A month went by in relative calm. Miao Mei successfully reached the Viscera Tempering stage in the timeframe they allotted her. So did Jin Teng for that matter, who did so while only using a fraction of the secret medicines.

  They held a small celebration to congratulate the two. It also served as a goodbye to Miao Mei, who attended the activity with her two apprentices. Wu Ruoling was there as well — she had decided to come with him after visiting the noble quarters.

  "Practice well," Lu Qingshan said to the two twins, who looked nervous. "We're depending on you two to help her manage the city." Actually, there were lots of other choices — the Iron Pine Sect — but they would take a while to arrive. Before leaving towards the forest, Lu Qingshan aimed to visit the other part of the Seven Mysteries Gate first.

  "We will," the boy said. His sister nodded.

  The two of them had just entered Flesh Tempering. Still, they had promise. As disciples of Miao Mei directly, their access to the Seven Mysteries Gate's martial arts was as good as hers. Since she was one of the original elders, her share of contributions was not low.

  Lu Qingshan stayed until nighttime. With a heavy heart, he said his goodbyes.

  “Dong Qianyu might be willing to join you,” he reassured. “At the very least, we’ll be able to bring back Chen Niu and the Iron Pine Sect to help you. And the other disciples. There’s a new Marrow Tempering expert named Tian Du who might also help.”

  Miao Mei smiled. “It will be fine, sect master.”

  “Watch out for the immortal cultivators. Avoid the Song family. I won’t have my flies to track their movements, so it’s best you stay low-profile. Don’t anger people for no good reason, even if they appear weak. When I return, that is when we make our move.”

  “I understand.”

  “The Jade Skies Sect will likely return soon. They’re too dangerous to come into conflict with them just yet. Make peace with them using the Azure Wind Group. Trade with them. We’re friends now. At least until I return.”

  “Don’t worry.”

  “What else did I miss?” Lu Qingshan thought it over. He could leave the Berserk Bug in her hands, but it was better suited to helping him cultivate the Black Fury Inner Force. Then there was the fact that the bug would not be so easily commanded by her.

  “I’ll be fine,” she repeated. “You should all watch yourselves instead. The sect master is powerful, but everybody else is much more fragile compared to him. Do not recklessly risk your lives in that forest.”

  The others nodded. They knew the stakes. At this point, the Seven Mysteries Gate looked immensely strong in high-end combat power. But most of that relied on Lu Qingshan, and the loss of any single one of them would deal a heavy blow. The sect did not have a continuous line of disciples that were ready to take their mantle, unlike other top sects.

  Unless Lu Qingshan broke through to an entirely new realm. Then their prestige would be completely different.

  That was his primary goal on this trip. To achieve this, he needed a little over three years for the next portion of Mystic Jade Essence to condense. Surviving this period would definitely contain some risks to his life. Lu Qingshan thought the best way to balance risk and reward was in that forest.

  Firstly, the opportunities found in a dangerous and exotic land were too good for him to pass up. No matter what, Lu Qingshan would leave the city. The ghost market probably knew this too.

  He didn’t know if continuing to stay in the city was a good idea or not. There was still no sign of Liu Wanli's demonic master coming to attack him.

  But with the return of the Jade Skies Sect, he suspected his sect might no longer have the chance to escape. The last thing he wanted was for the Seven Mysteries Gate to be trapped in a single location awaiting their deaths while he alone fled for his life. So he decided that taking them all out of the city was a better idea. A rudimentary force was left behind — the two gangs with a few overseeing elders — that would maintain control.

  He didn’t forget that the city had immortal cultivators as major powers before he even entered the city. To them, he was the dragon while they were local snakes. Hiding from them was possible, as with Marquis Zhou, but it took a ruthless amount of effort and remaining low-profile. Something he lacked since he killed Liu Wanli.

  Thus, it might be safer in the forest no matter what the ghost market reported. He had the means to scout ahead with his insects. Avoiding immortal cultivators was the priority.

  Three years, he told himself. Then he’d make them pay.

  ———

  It didn’t take them long to follow the Bloodsense Bug’s guidance towards Dong Qianyu. Lu Qingshan was pleasantly surprised to see them all alive and well. He was even more pleased at Dong Qianyu’s progress, which matched Miao Mei.

  “A belated congratulations on your attainment of Viscera Tempering,” he said. “Sorry to miss it.”

  “It’s fine.” The man was smiling brightly. “I’m glad you’re all safe. How have you all been? Qin Ye, you’ve grown up. Li Fanghua, are your parents of good health? Meng Zhang, you look better than before.”

  The older man had become more chattery. Lu Qingshan stood back with a smile of his own and let the others have their reunion. In the meantime, he needed to see how their supplies were faring. Chen Niu broke away from the crowd and followed him to the back of the campsite.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  There, a small storage shed had been built. When Lu Qingshan went to open the sealed door, chests of silver taels and gold ingots spilled out from the room. He was shocked by how much there was.

  “Who did you all attack?”

  Chen Niu, his guide, gave him a sheepish look. “Remnants from a destroyed sect,” he said. “They attacked us first. We were forced to defend ourselves.”

  “Who?” Lu Qingshan’s eyes flashed with hate.

  “We saw that their clothes had the Beast Fury Temple's symbol sewn onto them. They’re all dead now. They were being guarded and transported as part of a caravan from another city. We stole all the goods they were transporting.”

  “The Beast Fury Temple.” Marquis Zhou had targeted them as the first step in seizing power. Lu Qingshan did not expect them to be real conspirators. He had initially believed they were mere scapegoats for the other immortal-backed sects, but perhaps they were simply targeted because they lacked the ability to hide as well as the others.

