New Identity

"Ning Yao!"

"Sister Ning!"

The crowd let out cries of surprise.

Since entering the Cenji Mountains, the party led by Su Yuntian and He Rong had yet to encounter any survivors from other families. Seeing "Ning Yao" appear, they were overjoyed.

He Rong was particularly pleased.

He knew his nephew, He Ziren, was infatuated with the young lady of the Ning Family. Seeing "Ning Yao" emerge, he assumed He Ziren must be nearby.

Luo Hongyan, looking heroic and spirited, had her silk robes stained with grass clippings and debris. She arrived travel-worn, her bright eyes scanning the surroundings.

After a brief search failed to reveal the person she was looking for, she asked with a cold expression, "Where is Pang Jian?"

"Who is Pang Jian?"

Su Yuntian asked, puzzled.

"The youth who came out of this Crescent Moon Lake carrying a bamboo basket and a spear."

Luo Hongyan, who had been frowning and looking around for some time, was filled with impatience; she did not want to waste a single moment.

Secretly, she instructed the Grey Eagle that had led her here to search the area.

"Oh, you mean that kid!"

Su Yuntian realized, smiling as he pointed in a certain direction. "He went that way; he left a while ago."

"Whoosh!"

The dark grey eagle that had been circling Crescent Moon Lake suddenly took to the high sky from who knows where, heading in the direction Su Yuntian had indicated.

"Sister Ning, why are you all alone?"

Su Meng's round face was full of smiles as she took the initiative to step forward and ask.

Luo Hongyan looked at her with confusion, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Oh, Su Meng, long time no see."

Su Meng said with a grin, "It has been a long time. I thought you had almost forgotten me."

She spun around in place and stood on her tiptoes to make herself look a little taller. "When we last met, I was still a child. Now, I've grown this tall."

Luo Hongyan did not pay her much mind. After a perfunctory remark, she prepared to take her leave.

"Girl Ning, where is Ziren?"

He Rong frowned, looking left and right. Not seeing He Ziren appear, he asked anxiously, "Ziren went to the Ning Family because of you. From the news I received, he should have been with you from start to finish. Now that you have reached these mountains, it is impossible for Ziren not to have entered!"

Su Yuntian and the others were also surprised.

"Ning Yao" had appeared alone, acting in a way that suggested she was desperately searching for Pang Jian, which left them unable to make sense of the situation.

Luo Hongyan, stared at by their suspicious gazes, narrowed her eyes and lowered her head to consult with the true owner of this body. Only then did she say gloomily, "Ziren, Uncle Yuanshan, and the others from the Ning Family who entered with me—including many from the Zhou Family—all died at the hands of the Dark Ghost, Hong Tai."

"The Dark Ghost?!"

The faces of the Su and He families changed drastically.

"Right at the Blackwater Pool on the other side of the mountain. Except for me, Zhou Qingchen, and Han Duping, no one else escaped the Dark Ghost's slaughter."

Luo Hongyan sighed mournfully. While using the "Spirit Sha" within the Grey Eagle to search for Pang Jian's whereabouts, she feigned a heartbroken expression and said, "The youth named Pang Jian is a guide I hired from the outside, and he is one of the survivors."

She looked at Su Meng and asked, "By the way, did you see a giant python emerge from Crescent Moon Lake with him?"

Su Meng was still in shock, thinking of the Dark Ghost's atrocities. Hearing this, she answered honestly, "He came up, roasted a few fish, talked to us for a while, and then parted ways with us."

Upon hearing that the "Dark Giant Python" was not with him, Luo Hongyan breathed a sigh of relief and said calmly, "That's good. That Black-White King Python is the mount of the Dark Ghost Hong Tai. The fact that it didn't chase him here means he managed to shake it off."

"That kid hid quite a few things from us!"

Su Yuntian said, annoyed.

When Pang Jian chatted with them, he hadn't mentioned being attacked by the Dark Ghost, nor had he mentioned having contact with the Ning or Zhou families, which left Su Yuntian deeply dissatisfied.

"The other side of the mountain is nothing but piles of bones, and there may still be the Dark Ghost's men active there. There is no need to go over and explore."

Luo Hongyan explained the dangers on the other side. Without waiting for the Grey Eagle to find traces of Pang Jian, she said, "I have matters to discuss with Pang Jian, so I will be taking my leave."

"Girl Ning, why don't we travel together? It is far too dangerous for you to be alone!"

Su Yuntian said hurriedly.

He Rong, who had lost his nephew, had been silent for a long time. Seeing her about to leave, he suddenly reacted, "We should travel together!"

Luo Hongyan, who was about to depart, looked back at these people. After a moment of hesitation, she reluctantly agreed, "Fine."

