"Sister Chu?" Ye Bufan frowned upon hearing Ye Qingcheng's address to Chu Mengyao.
"What's wrong, isn't it?" Ye Qingcheng said. "Do you think we're all as exceptionally talented as you, reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage at eighteen? We've cultivated to our current level through the passage of time and years."
Ye Qingcheng said sarcastically, "Based on my age, I could be Sister Chu's mother. Do you want to be my grandson-in-law?"
"No!" Ye Bufan waved his hand. "I think this is fine."
The two's conversation almost made Song Mingqin spit out a mouthful of old blood. According to Ye Qingcheng, her cultivation speed should be considered very fast in the cultivation world, reaching the mid-Foundation Establishment stage from Qi Refining in just over fifty years. It was worth noting that Song Mingqin, who was over seventy, was considered quite talented, but Ye Qingcheng's feat in fifty-odd years was truly abnormal.
"By the way, why are you looking for me?" Ye Bufan asked, sensing the awkward atmosphere.
"Do you remember Yun Tianying, the one whose father was Yun Paopao, whom we met when we first entered the forest?" Ye Qingcheng asked.
Ye Bufan nodded. Ye Qingcheng continued, "His father, Yun Shan, is the current Sect Master of the Yunlai Sect. After the Yamata no Orochi was dealt with, he discovered that Yun Tianying had not returned to the sect for a long time. Guess what happened..."
"Yun Tianying, after separating from us, encountered people from Sakura Island and fell into an ambush, dying!" Ye Qingcheng burst into laughter. "Everyone speculated that Yun Shan would avenge Yun Tianying, but unexpectedly, Yun Shan did not."
"Why?" Ye Bufan asked.
"Because Yun Shan dared not oppose the people of Sakura Island," Ye Qingcheng said. "Thinking back now, Yun Tianying's arrogance back then was truly hilarious."
Ye Bufan frowned upon hearing this and turned to ask Song Mingqin, "Senior Song, how many cultivators did our side lose in total this time? I always feel that Sakura Island's actions were all thunder and no rain, which is somewhat abnormal."
Thinking of what the Yamata no Orochi had mentioned that day, Ye Bufan had a feeling that Sakura Island might have other plans. They seemed to be preparing to use the Yamata no Orochi to achieve something.
Song Mingqin heard this and said, "Conservatively speaking, we lost over twenty cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage and over fifty at the Qi Refining stage. However, it's strange that we haven't found the bodies of some cultivators. It was only after their respective sects noticed their prolonged absence and alerted us that we knew."
"How many cultivators' bodies couldn't be found?" Ye Bufan asked, frowning.
Song Mingqin pondered for a moment and replied, "Currently, we know of over twenty, but the number is likely to increase. Contact and statistics are already underway."
Ye Bufan nodded. The unsealing of the Yamata no Orochi, the Soul Pearl, and the bodies – when these were connected, a massive conspiracy seemed to emerge. He shared his thoughts with Song Mingqin, who agreed that the matter was far more complex than they had initially imagined.
Song Mingqin contemplated for a moment, bid farewell to Ye Bufan, and headed to the small cultivation world affiliated with their Crimson Sword Sect. This matter required vigilance.
Although Ji Feiyang was a martial artist, with Ye Bufan's help, he had slowly begun to touch the threshold of cultivation. While his current strength was insufficient to assist Ye Bufan, he understood the gravity of the situation.
"Brother Ye, let me see if I can find anything by starting with the martial artists of Sakura Island," Ji Feiyang said, bidding farewell to Ye Bufan and leaving his room.
Ye Qingcheng looked at Ye Bufan, scrutinizing him, and frowned in puzzlement.
"What? Do you have any questions?" Ye Bufan asked.
"You could clearly stay out of it, so why did you get involved?" Ye Qingcheng asked. "Doesn't that just make things difficult for yourself and even put you in danger?"
"The bottleneck is about to be broken. To survive in such an environment, one cannot fight alone; unity is essential. And the way to unite everyone is through regional solidarity. First, it's facing Sakura Island, and later, it will be facing forces and cultivators from beyond the Blue Star." Ye Bufan explained to Ye Qingcheng. "After all, this is the place where I grew up, and I cannot let it be harmed by people from other regions."
Ye Qingcheng frowned, still not understanding.
"You don't understand now, but you will definitely understand in the future," Ye Bufan said, smiling at Ye Qingcheng.
"Forget it, I can't be bothered with you," Ye Qingcheng rolled her eyes. "I'm going to find Sister Chu. You're too boring."
With that, Ye Qingcheng also left the room.
Ye Bufan smiled helplessly. With Ji Feiyang and Song Mingqin gone, he had nothing else to do and decided to go for a walk.
Since waking up, Ye Bufan had fully dedicated himself to cultivation and hadn't had the chance to explore Fayuan Temple. Ye Qingcheng had mentioned that it was a very famous ancient temple, and normally, people couldn't even stay there, but they were granted lodging thanks to Ye Qingyi's influence.
"Dong—"
Every hour, a bell would ring, and the air was filled with the scent of sandalwood.
After walking for an unknown amount of time, Ye Bufan strolled from the front courtyard to the back mountain of Fayuan Temple. Under the moonlight, the back mountain was silent. A gust of wind blew, and Ye Bufan immediately felt refreshed.
"Amitabha." Just then, a voice came from behind him. Ye Bufan turned around and saw a monk in a kasaya.
Ye Bufan bowed to him, and the monk returned the gesture.
"Benefactor Ye has extraordinary talent. Your injuries have almost fully recovered in just a few days. Congratulations," the monk said.
"Master, you flatter me," Ye Bufan nodded.
"My Buddhist name is Yuan Zhen," Yuan Zhen said.
"Greetings, Master Yuan Zhen. Have I, a junior, disturbed you?" Ye Bufan asked.
Yuan Zhen shook his head and said, "I also just arrived here and encountered Benefactor Ye."
"This back mountain..." Ye Bufan pointed to the back mountain. "It seems rather special."
Yuan Zhen looked at Ye Bufan, his eyes momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Ye Bufan to so easily perceive the peculiarity of the back mountain.
"This back mountain was opened by our founding patriarch," Yuan Zhen said. It was said that great secrets of cultivation were hidden within the back mountain, but no one who had visited it had been able to fathom those secrets.
Hearing Yuan Zhen's description, Ye Bufan's interest was immediately piqued...