Ning Qi gazed at the familiar Zhenwu Mountain, a thousand emotions welling up in his heart.
This trip down the mountain had taken over a month. He had come to understand a portion of the Great Yan Dynasty's situation, though he still hadn't stepped beyond Qingzhou.
But for Ning Qi, there were no regrets. After venturing outside, he actually felt that staying on Zhenwu Mountain was quite comfortable.
Without anyone knowing.
Ning Qi returned to Zhenwu Mountain.
He first went to see Daoist Longshan.
When Daoist Longshan saw Ning Qi, he was overwhelmed with emotion.
Although Ning Qi had shown his strength before leaving the mountain, the journey still carried its risks. Had Ning Qi not repeatedly sent secret messages saying all was well, he would have been unable to stop himself from going to help.
"Little Nine, did everything go smoothly on this trip?" Daoist Longshan couldn't help asking.
Though Ning Qi had already sent Dong He back, he hadn't shared many of the details.
Ning Qi respectfully bowed, then smiled and said,
"Master, don't worry. I'll explain everything slowly."
He organized his thoughts.
Starting with the events in Canghe Prefecture City.
From there, he spoke of his disguises as "Thunder" and "Fat Elder," step by step luring the prey into the trap and capturing them all in one fell swoop.
Aside from a few personal secrets he kept to himself, Ning Qi laid everything out clearly.
Daoist Longshan was stunned as he listened. Soon after, his eyes filled with admiration and amazement.
"I never expected your journey down the mountain to be so thrilling. Seems like it was wise of you to tell me not to go—otherwise, I really would have been a burden."
Daoist Longshan felt a mix of bitterness and pride.
This young disciple of his had grown far too quickly. At this point, he was already beyond his reach—a prodigy unseen in countless generations. Looking back through history, there wasn't a second like him.
He thought to himself that the only thing he could still do for Ning Qi was provide solid support behind the scenes.
"I didn't expect the Southern Frontier to have formed an alliance so silently. Should we report this to the Great Yan Court?" Daoist Longshan then shook his head. "Better not to get caught up in that mess. With Great Yan's foundation, there's no way they don't already know the Southern Frontier has formed an alliance. They've probably already come up with countermeasures—maybe they even know something about this Blood King Gu." РÅΝȎ𐌱Ɛ𝒮
"But there was one thing that worked out well." Daoist Longshan chuckled.
"While you were clearing out that Southern Frontier stronghold, I showed my face in Zhenwu City. That should help reduce suspicion on the Zhenwu Sect."
Ning Qi smiled too.
Consider it an alibi.
Master and disciple chatted about all that had happened. When Ning Qi shared his speculation about the Zhenwu Underground Palace, Daoist Longshan was quite impressed. He had never gone underground before—his strength had been lacking.
"Hopefully the Zhenwu Underground Palace appears again one day. I'll keep an eye out in secret. If it does show up, with your talent, Little Nine, you'll definitely inherit the entire legacy!"
That thought made Daoist Longshan excited as well. His lifelong wish was to restore Zhenwu's glory.
Ning Qi simply smiled and nodded.
Then he asked about Dong He.
Daoist Longshan replied slowly,
"Earlier, when you had him sent up the mountain, I told them it was me who had secretly tracked him down and captured him. In the end, I left Dong He to Little Ten to handle."
"That Dong He had a silver tongue, but Little Ten's will was strong. He personally killed Dong He, then took his head to honor Brother Divine Sword's grave."
There was a trace of satisfaction in his eyes.
Daoist Longshan was never one to play the good guy. He had a chivalrous heart, but was also decisive in killing. He didn't see anything wrong with Zhuang Chen killing Dong He. If one couldn't act in the face of such betrayal, it would only disappoint him.
Ning Qi nodded in approval.
He chatted with Daoist Longshan late into the night before returning to the Seeking Dao Courtyard.
White Ape was cultivating the Ape King Force.
His strength was deepening by the day, and his bloodline was gradually awakening. His current combat power was likely on par with Jiang Baishan and the others.
Ning Qi watched with a smile. He was very pleased with White Ape. White Ape's heart for the Dao was firm. Although he could be mischievous and playful at times, he never slacked off when it mattered. Perhaps, he would be a long-time companion.
A moment later—
White Ape stood up. Seeing that familiar figure standing beneath the peach tree, he rubbed his eyes in a daze. Once he confirmed it was Ning Qi, joy burst from his eyes.
"Teacher!"
He respectfully bowed to Ning Qi, scratching his head with excitement written all over his face.
