I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Xu Zhou's heart tightened.

Once Tong Jin calmed down, he explained the situation clearly.

It turned out that this morning, Tong Jin went to the manager of Jin Yan Lou to inquire about the whereabouts of the two people.

He just wanted to know when the other two returned after leaving the market, so he could meet up and set off earlier.

Unexpectedly, upon inquiring, it was discovered that the two had never returned to the market!

Tong Jin immediately sensed something was wrong.

He had a good relationship with the two men and knew that they were just going to Dragon Ridge Mountain near the market to hunt some snake-like monsters.

Although Dragon Ridge Mountain is dangerous, this couple possessed profound cultivation, rich experience, and combined attack skills. Traveling together, they should have the ability to escape even from a Foundation Establishment cultivator; how could they have suddenly disappeared without a trace?

Realizing the problem, Tong Jin immediately used his precious communication talisman to try to communicate with it.

Unexpectedly, after the transmission talisman was used, it did not fly out along with the aura.

This communication talisman is a top-grade first-tier item. Once activated, it can transmit messages as long as the recipient is within a thousand miles.

The fact that the transmission talisman hasn't even flown away proves that either the two people are not within a thousand miles, or that something really happened to them and their presence has vanished.

Upon seeing this, Tong Jin quickly went to find Xu Zhou to discuss countermeasures.

After saying this, Xu Zhou remained silent for a moment, quickly going over the matter in his mind.

Longjishan is not a dead end.

Given He and Zhang's cultivation levels and teamwork, if they were just ordinary demonic beasts or cultivators undergoing tribulation, they would certainly not have been left without even a chance to call for help.

It seems that they don't even have time to react when they encounter trouble.

With this thought in mind, Xu Zhou had already made his judgment.

Seeing his silence, Tong Jin hesitated and said, "How about we go into the mountains and search?"

"I can't go."

Xu Zhou rejected it very decisively.

"Their cultivation surpasses ours, and their combat skills are even more outstanding. If they still got into trouble, we'll only get ourselves caught up in it if we go over there."

Tong Jin was taken aback, then nodded repeatedly, his expression calming down somewhat: "Then, should we notify the sect?"

Xu Zhou nodded.

The two found the manager of Jin Yan Lou and, after explaining the matter, the manager used special means to send out the message.

After sending the message, the two did not rush to leave the market.

If there truly were someone capable of silently killing two late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, leaving the market at this moment would be extremely dangerous.

In this market town, there is at least one family member who has reached the Foundation Establishment stage and is guarding the area. It would be better for them to stay and avoid trouble.

And so this wait lasted for half a month.

Half a month later, the sect's messengers arrived.

When Xu Zhou saw these two senior brothers at the peak of Qi Refining, he noticed that their expressions were somewhat gloomy.

His heart tightened immediately, realizing that things were indeed in trouble.

The other party didn't hide anything and said bluntly, "The bodies of Senior Brother He and his companion have been found; they are a gruesome sight."

The senior student then asked, "Guess what they encountered?"

Tong Jin shook his head blankly.

"A heretical cultivator, from the Liang Kingdom, named Song Wubai."

Xu Zhou frowned: "Where did you get this information?"

Someone saw it.

The senior brother sighed, "When Song Wubai appeared, another group of cultivators were planning to commit robbery and happened to witness him make a move."

The cultivators immediately scattered and fled. One of them, with the help of the others, barely managed to escape, and only then did word of the incident spread.

At this point, the senior brother's face turned ashen: "It is said that when he fled, Senior Sister Zhang had already died at the hands of Song Wubai, and Senior Brother He was also seriously injured, and is now most likely also..."

The group fell silent for a moment.

After a long pause, Tong Jin couldn't help but ask, "What is this Song Wubai... this evil cultivator from Liang Kingdom doing in our Mu Kingdom?"

"Junior Brother Tong, you are unaware of this."

The senior brother explained, "Liang Kingdom is located in an extremely yin place, and many local cultivators are associated with evil and wicked people. There are a lot of evil cultivators. Not to mention heretical sects, even the local orthodox sects have mastered many evil cultivation methods."

As for Song Wubai, he was an inner disciple of the Yinhun Sect of Liang Kingdom. He defected from the sect because he was dissatisfied with his master's favoritism towards his junior brother, and fled all the way to our side.

