Both Bai Qianzhang and Xu Linyun had seen firsthand how capable Fang Xing was in snatching things in passing, but this was a first for Tie Rukuang. Once he realized just what had happened, he shook in anger and was about to give chase to force Fang Xing to return the rope, but he decided otherwise and sat back down with a bitter smile. It was just an [Immortal’s Snare]—nothing too important to him. With this, it could even be seen as a welcoming gift into his branch from shifu to pupil.

　　Once Tie Rukuang had calmed himself down, he called over another disciple. The disciple was well built with tanned skin, and his brows were sloped inward to give him a perpetually depressed appearance. His cultivation level was in the sixth tier of Spirit Stage and he wore a long, cyan-colored robe. His appearance gave off the impression of someone reserved in nature, but his strength and expertise in the art of smithing placed him as one of the Duanzhen Valley’s top pupils.

　　“Wu Xiangtong, there is an important Duty Talisman mission from the sect, and I wish for you to help lead ten other Duanzhen Valley disciples for this mission. What are your thoughts?” Tie Rukuang asked with a deep tone. His choice had originally been for Ye Tianlong, but after the disciple had run all around the valley with his tail between his legs like a stray dog while being chased by Fang Xing, Ye Tianlong’s reputation within the valley could be considered utterly ruined and he would not be of use any time soon. This had pushed Tie Rukuang to select that little devil Fang Xing to maintain the valley’s standing, but Fang Xing’s temperament was truly worrying. For this reason, Tie Rukuang decided to have Wu Xiangtong aid Fang Xing on the mission.

　　Wu Xiangtong had a considerably lower profile in comparison to Ye Tianlong, but he was extremely reliable and mature, two characteristics that were already quite rare; there unfortunately weren’t that many talented disciples in the Duanzhen Valley. There had been more in the past, but they had either joined the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute or had been killed in duels to the death, leaving the valley with little talent.

　　“As dear Shifu wishes.” Without any questions, Wu Xiangtong had bowed and immediately agreed.

　　“One more thing. On the surface, the leader of this mission is going to be a disciple by the name of Fang Xing. He’s a bit thorny with a bandit-like temperament. During this mission, you will have to let him have his way whenever possible while still keeping him under control. Do not cause any conflict with him.”

　　Wu Xiangtong nodded. “Is he the Shidi Fang Xing that was dismissed from the stone forest by Elder Bai Qianzhang? I’ve heard of him.”

　　Upon hearing this, Tie Rukuang gave a bitter smile. “I don’t know where this rumor came from, but it’s a bit mistaken. Although Shishu Bai didn’t pass on all of his skills and studies, to say that the boy learned nothing is undoubtedly incorrect. He may appear to be in tier four, but he has some superhuman strength and extremely pure Qi; not even Murong Ying was his opponent in a head-on fight!”

　　“Oh? Then I should call him my shixiong!” Wu Xiangtong replied in astonishment.

　　Without any further comments on that, Tie Rukuang continued, “The boy may be stubborn and unruly, but he is not the kind to cause trouble for no reason. I will also remind him about this before departure. He may be the leader, but it’s just a title, and the real leadership falls upon you. For this mission, Duanzhen Valley will likely be responsible for repairing weapons and tools and inspecting the seal. He knows nothing about these things, so he would not be able to make any proper arrangements.”

　　Wu Xiangtong once again agreed without any questions. After offering a few more words of advice, Tie Rukuang returned back to the Qing-Yun Peak where the rest of the chief elders and the sect master curiously asked what had happened. Without intending to hide from everyone, Tie Rukuang recounted the entire chain of events where Fang Xing had been chasing after Ye Tianlong with a giant saber within his Duanzhen Valley. This left all of the elders completely dumbfounded, not having expected a fourth-tier disciple to be so overbearing as to try to kill someone in the sixth tier.

　　“Could it be that Shishu Bai taught the boy some special technique that has made him so peculiarly powerful?” the chief elder of Shanhe Valley—Xiao Shanhe—was the first to speak, his eyes glistening. The rest of the elders also appeared to be moved with their own eyes shimmering in enthusiasm.

　　Tie Rukuang, on the other hand, could only bitterly smile. “Well, there is a technique, of course…”

　　“Yes, go on…” both Elder Xiao Shanhe and Elder Qin’nyao urged.

　　Tie Rukuang shook his head before continuing, “It’s the one that Shishu Bai has already given us!”

　　Startled, Sect Master Chen Xuanhua replied, “Is it really just the Blue-Flame Grand Smithing?”

　　Tie Rukuang nodded. “It is exactly that. It’s embarrassing to admit it, but I saw that the technique was not of much use to someone in the Foundation Stage and haven’t actually studied it in detail. It was only after I saw the boy that I realized the benefits to helping a disciple purify their Qi and build their physique. If we have the disciples learn this in the Spirit Stage, their battle power would easily increase by a large amount, allowing our disciples to defeat those of the same tier from the Melodic Ice Palace and Ephemeral Butterfly!”

　　“It’s for Spirit Stage disciples?” All of the elders looked rather disappointed at this answer. The methods for Qi purification were only suitable for those in Spirit Stage, not for people like them; since they were in their Foundation Stage, the seal of Qi within them had already been solidified and there was no way to purify their Qi now. Unless they forcefully broke the seal to allow it to return to its original state, that is, although doing so was viewed as effectively ending their path of cultivation. For cultivators, such a thing was almost equivalent to suicide.

　　When the sect master heard Tie Rukuang’s words, he contrastingly gave a light nod of his head. “Spirit Stage disciples form the base and foundation of our Qing-Yun Sect, so if this is useful to them, then it is great news. How about this: we will all take a look, and if there is proven to be no problems, we shall place it within the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute. We’ll pair it up with the Qing-Yun Nine Swords as mandatory study for those who enter the hall.” As he spoke, he bowed towards the direction of where Bai Qianzhang was having his seclusion as a show of respect.

