Start with the fisherman

Donghai County, Luo Family,

"Whatever, whatever, this is fate!"

In the meeting room of the Luo family compound, after listening to Luo Qingyun's story, Luo Jun, the patriarch of the Luo family who was sitting in the first seat, sighed.

After the battle of Cape City, the Dragon Temple was no longer sufficient, and the Luo family also sent a new Dragon Blood Master, so Luo Qingyun naturally returned to Donghai County.

Hearing this, Luo Qingyun was also dejected. Given the Luo family's current situation, if they really went head-to-head with the Yuwen family for Cao Ze, in the end not only would they fail to save Cao Ze, but the Luo family themselves would also be implicated.

At first, he thought it was too simple.

It’s just a pity that such an opportunity that might have restored the glory of the Luo family was missed.

But there is no way. Some people are born with countless choices, but some people cannot seize the opportunities even though they are right in front of them.

It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s just that the conditions don’t allow it!

For Cao Ze, joining Xuanbao Pavilion Qingming Peak should be the best choice.

"There's nothing to regret. That kid is indeed extremely talented, but he only has the hope of crossing that threshold. If he doesn't cross that threshold, he will be of no use to us. Instead, it will bring disaster to the Yuwen family because of provoking them."

"Even if he can really cross that threshold, it will be at least fifty years later. We in the Luo family don't have fifty years!"

The third elder shook his head, "Let's think about the current situation."

……

Donghai County, Gu Family,

In a grand courtyard, a young man was sitting cross-legged on the ground, practicing quietly. The courtyard was shaded by green bamboos, with gurgling springs, and a faint spiritual energy permeated between the quaint pavilions and towers.

The young man sat cross-legged with his eyes closed and concentrated. His body was surrounded by faint white light, as if it was blending with the vital energy between heaven and earth. His face was handsome, and there was a determination and persistence between his brows, as if he was pursuing some supreme truth.

At this time, a skinny middle-aged man with an unremarkable appearance walked in. He stopped about three meters away from the young man, like a wooden stake, and completely concealed all his breath.

Xiao Guozhi looked at the young man in the courtyard. Although the other party was only in the Dragon Blood Realm, he did not dare to show any disrespect to him.

It’s not just because the other party is the eldest son of the Gu family, but also because of his terrifying speed of progress.

It has only been a year since we last met, and he has already broken through to the eighth level of Dragon Blood. I'm afraid that bottleneck, which is like an insurmountable chasm for many people, will be as easy as walking on flat ground for the young man in front of him.

He knew that the young man in front of him would soon surpass him.

An hour later, the energy of heaven and earth surrounding the young man began to slowly dissipate, and everything returned to calm. Gu Tiancheng opened his eyes and looked at Xiao Guozhi who was standing beside him.

"I have failed to do my job well, please punish me, sir."

Without him saying much, Xiao Guozhi took the initiative to tell him what happened in Cape City.

Gu Tiancheng waved his hand calmly, "It's okay!"

"With the guidance of the person from Qingming Peak, his progress speed is nothing."

Xiao Guozhi blamed himself a little, "If I can gain the friendship of Qingming Peak, it will also be good for you."

"He's just a little fellow who hasn't even reached the Dragon Blood Realm yet!"

"Friendship is never gained through charity, it is won through strength!"

Gu Tiancheng stood up proudly and looked up at the sky. "After digesting the gains from the ruins recently, I have already seen the threshold of a grandmaster. That kid and I are no longer from the same world!"

……

In the depths of the Yuwen mansion, Yuwen Lie was walking in the corridor with a gloomy expression, and soon he came to a bedroom.

The door of the room is carved from precious mahogany, inlaid with exquisite gold and silver threads and gems, sparkling with charming brilliance. Gently push open the door, a burst of elegant floral fragrance hits you in the face, making you feel relaxed and happy.

