She is Jianxiu

Having learned the name of the Heaven and Earth Furnace, Suotuhong's confusion dissipated, realizing that the owner of the treasure had come to him to demand an explanation.

Thinking of Zhao Chun's words, which were exactly the same as his brother's guess, it was certain that this treasure called the Heaven and Earth Furnace was actually brought from beyond the heavens and did not belong to the Qianming Realm.

Now, facing this person, I never expected him to be so ruthless. He attacked me without saying a word after we had only met once!
Sotu Hong blinked, feeling dizzy and lightheaded. All the energy and blood he had painstakingly accumulated over the years seemed to be flowing out like a flood.

Upon realizing this, Sotuhong's withered and shriveled head immediately contorted into a grotesque expression of pain as he screamed, "No, no, my body, my lifespan!"

With his shout, the headless body lying on the ground swelled up as if it were soaking in water, and the blood flowing from the flesh crawled like tiny insects, bulging and stretching the skin. With a snap, it rushed out of the body, splattering blood all over the ground.

Even without understanding the traditions of this world, Zhao Chun could still make some judgments about the scene before him based on the fundamental principles of physical cultivation.

In the Three Thousand Worlds, there are cultivators who have mastered the basic methods of body tempering and use pills and external substances to strengthen their bodies and enhance their physique. Suo Tu Hong's behavior is very similar to the symptoms of someone who has overdosed on medicine and died from an explosion. It is evident that he had been consuming too many pills to replenish qi and blood, and now that Zhao Chun had cut off his head, his body lost its soul and immediately disintegrated on its own.

However, since the primordial soul has not dissipated, for Daoist cultivators, there is still a path to re-cultivate by seizing another body. Although it is unknown whether Qianming Realm Heaven possesses a similar method, judging from Suotu Hong's eyes widening in fury and his resolute appearance of "what's the use of throwing money away," it is clear that this person has completely given up on this idea.

Then I heard him scream and curse in a heart-wrenching voice: "You treacherous outsider who has illegally crossed into the upper realm, how dare you run wild in my Suotu clan! I will report this to my clan, and you will surely be punished!"

Zhao Chun's expression turned cold. She thought to herself that this man's mind was already disordered, and he was so extreme that he didn't even care about his life. Even if she continued to interrogate him, there would be no result. In that case, it would be better to extract his literary soul and see if the soul-searching technique of the Xuanmen Daoist cultivators could be of any use.

She nodded, then summoned a wisp of divine sense from her dantian and thrust it fiercely towards Suotuhong's brow.

A fifth-rank scholar of broad knowledge is roughly equivalent to a Nascent Soul cultivator. Moreover, the scholars of the Mind School in this world seem to be far inferior to the Xuanmen Daoist cultivators in terms of magical combat abilities. They are like those who hold scriptures and work in seclusion, unlike Daoist cultivators who are willing to risk their lives to fight. Therefore, the defense of the divine palace in the skull is shallow and collapses almost instantly. Zhao Chun's divine sense did not even withstand much resistance and just circled around in Suotu Hong's primordial soul.

"Hmm? This person is actually the biological brother of the Sotu family patriarch. It seems that my Heaven and Earth Furnace has most likely fallen into the hands of that Sotu patriarch."

Zhao Chun withdrew her divine sense and unleashed a burst of true essence from her palm. Suo Tu Hong's head turned into dust and fell to the ground, leaving no trace of his literary lineage or primordial spirit.

Seeing this, she shook her head again, thinking to herself that she was not a soul cultivator, so this soul-searching technique relied entirely on the strength of her primordial spirit to be able to enter and exit Suotu Hong's head without hindrance. As a result, anyone whose soul she searched would probably not escape the fate of having their primordial spirit damaged, just like Suotu Hong today.

"My soul-searching method is really clumsy. If it falls into the eyes of a soul cultivator, I'm afraid I'll become a laughing stock. Fortunately, Suotu Hong's cultivation level is suitable, so I can still test it out. Otherwise, if his cultivation level is too low, he won't be able to withstand the divine sense and his soul will immediately be scattered; if his cultivation level is too high, it will easily backfire on me. Hmm, it seems I need to be more careful in the future."

After pondering these intricacies, Zhao Chun finally had the mind to go to other places.

According to what she saw in Suotu Hong's memories, the lineage of Qianming Realm Heaven was not as simple as it appeared on the surface. Take the Soul Searching Technique for example. When she wanted to investigate Suotu Hong's recent experiences, Zhao Chun did not encounter any obstacles. However, when she wanted to analyze the textual lineage and peek into some of Suotu Hong's scriptures, she felt a little indescribably ignorant.

This feeling was as if she had touched something too profound, and there was always a barrier separating her from it.

Zhao Chun recalled that the ancestor of the Suotu family was a second-rank scholar with cultivation comparable to a Void Realm expert. If the family's scriptures were passed down by him, it would be understandable that she, a Transcendent Realm cultivator, could not access them.

If that's the case, what kind of tradition is the so-called "sage's learning"?

This matter will have to wait until we enter the Gushe Academy, and then we can study it in more detail.