　　“Then it shall be so!” all the elders agreed in unison. Only Xiao Shanhe showed a very faint annoyance with his brows, and there was an ever-so-slight trace of defiance.

　　Once the group had all departed, Xiao Shanhe also returned to his Shanhe Valley, and he set alight a talisman once he had arrived inside his cave estate. Within the valiant talisman’s flame appeared a figure, its brows sharp like that of a blade and its eyes bright like that of a star. There was furthermore some resemblance between the man in the flame and Xiao Shanhe.

　　“Uncle….” The image of the man within the flame bowed towards Xiao Shanhe in a respectful manner.

　　“Jianming, you’ve already been there for the past four years. Have you found any traces at all?”

　　The young man sighed. “Not at all. These past four years, I’ve killed all that may be related to the mysterious treasure and used all methods I could think of, but there is no trace of it at all. Uncle, is it really possible that the ancient coffins’ mysterious treasure fell to the mortal realm in this area? Why am I not finding any clues about it at all?”

　　Xiao Shanhe sighed. “I only found out about this from an old friend of mine by chance. There are seven places in total that the treasure may have fallen, but there is no way we can put our hands on the other six locations with our abilities; the only place we can touch without others knowing is the Guiyan Valley. But in the end, it is still only a one-in-seven chance. If we can’t find it, it’s probably not there.”

　　Xiao Jianming’s brows narrowed closer together. “Uncle, you said that the mysterious treasure would help me transcend worldly concerns. What is it exactly?”

　　Xiao Shanhe sighed. “As far as I know, it’s likely an ancient treasure crafted with all the memories of a cultivator from the upper realm. What it physically looks like or what it has been crafted into, I do not know, but if you were to have it, you would be able to directly inherit the memories of an upper-realm cultivator. Furthermore, it would also allow you to gain a small trace of karma and connection with the legendary nine coffins, allowing you to transcend worldly concerns. Perhaps that is where the true fortune lies.”

　　Xiao Jianming responded with glistening eyes, “Then I shall continue to look for it. I will not stop until I find it!”

　　On the contrary, Xiao Shanhe shook his head. “No need. If you couldn’t find it in the past four years, the chances of finding it now would be small at best, and it would actually affect your cultivation. It’s best that you return for now. The sect master has also ordered that you will join the mission at Mount Desolation, perhaps because he has grown suspicious since you’ve been outside the sect for so long. It’s not a bad thing, though, and there’s an opportunity at Mount Desolation left behind by your grandfather years ago. It’s already useless to me, but it will be of great use to you when you try to break into the Foundation Stage in the near future. I suggest taking this chance to go fetch that opportunity of yours.”

　　Upon hearing the words “Foundation Stage”, Xiao Jianming’s glare sharpened and he answered immediately, “Ok, I shall return right away!”

　　“By the way, when you arrive at Mount Desolation, you might want to keep an eye out on a disciple by the name of Fang Xing. I had intended for you to learn under Bai Qianzhang before but was refused, yet this boy has been with him for a total of three years. Who knows what he might have learned….”

　　Xiao Jianming smiled with confidence. “Yes, Uncle!”

　　—

　　The mission for Mount Desolation had been set in stone, and a group of Qing-Yun’s outstanding disciples began their journey three days later.

　　On the morning of departure, there were dozens of disciples paired up in three groups, and whether they were standing or sitting, all of them could be seen either chattering softly amongst themselves or quietly meditating outside the sect’s entrance. These were none other than the chosen disciples from Danxia Valley, Shuwen Valley, and Shanhe Valley. Each of these groups were made up of a mix of male and females of all ages, with some of the older disciples seemingly in their forties and fifties while the younger looked to be in their late teens.

　　Although the age difference may be large, the cultivation levels were all similar at either the fifth or sixth tiers. Disciples at the fourth tier were not eligible for missions of this scale, and so all of those that had been chosen had to be at least tier five. Furthermore, not only were their cultivation levels outstanding, but they had also been chosen based on their knowledge and skills in alchemy, formations, and talismans.

　　“Why is the group from Duanzhen Valley still not here yet? Are they making all of us wait for them?” someone from the crowd finally spoke up with impatience, clearly annoyed by the tardiness.

　　“Hah. I just contacted them. I heard their leader had too much to drink last night and woke up late!” another person laughed with disdain.

　　Most were left dumbstruck by the answer. “Since when did Shixiong Ye Tianlong become so heedless of the rules?” someone asked.

　　The same person from before gave a cold laugh. “I never said their leader was Shixiong Ye Tianlong!”

　　“Could it be Wu Xiangtong, or Murong Ying? Those are the three most distinguished Duanzhen Valley pupils; the leader has to be one of them!”

　　“Shixiong Wu Xiangtong is possible, but Murong Ying is not. He was heavily wounded by a little monkey kid and even had his spirit weapon taken. After losing so much face, I doubt he’ll be the one leading their valley!”

　　Murong Ying’s public beating by Fang Xing’s hands had been seen by numerous people who had already spread the news, turning it into hot gossip within all of the sect’s inner court. As for the news of Fang Xing forcing Ye Tianlong into hiding, this had been forcefully contained by Tie Rukuang. Ye Tianlong was one of the most outstanding Duanzhen Valley pupils, after all, and Tie Rukuang had to make sure no disciples talked about this event in order to keep face. Although stifling the news from spreading wouldn’t keep absolutely everyone from knowing, it would at least prevent the other valleys’ ordinary disciples from making it worse.

　　“Who has Shixiong Wu Xiangtong’s spirit seal? We need to hurry him up a bit!”

　　“There’s no need, they’re here!”