The Hehuan Sect cultivates alchemy; my senior sister helps me refine alchemy throughout the world.

As dawn broke, Shen Yifei checked out of the room. The fat innkeeper, still indifferent, dozed off at the counter, drooling all over it.

Shen Yifei walked to the ferry and bought a ticket to Qingmu City.

The flying boat wasn't large, a size smaller than the one he'd taken on his return from the Qingyun Sect. There were seven or eight people on board, some cultivators, some ordinary people. The ordinary people carried loads of medicinal herbs and animal hides, seemingly heading to Qingmu City to do business.

Shen Yifei found a seat by the window and closed his eyes. The golden core in his dantian was held together by the threads of love, which lessened the pain considerably, but it still throbbed faintly. He dared not circulate his spiritual energy, for fear of breaking the threads of love.

The Demon of Love told him that he would be able to circulate his spiritual energy in two days, but this would only be a temporary solution. At most, the Threads of Love would prevent his Golden Core from shattering, but it would be absolutely impossible for him to improve his cultivation level further.

The airship took off, and the clouds outside the window were a vast expanse of white. Shen Yifei leaned back in his seat, half asleep and half awake.

"Young Master," the voice of the Demon of Love echoed in his mind, "I just examined your love affairs and discovered something interesting."

"Didn't I tell you not to pry into my memories?"

"I didn't search through your memories, I only searched through the threads of affection. The threads of affection are the traces of affection, not memories. Every woman you have ever been in love with is recorded in these threads of affection. This doesn't count as searching through memories."

Shen Yifei was too lazy to argue with her: "What did you find out?"

"The young master's feelings for that woman named Luo Qinghe have nine main threads and thirty-two secondary threads. The main threads represent love, and the secondary threads represent desire. Love is less than desire. The young master's feelings for that woman named Su Wuwang have only two main threads, but sixty-seven secondary threads. The young master's feelings for her are basically only desire, not love."

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"What I want to say is that the deepest and longest thread of love in your heart, young master, does not belong to Luo Qinghe, nor to Su Wuwang, nor to Sun Yiran. It belongs to a woman I have never met."

Shen Yifei was taken aback: "What kind of woman?"

"I don't know. This thread of affection is very special. It's not connected to a specific person, but rather floats in the deepest part of your heart, like a kite with a broken string. You have feelings for this person, but that person is vague in your memory. There's only one possibility for this."

"What's possible?"

"You saw this person when you were very young, before you even remembered anything. A feeling was planted in your heart, but the memory didn't remain."

Shen Yifei fell silent; he couldn't remember anything from his childhood.

Since entering the Hehuan Sect, he only remembers the events from the first day he entered the sect until now. As for the past, he has no recollection of where he came from or who his parents were.

He didn't know why, but he rarely thought about these things, as if something was preventing him from thinking about them or recalling them.

Thinking of this, Shen Yifei's head suddenly started to ache, like being pricked by needles!

He covered his head, forcing himself not to think about it, and gradually he felt better.

The airship glided through the clouds, the light outside the window flickering. He stared out the window for a long while before finally speaking, "What color is that thread of love?"

"Blood red." The Demon of Love's voice became very soft. "The same color as the Blood Soul Cult Leader's love threads, but much darker, almost black."

Shen Yifei didn't dare to ask any further questions. They remained silent for two days, and the flying boat landed outside Qingmu City.

Qingmu City is the last human city on the outskirts of the Ten Thousand Mountains. The city walls are built of dark blue-green stones, and there is a long queue at the city gate, filled with rogue cultivators who have come into the mountains to gather herbs and hunt demons.

Shen Yifei was in line. In front of him was a burly man carrying a ghost-head broadsword. He was at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, shirtless, and had a tiger tattooed on his back.

The burly man turned around and glanced at Shen Yifei, his gaze lingering on the Listening Tide Sword at his waist.

