Chapter 7

A few hours later, in front of the small crystal-clear lake, small ripples formed in the air as a portal opened.

--BAM!

A person was ejected from it, hitting the ground and kicking up a small cloud of dust.

"Cough, cough," the guy, Xiao Yao, coughed as he choked on the sand.

"The hell was that?" he complained.

After checking his skills, he had continued meditating for a few hours to stabilize his unstable cultivation.

Then, just as he was about to leave--feeling that the surrounding qi was almost depleted--he was suddenly ejected without warning. And now, here he was, lying on the ground.

"Guess that place wasn't meant for cultivation," he muttered to himself, reasoning as he got up and dusted off his clothes.

Standing up, he decided what to do next.

''Well, I can't leave this forest yet. Even Senior Xiang's memories don't have much information about the area outside this forest, and the deeper regions are occupied by powerful beasts--places even he dared not venture into. The spot I'm in now is the outermost region, somewhat safe within a certain radius.'

'But cultivating here would take too long,' he thought. Continuous cultivation at a fast pace required various resources--even for him, who possessed a top-level cultivation technique and an unknown but most likely excellent spiritual root. Without resources to support his progress, it might take weeks just to reach the second stage of Qi Refining through cultivation alone. Otherwise, why would most wandering cultivators lag behind the disciples of major sects that had a steady supply of resources?

After considering his options, he realized that wandering outside alone wouldn't lead to much progress. With that in mind, he simply took out the black token he had just obtained.

Holding the token, he injected a small amount of qi into it, which it readily absorbed.

--Buzz, Buzz--

It vibrated at a low frequency, as if sending out a signal.

After a few moments, it fell silent again. Seeing this, Xiao Yao stopped supplying qi and tucked it back inside his clothes.

"Now, I just need to wait," he muttered, sitting down at the edge of the lake and closing his eyes to meditate.

---

Shenhao Sect

In a vast chamber shrouded in white mist, a middle-aged man with a majestic face and half-black, half-white hair sat motionless, clad in a luxurious black robe with intricate purple patterns. His eyes remained closed, his breathing so faint that from a distance, one might mistake him for a statue.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open as a message flashed through his mind.

"Oh? There's still one token left outside," he muttered, recalling something.

After a brief moment of thought, he remembered - a token had gone missing nearly a hundred years ago. They had been unable to track its location and eventually gave up on it.

Then, the middle-aged man took out a piece of paper, infused his thoughts into it, and casually tossed it away before resuming his meditation, paying it no further attention.

Some distance away, in a secluded valley, a woman was tending to a patch of spiritual plants when the paper suddenly appeared before her.

As she caught it, a voice transmission echoed in her mind, instructing her to retrieve the person who possessed the lost token. The message barely finished before the paper combusted into ashes.

"Yes, Master," she replied respectfully, bowing toward the distant source of the message. Without hesitation, she took out a sword from her space ring, stepped onto it, and soared into the sky.

Within moments, she arrived before a massive gate, where a large plaque read "Shenhao Sect." Disciples moved in and out of the entrance, but her sudden arrival drew their attention.

As she descended gracefully from her sword, whispers broke out among the disciples.

"Look! That's Senior Sister Feng Qiuqiu!"

"Really??"

"Hmm, over there!"

"Uh… Senior Brothers, may I ask, who is she?"

"Hmph! You're just a new disciple, so you wouldn't know. She's the only disciple of Elder Xi, the head of the Resources Department."

"Ah, so that's it…"

"Not just that! She's also one of the strongest in the younger generation, below a hundred years old. Only Saint Son Gao surpasses her."

Feng Qiuqiu simply nodded at the disciples with a small smile, ignoring their gossip as she walked toward the sect's gate.

Seeing her approach, the disciples quickly stepped aside to make way for her.

At the entrance, two gatekeepers stepped forward and greeted her in unison, "Greetings, Senior Sister Feng."

"It's okay," she replied with the same gentle smile.

"Uh, what brings Senior Sister here? If there's anything you need, we'll do our best to assist you," one of the gatekeepers offered, his tone filled with flattery.

"Yes, yes! Senior Sister, feel free to give us any orders!" the other quickly added.

Feng Qiuqiu shook her head slightly. "No, it's nothing like that. I just came to inform you to register my departure - I'll be leaving for a while to pick up someone holding a sect-issued token."

"Ah, no need to worry, Senior Sister! We'll register your departure right away," one of the gatekeepers assured her.

"Uhm, thank you both," she said politely.

"There's no need, Senior Sister. It's our duty," they responded respectfully.

After hearing that, she nodded but didn't continue the conversation and simply took out her sword, stepping onto it. In the next moment, she soared into the sky, disappearing into the distance within seconds.

The gatekeepers watched her departing figure in awe. The speed at which she traveled was beyond their reach, a level of power they might never attain. After all, if they had such talent, they wouldn't be stationed here as mere gatekeepers.

---

Some distance away from Xiao Yao's meditation spot, a peculiar scene was unfolding.

A figure in a black robe lay sprawled on the ground, blood trickling from his mouth, staining the earth red. His eyes were bloodshot, his skeletal hand trembling as he pointed forward.

"Y...You... Th--hief... y-you sneak attacke-d..." he gasped, his voice weak.

If Xiao Yao were here, he would have been shocked to recognize the man - none other than the one who had given him the bun in the village, and was behind original Xiao Yao's death.

Standing before the dying man was a small penguin, contentedly munching on a shiny fruit, nearly finished with it.

Hearing the weak accusation, the penguin frowned in displeasure. With a huff, it waddled over, infused its tiny leg with little bit of qi, and delivered a kick to the black-robed man, sending him rolling a few more times. More blood gushed from his mouth before his body finally fell still - his lifeless eyes frozen in an expression of resentment.

The penguin glanced at the corpse with mild irritation.

'Tsk, what a waste', the penguin's expression seemed to say, clearly displeased that the man had cursed it with his last breath.

And it wasn't even a sneak attack! Who told this unlucky fool to stand in its path while it was busy escaping after stealing the treasures fruit from a far more dangerous old guy in the forest?

The penguin wanted to curse more, but before he could begin, a faint tremor spread through the surroundings.

A moment later, a thunderous, enraged voice echoed through the forest-

"Hairless Bird!! Let me see where you can hide after stealing away my treasure!"

The penguin's expression stiffened.

He had been exposed!

His gaze snapped to the lifeless man in front of him, and his anger flared once more. If he hadn't kicked that guy in frustration, he might not have been detected by that old monster!

Clicking his tongue in frustration, he turned and bolted in another direction. But before leaving, he made sure to give the dead man one final, spiteful kick - sending his corpse flying through the air until it got lodged awkwardly between the branches of a tree.