In the forest where branches and leaves blotted out the sky.

Having parted ways with the Su and He families, Pang Jian felt the exhilaration of a bird taking to the vast sky. He galloped through the forest, weaving between the gaps of ancient, lush trees.

At times, he would stomp the ground and leap upward like a sharp sword, soaring into mid-air before crashing back down.

At other times, he would nimbly hang from branches, using the momentum to swing toward the boughs of another ancient tree, moving through the jungle like an ape.

The spear in his hand was brandished with fierce, tiger-like power.

With a casual thrust, he could pierce through a tree trunk that would normally require several men to encircle.

A faint smile played on his lips, and his slightly narrowed eyes, thin as blade edges, flashed with a piercing, intimidating light.

Following the second round of tempering by the Phoenix Marrow, his entire skeletal structure had been refined. Now, it was not just his arms and sternum; even his legs below the waist and his very toes were imbued with a savage, overwhelming strength.

With a powerful leap, he could soar nearly ten meters through the forest, landing heavily without a hint of pain or numbness in his soles.

The sensation of surging power throughout his body stirred an impulse to find someone and engage in a hearty, unbridled battle.

"It was the two harvests of Phoenix Marrow that transformed my physique, leading to such a metamorphosis. If I am not mistaken, there is one drop of the most miraculous Phoenix Marrow that has yet to reveal its wonders within the bronze plate."

Taking another look at the Bronze Gate Pendant hanging against his chest, Pang Jian found the object increasingly mysterious.

Half an hour later.

Feeling slightly fatigued, Pang Jian hunted a roe deer, processed it simply, and roasted it over a fire. Before long, the aroma of the meat wafted through the air.

As he ate the firm meat, Pang Jian realized that since waking up in the gloomy stone passage, his appetite had increased significantly, and he had developed an intense craving for meat.

He devoured the several-dozen-pound roe deer in no time. Looking at the pile of bones on the ground, he suddenly heard the familiar cry of an eagle.

He looked up and, sure enough, saw a dark gray eagle reappearing in mid-air.

"Why does it keep staring at me?"

Pang Jian frowned in confusion.

Back at Crescent Moon Lake, this eagle had circled him, observing him from multiple angles, and had only left reluctantly after a long while.

After he parted ways with Su Yuntian, He Rong, and the others, this eagle had sought him out again. He wondered what it wanted.

Pang Jian suddenly felt that this eagle's target was indeed him, not the people from the Su or He families.

Being tracked by such an eagle made Pang Jian feel uneasy. He glanced at the Dragon-Patterned Spear, recalling the immense strength that had surged through his arms earlier, and a cold, frigid light flashed in his eyes.

He snatched up the Dragon-Patterned Spear, shouldered his bamboo basket once more, and resumed his nimble movements through the mountain forest.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a strange sensation that he was the king of the Cenji Mountains jungle.

Every blade of grass, every tree, every bird, beast, insect, and sparrow in the mountains was his private property within his jurisdiction.

"Not a bad feeling."

He muttered to himself, vanishing into the dense foliage of an ancient tree.

This time, he did not burst out from the leaves; instead, he hid himself cautiously.

Through the gaps in the leaves, he gazed at the dim sky, patiently waiting with focused concentration.

A moment later, the dark gray eagle circling in the sky, having not seen him reappear for a long time, could not resist lowering its altitude to investigate at close range.

Once Pang Jian sensed that the eagle had entered his effective range, the Dragon-Patterned Spear was hurled out like a bolt of dark lightning.

"Puchi!"

The Dragon-Patterned Spear, having locked onto the eagle with precision, pierced through the annoying bird from bottom to top without the slightest error!

The Dragon-Patterned Spear carried the eagle down into the forest dozens of meters away. Having succeeded, Pang Jian charged over like a nimble leopard.

Before he reached the eagle, a "Spirit Sha" with the cultivation of the Pulse-Opening Realm drifted out from the eagle's body and vanished in the blink of an eye.

Pang Jian arrived, pulled out the Dragon-Patterned Spear, and looked down at the fallen eagle, sneering, "When I hunted in these mountains before, why didn't I see you watching me at every turn?"

There were many hawks in the Cenji Mountains, and he could not tell if this was the same one, but he had never been "specially cared for" by these hawks during his previous hunts.

After killing the eagle, Pang Jian felt much more relaxed. Not hungry for the moment, he had no intention of eating the bird.

The Cenji Mountains were vast, with all sorts of wild beasts roaming about. With his current combat strength, he could eat whatever beast he pleased, so he naturally did not care about this eagle.

