I tamed beasts and achieved immortality in the world of cultivation.

The next day, early in the morning.

At the entrance of Lingyun Sect, the morning mist swirls around a towering archway that appears and disappears in the fog. The two characters "Lingyun" are inscribed on it with vigorous strokes. It is said that the sect's founder carved it with his finger strength six thousand years ago, and the sword intent still flows through it today.

Chen Qing reined in the horses and looked back.

This was his first real long journey since he entered the mountains eleven years ago.

Inside the mountain gate, several figures stood quietly.

Su Wanwan, dressed in a pale yellow dress, her eyes slightly red, was waving her hand vigorously. With Chen Qing gone, she had once again become the lowest-ranking person on Beast Taming Peak, and she was extremely saddened.

Song Yang, standing beside her, was still as burly as a bear, grinning as he said:

"Junior Brother Chen! Remember to write when you arrive!"

Beside Song Yang were seven senior brothers and sisters, four men and three women. Although they were not close, they came to see him off.

Chen Qing's gaze swept across the crowd.

Zhou Ruoqing, Lin Xiuyuan, and Fang Yuan were not present.

After Zhou Ruoqing established her foundation, she often went out with Shen Tu Yu, and all the affairs of the Beast Taming Peak were handed over to a senior brother who had returned from training in the secret realm.

After confirming that Chen Qing's soul had nothing unusual about it, Shen Tu Yu gave up his thoughts and didn't say much about Chen Qing's trip to Lin Yuan County. He only told him to be careful and to send him a message in advance when he was able to contract a third spirit beast, so that he could help find one.

Last year, senior brothers Lin Xiuyuan and Fang Yuan also broke through to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

According to the rules of Beast Taming Peak, disciples in the late stage of Qi Refining should go to the secret realm to accumulate Foundation Establishment resources. Half a year ago, the two had already left Lingyun Sect and gone their separate ways.

"Years will pass, and I know not when we will meet again."

A faint sense of melancholy welled up in Chen Qing's heart, but he quickly suppressed it; he had never been a sentimental person.

"Let's go!"

Chen Qing waved his hand, turned around, and rode away.

Beside him, Xiao Chunan, dressed in a blue robe with a long sword at his waist, sat upright on a chestnut-red dragon-scale horse, his expression calm and exuding the air of a swordsman.

Xu Gui also rode a dragon-scaled horse. This dragon-scaled horse was a semi-spirit beast, costing three spirit stones and the price of a spirit sheep chicken. It was strong and could travel six hundred miles a day without any problem. Although it could not fly or escape into the ground, its speed far surpassed that of ordinary warhorses.

The Lingyun Sect's territory spans six thousand miles, while Lin Yuan County of the Wu Kingdom is located on the edge, a distance of five thousand miles from the sect. This journey would take at least eight or nine days.

……

Sun rises and sets, mountains and rivers change.

A few days ago, it was still novel. Chen Qing was used to traveling by car, boat and plane in his previous life, but he had never experienced the feeling of riding a horse on a long journey. At first, he felt high-spirited and had a bit of the heroic feeling of "wandering the world with a sword".

By the third day, my inner thighs were chafed and sore, and my back and waist ached. All my enthusiasm had long since vanished.

Xiao Chunan was no better than him, but she was too proud to admit it and gritted her teeth and refused to say a word.

The two exchanged a glance, both eager to break through to the seventh level of Qi Refining as soon as possible—flying on objects is what cultivators do, what's with riding a horse!

Xu Gui watched from the sidelines, thoroughly amused.

"You two clearly haven't traveled far from home before. Come on, let me teach you—"

The old man stretched out on the horse's back as if walking on flat ground, and slowly explained the key points of riding a horse: how to use leverage, how to release leverage, and how to match the rhythm with the horse.

Chen Qing did as instructed and felt much better.

On the fifth day, the three stopped to rest at a roadside tea stall in a small town.

The tea stall owner was an ordinary old man in his fifties. When he saw the three people dressed in Taoist robes and with ritual implements hanging from their waists, he was so frightened that he almost knelt down and didn't even dare to take money for the tea.

Chen Qing was both amused and exasperated, but he still managed to slip a few copper coins into the purse.

The old man thanked him profusely, rubbing his hands together as he stepped aside.

Xiao Chunan, holding his teacup, watched this scene and suddenly spoke: "Are people outside the sect all so reverent towards cultivators?"

