As soon as all the senior officials had entered the underground chamber, the disciples of Feixian Peak immediately dispersed to search for their Peak Master.
They firmly believed that the Peak Master must have been injured and was now recovering somewhere in secret.
Not a single person believed that he had perished.
Wen Jiu also scattered with the crowd, moving through the forest in search of any trace of him.
However, deep down, he was certain that Ji Qiubai, the Peak Master of Feixian Peak, had almost no chance of survival. He didn't know exactly what kind of poison the "Shadow's End" was, but he was sure that the remnants of the Blood-Clad Tower, along with Gong Chi and the others, would never leave things to chance.
Not finishing the job—that was something that only happened in stories, where the plot bent in favor of the protagonist. Gong Chi and his companions would never make such a mistake. Otherwise, they would never have been able to stay hidden by Ji Qiubai's side for so long without being exposed. That said, Ji Qiubai must have had his own suspicions.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so cautious of Gong Chi back at Feixian Peak, nor would Gong Chi have summoned him for questioning in the dead of night.
But in the end, Ji Qiubai had still miscalculated.
"I'm going to need to grow eight hundred more eyes if I want to survive in the future," Wen Jiu silently vowed to himself.
He had worked too hard for too long to end up with nothing.
Suddenly—
Barely two hours had passed when the signal flare for regrouping shot up into the sky.
When Wen Jiu returned to the Chen family's territory, he found that Gong Chi and the others had already made it back. It seemed that they had found Ji Qiubai's body. Most people wore expressions of sorrow, bitterness, and a hint of disbelief.
"We're bringing the Peak Master home!" Gong Chi stood atop the flying boat and declared with a voice full of grief and determination.
The setting sun dyed half the sky crimson.
As Gong Chi's hoarse and solemn voice echoed through the air, the disciples of Feixian Peak fell into silence. Their gazes locked onto the flying boat ahead, where a body wrapped in thick white cloth was being carried aboard.
No one wanted to believe it.
The Peak Master was truly gone.
Nor could they believe that the mere remnants of the Blood-Clad Tower had been capable of killing Ji Qiubai.
Ji Qiubai was a direct disciple of the main peak's elders, a cultivator who had mastered top-tier secret arts. How could a mere group of Blood-Clad Tower survivors—who had always been running for their lives and couldn't even withstand a single strike from the Peak Master—turn the tables and kill him?
But no matter how much they doubted, Ji Qiubai's body lay right before them.
Before long, everyone boarded the flying boat.
Each step was slow and heavy, weighed down by sorrow.
The joy of victory and the satisfaction of their spoils had evaporated. With the final casualty count confirmed—over two hundred disciples lost—any sense of triumph had completely disappeared. Looking back now, friends who had been standing beside them just yesterday were now reduced to scattered bones.
Wang Nian felt the same way. After boarding the flying boat, he quietly walked to Wen Jiu's side and sighed.
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"How could the Peak Master die at the hands of those Blood-Clad Tower remnants? That guy was only at the sixth level of Qi Refinement... Even if he was hiding his strength, the Peak Master had learned the main peak's secret techniques. Even if he couldn't win, he should have been able to escape."
Wen Jiu replied, "Perhaps that's just how unpredictable life is."
"Unpredictable, huh…? You've got a point." Wang Nian let out a long sigh. "If someone as powerful as the Peak Master can fall, then for people like us… who knows how long we can survive in this world of cultivation?"
His mood grew heavier.
The thrill of acquiring spirit stones had long since faded.
Another sigh. A trace of helplessness. "We made it out alive this time, but what if next time… it's me?"
Wen Jiu hadn't planned on saying anything.
He just wanted to quietly watch the sunset, to lose himself in the twilight hues.
But as the atmosphere grew increasingly bleak, he finally spoke.
"The moon waxes and wanes, just as fortune ebbs and flows. None of us know how far we'll walk on this path, how long we'll survive in this world. But every step we take, every extra day we live, lets us see more of the vast lands before us. It brings us closer to immortality… Even if we fall halfway, it will not have been a wasted life."
"I don't ask for an easy road to immortality—only that, after the storm, I may see the rainbow."