During Ning Qi's absence, he'd felt like he'd lost his backbone—his essence, energy, and spirit had all waned. But now, in a flash, he was full of life again.
Ning Qi smiled,
"I'm back."
He hadn't kept the trip a secret from White Ape. Having lived together day and night, White Ape always stood guard when he went into seclusion—he would have known either way.
The next day—
Ning Qi "emerged from seclusion," and the Seeking Dao Courtyard buzzed with excitement again.
Luo Wentian and the others all came to see him.
Everyone chatted at once about what had happened recently.
Ning Qi listened to the noise with a smile—his heart was calm.
…
After returning to the mountain—
Ning Qi's life returned to its usual rhythm.
Reading scriptures, comprehending the Dao, cultivating, nurturing the Spiritual Tree... One thing after another filled his time. He was living a full life—and he liked it that way.
With the help of the Blood Jade Pill, Ning Qi's cultivation progressed rapidly.
He could feel his strength growing stronger every day.
The Jade Liquid Sea widened and deepened with each passing day.
As he continued to build his foundation, Ning Qi's strength grew at a pace unimaginable to ordinary people. He thought, after consuming another five or six Blood Jade Pills, he might be able to face off against the North-Stabilizing King.
The Daoist scriptures from the Zhenxuan Sect were also being digested steadily. Another six months, and they would all become part of his foundation.
Ning Qi wondered if he should use the upcoming Daoist Sect Rankings to look for Old Daoist Baishan. The old man's proposal was becoming more tempting by the day.
He genuinely felt those classics had helped him tremendously.
The True Qi of All Phenomena drew on the strengths of many schools and was becoming more refined.
Ning Qi slowly began to understand his path. With his comprehension, he could make all Dao his own.
But the further he went, the more he needed external inspiration—especially after reaching the Heaven-Man Realm. The insights of predecessors into the heavens and earth were more valuable than even some martial techniques. Otherwise, he could succeed by himself, but it would take much longer.
Like now, as Ning Qi was meditating on the concept of the Qi Force Avatar.
Thanks to all his accumulated knowledge, he had already developed multiple applications.
Meanwhile, the Enlightenment Tea Tree had sprouted well after breaking through the soil. It was already as tall as Ning Qi's forearm.
After much thought, Ning Qi decided to refine his two extra Blood Jade Pills into pill liquid to nurture the Enlightenment Tea Tree.
He had originally intended to save them as foundation for the Zhenwu Sect.
But then he reconsidered.
With only two pills, there wasn't enough to go around. Giving them to any one senior brother or sister would make the others feel left out.
And by the time they could even use Blood Jade Pills to enhance their cultivation, it would still be quite a while. The pill's medicinal power was too strong—for Ning Qi, it only helped speed up cultivation, but for others, it needed careful consumption.
By then, he might already have refined more pills that were better suited for them.
So it was better to use them now to grow the Enlightenment Tea Tree.
If the tree matured early, it would still serve as a foundation for the Zhenwu Sect and benefit everyone.
With the Blood Jade liquid's enhancement,
The Enlightenment Tea Tree's growth became even more promising.
Ning Qi estimated that before next year's Zhenwu Peach Gathering, he might already obtain a few Enlightenment Tea Leaves!
However—
This year's Zhenwu Peach Gathering was also drawing closer.
Many True Disciples were eagerly anticipating it. Zhuang Chen especially so. He had heard Ye Qinghe mention it many times and had long been craving the grand event.
…
Time passed slowly.
Just as everyone was looking forward to the Zhenwu Peach Gathering—
A palace atop a mountain peak welcomed two imposing figures with icy expressions and formidable auras.
One was an old woman, slightly hunched, with two strange snakes coiled around her neck—one blue, one purple, both translucent like jade and appearing almost like art pieces. Her aura was stronger than the Skinny Elder Ning Qi had slain.
But she still walked half a step behind her companion.
That companion was a woman veiled in black, her face hidden, but her alluring figure suggested an extraordinary beauty.
The two descended from the air.
As they approached—
The guards below the palace finally noticed and barked out,
"Who goes there?!"
The veiled woman ignored the shout and kept walking. The old woman snorted coldly,
"Insolent! Is this what that Skinny Fella taught you about respect and status?!"
With a mere release of her external force, everyone was blasted back coughing blood.
All eyes stared in horror as a blood-colored token flew forth and embedded itself in the pillar of the hall.
"If we didn't still have questions for you, just your offense to the Saintess today would be enough to warrant death!"
Her sinister voice made everyone's hearts tremble.
The Southern Frontier Saintess raised a hand slightly.
