Chapter 19: Close-Range Secret

  Li Wenjun, a young man in his prime, had a voracious appetite. How could one pancake possibly fill his stomach? However, aside from this pancake, he didn't have any other food with him. Li Wenjun secretly regretted not bringing the large bundle that could hold many things, and stuffing it with more food and drink. If only he had done so, he wouldn't be suffering from hunger now.

  Li Wenjun sighed and closed his eyes. He was going to take a short rest before attempting to sneak down the mountain at night.

  As soon as he closed his eyes, endless fatigue hit him, and Li Wenjun fell fast asleep.

  After an unknown period of time, Li Wenjun was suddenly awakened by a piercing cry of a night owl. His sleepy eyes glanced up at the sky, and the scene before him made his eyes widen in astonishment, staring incredulously at the sky.

  Suddenly, two streaks of light flashed across the sky, and on top of the light, there were two huge black shadows. Looking closely, they were clearly two people flying in the sky.

  Immortal?!

  An idea flashed through Li Wenjun's mind.

  Is this just a dream?

  Another thought followed immediately, and a glimpse of it flashed in Li Wenjun's mind again.

  Li Wenjun stretched out his hand and pinched his thigh hard. He gritted his teeth, clenched his jaw, it hurt, it should be real, not a dream.

  Li Wenjun was both excited and nervous, he closed his mouth and didn't dare to make a sound. Everything that happened in Junbu Town is still vivid in his mind, he doesn't dare to forget.

  For some reason, the two Li Wenjun's gods in his eyes began to hover in the sky, and after a while, the two slowly descended from the sky and landed in the forest.

  The two of them landed a few dozen feet away from Li Wenjun, and in the dead of night, neither could see the other. However, they stood upwind, and the quietness of the night allowed every sound they made to be clearly transmitted to Li Wenjun's ears.

  Li Wenjun became more and more cautious, shrinking his body as much as possible behind the tree trunk, not even daring to move his fingers lightly, for fear of startling these two gods.

  From the upper wind mouth, the sound of those two "immortals" eating and drinking came over. Judging from the sound, it seemed that the two were having a very delicious meal, which made Li Wenjun, who was still hungry, lick his lips involuntarily. Fortunately, he had endured hunger and thirst for several months before, so this temptation could still be endured.

  Those two "immortals" ate and chatted, never thinking that in the depths of the mountain, just a few dozen feet away from them, someone was eavesdropping.

  "Sixth Brother, Master has ordered us to come down the mountain, it's been over two months now. Why hasn't Master issued a decree for us to return to the mountain? Does Master really want us to stay in this poor and remote place forever? There is almost no spiritual energy between heaven and earth here. We've been wandering around for so long, but we haven't found any heavenly treasures or earthly riches. If we continue to stay here, we'll be ruined." The speaker's voice was slightly shrill.

  Another voice was somewhat rough. "Old Seventh, are you questioning Master's decision? If Master finds out, do you know what the consequences will be?"

  A sharp voice revealed a hint of fear. "Sixth Brother, I didn't question Master's intention, you mustn't report my complaints to Master."

  Sixth Brother snorted and said, "Master's divine powers are vast and great. From now on, you should stop whispering behind his back. Don't you know the principle of showing respect to one's elders?"

  Lao Qi hastily said: "I remember."

  "Remember that's all. Old Seven, I think you've been holding back for a long time too, being able to hold on until now before asking, it's also considered patience. You and I are fellow disciples, whatever we have to say can be said privately. Let me tell you, this is a barren land, no doubt about that, but if you think Master sent us here as a form of exile, then you're wrong."

  "What's this all about?" asked Old Seven.

  Sixth Brother smiled and didn't answer Old Seven's question.

  After a rustling sound, Old Seventh's voice reached Li Wenjun's ears again. "Sixth Brother, this is the five pieces of low-grade crystal stone that I, your younger brother, have managed to accumulate with great difficulty. My cultivation realm is too low and I won't be able to use such precious crystal stones for a while. If they fall into your hands, Sixth Brother, they will not be wasted. Please, you must accept them."

  "Old Seventh, you're too polite. Since it's your sincere intention, I'll accept it." Sixth Brother didn't show any sign of refusal and continued: "You want to know why Master sent us here for training, don't you? Actually, the training is fake, but surveillance is real. In our Song Country's Cultivation Realm, there was once a very famous cultivation family called Zhou, do you remember?"

  "Is that the Zhou family? The one that produced Golden Elixir Ancestor, who was invincible in the Song country, Zhou Yukun?" Old Seventh asked in surprise.

  "It was this Zhou family. At the height of the Zhou family's power, they dominated the entire Song state, but later, when the Zhou family was at its peak, it suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if it had vanished overnight."

  There are people who are familiar with the Zhou family and speculate that it is likely that the Zhou family has no successor, and Zhou Yukun's lifespan is exhausted, so he fell. The Zhou family wanted to avoid disaster, so they quietly left Song State and went to another country to hide their name and surname, hoping to escape the revenge of the avenging family.

