Encounter

Seeing Zhang Qingshan again, Ye Han could not hide his delighted surprise. He had thought his senior brother would never return.

Yet he had actually come back. On closer inspection, however, Ye Han saw that Zhang Qingshan had only one arm left. His other sleeve hung empty, fluttering in the wind.

Zhang Qingshan turned, saw Ye Han, and grinned. "Well, would you look at that! I haven't seen you for a few months, and you've grown so tall."

He had recognized Ye Han at a glance, even though the boy had grown taller and older.

Ye Han had thought Zhang Qingshan would never return, yet his senior brother had still recognized him at once. How could that not warm his heart?

Ye Han's eyes grew a little moist, and his nose stung, but he kept his emotions under control. Staring at Zhang Qingshan's empty sleeve, he asked, "Senior Brother Zhang, what happened to your arm?"

Zhang Qingshan glanced back at his empty sleeve and grinned. "I'm lucky to have made it back alive. What's an arm compared to that?"

He paused, then continued, "Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat? This isn't the place to talk."

As he finished speaking, a strange look flickered in his eyes.

Sensing that something was wrong with Zhang Qingshan's expression, Ye Han immediately said, "All right! Let's talk inside!"

Then Ye Han called toward the cave abode, "Ox Gate, open!"

At his words,

the cave abode's entrance opened with a series of clacks...

Hearing this, Zhang Qingshan laughed. "Only you could come up with an opening command like that!"

The two entered the cave abode, one after the other.

Ye Han could not wait to ask, "Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan! When did you get back? I heard you ran into danger while dealing with some Blood-Dry Bird... did you lose your arm on the mission?"

As he spoke, he could not help looking at Zhang Qingshan's empty sleeve with concern.

He had seen other disciples on the mountain who had lost arms or legs, and had even encountered disciples missing both feet or both hands. The dangers of the cultivation world could not be explained in just a few words.

Instead, Zhang Qingshan's eyes shifted, and he gave Ye Han a puzzled look. "How did you know I went to deal with a Blood-Dry Bird?"

After a pause, he said helplessly, "I didn't lose my arm fighting the Blood-Dry Bird. My mission went smoothly, but I ran into those damned bastards. They ambushed me while I was badly wounded. If my body hadn't been tough enough, I'm afraid I wouldn't have made it back."

"I spent several months recovering outside before returning. I came here more than ten days ago, but no matter how much I called, you wouldn't open the door. I thought you'd gone somewhere."

Ye Han's expression shifted slightly at his words. "Senior Brother Zhang Qingshan, you already came here? Didn't I answer you then?"

From Zhang Qingshan's account, he could tell that his senior brother had indeed come here while he was cultivating by absorbing the Purple Cauldron's aura...

Could cultivating with the Purple Cauldron cut off my five senses? Could it sever my connection to the outside world? If that's really the case, I'll have to be careful when using it from now on. I must only use it somewhere completely safe.

Zhang Qingshan had not expected that question. He shook his head and replied, "I thought you'd gone somewhere to cultivate. When you didn't answer, I left. After resting for a while, I came to check again and happened to run into you."

Ye Han gave Zhang Qingshan a searching look. Only upon examining him closely did he realize that his aura was much weaker than before. It seemed he really had yet to recover from his severe injuries.

So Ye Han asked, "Senior Brother Zhang! Your injuries look very serious!"

Zhang Qingshan said helplessly, "I'm lucky to have kept my life. Who cares about the injuries?"

Ye Han sensed Zhang Qingshan's helplessness, but did not know how to comfort him. After all, he truly was badly injured and had lost an arm. For a cultivator, that might be a devastating blow.

Seeing Ye Han's concern, Zhang Qingshan felt warmth rise in his heart. He had cultivated far longer than Ye Han, and most cultivators were selfish, rarely showing concern for others.

The reason he and Ye Han felt like friends despite their difference in age was that their temperaments were similar. As the saying went, things of a kind gathered together, and people divided into their own flocks...

So Zhang Qingshan gave a carefree smile and said, "Junior Brother Ye, haven't I told you before? What matters to cultivators isn't cultivation level or magical power, but who lives the longest. As long as you're alive, you still have a chance."

After a pause, he earnestly advised Ye Han, "Junior Brother Ye, the same goes for you when you venture out in the future. Never take risks out of greed. Our path as cultivators is full of thorns and dangers. Staying alive is what matters most."

Hearing this, Ye Han felt that Zhang Qingshan's outlook had changed a little during his time away. Had his injuries or the dangers he had encountered made him more cautious?

Still, Ye Han took Zhang Qingshan's advice to heart. He had always felt the same way himself. As an orphan, merely surviving in Green Ox Village had been far from easy.

He knew all too well the hardships and difficulties of survival, and knew even better that being alive meant there was still hope for everything.

Take the lost ox incident, for example. He had encountered that terrifying monster. If he had been even slightly careless and let it eat him, there would no longer have been a Ye Han in this world...

Let alone any chance of finding the miraculous Purple Cauldron, the Azure Mystic Token, and the Azure Mystic Art, enduring countless hardships to reach the Azure Profound Sect, becoming its disciple, and becoming a cultivator.

Or take his trip to Wutong City. He had exposed his money and nearly been crippled by that damned beggar. He might even have been killed.

All those experiences had made Ye Han realize how difficult survival was. Only by staying alive could there be hope.

Seeing that Ye Han had taken his words to heart, Zhang Qingshan felt reassured. Though his junior brother was very young, he was exceptionally clever and mature, nothing like a half-grown child.

Suddenly, Zhang Qingshan looked Ye Han up and down and said, "I really didn't expect this, Junior Brother. It's only been a little over three months since we last met, and you've already reached the middle stage of the Qi Refining Realm. You've grown so much taller, too. Your Blood Refining Art must have advanced another level, right?"

As he spoke, Zhang Qingshan looked at Ye Han with deep emotion. It had taken him nearly a year to advance from the beginning of the Qi Refining Realm to its middle stage, and even then, his foundation had not seemed as solid as Ye Han's aura suggested.

Besides, Ye Han had grown so much taller. His Blood Refining Art must have made a breakthrough.

To reach such a level in so little time-this boy's talent really was extraordinary...

Ye Han's expression shifted. Could my sudden growth have come not from a breakthrough in my cultivation, but from a breakthrough in my Blood Refining Art?