Farewell

At this moment, Gu Qianqian untied the ancient zither from her back and cradled it in her arms.

She gently plucked the strings.

The haunting melody of the "Seven Extremes" zither reverberated through the valley.

In Gu Qianqian's mind, an image of the entire valley appeared.

"It's been so long since I've been outside."

"This place is still as desolate as ever."

Chen Feng asked,

"What is this place?"

Gu Qianqian replied,

"This is also part of the Jade Mountain and Heavenly Pool."

"But it's the extreme yin side."

"Beyond this valley lies your normal world."

Chen Feng stood frozen for a long moment before suddenly realizing the truth.

He looked around the valley again.

Its layout was almost identical to the Jade Mountain and Heavenly Pool he had seen earlier.

In the center of the valley was still a pool.

But there were no plants or animals.

Gazing toward the direction of Jade Mountain in the distance,

he could see several large caves on the mountainside.

These were likely the "Nine Orifices" of Jade Mountain.

Yet the Jade Mountain before him appeared gray and lifeless.

Comparing it to the Jade Mountain and Heavenly Pool on the other side of the pool,

Chen Feng suddenly recalled the words he had seen upon first entering the Kunlun Mountains:

"Lush and verdant for tens of thousands of miles, the Kunlun Range stretches endlessly."

At the time, he had thought the description exaggerated.

Only now did he understand—the Jade Mountain and Heavenly Pool held mysteries within.

Curious, Chen Feng asked,

"If the world beyond this side of the valley is our normal world,

then what lies beyond the other side?"

Gu Qianqian shook her head.

"I don’t know!"

"According to our clan's rules, no one is allowed to step beyond the other side of the valley."

"It’s said that someone once went out there, but they never returned."

After leaving the pool,

Gu Qianqian led Chen Feng toward this side of Jade Mountain.

The mountain walls here were covered in massive cracks.

The two of them slipped into one of the fissures, and Gu Qianqian explained,

"The method to exit the Jade Mountain’s cracks is simple."

"Count the number of forks you encounter from left to right, and take the corresponding cave."

Chen Feng hadn’t expected such a trick.

No wonder Gu Qianqian was so adept at navigating.

After walking for another two hours, they finally emerged from Jade Mountain.

Gu Qianqian said reluctantly,

"The world beyond here is the Kunlun Mountain where you came from."

"Master, I can only guide you this far. Beyond this point, I don’t know the way."

"Thank you for teaching me the Seven Extremes zither—it’s allowed me to see again, even if just a little."

Chen Feng looked at Gu Qianqian and suddenly realized something.

Even if he could break the chains, without a guide, he wouldn’t have been able to escape the Jade Mountain and Heavenly Pool.

Once he appeared in the outside world,

the Kunlun descendants would surely guess that Gu Qianqian had led him out.

"Qianqian, if you let me go, aren’t you afraid your clan will punish you?"

Gu Qianqian smiled faintly.

"Don’t worry, Master. At worst, they’ll make me reflect in seclusion. It’s not like I could see much anyway."

Chen Feng wasn’t sure if the punishment would be as light as she claimed.

But he knew there would be consequences.

"Thank you, Qianqian. I’ll come back to see you when I can."

Gu Qianqian smiled.

It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Chen Feng.

But the Kunlun Mountains only opened once every sixty years.

By the next time, she would already be in her seventies.

Before parting, Gu Qianqian gave one last warning:

"Master, you must never enter the False Dragon Vein or venture too deep into Kunlun Mountain."

"Those places are far too dangerous. Before the mountain opened, the Qilin herded all beasts into the Four Symbols Chasm."

"Beyond the Four Symbols Chasm lie the Eight Forbidden Zones and the Sixty-Four Ghost Tombs."

"Every one of them is deadly."

Chen Feng hadn’t known about any of this.

It seemed Kunlun Mountain held many more secrets than he realized.

Now he finally understood

why he had seen almost no animals since entering Kunlun—

they had all been driven away by the mountain’s Qilin.

Chen Feng nodded to his disciple.

"Understood. I’ll remember that."

"Goodbye, Qianqian!"

Gu Qianqian waved.

"Goodbye, Master!"

"Please warn everyone about the False Dragon Vein."

Then she sat cross-legged on the ground, placing the zither across her knees.

A melody of "High Mountains and Flowing Water"

echoed through the mountains.

The sound waves of the Seven Extremes zither rippled outward,

projecting Chen Feng’s departing figure into her mind.

Listening to the music and thinking of this disciple he had known for only a few days,

Chen Feng smiled faintly.

"Meeting such a pure-hearted disciple is truly a beautiful memory."

Now, he needed to head to the entrance of the False Dragon Vein

to see if any members of Great Xia were still there.

He had to warn them about the trap—

he couldn’t stand by and watch so many countrymen die in vain.

As Chen Feng walked away,

a crane with colorful feathers landed beside Gu Qianqian.

It was the same one that had been by the Dragon Vein pool.

To her surprise, it spoke in human language—clearly a spirit beast that had refined its voice.

"If you eat a Vermilion Fruit, you could see your master clearly."

Gu Qianqian shook her head.

"I can see enough now, even if it’s not perfectly clear."

The Vermilion Fruit could heal her eyes,

but she didn’t want that.

Compared to darkness, she feared losing her ability to distinguish good from evil.

Moreover, the origin of the Vermilion Fruit disgusted her.

The Black Tortoise had once told her:

"The more lives lost in Kunlun, the more Vermilion Fruits grow."

In essence, each fruit was paid for with a life.

...

In the martial arts hospital of the Holy Capital,

Liu Weiwei lay in a hospital bed,

her right leg suspended in a brace.

The diagnosis was final:

All meridians in her leg were severed,

with severe damage to muscles and fascia.

For all intents and purposes, it was crippled.

Even walking normally would be a struggle from now on.

Jin Youxi stared at the medical report, her eyes red.

"Is there really no other way?"

The attending physician sighed.

He, too, felt pity for Liu Weiwei.

So young, yet already the national champion among martial apprentices.

Even the higher-ups had taken special notice of her case.

But after consultations with all the hospital’s experts,

no solution could be found.

"We’ve done all we can."

"Conventional medicine can’t repair severed meridians."

"Unless you can obtain legendary spiritual treasures, there’s no hope."

Spiritual treasures?

Jin Youxi pressed urgently,

"What kind of treasures? We’ll buy them!"

"My junior sister’s championship prize was ten million—is that enough?"

The doctor shook his head with another sigh.

He had only mentioned it offhandedly,

not expecting the girl to take it seriously.

"Only the legendary Vermilion Fruit can heal her injury."

"This isn’t a matter of money."

"No one would willingly sell such a thing."

"And even if they did, ten million wouldn’t be enough."

Vermilion Fruit!

Jin Youxi froze.

Of course she had heard of it.

Rumors claimed it could revive the dead and regenerate flesh.

That might be an exaggeration,

but it was confirmed that the fruit could regrow limbs

and even restore a shattered dantian.

The Great Xia Martial Arts Association had once used one

to heal a Martial Sage’s ruined core.

And her own Jin family had once auctioned three Vermilion Fruits

for thirty million each.

Silently, Jin Youxi pulled out her phone.

Hundreds of unread messages from her family filled the screen.

She had ignored them all, unwilling to return to that cold household.

But now, if she wanted a Vermilion Fruit,

her best chance was through her family.

Otherwise, she couldn’t think of any other solution.

She opened all the family notifications.

There were essentially only two matters.

The first was the family’s selection of an heir—a mandatory event for every member.

The second was the relentless pressure for her to return home and comply with the arranged marriage the family had set up.