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

As soon as Shen Yifei said this, Zhao Qingshan's face turned even uglier.

"Someone who chops wood and starts a fire?" he sneered. "Someone who chops wood and starts a fire can withstand half of my strength? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"

The man and woman behind him took a step forward, and the aura of the three Golden Core stage cultivators pressed down on Shen Yifei like three mountains.

Liu Mengli remained hidden in the shadows, and Shen Yifei could sense her hesitation.

She definitely couldn't defeat three Golden Core cultivators, but escaping wouldn't be a problem. But if she escaped, she would be the one to die here.

Now we can only try to stall and see if there's a chance to escape.

"Senior Brother Zhao, your sect leader must have a reason for seeking me out, right? I'm just a nobody; it's not worth troubling three Golden Core cultivators."

Zhao Qingshan stared at him for a moment, then suddenly took out a portrait from his pocket and unfolded it in front of him.

Shen Yifei looked at the portrait and saw that the tall, thin man in it was the same tall man who had died in the cave in the secret realm.

He died from the trap inside the cave; it had nothing to do with me.

"Do you know this person?" Zhao Qingshan asked.

Shen Yifei shook his head: "I don't know him."

"Don't you recognize him?" Zhao Qingshan put the portrait away. "This man is called Ma Teng, an outer sect deacon of our Qingyun Sect. He was in the early Golden Core stage and never came out after entering the secret realm. Our sect leader used a secret method to investigate, and the last person he saw before he died was you."

Shen Yifei was startled. When he and Sun Yiran saw the skinny man, he was already dead beyond dead. How could he still see himself?

But you absolutely cannot admit to having seen him! That would leave no way for the dead to prove it!

"Senior Brother Zhao, there are so many people in the secret realm, how could I possibly remember who's who? Besides, what could a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator like me possibly do against a Golden Core cultivator?"

Zhao Qingshan was taken aback by his words. Indeed, there was a difference of two major realms between the mid-Foundation Establishment stage and the early Golden Core stage. Under normal circumstances, an early Golden Core stage cultivator could kill a mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivator with a single slap.

Looking at Shen Yifei's expression, he didn't think he was lying.

"The sect leader said that regardless of whether you did it or not, you have to come with us. Once we get to the Qingyun Sect, the truth will come out."

Shen Yifei sneered inwardly. Once he arrived at the Qingyun Sect, the truth would be revealed. They could easily find a pretext to detain him, and his life or death would depend entirely on their whim.

"Senior Brother Zhao, is your Qingyun Sect trying to rob us by force?"

"Rob us?" Zhao Qingshan sneered. "Junior Brother Shen, that's a harsh way of putting it. We're inviting you as a guest, not arresting you. If you cooperate, things will be easier for everyone."

What if I don't cooperate?

Zhao Qingshan's face darkened, and he took a step forward.

"Not cooperating? Then don't blame me for being impolite."

He reached out and grabbed again, this time with all his might. His five fingers, like hooks, hurtled towards Shen Yifei's neck with a sharp whistling sound.

Shen Yifei didn't dodge; instead, he threw a punch to block.

"Bang!"

Their hands collided, and Shen Yifei was jolted back three steps, his arm numb. Zhao Qingshan also took a step back, his face filled with shock.

"You..." He looked down at his palm, then looked up at Shen Yifei, "You're only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, where do you get such strength?"

Shen Yifei shook his numb arm. "Senior Brother Zhao, I've already said, I'm just a woodcutter and a fire starter. I don't have anything else, but I do have a lot of strength."

Zhao Qingshan's face turned ashen. A mid-stage Golden Core cultivator had actually been forced back after exchanging a palm strike with a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator. If this got out, he'd be finished in the Qingyun Sect.

"court death!"

He flipped his right hand, and a ball of green light condensed in his palm, which he then slapped towards Shen Yifei's chest.

Shen Yifei tried to dodge, but the ball of green light was too fast, arriving in front of him in the blink of an eye.

"Bang!"

Shen Yifei was sent flying, crashing into a tree trunk by the roadside, breaking the tree in the process. He landed on the ground, his chest throbbing with pain, and a metallic taste filling his mouth.

