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

With the middle-aged man by his side, Chen Qing didn't rush back.

The Qingfeng Boat landed a mile away from Xiao Chunan. He put the flying boat into his storage bag and carefully checked his body for any marks. Then he let Qingtian hold the unconscious middle-aged man while he carried Danyu and slowly walked the last stretch of road.

The rain was still falling, but it was much lighter than before.

Xiao Chunan was squatting on the ground, binding the square-faced cultivator tightly with a rope. Seeing Chen Qing return, he looked up and his gaze fell on the middle-aged man, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "Seventh level of Qi Refining, Blood Escape Technique, you actually managed to keep him here?"

"Luckily." Chen Qing smiled and gestured for Qingtian to drop the man on the ground. "His Blood Dao Secret Technique is fast, but it's not sustainable. After chasing him for three or four hundred miles, he spat out his essence blood four or five times. Finally, his spiritual power was exhausted, and he was stopped by Dan Yu in a secret passage leading to the Qian Kingdom in the northeast."

Xiao Chunan nodded, not asking any further questions, and pointed to the square-faced cultivator who had fainted at her feet:

"I've used the Soul-Searching Technique to investigate this person. These five people aren't actually official disciples of the Blood Soul Sect. They're disciples of various affiliated sects under the Blood Soul Sect. One of them is even a rogue cultivator from the Qian Kingdom who was temporarily recruited."

"Their main task this time is to gather information about the six prefectures of Yunzhou, such as the defense deployment of each city, patrol patterns, the background of the cultivation families, and the cultivation level of the Lingyun Sect's resident disciples. To put it bluntly, they are here to scout ahead."

Chen Qing frowned slightly: "Scouting the location?"

"Yes." Xiao Chunan nodded, his expression becoming more serious. "I estimate that it won't be long before the cultivators from the Blood Soul Sect arrive. These border clashes happen every few decades, but judging from the situation this time, it's likely to be quite large."

"Fortunately, that Golden Core True Monarch from Xuanzhen Peak is almost here." Xiao Chunan smiled again. "With a late-stage Golden Core cultivator in charge, there shouldn't be any major problems."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing did not respond.

He looked down at the middle-aged man at his feet, pondered for a moment, then squatted down and placed his hand on the man's crown.

The Soul-Seizing Technique was activated, and Chen Qing's spiritual sense, like countless fine needles, pierced deep into the middle-aged man's sea of ​​consciousness, scouring for fragments of memory. After a moment, Chen Qing withdrew his hand, and the middle-aged man foamed at the mouth, convulsed a few times, and completely collapsed to the ground.

Chen Qing ignored him, closed her eyes and focused on digesting the fragmented memories she had just acquired.

Xiao Chunan did not disturb them and waited quietly.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Chen Qing opened his eyes, his brows furrowing even more deeply.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Chunan asked.

"It's pretty much as you said. This person is a formal disciple of the Dry Bone Profound Palace," Chen Qing said slowly. "The Dry Bone Profound Palace is a Golden Core sect in the Qian Kingdom, and one of the affiliated forces of the Blood Soul Sect. He led a team here this time to be responsible for the reconnaissance in Yunzhou, and there are quite a few teams like theirs."

Xiao Chunan was slightly taken aback: "The Bone Palace? A Golden Core Sect?"

"Hmm." Chen Qing stood up, patting the dirt off his robes. "Moreover, I extracted some more accurate information from his memories. You know that the Blood Soul Sect and the Lingyun Sect have border clashes every few decades. But this time is different. The Blood Soul Sect is much more attentive than before. They not only sent most of their affiliated forces, but also sent quite a few of their own disciples."

Xiao Chunan's expression changed slightly: "What do you mean?"

"According to this middle-aged man's memory, he speculated that something in the Wu Kingdom had attracted the attention of the Blood Soul Sect's higher-ups, which is why the Blood Soul Sect's higher-ups are paying much more attention to this than before." Chen Qing's gaze narrowed slightly. "Moreover, it seems that the Blood Soul Sect has already begun to mobilize. Not only in the Qian Kingdom, but also in several other countries under the Blood Soul Sect's jurisdiction, many cultivators have begun to gather in the Qian Kingdom."

After listening, Xiao Chunan remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "Blood Soul Sect... that is one of the six sects of the demonic path, and there is an old demon in the late Nascent Soul stage presiding over the sect."