This person was raising a black snake demon beast. He was hunting snakes on Dragon Ridge Mountain to improve the beast's aptitude when he happened to encounter Senior Brother He and the others, and that's how...

At this point, the senior brother couldn't bear to say any more.

Xu Zhou's focus remained on the previous events, and he asked, "Why was it that the sect received the news first about the escaped cultivator, while we knew nothing about it?"

The senior student gave him a deep look.

"That's why we came to pick you up."

The senior brother explained, "According to sources, Song Wubai had previously fled to this area."

Before Senior Brother He and the others encountered trouble, the other party should have been hiding in this Dongling Market. That's why the cultivator who had been robbing dared not return here, preferring to take a long detour to other markets for protection.

Xu Zhou's expression froze.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind, and images from the past few months appeared before my eyes.

If Song Wubai really did lurk in the market, then the two might have even brushed past each other...

He didn't think about it any further.

...

On his return journey, Xu Zhou left no room for maneuver.

His divine sense was always extended outward, constantly paying attention to the slightest clues in his surroundings.

Although they were certain they hadn't met Song Wubai in the market after seeing his portrait, this incident made him realize that danger lurked everywhere in the cultivation world, and he dared not underestimate it again.

As for whether he had met Song Wubai before, Xu Zhou no longer cared.

There's no use dwelling on the past.

But we must be careful from now on.

After returning to the sect, Xu Zhou pieced together the general details of He and Zhang's attack from the accounts of others.

It is said that Song Wubai launched a sneak attack, and Senior Sister Zhang barely had time to react before his black snake bit her throat in the blink of an eye.

Senior Brother He reacted extremely quickly, immediately summoning a magical artifact to protect himself, and even attempting to burn his essence blood in a counterattack.

However, before the secret technique could be fully developed, it inexplicably went out of control.

When the nearby cultivators learned of this and went to investigate, only a pile of mutilated corpses remained in the forest.

The sect was determined to seek revenge on him, and even several Foundation Establishment elders were dispatched for this purpose.

It is said that an elder happened to run into him in a market, but the man was extremely vigilant and, realizing that his whereabouts had been discovered, immediately took advantage of the chaos in the market to try to escape.

Although the Foundation Establishment elder gave chase immediately, he did not expect that Song Wubai, as a cultivator from the Liang Kingdom, had some particularly strange methods and actually escaped the elder's lock.

In the end, he still managed to escape.

After that, Song Wubai completely disappeared without a trace.

Xu Zhou waited inside the door for several months.

After several months, seeing no trace of Song Wubai, the Foundation Establishment elders could not blindly travel around because of this person, so they had no choice but to return to their sect first.

It is said that although Song Wubai escaped the elders' pursuit that day, he was also seriously injured. Perhaps his injuries flared up and he may have died outside.

Even so, the disciples were reminded that in the near future, they must travel in groups when leaving the sect. Furthermore, each disciple was equipped with a communication talisman, so that once a person's whereabouts were discovered, the nearest fellow disciples could be immediately notified.

As soon as the news spread, Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed in various places would immediately come looking for him, and they would not let him escape so easily again.

Given such a dire situation, it's unclear whether Song Wubai was truly dead or simply too afraid to appear again.

The tense atmosphere that had been hanging over the Qi Refining disciples dissipated over time.

Xu Zhou also calmed down, but did not let his guard down.

The experiences of He and Zhang have made him realize that even though he has reached the eighth level of Qi Refining, he is still an ant in the world of cultivation who could die at any time.

To survive peacefully, one must remain cautious.

...

Half a month later, Xu Zhou left the sect again.

This trip was only to the Thousand Wood Forest, which was only a few days' journey from the sect. He still found four or five fellow disciples to accompany him before setting off.

The trip to the Thousand Wood Forest was quite important to him, as it was part of his long-planned schedule.

He had been delayed by Song Wubai's matter. Now that the situation had eased, he could no longer afford to delay.

He was going to visit Song Rou.

Five years ago, after making all the necessary preparations, Song Rou received a Foundation Establishment Pill from Baicaotang and officially began her Foundation Establishment process.

After two days and two nights of arduous struggle, she finally had enough foundation to pass the three stages of Foundation Establishment, transforming herself from a caterpillar into a butterfly and becoming the new Foundation Establishment Elder of the Golden Flame Sect.

Since then, Song Rou has entered a long period of seclusion.

Getting familiar with the new realm and learning foundation-level techniques and spells will take a considerable amount of time.

