Qin Sang took the urgent letter.
After reading it, he let out a soft exclamation of surprise, looking somewhat taken aback.
"What happened?"
Jingyu looked over inquisitively.
"A few days ago, Dongyang Bo passed the position of sect master to a disciple and left Shaohua Mountain." Qin Sang folded the letter, gazing toward Shaohua Mountain with flickering eyes.
A flicker of joy crossed his gaze, followed by vigilance and contemplation.
He pondered what deeper meaning lay behind Dongyang Bo's move, and whether some conspiracy was concealed within.
Ever since the battle at the Blood Pool, Dongyang Bo had kept remarkably low-key.
Qin Sang had deliberately created opportunities for him on the battlefield, yet Dongyang Bo had never taken the bait.
Dongyang Bo undoubtedly knew the origin of the puppet in Qin Sang's possession, yet over the years, not a shred of rumor regarding the Nascent Soul talisman puppet had circulated through the cultivation world.
Dongyang Bo had plotted meticulously against Gongliang Yu, only for Qin Sang to reap all the rewards in the end, while he himself had been injured at Qin Sang's hands. It seemed he had truly resigned himself to his fate.
The hatred in Qin Sang's heart had lessened over time, and he was no longer bent on vengeance.
The two sides had coexisted in peace all along.
Unexpectedly, Shaohua Mountain had changed hands without a sound.
"Did someone in Shaohua Mountain break through to the Nascent Soul stage? Who is it?"
Jingyu was well aware of the grudge between Qin Sang and Dongyang Bo and had looked closely into Shaohua Mountain's background. Counting off Dongyang Bo's renowned disciples, she said, "Word has it that the disciple with the finest talent in Shaohua Mountain, widely acknowledged as Dongyang Bo's most favored, is one named Qiu Mubai. He is already in the late Core Formation stage, but he is still a bit short of the Nascent Soul bottleneck. As for someone at the peak of the Core Formation stage who holds the greatest hope of forming a Nascent Soul, shouldn't that be Che Yutao?"
To her surprise, Qin Sang slowly shook his head.
"Neither of them! Che Yutao failed in his attempt to break through the Nascent Soul bottleneck and perished in his cave dwelling half a year ago. Qiu Mubai hasn't formed a Nascent Soul either, and Dongyang Bo took him along when he departed."
Jingyu was startled. "If not those two prized disciples, did Shaohua Mountain produce another genius?"
"No genius, nor has anyone in Shaohua Mountain formed a Nascent Soul. The one succeeding Dongyang Bo is... Mu Yifeng!"
Qin Sang bounced the urgent letter lightly in his hand, his tone complicated.
Ever since returning to the Beichen Realm, Qin Sang had always wanted to meet Mu Yifeng.
He now had the power to repay Mu Yifeng.
Yet for decades, even at the direst moments of the war between the three domains, Mu Yifeng had remained in arduous cultivation on Shaohua Mountain, never taking a single step beyond the sect.
Mindful of Dongyang Bo, Qin Sang had not dared to act rashly, able only to send people to slip into the market outside Shaohua Mountain to keep watch at all times, waiting for Mu Yifeng to emerge from seclusion.
He had never expected to receive news like this in the end.
Mu Yifeng had become the leader of the sect!
Did Dongyang Bo passing the position to Mu Yifeng instead of his prized disciple Qiu Mubai mean he recognized Mu Yifeng's cultivation and talent as superior to Qiu Mubai's, or was there some deeper intention?
Qin Sang was not naive enough to believe this was a coincidence.
With Mu Yifeng at the helm of Shaohua Mountain, Qin Sang would definitely lend his full support.
With his standing in the Beichen Alliance, he could ensure that for centuries to come, at least no one would dare cause trouble for Shaohua Mountain.
It would have been entirely different with Qiu Mubai.
Qin Sang would not vent his anger on Qiu Mubai, but neither would he offer him any assistance.
He wouldn't even need to move against them himself; a mere hint or display of coldness would be enough to see a Shaohua Mountain shorn of Dongyang Bo shunned and ostracized on all sides.
If Dongyang Bo had calculated this very thing when handing Shaohua Mountain over to Mu Yifeng...
Then he had likely known all along that Mu Yifeng had cut him slack and let him escape back then!
Qin Sang's heart sank slightly.
"It's him?"
Jingyu was also quite surprised. Once she grasped the underlying scheme, she clicked her tongue twice. "Dongyang Bo truly is cunning and farsighted! Mu Yifeng defied his master's orders to let you go, yet Dongyang Bo managed to endure it for centuries and even pushed him into the seat of sect master. That is truly beyond expectation!"
