Chapter 1752: Dawn Wind at the Willow Bank

In the southeastern reaches of Huangqi Valley, there lay a lake as smooth as a mirror, spanning three hundred li. Its waters remained clear and green throughout the year, framed by a dense ring of weeping willows. It was said that only an immortal could hope to walk the lake’s entire perimeter in a single go. Even in the height of summer, a cool, refreshing breeze swept across the banks, brushing against anyone who stood there.

Currently, on one part of the shore, approximately a hundred and sixty cultivators had gathered. Some stood in small groups, whispering quietly, while others stood alone with their hands behind their backs, gazing out over the shimmering green water.

Among them were practitioners in the Nascent Soul and Spirit Transformation stages, as well as a few Void Refining powerhouses. Li Yan stood beneath a willow tree, the trailing branches swaying gently before his eyes in the wind.

The Inheritance Ancient Hall, which opened once every three hundred years, was opening its doors again today. It had drawn some of the most elite core disciples of Huangqi Valley, yet they numbered only a little over a hundred.

Although the lowest cultivation level among them was the Nascent Soul stage, anyone who met the two specific requirements could enter. In the past, even Foundation Establishment disciples had entered, but it was rare for those at the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core stages to meet the criteria. Such occurrences were truly exceptional. Among the disciples gathered today, there were no such heaven-defying prodigies.

Li Yan stood under the tree, feeling the cool breeze blowing off the lake. It tugged at his green robes, dispelling the summer heat and leaving him feeling refreshed.

‘An opening once every three hundred years… to a mortal, this might be a once-in-a-lifetime event if they are lucky, but to a cultivator, it is but a fleeting moment. Even now, only this many people have come. Likely, many elite disciples have visited the hall before and aren’t in a hurry to return. Besides, the conditions for entry are quite harsh. To be among the top one thousand core disciples or to possess eighty thousand contribution points… neither is easy to achieve.’

Li Yan felt a wave of emotion. He watched the scenery but thought of the hundred-plus people around him. To earn this opportunity, he had spent years with almost no time for proper cultivation.

Within the crowd, Li Yan spotted several familiar faces, most of whom he had met while performing missions. After greeting them from a distance, he chose not to join any group, instead remaining on the far edge of the gathering. Seeing that he had no intention of coming over, the others weren’t surprised. They knew his temperament from their time on missions together.

Li Yan was a man of few words, often as silent as a mute during missions. They remembered him mainly because of the sheer volume of missions he accepted. As for his strength, they all suspected he was hiding his true capabilities; the cultivation level he displayed couldn’t be taken at face value. To survive such high-intensity missions for contribution points was proof enough of his ability.

As more cultivators arrived, the Ming sisters made their appearance. The two stood in the middle of the crowd. When they spotted Li Yan standing alone under the tree on the outskirts, both sides nodded and smiled in greeting, but neither had any intention of approaching the other.

In that moment of greeting, Li Yan’s keen senses captured a fleeting look of surprise in one of the sisters’ eyes. He showed no outward reaction. The sisters weren’t wearing the white sect uniforms; instead, they were both dressed in identical yellow gowns.

In the sect, unless a major event required it, most preferred their own attire, though some who enjoyed a sense of elegance wore the uniform frequently. Someone like Li Yan, who preferred to keep a low profile, disliked such bright, distinctive colors, feeling that they drew unnecessary attention.

The sisters’ clothes and hairstyles were identical, making it impossible for Li Yan to tell them apart without using his Divine Sense. Having caught the flicker of surprise in one, he determined that she was the younger sister, Ming Yu, while the composed one beside her was Ming Qi.

He based this judgment on the months he had spent with Ming Qi. Through their past interactions, he knew her to be more steady. The reason they remained tacitly apart—unlike the time of the internal selection—was the result of that last mission.

Now that Li Yan knew the Ming sisters harbored significant secrets, he felt it best to keep his distance until he could distinguish friend from foe. He suspected they felt the same.

Ming Qi didn’t know how Li Yan had survived that formation when everyone else had died, nor how he had managed to collect the others’ belongings. Naturally, she wouldn’t want to associate with him too closely. And she had certainly told her sister everything. Thus, upon seeing him, Ming Yu couldn’t help but feel that he was different from what she had previously imagined, which led to her momentary lapse in composure.

