Zhou Enclosure Deer Park

Wei Gui smiled mysteriously. "Senior Sister Cao, your nose really is sharp. I'll tell you, but don't tell anyone else. Yesterday, Brother Huang played a trick on me..."

"Clearly, you were the one who tricked Senior Brother Huang first. Brother Huang was merely settling grudges with swift satisfaction!" Cao Langao could not help laughing. Then she suddenly recalled the disgusting things the two had done to prank each other and hurriedly took half a step back, dry-heaving nonstop.

"I gathered qi all night. I'm clean already." Wei Gui gave a wry smile and leaned closer. "Did you know that while I was gathering qi by the river yesterday, I ran into two kind-hearted water demons!!"

"Water demons?"

"That's right! I was gathering qi, and who knew those two water demons were bathing? They cried out, and the fright made the qi in my dantian go berserk."

Cao Langao smiled mysteriously. "Well, well, Junior Brother Wei, you actually colluded with the Demon Race. I'm going to tell Father!"

"Nothing of the sort! Those two water demons saw that I, your junior brother, was upright and proper, so they even helped straighten out my wayward alchemical qi!" Wei Gui held out his wrist and smiled proudly. Cao Langao extended her orchid-like fingers and touched his pulse, immediately crying out, "Second tier of the second realm of Qi Refining! Junior Brother Wei, you've improved far too quickly! A month ago, you were only at the sixth tier of the first realm!"

"It's all thanks to Senior Brother Liu!" Wei Gui grinned, hopping and skipping back toward the sect!

"My son cannot afford to slack off either. He must strive to catch up!" Cao Wuji laughed heartily as he walked over to his children.

The four sect masters, together with Liu Yunshen, Lei Zhaoye, Gong Liefeng, and the others, saw Qi Hong off.

"Who would have thought that after gathering for only a few days, we would have to part with you again, Senior?" Liu Yunshen sounded somewhat subdued.

Qi Hong smiled encouragingly. "Nephew Liu, your alchemical arts are no ordinary thing. Even among the core disciples of the seven great sects I have seen, none compare to you! While diligently cultivating the Martial Dao, you must not neglect this discipline. It may even bring unexpected delight!"

"Thank you for the reminder, sir!"

Qi Hong gave Liu Yunshen a mysterious smile, then cupped his hands toward everyone. "There is no need to see this old man off any farther. I can return on my own!"

"Thank you deeply for your teachings, sir! Our Four Swords Sect has no way to repay you!" Ouyang Zhenyue was the first to bow.

"Sect Master Ouyang, this month is exceedingly precious! You must stockpile spirit stones as quickly as possible—enough for at least a year's expenses. Only then will you be free of worries!"

"Thank you for your great kindness, sir!"

The four sect masters were about to kneel in a grand salute, but Qi Hong hurriedly helped them up. "Take care!"

Everyone still wished to accompany him farther, yet that slightly plump middle-aged man had already vanished without a trace!

"They say that the lesser recluse hides in the forest, while the greater recluse hides in the marketplace. Mister Qi truly is a great recluse!" Liu Yunshen's admiration surged.

Ouyang Zhenyue transmitted his voice. "Nephew Liu, this gentleman is the Master of Mei Mountain from Vast Sea Academy, one of the seven great sects of this age!"

"So it was this senior!"

"Nephew, you must keep this matter secret. Master Mei Mountain's identity cannot be exposed for now! Do not mention it to anyone else, lest disaster befall you!"

Ouyang Zhenyue carefully instructed the stunned Liu Yunshen, then transmitted his voice to the young people with a smile. "Hu Lieshan, little brother Zhao Dingjiang, what you have comprehended is the realm of 'overcoming.' You may also study the Life Realm. Perhaps it will help you advance further!"

Lei Zhaoye, Cai Yuelin, Gong Liefeng, and Ouyang Qingcang all widened their eyes and watched intently.

"Please enlighten me, Senior!" Liu Yunshen gathered the first layer of the Life Realm at his fingertips!

Ouyang Zhenyue thrust out a finger! Liu Yunshen received the finger force and staggered back several steps!

"Nephew Liu, be careful!" Ouyang Zhenyue thrust again! This finger force was ten times stronger than before!

"This is At the Tip of Green Duckweed!" Liu Yunshen was blasted back more than ten steps. His eyes reddened with excitement; he felt he had gained a deep understanding, yet also felt strangely bereft.

"The profundity of comprehending the Martial Dao is far beyond that of immortal arts! Nephew Liu, there is no need to rush. The days ahead are long!" Cai Tingyue smiled and helped him up.

Yet Liu Yunshen suddenly sensed something amiss. "Today is no special day. Why did Sect Master Ouyang demonstrate his martial arts?"

"Everyone, disperse! Go cultivate on your own!" Gong Haoyue watched the juniors leave before gathering with the others. Ouyang Zhenyue quietly told Liu Yunshen, "Nephew Liu, come with us to the secret chamber of Sword Qi Hall. I have some matters to explain!"

A short while later, the five of them were seated. Liu Yunshen's heart pounded wildly. "Senior Ouyang, you..."