"Not necessarily. Back then, Mu Yifeng wasn't in the Core Formation stage and was of little value, nor is Dongyang Bo's heart so magnanimous."
Qin Sang shook his head.
He recalled the information he had gathered before: Mu Yifeng's cave dwelling was on Jingyue Peak.
Dongyang Bo sparing Mu Yifeng had likely been connected to Chen Yan.
The deed had already been done back then.
Moreover, Dongyang Bo and Chen Yan had not completely fallen out; they had reached some sort of agreement.
If Chen Yan had spoken up on Mu Yifeng's behalf, given how deep Dongyang Bo's schemes ran, swallowing his anger was by no means unimaginable.
Even so, Qin Sang had not expected Dongyang Bo to use Mu Yifeng as a chess piece once again, putting him in check.
"Where did Dongyang Bo go?" Jingyu asked again.
Qin Sang shook his head. "Mu Yifeng doesn't know either. However, before setting out, Dongyang Bo told Mu Yifeng in person that once he departed, he likely would never have a chance to return!"
Jingyu said in contemplation, "I remember Fellow Daoist Qingjun once saying that the speed of Dongyang Bo's cultivation breakthrough was highly abnormal. After breaking through the bottleneck, he suddenly stagnated, making virtually no progress over the past century or more. She suspected he had used some evil art fraught with severe perils to force the breakthrough. His heavenly tribulation is still a century away, so even if he couldn't survive it, he could have groomed Qiu Mubai to at least the peak of the Core Formation stage. Leaving so abruptly now—could it be that the hidden peril is about to erupt?"
Qin Sang narrowed his eyes slightly.
Jingyu's conjecture was very likely close to the truth.
Dongyang Bo placed great importance on the lineage of his sect. As long as he held the fort in person, no one could suppress Shaohua Mountain.
Departing the sect without a word now had to have a reason.
The entirety of the Beichen Realm was under the control of the Beichen Alliance.
A thought struck Qin Sang, and he exchanged a glance with Jingyu.
"The Three Realms of the North Sea!"
Qin Sang paced back and forth. "Chen Yan has a mysterious master. The secret technique Dongyang Bo used to break through his bottleneck most likely came from Chen Yan—one of the terms for their renewed cooperation. If Dongyang Bo wants to resolve this hidden danger, he can only turn to Chen Yan for help! With his cultivation, the odds of him crossing the storm belt alone are substantial. But why did he take the risk of bringing Qiu Mubai along?"
Jingyu smiled. "Perhaps he feared you would vent your fury on his prized disciple."
"Then he underestimates me."
Qin Sang gave a cold snort.
Every wrong had its perpetrator, every debt its debtor.
All the enmity lay solely between him and Dongyang Bo.
In the course of his cultivation journey, his experiences on Shaohua Mountain remained an indelible memory; he would not needlessly take it out on the innocent.
After a moment of thought,
Qin Sang turned to the white cat and said, "Go and invite Mu Yifeng to Peach Blossom Valley... No, I will go meet him in person!"
Jingyu rose and sped toward the valley exit alongside Qin Sang.
The mountain gate of Qingyang Temple stood upon the original site of the Yuanshen Sect.
Before Qingjun departed, she had left the disposal of the Yuanshen Sect in Qin Sang's hands. Unwilling to absorb so many Yuanshen Sect disciples lest they become an unwieldy burden, Qin Sang chose a spirit vein of lesser quality on the southern foothills of the Tianxing Plateau and relocated the Yuanshen Sect there.
No one in the Beichen Alliance objected, and the disciples of the Yuanshen Sect dared even less to defy Qin Sang's decision.
The white cat bounded along behind them.
At the entrance of Peach Blossom Valley,
the mist parted to both sides as one human and two demons flew out of Peach Blossom Valley.
It was dusk once more.
The rays of the setting sun poured in from outside.
The moment Qin Sang flew out, his body was bathed in golden radiance. Suddenly stirred by emotion, he paused slightly in midair and turned to look back at Peach Blossom Valley.
Peach blossoms were in full bloom, setting the entire grove ablaze with color.
The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Ten years..."
Qin Sang sighed softly in his heart.
Still he remembered.
Back then, the fair face and peach blossoms had reflected each other's rosy hue.
And now, the peach blossoms still smiled in the spring breeze.
Chapter 1355