Beyond these two, Li Yan saw a few other familiar faces. There were Yan Qingchen and Liu Siyu, whom he had entered the internal selection with, as well as another Spirit Transformation cultivator who seemed to be part of their group. Beside those three were two middle-aged men whose cultivations had reached the late Spirit Transformation stage. The group was engaged in low-toned conversation.

Li Yan knew that Yan Qingchen’s alchemical attainments were truly formidable. Over the years, the man had repeatedly challenged the “Pill Emperor Tower.” Despite being a new disciple, he had clawed his way up to the 951st rank. While that was still at the bottom of the rankings, one had to consider the caliber of people on that list—they were all seasoned elite disciples.

Li Yan had heard of this while paying his contribution points for his entry to the hall and couldn’t help but feel a surge of admiration. In terms of pure alchemical skill, he couldn’t compare to the man. Back then, he had only secured his spot as a core disciple by utilizing various other means.

“Sister, do you think that dark-skinned fellow really has the means of a Void Refining cultivator, or perhaps he’s one himself? No matter how I look at him, it seems impossible. His realm is clearly only at the mid-stage of Spirit Transformation. Even if he could hide his strength, he shouldn’t be able to mask an entire major realm!”

Ming Yu stood at the lake’s edge, watching the clear ripples stirred by the wind as they lapped against the shore near her feet. It was as if they were trying their best to touch the soles of her exquisite boots. Although her eyes were on the water, she was questioning her sister through a voice transmission.

After her sister returned years ago, she had spoken of Li Yan as if he were even more powerful than herself. Ming Yu simply found it hard to believe. She knew her sister’s strength best; at full power, Ming Qi could hold her own against a Void Refining cultivator.

“I suspect he has a high-level breath-concealing treasure, as powerful as our own. If that’s the case, we naturally wouldn’t be able to tell. As for his cultivation… he shouldn’t be at the Void Refining stage yet, but he is almost certainly at the peak of the late Spirit Transformation stage. Didn’t we find out that when he entered the sect, he didn’t have to take the three preparatory exams for the outer valley? What does that tell you? He had the ability to bypass those exams, which means someone in Huangqi Valley is helping him. Because of that, as long as he remains within the Spirit Transformation realm, it fits the regulations for a disciple to enter, and no one would stop him!”

While Ming Qi replied, she was staring intently at the center of the lake. In the very middle sat a massive island covered in dense foliage. From the shore, one could only see a ring of trees. Even with Divine Sense, one couldn’t pierce through the canopy. Clearly, those trees were a form of protection to prevent prying eyes.

On another part of the shore, Yan Qingchen and his four companions were also communicating via voice transmission.

“…Once we enter, do not scatter. If you can help me find that item, then I will fulfill every condition I promised. I, Yan, will not break my word!”

Yan Qingchen’s voice echoed in the minds of the other four. To complete this mission, he had been selected after layers of assessments. For this, he had suppressed his cultivation for a long time and paid a significant amount in spirit stones and treasures upon arriving here.

However, during the last internal selection, those two “fools” who had boasted so loudly failed to even become core disciples. This forced him to spend more time and resources selecting suitable helpers from the existing core disciples.

He had already paid the initial recruitment fees, and just yesterday, before the hall opened, he had paid even more spirit stones. But those were only deposits. Each of their conditions would have to be met as agreed.

Fortunately, he had a powerful backing and had prepared the items they requested long ago. After showing them the treasures yesterday, these greedy individuals finally agreed to help.

Liu Siyu listened to Yan Qingchen’s words. In the silence of the group, her melodious voice rang out.

“Senior Brother Yan’s character is upright; this has already been proven. There is no doubt about it. Since we have taken his payment, we must do our utmost. Otherwise, let alone the world outside, even within our own sect, no one would ever trust our promises or character again!”

Her pleasant voice reached everyone’s mind. The others nodded and smiled in agreement, but in their hearts, they were dismissive. They knew Liu Siyu was deeply infatuated with Yan Qingchen and was merely using them as a pretext to say the words he couldn’t say himself.