On another note, she came here today for the Heaven and Earth Furnace, but failed to take it back. She only knew that Suotu Hong did not understand the origin of this item, so she had no choice but to send the Heaven and Earth Furnace to Lijing so that Suotu Ancestor, his brother, could take action and investigate the details of the Heaven and Earth Furnace.

"Sotu Yi is currently in Lijing, serving as the Junior Chancellor of the Gushe Academy in Jinlai Kingdom. He is a third-rank Zhizhen scholar, and his cultivation level is roughly equivalent to mine."

Zhao Chun frowned slightly, not because of Suo Tu Yi's cultivation level, but because of his status as the Junior High Priest. The Suo Tu family and Jin Lai Kingdom were secondary; only the Gu She Academy was special. Based on its founder's status, it could be considered a sect of Danqiu Saints, and in the Three Thousand Worlds, it was probably a powerful force no less than the Ten Righteous Sects. It wasn't wise to act rashly like today. "Very well, they're all within the academy. We can deal with them later. If it doesn't work out, we can always leave Jin Lai Kingdom and make contact with the other two Saints."

Anyway, this place is full of spiritual energy, so it's not impossible to break through to the Void Realm and then come out to travel. It's just that that would take too long, and I'm afraid the Three Thousand Worlds won't be able to support it.

Having figured all this out, Zhao Chun stood up again, casually took the life of Suo San Niang, and then leaped into the clouds, disappearing in an instant.

Meanwhile, in the capital city of Jinlai Kingdom, Lijing City.

The Gushe Academy had three dormitories: outer, inner, and upper. The three rooms of the Sique Clan Academy today, namely the Jia, Yi, and Bing rooms, are modeled after the academy. Most aristocratic family academies are like this, with few exceptions.

Today, more than twenty students sat in the upper dormitory, all of them prodigies from Jinlai Kingdom who had already reached the fourth rank before the age of sixty. However, according to the evaluation requirements of Gushe Academy for students in the upper dormitory, they must also advance one rank before the age of two hundred, otherwise they will be expelled.

If one wishes to remain in the academy and freely study the teachings of the sages, one must at least reach the third rank and become one of the best among them, or be able to lead a particular chapter. Only then can one's name be recorded and one be hired as a lecturer, or even as the chief libationer.

Therefore, the twenty-odd students below the hall couldn't help but feel a little envious of the young Taoist sitting on the high platform, wishing that they could be the ones sitting there.

"That concludes today's lecture. Do any of you have any questions?"

The young Taoist priest flicked his sleeves and casually glanced at the audience. It was the end of his lecture, a time when he could relax his mind a little, but a strange feeling suddenly rose in his heart.

His body trembled, and his eyes moved slightly. Before long, he determined where this feeling came from.

The students below saw him suddenly stand up, his face solemn, and say, "I have something to do today, so let's disperse."

After saying that, he vanished from everyone's sight in a flash, his movements so hurried that they were quite astonishing.

One student asked in bewilderment, "What happened to Guru Sotu? Why did he leave in such a hurry?"

Some people even stood up and said, "How can we meddle in the affairs of our master? Perhaps the Grand Master will summon him. After all, Master Sotu is exceptionally talented and is one of the sure candidates for the next Danqiu Conference. I heard that the Grand Master cherishes him very much and summons him two or three times in November, personally guiding him in his studies."

These words are enough to make others envious.

However, what they did not know was that Suotu Yi had set off towards the northwest, but unfortunately, before he left Lijing, he was blocked by a force.

His expression changed slightly. Ignoring the fact that his feet were still in the Milky Way, he turned around and bowed without thinking, saying respectfully, "Disciple greets the Grand Master."

However, there was no one behind him, only a faint voice descending from above, asking, "The Danqiu Forum is about to begin, Suotu Yi, where are you going?"

Suo Tuyi dared not conceal the truth and immediately told the truth, saying, "I have not yet had time to report to the Grand Master that my elder brother died on the road to western Sichuan. I think the person who did it has not gone far, so I want to rush over and capture and deal with him."

After speaking, the voice from the sky was silent for a moment, and when it spoke again, it was tinged with displeasure: "You have studied for many years, and now that things have come to this, how can you still not distinguish between what is important and what is urgent? Your brother's matter is, after all, a family matter of the Suotu family. When the time comes, the clan members will find the culprit and stand up for you. Why do you need to mobilize a third-rank scholar like yourself? Suotu Yi, have you thought about your reply?"

This Danqiu Conference is a major event for the four great academies to determine their rankings. Gushe Academy intends to advance another rank, and therefore requires the Upper Academy of Jinlai Kingdom to send one representative from each of the three disciplines: literature, martial arts, and ritual music. Martial arts has always been a weak point for Gushe Academy; currently, only Suotuyi is capable of it. The Academy's Grand Master has instructed him to study diligently and practice as hard as possible to improve himself before the Danqiu Conference. Naturally, they do not want him to be distracted by this minor matter.

Suotuyi was also consumed by anger and anxiety. He had only just learned of his brother's death and had immediately set off westward. Upon hearing the Grand Master's reprimand, much of his anger dissipated. He repeatedly apologized, saying, "Grand Master's reprimand is correct; I was too hasty. I will return to the academy immediately and write a letter home, instructing my clansmen to apprehend the villain and resolve this matter as soon as possible. I would never dare to disrupt the discussion because of this." (End of Chapter)