Looking down, he saw that his chest was covered in bruises and that at least three of his ribs were broken.

Even his Ironback Wolf hide couldn't withstand a full-force attack from a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator.

"Little guy!" Liu Mengli's voice rang in his mind, both anxious and angry, "What's wrong with you?"

Shen Yifei didn't answer, but struggled to get up and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Senior Brother Zhao, you're quite skilled." He forced a smile. "That palm strike is enough to keep me bedridden for half a year."

Zhao Qingshan's expression darkened further when he saw that the boy could still stand. He had used eighty percent of his strength in that palm strike; even a Golden Core cultivator in the early stages would be crippled. This kid, a Foundation Establishment cultivator in the middle stages, could actually still stand?

"What exactly are you?" He stared at Shen Yifei, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Shen Yifei didn't answer, his hand already touching the Cauldron of Myriad Things. If he were to throw this thing, he could take down as many as he could. But with three people opposite him, he could only hit one at most; the other two would tear him apart.

"Senior Brother Zhao," he forced a smile, blood still trickling from the corner of his mouth, "your sect leader is looking for me, I'll go with you. Why resort to violence?"

Zhao Qingshan was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting him to back down so quickly.

"You're smart to know what's good for you." Zhao Qingshan withdrew his hand and winked at the two men behind him, "Tie them up."

The man and woman stepped forward and took out a golden rope from their storage bags. Shen Yifei recognized it; it was the Immortal Binding Rope, specially designed to bind cultivators, tightening the more they struggled.

"Wait." Shen Yifei took a step back. "I'll go with you, but I won't tie you up. I, Shen Yifei, keep my word; if I say I won't run away, I won't."

Zhao Qingshan stared at him for a moment, then sneered, "What right do you, a mere Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator, have to negotiate with me?"

"Senior Brother Zhao, what you're saying isn't right." Shen Yifei wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Although my cultivation level is low, I'm doing you a favor by going with you. If you don't give me that respect, then I'll risk my life to make sure you don't get away with it."

He spoke in a manner that was neither humble nor arrogant, and Zhao Qingshan's expression changed several times upon hearing it.

The female cultivator behind him leaned closer and whispered, "Senior Brother Zhao, the sect leader said he needs him alive. This person is strange; we shouldn't push him too hard. If we kill him, we won't be able to explain ourselves."

Zhao Qingshan gritted his teeth and waved to the man and woman: "Alright, we're not tying them up anymore. Let's go!"

Shen Yifei breathed a sigh of relief and followed them outside. Liu Mengli's voice echoed in his mind: "Little guy, are you really going with them?"

"What can we do if we don't go? We can't win a fight, and we can't run away."

"I can take you running."

"You can't carry me. You're a nightmare monster, you can't fight, and you can't run away. If they find out, we'll both be finished."

Liu Mengli fell silent.

Shen Yifei followed Zhao Qingshan and the other two northwards. They hadn't gone far when Zhao Qingshan took a small flying boat from his storage bag, tossed it into the air, and the flying boat instantly enlarged before landing steadily on the ground.

"Get on," Zhao Qingshan said, pointing to the flying boat.

Shen Yifei climbed up and found a corner to sit down. Zhao Qingshan and the other two also boarded the flying boat. The female cultivator sat in front of the control panel, channeling spiritual energy into the flying boat. The flying boat trembled slightly, then slowly rose into the air, heading north.

Shen Yifei leaned against the cabin wall, his chest aching terribly. He secretly took out a healing pill and put it in his mouth, which relieved the pain in his chest somewhat.

"Little one, you're badly injured." Liu Mengli's voice was tinged with concern.

"It's okay, I just need to catch my breath." Shen Yifei closed his eyes and pretended to sleep.

The airship flew all night, and by dawn the next day, its speed had slowed down.

Shen Yifei opened his eyes and looked out the window. In the distance, there was a large mountain, shrouded in mist, and the rooftops of several palaces could be vaguely seen.

Zhao Qingshan said, "We've arrived at Qingyun Sect."