His words fell.
Wang Nian froze for a moment.
Even Liu Xiao, who had been silent all this time, couldn't help but turn to look at Wen Jiu. Then, suddenly, he clapped his hands and exclaimed, "Well said, kid!"
...
Night fell.
The flying boat landed at the main peak.
The disciples of Feixian Peak slowly dispersed, while news of the Peak Master's death began to spread beyond the main peak.
This night was destined to be anything but peaceful.
"Kid, come have a drink at my place," Wang Nian called out to Wen Jiu as soon as they disembarked.
After Wen Jiu's words of comfort, Wang Nian's gloomy mood had lifted considerably. He hadn't sighed once along the way, so in Wen Jiu's eyes, this drinking session was definitely not just about drinking.
Sure enough.
When they arrived at Wang Nian's home, he shut the door behind them.
As soon as he picked up his cup, Wang Nian spoke in a low voice, "Brother Wen, once the funeral for the Peak Lord is over, Fei Xian Peak is going to undergo a drastic change. You chose to follow Mu Canglong, but whether that will be a blessing or a curse is uncertain."
"Why?"
Although Wen Jiu asked, he had already guessed part of the answer.
It was just like a company where the boss suddenly left—wouldn't the deputy leaders fight tooth and nail for the top position?
Wang Nian continued, "Mu Canglong is under Elder Gong Chi of the Night Patrol Division, but Elder Gong Chi was never Peak Lord Ji's confidant—he was loyal to the previous Peak Lord. So, if Ji's faction wants to take power, they'll definitely suppress Gong Chi, and that means suppressing his people as well… How about I go talk to my second uncle and have you transferred to the alchemy room? Even just tending the fire would be safer."
"Thanks, Brother Wang, but no need. I like raising corpses in the Land of Remnants." Wen Jiu shook his head and declined.
Wang Nian tried persuading him again, but Wen Jiu still refused.
Seeing no way to convince him, Wang Nian had to give up.
He just couldn't understand why Wen Jiu was so fixated on the Land of Remnants. If it weren't for spirit stones, he wouldn't go there himself.
Soon, after three rounds of drinking, Wen Jiu, slightly tipsy, took his leave. He first went to the Land of Remnants to re-bury the black ghoul in the corpse-nurturing ground, then cultivated there for a while. The corpse energy and death aura helped him find inner peace.
Late at night, as he was preparing to return, the sudden tolling of a bell echoed across Fei Xian Peak. It was summoning the disciples to assemble.
"What now?"
Wen Jiu was puzzled.
With doubt in his heart, he hurried toward Fei Xian Peak, following the crowd of disciples to the summit—where he witnessed an unforgettable scene.
In front of the main hall at the peak, three massive spirit beasts with twin wings stood proudly. The spiritual energy and aura they exuded were no weaker than any of the elders of Fei Xian Peak.
Even more imposing were the three golden-robed cultivators standing before the beasts, who clearly surpassed Gong Chi and the others in strength—second only to Peak Lord Ji Qiubai.
Even if they weren't at the sixth level of Qi Refinement, they had at least reached the peak of the fifth level.
The other golden-robed cultivators accompanying them were slightly weaker but still formidable. There were as many as thirty of them, all at the third level of Qi Refinement. While they were not as powerful overall as Fei Xian Peak's forces, their overwhelming presence still suppressed everyone at the peak.
At that moment, the eldest of the three golden-robed cultivators, a long-bearded old man, spoke coldly, "By order of the Discipline Hall, all elders, stewards, and officials of Fei Xian Peak are to be detained in the main hall!"
At his words, every disciple on Fei Xian Peak turned pale.
A female elder of Fei Xian Peak tried to argue, but the long-bearded old man cut her off icily, silencing everyone in fear.
"The Peak Lord was killed by remnants of the Blood-Clad Tower! This has nothing to do with us—"
"Anyone who questions this order," the long-bearded elder interrupted coldly, "will be executed—by command of the Hall Master himself!"
At that moment, Gong Chi stepped forward, taking the lead and walking calmly into the main hall. "I trust the three Inspectors will uncover the truth. Until that happens, I shall remain here."