The interior of the room is spacious and bright, with gorgeous satin curtains hanging from the ceiling, embroidered with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes, which are colorful and lifelike.

The bed is made of rosewood, and the edges and legs are carved with exquisite patterns, making it look both solemn and elegant. The bed is covered with soft silk bedding embroidered with various floral and bird patterns, which are colorful and beautiful.

In a corner of the room, there is an exquisite dressing table, on which are placed all kinds of precious cosmetics and jewelry, each of which shines brightly. It is obvious that the owner of the room often dresses up here and carefully selects jewelry and clothes.

There are several exquisite calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls of the bedroom. Each one is from a famous artist, with vigorous brushstrokes and vivid charm.

In the past, Yuwen Lie would always stand in front of the painting and admire it for a while, but today, looking at the woman on the bed and thinking about what happened at the family council, he no longer had the heart to appreciate the calligraphy and painting.

"How about it?"

"Has the Patriarch agreed to put pressure on Xuanbao Pavilion?"

The woman on the bed sat up and asked anxiously.

Tang Hongying's injuries were indeed serious, but after half a year of recuperation, she had almost recovered.

The reason why he has been bedridden is just to play a trick of self-torture.

unfortunately,

Yuwen Lie shook his head silently, it was obvious that their self-torture tactic did not work.

"That old man Yuwen Ji was indifferent to the death of his own grandson?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Hongying became furious and started cursing.

Yuwen Lie opened his mouth but didn't say much in the end, allowing Tang Hongying to vent. If it was any of the other nine peaks of Xuanbao Pavilion, perhaps the Yuwen family would have taken some action, but that was Qingming Peak, the Qingming Peak with two Dharma bodies on one peak!

They can’t afford to offend the Yuwen family.

"We can't just let this go!"

After cursing for a while, Tang Hongying looked at Yuwen Lie, her eyes full of resentment and hatred.

"Now that he has entered Xuanbao Pavilion and is on Qingming Peak, we have no chance."

Yuwen Lie naturally also wanted to grind that boy to ashes, but he still had some rationality.

"So what about Xuanbao Pavilion? Xuanbao Pavilion is not a monolithic entity!"

Tang Hongying didn't care at all, "I don't believe he will stay on Qingming Peak forever, he will come down eventually!"

Yuwen Lie frowned, "The price is too high."

He was a little hesitant. The Yuwen family did have some forces in the Xuanbao Pavilion that could be mobilized, but these forces were placed there at a huge cost to them. It was indeed a waste to kill a kid in the Jiaoxue realm.

"It's never too late for a gentleman to take revenge. We can wait a little longer!"

"Still waiting?"

Tang Hongying was furious, "Have you forgotten how fast that boy's cultivation progressed?"

"If we wait any longer, our Yuwen family will be buried with our son!"

Yuwen Lie's expression changed and became serious.

He knew that his wife was only exaggerating in order to kill the boy immediately, but there was no doubt that if the boy was allowed to grow up, he would eventually become a hidden danger and might really bring some trouble to the Yuwen family in the future.

"Wait for my good news!"

After pondering for a while, Yuwen Lie said something and walked out of the bedroom.

He has made his decision.

That kid was able to kill Tang Hongying, but it was just because Tang Hongying underestimated him. The opponent's real combat power was not even as good as the fourth level of Dragon Blood. Even if he had made a breakthrough these days, it would be at most the fifth or sixth level of Dragon Blood?
What if the person he sent out was a seventh or eighth level Dragon Blood? Exposing such a pawn did make him a little sad, but it would not cause any serious damage to the Yuwen family, so he could accept it with a gritted teeth.

Seeing Yuwen Lie leaving, Tang Hongying finally showed some satisfaction on her face.

That kid must die, and must die now!
……

Qingming Peak, Disciple Square,

"Ye Shijie raised his sword and slashed, and the evil poisonous dragon died instantly..."

