Chapter 64

Wei Rongniang wrote a letter and sent it back to Xianyun Peak via flying sword, reporting the details of the extermination of the corpse-eating vine demon. A few hours later, the sect leader replied with only three words: "Understood."

Understood? What does "understood" mean? Wei Rongniang was puzzled.

The group continued on their journey, and Hu An's gloom cast a shadow over their trip. Wei Rongniang was somewhat distracted. She remembered clearly that there was a female disciple in the direct lineage of Kunlun, seemingly from the Gouliang Sect, who wielded a gold-inlaid phoenix sickle. Her name was Yu Yao, the youngest daughter of Yunya Sect's leader, Yu Sanqin, who had been transported thousands of miles away by the Moonlight Wheel. Could it be that by some twist of fate, she had become a disciple of Kunlun? The sect leader, Xi Huzi, forbade her from mentioning this matter again; could it be related to this?

Ten days later, they arrived at a mountain hollow called Huzigou.

The snow accumulated like a thick blanket, covering the sleeping mountain hollow. A dozen wooden houses were nestled among the trees, with smoke curling up and dissipating among the treetops, creating a peaceful and serene scene.

Beyond the mountain hollow lay vast, continuous mountains, stretching across the northwest like a giant lying down, reaching out to touch the horizon.

Wei Rongniang pointed to the mountains and said, "That is the Heavenly Ridge, a branch of the Kunlun Mountains. It is the hunting ground for the seven branches of the sect. This time, the Xiandu, Pingyuan, and Xuantong sects have joined forces for the winter hunt, and some of them have already arrived."

The group walked through the snow toward the wooden houses. Halfway there, a seven- or eight-year-old boy came out of one of the houses, stretching and moving his limbs. Seeing Wei Rongniang and the others, he ran over on his short legs.

Chen Suzhen whispered, "That's Sun Ergou from the Pingyuan Sect, a disciple of Qi Du. Though young, he has a high seniority."

Wei Shizheng finally understood why he was reluctant to mention his name in front of others; his real name was Ergou.

Sun Ergou greeted Wei Rongniang first, then greeted Wei Shizheng, "Brother Shizheng, long time no see!"

"Little Brother Sun, how have you been?"

Pingyuan and Xiandu had never been on good terms, so Wei Rongniang was somewhat surprised and asked, "Shizheng, do you know Little Sun from the Pingyuan Sect?"

"We've met a few times before."

Sun Ergou said, "Sister Wei, the Xuantong Sect hasn't arrived yet. They should be here in a day or two. Why don't you settle in first, and we can catch up later tonight?"

"Alright. By the way, who is leading the Pingyuan Sect for this winter hunt?"

"Sister Wei, you know him. It's Senior Brother Jüan."

Wei Rongniang was taken aback. The Senior Brother Jüan Sun Ergou mentioned was Qian Jüan, the disciple of the Pingyuan Sect's leader, ranked seventh among the ten disciples of Pingyuan, just below Qi Du, and the top young talent of the sect. The Pingyuan Sect sending Qian Jüan to lead the winter hunt suggested they had significant plans, far more than just collecting a few demon cores.

Sun Ergou had a lot to ask Wei Shizheng and said with a grin, "Sister Wei, Brother Shizheng and I have some private matters to discuss. Why don't you go ahead?"

"Private matters? Alright, go ahead and talk. Just make sure no one else hears!" Wei Rongniang laughed, and even Chen Suzhen couldn't help but smile.

Wei Shizheng glanced at Sun Ergou with a blank expression and muttered to himself, "So young, yet so cunning!"

Wei Rongniang led the three disciples to settle in, and Sun Ergou eagerly pulled Wei Shizheng aside to ask how he had escaped from Guimen Yuan.

Wei Shizheng had prepared his story in advance. He said that Qiluo was too powerful, and he had no choice but to take the risk and jump into Guimen Yuan, clinging to a withered vine on the cliff, betting that she wouldn't find him for a while.

Sun Ergou frowned and said that while he had managed to hide, it had been tough for him. Qiluo had tried to kill him, but fortunately, his master had arrived in time to save him.

The two laughed at each other. Wei Shizheng didn't mind that Sun Ergou had stood by, and Sun Ergou didn't mind that Wei Shizheng had fled first. They didn't have a life-or-death friendship, and neither blamed the other for it.

Wei Shizheng asked about Qiluo's fate. Sun Ergou exaggerated his master's prowess, saying that Qiluo had been severely injured by the Falling Star Sword, losing an arm and a leg, and had fallen into Guimen Yuan, disappearing without a trace, whether dead or alive.

"However, misfortune and fortune go hand in hand. Although I was scared, I managed to master the Soul Capture Technique. Look at this!" Sun Ergou put his index fingers in his mouth and whistled. A huge human-faced dove flew up from the forest, circling in the air, its wings stirring up a snowstorm, and then landed steadily beside Sun Ergou.

"Can the Soul Capture Technique control such a fierce demon bird?"

"Haha, what do you think? It's pretty good! I can even ride it in the sky!" Sun Ergou's face lit up with pride.

"Really impressive! Is the Soul Capture Technique a unique technique of your Pingyuan Sect?"

"Not at all. It's quite common. Your Xiandu Sect's Penglai Hall definitely has a copy. If you want to learn it, accumulate some merits and exchange for it at the Penglai Hall. This winter hunt is a great opportunity. Honestly, I find the Soul Capture Technique quite practical. It can capture souls, control demons, and interrogate enemies, useful in many ways."

Wei Shizheng was intrigued and asked, "Can the essence souls of demons be refined into a flying sword?"

Sun Ergou slapped his thigh and said, "You're asking the right person. I heard from my master that the Soul Capture Technique is an ancient technique, divided into inner and outer volumes. The outer volume teaches the methods to capture and control souls, while the inner volume is a sword technique that can refine essence souls into flying swords, endowing them with various powers, which is amazing. Unfortunately, the inner volume has been lost, and what is now circulating is the outer volume. Your Uncle Deng Yuantong's Green Bee Sword is sealed with the essence soul of a green iron bee. My master said he might be practicing the inner volume of the Soul Capture Technique."

Wei Shizheng recalled the scene where Deng Yuantong chanted a spell to control the green iron bee's essence soul and nodded inwardly.

"Brother Shizheng, how about we team up for this winter hunt? We'll split the rewards equally, what do you say?"

"If Senior Sister Wei doesn't object, then let's team up again." Wei Shizheng also wanted to get more information from him and agreed readily.