Half a year later.
Taiyi City.
The largest city on the Desolate Ancient Continent was as bustling as ever. Countless streaks of light came and went inside and outside the city. Shops lined the streets like scales, while hawkers' cries, bargaining voices, and greetings between acquaintances mingled together.
High among the clouds, in a Cave Abode on one of the many Floating Mountains, the atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the bustle below.
Yun Qianzai sat cross-legged on a cushion, his brow tightly furrowed, his usually composed face grave.
He still wore a white robe and still looked as though he held the whole world beneath his notice, but anxiety glimmered unmistakably in his eyes.
If the matter had involved only him, he would never have been like this.
But it involved his junior sister.
Feng Zhitáo sat opposite him, clutching her sleeves tightly.
Regret shadowed her exquisitely beautiful face. Her lips pressed into a thin line, and she said nothing for a long while.
The stone chamber was frighteningly quiet.
At last, Feng Zhitáo spoke, her voice subdued. "Second Senior Brother, at worst, I'll just return the Nascent Soul Immortal Vine to the Yang Household."
"It's not as if I can't form a Nascent Soul without it. I can search for other Immortal Resources."
Yun Qianzai shook his head.
"The question now isn't whether to return it."
His voice remained calm, but that very calm told Feng Zhitáo how much pressure he was under.
Ordinarily, with such a perfect chance to show off, how could Yun Qianzai have passed it up?
Yet this time, he had shown no reaction at all.
Feng Zhitáo could not help feeling puzzled.
"They don't want the vine?" she asked. "Then what do they want?"
Yun Qianzai did not answer at once.
He looked