Chapter 20

The valley was shrouded in mist—a white, limpid, and translucent vapor, much like the curling smoke from an incense burner. It drifted, paused, condensed, and dispersed, rendering the valley floor a hazy, indistinct dreamscape.

One must not assume the mist of Pingyao Valley is always thus. At this moment, with the sun shining brightly, the mist had thinned. However, as the light faded, the thick fog would rapidly rise, sealing the entire valley in an impenetrable shroud until the following dawn, when the morning sun would disperse it once more. Should the weather turn overcast or rainy, the dense miasma would linger all day long.

This fog was impregnated with countless, indescribable miasmic toxins. The thicker the fog, the more lethal the toxins; even Golden Core cultivators would not dare to lower their guard upon entering Pingyao Valley, let alone those of lower ranks.

At this moment, Le Li peered through the blurring mist with extra care, hoping to find something unusual.

The valley remained silent, save for the occasional roar of a beast. She could see some miasma-beasts wandering or even fighting—the typical sights of such a place. There was no sign whatsoever of any disturbance.

"Junior Sister Le, why are you staring at Pingyao Valley? It is filled with poisonous miasma and ferocious beasts; it is hardly a place to linger."

"I know what you mean, Senior Sister. I was just curious about what the miasma and the beasts looked like. I have never seen them before."

Le Li’s mind raced. She was thinking of how to create a breakthrough to attract attention, as there was clearly nothing abnormal in the valley.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck. Le Li let out a deliberate cry of alarm, stumbled back three steps, and clutched her head as if in extreme agony, her face draining of color.

This frightened Yu Sulan, who quickly reached out to steady her. "Junior Sister, what is wrong?"

Le Li staggered, leaning against Yu Sulan, and gave a calculated tremor. "Senior Sister, a strange aura just surged out from Pingyao Valley and struck my divine sense. It felt as if it were piercing right through my soul. It was terrifying."

"What?" Yu Sulan, who had not been watching closely, had felt nothing. She helped Le Li sit down and stared intently at Pingyao Valley.

Le Li continued her act, whispering to herself: *Senior Sister, I do not mean to deceive you, but I do this for the safety of the nearby villagers and our fellow disciples. Forgive me!*

She had learned this performance from Feng Xiaoxiao. In her past life, whenever they went out on missions, Feng Xiaoxiao would put on such shows to achieve her ends, gaining leniency or guiding others to act according to her will. At first, Le Li had believed it, but as time passed, she saw the truth. Given their strained relationship, she would never have been moved by it, yet there were always those willing to fall for Feng Xiaoxiao’s tricks.

If it were a trivial matter, she would disdain such tactics, but this time, if it could achieve her goal, what did it matter if she played the part?

Yu Sulan squinted at Pingyao Valley, still sensing nothing. She shook her head and turned back to Le Li. "Junior Sister, I did not sense the strange aura you spoke of."

"How can that be? It was there just a moment ago!" Le Li stood up abruptly, rushed forward to look at the valley, and then let out another cry, clutching her head, brow furrowed in pain, her face deathly pale, with fine beads of sweat breaking out on her forehead. "Senior Sister, I was struck again! It is even more terrifying this time."

Seeing Le Li in such distress, Yu Sulan quickly helped her sit down again and tried to sense the area repeatedly, but still found nothing. Looking at the suffering Le Li, she wondered if perhaps it was because her junior sister’s cultivation was low and her soul weak. She could think of no other reason.

"Junior Sister, perhaps there is some ominous, poisonous aura within the mist. Your cultivation is low and your soul is weak, making it hard to resist, which is why it felt like an impact. It is best not to look at it." Yu Sulan comforted her.

This was not the conclusion Le Li wanted. She could not let it end here. "But Senior Sister, I have never ceased tempering my divine sense since I began my cultivation. Even with my low cultivation, I should not be so easily struck by such an ominous aura. I suspect there is something wrong with Pingyao Valley. Do you think someone might be practicing some evil cultivation method inside?"

Yu Sulan was startled by her words. "Practicing a cultivation method in Pingyao Valley? That seems impossible. Surely that person would not have such a death wish?"

"If not an evil method, could there be some evil artifact, like the treasure we encountered two days ago, hidden inside? One day it might suddenly erupt and bring disaster upon the world!"

