Cause of the Disturbance

The group split into two parties. One escorted the wounded and the four still-shaken Left Wing Guards, carrying most of the hunt, and wound its way toward the mountain exit beneath Lin Ming's unwilling yet helpless gaze.

The other party consisted of only four people and one horse—Lin Zhiyan, carrying a sword at the center; Li Bufan, leading the horse; and Nanny Wu and the newly appointed guard coach, Qin Shi, following in silence.

The atmosphere was grave and murderous. Led by Li Bufan, the four-person group moved swiftly toward the depths of the forest on the left wing. Li Bufan led the horse at the front, his gaze vigilantly sweeping the surroundings as he carefully identified the faint traces they had left behind and the general direction indicated by the four guards.

The deeper they went, the more wrong the air felt. Though the winter forest had originally been quiet, there had always been the occasional birdcall or beast track. Now, however, the surroundings were terrifyingly dead silent, as if every living creature had fled far from this region.

A great number of chaotic beast tracks began to appear across the snow-covered ground: Snow Wolves, Snow Deer, and even bears that should have been hibernating deeper within. Every trail pointed out of the mountains, as though they were all fleeing for their lives in panic.

Qin Shi crouched to inspect several sets of tracks, then said in a low voice, "Miss, these tracks are scattered and frantic. It looks as though the beasts were driven away by some immense fright. And the species are mixed together—natural enemies are fleeing side by side. That is against all reason."

Lin Zhiyan's cool voice came from horseback. "Continue forward. Stay alert."

The thread of unease in Li Bufan's heart grew stronger and stronger. He circulated his blood and vitality with all his strength, raising his five senses to their limit as he caught at every trace of abnormality carried by the wind.

After traveling several more miles, they had thoroughly entered the uninhabited Primeval Forest. The trees here were taller and thicker, their canopies blotting out the sky and sun. Even in broad daylight, the forest was deep and dim.

Suddenly, Li Bufan halted and sharply raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop. He cocked his ear to listen, his expression changing slightly. "There's movement! It's far away, but... very powerful!"

Almost the instant his words fell, the ground seemed to tremble faintly! Immediately afterward, an incomparably muffled hiss, as if rising from the depths of the earth, and another berserk, bloodthirsty roar came faintly from the deepest reaches of the distant forest!

Though they were far away and the sounds had become indistinct by the time they reached this place, the terrifying pressure and vast energy fluctuations within them made the expressions of all three except Lin Zhiyan change drastically!

"A Qi Condensation Demon Beast?!" Qin Shi cried out, his hand instantly pressing against the hilt of the blade at his waist as cold sweat seeped across his forehead. A frightening gleam also burst from Nanny Wu's cloudy old eyes, and she instinctively stepped forward, drawing closer to the horse.

Li Bufan felt as though an invisible hand had clenched his heart, choking off even his breath! The level of power contained in those sounds far surpassed his understanding of ferocious beasts. It was a pure, savage, terrifying aura carrying fluctuations of Heaven and Earth Vital Energy! Compared to the Snow Wolf he had encountered before, it was as different as clouds and mud!

Lin Zhiyan dismounted. She was still dressed in white, her face veiled with light gauze, but the eyes revealed above it were sharp as swords. She stared fixedly toward the source of the sounds, her tone somewhat grave. "They are not ordinary Demon Beasts... These Vital Energy fluctuations belong to Demon Beasts that have gone some distance into the Qi Condensation Realm, fighting each other!"

The Qi Condensation Realm? Li Bufan was utterly bewildered! He was merely in the Skin Tempering Realm. How could a newly recruited guard from a wealthy household in a small county know of the next great realm of martial cultivation, where one drew the Vital Energy of the outside world into one's body and refined the Vital Energy of Heaven and Earth?

Once a Demon Beast stepped into the Qi Condensation Realm, its strength underwent an earth-shaking transformation. It was far beyond what a Body Tempering Realm warrior could contend against! No wonder it had triggered a Beast Tide on such a scale!

"Miss, this place is dangerous! When Qi Condensation Demon Beasts fight, the area affected is extremely wide. We must withdraw immediately!" Nanny Wu said, her voice filled with gravity.

