Junior Sister, remember not to take the map from the Contribution Hall attendant.

The Golden Core stall owner’s hands were trembling so badly he almost dropped the thin piece of blueprint.

The color drained from his face at a pace visible to the naked eye.

After a long pause, he finally squeezed out a sentence.

“That’s my old flame, not my mortal enemy.”

Su Ji’s face betrayed a hint of disappointment without any attempt to hide it. “Can’t make it?”

The stall owner shook his head vigorously, like a rattle.

“Dare not.”

What a joke.

Most cultivators were like this.

They all held at least the most basic reverence for the Heavenly Dao of this realm.

You could provoke anyone, but never the Heavenly Dao.

Su Ji could only click his tongue and casually tuck the blueprint back into his chest.

“Forget it.”

He shifted gears.

“Then help me make a spear using Instant Light Stone, and give me a couple of small pieces of Instant Light Stone as well.”

“This time, use better materials for the spear’s handle and the very tip of the spearhead.”

“Don’t want it snapping the moment I squeeze it.”

Su Ji was now flush with wealth, and his tone carried a lot more confidence.

“How many spirit stones? When it’s done, just tell me the total. I’ll deduct it directly from your five thousand li.”

He was too lazy to haggle over a few low-grade spirit stones, showing the full attitude of a nouveau riche.

Unexpectedly, the Golden Core stall owner shook his hands even faster after hearing this.

“No need for spirit stones, no need!”

“I’ll have it ready in half an hour!”

Su Ji was delighted to have some free time, so he strolled casually around the market.

Half an hour later, he returned to the stall.

A brand-new spear lay quietly there, the shaft still as gleaming and white as jade, feeling superb to hold.

Su Ji pressed his right foot against the spear shaft and slid backward.

The entire spear spun onto the top of his foot.

Then he lightly kicked it upward.

It landed steadily in his hand.

After weighing it slightly, he casually twirled the spear.

This time, the feel was noticeably better.

Su Ji nodded in satisfaction.

He hoisted the spear over his shoulder and walked away without looking back.

Only after his figure completely disappeared into the crowd did the old man’s gaze dare to slowly shift away from the sword hanging at Su Ji’s waist.

That sword had accompanied him for a hundred years.

……

An incense stick’s time later.

Su Ji appeared once again outside Su Jiu’s small courtyard.

He looked left and right, confirming no one was around.

With a nimble flip, he silently landed in the backyard.

Su Ji pushed open the back door and walked to the desk as if he knew the place by heart.

He found a wolf hair brush and an inkstone.

After grinding the ink, Su Ji gripped the brush and began to write in a flurry of strokes.

After a moment,

Five large characters, crooked and uneven, as if chewed by a dog, appeared on the paper.

“Qi Huang Gorge, underground.”

Don’t laugh.

Blame it on how difficult those three characters are to write.

If it were you, you’d be just as confused.

Sigh, cultivators don’t fuss over small details, so let’s not mention it.

Su Ji waited for the ink to dry.

Hmm.

Although it was a bit ugly, the words should still be legible.

He placed the paper flat in the center of the desk.

Then carefully pressed a delicate wooden box on top to hold it steady.

He had originally planned to make a copy of the map for Su Jiu as well.

But after seeing his own handwriting…

Oh, enough about that. He almost forgot.

Su Ji grabbed another sheet of paper and wrote a single line of messy words: “Junior sister, remember not to take the Contribution Hall steward’s map.”

……

Three days later.

Wutong Town.

Nine hundred li from the Love-Longing Sect.

This place was named after its location, nestled against Qi Huang Gorge.

After all, the legend says that a phoenix will only rest on the right wutong tree.

The town was small.

Its usual quietness had been shattered in recent months.

Most of the visitors were bloodthirsty lone cultivators.

But there were also a few disciples from major sects out for experience.

Su Ji had a sword hanging at his waist and a spear strapped to his back.

He found the liveliest-looking tavern and settled into a corner seat.

He didn’t rush straight into the Phoenix Rest Gorge.

Although he had the map in hand, the sect’s mission clearly stated that one needed at least Foundation Establishment level strength to enter.