"Young man, are you going into the mountains alone?"

"Yes."

"Late stage of Golden Core?" The burly man looked him up and down. "Your cultivation isn't low, but your body looks very weak. Entering the Hundred Thousand Mountains isn't just about having high cultivation. The demons there specifically target cultivators with delicate skin like you, skinning them and turning them into puppets to sell on the black market."

Shen Yifei did not respond.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the burly man chuckled twice and turned back.

The line moved forward slowly. When it was Shen Yifei's turn, the city gate guard glanced at his sect token and frowned.

"From the Hehuan Sect?"

"Yes."

The guard's gaze swept over his face, a knowing smile playing on his lips. He tossed the token back and waved his hand dismissively. "Go in. Disciples of the Joyful Union Sect, behave yourselves in the city. Greenwood City isn't a place like your sect; don't go around flirting with women."

Shen Yifei took the token and entered the city.

Qingmu City was more bustling than any city he had ever seen before. The streets were crowded with independent cultivators setting up stalls, displaying all sorts of medicinal herbs, animal bones, demon cores, and strange and unusual things dug out from the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

The air was filled with a mixed smell, a mixture of the bitterness of herbs, the stench of animal blood, and the smoky aroma of roasted meat.

Shen Yifei walked around the street and found a herbal medicine shop.

The shop was small, and behind the counter sat an old man with white hair and beard, as thin as a dried-up piece of meat. The old man was examining a piece of animal bone from all angles, muttering to himself.

Shen Yifei called out softly, "Shopkeeper."

The old man raised his head, his cloudy eyes darting around before settling on Shen Yifei: "Buying medicine or selling medicine?"

"I have something to ask you. Have you ever heard of the Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus?"

The old man's eyes suddenly cleared. He put down the animal bones, leaned forward, and lowered his voice, "Why are you asking this?"

"I'll use it for alchemy."

"For alchemy?" The old man chuckled, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "The Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus is deep within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the territory of the Nine-Tailed Fox Demon. You, a mere Golden Core cultivator, asking about this? Are you tired of living?"

Shen Yifei took out a mid-grade spirit stone from his storage ring and placed it on the counter.

The old man glanced at the spirit stones but didn't take them. He then looked Shen Yifei up and down, his gaze lingering on his face before moving to the Listening Tide Sword at his waist.

"A high-grade spiritual artifact." The old man nodded. "You have some wealth. Alright, let me tell you about it."

"The Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus blooms only once every three hundred years, and its flowering period lasts only for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Counting the days, it'll be within the next seven or eight days. The Hundred Thousand Mountains are in complete chaos right now, with all sorts of demons rushing towards the Cold Pool. Some want to steal the Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus, others want to take advantage of the chaos. These people, heh heh, they really aren't afraid of death!"

The old man took another sip of tea: "The nine-tailed fox demon is a demon king at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage; no one in the Hundred Thousand Mountains is her match. But this time is different. She has guarded the Nine Heavens Mystic Lotus for three hundred years, waiting for this bloom to save her man. The blooming period is only the time it takes for an incense stick to burn; she must pluck the petals the moment the flower opens. At that time, all her attention will be on the lotus, and she won't have time to care about anything else. So those demons and rogue cultivators all have this idea. They will ambush her while she is picking the flower, steal the lotus, and run away."

"Who exactly is her man?"

"Who knows?" The old man shook his head. "Three hundred years ago, a nine-tailed fox demon suddenly appeared in the Hundred Thousand Mountains, killed the original demon king, and took over the Cold Pool. Since then, she has guarded the Cold Pool, never leaving its side. Some say her man was a righteous cultivator she sealed at the bottom of the Cold Pool, while others say he was just a dead man, and she simply refused to accept reality. There are many versions of the story; who knows which one is true?"

Shen Yifei then took out another mid-grade spirit stone and placed it on the counter.

What's the fastest way to get from Qingmu City to Hantan?