Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li were very nervous after receiving the mysterious letter. They knew that the "Dark Alliance" was very powerful and could infiltrate the sect quietly, so they must have controlled a considerable amount of power. In order to avoid alerting the enemy, they decided to disguise themselves and sneak into the sect to find out.

As night fell, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li avoided the patrolling disciples and climbed over the wall to enter the sect. As soon as they landed, a strange atmosphere hit them. The martial arts arena that was once bustling was now empty, with only a few dim lanterns swaying in the cold wind. It was quiet all around, with only a few suppressed coughs occasionally heard, which made people feel creepy.

They carefully came to the disciples' dormitory and saw through the window that many disciples were haggard, sitting on the bed with dull eyes, muttering something. Gao Xingchen and Nan Li looked at each other and had the answer in their hearts: these disciples might have been tricked by the "Dark Alliance"!

"We must wake them up as soon as possible!" Nan Li whispered, "Only by uniting together can we fight against the conspiracy of the 'Dark Alliance'!"

Gao Xingchen nodded and took out a few pieces of crystal clear cakes from his arms. This was the "Qingxin Cake" they carefully made using the secret recipe taught by old man Baiyun and combined with their own understanding of cooking. It was not only delicious, but also had the magical effect of dispelling negative emotions.

They found a disciple who was good friends with Gao Xingchen, named Li Hao. He was usually lively and cheerful, but now he looked pale and listless. Gao Xingchen gently patted Li Hao on the shoulder, handed him a piece of "Qingxin Cake", and said softly: "Li Hao, try the cake I made. This is made by Nanli and I especially for you."

Li Hao looked up in confusion, looking at Gao Xingchen, his eyes full of strangeness and vigilance. He mechanically took the cake, put it to his nose and smelled it, a refreshing fragrance came to his nose, and his originally numb taste buds seemed to be awakened. He hesitated for a moment, took a bite, and suddenly, a cool feeling spread from his mouth to his whole body, and his originally chaotic mind gradually became clear.

"Senior Brother Gao? Senior Sister Nanli? Why are you here?" Li Hao looked at the two people in front of him in surprise. Memories came flooding back like a tide, and he finally remembered everything that had happened before.

Gao Xingchen and Nanli briefly explained the whole story to Li Hao and told him that the sect had been infiltrated by the "Dark Alliance" and many disciples were under their control.

"What? How is this possible?" Li Hao's eyes widened in disbelief. "How can the Dark Alliance be so rampant?"

"This is absolutely true, we saw it with our own eyes." Nan Li said in a deep voice, "Li Hao, now is not the time to pursue these things. We must inform other disciples as soon as possible and expose the conspiracy of the 'Dark Alliance'!"

Li Hao took a deep breath, his eyes gradually firmed up: "Senior sister is right, we can't just sit there and wait for death! I'll go and inform the other brothers!"

In this way, Gao Xingchen and Nan Li used delicious food to awaken the controlled disciples one by one, allowing them to regain consciousness, and at the same time won the trust and support of the disciples. However, they did not know that the conspiracy of the "Dark Alliance" was far more complicated and terrifying than they imagined, and a bigger storm was quietly brewing...

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li took Li Hao with them, and the three of them sneaked all the way and finally arrived at the venue of the final of the sect competition. As the final was approaching, the area around the venue was unusually deserted, with only a few disciples standing guard in a trance, which was very different from the usual lively scene.

"It seems that the Dark Alliance has already controlled the key figure in the finals." Nan Li lowered his voice and looked around sharply. Gao Xingchen nodded slightly. He knew that now was the critical moment for their action.

"Xingchen, you go in first. Ling'er and I will make some noise outside to attract their attention." Xuanfeng's voice suddenly came from behind. Gao Xingchen turned around and saw that Xuanfeng and Ling'er had quietly come to them.

"You have to be careful." Gao Xingchen warned. He knew that Xuanfeng and Ling'er were very skilled, but the strength of the "Dark Alliance" should not be underestimated.

"Don't worry, we know what we're doing." Xuanfeng smiled confidently and looked at Ling'er. The two of them flashed and disappeared into the night.

Gao Xingchen and Nan Li no longer hesitated, and sneaked into the venue under the cover of night. In the venue, several elders sat upright on the judges' bench, but their eyes were empty, as if they were puppets without souls. Gao Xingchen's heart sank, he knew that these respected elders had been controlled by the "Dark Alliance".