She seated herself in the main seat, her voice cool and detached,
"Snake Granny, no need to trouble them. Skinny Elder isn't here—can anyone tell me where he went?"
Seeing the token—
Someone finally came to their senses.
Fear and despair washed over him as he sobbed and shouted,
"Saintess, you're finally here! Qingzhou... Qingzhou's done for! Please... please avenge us!"
The Saintess and Snake Granny exchanged a look, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes.
In recent days—
The Southern Frontier Alliance had used secret arts to try contacting the two elders, to no avail. That was when they realized something had gone wrong.
This trip was meant to investigate—and they'd still held a sliver of hope.
But now it seemed the situation was far worse than expected.
"Speak in detail," the Saintess said, her voice growing even colder.
Moments later—
After hearing everything—
The Saintess's tone betrayed no emotion.
"You're telling me... Fat Elder and Skinny Elder are both missing and presumed killed, all Core Formation Realm cultivators at that stronghold are dead, and none of you—up until now—have any idea who the killer is? You haven't even found the slightest trace?"
The crowd prostrating on the ground all trembled.
Someone stammered,
"Saintess, please see clearly, the force behind the attack was extremely cautious—they erased all traces. We… we tried to report to the higher-ups right away, but... we couldn't get in touch with them..."
They truly felt wronged.
They had discovered the stronghold had been wiped out over a month ago. Not only were the two elders gone, even all the Core Formation experts had perished.
But no matter what, they couldn't find a single clue pointing to the killer.
And they couldn't reach the Southern Frontier Alliance headquarters either.
They'd been running around like headless chickens.
Snake Granny sneered,
"Making excuses? What a bunch of trash!"
With a wave of her hand, the one who spoke was reduced to a bloody mist.
Everyone's hearts pounded wildly.
The Southern Frontier Saintess spoke slowly,
"Granny, don't be angry. Give them a chance to redeem themselves."
"Thank you, Saintess!"
"Take us to that stronghold."
She rose and stepped into the air, leaving behind the crowd.
Snake Granny gave them a cold glance and casually picked out a few leaders to drag along.
…
One day later.
The stronghold Ning Qi had eradicated.
A group of figures landed.
"Saintess, Snake Granny, this is the stronghold where Skinny Elder and the others had gathered. That day, Fat Elder suddenly sent a message summoning all Qingzhou heads, saying the 'Thunder' of the Blood Rain Pavilion had betrayed us and that we needed to investigate thoroughly..."
Someone slowly recounted the events leading up to the incident.
The Southern Frontier Saintess and Snake Granny stood side by side in the sky, gazing down. The Saintess slightly furrowed her brows and speculated,
"Could it be Fat Elder betrayed the alliance out of greed for the Blood King Gu? The traces here have been wiped very clean..."
Snake Granny slowly shook her head.
"Saintess, you may not know, that damn fatty was weak, sure, but he was from the Black Orchid Tribe—his loyalty to the alliance was beyond doubt. I'm afraid there's more to this. Someone may have used his hand to orchestrate all this, causing Skinny Fella and the others to fall into a trap."
At this point—
They no longer held any hope that the two elders were still alive. Based on the information at hand, it was clearly a long-planned operation.
"Granny, can you restore the traces here?" the Saintess turned her head and asked. A breeze lifted a corner of her veil, revealing a pale, pointed chin—strikingly beautiful.
Snake Granny gave a confident smile.
"The one who acted was indeed cautious—their traces were wiped clean. But they underestimated us Southern Frontier folk. While I can't fully restore the scene, I can trace the unique aura signature of whoever made the move."
She stepped into the ruins.
Gently removing the blue-jade-like exotic snake from her neck, she kissed it and began chanting fast, strange syllables.
Then, the blue snake began to change.
Its belly swelled, and tiny snake eggs dropped to the ground. In a blink, a swarm of tiny blue snakes emerged.
The little blue snakes shot out in all directions.
Just watching made one's scalp go numb.
Snake Granny closed her eyes, continuing to chant.
The blue jade snake coiled in her palm, occasionally raising its head.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn—
The tiny blue snakes died and turned to powder.
Snake Granny listened to the hissing of the jade snake.
A moment later, she lifted her head and smiled confidently,
"Saintess, we've found it."
The Southern Frontier Saintess's eyes lit up. She silently thought, thankfully she brought Snake Granny along—this secret art of hers was indispensable.
"Snake Granny, who did it?"
Snake Granny said,
"There are signs of a battle between two Heaven-Man Realm experts. One of them was Skinny Fella. The other was a powerful poison user—stronger than Skinny Fella by a good margin!"
