108: Chapter 107 Great Qi

The young man opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

The people behind him were also stunned, each frozen in place, unable to believe this was real.

It was the young boy who reacted quickly, tugging at the young man's sleeve and shaking it: "Brother! Hurry up and agree!"

The young man took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Yun Ming: "Thank you for saving our lives, Senior! We... we want to go to..."

He mentioned several place names, all of which were cities around Da Qian. However, Yun Ming only shook his head after hearing them—most of those places had already fallen.

The young man's eyes dimmed.

"Senior," he asked cautiously, "it's enough just to take us out of Da Qian. As for where to go... we'll find a way ourselves."

Yun Ming nodded: "Come up."

With a wave of his hand, the dozen or so people were lifted by a gentle force and landed softly on the flying boat.

Furthermore, Yun Ming gave each person a spring return pill; even those with heavy injuries could have their lives preserved.

Afterward, he took a look around Qingzhou City, and after confirming that no one else had survived, Yun Ming sighed in his heart. He knew that his next step could only be to go to the Qingxuan Sect or the Danding Sect to inquire for news.

If there was still no news from these two Sects, then it could basically be confirmed.

Half an hour later, the flying boat carried the dozen or so people away from the ruins of Qingzhou City.

Soon,

They arrived within the borders of Great Qi, where the situation was much better than in Da Qian.

Yun Ming steered the flying boat, looking down from a high altitude; what met his eyes was a scene completely different from when he came.

The mountains and rivers were still lush and green, the rivers still meandered, farmers could be faintly seen working in the fields, and curls of cooking smoke rose from the villages, not at all filled with Death Qi like Da Qian.

It seemed that after the two Old Ancestors from the Qingxuan Sect and the Danding Sect took action to purge the area and promptly sealed the border, they had indeed blocked the corpse ghouls within the territory of Da Qian.

Except for the area near the border, the heartland of Great Qi was almost unaffected.

After flying for about two hours, a city appeared ahead.

The city was not large, with walls made of ordinary blue bricks. There were guards at the city gate conducting inspections, and a continuous stream of people was entering and leaving. Yun Ming lowered the clouds, landed not far outside the city, and stowed away the flying boat.

The hatch opened, and the dozen or so people filed out. Standing on unfamiliar land, they all looked around, their eyes filled with both curiosity and bewilderment.

"Senior," the young man walked up to Yun Ming and bowed deeply, "your grace in saving our lives will never be forgotten. We... we shall take our leave here."

Yun Ming nodded and said nothing.

The others also came forward one after another to pay their respects and speak words of gratitude. Yun Ming accepted them all, waved his hand, and signaled that they could leave.

The crowd gradually dispersed, each heading toward the city gate.

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps came from behind.

Yun Ming turned his head and saw that the fifteen or sixteen-year-old boy had run back at some point and knelt before him with a thud.

"Senior!" The boy looked up, his eyes full of eagerness, "Senior, please take me as your disciple!"

Yun Ming's eyebrows rose slightly.

He glanced at the boy's Aptitude—his Spiritual Root was neither good nor bad, just an ordinary triple Spiritual Root. In a large Sect, he would be just another face in the crowd, but in a small Sect, he could manage to make a living.

But he had no intention of taking a disciple.

"Get up," Yun Ming said indifferently. "I do not take disciples."

The boy's face stiffened, but he refused to get up, shuffling forward two steps on his knees: "Senior, it's fine if you don't take me as a disciple! Just let me stay by your side and serve you! I can serve tea, pour water, run errands, and deliver messages—I can do anything!"

Yun Ming shook his head: "No need."

The boy opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but was grabbed by the young man who had caught up.

"That's enough!" the young man scolded in a low voice, "Don't cause trouble for Senior!"

The boy was dragged away, looking back as he went, his eyes full of disappointment. Even after walking a long distance, he still turned back to take one last look.

Yun Ming watched them disappear into the city gate, then he also turned and walked toward the city.

After entering the city, he found a random teahouse, sat down, ordered a pot of tea, and asked the shopkeeper about the location of the Qingxuan Sect.