Under the ring, the inner disciple from last time stood next to Guan Zuo, spitting everywhere. He was not paying too much attention to the fight on the ring. Instead, he told Cao Ze about the deeds of the geniuses on the genius list.

He is not a fool. Although he does not know Cao Ze's true identity, after what happened with the Chief of Shenmu Peak, one can imagine the identity of the person whom even the Chief of Shenmu Peak does not want to offend. All he needs to do is hold on to his thigh and the matter will be settled.

Cao Ze listened with great interest. He had been immersed in cultivation these days and was indeed not very clear about the situation in Xuanbao Pavilion and Donghai County.

The battle on the stage ended quickly. Zhou Yanbang was already the chief of the inner sect of Qingming Peak. Even he was no match for Yue Lingke, so it was naturally impossible for others to beat Yue Lingke.

Cao Ze invited the inner disciple to go down the mountain with him, and the other party readily agreed. Along the way, he talked about Ye Shijie, who was at the top of the Xuanbao Pavilion's Tianjiao Ranking, Qin Yaoguang who was at the second place, and Chen Chen who was at the third place...

Xuanbao Pavilion has nine peaks, and each peak is equivalent to an independent sect. Qingming Peak, which takes the elite route and focuses only on cultivating true disciples, also has thousands of inner and outer disciples. The number of people in other peaks is far more than that.

Over time, the small town at the foot of the mountain almost became a city.

The relatives and friends of the disciples of Xuanbao Pavilion and the merchants who came to do business were really bustling here, and its prosperity was even better than that of Cape City.

After disguising himself, Cao Ze went to another chamber of commerce and exchanged a soul crystal for some medicinal herbs. With the presence of his fifth senior sister, a master of alchemy, he had no need to be shy. The Soul Condensing Pill would be a huge improvement for him now!
He went to Qingfeng Restaurant again and had a feast. After eating and drinking, he brought a meal for Su Xiaozhi before leaving the restaurant.

But as soon as he walked out of the restaurant, Cao Ze felt something was wrong.

In the restaurant opposite, at the street vendor, in the restaurant lobby...

Cao Ze felt several malicious gazes!
Moreover, the cultivation base of these people is not low, they are all Dragon Blood Masters at least. They may think that their investigation is covert enough, but they don't know that Cao Ze possesses spiritual awareness, and their abnormal behavior did not escape Cao Ze's eyes.

Cao Ze left Qingfeng Restaurant calmly and headed towards Qingming Peak, but he was already prepared for action.

However, these people did not take any action until Cao Ze disappeared at the end of the mountain road, which made Cao Ze a little strange.

Maybe these people were not targeting him, he just happened to run into them.

However, no matter what they do sneaking around at the foot of Qingming Peak, it would always be a good idea to report it to the eldest senior brother.

Down the mountain, in the restaurant,

After Cao Ze completely disappeared, those people looked at the middle-aged man in blue clothes in the Qingfeng Restaurant. Someone whispered, "When there was such a good opportunity just now, why didn't you give the order to take action?"

"No hurries?"

The middle-aged man drank a glass of wine slowly, then replied, "What's the hurry?"

Just now, when he saw the person next to Cao Ze, he already had a new plan in his mind.

……

Returning to the middle section of Qingming Peak, Cao Ze walked towards the east side of East Peak where his fifth senior sister was.

Before I got close, I heard a flute sound, sobbing.

The sound of the flute is low and sad, like a lost soul confessing its feelings. Every note is filled with endless sorrow. Every sound of the flute seems to be the sadness flowing from the depths of the heart, which makes people cry.

Cao Ze didn't understand music, but he was still moved by the mournful sound of the flute. He felt sad and thought about his past life. He didn't know what happened to his parents in his past life. He disappeared for such a long time and he didn't know how sad they must be.

After standing there and listening for a long while, the sound of the flute gradually died down. Cao Ze then took a step forward and walked forward following the sound of the flute. He passed through a dense bamboo forest and suddenly the view in front of him opened up to a cliff.

