Gathering Information

Inside Black Wind Valley, shattered rocks rained down frantically, whipped by the howling wind.

Su Yueli and Qi Feng sprinted side by side, the dark stone walls on either side flashing past as the surrounding demonic energy grew increasingly dense.

Glancing at the young man from the corner of her eye, Su Yueli pondered for a moment before casually bringing up a topic:

“Fellow Daoist Qi, when I was in the city earlier, I heard that your Blue Moon Sect has a Young Sect Master who is currently in the limelight. They say his talent is terrifyingly high. Is he really that incredible?”

Qi Feng smiled upon hearing this. When the Young Sect Master was mentioned, an irrepressible look of pride and fanaticism flashed in his eyes.

“Of course. Our Young Sect Master, Shen Huai'an, possesses a Supreme Heavenly Bone. A talent like his is a peerless genius rarely seen in hundreds of years, even in the entire cultivation world of the Great Li Dynasty.”

Supreme Heavenly Bone. It was indeed exactly the same as when his bones were tested decades ago.

Su Yueli's expression remained unchanged, but the coldness in her heart grew deeper.

“However...”

Qi Feng shifted the topic and sighed. “A few years ago, the Young Sect Master's Dao Heart seemed to be troubled by mortal affairs, causing his cultivation to stagnate. He was stuck in the Second Realm for several years, which left the sect elders extremely anxious.”

“Fortunately, the Young Sect Master eventually came to his senses and completely severed those mortal complications. Once he focused entirely on his secluded cultivation, he reached the late stage of the Fourth Realm. Now, he's just a step away from the Fifth Realm.”

“If not for those distractions, the Young Sect Master would probably have broken through to the Fifth Realm by now.”

The late stage of the Fourth Realm... A trace of shock flashed deep within Su Yueli's eyes.

One had to know that thirty-five years ago, when she was forced into the Cangyun ruins, that fellow Shen Huai'an was merely a minor cultivator of the Second Realm.

Meanwhile, she had sat in the dark, desolate royal tombs for thirty-five long years, enduring endless suffering and slaughtering every Second Realm demon beast in the core area just to barely push her physical body to the mortal limit of a Tenth Realm Martial God.

Yet a cultivator only had to clear his mind and enter seclusion to cross two major realms in the blink of an eye, drawing close to the Fifth Realm.

Cultivation was supposed to be much harder to advance in than the martial path.

But Shen Huai'an's terrifying speed of advancement was simply like a cheat.

At this moment, the gap between the immortal and mortal paths was glaringly obvious.

“Of course, a Supreme Heavenly Bone is different from us.”

Qi Feng shook his head and said self-deprecatingly, “A High-grade Bone like mine is considered top-tier among ordinary disciples, but in front of the Young Sect Master, it's really no different from a Low-grade Bone.”

Su Yueli calmed the churning blood qi in her chest and casually probed again. “To make a genius like him stall for several years, it must have been a massive mortal entanglement. I wonder who on earth could have disrupted his state of mind like that?”

Upon hearing this, Qi Feng looked quite blank. Clearly, an inner disciple of his level did not have access to such core secrets.

“I'm not sure about that. The records of the Young Sect Master's experiential learning in the mortal world are classified as top secret by the sect. Except for the Sect Master and a few core elders, none of the disciples below know anything about it.”

“All we know is that he went back once a few years ago and severed everything very cleanly. After he returned, his Dao Heart was clear and bright, with no more obstacles.”

Experiential learning in the mortal world?

Severed everything very cleanly?

Su Yueli frowned. Shen Huai'an had actually left the sect for experiential learning?

She couldn't be certain, but she was confident that her master, Lu Chen, who had raised her and taught her martial arts, was highly likely used as a stepping stone to practice the heartless path and sever mortal ties.

Since Qi Feng truly did not know, Su Yueli stopped asking to avoid raising the cultivator's suspicions.

Some matters would have to wait until she got a clear grasp of the Blue Moon Sect's true strength before she could settle the score.

As they spoke, a few familiar fluctuations of spiritual energy faintly wafted from around a rocky cliff corner ahead.

Four figures in moon-white robes were gathered behind a massive boulder that blocked the wind. They were the other disciples of the Blue Moon Sect.

Two were of the Second Realm, and two were of the Third Realm.

“Senior Brother Qi!” Seeing Qi Feng arrive safe and sound, the two Third Realm disciples quickly hurried forward to greet him.

However, when the two Second Realm cultivators who remained behind saw the young woman in green behind Qi Feng, they instantly froze on the spot.

“You?! That mortal martial artist from the small tavern on the border?”

Their minds buzzed.

Back in the tavern in Luoxia City, they had looked down on this woman and commented that no matter how beautiful she was, she was ultimately just a mortal who would turn to dust in a few decades, emphasizing the gap between immortals and mortals.

Yet in the blink of an eye, this weak woman who should have stayed quietly in a mortal city had not only passed through the outer regions of Black Wind Valley completely unharmed, but was even walking shoulder-to-shoulder with their Senior Brother Qi Feng, who was at the peak of the Third Realm.

This made absolutely no sense.

The other two Third Realm disciples also frowned, looking rather displeased. “Senior Brother Qi, Black Wind Valley is teeming with demonic energy and is extremely perilous. Why did you bring a mortal woman with absolutely no spiritual energy in here?”

“If she drags the sect down and the higher-ups blame us...”

“Shut your mouths, all of you!”

Qi Feng's face instantly darkened, and he barked sharply, “This is Miss Su Yueli, a powerhouse of the mortal Tenth Realm, the Martial God Realm! Miss Su killed the previous Black-Armored Demon Spider with thunderous methods. What's wrong with her traveling with us now?”

A Martial God?! The Tenth Realm?!

These words struck like a sudden clap of thunder, leaving the minds of several Blue Moon Sect disciples completely blank.

The two Second Realm cultivators exchanged looks, feeling a burning sensation on their faces, while waves of shock surged in their hearts.

A young woman who looked barely twenty, with fair and delicate skin, was actually at the end of the mortal martial path—a Martial God capable of sweeping through the mortal world?

Although they prided themselves on being high-and-mighty cultivators, they also knew how terrifying the blood qi of a Tenth Realm Martial God was.

At this distance, if a Martial God suddenly went on a killing spree, snapping their necks would literally be easier than picking cucumbers.

“Miss Su... please forgive our previous rudeness,” the two Second Realm disciples said, quickly suppressing their arrogance as they cupped their fists and bowed, stammering slightly.

The world of cultivators had always respected the strong. Even if she followed the mortal martial path, once her strength reached this level, they had no choice but to bow their heads.

Moreover, they had their Senior Brother Qi Feng pressing down on them from above.

Su Yueli's expression remained calm. She had seen this kind of attitude shift due to power disparity too many times on her journey, and it didn't stir a single ripple in her heart.

She patted Xiaohei at her waist and cut straight to the point. “It's fine. Since we've met, let's work together. Where exactly is that Fourth Realm demon beast right now?”

The leading Third Realm disciple swallowed hard and quickly stepped aside, pointing toward a massive subterranean black hole not far ahead that was emitting a dense, dark red demonic energy.

“Senior Brother Qi, Miss Su, it's right in the underground cave ahead.”

The Third Realm disciple pointed to the dark underground hole ahead and said in a low voice, “Senior Brother, that beast seems to have been heavily injured during the previous joint attack. The elders of the various major sects have already gone to hunt down the other high-level demon beasts, so it's currently the only one in this cave.”