Are there still people around?
Yun Ze looked at Zu Changdao in confusion, only to find him also looking around warily, as if afraid someone would respond.
However, the surroundings were silent. Yun Ze never saw anyone appear, only knowing that Wei Huang and her firebird were about to fall to the ground!
Wei Lanshu beside her was on the verge of tears but had no way to help.
She knew that only Zu Changdao could save her mother now.
But without Mu Siyue's command, Zu Changdao would probably not intervene, nor would he dare to!
After three breaths, there was no response from the air.
Only then did Mu Siyue laugh, "A bunch of cowards. If the Golden Core realm doesn't dare to fight, does the Nascent Soul realm not dare either? How long do you expect me to wait?"
With that, Mu Siyue flickered and appeared beside Wei Huang, bringing her back to the isolated peak and to the side of the cave dwelling.
"Oh, my ancestor!"
Zu Changdao looked bitter. Seeing Mu Siyue descend, he complained to her tearfully, "What are you doing! If those people really get angry and attack you together, will my isolated peak still be here? It'll probably be ruined by you!"
"Don't worry, I'll compensate you," Mu Siyue replied indifferently.
"That's good then."
Zu Changdao only realized after he spoke, "Wait, is this about compensation! This Guiwu Sword Sect is already Guiwu..."
"En?"
Before Zu Changdao could finish speaking, he heard Mu Siyue let out a cold snort.
He immediately came to his senses and quickly covered his mouth, ceasing to speak.
You are the boss, you have the final say!
"Mother!"
Wei Lanshu was currently lying on Wei Huang. Her already weak body, coupled with her grief, made her appear incredibly delicate. "Mother, how are you?"
"I... I'm fine."
Wei Huang forced a smile, raised her hand to caress Wei Lanshu's face, and said with a trembling voice, "Don't worry, Xiao Shu, I'll be fine after a little rest."
"Still pretending to be strong."
Mu Siyue walked forward, casually took out a pill, and offered it to Wei Huang. "Take it, you'll recover soon."
Wei Huang turned her head away as if she hadn't heard.
"Not eating?"
"No!"
Mu Siyue seized the opportunity while Wei Huang was speaking, pinched her chin, and casually stuffed the pill into her mouth, also ruffling her hair.
"That's a good girl."
"Mu Siyue!"
Wei Huang's face turned red with anger, and she roared at Mu Siyue, "How many times have I told you! I'm not a little girl anymore! Don't touch my head!"
Wei Lanshu was stunned.
It was the first time she had seen her mother act like this. She really... looked like a little girl!
"Mhm, mhm, not a little girl, you're already a mother."
Mu Siyue replied perfunctorily, then squatted in front of her and asked, "So you lost this time, right? Do you know what you need to do?"
"Hmph!"
Wei Huang snorted coldly and glanced at Yun Ze. "A loss is a loss! Kid, the Destiny Blood is stored within you. When I win against this woman, I'll take it from you! Do you understand?"
Yun Ze nodded.
Although he was completely confused, he understood the gist of it.
In simple terms, she had been subdued by Senior Sister Mu, so she could let him keep the so-called Destiny Blood for now.
She would take it back when he could defeat Senior Sister Mu.
"That's a good girl."
Mu Siyue praised Wei Huang again as if she were a little girl, then looked at Yun Ze. "Didn't you want to see the Heavenly Rankings? Open it and take a look."
"Oh, right!"
Yun Ze poured his spiritual energy into the jade token, and nine Heavenly Rankings appeared simultaneously!
His gaze immediately fell upon the Qi Refining Heavenly Ranking, and his heart trembled!
[One: Xiu Yun, Qi Refining Ninth Level, Nine Realms Qi Sea Initial Stage.]
[Two: Dan Chenyu, Qi Refining Ninth Level, Nine Realms Qi Sea Initial Stage.]
Another Qi Refining Ninth Level with Nine Realms Qi Sea!
Yun Ze was startled, and he noticed that the gazes of the people around him also froze.