"Elder Zhang, are you okay?" Gao Xingchen walked quickly to a white-haired elder. This Elder Zhang was his mentor and was always very caring towards him. Gao Xingchen was unwilling to believe that his mentor would betray his sect.

"Xingchen? Why are you here? Go! It's dangerous here!" When Elder Zhang saw Gao Xingchen, a trace of clarity flashed in his turbid eyes. He struggled to remind Gao Xingchen, but was controlled by an invisible force and could not move.

"Elder Zhang, don't be afraid, we are here to save you!" Gao Xingchen held Elder Zhang's hand and injected a stream of pure spiritual power into his body, trying to awaken his mind.

"It's useless. They have planted a restriction in my body, unless..." Elder Zhang's words stopped abruptly. He closed his eyes in pain, as if he was enduring great pain.

"Unless what?" Gao Xingchen asked.

“Unless…unless we find a way for the ‘Dark Alliance’ to control them, otherwise…otherwise we will all become their puppets!” Elder Zhang said intermittently, his tone full of despair.

At this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside the venue, accompanied by bursts of exclamations. Gao Xingchen knew that Xuanfeng and Ling'er had begun to take action.

"Oh no! Someone broke in!" An elder on the judges' panel suddenly opened his eyes, with a strange red light flashing in his eyes. He stood up suddenly and attacked towards Gao Xingchen.

"Catch him!" Nan Li reacted quickly, a flash of cold light flashed, and the dagger went straight to the elder's chest. However, the elder was prepared, and dodged Nan Li's attack, and the two fought each other.

Gao Xingchen took the opportunity to help Elder Zhang up and asked anxiously, "Elder Zhang, do you know how they control you?"

Elder Zhang took a deep breath, endured the pain, and said: "They... they use a special spice that can disrupt the mind and control people's thoughts..."

"Spice?" Gao Xingchen's heart moved, and a flash of inspiration suddenly came to his mind. Could it be... ?

"Oh no! They are trying to escape!" Nan Li suddenly exclaimed. The elder took advantage of the gap between the fight with Nan Li and turned around to escape from the venue.

"We can't let him get away!" Gao Xingchen pulled Elder Zhang up and chased after him.

Gao Xingchen grabbed Elder Zhang and rushed to the incense burner in the center of the venue without paying attention to the siege of other elders. A rich aroma emanated from the incense burner, with a strange sweetness. Gao Xingchen knew that the incense in the incense burner was the key to the Dark Alliance's control of people's hearts.

He took out an exquisite wooden box from his bosom, and after opening it, a refreshing fragrance came to his nose, which was completely different from the sweet fragrance emanating from the incense burner. This was the "Qingxin Incense" carefully developed by Gao Xingchen using the special spices provided by Nanli.

"Xingchen, what are you going to do?" Nanli asked anxiously while resisting the attacks of the elders.

"Believe me!" Gao Xingchen didn't have time to explain. He lit the "Qingxin Incense" and a fresh fragrance quickly spread, interweaving with the sweet aroma to form a peculiar fragrance.

A miracle happened. After smelling the fragrance, the elders, who originally had empty eyes, gradually regained some clarity in their eyes. They looked around blankly, seemingly not understanding what was happening.

"Elder Zhang, how do you feel?" Gao Xingchen asked with concern.

"I... I seem to be fine..." Elder Zhang shook his head, his eyes regaining their former clarity, "Xingchen, did you save me?"

"Elder Zhang, now is not the time to talk about this. Let's wake up the others first!" Gao Xingchen said, handing the "Qingxin Incense" to Elder Zhang, asking him to wake up the other elders who were controlled.

With the efforts of Gao Xingchen and Nan Li, the controlled members of the jury returned to normal. They angrily exposed the conspiracy of the "Dark Alliance": It turned out that the purpose of the "Dark Alliance" was to control the entire sect and then control the entire Nine Star Realm!

The crisis was resolved and the cooking competition returned to normal. Gao Xingchen finally won the championship with his superb cooking skills and love for food.

However, just as Gao Xingchen and Nan Li were celebrating their victory, a mysterious figure quietly appeared in front of them.

"Congratulations, young people, but the real challenge has just begun." The figure left a meaningful word and disappeared into the night, leaving Gao Xingchen and Nanli in shock.