Cai Tingyue sighed. "Senior Brother Ouyang intends to disguise himself and take on a mission. If it succeeds, our Four Swords Sect will obtain enough spirit stones for half a year!"

Liu Yunshen's expression grew complicated. As he lowered his head, he clenched both fists.

"Worthy brother, do not blame yourself. We old men have cowered our entire lives. It is time we fought for the younger generation!" A rare look of resolve appeared on Cai Tingyue's face.

Ouyang Zhenyue cupped his hands toward Lei Zhouyue, Cai Tingyue, and Gong Haoyue. "If I have not returned within a month, I leave the sect's affairs to you three!"

"I'll go with you!" Lei Zhouyue looked tense.

"Brother Lei, you are blunt by nature. Besides, if your alchemical arts reveal even the slightest trace, others will discover them at once!" Ouyang Zhenyue took the Mystic Elephant Essence-Condensing Art from his robes and handed it to Lei Zhouyue. The three men were all aghast. "Ouyang, what are you..."

"I only fear that something truly might go wrong. If that happens, I will leave the teaching of the sect's disciples entirely to you elder brothers!"

Lei Zhouyue accepted the weighty booklet and slowly nodded!

"Things may not be as bleak as we imagine. After all, Brother Ouyang's Qi Refining has already reached the fourth realm, and with the second layer of the Life Realm in Martial Dao, his strength can already rival an Earth Immortal! Within the Nine Provinces, so long as those great figures do not intervene, few can threaten him!"

Gong Haoyue forced a smile. Ouyang Zhenyue stroked his beard and nodded. "May your auspicious words prove true, brother."

That night, a black shadow shot out from the Four Swords Sect and raced toward Zhou Enclosure Deer Park, one of the five great secret realms of the Central Plains at the border between the Zhou Dynasty and the Han Kingdom.

Legend had it that in ancient times, the Yan Dynasty unified the world. Its national strength was immense, and it had once expanded its territory to the shores of the eastern sea. Yet as time passed, the dynasty's nobles grew extravagant and corrupt, while the common people struggled to survive.

Yan Emperor Xi, the final ruler, was skilled in both letters and arms. He worked diligently to save a towering edifice from collapse, yet his cruel nature and wanton slaughter of innocents led the surrounding kingdoms to join forces and overthrow him!

Yan Emperor Xi burned himself to death in the nine-story Star-Picking Tower within the Deer Park.

The various kingdoms beheaded Yan Emperor Xi's burned corpse. Who could have expected that his wronged soul would refuse to disperse, lingering within the hundred-li Deer Park, reduced entirely to ashes, and causing mischief time and again?

The people of the Central Plains were terrified and moved more than a hundred li away. Qi Emperor Wen, who was in fact a leader of the kingdoms, solemnly led the feudal lords in offering sacrifices to Heaven.

Yet thunder and torrential rain never ceased within the Deer Park, and the feudal lords advised that living humans be offered as sacrifices. Qi Emperor Wen had no choice but to sacrifice a hundred people, but the thunder and rain did not relent.

The feudal lords all changed color, so the number was increased to a thousand. By then, the Central Plains had already become a land of marshes!

To save the common people, Emperor Wen offered himself as sacrifice. At that time, several thousand Yan people who had refused to surrender volunteered themselves as offerings! Purple lightning descended from the heavens, the riverbed split open, and waters a thousand chi wide finally flowed east into the sea!

Qi Emperor Wen led the feudal lords into the Deer Park once more, only to discover in shock that everything within a hundred li had long since been razed flat, leaving behind only a deep and secluded gateway!

Emperor Wen sensed great ill omen and ordered Qi Refining cultivators to set up a barrier outside the gateway with Daoist arts!

Over the thousands of years since, the barrier had loosened and the spiritual qi of Heaven and Earth had gradually grown scarce. Countless Qi Refining cultivators unable to break through their cultivation entered secret realms everywhere to fight over heavenly treasures and earthly materials, and Zhou Enclosure Deer Park was among the hottest of them all!

"My aura has been completely concealed by Martial Dao. Outsiders should not be able to see through it!" The black-clad man looked at the ruined barrier, where the five-element crystal stones flickered with threads of lightning. He immediately leaped into the pitch-black gateway!

Within the Four Swords Sect, Gong Haoyue was cultivating his inner core and sensing the Martial Dao. Feeling that he had made considerable progress, he was suddenly interrupted by urgent knocking outside his door!

"It's me, Old Cai!"

"Why have you come at this hour?" Gong Haoyue was slightly displeased, his face frosty. Cai Tingyue dragged Sun Yunji and Cao Wuji along as he said anxiously, "There is a problem with the secret realm Senior Brother Ouyang went to!"

"What problem?!" Gong Haoyue set down his longsword and threw on his clothes.

"The master of Funeral Bell Palace of the Three Stars Sect—my third junior brother, Xiao Jinyu—is there as well!" Sun Yunji drew a breath and spoke in the calmest voice he could manage!

Gong Haoyue's face turned deathly pale, and the precious sword in his hand fell to the floor!