Xie Liufeng spent five days forcing the black bird to learn how to read the map using some rather… forceful methods.

The black bird, after marking the location on the map, no longer wanted anything to do with Xie Liufeng. The moment it saw him approach, it would immediately fly far away, terrified of being caught for further “education.”

With the exact location now confirmed, the black bird had lost its usefulness. Xie Liufeng stopped paying it any attention and immediately went to find Chu Xinghui.

When Chu Xinghui took the map from Xie Liufeng’s hands, he saw the marks left by the bird’s claws.

Although a bit unexpected, it made sense—those claw marks were right on the area near Changyang Mountain, where he had visited just a few days ago.

Chu Xinghui glanced out the window at the black bird, which was sneakily watching them from afar. He frowned: “Did this bird cause the anomaly at Changyang Mountain?”

If he calculated the tiMing, the black bird’s reappearance seemed to coincide with the strange happenings at Changyang Mountain.

Xie Liufeng, who had heard Chu Xinghui mention the situation at Changyang Mountain before, pondered for a moment and nodded: “It’s possible.”

Though the bird seemed utterly useless now, apart from being annoying, it had once nurtured a sword spirit with great intelligence… Its true form must still have some power and tricks up its sleeve.

Xie Liufeng poured a cup of tea and handed it to Chu Xinghui: “Well then, your task is to go to Changyang Mountain and find the true form of this bird.”

Chu Xinghui took the cup and nodded.

He fell silent for a moment, then suddenly called out to Xie Liufeng: “Xie Liufeng.”

Xie Liufeng looked at him: “Hmm?”

Chu Xinghui gripped the cup in his hand, asking casually: “Are you coMing with me?”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment and then assumed a solemn posture: “I’ve reflected on it, and I can’t always keep you by my side. So this time, I won’t go with you.”

Chu Xinghui lowered his eyes and gently swirled the tea in his cup, feeling a little disappointed: “Oh.”

Xie Liufeng continued: “And there are still two seals left unfinished from the last time. I’ll use this time to take care of those.”

Xie Liufeng had rushed back initially for Chu Xinghui’s sake, but now that Chu Xinghui’s condition had greatly improved, he could finally free himself up to handle the last two seals.

Chu Xinghui understood that this was the important task, even though he still felt a little disappointed.

Suddenly, Xie Liufeng changed the subject: “However, there’s a bit of luck in this— the next seal I’m going to handle is located in the direction of Changyang Mountain, so…”

Chu Xinghui seemed to have realized something: “So?”

Xie Liufeng looked at him with a smile in his eyes: “So, while I won’t be accompanying you, we can still travel together along the way.”

That way, Chu Xinghui could train on his own, and they wouldn’t have to part ways. It was truly a win-win.

After hearing his reasoning, Chu Xinghui didn’t know how to respond: “…You’re just deceiving yourself.”

Xie Liufeng lazily leaned back in his chair and replied, with some meaning in his tone: “Well, what can I do? Someone wants to see me.”

He teased again: “How about this? If you don’t want me to go with you, we can split up right now.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t feel like responding, turning his face away: “…You already know.”

Xie Liufeng pressed on: “I know, but I want to hear you say it.”

Chu Xinghui’s ears were a little hot, but he still raised his head and looked at Xie Liufeng, speaking straightforwardly: “I want to travel with you.”

…He simply couldn’t say that he didn’t want to be with Xie Liufeng.

Hearing what he wanted to hear, Xie Liufeng finally felt satisfied. He smiled to himself for a moment, then turned serious: “Alright, no more teasing. This bird’s situation is a little special. If nothing goes wrong, the place where its true form is located is something you won’t be able to handle with your current strength. Even if you want to train, you should choose a place suited to your age and cultivation level. Throwing you into danger like this… that’s not training you, that’s training me.”

He was getting old and couldn’t handle too many surprises.

 

*

 

Three days later, the two of them, along with the black bird, officially set off.

Though the black bird still harbored some trauma from Xie Liufeng, it no longer dared to stay close. Instead, it flew a safe distance around them, watching from afar.

The small courtyard’s door, which Xie Liufeng had casually made years ago, had become crooked and wobbly from years of use.

Before they left, Xie Liufeng, with great ceremony, locked the door and propped it up, which was only a decorative piece at this point. He muttered: “The gate’s a bit old. Remember to remind me to find some suitable wood when we get back. It needs fixing.”

Chu Xinghui looked at him and suddenly remembered something. He asked: “Where were you planning to go originally?”

Xie Liufeng had always been clear about his own plans: “Me? I’m such a leisurely person. If I’m not home, where else would I go?”

Chu Xinghui looked through the wooden door into the yard.

The kitchen still had some leftover firewood that hadn’t been burned. A broom, recently replaced, stood in the yard. A trinket hung on the door of his room—something Xie Liufeng had apparently placed there casually. There was also a cage hanging from a tree, used for imprisoning birds… Everywhere, there were signs of a long-term life.

