Yang Che left the Red Ripple Secret Realm.

The moment he appeared in the Sword Four Peak plaza, he saw Peak Lord Zhang smiling at him.

Yang Che was startled by the Old Man's strange smile, but then immediately understood. He quickly took out half of the Spirit Stones he had won and respectfully handed them to the Old Man, saying, “Please accept these, Old Ancestor.”

Peak Lord Zhang remained still, showing no intention of taking the Spirit Stones Yang Che offered.

Yang Che’s heart sank, thinking, “Could this Old Man be displeased with the small amount?”

While he was pondering, Peak Lord Zhang suddenly spoke, “Yang Che, since these Spirit Stones were won by you, keep them all.”

Yang Che was stunned, initially thinking he had misheard. However, seeing the Old Man’s expression, which indeed showed no desire for the Spirit Stones, he finally believed that the Old Man truly intended to take nothing.

“Thank you, Old Ancestor.”

Yang Che put the Spirit Stones into his Storage Pouch.

Peak Lord Zhang suddenly asked again, “Where did you obtain the Sky Thunder Scripture you cultivate?”

Yang Che told him truthfully.

Peak Lord Zhang was puzzled.

How could such a valuable lightning-attribute Cultivation Technique like the Sky Thunder Scripture be so easily placed in the Wulong Valley’s scripture library?

He always felt something was off.

However, it was also possible that Mutated Lightning Immortal Root Cultivators were simply too rare; he heard that the Wulong Valley hadn't seen one for several centuries, so it made sense that no one paid attention to the Sky Thunder Scripture.

Peak Lord Zhang had a pensive look on his face. After a while, he said to Yang Che, “This time, our Sect is sending a group of Disciples to rendezvous with Disciples from the other four Sects of our Jiang Country in ‘Tianfeng City,’ the capital of Feng Country. From there, you will all proceed together to ‘Fenshi Valley,’ which borders Feng Country and Shura Country, to investigate traces of the Demonic Path.”

“Since you chose to reveal your Mutated Lightning Immortal Root, I cannot refute the opinions of those old fellows. Moreover, I also support your going.”

Peak Lord Zhang took down the golden wine gourd from his waist, took a sip, and revealed an expression of intoxication. He then continued, “Flowers in a greenhouse ultimately cannot withstand the ravages of wind and frost. Only by being tempered in the cruel Cultivation World will you be able to bear the great responsibility of our Sword Four Peak in the future.”

After speaking, Peak Lord Zhang’s palm moved, and another gourd appeared in his hand.

Yang Che saw that this gourd was similar in size to the Old Man’s golden wine gourd, but it was entirely purple, with faint golden patterns flowing with light upon it.

The two gourds, one gold and one purple, floated before Peak Lord Zhang.

Then, Peak Lord Zhang’s finger moved slightly, and the wine from the golden wine gourd formed a stream, slowly pouring out and then directly entering the purple wine gourd.

Peak Lord Zhang clenched his hand, and the golden wine gourd flew back into his hand.

The purple wine gourd, under Yang Che’s extremely astonished gaze, floated directly to his side.

“On this journey, I, your Old Ancestor, have only one word for you: always remember, self-preservation comes first! Do not concern yourself with anyone else's opinions or statements; make self-preservation your top priority.

If you encounter a crisis, you can drink a small sip of the wine in this purple gourd. Remember, only one small sip at a time; never drink too much.”

The Old Ancestor motioned for Yang Che to put away the purple gourd.

Then he carefully hung his golden wine gourd back on his waist and gently patted it.

“Go.”

Peak Lord Zhang waved his hand.

Yang Che tightly gripped the purple wine gourd in his hand, a hint of warmth rising in his heart.

…

Sword Gate Hall.

The plaza in front of the main hall.

Dozens of people had already gathered.

Upon Yang Che's arrival, he saw the middle-aged, refined Senior Uncle Zheng Yang standing with his hands behind his back at the hall entrance, his expression extremely solemn.

Seeing Yang Che, Zheng Yang nodded slightly at him.

Yang Che returned the bow.

“Junior Brother Yang.”

A somewhat familiar voice came.

Yang Che turned his head and saw a tall, handsome fat man quickly walking towards him.

“Senior Brother Wei.”

Yang Che recognized this person as Wei Yuhang.

“Oh, Senior Brother Wei, you’ve reached Foundation Establishment?”

