Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Gao Xingchen suddenly woke up, the cold sea water in his dream seemed to still wrap around him tightly, and the suffocating feeling lingered. He gasped for air and found himself lying on the bed, his clothes soaked with sweat. Beside the bed, Nan Li was holding up her head and watching him quietly. When she saw him wake up, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Nan Li asked softly, with a barely perceptible tenderness in her tone.

Gao Xingchen nodded and tried to speak, but found his throat dry and could only make a hoarse sound. Nanli stood up and poured a glass of water and handed it to him. Gao Xingchen drank a few sips greedily and felt better.

"I'm fine." He tried to force a smile, but it looked uglier than crying.

After spending a few days together, he was deeply moved by Nan Li, who had always taken care of him, and vowed that after he recovered, he would become stronger as soon as possible and protect her well.

But the reality is often contrary to one's wishes. At this moment, Nan Li did not speak, but just looked at him quietly, with a complex and indecipherable look in her eyes.

Gao Xingchen avoided her gaze and tried to raise his hand to wipe the sweat off his forehead, but he found that his whole body was weak. He then realized that his body was empty and the star power he was once familiar with seemed to have disappeared without a trace.

An indescribable feeling of fear instantly engulfed him. He struggled to sit up, but fell powerlessly onto the bed again.

"My star power... my star power is gone!" Gao Xingchen's voice trembled, his eyes filled with despair.

Nan Li held his shoulders and comforted him softly, "Don't worry, you just have some internal injuries temporarily. You will recover if you take good care of yourself."

Gao Xingchen seemed not to have heard her words. He stared at the ceiling with empty eyes and muttered to himself: "How could this happen... How could this happen..."

He couldn't accept this fact. After traveling through time, he wanted to change his fate through hard work, become a strong man, and protect the people around him. But now, he has lost even the most basic star power, so what qualifications does he have to talk about the future?

Seeing Gao Xingchen's distraught look, Nan Li felt mixed emotions. She knew what star power meant to a cultivator, let alone a young man like Gao Xingchen who had dreams in his heart.

"Gao Xingchen, look at me." Nan Li held his face and forced him to look at her. "I know you are in pain now, but you can't just give up. Have you forgotten what you promised me these days? You have to cheer up, you have to get better, you have to become stronger, you have to protect me, are these all empty words?"

Gao Xingchen's eyes finally showed some fluctuations. He looked at the beautiful face in front of him, but his heart became even more bitter.

"Nanli, go away, leave here and forget me." Gao Xingchen said with difficulty, "I am a useless person now. I can't give you anything. I will only drag you down."

"What nonsense are you talking about!" Nan Li's tone was filled with anger, "I said, you won't become a useless person, I believe you!"

Gao Xingchen closed his eyes helplessly and stopped talking. Nan Li's words sounded so pale and powerless to him. He felt like he was trapped in an endless abyss, without seeing a glimmer of hope.

Nan Li looked at Gao Xingchen's desperate expression, her heart filled with heartache and helplessness. She knew that it was useless to say anything now, she could only wait for him to figure it out. She stood up, tucked the quilt for him, turned around and walked out the door.

The sun outside the door was still bright, but it couldn't shine into Gao Xingchen's cold heart. He didn't know what was waiting for him...

Under the dim starlight, a glimmer of hope is looming.

In the following days, Gao Xingchen was like a puppet with his soul taken away, silent and with a hollow look in his eyes. He mechanically repeated eating, sleeping, and daydreaming every day, and had no interest in anything. Nan Li saw it and was worried, but she also understood that heart disease needs to be treated with heart medicine, and forcing him would only backfire.

After learning about Gao Xingchen's condition, Elder Zhang came to visit. He frowned, sat down beside the bed, and reached out to take Gao Xingchen's pulse. After a moment, he sighed and withdrew his hand, his eyes full of worry, he didn't expect the situation to be more serious.

"Your star veins are severely damaged. It's not easy to recover." Elder Zhang's voice was low and serious. "But don't be too discouraged. I will make a special training plan for you. As long as you stick to it, there will always be hope."

