Chapter 15

As the sky brightened, Wei Shizhi slowly woke up and found that his master and fellow disciples were all around him, looking at him with strange expressions.

Qi Yunhe said expressionlessly, "Disciple, you’re awake. Your snoring was quite loud, it was earth-shattering, with many twists and turns, very impressive." Everyone tried to keep a straight face, struggling hard not to laugh, even the usually reserved Qin Zhen’s eyes curved, revealing a hint of disrespect towards her senior brother.

Wei Shizhi felt a bit embarrassed. He knew he snored when he was tired, but for obvious reasons, he had never heard it himself.

"Rumble... rumble..." Wei Shizhi’s stomach growled from hunger. After being woken up by his snoring, his stomach started to rumble, making him look like a wine sack and a food bag. Everyone couldn’t hold back any longer and burst into laughter, even Qi Yunhe couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Last night, you didn’t return until midnight. We thought something had happened and searched for you all night. Later, we heard your snoring and found you here. Tell us, what happened?"

Wei Shizhi remembered the life-and-death situation of the previous night, his face changed dramatically, and he pointed in the direction where the snake venom had spread, shouting, "That way is absolutely dangerous!"

"Hmm?" Qi Yunhe frowned.

The moment of truth had arrived. Wei Shizhi recounted the encounter with the man in blue and the inhalation of the snake venom, speaking intermittently, mostly the truth, but he deliberately omitted a small, insignificant detail—swallowing the snake meat and absorbing its essence—giving Qi Yunhe the impression that after being poisoned, his disciple had struggled to practice the technique on the fragment of the beast skin and, by chance, used the essence of the moon to neutralize the deadly poison in his body.

Qi Yunhe was an old hand, and even he didn’t detect any issues, let alone the others, who all felt relieved for Wei Shizhi.

Qi Yunhe thought for a moment, then instructed his disciples to stay put and not leave. He followed the trail left by Wei Shizhi, arriving at the place where the python had died. Looking around, he saw the deer Wei Shizhi had hunted, now blackened by the snake venom, a hunting spear stuck in the ground, and the snake’s head nearby, covered in blood, but no sign of the python’s body, which might have been taken by the man in blue. The area was filled with a deadly poison, making one feel nauseous. He sighed, took out a porcelain bottle from his sleeve, and used his essence to collect all the snake venom, restoring peace to the forest.

After cleaning up, Qi Yunhe returned to his disciples, waved his hand, and urged them to hurry along, seeming somewhat restless. Yue Zhiyan distributed the dry rations to his junior brothers and sisters, handing a piece to Wei Shizhi, who shook his head, indicating he didn’t eat wheat products.

Everyone followed Qi Yunhe, chewing on the dry rations to stave off hunger. Wei Shizhi, unable to bear the hunger, his stomach rumbling, didn’t say a word more.

They traveled over mountains and hills without stopping, and by dusk, they had covered over a hundred miles. Under the setting sun, two steep peaks loomed in the distance like sky-piercing swords. Qi Yunhe sighed with relief and said, "We are now in the territory of the Xiandu Sect. If we travel for one more day, we will reach the foot of Tiandu Peak."

Yue Zhiyan settled the junior brothers and sisters, fetched water, and started a fire to prepare for the night. Wei Shizhi hunted a wild boar in the forest, skinned it, removed the organs, and roasted it over the fire. Yue Zhiyan took the knife and, cutting the most tender front leg, offered one to the master and another to the younger disciples. Knowing his junior brother had a large appetite and had been hungry all day, he cut off a hind leg and handed it to Wei Shizhi.

Wei Shizhi tore and chewed the roasted wild boar, swallowing large pieces with minimal chewing, finishing the entire leg in no time. Still unsatisfied, he broke the leg bone and sucked out the marrow. Despite his efforts to control his appetite and act more refined, he still appeared like a hungry beast to Song’s brothers and Qin Zhen.