Before they even realized it, the yard had accumulated all these little things.

But he still remembered how it looked when they first arrived: “This place was probably just a temporary stop, wasn’t it?”

Xie Liufeng rummaged through his memories and finally found his original plan: “Oh, I had planned to finish fishing and then continue heading north, to the area near the Floating Snow River. After all, once summer came, I needed to find a cooler place to escape the heat, then after summer passed, I’d continue traveling depending on my mood.”

For the past decades, even centuries, this had been how he lived.

If Chu Xinghui hadn’t brought it up, he might not have thought about his past, when he had wandered alone with no direction.

He looked down at Chu Xinghui and laughed softly: “…I had no other choice. I didn’t catch any fish, but I caught you, so I ended up settling here.”

When he had been unburdened, any place was fine, but now he had a family.

Chu Xinghui asked: “If I can stand on my own in the future, will you leave?”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment, then said regretfully: “I’m afraid not. I’ve gotten used to being with you. Unless you’re willing to come with me.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t speak, but he reached out and took hold of his sleeve.

He was willing.

No matter where Xie Liufeng wanted to take him, he was willing.

 

*

 

Changyang Mountain wasn’t far from Beiyue. The two of them and the bird didn’t take long to reach their destination.

As soon as they entered the vicinity of Changyang Mountain, the black bird became visibly anxious and excited. It ignored its fear of Xie Liufeng and flew over, landing on Chu Xinghui’s shoulder, chirping wildly.

Chu Xinghui, unable to tolerate the noise, struggled to pry the bird off his shoulder and locked it in the cage he had prepared earlier.

He looked over at Xie Liufeng.

Without missing a beat, Xie Liufeng took his hand and led him into the mountain.

Changyang Mountain wasn’t rich in resources, and normally, cultivators rarely ventured there to train. However, the recent anomalies in the mountain had spread, and now more cultivators had come hoping to try their luck.

They encountered several groups of people along the way. Judging by their expressions, it seemed they hadn’t had much success.

As they continued deeper into the mountain, Chu Xinghui observed the situation.

Compared to the last time he came, the number of roaMing demonic beasts in Changyang Mountain had increased significantly, and their average strength had risen. Even on the outskirts, there were many Foundation Establishment-level beasts, and in some areas, traces of Golden Core beasts could even be found.

The further they went in, the clearer the sounds of beasts’ roars became.

There were high-level demonic beasts inside, and not just one.

Moreover… there seemed to be an even more powerful force, vaguely present but unmistakable.

Chu Xinghui gently touched his chest, his brow furrowing slightly.

He could feel that the powerful force ahead seemed to be somehow connected to him.

Most of the cultivators here in Changyang Mountain were low-level, wandering around the outskirts. The deeper they went, the fewer traces of human activity there were.

After walking for half a day, when they were nearing the innermost part of the mountain, Xie Liufeng suddenly stopped: “Let’s rest here for a while.”

Chu Xinghui asked: “What’s the matter?”

Xie Liufeng released his divine sense and sensed something deep within the mountain: “Although this bird is here, and we should be able to find the way into the core area easily, the formation there only allows Golden Core cultivators and above to enter.”

He looked at Chu Xinghui: “Your cultivation level is at the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.”

Chu Xinghui, who had always been diligent in his training, had made great progress recently, reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage.

Since the requirement was a hard one, Chu Xinghui pondered for a moment: “Should we go back for now?”

The black bird immediately began flapping its wings and pecking at the cage, unhappy at the prospect of turning back.

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment and suggested: “I happen to have a cave nearby. How about this, I’ll give you a few months to try and break through to the Golden Core stage?”

Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but ask: “You’ve been to Changyang Mountain before?”

Xie Liufeng nodded and pointed in a direction: “Yes, a long time ago. There was a lake here—over there. The crabs in that lake were huge and delicious. I dug a cave nearby just for them.”

At that time, the lake had plenty of large crabs, and the taste was exceptional. Unfortunately, due to the environmental changes, the lake had dried up.

Truly, time changed everything, even the crabs.

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He couldn’t quite understand Xie Liufeng’s way of life, always wandering around the world.

Chu Xinghui shifted his attention back to the present, still hesitant: “A few months… isn’t that a little too short?”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment, recalling his own experience, and then gave his opinion: “It should be fine. It took me three months to break through from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core.”

Previously, the cold poison in Chu Xinghui’s body had greatly hindered his cultivation speed, but now that the poison had been cleared, it was the right time for him to make a breakthrough.

In fact, based on his experience, it was quite normal for a cultivator to reach Golden Core before the age of twenty and to reach next stage before thirty.

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment, and trusting Xie Liufeng completely, he nodded.

The black bird stopped banging against the cage and instead sat quietly inside, staring at them both, as if it had seen a ghost.

Although it wasn’t human, based on its shallow understanding of human behavior, it felt that breaking through to Golden Core couldn’t be as simple as planting cabbages.

 

 

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