“In reality, he’s biding his time and gathering his strength. He’s still young, so he can afford to wait and endure. As long as he remains patient, his accumulated efforts will eventually pay off.”

“…Tsk. It’s rare to hear you give a young man such high praise, Brother Dong.”

The young man across from him narrowed his eyes slightly and said flatly,

“Then let him slowly endure it. In any case, he’s already eaten the Golden Scale Fruit…”

“Quiet!”

Dong Chuo cut in grimly,

“Careful! The walls have ears!”

“Ah, you worry too much, Brother Dong.”

The young man chuckled.

“Others might not know how sharp my senses are, but surely you do, Brother Dong?”

“If anyone were close enough to hear us, I’d sense every breath, every heartbeat, every fluctuation of their Blood Qi. Nothing can escape my perception!”

“…I’m well aware of your strength, Brother Cui.”

Dong Chuo said,

“With the senses of the Divine Storage Realm, further refined by a special Technique, no one in the entire Outer Sect can match your Perception Power.”

“However, it’s always best to be cautious, especially with matters of such importance.”

“Fine. He’s a mere ant. Let’s not speak of him.”

Cui Zifeng waved his hand dismissively and said,

“We need to properly plan the hunt for the Golden-eyed Mutant Tiger in three days. It wasn’t easy finding a High Tier Exotic Beast like this. We can’t let it escape!”

“…Of course.”

Dong Chuo nodded.

“When the time comes, Brother Cui, you’ll need to bring more ‘live bait.’ The kind that cries and screams is best…”

「Meanwhile.」

Someone passed by the courtyard, so Chen Cheng could no longer listen in. He quickened his pace silently, disappearing from sight before the person drew near.

「Back at Guan Lan Pavilion.」

Staring at the wooden box that had held the Golden Scale Fruits, Chen Cheng was lost in thought.

His metabolism was incredibly fast. The three Golden Scale Fruits had long been converted into new Blood Qi.

Based on the conversation between Dong Chuo and Cui Zifeng he had just overheard, there was definitely a major problem with those three Golden Scale Fruits.

However, even with his keen perception, Chen Cheng couldn’t detect the slightest thing wrong within his body.

‘Perhaps it was a slow-acting poison. The dose wasn’t large, and its effects weren’t strong… My own poison resistance, combined with my various Traits, could have made me completely immune, neutralizing it entirely…’

As Chen Cheng considered this, the cold glint in his eyes grew stronger.

‘And then there’s Ning Chong…’

Just then, footsteps approached from outside the courtyard. Chen Cheng immediately suppressed his emotions, his expression and gaze quickly returning to their usual calm.

There was a knock at the gate.

Chen Cheng went to open the gate and let the person in.

“Steward Li, come in and have a seat.”

“I can’t stay. I’m just here to drop something off, then I have to run.”

As Li Wenrou spoke, she thrust a bundle into Chen Cheng’s hands.

“Inside are your Fishing Pavilion waist token, a set of common robes, leather armor, plus a copy of the *Wandering Dragon Technique* cultivation technique, a copy of the *Fishing Pavilion Rules*, and a copy of the *Lip Language Record*.”

“With the waist token, you can enter the Inner Sect directly and report to the Fishing Pavilion!”

Li Wenrou was clearly in a great hurry. She had barely finished speaking before she turned to leave.

“Steward Li, what’s the rush?”

Chen Cheng watched her tall, broad back, feeling a little concerned.

“…I’m a bit short on cash lately, so I took a mission to wipe out an Evil Cult stronghold. The team already left, so I need to hurry and catch up.”

Li Wenrou didn’t even look back. Her voice still hung in the air as she vanished from sight.

‘Wipe out an Evil Cult…’

Chen Cheng mulled over those words, his thoughts gradually drifting.

…

Deep within a mountain forest, a stream trickled with a mournful sound.

Ye Yang sat cross-legged atop a massive boulder. White Qi swirled around him, undulating slowly like a living creature.

His breathing was incredibly slow. With every inhale and exhale, the water in the stream would rise and fall, and the mountain wind would shift in a subtle rhythm.

A few birds flying overhead suddenly went silent. A moment later, they dropped from the sky for no reason.

Sunlight fell upon his face.

His skin was so fair it was almost translucent. His wrinkles had vanished, as had his beard. He looked twenty to thirty years younger than before.

“Master Ye.”

Zhu Mingyuan approached from a distance and stopped nearby, waiting in silence.

He, on the other hand, had not changed much.

The only striking difference was in his eyes; they were hollow, desolate, and utterly lifeless.

They were shot through with blood, and framed by dark, bruised-looking circles.

「A moment later.」

Ye Yang ceased his meditative breathing and slowly opened his eyes. He looked at Zhu Mingyuan, his tone tinged with concern.

“Is the medicine not helping you sleep?”

“…It’s no use.”

Zhu Mingyuan shook his head stiffly, his expression numb.

“These past few days, whenever I close my eyes, I see the mountains of corpses and seas of blood on the battlefield. I see the moat dyed black with gore, I see the Yin Soldiers grinding living people to a pulp with stone mills and eating them raw. I see visions of a living hell I could never have even imagined…”

Zhu Mingyuan paused, and a strange light finally flickered in his dead eyes.

“I want to cultivate the Red Moon Sacred Skill, too… I want to escape the Eternal… I want to… save all living beings from this sea of suffering…”

“…You must not.”

Ye Yang said gravely,

“I had no other choice but to walk this path. You’re still young. You still have other options.”

“…No, I have no choice!”

Zhu Mingyuan shook his head, his expression still wooden.

“If this keeps up, I feel like I’m going to break down at any moment… Sometimes, I even think about ending it all…”

“Master Ye, Senior Brother Zhu.”

Just then, Qiao Qiao, dressed in a set of teal martial arts attire, came leaping through the distant woods. In a few bounds, she was before them.

The girl had grown much taller. Her skin was fairer and more delicate, her black hair was silky smooth, and her features were charming. With her figure starting to blossom, she was turning into a budding beauty.

“Now that everyone is here, let’s get to the matter at hand.”

Ye Yang began to speak slowly,

“I’ve called you here this time to capture a High Tier Exotic Beast…”

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