On the Way

One day later.

Cheng Buzheng was traveling six zhang beneath the ground, extending his Divine Sense to check his direction,

when suddenly—

he spotted three people in the distance. Two were talking, while another lay on the ground.

At first, he planned to skirt around this trouble, but then he caught sight of a familiar figure and immediately stopped.

A slender, beautiful female cultivator in white was speaking with a burly man in a black outfit.

The familiar figure lying on the ground was Senior Brother Huang—the same Senior Brother Huang who had given him a Bigu Pill.

At that moment, Senior Brother Huang lay motionless, his life or death unknown.

Cheng Buzheng sensed that both people were Qi Refining Mid-stage cultivators. With his own strength at Qi Refining Level 2, he stood no chance against them. Walking right into their hands would only add another wronged soul to the world.

"Qi Refining Mid-stage cultivators can sense things within about six zhang in every direction, and three zhang underground.

"I'm hiding seven zhang away and four zhang below the ground. As long as they don't deliberately search, they won't notice me at all!

"Besides, if anything goes wrong, I can make a run for it. Earth Escape Technique is easy to learn but hard to master. Most cultivators are still beginners, and only a handful of Qi Refining Stage cultivators have trained it to a minor level.

"Though I can't stand against them right now, I can at least check on Senior Brother Huang, as long as I stay safe."

Cheng Buzheng immediately got moving. A Yellow Spirit Light glimmered six zhang below the ground, sneaking diagonally upward.

A short while later.

He reached a spot seven zhang away and four zhang underground without making a sound. He watched the two closely, ready to flee at any moment.

Only after drawing closer did Cheng Buzheng see that Senior Brother Huang was already dead. A needle-thin hidden weapon had pierced his brow, killing him.

He had expected as much, but the sight still pained him. He and Senior Brother Huang had hardly been close; all the man had done was give him a Bigu Pill. Yet Cheng Buzheng had kept that small kindness in his heart.

"If I get the chance someday... I won't mind killing those two while I'm at it.

"But for now, I should keep building my strength!"

Only then did Cheng Buzheng notice just how stunning the woman in white was. A veil of white gauze draped over her, leaving her lovely figure half-hidden, half-revealed.

"This isn't a secluded spot. Hurry and clean up the scene before someone comes!" the veiled woman said in a sweet voice.

The burly man in black glanced at the beautiful woman, his throat bobbing. "Right, right. Let's find somewhere more secluded!"

As he spoke, a fireball shot from his fingertip and struck Senior Brother Huang's corpse. In the blink of an eye, only a pile of ashes remained.

He went on,

"Darling, your charm really is something! I hadn't even had a chance to act, and you'd already sent that fool's soul straight to the underworld!"

At his words, the veiled woman seemed to recall something and snapped, embarrassed and angry,

"I asked you why you hit me so hard when you pretended to run away at the start!

"Were you planning to find yourself someone new? Have you started thinking your old lady's past her prime... is that it?

"And... I want an extra share of the spoils this time!"

The burly man smiled ingratiatingly.

"Darling, you're a flower in my heart that will never fade.

"How could I ever think you were past your prime? Besides, wasn't that just an act?

"I was only putting on a fierce show. You're overthinking it, darling!

"But the rules can't be broken!"

Yet when he spoke of dividing the spoils, his tone turned firm.

By now, Cheng Buzheng had a pretty good idea how Senior Brother Huang had died.

There were all kinds of methods in the cultivation world. He would have to be more careful from now on.

"Darling, let's find somewhere secluded and see what we got," the burly man said, his voice suddenly tender.

"Mm... let's go," the beautiful woman replied, somewhat reluctant.

Hearing them, Cheng Buzheng couldn't help thinking that the two were master actors.

The burly man was clearly the one in charge. He could turn stern when he needed to, then switch to tenderness in the blink of an eye.

The beautiful female cultivator was no less impressive, using her natural advantages at every opportunity to tip the balance in her favor.

In the blink of an eye, Cheng Buzheng watched the two ride their Magic Tools into the sky and vanish.

At last, having gone unnoticed, he let out a breath of relief.

Still, he felt a little frustrated. At his current speed, there was no way he could track those two wicked cultivators.

He had originally planned to follow them from a distance and see whether they would turn on each other.

Who could have guessed they would fly off on their Magic Tools? His first chance to play the oriole waiting behind the mantis had slipped away.

Watching the two streaks of Spirit Light speed into the distance, he saw his dream of picking up the leftovers crumble.

Plans and reality never quite matched.

A flash of Yellow Spirit Light, and Cheng Buzheng appeared before the pile of ashes.

He sent a strand of magic power from his fingertip to gather the ashes, then went to the nearby rubble and chose a suitable block of bluestone.

A strand of magic power shot from his fingertip, carving into the stone like a laser as chips scattered down.

Before long,

a square stone casket was ready.

Retracing his steps, Cheng Buzheng swept his sleeve, and every last bit of ash went into the casket.

After walking and stopping along the way, he came to a place of clear streams and lovely scenery. He climbed to the highest peak and stood at its summit, surveying the land's feng shui.

The ridges ahead rose and fell in an unbroken chain. Most importantly, this peak resembled a dragon's head: the Green Dragon Sucking Water feng shui formation. Behind it, a cliff formed the shape of a White Tiger, as if it were about to pounce forward.

It should have been a Dragon Fighting Tiger formation, but a narrow stream below the mountain had somehow transformed it into a place where the dragon coiled and the tiger crouched. This feng shui formation promised great fortune and blessings for generations to come.

This was one of the things he had learned in the Scripture Library. Feng shui existed in both his past and present lives, so he had studied it. After all, it wasn't difficult for a cultivator, only a matter of spending a little extra time.

In no time, he found the Auspicious Burial Site: directly beneath the narrow stream.

Yellow light flashed over Cheng Buzheng, and he sank into the earth. A streak of yellow light burrowed ever deeper, traveling a full twenty zhang before reaching the Auspicious Burial Site.

After burying Senior Brother Huang, he sat quietly for a while.

Then he drifted away, heading toward the Spirit Stone Mine.

He traveled continuously for a month before reaching his destination.

That was because his cultivation was low. A Qi Refining Mid-stage cultivator could fly on a Magic Tool and get there in less than ten days; the higher one's cultivation, the shorter the journey.

The White Cloud Sect's Spirit Stone Mine lay in the southwestern part of the Tianhua Mountain Range. Its entrance was formed by two mountains.

A passage between the two mountains led to a valley basin at the center.

The valley was filled with wooden huts and lofts where the White Cloud Sect's cultivators stationed there and the miners could rest.

At the far end of the valley stood the entrance to the Spirit Stone Mine Cave.

Suddenly—

not far from the entrance to the Spirit Stone Mine, a streak of Yellow Spirit Light burst out of the ground.

Cheng Buzheng gazed at the two towering mountains in the distance. A barrier of spiritual power blocked the passage between them.

He knew it was a formation set up by the sect, to keep wicked cultivators from taking advantage of any trouble.

Though no wicked cultivator had ever dared to come here and cause trouble, precautions were still necessary.

After all, they couldn't count on wicked cultivators to keep ignoring the place forever.

This was the White Cloud Sect's source of Spirit Stones. One could imagine just how important it was to the sect.