A cool morning breeze blew into the private room Ren was occupying. He stared into the clear sky devoid of any clouds. Oh, how similar it looked to Earth's but with a slight difference in what was flying through the air: people, beasts, carriages, even a boat.

It had two majestic blue wings made from a type of hard fabric. Harmoniously, they flapped smoothly and slowly as if to balance with the weight and length of the vessel which was over thirty feet.

He followed its movement heading west where the distant mountains bathed in the golden morning light.

The view was breathtaking, refreshing, beautiful, having him forget all about the harshness of this world where one could easily be killed because of a part of their body, or looking at someone the wrong way, or even just for being weak.

A knock from outside the doors pulled his mind back. His silence was taken for an invitation and the doors were opened, creaking slightly.

The servants bowed and left the two people to walk in by themselves as she went to fetch some refreshments.

He immediately read the information of the man walking in in front of the girl from the previous day. Only five hundred? Ren questioned unconvinced.

The aura the man exuded was far elegant and stable to belong to a mere level five hundred.

He sipped his tea, having long forgotten the tastes of things like soda or juice from his past life. He had already grown accustomed to the foods and drinks here.

"Please, sit," Ren invited extending a hand to the empty zafus awaiting them on the opposite side of the short wooden table.

The man, seemingly in his mid-sixties, accepted the invitation while his disciple looked around the room confused. "Where is your master?"

Ren looked at her, "I'm the Master."

She couldn't help but stare, utterly shocked by the revelation. "But...but..."

"Xu'er!" Her master snapped authoritatively, silencing her.

Upon sitting, he immediately brought up the issue at hand. "My disciple has told me all about what happened." The look on his face said that he did not want to be here and may have come out of formality. "So how do you want to settle this misunderstanding?"

Ren set the cup down, evaluating his opponent. Without seeing his real level, Ren couldn't risk picking up a fight. "Normally, money would do, but, after starting a sect, I need some things here and there."

"What do you need? I'll give it to you if it's within my ability."

"Spirit stones. A lot of them."

He was taking his chances. The task he had assigned his disciples would be difficult, so he resulted in this instead. The spirit stones were effective after all. Their energy was almost as strong as a vein.

He was about to speak when they both sensed someone spying on them. Ren released a slash of black fire while the old man sent a ball of white qi at the corner of the room, blasting the space and creating a large hole that was left charred and smoking. Xu'er gasped from the terrifying power that had whooshed past her, blowing off her veil and leaving her face bare.

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When she gazed at the table again, both of them had vanished. "Master!" She cried opening the door and running out.

Screams from below where the diner was filled the large building. "What is goi-"The sight of people in black clothes and masks only pointed out one thing...danger.

She wanted to rush down to help the mortals screaming around frantically while fleeing, but lost courage when she saw her master and Ren wiping out the assassins.

Her master was using his qi, shooting down the assassins flashing around the area at super speed. The white qi arrows kept flying, following the threats.

While she was familiar with her master's techniques, she was blown away by how fast Ren appeared and disappeared using the black hole she had seen that night. She could not comprehend his ability no matter how hard she tried to place it in the known abilities in this world. Or maybe she had little information about the subject.

Whenever he appeared behind an assassin, a black blade would pierce their chest from being caught by surprise. His attack method was odd, and she found it hard to guard against, leaving her soul-shaking and grateful at the same time.

It had been a wise decision to make peace with him or she wouldn't have known how she would have died.

As fast as the fight had begun, it ended, with the only evidence being the bodies scattered all over the diner, bleeding on everything.

The two didn't even break a sweat after killing over twenty assassins like slaughtering chickens.

Since Ren hadn't sensed any danger from them before they tried to eavesdrop on his conversation, he concluded that the assassins were here for someone else, probably the master.

He hadn't been in the city long enough to make any enemies.

"The tea is good," Xu'er's master praised and she stood there watching them, her heart barely beating.

'How can they act as if they haven't just killed so many assassins just now? Master is... He looks happy.'

"I thought you'd have come here before. Isn't this one of the best inns in the city?"

"These mortal places are for the juniors who haven't experienced a lot. I no longer hold any desire to come and drink their tea or eat their food."

"The sect must be happy to have a dedicated teacher."

...

Their talk stretched out longer than Ren had planned, but he harvested yet another round of fruitful benefits. Xu'er's master disclosed to him the emergence of a small realm believed to have once been part of the immortal realm. He said that it appeared once every five hundred years, and those who went into it always came out with immortal grade treasures.

This information was only available to the top sects and he had been given in exchange for the spirit stone he had asked for.

Those who participated in these hunts all had to have a celestial gold coin to prove they were supposed to be there.

This coin was graciously provided by Xu'er's master on the condition that he take her with them.

Ren also made it clear that if she dared to harm him or his disciples, he'd have her pay with her limbs.

And so the misunderstanding was put past them, each respecting the mysterious power of the other.

##########

"Master." Liu Ming's voice entered his mental galaxy on the third day of the task given.

"What is it?"

"I can feel something on this hill. It's not a spiritual vein or a node, but it is powerful enough to be a source."

"Mmm... I'll be there. Wait for me."

"Are you okay? You sound-"

Ren blocked any further transmission before tears rolled out of his eyes once more.

He wasn't crying because of any emotion, no.

Out of boredom, he had challenged Clay to a staring duel and it had been twenty minutes already. In such a short time, Ren's eyes had shed tears three times because of the dry air attacking them while Clay made it seem as easy as breathing.

"Gah!" He groaned throwing his head back, eyes stinging as if someone had been stabbing them mercilessly. "You win again. Here." He severed a root from his body without opening his eyes and Clay bit it greedily. "Stay here with Han. Take care of everyone else, the distance is a bit far."

The black hole opened on a small hill outside the city where the trees were scarce and plants looked thin. Ren had his doubts about this source seeing how weak life was on the hill, but he trusted Liu Ming's instincts since his perception was higher than his own.

"Master!" They greeted saluting and bowing.

"I'm dying, Master," Liuyue moaned dramatically as she rushed to hug him.

Ren held out his hand, cupping her forehead to keep her off of him before thrusting her back. A black hole appeared, and she was sucked in, and her whining cut off when it closed.

Liu Ming chuckled at the scene before clearing his throat to compose himself.

"Where is the place you talked about?"

"Right here." Liu Ming pointed at the most bare and barren place around them.

Ren, putting his trust in his disciple sat where he had been shown. "This might take some time. Do you want to go back to the city? You have been out here for three days."

Liu Ming shook his head. "I'll keep you company, master. There are some weak monsters in the valley over there. They might distract you."

"Very well then."

He closed his eyes, his legs tucked in a lotus position as customary, before initiating a search beneath.

His luminous translucent roots emerged from his limbs and quickly dived into the ground, borrowing deeper and deeper as they could go.

For three nights and two days, Ren burned as much qi as he could to spread out his roots in every direction like a tree, trying to find the source Liu Ming had felt. But even with his advanced skills and abilities, he still failed in the end.