Even Mu Siyue was the same!
"Interesting."
Mu Siyue smiled. "One from the immortal path, one from the demonic path. It seems someone couldn't wait any longer."
"They definitely couldn't wait."
Wei Huang had already recovered considerably after taking the pill. She stood up and said, "Hundreds of years ago, you suppressed the demonic path. Now they want to regain the upper hand, and those old guys naturally won't agree. This young lady from the Dan family was probably pushed up forcefully, lest the immortal path's reputation be tarnished this generation."
"That's not entirely being pushed up forcefully."
Zu Changdao seemed to know something and analyzed from the side, "When this prodigy of the Dan family was born, there were also heavenly phenomena. She seems to have a rare top-tier Earth-grade Five Elements Spiritual Root, only a step away from a Heaven-grade Spiritual Root. She's far superior to this Xiu Yun."
"There are still three months. We'll see then," Wei Huang said, also seeming concerned about the matter. "If this girl can share the pressure, regardless of the outcome, the pressure on the immortal path's prodigies will be significantly reduced."
"I really don't understand."
Mu Siyue shook her head, "Nine realms of the Qi Sea, is it really that attractive?"
"What do you think!"
Wei Huang's temper flared up upon hearing this. She rolled her eyes and said irritably, "Mid-stage Golden Core realm defeating mid-stage Nascent Soul realm! Without even sustaining any injuries! If you wanted to kill me, I would be dead by now! This is a difference of a major realm!"
"But no matter how strong, it can't make up for the gap of two major realms..."
Mu Siyue ruffled Wei Huang's hair again. "But don't worry, for the sake of that person, I won't kill you either."
"You're not allowed to mention him!"
Wei Huang jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "What is he! He abandoned us mother and daughter for so many years, with no news! And you guys never tell me where he went! I... I..."
"Xiao Huang, that's enough. Don't say these things in front of the child."
Mu Siyue called out Wei Huang's name and stepped forward, pulling her into her embrace. "He has very important things to do. It will be alright in a while. It's not far, really not far!"
Yun Ze finally understood.
The relationship between Wei Huang and his senior sister was probably more than just old friends; it was more like sisters.
The battle just now was probably just a playful spat between the two, which explained why Wei Huang made the moves and Mu Siyue countered them, without any real animosity.
As for the man they mentioned, he should be Xiao Shu's father.
But Yun Ze didn't know what had happened between them.
He only knew that it wasn't his turn to speak now, so he continued to look at the Heavenly Rankings...
[Sixty-five: Yun Ze, Qi Refining Fifth Level, Seven Realms Qi Sea Initial Stage.]
...
[Seventy-four: Wei Lanshu, Qi Refining First Level, Seven Realms Qi Sea Initial Stage.]
As expected, even though Xiao Shu was only at Qi Refining First Level, due to the potential of the Seven Realms Qi Sea, she still made it onto the Heavenly Rankings.
If it were according to the selection criteria for the Heaven Building Secret Realm, she would likely be included.
Not only did he see it, but Wei Lanshu and Wei Huang beside him also saw this scene.
"She's still on it..."
Wei Huang got up from Mu Siyue's embrace, her brow furrowed as she looked at the Heavenly Rankings.
After much thought, she finally looked at Mu Siyue and slowly uttered two words: "Help me."
Mu Siyue nodded without speaking and turned to Zu Changdao. "Sect Master Zu."
"Hey, please don't call me that!"
Zu Changdao quickly said, "You can still call me Xiao Dao!"
"Alright, Xiao Dao."
"Please speak!"
"I'll entrust my junior disciple to you for three months of guidance."
Mu Siyue casually instructed, "After three months, I want to see him reach at least Qi Refining Sixth Level, and completely master the Water Cloud Art, as well as understand the other four basic sword techniques. Do you understand?"
"Four basic sword techniques?"
Zu Changdao was stunned, finding it somewhat difficult to comprehend.