She began drawing on the power of heaven and earth.
Clusters of green mist formed around her, exactly like what Elder Wang and Ning Qi had used.
Had Ning Qi been here, he'd surely be amazed—there truly were many strange people in the world.
However, what Snake Granny recreated was only in form—the nature of the power was completely different.
"This is roughly how their power manifested."
The Southern Frontier Saintess's eyes sharpened.
"Just one person wiped out everyone?"
Snake Granny slowly nodded.
"That's right. It sounds unbelievable, but it's not hard to imagine. This person—or rather, this force—must've captured that fatty first, used his name to summon Skinny Fella and the others, then ambushed them when they weren't expecting it. If that's the case, it's totally doable."
"The rest were like ants before him."
The Saintess's eyes darkened.
"That's likely what happened. I've already checked—the Blood King Gu's aura has completely vanished. The attacker might've come for it, though I won't rule out other motives."
She looked down at the person kneeling on the ground, her voice cold as ancient ice:
"Are there any experts in Great Yan who use this kind of power? You have three days. If you can't find out, don't bother facing me again. Also, gather all recent intelligence on any factions that had dealings with our subordinate forces."
The crowd felt like they'd been pardoned from death. They scrambled to answer:
"Yes, Saintess!"
…
One day later.
The Southern Frontier Saintess sat before a desk, flipping through a thick pile of intelligence reports. Snake Granny sat beside her, sipping tea and playing with her twin snakes.
"Saintess, any findings?" Snake Granny asked.
The Saintess looked up and gently rubbed her temples.
"From what I can tell, there are two factions that seem suspicious."
"Which two?"
"First… the Demonic Sect."
At those two words, both the Saintess and Snake Granny's expressions grew grave.
Even in the Southern Frontier, they had heard the name. Despite being suppressed by the Great Yan for years, the Demonic Sect had revived time and again—proof of how troublesome they were.
"The poisonous force you detected had appeared once before—last year. The Demonic Sect sent five Heaven-Man experts to attack the Zhenwu Sect in Qingzhou. One of them used this same power."
The Southern Frontier Saintess recounted the incident at Zhenwu Mountain.
"The essence of a Heaven-Man expert's power can't be changed unless they dual cultivate. If we traced it to him, then he's likely the one who did it. He even survived a fight with the North-Stabilizing King, who's ninth on the Heaven-Man Ranking—he definitely has the strength to kill Skinny Fella."
"And it's possible the Demonic Sect has more than one person who dual cultivates this kind of power. That only makes them more suspicious!"
Snake Granny's tone was now full of killing intent.
"That d*mn Demonic Sect probably had their eyes on our Blood King Gu and struck suddenly. According to what you said, they've taken heavy losses from the Great Yan recently—several Heaven-Man experts lost."
The Saintess nodded in agreement.
She, too, felt the Demonic Sect was the most likely culprit.
"What's the second suspicious faction?"
"The Zhenwu Sect," said the Saintess.
"Zhenwu Sect? The one attacked by the Demonic Sect?"
"Yes. I reviewed recent clashes with our subordinate forces. A few months ago, the Divine Sword Sect was wiped out by Zhao Dong and his group. Its Sect Master, Divine Sword Elder, escaped with his young disciple and fled to the Zhenwu Sect. Given Daoist Longshan's relationship with Divine Sword Elder, Zhenwu has a motive. They also previously investigated the Blood Pool incident."
"Daoist Longshan might not be strong enough, but they still have the Heavenly Sword True Person."
Snake Granny hesitated.
"But isn't the Heavenly Sword True Person a swordsman? His power is nothing like what we saw."
"Saintess, do you think the Demonic Sect is trying to frame the Zhenwu Sect—to make us their pawns? They did try to wipe them out before."
The Southern Frontier Saintess nodded slowly.
"I've considered that possibility too. Right now, the Demonic Sect is the prime suspect—but we can't completely rule out the Zhenwu Sect either."
Snake Granny smiled and nodded.
"That's why you're so dependable, Saintess."
Admiration flickered in her eyes.
At this point, it was ninety percent likely to be the Demonic Sect.
But as a leader, one couldn't act on mere hunches—even the smallest possibility had to be considered. That was what made a capable leader.
"If I ever get the chance to see the Heavenly Sword True Person fight, I'll know for sure. Swordsmanship and poison seem unrelated, but there are sword cultivators who use venomous blades. I need to see it with my own eyes—then I'll know if he wields poisonous power too."
