After the meal, Chu Xinghui and Ming Xiao didn’t linger in the tavern but quickly moved on to their main task.

Ming Xiao was looking for a type of spirit mine known as “spirit sand mine.” These mines contained stones that looked like ordinary iron blocks on the outside, but on the inside, they were filled with countless golden grains of sand, hence the name “spirit sand.”

According to the records Ming Xiao found, the spirit sand mine could be found near Changyang Mountain, located not far from North Beiyue. The two of them headed straight to the mountain, arriving at the entrance.

Before the two of them could enter the mountain, they saw a group of cultivators walking out, looking exhausted and supporting each other.

One of them, spotting the formation plate hanging from Ming Xiao’s waist, recognized them as fellow cultivators and asked: “Are you two also here to find the spirit sand mine?”

Although spirit sand mines weren’t commonly used by regular cultivators, they were occasionally useful for formation cultivators. Since there were no other valuable resources in Changyang Mountain, this guess seemed reasonable.

Ming Xiao nodded: “That’s right. But you all look a bit worse for wear. Did something happen in the mountains?”

The cultivator sighed and gave a bitter smile: “As formation cultivators, you should know that there’s usually no danger around a spirit sand mine. We didn’t prepare much before coMing, but we didn’t expect to find a group of demon beasts guarding the mine. It’s been quite a hassle for us.”

One of his companions couldn’t help but curse: “It’s really bizarre. The spirit sand mine doesn’t have much spiritual energy. Why are these demon beasts guarding it?”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and asked: “May I ask, what is the strength of those demon beasts?”

The cultivator replied: “Most of them are at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages. We didn’t dare go further in, but from the looks of it, the demon beasts deeper inside should be stronger.”

Chu Xinghui thanked him: “Thank you for the information.”

The cultivator shook his head: “No need for thanks. It’s just a reminder, it’s fate that we met.”

The group of cultivators supported each other and left.

After learning about the situation inside, Ming Xiao hesitated: “Should we… still go in?”

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment: “Let’s go.”

The cultivators had confirmed that there was indeed a spirit sand mine in the mountain.

Since the demon beasts were only at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, dealing with them shouldn’t take much effort.

However, to be cautious, he decided to send a message to Xie Liufeng to report his position first.

As the two exchanged messages, Ming Xiao became curious and couldn’t help but ask: “What’s your relationship with that Senior Xie?”

Chu Xinghui looked at him, puzzled: “What?”

Ming Xiao suddenly didn’t feel like asking anymore, and in a huff, he marched into the mountain first: “Never mind, none of my business!”

He tried to act like he wasn’t interested, but his concern for Chu Xinghui was pretty obvious.

Chu Xinghui followed him in.

Just as the other cultivators had said, there was indeed a spirit sand mine in the mountain, and there were also several low-level demon beasts gathering around the mine.

Chu Xinghui unsheathed his spiritual sword and swiftly cleared the area of demon beasts.

Ming Xiao immediately seized the opportunity to start mining.

As Chu Xinghui stood guard, making sure no other demon beasts would approach, he asked: “What formations are usually used with spirit sand?”

While carefully collecting the spirit sand, Ming Xiao answered: “Most of them are used for sealing formations.”

Chu Xinghui frowned: “Sealing… does that have anything to do with sealing spells?”

Ming Xiao, in a rare moment of teaching, began explaining some of the terminology to him: “These two types of formations share some similarities, but they’re not exactly the same. Sealing formations are typically used in situations where the sealed object is dangerous, and the well-being of the sealed item doesn’t matter. A sealing formation just needs to lock away the target. On the other hand, a sealing formation places more emphasis on the safety and integrity of the object being sealed, as well as how the spiritual energy flows. The goal is to ensure that whatever is sealed can still function properly when it is released. But for someone like you, who’s not a formation cultivator… it doesn’t really matter. As long as the concept is clear, that’s enough.”

Chu Xinghui tightened his grip on his sword and looked deeper into the mountain.

From the deeper parts of the mountain, a chilling roar from a beast echoed faintly.

Ming Xiao, feeling goosebumps on his skin, quickly finished gathering the necessary amount of spirit sand and tugged Chu Xinghui: “Alright, let’s go now.”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but look back one last time.

Compared to other mountains, Changyang Mountain’s spiritual energy was sparse. But it was the peak of spring, and the mountain was still full of thriving plants and vibrant life. Everything appeared quite normal.

Though he still had some doubts about the situation, their objective had already been achieved, so there was no reason to stay any longer.

Besides… if he didn’t hurry back, Xie Liufeng would surely begin to worry.

*

 

Meanwhile, Xie Liufeng was fishing.

The young ones were always busy, which was a good thing. He couldn’t bother them, so he decided to pick up his old hobby again.

He stared at the water surface, his mood far from sunny.

Chu Xinghui hadn’t sent him any messages for three whole hours, and Xie Liufeng was feeling a bit down.

Young people were always easily distracted by the outside world. He feared that his young disciple might have forgotten about him, the lonely old man.

As his thoughts spiraled downward, imagining his tragic old age, the fishing rod beside him finally moved.

He glanced at it but didn’t pay much attention.

Though he always felt that not catching any fish wasn’t his fault, the fact that he rarely caught anything was an objective reality. After a long time, he’d grown too lazy to even hope for a catch.

But then the fishing rod twitched again.

This time, it seemed like a fish had truly taken the bait.

Xie Liufeng focused on the fishing rod for a moment before reacting. He immediately pulled up the rod.

Before he could even see what kind of fish he had caught, a dark figure suddenly swooped down from the sky and snatched the fish right off the hook.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He could feel his temples throbbing.

