The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

Xu Changqing lowered his right hand, took out a Qi-restoring pill from his storage bag and put it in his mouth. With a light step, his figure swept across the water like a large bird and scooped up the One-Eyed Owl's storage bag.

The body bobbed on the murky water for a few moments before disappearing completely.

Xu Changqing stood on the dead tree, his divine sense probing into the storage bag he had just acquired. He glanced at it briefly, his expression showing little emotion. He simply tied the bag shut and put it into his sleeve.

At the other end of the reed marshes, Li Shan led several clansmen in a small awning boat and approached. The oars parted the water plants, making a splashing sound.

Seeing that Xu Changqing was dressed neatly and breathing steadily, and then looking at the scorch marks left on the water and the lingering smell of blood, one could see...

Li Shan's eyes twitched involuntarily, and the look of awe in his eyes grew even stronger.

"Clan Chief Xu...that one-eyed owl?"

Li Shan tentatively asked a question.

Xu Changqing lightly landed on the bow of the boat with a tap of his toes, stood with his hands behind his back, and said calmly:

"He's dead."

These two words alone relieved the weight that had been hanging over Li Shan's heart for so long, and even the Li family youths behind him who were tightly gripping their magical artifacts breathed a sigh of relief.

Li Shan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly took out another 250 spirit stones that he had prepared beforehand, presenting them with both hands.

"Now that the scourge has been eliminated, this is what Chief Xu deserves. As for the items on that one-eyed owl..."

Li Shan glanced at Xu Changqing's bulging sleeves and, quite tactfully, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture.

"Those are Chief Xu's spoils of war. My Li family will not take a single penny. If it weren't for Chief Xu's ruthless methods, my Ironwood Island would probably not have escaped this calamity. Being able to gain peace is the greatest gain."

Xu Changqing did not refuse, took the spirit stone bag, counted it briefly with his divine sense, and accepted it without hesitation.

"Elder Li is a wise man."

His gaze swept over the gradually dissipating smoke around him, and he said again:

"With this matter settled, that rabble has scattered like monkeys after the tree falls, and is no longer a threat. As long as the Li family guards its gates well in the future and does not show any weakness again, the rules in this area will remain the same."

Li Shan nodded repeatedly in agreement.

No one said anything more, they turned the boat around and headed back along the same waterway they had come from.

As dawn broke and the sky began to lighten, the morning sun pierced through the thin mist and shone on the shimmering lake, completely concealing the night's carnage and bloodshed.

The reeds on both banks swayed in the wind, making a rustling sound, as if bidding farewell to passersby.

……

A thousand miles away, at the Qinghe Sword Sect.

The sounds of morning bells and evening drums echoed among the peaks, dispersing the clouds swirling around the mountainside.

At the end of a path overgrown with weeds on the back mountain of Hundred Beasts Peak.

Xu Xining crouched down, clutching a sealed pottery jar tightly in his arms, and sneaked out through the side door guarded by Chen San like a thief.

He was covered in grass clippings and mud, and his usually quick-witted eyes looked unusually alert.

Only when he was sure that no one was following him did he dare to straighten up slightly and hide behind a sheltered blue stone.

"call……"

Xu Xining let out a long breath, lifted a corner of the clay seal on the pottery jar, and peeked inside.

Dozens of tiny, snow-white ants, no bigger than a fingernail, were crawling densely at the bottom of the jar, emanating a chilling aura. Even through the jar, one could feel a bone-chilling cold.

He chuckled, dusted himself off, and was about to get up and head to Xiao Hanyi's cave to report when he suddenly stopped.

Something's not right.

Xu Xining frowned slightly, sat back down on the bluestone, and muttered to himself.

Who is Xiao Hanyi?

That was the personal disciple of the elder of Hundred Beasts Peak. He was usually aloof and arrogant in front of the outer disciples, and they wouldn't even give him a second glance.

Although these Cold Essence Ants were a precious food that Elder Liu raised to feed the Cold Ice Toads, they were extremely difficult for outsiders to obtain.

But for Xiao Hanyi, who was a direct disciple, it was just a matter of spending some spirit stones.

If she were to take it openly and honestly, the disciple guarding the cold pool would probably have to fawn over her and deliver it to her; there would be no need for such sneaky methods.

Why would you have to spend fifty spirit stones to find a "middleman" who's only recently started out?

Xu Xining's mind raced. He recalled the clan chief's usual teachings: think things through before acting and don't be greedy for small gains and suffer big losses.

His gaze fell once again on the pottery jar in his arms.

Senior Sister Xiao spared no expense to bypass the sect, not wanting the sect, or rather, not wanting Elder Liu, to know.

"What else can the cold-blooded ants be used for besides feeding the cold-blooded toads?"

Xu Xining gave a wry smile, weighed the pottery jar in his arms, and felt that it had become even heavier.

"These fifty spirit stones are hush money."

It's too late to back out now; the goods are already in our hands. If we go back on our word now, we won't be able to explain it to Xiao Hanyi.

"Fine, I'll just play dumb."

Xu Xining took a deep breath, adjusted his facial expression, and put on that shrewish smile again.

He straightened his clothes, picked up the pottery jar, and strode along the mountain path toward Xiao Hanyi's cave.

Smart people sometimes need to learn to be a little foolish at the right time.

Xiao Hanyi's cave dwelling was not located on the noisy mountainside of Hundred Beasts Peak, but rather on a secluded path, chosen at the foot of a cliff on the side of the yin wind.

The surrounding pines were as black as ink, and the sun never shone through the year. Only a few crows cawed on the withered branches.

Xu Xining walked up the winding mountain path, his cloth shoes worn white. He deliberately messed up his originally neat hair and smeared some mud on his forehead to make himself look rather disheveled.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, the two tightly closed stone doors were engraved with intricate restrictions, exuding a chilling aura that kept people at a distance.

Xu Xining did not dare to knock on the door rashly. Instead, he stood respectfully at the foot of the steps, with his head bowed and eyes lowered, displaying the proper manners of an outer disciple.

After about half a cup of tea's time, the stone door did not open, but a clear, cold voice pierced through the barrier.

"Did you bring the things?"

Xu Xining shuddered, quickly pulling out the slightly warm earthenware jar from his bosom, raising it high above his head with both hands, his voice laced with feigned obsequiousness and fear:

"Replying to Senior Sister Xiao, I have not failed in my mission! This is a full load of Cold Essence Ants. For this half-jar of treasure, I was almost captured by the deacon guarding the Cold Pool..."

He kept complaining, trying to make the task seem difficult, and his desire for reward and credit was practically written all over his face.

"Squeak—"

The stone door slowly opened a crack, and a mixture of medicinal fragrance and inexplicable heat rushed out, which seemed out of place with the surrounding cold.

Xiao Hanyi did not appear. She simply stretched out a pale white hand with her fingers spread wide. A suction force arose out of thin air and pulled the pottery jar into her hand.

Xu Xining, with her sharp eyes, noticed, even for just a moment, that Xiao Hanyi's once fair and smooth wrist was now wrapped in a dark red bandage, from which a faint smell of blood could be seen.

His heart pounded wildly. He didn't dare to look any longer and instead lowered his head even further, staring intently at the two blue bricks in front of his toes.

"Well done."