop hovering above a forest.
The elderly man standing at the front peered down, and then said, "This is the place. Pick any two and throw them down."
Tang Ning heard thundering shouts and orders from the men with swords. She quickly glanced around and saw that the forest stretched for miles with no end or exit route. She looked back at the scenario on the boat and blinked her eyes in alarm.