The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man in his forties. Upon hearing him ask about the Qingxuan Sect, he immediately perked up: "Is the guest going to the Qingxuan Sect? That's quite far! Keep heading north, cross three mountains, traverse two rivers, and walk another seven or eight hundred miles, and you'll just about be there. That place isn't easy to find; you'd need an Immortal to lead the way..."

Yun Ming interrupted him: "Thank you."

He left the tea money and got up to leave.

Leaving the city, he activated taiqing wanderer and headed all the way north.

Qingxuan Sect.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged in a Quiet Room, his state of mind as clear as water.

His Late Golden Core Stage cultivation base flowed slowly within his body, and that sharp Sword Intent became increasingly pure. His whole being was like a sheathed sharp sword, its edge restrained, yet ready to be drawn and strike at any moment.

He opened his eyes and let out a soft breath.

In his mind, Old Xuan's voice rang out: "Not bad, a solid Foundation and pure Sword Intent. This old man didn't misjudge you back then."

Ye Chen smiled slightly: "It is all thanks to Old Xuan's excellent guidance."

"Stop flattering me," Old Xuan snorted, though his tone carried a hint of gratification. "But don't get ahead of yourself, kid. Golden Core is only the beginning; Nascent Soul is the true watershed. You should set your sights on forming a Nascent Soul now."

Ye Chen's expression became serious: "Old Xuan, regarding the nascent soul formation pill..."

Old Xuan fell silent for a moment: "It's difficult."

He paused and continued, "Although the Qingxuan Sect is a large Sect, a Medicinal Pill of the nascent soul formation pill's caliber isn't something that can be brought out casually. Even if they have it, it wouldn't be your turn—after all, you are a latecomer and don't have much of a sense of belonging to the Sect yet. Those Golden Core Elders who have Cultivated in the Qingxuan Sect for decades are all lining up and waiting."

Ye Chen did not speak.

He knew what Old Xuan said was the truth.

When Da Qian suffered its calamity and the Sunset Glow Sect's Nascent Soul perished, he had relied on Old Xuan's help to escape that purgatory. It happened that the Qingxuan Sect and the Danding Sect were carving up the Sunset Glow Sect, so he joined the Qingxuan Sect as a matter of course. Over these years, with his extraordinary talent, his cultivation base had advanced by leaps and bounds. He had also ventured deep into Da Qian multiple times to train and slay demons, managing to break through to the Late Golden Core Stage in just seven or eight short years, becoming the youngest Golden Core Elder of the Qingxuan Sect.

But being the youngest was one thing; seniority was something no Sect could avoid.

"So," Old Xuan's tone shifted, "you need to go out and gain experience."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow: "Gain experience?"

"Yes," Old Xuan said. "If you wait in the Sect, who knows how long it will be before it's your turn. It's better to go out and explore; you might just run into an Opportunity. Wasn't the five elements gold-condensing jade liquid we used to form the Golden Core found in a Secret Realm?"

Ye Chen thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."

He stood up and went to pay his respects to the Old Ancestor.

The Nascent Soul Old Ancestor of the Qingxuan Sect didn't stop him after hearing his intent. Instead, he looked at him with quite a bit of approval: "Going out to gain experience is a good thing. Your talent is excellent; being stuck in the Sect would only delay you. Go, just be careful."

Ye Chen bowed and took his leave.

After leaving the Old Ancestor's Immortal Cave, he didn't head straight out of the mountain gate, but instead turned toward a cluster of residences on the mountainside.

That was the place the Qingxuan Sect had allocated for him to settle those two people.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, a delicate young girl was Cultivating in the yard. Hearing footsteps, she looked up, a brilliant smile blooming on her face: "Big Brother Ye!"

Ye Chen nodded, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth.

Seven or eight years had passed, and the thin, weak little girl from back then had grown into a graceful young woman. She had Cultivated the Supreme Profound Pure Qi Art and the Cold Spring Jade Quenching Record left by Yun Ming, giving her an ethereal temperament and skin like jade, with eyes as clear as a spring. Her cultivation base had also reached the Late Qi Refining Stage—given her Spiritual Root Aptitude, being able to reach this step in seven or eight years was already quite good.