As he expected, the person playing the flute was his fifth senior sister Yun Danyao.

At this moment, she was sitting on a large rock on the edge of a cliff, still immersed in the emotions just now, her eyes looking into the distance, dazed.

After a long moment, Yun Danyao slowly came back to her senses, but she did not look back. She was so immersed in her own emotions that she did not even notice Cao Ze's arrival.

"Little Junior Brother, are you here to ask me to make an elixir?"

When the fifth senior sister turned around, the jade flute in her hand had disappeared and the gentle smile had returned to her face.

Cao Ze was silent, then took out the herbs he had exchanged from the mountain, "This is the herbs I collected, I hope Fifth Senior Sister can help me refine another furnace of Soul Condensing Pills."

He did not ask Fifth Senior Sister why she was so sad. Although he was confident that he would not be weaker than anyone in the future, with his current level of cultivation, it would be useless for him to ask more questions about something that Fifth Senior Sister could not solve.

"Okay, come and get it in seven days!"

Yun Danyao glanced at the medicinal herbs in Cao Ze's hand, took them gently, and gave an affirmative answer, her intention to see the guest off was evident in her words.

"Thank you, Fifth Senior Sister."

Cao Ze bowed respectfully and turned to leave.

It was not until Cao Ze's figure disappeared in the bamboo forest that Yun Danyao returned to the big rock and sat down again.

But this time she did not continue to play the flute, but looked into the distance, dazed and absent-minded.

……

Not long after walking out of the bamboo forest, Cao Ze saw his seventh senior sister Qin Yaoguang and sixth senior brother Chen Tianyi.

Both of them were looking towards the bamboo forest, their eyes full of pity.

"If I catch that bastard, I will skin him alive!"

Chen Tianyi said angrily, pacing outside the bamboo forest like an ant on hot pot for a while. After hesitating for a long time, he nodded to Cao Ze, and without saying anything more, he walked into the jungle.

"Seventh Senior Sister, this..."

Qin Yaoguang sighed and walked out with Cao Ze.

"Speaking of which, the secret realm of Dongtian is about to open again, but this time I am here and will not let you, little junior brother, be in danger!"

"The secret realm of the cave?"

"Why do you think Xuanbao Pavilion chose to locate its mountain gate thousands of miles away from Donghai County?"

Qin Yaoguang asked back, and then answered himself, "The Nine Peaks of Xuanbao Pavilion is just one of the reasons. The most important thing is this secret realm of the cave!"

“The secret realm of Dongtian opens every twenty years, and only warriors below the Grandmaster level of Xuanbao Pavilion can enter. It contains all kinds of natural treasures and precious inheritances.

Fifth Senior Sister’s alchemy inheritance was obtained from the secret realm of Dongtian, but unfortunately, the tragedy also occurred because of this…”

Cao Ze suddenly realized that the alchemy inheritance that Fifth Senior Sister obtained from the secret realm of Dongtian was of great origin, and even the warriors in the Dharmakaya realm were tempted by it.

But the news leaked out, and someone threatened Fifth Senior Sister's family, forcing her to hand over the inheritance.

The master and the eldest senior brother went to rescue them immediately, but unfortunately, the news leaked out and those people killed the fifth senior sister's family and escaped.

The operation was extremely covert, and the masters in the Dharmakaya realm moved swiftly and covertly, so the only possibility was that someone had informed them in advance.

There is a ghost in Xuanbao Pavilion!
"The secret realm of the cave will be opened in three months, so don't slack off in your cultivation, little brother."

After telling the story of the fifth senior sister, Qin Yaoguang did not forget to remind him, "Although I can protect you, you still need to fight for some inheritance yourself."

"It would have been better if this secret cave realm had been opened a few years later. Otherwise, with Junior Brother's talent, I wouldn't have needed to protect him."

(End of this chapter)