  What was so important about Great Wind City that so many powerful forces were getting involved? Even now, Lu Qingshan didn't think he had the qualifications to participate. Perhaps it was the city's proximity to his Seven Mysteries Gate's mountain home. Or maybe there was some hidden reason. Either way, Lu Qingshan needed more power in order to have the right to intervene.

  "Have you found a channel to sell these items?" he asked.

  "No," Chen Niu said, shaking his meaty neck. "Too heavy. It will take us effort to bring them into the city, and there are no merchants nearby who are trustworthy."

  "That's alright. We've managed to stake a claim in Great Wind City and establish a foothold for the Seven Mysteries Gate. But signs of immortal cultivators are still there, and it's best to not provoke them." Lu Qingshan said. "Right now, I'm taking the other elders to a dangerous forest. We still do need people to help Miao Mei in the city, but would you like to come?"

  Chen Niu looked at him. He shook his head. "I can help make sure the sect is safe," he said.

  “No, you should go for it,” Dong Qianyu interrupted. “The sect master brings lots of opportunities. Traveling with him will grow your martial arts much faster than you’d expect. Just look at the others.” He waved a hand at the other elders, especially Liu Yingting, approaching the fourth organ of Viscera Tempering. Far beyond even the previous sect master and he wasn’t even the only one.

  Chen Niu nodded. “I want to go with you,” he said confidently.

  “Good.” Lu Qingshan looked the man over. He was certainly strong, healthy, and muscular. There weren’t any internal injuries either. Chen Niu was one of the disciples with a lot of potential remaining.

  “Who learned the Giant Whale Breathing Method and the Dragon Spine Manual?” Lu Qingshan asked.

  “None of us yet. Everyone agreed to pool the resources acquired from the Beast Fury Temple merchant caravan to drive me towards a breakthrough. I have all the disciples to thank,” Dong Qianyu said with a smile.

  Lu Qingshan nodded. That would definitely do it. The resources of a big sect were beyond theirs, and it looked like they had a stable source of Viscera Tempering elders at one point. The Marquis should know about it — he’d have to ask after returning to the city.

  “Chen Niu, you should at least try learning the Dragon Spine Manual. Your physical body has much more potential than anyone else’s. Cultivating external body techniques will give you twice the results with half the effort. Try to learn the Giant Whale Breathing Method if you have the time — that technique works quite well with the Dragon Spine Manual.”

  “Should I begin focusing on the Giant Whale Breathing Method? But I can tell there’s more to the Great Ape Breathing Method.”

  Lu Qingshan gave it some thought. “Depends,” he said slowly. “Do you feel confident practicing two breathing methods at the same time?” Not everyone could be like him, so monstrous in proficiency.

  “I can.” Chen Niu boldly said. “But I didn’t want to take your resources too.”

  “No one else should be able to reach the limits of that technique earlier than me. That means I won’t need every scrap of secret medicine, just the high intensity ones. For now, learn the Giant Whale Breathing Method, and I can give you most of the weaker medicines we find.”

  Chen Niu grunted in affirmation. He took the manual and sat aside while Lu Qingshan continued to look around. To the side, the Iron Pine Sect looked at him and shook their heads.

  “You’re staying with the city, then?"

  The Iron Pine Sect leader, a Marrow Tempering expert, nodded. "We're not very used to life outside the city. Helping manage stores and territory is more in line with what we used to do. We'd prefer to return to those simpler times."

  Lu Qingshan agreed with his choice. They knew about immortal cultivators as well, and rightly feared them.

  After making sure all disciples had gathered, he filled them in about the current status of the city — the two gangs under their control, the changes over the years, and the various forces to avoid. He especially drilled into their brains the power of Immortal-level forces like the Song family, the Jade Skies Sect, the ghost market, and the kingdom itself. He didn't mention Marquis Zhou, but repeatedly emphasized them to stay low-profile and to not come into conflict with the Southern Rat Gang.

  Lu Qingshan went around to make sure each and every disciple understood all his points. Having reigned supreme in this remote corner of the province, he wanted them to know that the city was a vastly different place where they could not run wild. Not if they wanted the sect to survive.

  Fortunately, they seemed to comprehend the direness of the situation. Lu Qingshan was pleased.

  "You've proven yourselves trustworthy," he said to the Iron Pine Sect. "No signs of treachery over the years. I think it's time to integrate yourselves deeper into our sect." He signaled at Qin Ye to take out the spirit root sensing stone.

  "All of you, come here," Qin Ye shouted as the other Seven Mysteries Gate disciples watched with burning curiosity.

  "What is this?" asked one of them.

  "A spirit root sensing stone. Your gateway to immortal cultivation," Lu Qingshan said. Their eyes shot wide open.

  "So you were immortals," the vice-leader muttered. "I knew it-"

  "Wrong," Lu Qingshan interrupted. "We are still a martial sect. But that doesn't mean we can't raise or recruit immortal cultivators who agree with our cause."

  "Is this true?"

  "Yes. Qin Ye and Li Fanghua are our resident immortal cultivation experts." Lu Qingshan turned to address all the disciples again. "Listen!" he shouted. "The reason behind why I told you all to be as low-profile as possible. In half a decade, I shall return. And the gateway for martial arts to match immortality shall be forced wide open!" he roared.

  He turned back to the untested disciples. "Do not be discouraged if the stone fails to reveal a spirit root. It is not the end of your path," he said. "Understood?"

  "Yes!" roared back every disciple.

  Deep breathing like a whale's exhale resonated with the cries. Lu Qingshan looked over to see Chen Niu rise. He smiled. The man had successfully learned the Giant Whale Breathing Technique much faster than he'd expected.