Hearing Le Li speak with such gravity, Yu Sulan suddenly laughed. "Junior Sister, you are still young. Have you been listening too much to the fantastical stories told by our senior brothers when you first entered the sect? Many of those things are not true; they are just hearsay. There are not so many evil artifacts in this world that threaten humanity. If there were, the first to suffer would be the miasma-beasts. Look, they are perfectly fine."

*That is only for now,* Le Li thought. *Before long, they will sense the danger and instinctively flee the valley to survive, and then it will be the local villagers who suffer.* She took Yu Sulan’s hand. "Senior Sister makes sense; perhaps I am overthinking it. But what if—I say, what if it is true? What then?"

"There are not so many 'what ifs' in the world," Yu Sulan said dismissively.

Le Li looked at her with extreme seriousness. "Senior Sister, if there really is a 'what if,' what would happen?"

"This..." Yu Sulan felt her confidence waver under Le Li’s gaze. If it were truly the case, whether it was someone practicing evil arts or a malevolent artifact, the first to suffer would be the local people and the safety of their Lingxiao Sect. Such things must be prevented. "Then, Junior Sister, you mean..."

Le Li bit her lip, hesitating. "Senior Sister, I remember the senior brothers saying in class that if we discover unknown anomalies while out on a mission, we should report them to the sect as soon as possible so they can investigate. Should we report this? If there is nothing, that is for the best. But if there is something, we could prevent it early. What do you think?"

"Report to the sect?" Yu Sulan instinctively rejected the idea. "To report without any evidence, I fear it would be improper."

"How can it be without evidence? The harm to me is the evidence," Le Li said, bowing her head in feigned grievance. She insisted on dragging Yu Sulan along because she feared her own low status would lead the sect to ignore her, and she also wanted Yu Sulan to earn the credit. Without Yu Sulan, she could not have come to Pingyao Valley in the first place. "I know this is difficult, but I truly felt it was terrifying. I have such a bad feeling, as if I would regret it if I did nothing. How about I report it? If a senior comes to check and finds nothing, they can just blame my inexperience. It would not matter."

"I cannot let you bear such a reputation. You are doing this for the sect." Yu Sulan’s first concern was Le Li’s reputation. Since it had come to this, she could not stop her, but reporting directly to the sect still felt like making a mountain out of a molehill.

Yu Sulan’s eyes brightened as an idea occurred to her. "Junior Sister, your intentions are good, but I think reporting directly to the sect is too rash. I will send a voice transmission to our Master and ask him to come and take a look. If there is nothing, then so be it; it will remain an internal matter for our Qianyuan Peak, and no outsiders will hear of it. If there is something, then—speaking selfishly—the credit will go to our Qianyuan Peak. Charity begins at home, after all!"

Le Li looked up, shocked that the matter could be resolved this way. "This... would that not be too much trouble for Master Uncle? He just returned from Beiliang County a few days ago."

"What else can we do? We can't send a transmission to the Sect Master," Yu Sulan said with a shrug.

Le Li bowed her head, closed her eyes, and muttered, "Then let us send it to Master Uncle!"

Her own master was in seclusion and could not be disturbed. Besides, she had already troubled her uncle once; one more time would not hurt.

When Lin Pei received the transmission from his disciple, he couldn't help but curse the "wicked disciple" who wouldn't let him have any peace. But, unable to rest easy, he resigned himself to leaving his cave dwelling.

He summoned He Kun and Zheng Fang as well. Before they even descended the mountain, they saw a figure flashing toward them—it was Wen Shenghuan, his eldest disciple who loved to wander. It was perfect timing, and he was promptly conscripted. The four of them set off together.

"Master agreed to come, but he said it is not an emergency, so he is traveling by sword, and he is bringing Senior Brothers He and Zheng with him."

Yu Sulan put away the transmission jade slip. "With the two senior brothers along, it will take them at least two days. We can use this time to search for Danzhi on Yuanxiang Mountain. After all this trouble, Master will certainly order us to return to the sect with them when it is over. Can you walk now?"

"I can, Senior Sister. I feel much better!" Le Li stood up silently and followed. As long as the matter of Pingyao Valley was resolved, her purpose would be fulfilled. Returning to cultivate in peace was fine by her; once her cultivation increased, she would have plenty of time to travel.