The firelight flickered on Qi Yunhe’s face, casting alternating light and shadow. He threw the chewed bones into the fire and wiped the grease on his robe, saying, "That man in blue might be Qi Du from the Pingyuan Sect. The Pingyuan Sect is also a branch of Kunlun, practicing the Way of the True Heart, which emphasizes neither good nor evil, adhering to one’s true heart. He watched you get poisoned but didn’t help because ‘not helping’ was his true heart."

Song Qi couldn’t help but interject, "Compassion is inherent in everyone. How can the true heart be to watch someone die without helping?"

Qi Yunhe said, "The words of a mediocre scholar are not to be taken seriously. I ask you, if you urinate on an ant nest and drown a hundred ants, do you feel compassion?"

Song Qi didn’t dare to contradict his master and said softly, "How can humans be compared to ants..."

"In Qi Du’s eyes, we are just ants." Wei Shizhi brought the topic back. "Master, is Qi Du a notable figure in the Pingyuan Sect?"

"Among the ten disciples of Pingyuan, Qi Du ranks sixth. Even this old Taoist... feels inferior." Qi Yunhe was worried that his disciple might seek revenge hastily and deliberately gave him a few words of advice. He originally wanted to say "far behind," but thought it would be too embarrassing to belittle himself in front of his disciple, so he changed it to "feels inferior."

Wei Shizhi was a smart person and immediately understood the implications of Qi Yunhe’s words. He buried his hatred deeper, showing no signs of distress on his face, and continued, "Besides the Pingyuan Sect and our Xiandu Sect, are there other branches of Kunlun?"

Qi Yunhe counted on his fingers, "Liyang, Xuantong, Yuanrong, Shaoling, Yuxu, plus Pingyuan and Xiandu, they are known as the seven branches. The Dao of the seven branches all originates from Kunlun. If you achieve success in cultivation, you will have the opportunity to join Kunlun and learn the supreme sword technique."

These words made everyone feel like frogs at the bottom of a well, filled with endless admiration and longing. Joining the Xiandu Sect was just the first step on a long journey. If they were compared to ants, they had only climbed a tree, still far from the sky.

Thinking of Qi Yunhe’s earlier caution, Wei Shizhi speculated that although the seven branches all originated from Kunlun, their relationships were probably not harmonious. He was relieved that the snake venom had acted quickly, numbing his tongue, preventing him from revealing his identity to Qi Du. If Qi Du had known he was a disciple of the Xiandu Sect, would he have crushed him with a thumb?

Time had passed, and this question would never have an answer. Wei Shizhi didn’t want to know the answer.

Qin Zhen listened carefully and asked, "The Dao of the Pingyuan Sect is the True Heart, emphasizing neither good nor evil, adhering to one’s true heart. What about our Xiandu Sect?"

Qi Yunhe said slowly, "The Dao of the Xiandu Sect emphasizes purity and freedom from attachment. Tell me, what does this Dao mean? Whoever answers correctly will receive a Yin Xu Pill from this old Taoist."

Everyone thought for a moment and started to speak. Song Qi guessed it was about following one’s heart, Song Ji guessed it was about not exceeding the rules. They had attended private schools and memorized the Four Books, always thinking in terms of the words of sages. Yue Zhiyan guessed it was about extinction, having heard Deng Zhang recite a verse, "The body is the Bodhi tree, the mind is the bright mirror stand, always diligently wiping, not letting it be stained by dust."

Qi Yunhe shook his head, none of them were correct.

Qin Zhen, being young, thought for a long time but didn’t say anything. Wei Shizhi said, "Is it about freedom?"

Qi Yunhe took out a Yin Xu Pill and gave it to this seemingly rough but actually meticulous disciple. Wei Shizhi casually passed the pill to his junior sister Qin Zhen—Yue Zhiyan was the senior brother, and the Song brothers shouldn’t be favored more, only the youngest sister, with her beautiful features, deserved some special attention.

Qin Zhen looked at her master, seeing him nod slightly, and took the Yin Xu Pill, thanking her senior brother. She felt a bit lost but also happy.