Qin Shi hurriedly echoed her. "Nanny is right! Miss, one does not sit beneath a crumbling wall when one's body is worth a thousand pieces of gold. We should retreat at once!"

Yet Lin Zhiyan did not answer immediately. She gazed into the distance for a moment. Another, even more violent boom came from there, accompanied by an enraged Demon Beast's roar. Far away, they could even see trees collapsing against the horizon and faint clouds of snow rising.

Hearing the sound, Li Bufan drew a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the tremor in his heart before asking, "Miss, what is this Qi Condensation Realm?"

Lin Zhiyan did not answer. Instead, their coach, Qin Shi, said, "I have explained the Body Tempering Realm before. Skin, flesh, tendons, bones, and blood are also known as the Five Foundation Barriers. All this tempering of the body is for the sake of drawing in Heaven and Earth Vital Energy. Once you can guide it into your body, you enter the Qi Condensation Realm..."

Though Li Bufan felt as though he were listening to clouds and fog, he roughly understood. Qi Condensation was the next step after Body Tempering. But a small fry in the Skin Tempering Realm like him was still separated from such a realm by a hundred thousand miles.

Boom! A violent collision jolted the bewildered Li Bufan awake.

Lin Zhiyan said, "Nanny Wu, Coach Qin, come with me to take a look. Li Bufan, remain here and watch the horse."

Lin Zhiyan's order was concise and decisive, leaving no room for doubt. She drifted down from the horse, light as a feather and soundless upon landing. Nanny Wu and Qin Shi immediately acknowledged the command. Their auras instantly became deep, still, and sharp, like swords drawn from their sheaths, as they guarded Lin Zhiyan on either side.

Qin Shi quickly barked at Li Bufan, "Guard the horse. Conceal your presence. No matter what you hear, do not approach without permission."

Li Bufan's heart tightened, and he nodded heavily. "Understood!" He knew very well that the beings battling in the distance were not something he could interfere with. Forcing himself to follow would not help at all; he would only become a burden.

He immediately tightened his hold on the reins and led the horse into a natural hollow formed by several enormous rocks, concealing it as thoroughly as possible. He then lowered his body, held his breath, and focused his mind, doing all he could to diminish his presence as his eyes closely followed the three rapidly departing figures.

Lin Zhiyan and the other two moved with incredible speed. Lin Zhiyan especially did not seem to be using her full strength, yet with every flicker of her form, she swept farther away. Her white robes stood out in the dim forest, yet carried a strange harmony, as though she had merged with the surroundings.

Nanny Wu and Qin Shi followed close behind. Though their movement techniques were not as graceful as Lin Zhiyan's, they were steady and swift, displaying the deep foundation of their cultivation.

In only a short while, the three figures vanished into the depths of the dense forest.

Only Li Bufan and a somewhat restless fine horse remained. The terrifying roars and hisses of Demon Beasts from several miles away did not cease. Instead, they seemed to grow fiercer. Every rumble appeared to make the earth tremble faintly, and made Li Bufan's heart tighten in turn.

He clenched his fists so hard that his nails nearly dug into his palms. His feelings were extremely complicated. On one hand, he felt awe and fear toward that unknown, powerful force. The might of Qi Condensation Demon Beasts exceeded anything he had imagined; merely hearing their roars made it difficult for him to keep himself composed. On the other hand, an irrepressible longing and curiosity began to grow within him.

Was that the realm beyond Body Tempering? The power to draw upon Heaven and Earth Vital Energy, to split mountains and shatter rocks! Compared with his current realm, where he was still tempering his skin, it was simply the difference between clouds and mud! How would Miss and the others deal with beings like that?

Time crawled by amid tension and anxiety. The sounds of battle in the distance were sometimes deafening and sometimes low and muffled, as if some cruel tug-of-war was taking place. Li Bufan's heart felt as though it were being fried in boiling oil, rising and falling in turmoil.

He strained his ears, trying to catch more information from the wind, but apart from the heart-pounding roars and rumbles, he could hear nothing else.

Suddenly, an especially shrill and miserable serpent's hiss rang out, immediately followed by a Brutal Bear's earth-shaking roar full of pain and furious rage! Even from so far away, Li Bufan felt the air around him abruptly stagnate, as if an invisible sledgehammer had smashed into his chest, sending his blood and vitality churning!