If it were the Water, Fire, and Wood sword techniques, it would be easier to understand.
After all, his junior friend possessed spiritual roots of these three attributes. By cultivating these three basic sword techniques and laying a solid foundation, he could then study the sect's more profound sword techniques.
Just like the Drowning Water Sword Rain just now, it was one of the Xuan-grade low-tier techniques derived from the Water Cloud Art.
But to practice five basic sword techniques... was this really necessary?
"En?"
Mu Siyue did not intend to explain, only emitting a nasal sound. Zu Changdao nodded repeatedly.
"Yes, Xiao Dao understands~"
"Then go."
Zu Changdao responded and led Yun Ze towards the isolated peak, a thousand meters above. "Let's go, young friend, let's first see where you are suitable for cultivation."
"Sect Master, why don't you just call me Yun Ze."
Yun Ze said with a wry smile, still unaccustomed to this increase in seniority.
"No! Seniority cannot be disordered!"
Zu Changdao was very insistent, and Yun Ze couldn't say anything more.
Young friend it is, he wasn't at a disadvantage anyway.
The two walked up to a thousand meters above the isolated peak.
As soon as they crossed this thousand-meter boundary, Yun Ze's steps suddenly halted!
The spiritual energy concentration... was too abundant!
If the spiritual energy below a thousand meters was like a pond, then the spiritual energy above a thousand meters was like a vast ocean!
It was as if one would drown in it!
Yun Ze took a few deep breaths. Before he could even circulate his cultivation technique, he felt the vortex within his body spinning wildly, constantly absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy.
Zu Changdao watched from the side and nodded slightly. "As expected of a Seven Realms Qi Sea. If an ordinary Qi Refining cultivator were to come up, they would probably explode. Come, young friend, let's continue upwards and see your limit."
"Okay."
Yun Ze followed him.
With every step he took upwards, the spiritual energy around him became more concentrated.
Around eleven hundred meters, Yun Ze was almost unable to breathe. Each breath placed a tremendous burden on his Qi Sea's circulation!
This was different from breaking through.
During a realm breakthrough, the Qi Sea was empty, and any amount of spiritual energy could be absorbed.
But now, his Qi Sea was full, and it wasn't yet time to break through. More spiritual energy wasn't necessarily better; it required a gradual increase in concentration to form the sixth Qi vortex!
He was like a person who was extremely thirsty but couldn't swim, being kicked into a pond!
He was drinking the water, but he was also drowning! If he went any higher, he would truly explode!
Yun Ze thought this, but he still tried his best to keep up with Zu Changdao's pace.
"Hey, young friend, didn't you want to touch my sword?"
Zu Changdao suddenly spoke, turning to look at Yun Ze. "I won't use spiritual energy, only physical strength. You are not restricted. If you can catch up to me and touch my clothes, I'll give you a chance to touch my sword, how about it?"
Yun Ze's head snapped up!
"Really?"
"As the Sect Master, I naturally keep my word!"
"Good!"
As soon as Yun Ze uttered the word, he felt a blur before his eyes!
This old rascal actually ran off!
In order to admire the black sword up close, Yun Ze did not hesitate and activated his Shadow Pursuit to chase after him!
The distance, which had been slowly increasing, suddenly surged!
However, with an outlet for his spiritual energy, Yun Ze felt a little better.
He stepped on Shadow Pursuit, galloping forward, trying to touch Zu Changdao's clothes.
But he always remained about a meter away from Yun Ze. If Yun Ze sped up, he would speed up too. If Yun Ze slowed down to rest, he would also slow down.
No!
Yun Ze realized this old rascal was toying with him, wanting to lure him to a higher place to cultivate. Although it was for his own good, he didn't want to reveal the black sword.
He had to find a way!
Yun Ze maintained his current speed, and a flash of inspiration struck him!
Got it!
Isn't it just touching clothes? Isn't that simple?
Yun Ze casually drew his Mountain Ghoul and slashed directly at Zu Changdao!