The First Venerable of All Paths

Inside the inn.

The three of them took their seats.

Li Tianjiao was still playing with the black and red beads that Fang Xuan had given her.

"Tell me about it."

Seeing that Nie Song remained silent, Fang Xuan took the initiative to speak.

"Actually, it's like this."

Nie Song picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "I've known all along what's hidden in Red Spring Lake."

Upon hearing this, Li Tianjiao raised his head and looked at Nie Song.

"I only found out by accident."

Nie Song smiled wryly, "But if I told you that there are twin soul puppets in Red Spring Lake, would you still dare to get involved?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tianjiao fell silent.

Because if she were in her shoes, she would have done the same.

Fang Xuan didn't speak, but simply stroked his teacup, waiting for what would happen next.

"This story goes back several years."

Nie Song began to speak slowly.

At that time, Nie Song had just founded the Hyena Mercenary Group.

Because of his extremely fierce and crazy fighting style, he earned the nickname "Mad Dog".

During a mission, a conflict arose with another mercenary group, leading to a fierce battle.

Because the attack was sudden and the Hyena mercenary group was caught completely off guard, they suffered heavy losses.

Nie Song was also seriously injured and was taken away by his subordinates.

But the other party relentlessly pursued them.

After a frantic escape, Nie Song arrived at a small mountain village.

It's called a small mountain village, but in reality, there are only three households.

In order to shake off their pursuers, the two subordinates abandoned Nie Song at the door of a farmer's house and then went to lure the pursuers away.

The family that saved him was a mother and daughter.

The mother has been bedridden due to illness for many years, and the daughter is also blind.

But the mother and daughter are kind-hearted and take good care of Nie Song every day.

And so, Nie Song settled down in this family's home.

Because of the severity of his injuries, he stayed in the hospital for three months.

During their time together, the two developed feelings for each other, but neither of them confessed their feelings.

Before leaving, he told the blind girl that he would come back.

In fact, given Nie Song's personality, if he took a fancy to someone, he would just take her away.

But Nie Song did not do that.

Because, after spending three months with this mother and daughter, he knew they were kind-hearted people and didn't want them to get involved in his life.

Nie Song also planned to return to his small mountain village and live a peaceful life after dealing with the Hyena Mercenary Group.

But accidents often happen earlier than tomorrow.

When Nie Song went to visit the mother and daughter, he discovered that they had been murdered by two other families working together.

The reason was that the owners of the other two households, after drinking, attempted to rape the blind woman.

The blind girl resisted, but was killed by the two families working together.

When Nie Song arrived, he happened to witness this scene.

Enraged, Nie Song slaughtered both families.

Before she died, the blind girl held Nie Song's face in her hands and told him not to cry.

Just as Nie Song was overwhelmed with grief, the blind girl's mother climbed off the bed and handed him a package.

Besides the spear-holding technique, there was also a letter.

The letter contained the method to revive the blind girl.

Then, the blind girl's mother also passed away.

"So, you mean the village woman told you about the twin soul puppets in Red Spring Lake?"

Fang Xuan was somewhat surprised after hearing the story.

"good."

Nie Song wiped his eyes and said, "Twin Soul Puppets can be refined into Yin-Yang Soul Pearls, which have the effect of nourishing the soul. As long as other conditions are met, the soul can be revived."

As he spoke, Nie Song glanced at the Yin-Yang Soul Bead in Li Tianjiao's hand more than once.

"Brother Fang Xuan..."

At this moment, Li Tianjiao's eyes were also slightly red.

Clearly, they were moved by Nie Song's story.

Fang Xuan knew what she meant.

"Since I've given this to you, it's yours."

Fang Xuan smiled slightly: "You can decide how you want to handle it."

"Thank you, Brother Fang Xuan."

Li Tianjiao smiled sweetly and threw the Yin-Yang Soul Pearl directly to Nie Song.

"Here, this is for you."

Nie Song subconsciously caught the bead and looked at Li Tianjiao with a surprised expression.

"No need for thanks."

Li Tianjiao pursed his lips and said, "As long as you keep your word and tell Brother Fang Xuan the clues about the secret realm, that's fine."

"I......"

Nie Song's lips moved, unable to control himself for a moment.

His original plan was to use the clues from the secret realm to exchange for the Yin-Yang Soul Pearl.

But before he could even speak, Li Tianjiao actually gave him the Yin-Yang Soul Pearl.

This left Nie Song speechless for a moment.

"I will never thank you enough; I will remember this kindness!"

Nie Song stood up and bowed respectfully to Fang Xuan and the other person.

Neither of them avoided it; they accepted it readily.

"Now, shall we talk about the clues to the secret realm?"

Hearing Fang Xuan's words, Nie Song took a deep breath and said, "Let's go, I'll take you there."

With that, Nie Song walked towards the door.

Fang Xuan and the other man exchanged a glance and quickly got up to follow.

......

Three days later.

Fang Xuan and his two companions arrived at the waist of an unnamed mountain.

There are only three houses here.

There are two small graves at the entrance.

"Ping'er, I've come to see you."

Nie Song knelt down in front of a grave and gently stroked the wooden tombstone.

Fang Xuan and his companion stood at a distance, watching this scene unfold.

"I didn't expect you to actually be willing to give him the Yin-Yang Soul Pearl."

Fang Xuan spoke slowly.

"I thought Brother Fang Xuan would be angry with me."

Li Tianjiao said, "After all, that was the first gift you ever gave me."

Upon hearing this, Fang Xuan appeared slightly embarrassed.

Soon, Li Tianjiao smiled and said, "Of course, compared to a Yin-Yang Soul Pearl, the allure of a secret realm is much greater."

Fang Xuan nodded in deep agreement.

The Yin-Yang Soul Bead can indeed nourish the soul, but it needs to be worn on the body for many years to be effective.

However, a secret realm holds extraordinary significance for both an individual and a faction.

Take, for example, the Mysterious Realm.

Fang Xuan estimated that a Mysterious Realm could allow the Fang family to cultivate another Divine Intent Realm cultivator.

As for experts at the Condensation Realm, that goes without saying.

At this moment, Nie Song walked over carrying a jar.

The jar was still covered in dirt.

It was clearly dug out of the grave by Nie Song.

Fang Xuan guessed that the jar contained the soul of the blind woman.

Nie Song had already placed the Yin-Yang Soul Pearl inside to nurture the Blind Goddess's soul.

"This contains clues about that secret realm."

Nie Song handed Fang Xuan a map and said, "But this is only a fragment. To find the secret realm, you need to collect the other two fragments."

Fang Xuan raised an eyebrow as he took the map.

The map is made of animal hide and feels cold to the touch.

There is indeed a map depicted on it, but it is incomplete.

It is undoubtedly a fragment of a painting.

However, Fang Xuan's gaze fell on the corner of the incomplete map.

There, in seal script, are four small characters: Azure Lotus Secret Realm.

"The Azure Lotus Secret Realm?"

Fang Xuan frowned slightly, put away the incomplete map, and said, "In that case, we'll take our leave."

"etc."

Nie Song stopped Fang Xuan and said, "Young Brother Fang, I'd like to offer a friendly reminder: be careful of the Ming family."

Fang Xuan nodded slightly, waved to Nie Song, and turned to leave.

Nie Song, who was holding the jar, watched the two leave and hugged the jar tightly in his arms.

"Ping'er, don't worry."

Nie Song gently stroked the jar: "Even if it takes me to the heavens or the seas, I will bring you back to life!"