"Awe?" Xu Gui took a sip of tea and said slowly, "It's fear. Mortals fear cultivators like rabbits fear wolves. When a cultivator is enraged, blood flows like rivers; what can mortals do to resist?"

"That's why sects have rules: cultivators must not harass mortals without cause, must not engage in combat in mortal lands, and must not—"

"Alright, alright, I'm not going to break any rules." Xiao Chunan waved her hand, interrupting his lecture.

Chen Qing smiled and couldn't help but think of the Ascension Envoy who had frightened the entire city of Yunzhou into kneeling in worship back then, as well as those ordinary people in his previous life who, despite lacking extraordinary powers, still lived vibrant and fulfilling lives.

"Cultivators fear heavenly tribulations, while mortals fear cultivators," he murmured to himself. "That's fair enough."

After resting, the three continued their journey.

……

On the eighth day, the sun was beginning to set.

The official road splits at a fork, one road leading east and the other north.

Xu Gui reined in the reins, glanced back at Chen Qing, and said casually, "Go north along that road for about two hundred li, and you'll reach Yunzhou City."

Yunzhou City.

Chen Qing paused slightly in his grip on the reins.

Yunzhou City was his hometown.

At the age of nine, he was chosen by the Ascension Envoy of Lingyun Sect and brought into the sect. He never returned after that.

Over the course of eleven years, they exchanged only a few letters.

Chen Qing was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "Let's go to Linyuan County first. Business is important. We can go back and visit later after we've settled in."

Xu Gui glanced at him, said nothing, just nodded, and turned his horse eastward.

Xiao Chunan followed silently behind.

The three continued on their way.

After walking no more than fifty miles, the mountain road gradually became rugged, and the mountains on both sides became steeper, with dense forests blocking out the sun and making the light dim.

Xu Gui suddenly pulled on the reins and raised his hand to signal to stop.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Chunan gripped the hilt of his sword, looking around warily.

Chen Qing also noticed something was wrong—it was too quiet.

There wasn't even a bird chirping.

Xu Gui closed his eyes and sensed for a moment before slowly opening them. A cold glint flashed across his aged face: "I never expected that I, Xu Gui, would encounter a tribulation cultivator so soon after retiring from the Lingyun Sect for thirty years."

The voice just fell.

Five figures emerged from behind the trees on the hillsides on both sides, blocking the way.

The leader was a middle-aged man with a hideous scar that ran diagonally from his left forehead to his right cheek. He wore a tattered black Taoist robe and carried a large, ghost-headed knife with a faint glow of blood flowing across its blade.

Behind him were four people: two thin men, a short, stout old man, and a pale-faced young woman, each holding a magical artifact and looking at him with hostile eyes.

Chen Qing's gaze swept over the area, and he quickly made a judgment in his mind—

The scarred man exuded a powerful aura, his spiritual energy fluctuating around the sixth level of Qi Refining.

The two thin men and the young woman were at the fifth level of Qi Refining, while the remaining short, stout old man was at the fourth level.

The five people lined up in a row, forming a subtle encirclement.

The scarred man sized up Chen Qing and his companions' clothes, grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth:

"Oh, it really is the Lingyun Sect! Where are you immortals headed?"

Xu Gui remained expressionless and said calmly, "Going back to my hometown to retire? What, are you all going to block my way?"

"Blocking our way?" The scarred man laughed loudly. "Old man, how rude of you to say that? We brothers are just short of money and want to borrow some spirit stones from you immortals."

He weighed the ghost-headed knife in his hand. "If you know what's good for you, leave your storage bag behind, and we'll spare your lives. If you don't..."

His eyes turned cold: "In this desolate wilderness, even if a few Qi Refining disciples of the Lingyun Sect die, no one will know."

Xu Gui sneered and whispered to Chen Qing and Xiao Chunan:

"I'll hold off the strongest one, the sixth level of Qi Refining. As for the remaining four, you'd better think carefully!"

"Old man, you won't listen to reason, you'll have to suffer the consequences!" Seeing the three men hesitate, the scarred man's face darkened. "Brothers, let's go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, five figures pounced down at the same time.

Xu Gui swayed and met the scarred man. He struck out with a palm, his spiritual energy surging. The two instantly engaged in battle. The other four split into two groups. A thin man and a short, fat old man rushed straight towards Chen Qing.

[New book recommendation period, please vote, fellow readers!]