When Gao Xingchen heard the word "hope", his eyes moved slightly, but soon dimmed again. He smiled weakly and said in a hoarse voice: "Thank you, Elder Zhang, but I am already a useless person. No matter how much I practice, I can never recover as before."

"Nonsense!" Elder Zhang shouted, "The path of cultivation is full of thorns and challenges. How can you give up easily just because of a temporary setback? You are a talented child. I believe you can overcome the difficulties in front of you!"

Gao Xingchen remained silent, his eyes wandering, obviously not listening to Elder Zhang's words. Seeing this, Elder Zhang said no more, just handed him a scroll and said, "This is the training plan I tailored for you. Take a look at it first. If you don't understand anything, feel free to ask me."

Gao Xingchen took the scroll but did not open it. He just casually placed it on the bedside, as if he had no interest in it. Seeing this, Elder Zhang sighed in his heart. He knew that the most urgent task now was to cheer Gao Xingchen up again, otherwise everything would be in vain.

"Xingchen," Elder Zhang said earnestly, "the most important thing in cultivation is your character. You are gifted, but if your mind is not strong, it will be difficult for you to achieve great things. You must remember that no matter what difficulties you encounter, never give up hope, and never give up on yourself."

Gao Xingchen remained silent, only nodded slightly, but his eyes were still empty. Seeing this, Elder Zhang said no more and stood up and left the room.

In the following days, Gao Xingchen began to practice according to the plan made by Elder Zhang. However, due to the damage to his star veins, every time he practiced, it was extremely difficult. He often practiced for half a day but made no progress, which dealt another blow to his already fragile confidence.

"Why? Why have I put in so much effort but still not made any progress?" Gao Xingchen collapsed to the ground helplessly, tears silently sliding down his face. He began to doubt his ability and whether he was really qualified to continue.

Nan Li saw all this and felt very distressed. She knew that Gao Xingchen needed an opportunity, an opportunity that could rekindle his hope...

Ling'er and Xuanfeng were also very sad to see Gao Xingchen depressed all day. They tried to cheer him up in various ways, sometimes telling him about the funny things that happened in the sect, sometimes performing the new moves they learned, hoping to make him laugh. However, Gao Xingchen just reluctantly pulled the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying, and then returned to his lost look.

Seeing Gao Xingchen like this, Nan Li was extremely anxious. She knew that words of comfort would not work, and what Gao Xingchen needed was an opportunity to rekindle his hope.

"Xingchen, come with me." One morning, Nan Li appeared outside Gao Xingchen's door, her tone firm and unyielding.

Gao Xingchen raised his head in confusion, looking at the woman in front of him who always exuded a cold aura, his heart full of confusion.

"Where are you going?" he asked in a hoarse voice, with a hint of confusion in his tone.

"An ancient relic, where you may find a way to recover." Nan Li did not explain too much, but just said lightly.

Gao Xingchen was stunned for a moment, and a trace of struggle flashed in his eyes. He no longer believed that he could recover, and he didn't believe that there was any way in the world to repair his broken star veins. But he still nodded, perhaps because he was infected by the determination in Nanli's eyes, or perhaps he just wanted to escape this suffocating despair.

In this way, Gao Xingchen embarked on an unknown journey without any preparation.

Along the way, Nan Li remained silent except for explaining the rules of the ruins, and just focused on getting on with her journey. Gao Xingchen also followed her silently, with a lot of thoughts in his mind. He didn't know where Nan Li was going to take him, nor what was waiting for him, but he had a vague feeling in his heart that this journey might become a turning point in his life.

They crossed mountains and ridges, passed through dense jungles, and finally came to a hidden valley after seven days. Gao Xingchen looked at the strange and beautiful scenery in front of him, and a trace of doubt arose in his heart. There were birds singing and flowers blooming here, and the spiritual energy was abundant. It didn't look like there was any place that could repair the star veins.

"Follow me." Nanli seemed to see his confusion and turned to walk towards the depths of the valley.