He looked up at Chen Qing, a hint of seriousness in his eyes: "This time... won't it escalate into a sect war, will it?"

Chen Qing did not answer.

The demonic path is different from the righteous path; its power rises and falls very quickly. Although the Blood Soul Sect has been established for less than three thousand years, its strength is no less than that of the Lingyun Sect, and may even be greater.

Otherwise, they wouldn't come over to provoke us from time to time.

Chen Qing looked up towards the southern hinterland of the Lingyun Sect. After a moment, he looked away and calmly said, "Regardless of whether there's a major war or not, I don't want to stay here anymore. Even if that Golden Core True Monarch comes, it's not necessarily safe. The border is the border. Once a war breaks out, we low-level disciples will be the first to suffer. I need to find a way back to the interior."

Xiao Chunan glanced at him: "Saving spirit stones?"

"Save it." Chen Qing nodded. "Qian Youfu's path requires two thousand spirit stones. Although it's expensive, saving our lives is the most important thing."

Two thousand spirit stones are a lot, but compared to life, they are nothing.

It's a pity. If Chen Qing hadn't chosen Yunzhou in the north two years ago, he wouldn't have had to spend this money. But man proposes, God disposes, especially since Yunzhou is his hometown.

Xiao Chunan didn't try to persuade him any further, but simply patted him on the shoulder: "Okay, then you can save it up."

"What about you?" Chen Qing looked at him. "Are you really not leaving?"

Xiao Chunan thought for a moment, then shook her head: "I'm not leaving."

Chen Qing sighed inwardly, but was not surprised.

Jianming Peak is extremely powerful, ranking among the top in the Lingyun Ten Sects. Moreover, Xiao Chunan's swordsmanship talent is not weak. He dared to clamor to compete for the title of "Three Heroes of Jianming" back then, which naturally gave him confidence.

Moreover, his sister Xiao Chunu is a direct disciple of a Golden Core True Monarch, so if he wanted to move to the heartland, he would have far more options than Chen Qing.

But everyone has their own aspirations, and you can't force them.

"Alright, when you get killed by the cultivators from the Qian Kingdom, I'll burn paper money for you," Chen Qing said casually.

"Burn my ass! You'd better watch out and not die, or I'll go fishing at Half Moon Lake. The carp there are really fat, I've been craving them for ages." Xiao Chunan chuckled.

Chen Qing's lips twitched: "...Are you even human?"

The two exchanged a few sarcastic remarks before starting to divide the spoils.

Chen Qing casually tossed two of the four storage bags, each with a sixth-level Qi-refining layer, to Xiao Chunan. He then took out the middle-aged man's storage bag and was about to open it when Xiao Chunan waved his hand, saying, "Keep this one for yourself. You were the one who caught up with him; it has nothing to do with me."

"Sure?"

"Confirmed." Xiao Chunan stood up, patted his robes, "What I lack is not spirit stones or pills, but battlefield experience. Consider it as money to help you raise funds for operations."

Chen Qing thought for a moment, then put the storage bag into his pocket without saying anything more.

"Alright, clean up and get out of here." Chen Qing looked at Dan Yu, "Dan Yu, burn it."

With a clear cry, a ball of pure white crane-heart flame erupted, transforming into a line of fire that swept past the five corpses, turning them into a pile of white ash in an instant.

Chen Qing raised his hand and waved it, releasing spiritual energy that dispersed the white ash on the ground.

Xiao Chunan also used her spiritual power to erase all traces of the battle around her. In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the hillside was no different from the surrounding environment, as if a battle had never taken place.

"Let's go." Chen Qing mounted the dragon-scaled horse and pulled on the reins.

"Get lost, get lost." Xiao Chunan waved his hand. "Next time we meet, remember to bring two grilled fish. Don't come empty-handed."

Why didn't you bring it for me?

"Because I'm poor."

"……roll."

Chen Qing slapped the horse's neck, and the dragon-scale horse galloped south towards Half Moon Lake with thunderous hooves.

Xiao Chunan stood there, watching the figure disappear into the rain, and chuckled, "That stingy bastard," before turning and heading northwest towards Lingjian Mountain.

A light rain was falling, and the sky and earth were a vast expanse of white. Two figures went their separate ways, one to the north and one to the south.