She felt a little sorry for her senior sister, who had been enjoying her time out; now she would likely have to stay in the sect for a while.

They stopped speaking as they climbed higher into the treacherous terrain. High-quality Danzhi was hard to find; after searching for a long time, they only found two that were less than a century old. To them, these were no different from seedlings, so they left them where they were to continue growing.

Occasionally, they encountered other cultivators, and they all kept a tacit distance from one another, adhering to a policy of mutual non-interference.

***

Finding a spring ahead, the two stopped to rest by the stream. Le Li took the young Cloud Sable out of her spirit beast bag, warmed some milk with her spiritual energy, and added a few drops of spirit spring water to it.

At that moment, a masked cultivator hidden on the cliff behind the spring felt his eyes light up. He began a mental transmission to someone hiding nearby, who was also masked, with only his eyes showing.

"Second Brother, it is a cub of a Lightning Sable! A Lightning Sable is worth a million spirit stones!"

"It looks like one, Big Brother. Don’t be impulsive. Let’s be sure."

"What else is there to be sure about? If it’s not a Lightning Sable, could it be a Cloud Sable? Their cubs look very similar, but have you ever seen anyone keep a Cloud Sable in a high-grade spirit beast bag? That would be an idiot!"

The one addressed as Second Brother was silent for a moment before replying: "I still have my doubts. If it were truly a Lightning Sable, they would have at least set up a barrier to hide it while feeding. To be so unconcerned—even if it is a spirit beast, it is likely not a valuable breed. It is not worth the risk."

"What risk?" Big Brother’s tone was filled with exasperation. "Look, one is only in the middle stage of Qi Refining, the other in the early stage of Foundation Establishment. We are both in the middle stage of Foundation Establishment; we can surely handle them. I’ve decided—we’re doing this."

"I think they look like disciples of the Yunxiao Sect..."

"So what? We’ll run as soon as we’re done. Weren't we planning to head toward the Five Elements Gate anyway? Perfect. Don’t hesitate, or they’ll be gone."

Without waiting for his brother’s reply, the eldest brother channeled his spiritual energy, leaped from his hiding place, and struck at Le Li’s back with his spirit sword.

A cold glint flashed in the second brother’s eyes. He knew his brother couldn't resist the potential Lightning Sable, so he had no choice but to act. He spun around, flicking a vine-like whip toward Yu Sulan.

"Junior Sister, watch out!" Yu Sulan’s expression turned sharp. She summoned her spirit sword, leaped up, and engaged the attacker, deflecting the whip.

At the moment of Yu Sulan’s warning, Le Li had already sensed the sword light. She put away the Cloud Sable cub and activated the defensive jade pendant; a shield of spiritual light instantly blocked the sword’s strike.

The eldest brother, seeing his sword miss, struck again, but was again blocked by the light shield. He poured his spiritual energy into a heavy, crashing blow. Le Li accelerated her own spiritual energy, and the shield flickered but held against the force of the sword. She remained unharmed inside.

"Good gear," a muffled, stifled voice came from behind the mask. "Little girl, just hand over your storage bag, spirit beast bag, and defensive artifact, and I might consider sparing your life. Otherwise, once your senior sister is killed, you won’t survive either."

Le Li snorted and raised an eyebrow, looking behind him. Yu Sulan and the second brother had already traded a dozen blows. "My good sir, we are disciples of the Lingxiao Sect. Are you certain you wish to persist in this? If you withdraw now, I have not seen your faces, and this matter can be dropped. Otherwise, do not blame me for being unkind."

The eldest brother slanted his eyes and spoke arrogantly: "So what if you are Lingxiao Sect disciples? Encountering us two brothers today, you’ll have to bow down. Since you haven't seen our faces, hand over your bags and artifacts, or you will be buried here."

"Good words cannot persuade the damned. Take this!" Yu Sulan’s aura changed, and her sword movements suddenly became fierce and cunning. A foot-long white sword energy erupted from the tip of her blade, sharp and unstoppable.

The second brother felt his heart skip a beat. He dodged, not daring to look directly at the sword energy. He felt a hint of regret; he shouldn't have provoked Lingxiao Sect disciples. The young woman before him was clearly either a direct disciple or a core disciple, given her fierce sword style and the way her sword energy was already infused with artistic intent.