He slowly raised his gaze and looked at the shadow now perched on a branch nearby.

It was a familiar black bird, the same one that had finally come back home after running away.

The black bird spat the fish out, glanced at it, and then, dissatisfied with its spiritual energy, reluctantly swallowed it down.

After finishing, it let out a satisfied burp.

Xie Liufeng looked at the bird with a hint of murderous intent.

The black bird, realizing it was in trouble, suddenly felt a chill run down its spine and cautiously glanced at Xie Liufeng.

*

It’s just a fish, it’s not like I’m being stingy…

Xie Liufeng gave the black bird a friendly smile, and a strand of spiritual energy flickered from his fingers.

*

By the time Chu Xinghui and Ming Xiao returned after successfully finding the spirit sand mine, it was already dusk.

Ming Xiao had to return to the sect first, and Chu Xinghui realized that it was about time to head home.

The two of them were just about to part ways when suddenly, from the nearby forest, a bird-like creature, covered in messy feathers, crashed through the trees and fluttered towards them.

Chu Xinghui was startled, gripping his spiritual sword tightly. He instinctively pulled Ming Xiao to the side, dodging the odd creature’s erratic path.

The black bird couldn’t stop its momentum and crashed to the ground with a thud, ending up in a heap like a flattened pancake.

Looking at the bird’s sparse black feathers, Chu Xinghui finally recognized what it was.

It seemed the bird had gotten into some trouble during its outing. It had lost a lot of feathers and was barely recognizable.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

This bird neighbor sure had a unique way of entering the scene.

“What kind of demon beast is this? Why is it…” Ming Xiao glanced at the strange-looking bird on the ground, struggling to find the right word: “So ugly?”

Chu Xinghui walked past it without glancing at it: “I don’t know.”

It was too ugly to bother recognizing.

Hearing their conversation, the black bird struggled to get up, flapping its wings and chattering loudly in agitation.

Although neither of the two understood the bird language, it was clear from the tone that the bird was probably swearing up a storm.

Chu Xinghui paused, turned around, and gave it a look.

Under his gaze, the black bird let out a weak “cheep” and obediently stood still, no longer making a sound.

Chu Xinghui observed it for a moment, wondering if he should just take it back with him when he suddenly felt something. His eyes lit up, and he looked in a certain direction.

Xie Liufeng had been chasing the black bird the whole way and had just pushed aside a branch when he locked eyes with Chu Xinghui.

Their gazes met, and Xie Liufeng’s eyes curved into a smile.

Seeing Chu Xinghui here, Xie Liufeng temporarily put aside the black bird and walked toward him: “Is everything taken care of?”

Chu Xinghui nodded, still keeping his eyes on him.

Xie Liufeng chuckled and reached out to rub Chu Xinghui’s head.

Ming Xiao began to feel like he was in the way.

While the two of them were talking, the black bird, thinking it could sneak away, tried to take off.

But Chu Xinghui’s reflexes were quick, and he caught it, handing it to Xie Liufeng: “I found this.”

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t Chu Xinghui who found it, it was more like the bird crashed into him.

Xie Liufeng hadn’t expected such an unexpected find and immediately grabbed the bird: “Ah, what a coincidence! This is exactly what I’ve been looking for.”

He smiled warmly at the two younger cultivators: “You two can wait here for a moment.”

Holding the black bird by its wings, he bent down and rummaged through his storage bag, finally pulling out a cage.

With practiced ease, Xie Liufeng stuffed the bird into the cage and then turned around, adopting a refined posture as he looked at Ming Xiao, offering a warm invitation to his disciple’s friend: “Since you’re here, why don’t you stay for a meal?”

Chu Xinghui naturally took the cage from his hand and gave it a gentle shake.

The black bird, with no hope left, clung desperately to the bars of the cage, feeling the weight of its unfortunate fate.

Ming Xiao looked around at the two of them, feeling inexplicably uncomfortable.

It felt like he shouldn’t even be there.

He swallowed nervously and instinctively rejected the offer: “Thank you, Senior, but I have matters to attend to. I need to head back to the sect.”

Ming Xiao quickly made his exit.

With Ming Xiao gone, Xie Liufeng turned to Chu Xinghui: “Let’s go. It’s time to head home.”

Chu Xinghui raised the birdcage and asked: “When did it come back?”

Xie Liufeng answered honestly: “I don’t know. It looks like it just returned.”

Chu Xinghui asked again: “What did it do to make you so upset?”

Xie Liufeng glanced at the bird in the cage, recalling what had happened earlier, and sneered: “I was fishing. After a long time, I finally caught a fish, and it ate it.”

He was still upset about the fish that had been eaten: “It was a big one too. If it hadn’t eaten it, I could’ve brought it home to make you fish soup.”

Upon hearing this, Chu Xinghui felt a bit disappointed and couldn’t help but shake the cage again.

The black bird, feeling utterly hopeless, flapped weakly inside the cage before lying down flat.

Xie Liufeng noticed the expression on Chu Xinghui’s face, thought for a moment, then reached out and patted his head: “Alright, alright. Let’s go.”

He changed direction and started walking forward.

Chu Xinghui quickly caught up and tugged on his sleeve, asking: “Where are we going?”

This wasn’t the way home.

Xie Liufeng glanced at him, then casually took his hand: “I didn’t catch any fish, so I’ll have to take you to the market to buy two fish to cook instead.”

Chu Xinghui stared at him in confusion.

Xie Liufeng smiled: “Didn’t you just say you wanted fish soup?”

Chu Xinghui searched his memory and then confirmed: “…I didn’t say that.”

He had only thought about it in his mind.

Xie Liufeng leaned down slightly and pinched his cheek, smiling: “But I heard you.”

 

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