Even though Su Ji was confident he could take down some weaker Foundation Establishment cultivators,

recklessly charging in would be tantamount to suicide.

Taverns were the fastest places to gather information.

Su Ji ordered a pot of clear tea for himself,

along with two small dishes.

Then he pricked up his ears, listening to the surrounding chatter.

“Have you heard? Two reckless late Foundation Establishment cultivators just got taken down in the underground magma caves of Phoenix Rest Gorge. They went in three days ago and haven’t come out yet.”

“Ha! That’s nothing new. Has Phoenix Rest Gorge ever been peaceful since last month?”

“True, but I heard they were after ‘Fire Marrow Crystals’.”

“Fire Marrow Crystals? Who even cares about that junk anymore?”

Su Ji lifted his teacup and took a sip.

The bitter, unpleasant tea slid down his throat, but he was completely unaware.

Underground magma caves.

That must be the place.

Su Ji was pondering how to strike up a conversation and gather more news.

At that moment, another table’s conversation drifted over.

“I heard the Holy Maiden of the Joyful Union Sect has arrived in Wutong Town.”

“What? The Joyful Union Sect? What are they doing in this backwater place?”

“You don’t get it. Apparently, one of the Holy Maiden’s maids accidentally revealed that the Holy Maiden observed the stars at night and divined a great opportunity emerging here. That’s why she rushed over.”

“An opportunity? Could it be related to the strange happenings in the underground magma caves?”

“Who knows? Anyway, the Joyful Union Sect’s team arrived today. Let’s just wait and see. That’s the Holy Maiden of the Joyful Union Sect we’re talking about—rumored to be breathtakingly beautiful. Even seeing her once would be worth dying for.”

Su Ji’s hand holding the teacup froze mid-air.

Joyful Union Sect?

That name was all too familiar.

When he first awakened his memories, he thought he had entered that sect.

Unexpectedly, due to a twist of fate, he ended up in the Love-Longing Sect—a den of perverts.

But the Holy Maiden of the Joyful Union Sect...

An involuntary thought surfaced in Su Ji’s mind.

No use.

Anyone who could become the Holy Maiden of the Joyful Union Sect was basically guaranteed to trigger the Sword Sacrifice technique.

While Su Ji was still mulling this over, a man at the next table, his face flushed from drinking, dropped another bombshell.

“I heard that Holy Maiden’s name is Gu Ranran. She’s got a fiery temper. Back in Baihua City, some arrogant Golden Core heir tried to flirt with her and ended up having his cultivation crippled on the spot—hung at the city gate for three days and nights as a warning!”

“Whoa—that harsh?”

“Exactly. Beautiful as she is, don’t look at her the wrong way, or you might just lose your life.”

Gu Ranran?

Su Ji nearly choked on his tea.

That name rang a bell.

Wasn’t she the female cultivator he had forcibly ‘hitched a ride’ with outside the Nascent Soul cave?

He still remembered how, with complete confidence, he had grabbed someone’s flying sword and snapped at them, “If I say you lead, then you lead—are you deaf or what?”

It turned out she was the Sacred Maiden of the Joyful Union Sect.

No wonder she wasn’t even wearing inner armor.

Looking at it that way,

it actually made perfect sense.

But what shocked him was—she hadn’t died?

Su Ji’s expression twisted into something strange.

He was just worrying about how to sneak into Phoenix Rest Gorge, and now, here came a ready-made “guide.”

With such a grand procession from the Joyful Union Sect, it would surely attract the majority of cultivators to follow.

He could take advantage of the chaos to make his move.

Having made up his mind, Su Ji no longer felt rushed.

He leisurely finished a pot of tea, then lingered in the tavern for another half hour before finally settling his bill and walking out at a unhurried pace.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the main street of the town already packed with people, all craning their necks, eagerly staring toward the town’s entrance.

Relying on his nimble agility, Su Ji slipped through the crowd like a slippery eel, quickly squeezing into a spot with a perfect view.

Before long, a dazzling glow appeared on the distant horizon.

Within the radiant light, a splendidly crafted flying vessel was breaking through the clouds, drawing closer and closer.