She finally emerged from seclusion in the first half of the year.

Xu Zhou received the letter around that time, saying that he could come to Qianmulin to find her at any time.

Song Rou is now a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and her status is vastly different from before. Xu Zhou is going to visit her, so he needs to prepare a gift.

The gift doesn't have to be expensive, but it has to be unique enough.

Xu Zhou was looking for a good gift in Dongling Market and was about to head there when he was suddenly delayed by Song Wubai's matter.

Several months have passed since Song Rou sent the letter, and it would be somewhat inappropriate not to pay her a visit soon.

Song Rou's current cave dwelling is deep within the Thousand Tree Forest, located in the area with the richest spiritual energy.

The place is rich in wood elemental energy, which is suitable for her cultivation technique and makes it convenient for her to practice alchemy. Xu Zhou couldn't help but feel envious when he arrived here.

When the cave door opened, Xu Zhou, feeling uneasy, bowed and greeted them.

Before he could speak, Song Rou's laughter rang out.

"Senior brother, there's no need for such formalities."

The voice was gentle and soft, reminding Xu Zhou of when they first met.

He looked up and saw that Song Rou's expression had changed quite a bit. Her skin was as white as snow, her eyes were bright and lively, and she seemed to have become much younger, as if she had returned to the appearance of being only ten years old.

wrong.

Song Rou's face also had a soft glow, making her completely different from before, even more beautiful than before.

Such a drastic change even surprised Xu Zhou.

Seeing his stunned expression, Song Rou couldn't help but laugh, her laughter clear and melodious.

After a long pause, she spoke first: "Senior brother, you have traveled a long way to get here. Please come in and sit for a while."

Her tone of voice was exactly the same as before she reached the Foundation Establishment stage, and even more affectionate.

Even though Song Rou's tone was the same as before, Xu Zhou still subconsciously straightened his back a bit after sitting down.

This is an instinctive restraint when facing a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

After all, in the cultivation world, seniority is determined by cultivation level, a practice that is almost ingrained in the very bones.

Even though the other party was an approachable Foundation Establishment cultivator, and even his junior sister whom he had known all his life, Xu Zhou found it difficult to talk to her as he used to.

He spoke respectfully, "I should have come several months earlier, but I was delayed. I'm truly sorry."

"Senior brother, there's no need to worry. I've also heard about the evil cultivators," Song Rou said, shaking her head.

Seeing that she still referred to herself as her senior brother, Xu Zhou felt slightly uncomfortable.

But when he suggested changing the way he addressed her, Song Rou just smiled and said, "Senior brother and I have known each other for many years. How can we change the way we address each other just because of the difference in our cultivation levels? That would be too distant."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou remained silent for a moment.

He wanted to persuade her further, but then he noticed that Song Rou's eyes seemed to dim slightly for a moment when she said those words.

His expression was extremely calm, and he returned to normal in an instant.

Xu Zhou seemed to be pondering something.

Ultimately, he didn't continue the topic, and his demeanor became more relaxed.

After that, the two started chatting.

Song Rou mostly lamented how difficult it was to reach the Foundation Establishment stage, and also reminisced about her past with Xu Zhou.

After she achieved Foundation Establishment, her memory improved, and many trivial matters that even Xu Zhou couldn't quite remember were brought to light.

Revisiting it again adds a touch of nostalgia.

After chatting for a while, Xu Zhou subtly brought up the promise he had made in the past.

"It won't be easy for Senior Brother to get the Foundation Establishment Pill."

When Song Rou brought up this matter, her expression did not change much, as if she were talking about an ordinary matter: "Although I have already established my foundation, the Foundation Establishment Pill is of great significance and is not something I can easily control."

Xu Zhou nodded and said, "Of course I know. I just hope that when you refine Foundation Establishment Pills at Hundred Herbs Hall next time, you can put in a good word for me."

To everyone's surprise, Song Rou shook her head.

She said slowly, "Senior brother, there are far too many people eyeing the Foundation Establishment Pill from Baicaotang. I have only just established my foundation, and if I want to influence the whereabouts of that Foundation Establishment Pill, I will have to wait at least twenty or thirty years."

Xu Zhou's heart tightened.

But soon, Song Rou smiled and said, "However, I am also an alchemist after all, and I have plenty of ways to be flexible if needed."

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou asked, "What is flexibility?"

"Why don't you try refining pills yourself, senior brother?"