Jiang Zuo walked along the road, a coin in his hand. A suitable place to level up wasn’t so easy to find.

Some time later, Jiang Zuo spotted an array. He paid it no mind, stepping right inside.

There was a safe place inside, so of course he entered.

He didn’t care whose territory it was. As he entered, he casually fixed an undetectable flaw in the array.

He could modify such a low-level array with ease.

Soon, he found a spot where he would neither disturb anyone nor be disturbed himself.

Once he found his spot, Jiang Zuo inscribed a Support Array and began to level up.

Night had fallen, though the moon was hidden from view.

Before leveling up, Jiang Zuo took out the Battle Spirit Stele. This item would help him level up faster.

******

Meanwhile, Qian Xie and his two sisters had been met by their contact.

The one who met them was none other than Liu Yiyi.

Upon seeing Liu Yiyi, Qian Xie smiled. "Yiyi Fairy, I’m surprised you’re still coming to us for help."

Liu Yiyi shook her head. "I wasn’t exactly keen on asking for your help either, but if you can’t do it, don’t force it."

Liuyue Xue was also at Liu Yiyi’s side. Liu Yiyi introduced her, "A disciple of Baili Valley, Liuyue Xue. She’s mute."

Liuyue Xue: "..."

In the end, Liuyue Xue still gave a slight bow as a greeting.

Qian Xie and his sisters were taken aback. First, by Liuyue Xue’s appearance, which was beautiful enough to topple nations. And second, ’Such a beautiful Fairy has a disability?’

’The heavens truly are fair,’ they thought.

Then, Qian Xie made his own introductions. "I am Qian Xie. Of the two with me, the taller one is Qian Xu, and the shorter one is Qian Yu."

Qian Yu and Qian Xu nodded in greeting but said nothing.

Afterward, Liu Yiyi said, "It’s getting late. Would you like to rest?"

Qian Xu shook her head. "Just take us there to have a look. Losing a day or two of sleep is no big deal."

Seeing how dedicated they were, Liu Yiyi didn’t argue. Instead, she looked to Liuyue Xue.

Liuyue Xue nodded and began to lead the way.

Along the way, Qian Xie asked curiously, "Haven’t any of the great seniors from Baili Valley come to take a look?"

Liuyue Xue shook her head, and Liu Yiyi explained, "The matter isn’t serious enough to disturb so many seniors."

Qian Xie nodded. ’That makes sense. If the seniors had to be disturbed for every little thing, what would be the point of having juniors like us?’

’Still, people usually only call on the great seniors when things have gotten out of control, which is why so many tragedies happen. It’s hard to say if it’s a good or bad system,’ he thought.

Qian Xu asked, "When did this start?"

Liu Yiyi said, "About three days ago."

Just then, Qian Xie took out a Compass. He cast a Magic spell on it, then shook his head. "The overall layout hasn’t changed. It’s not a problem with the terrain."

Qian Xu also cast a Magic spell on the Compass, then she too shook her head. "The greater environment hasn’t changed either."

Qian Yu did the same, finally saying, "They’re right."

Liu Yiyi, Liuyue Xue: "..."

"You’ve reached a conclusion without even seeing the place?" Liu Yiyi asked.

Qian Xie shook his head. "We were just checking the broader, external conditions. If something had changed out here, the problem would be much easier to find."

Liu Yiyi didn’t care what methods they used, but she reminded them, "If you can’t figure it out, make sure to say so early. I’ll find someone really skilled to come over and give you a demonstration."

The three siblings were surprised. Qian Yu asked curiously, "Sister Liu, you know a great senior in our field?"

Liu Yiyi shook her head. "No, he’s a fellow Daoist from our chat group."

Qian Xu asked, unconvinced, "Then what makes you so sure he can solve it, Sister Liu?"

’Because he’s the top expert in our group,’ she thought. But she didn’t say it out loud; she knew these people were very proud.

If she said too much, they would just dig in their heels and refuse to give up.

So, she could only say, "Because... he’s older than us?"

Everyone: "..."

******

「Spiritual Control Sect」

A middle-aged man instantly shattered a stone table, roaring, "That damned brat! Can’t he read the situation? That’s a battleground for those who have Entered Dao! Is he staying behind to get himself killed?"

Ximen Linglong stood meekly to the side, terrified his anger would turn on her.

Her brother hadn’t returned, and her father was furious.

A beautiful woman beside him shook her head. "Calm down. You know Chuihuo’s temperament. He would never abandon others to leave by himself.

If he had left, those other two probably wouldn’t have survived.

That’s just the kind of person Chuihuo is. Otherwise, why would the Spirit Beasts at his side follow him so willingly?"

Ximen Chuihuo was a true anomaly in the Spiritual Control Sect.

When they learned that Ximen Chuihuo ate Spirit Beasts, everyone assumed no Spirit Beast would ever follow him. They all thought he would be unable to practice the Spiritual Control Sect’s Cultivation Technique.

Even his parents were no exception.

But everyone was wrong.

Not only did he succeed in his Cultivation, but he did better than anyone else. His Spirit Beasts were not the least bit weaker than anyone else’s.

Among his peers in the Spiritual Control Sect, he was practically invincible.

Even those hailed as the greatest of geniuses weren’t worthy of Ximen Chuihuo’s notice.

No one understood how he did it.

Most people assumed it was because of his status—because the Sect Leader, his father, was pulling strings for him.

However, only his parents knew the truth: Ximen Chuihuo had not accepted any help whatsoever.

Call it rebellion or arrogance, but from the very beginning, Ximen Chuihuo had walked his own path, paying no mind to anyone else.

In his eyes, his rivals were far beyond him; his true opponent was the entire Spiritual Control Sect. Therefore, no one in his own generation was a match for him.

His perspective was on a completely different level.

As for his Spirit Beasts, he had won every single one of them over with his charisma.

There wasn’t a trace of "coercion."

Hearing his wife’s words, the middle-aged man only grew angrier. "With that ’capability’ of his, he’ll end up dead out there one day, and we won’t even know when it happened."

"When he was eight, he tore off a Spirit Beast’s arm and roasted it for a snack. You said the same thing back then. But what happened in the end?"

"Go on, keep spoiling him," the middle-aged man said, flicking his sleeve.

The beautiful woman shook her head. "Chuihuo has his own understanding and his own path to walk. He’s different from us... no, he’s different from the entire Spiritual Control Sect.

Give him a chance, and he might just give us an incredible surprise."

The middle-aged man looked at his wife. "Face reality. Your son is just in it for the food. He’s not as wonderful as you imagine. He has no grand ambitions—and if he does, they’re all related to eating Spirit Beasts."

"..."

Then, the middle-aged man turned to leave, adding, "I’m going to check on that batch of Spirit Beasts. You contact that brat. Tell him to speak up if he’s in danger.

He shouldn’t just take it all on himself like an idiot. Tell him if he’s willing to ask for help, I’ll guarantee his and his friends’ safety. The condition is a three-day thrashing."

With that, the middle-aged man was gone.

Ximen Linglong let out a sigh of relief. ’Thank goodness Dad didn’t take his anger out on me.’

’Otherwise, I would’ve had to flee again right after coming all this way back.’

’But now I can finally relax openly for a while. So happy!’

Just then, her mother came to her side, stroking her head and asking dotingly, "Is your brother all right?"

Ximen Linglong smiled. "I just asked. The Demon Cultivators have withdrawn. There’s no problem at all."

＊＊＊＊＊＊

Someone said there are recommendation votes in the early morning, so I’m giving it a try.