Sensing the aura of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator from Wei Yuhang, Yang Che was surprised, but also happy for this handsome fat Senior Brother.

“Haha, Junior Brother Yang, I heard you caused quite a stir on Sword Four Peak a few days ago. It’s a pity I was in seclusion, trying to break through to Foundation Establishment, so I regret not being able to witness it.”

Although Wei Yuhang was already a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, his attitude towards Yang Che was no different from before.

He already knew that this outer Peak Junior Brother, who was once just a ‘Sword Servant,’ had actually become the chief Disciple of Sword Four Peak in such a short time.

Although he was equally surprised and found it incredible, Wei Yuhang knew very well that everyone has their own secrets.

Moreover, he had already heard from his Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters of Sword Nine Peak that this Junior Brother Yang, though only at the Peak of Qi Refining twelfth layer, was a Genius with a Mutated Lightning Immortal Root and could instantly defeat a Foundation Establishment Stage Early Phase Cultivator.

Therefore, Wei Yuhang, who had just recently reached Foundation Establishment, naturally could not have any sense of superiority towards this Junior Brother Yang.

Yang Che chuckled, offered congratulations, and then they discussed the current Sect mission.

At this moment, Wei Yuhang suddenly whispered, “Junior Brother Yang, that day during the Sword Four Peak challenge, I heard from a Senior Sister of my Nine Peaks that you had a small conflict with Xu Haijing, the Fourth Seat of Sixth Peak?”

Yang Che’s expression turned serious, and he said in a low voice, “There was a little. Did Senior Brother Wei hear anything?”

Wei Yuhang continued to lower his voice, “Then Junior Brother Yang must be careful. I heard that the Elder leading the team this time is an Elder from Sixth Peak named Xu Dongyuan. And Xu Haijing is a Junior from his own clan.”

Yang Che was startled, but his expression remained calm. He cupped his hands and said, “Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother Wei.”

At this moment, a streak of light suddenly streaked across the sky, then directly landed on the plaza.

“Dunjxing Shuo flight. Which Core Formation Stage Elder is that?”

Someone immediately spoke enviously.

Yang Che looked at the person who had arrived by Dunjxing Shuo and found that it was not an Old Man as he had imagined, but a middle-aged, amiable Cultivator in a gray robe, with a calm expression that revealed no emotions.

Senior Uncle Zheng Yang respectfully bowed at his side, addressing the gray-robed middle-aged man as ‘Junior Martial Uncle Xu.’

“Since everyone has arrived, let us depart.”

The middle-aged amiable Cultivator waved his hand, and suddenly a dazzling dark light flashed in the sky.

When the light disappeared, everyone saw a huge, dark red centipede, nearly a hundred zhang long, appear in the sky.

The centipede’s segmented body was composed of tightly connected red rings, each ring having a pair of sharp, glowing feet like daggers.

At the head of this centipede were two enormous pincers, gleaming like cast iron, protruding menacingly, striking fear into the hearts of all.

Furthermore, two long antennae moved without wind, like two red snakes, twisting and swaying.

Seeing the Disciples’ gazes, the centipede opened its cold eyes and swept them over the Disciples, and a bone-chilling cold instantly enveloped them.

Many Disciples were silent, biting their teeth hard to resist with difficulty.

However, the Nine Heart Thunder Flame within Yang Che’s body merely surged proudly and casually.

The bone-chilling cold around Yang Che’s body vanished without a trace.

“Everyone, come up.”

The gray-robed middle-aged Cultivator, Xu Dongyuan, was the first to fly up and stand on the centipede’s back.

The Disciples in the plaza also flew up one after another, and soon all were on the centipede’s back.

Xu Dongyuan pointed, and the centipede twisted its body and flew rapidly towards Feng Country.

Yang Che noticed that the centipede’s speed was indeed very fast, much faster than ordinary Magical Artifacts.

However, compared to his ‘Dunjxing Shuo,’ it was still quite a bit slower.

The giant centipede traveled through the clouds, flying continuously for several days before finally entering the territory of Feng Country.

As soon as they entered the territory of Feng Country,

A majestic and perilous mountain shrouded in strange gray mist loomed before them.

Suddenly, the giant centipede’s body began to tremble without warning.

The Disciples swayed, unable to stand steadily, and quickly took out their flying Magical Artifacts, preparing to leave the centipede’s back.

Suddenly, streaks of eerie black Qi drifted over, and in just a few breaths, they had completely enveloped everyone.