  Jīn Dān Lǎo Zǔ, what kind of existence is that? You're not unaware of it.

  We cultivators of the True Way want to cultivate to the Golden Elixir stage, which is extremely difficult. The notes left behind by our predecessors on how to condense the Golden Elixir are especially important. If the Zhou family were a bit smarter, they would have contributed the notes left behind by Zhou Yukun earlier, but instead they silently disappeared, which is an invitation for disaster.

  Since the Zhou family disappeared, many people and sects have been searching for their whereabouts. But after a long time of searching without any result, the number of people searching has decreased." The Sixth Master said up to here and didn't continue speaking anymore.

  Lao Qi suddenly realized and said: "So, Master thinks that this place might be the Zhou family's foothold, so he sent Second Brother to lead us here to find the exact location of the Zhou family's foothold?"

  "Just keep it in your heart, don't go blurting it out everywhere. Otherwise, if Second Brother finds out, he'll feed you to his black-striped python as a snack, and you won't be able to complain." Sixth Brother said.

  Lao Qi smiled wryly twice, and after a moment, he asked again: "It's been a long time since Er Shixiong separated from us. Why hasn't he come to meet with us all this time?"

  Sixth Brother said, "Second Brother told me through Paper Crane Message that he couldn't come over because of a reason. Once when he was letting his snake loose, he accidentally let his black-striped python slip away. For this period of time, Second Brother has been searching for his black-striped python. It seems like he has already found the whereabouts of the black-striped python, and if nothing unexpected happens, he should be arriving soon to meet with us."

  Lao Qi couldn't help but smack his lips in admiration, saying: "Among us brothers, Second Brother is not only the one with the highest cultivation level, but also the most capable. Especially with that black-striped giant python in his hands, it seems like it's about to advance to second-grade soon. Having a black-striped giant python by your side is like having a mid-stage Qi-refining expert accompanying you."

  "What are you envious of? The black-striped giant python was obtained by Second Brother when he went out on a trip, killing a third-grade black-striped giant python, opening its belly and getting an egg from it, which then hatched. If you have the ability to kill a third-grade black-striped giant python, maybe you can also get one as a pet. Hmm, among us brothers, Second Brother's abilities are the greatest, this black-striped giant python is quite impressive."

  Sixth Brother finally spoke with a tone of envy.

  "Sixth Brother, which one of us brothers will be the first to reach the Foundation Building stage?" asked Old Seventh. "I heard that Master told Eldest Brother and Second Brother that whoever cultivates to the Great Perfection realm of Qi Refining period first, he will give his only Foundation Building pill to him."

  "What are you worried about? You haven't even reached the middle stage of Qi refinement, and you're concerned about who will get the Foundation Establishment Pill among the two senior brothers? As long as we're clever, we won't offend either Senior Brother, and that's all that matters." said Sixth Brother.

  The night wind blew, bringing a chill of autumn, Li Wenjun, hiding behind the tree trunk, tightened his clothes. He was confused at this moment, unable to understand the conversation between Sixth Brother and Old Seventh. However, the four words "Black-striped Giant Python" made him think of his experience in Junbao Town. He wondered if there was any connection between the Black-striped Giant Python mentioned by the two and the one that appeared in Junbao Town.

  Sixth Brother and Old Seventh ate their fill, chatted for a couple of sentences, then lay down in the forest, fully clothed.

  Li Wenjun was afraid of startling them, and didn't dare move even a little, even if he had to hold in his urine.

  In the dead of night, after waiting for half a night, Sixth Brother and Old Seventh, who had rested for over an hour, flew back into the sky. In the blink of an eye, only two black dots were left in the sky, and after another moment, they completely disappeared from sight.

  Li Wenjun let out a sigh of relief, he undid his belt and urinated, the warm liquid shooting out, giving him an extremely refreshing feeling.

  After finishing urinating, Li Wenjun re-tied his belt and looked up at the few stars in the sky, barely recognizing the direction. He continued to walk out of the mountain, not daring to stay inside anymore. He was afraid that Sixth Brother and Old Seventh would come back, and if Second Brother brought the black-striped giant python to Five Peaks Mountain and released it, he would be doomed.

  When the sky was bright, Li Wenjun found a house on the halfway up Wufeng Mountain. The house was made of stone and wood, simple and crude. When they were climbing the mountain, Sun Bainiao brought him and Sun Jianning to ask for water here.

  Li Wenjun was overjoyed and rushed over to knock on the door vigorously. The people inside were startled and asked who was knocking.

  Li Wenjun hastily explained the situation, not much effort was needed, and the door opened. A middle-aged man came out from inside. His surname was Wang, a hunter on the mountain. He held a torch and a hunting spear in his hand, with a look of vigilance on his face. It wasn't until he saw Li Wenjun's face clearly that the vigilance on his face disappeared.