He set off again, heading toward the far north of the Cenji Mountains, to another location his father had defined as a forbidden zone.

After his experience at the Blackwater Pool, he vaguely felt that several of the forbidden zones in the Cenji Mountains might have been chosen by the Phoenix Bone as landing points.

Having experienced the wonders of the Phoenix Marrow, he intended to try his luck at another forbidden zone.

In the far north, the "Ghost Mist" and the Boundary Wall, which Zhou Qingchen and the others had mentioned several times, also filled him with infinite curiosity.

The location of the "Ghost Mist" had been listed by his father as the primary forbidden zone of the Cenji Mountains, and he was forbidden from setting foot there at any time.

But now that his strength had greatly increased, having witnessed the wonders of the cultivation world and harboring a desire to climb to the peak of the upper realm, he no longer wished to abide by his father's instructions.

Another late night.

Pang Jian, exhausted for a long time, felt full and satisfied and, for the first time, did not practice the Pot-Heaven Qi Cultivation Art.

Feeling a wave of drowsiness, he found another secret stronghold.

It was a withered, massive tree with a hollow trunk, and he had even fashioned a "door" out of cracked bark.

He did not know that in this pitch-black night of the Fourth Realm, a gray, hazy "Spirit Sha" was keeping a constant watch on his movements.

Finally feeling at ease, Pang Jian fell into a deep, satisfying sleep within the tree hollow. He slept soundly and contentedly.

When he woke up, the sky had already brightened.

Pushing open the cracked bark door and stepping out, Pang Jian suddenly saw a familiar figure sitting under the shade of a large tree not far away.

The young girl had shed her simple, practical training gear for a silk dress, her black hair and long eyelashes glistening with crystalline dew.

In the thin mist of the early morning, she looked like a forest sprite.

Her thick eyebrows and straight nose bridge usually gave her an air of heroic spirit, but amidst the ethereal fog, a hazy, feminine softness seemed to suddenly bloom within her.

Two diametrically opposed temperaments converged upon her in that moment, elevating her beauty to an entirely new level.

Pang Jian rubbed his eyes, stared at her again, and asked in astonishment, "Ning Yao?"

"Surprised that I'm still alive?"

The woman in the thin white mist opened her eyes with a cold expression, then rose gracefully and walked over.

Dozens of meters away.

The people from the Su Family and the He Family saw her stand up, and upon noticing the suddenly appeared Pang Jian, both groups were stunned.

"I have matters to discuss with him; I ask that you all do not disturb us."

As she neared Pang Jian, Luo Hongyan stopped and turned back, casting a cold, warning glance at He Rong and the others.

Those people frowned, unable to understand why she treated them with such coldness and kept them at such a distance.

Pang Jian was taken aback, only then realizing that not only was she there, but the members of the He and Su families he had met not long ago were present as well.

"Let's go inside the tree hollow to talk."

Luo Hongyan, who had been waiting for Pang Jian to emerge, placed a fair, jade-like hand against his chest, pushing him inside first before following him into the hollow.

Watching this scene, a look of anger instantly appeared on He Rong's face.

Su Yuntian scratched his head, unable to gauge the nature of their relationship, his heart filled with confusion.

"They..."

Su Meng's mouth hung open in shock, wide enough to fit an egg.

Inside the tree hollow, Pang Jian felt somewhat awkward.

This tree hollow was one he had prepared for himself, and he had never imagined it would accommodate a second person.

When he was alone, the space inside was just right, but with an extra person, the hollow suddenly felt cramped.

Physical contact between the two became inevitable.

With every breath, Pang Jian could smell a faint fragrance emanating from her; unsure of her intentions, he chose to remain silent.

Once inside, Luo Hongyan acted with great poise, her bright eyes gleaming with an aggressive, peculiar luster.

She gazed at the tiny gap between their chests, the strange look in her eyes deepening.

"I am sorry. I offer you my sincere apologies; everything before was my fault!"

She suddenly spoke with a sincere expression, her gaze shifting from the gap between their chests to Pang Jian's face.

"When we went for the first Phoenix Bone, I shouldn't have threatened you. There is no distinction of high or low status between us; you were hired by me, and you are not a servant of the Ning Family."

"Because I am accustomed to ordering servants around and used to being in a position of superiority, my behavior was inappropriate."

As she spoke, she bowed to apologize, and the gap between her and Pang Jian ceased to exist.

She "accidentally" pressed her chest against Pang Jian's, then, as if suddenly realizing it, hurriedly straightened her posture.

Pang Jian, bewildered by her actions, took a deep breath, and the gap between their chests closed once more.

A new week begins; I would appreciate everyone's votes—any kind of vote will do. Thank you~