This is a very dilapidated house, with furniture that has long since decayed, and cobwebs gather inside, so much so that not even spiders or mosquitoes frequent it anymore.

It's obvious that no one has lived here for many years.

Qi Ping wasn't surprised by this.

Because he had asked Old Zhou to find a hidden spot deep in the mountains in the mortal world, and not to tell anyone the exact location.

This was mainly because he feared he might cause trouble that would implicate Old Zhou.

In the end, Qi Ping didn't cause any trouble, but this action ended up being a pitfall for himself.

However, Qi Ping wasn't too worried about it.

For other cultivators, this could be troublesome, but for Qi Ping, it wasn't too difficult.

Qi Ping made his way into the mountains and released tens of thousands of bees.

"Thoroughly search within a hundred-mile radius and find Old Zhou's whereabouts!"

Upon Qi Ping's command, tens of thousands of late-stage Tier One and numerous Tier Two bees immediately set into motion.

However, this search wasn't as easy as Qi Ping had anticipated. The whole night passed without finding any trace of Old Zhou.

"Could something have happened?"

Qi Ping's heart gradually filled with some concern.

Fortunately, as the sun hung in the sky, nearing noon, Qi Ping finally received news of Old Zhou's whereabouts.

"Goodness, this old man really hid deep, didn't he?"

Upon learning Old Zhou's precise location, Qi Ping could not help but admire him. Hiding so deeply showed the old man had some skills.

At last, they found him, and Qi Ping could set aside some of his worries.

Soon, Qi Ping reached the place where Old Zhou was located, his figure flickering through the shadowed paths.

Underneath an unassuming hill, Old Zhou was meticulously tending to a patch of flowers.

Buzzing around the blooming petals were tiny green bees, covered in a thick layer of fresh honey.

"Giving in and raising bees again?"

"Seems like he couldn't resist!"

However, Qi Ping didn't disturb Old Zhou here; instead, he turned and went to Old Zhou's courtyard.

Arriving at the courtyard, Qi Ping was slightly taken aback seeing it replicated exactly as the one on Cloud Mist Mountain Range, even the table and lounge chair positions were somewhat similar.

Without standing on ceremony, Qi Ping sat down, picked up a teacup, and poured himself some wine.

"Berry wine, hawthorn... and mulberry, the taste is quite nice!"

Not having tasted these for a long time, Qi Ping found his appetite whetted upon tasting them again.

And so, he drank cup after cup.

Before long, he polished off a pot of wine.

Yet Qi Ping wasn't satisfied and fetched a large jar from the corner.

By the time Qi Ping nearly emptied the large jar of Old Zhou's cherished wine, Old Zhou returned, wearing a straw hat and puffing slightly.

He hadn't expected to find a familiar figure upon entering the door.

"Qi, my boy? How did you find..."

But even before he finished speaking, he noticed the empty large jar beside Qi Ping.

Wasn't that the treasured good wine he had kept? How did this brat Qi Ping manage to find it?

He hurried over to check, gazing at the jar cleaned out to the last drop, immediately feeling as if the sky had fallen.

This was exquisite wine he barely grudged himself a sip of, and now Qi Ping emptied it all in one go.

How could wine-loving Old Zhou remain calm?

"You brat, did you come and drink up all the old man's treasured wine to dust? Are you looking for a beating?" Old Zhou pretended to chide sternly.

"Hehe, wasn't I just thirsty?" Qi Ping feigned innocent response.

Seeing Qi Ping like this, Old Zhou didn't really blame him; on the contrary, seeing Qi Ping had arrived safely put his long-held worries to rest.

Rather, he asked:

"Has the chaos in Qingshi County ended? How are the others doing?"

Having stayed here so long, Old Zhou naturally wanted news of his friends.

In response to Old Zhou's inquiry, Qi Ping shook his head and said:

"Now is actually when Qingshi County is the most chaotic, with several Sects fighting, countless Qi Refining Cultivators wounded or killed, and more than a handful of Foundation Establishment Stage cultivators dead."

"Over a year ago, the three major families were incited into internal conflict by a Sect opposing Cyan Origin Sect, leaving a mountain of corpses and rivers of blood..."

Qi Ping then went on to share some additional information he knew.

Skinny Li Peng disappeared, nowhere to be found.

Meng Shanshan didn't attach herself to a powerful backer but a Demon Cultivator disguised as a Sect Disciple, who siphoned her cultivation and left her insane; her fate is unknown now.

Wang Mountain survived in the three major families and even gained quite a lot of benefit.

Sister Nan hid deep within the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and recently broke through the seventh-layer of Qi Refining...

After hearing all the information Qi Ping shared, Old Zhou was left utterly stunned.

The news Qi Ping delivered was shocking!

One revelation after another nearly gave his heart a fright.

No matter how indifferent he would seem, he couldn't remain unbothered about a place he had lived for nearly a century.

He had imagined it might be devastating this time, but he could never have conceived of it being so disastrous.

Thankfully, his good friends Wang Mountain and Sister Nan were in decent shape.

It seemed Wang Mountain had managed to earn some resources for his child's Immortal Cultivation.

Sister Nan breaking through to the seventh-layer of Qi Refining also amazed Old Zhou, signaling that Sister Nan's fortune was deep!

As for a youth like Qi Ping, for him to reach mid-stage Qi Refining was already quite notable, and reaching late-stage Qi Refining would be burning incense to the deities.

Old Zhou had never expected Qi Ping to achieve greatness; living a stable, simple, and happy life was enough.

It saddened Old Zhou to hear about Meng Old Man's daughter, Meng Shanshan, being deceived and drained by Demon Cultivators.

After all, that girl grew up before him, yet she ended up like this...

If she had agreed to be with Qi Ping, how nice it might have been. He remembered Qi Ping had even contracted Golden Marrow Bees. If the pair had raised the black little bees and Golden Marrow Bees together, their days would have been blissful!

Old Zhou wasn't too worried about Li Peng though, suspecting he'd likely hidden away by some backdoor connection!

"Alas... the world is unpredictable!"

The mix of shock and other emotions in Old Zhou's heart ultimately turned into a sigh.

For someone like him, simply surviving was already a challenge; there was little else he could control.

"Indeed, the world is chaotic, and survival isn't easy!"

"Were you planning to stay in the mortal realm for a while this time?" Old Zhou asked casually.

He knew Qi Ping's character. If Qingshi County was this dangerous, there was no way Qi Ping would risk staying there without certainty.

"I came to take you back to Qingshi County!"

"Qingshi County is indeed too dangerous right now... hmm? What did you say? Go back?" Old Zhou looked at Qi Ping in shock.

He wondered if he heard wrong?

In such circumstances, Qi Ping should be avoiding it, not trying to go back?

"Yes," Qi Ping affirmed, "The environment in the mortal realm is too harsh, continuing here would shorten your lifespan!"

Now it made sense! That's why Qi Ping wanted to return!

"Qi, my boy, don't worry about me. My body can still endure; it's too risky to go back to Qingshi County now..."

But Old Zhou's words halted abruptly.

What's up with this aura?

He widened his eyes in shock looking at Qi Ping.

"Foundation Establishment!?"

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