The Saintess slowly stood and sighed,
"Let's just hope our efforts to cultivate the Blood Emperor Gu go smoothly. The world's about to fall into chaos—our Southern Frontier must ride the waves forward. Now that we've lost two Blood King Gu, we'll have to try and replenish them in the southern regions—or in the mountains..."
"This time, I'll trouble Granny to remain stationed with me in Qingzhou. If it really was the Demonic Sect, we absolutely can't let this slide."
The Saintess's delicate brows furrowed, emanating killing intent.
…
The Southern Frontier Alliance had finally caught on.
But the Zhenwu Sect still knew nothing.
Daoist Longshan didn't post lookouts—doing so would've been too obvious. Pretending like nothing happened might be better. It would be wiser to investigate later.
At that moment, in the Seeking Dao Courtyard—
The atmosphere was lively.
It was once again time for the Zhenwu Peach Gathering.
Everyone raised their cups in celebration:
"Come on, let's raise a glass to welcome Little Ten!"
"This one's for Little Ten!"
Everyone laughed heartily. Zhuang Chen's chubby face was flushed—partly from the alcohol, partly from excitement. Warmth bloomed in his heart.
"Senior brothers, senior sisters—let me toast you all first!"
Everything was said in the wine.
Too many words would just sound pretentious.
Everyone smiled. After spending time together, they'd come to really like Zhuang Chen. He wasn't petty, always had a silly grin, and though he used to be quite overweight, after training in the improved version of Dream Devourer that Ning Qi taught him, he'd slimmed down a lot—but he was still a chubby kid.
Logically speaking, Zhuang Chen shouldn't be fat. He was just a glutton.
Zhuang Chen was progressing rapidly in cultivating the Yazi Stance. He was a peerless genius to begin with, born with a Sword Bone. Now that his Sword Bone had broken and been rebuilt, and he was cultivating all over again, his foundation was even more solid.
"Third Senior Sister's wine is really something!" Zhuang Chen praised without holding back.
Ye Qinghe laughed heartily,
"Little Ten sure knows how to talk."
Everyone just smiled. But truth be told, Ye Qinghe's peach blossom wine had indeed improved this year. Still, no one could tell for sure whether it was her brewing technique that had advanced or if it was simply that the ingredients were better.
As they gnawed on the Zhenwu Peach Fruits in their hands, they found them especially fragrant and sweet.
Especially Zhuang Chen—now that he was re-cultivating the Body Tempering Realm, the peach fruit was even more beneficial to him. He wolfed down several in a row.
This was already the second year of cultivating with reference to the Bright Fruit. Plus, Ning Qi had relocated the peach tree to activate the Enlightenment Tea Tree seed. Now that the tea tree had broken through the soil and begun its cycle of giving back, it naturally made the peach fruits even better than before.
Everyone chatted freely.
Zhuang Chen soaked in the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere, grinning foolishly the whole time.
Ning Qi also listened as his senior brothers and sisters shared amusing stories.
Ye Qinghe grinned mischievously,
"Let me tell you something you'll definitely be interested in. I once caught Old Five secretly writing a love letter! That guy's definitely got someone he likes and is hiding it from us!"
At those words—
Jiang Baishan's face turned red, while everyone else burst into laughter, clearly intrigued.
Come to think of it, all the True Disciples were still single. Not one had a Dao companion. Though the Zhenwu Sect was a Daoist school, it didn't forbid forming Dao partnerships. It was just that no one had managed it yet. Now that Jiang Baishan looked like he might be the first, everyone's eyes lit up.
Blushing, Jiang Baishan waved his hands frantically,
"Don't listen to Third Senior Sister's nonsense. I was just writing to a friend!"
"Bah! Just say it—is this 'friend' a woman? And who sneaks over to Little Nine's courtyard to pluck a peach blossom just to write a letter to a friend? Old Five, don't tell me your tastes lean toward men?"
Luo Wentian threw in a timely jab,
"Tsk tsk, don't tell me it's that fierce lady who once tried to chop off your shoulder? If so, you're in for trouble—she'll have you wrapped around her finger for life!"
Everyone laughed even louder.
Jiang Baishan smiled wryly and repeatedly begged for mercy, downing several cups before they finally let him off the hook.
But no one really pushed for the truth. They were just teasing. They all knew—when the time came, Jiang Baishan wouldn't hide it from them.
Ning Qi listened with a smile.
As for Dao companions, he hadn't thought much about it yet. He was still young, and maybe he'd never have one.
But if he ever did, it would have to be someone who could truly walk the Great Dao alongside him.