"Not good!" Li Bufan's face turned deathly pale. That disturbance was far too terrifying, vastly beyond what had come before!

He stared fixedly in that direction, his heart pounding wildly as though it might leap from his throat. How were Miss and the others?

Yet the even fiercer collision he had expected did not continue. After the Brutal Bear's violent roar, the sounds swiftly became subdued, finally turning into an unwilling whimper before falling completely silent. Only the Boa Constrictor's intermittent hissing remained, clearly laden with weakness and pain.

Was it over? Had both sides been badly wounded? Or...

Li Bufan did not dare be certain. His nerves remained taut.

About the time it took an incense stick to burn passed. Just as Li Bufan could barely restrain himself from risking an advance to investigate, faint footsteps came from the dense forest.

He immediately looked over warily and saw Lin Zhiyan, Nanny Wu, and Qin Shi slowly emerge.

Lin Zhiyan's expression had not changed, and her white robes remained as pure as snow. Nanny Wu looked somewhat pale and breathed heavily, with one sleeve torn. Qin Shi was in the most wretched condition. A trace of blood remained unwashed at the corner of his mouth, and a gash had been torn across the front of his clothes. He had clearly suffered some impact.

Yet all three had exceptionally bright eyes. Lin Zhiyan in particular seemed to have flowing radiance within her cool gaze, carrying a sharpness that saw every hair in the autumn.

Seeing the three return safely, Li Bufan immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He hurried out from his hiding place, leading the horse forward to greet them. "Miss, Nanny, Coach Qin, are you all right?"

Lin Zhiyan shook her head slightly. Her gaze fell on Li Bufan, and she seemed satisfied that he had honestly remained where he was. She said nothing more and mounted the horse directly.

Nanny Wu caught her breath and said softly, "That was close... Those two beasts actually risked their lives in the end. It nearly spread to us."

Qin Shi nodded with lingering fear, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at Lin Zhiyan with reverence. "Fortunately, Miss acted decisively and used Sword Qi to block most of the impact. Otherwise, I fear we would not have been able to retreat unscathed."

Sword Qi? Li Bufan's heart shook as he looked at Lin Zhiyan seated upon the horse. So Miss had already become this powerful?

Lin Zhiyan's cool voice sounded, cutting off their lingering fear. "The two beasts fought. One died, and one was grievously wounded. The Boa Constrictor won a miserable victory and devoured part of the Brutal Bear's essence, but its Demon Essence was also greatly depleted and its foundation damaged. It has already fled deep into its nest to lie dormant. It will not be a concern in the near future."

Her tone was calm, as though she were speaking of something insignificant, but the contents were enough to make Li Bufan's heart pound wildly. Two Qi Condensation Demon Beasts—one dead and one severely wounded? This outcome surely could not be separated from Miss and the others' appearance!

"This place is not suitable for a prolonged stay." Lin Zhiyan turned the horse around. "The root cause of the Beast Tide has been discovered. The task is complete. We return at once."

"Yes!" the three answered in unison.

Li Bufan hurriedly led the horse onward. On the way back, the atmosphere remained quiet, but the previous murderous gravity had dissipated. Qin Shi and Nanny Wu occasionally exchanged glances, as though they were still reliving that hair-raising scene.

Li Bufan silently followed behind the horse, but stormy waves churned in his heart. Everything he had seen and heard today had completely overturned his understanding, opening a door to a higher level of the martial world. Qi Condensation Realm, Demon Beasts, Vital Energy, Sword Qi... These words echoed endlessly through his mind.

For the first time, he understood with such clarity that the Five Body Tempering Gates were merely the starting point of martial cultivation! Beyond them lay a far broader and more powerful world!

An unprecedented longing and drive blazed fiercely within him. He wanted to grow stronger! Not only did he want to complete Body Tempering, he wanted to uncover the mysteries of drawing Vital Energy into his body and set foot upon the true path of martial cultivation!

And perhaps... the opportunity lay with this unfathomable young miss before him.

He raised his head, his gaze firm as he looked at Lin Zhiyan's back ahead. His hand gripping the reins tightened even further.