Happy Dragon Boat Festival to all readers. Wishing you good health.
……
This mountain peak was exceptionally beautiful. Waterfalls cascaded from its summit, streams flowing down like the Milky Way pouring forth, mist swirling in the air, and a fresh, natural sensation sweeping toward him as he approached.
Fei Yu led Yang Kai through the slanting waterfall and landed before a cave entrance halfway up the mountain.
Yang Kai took a deep breath, relaxing both body and mind, and extended his senses—but found no one inside.
"This is Qixiu Peak, where I live. The four of us Guardians each have our own mountain. The others are lively places, but I find the noise bothersome, so I stay here alone. Come on." With that, she led Yang Kai into the cave.
The interior was spacious, dry, and immaculately clean. Deep within the mountain, stone chambers had been carved with extraordinary skill, and the walls were studded everywhere with luminous, strange stones.
There wasn't even a hint of any unpleasant odor. Instead, a faint fragrance permeated the air.
Yang Kai clicked his tongue in admiration. He had assumed that a woman as fond of drinking as Fei Yu would have no feminine charm to speak of, yet her dwelling was remarkably refined.
"Little martial nephew, why don't you move in here and keep me company? It's rather lonely all by myself." It was unclear whether Fei Yu was joking or serious—she blurted it out suddenly.
"I'd live here?"
"Of course. Before, I had you set up in the valley because I didn't know your background. Since you're technically a disciple of our Tianxiao Sect, you have the right to choose a peak to live on. Besides, if you're refining pills, you'd need a quiet, comfortable environment, wouldn't you? This place isn't bad. Over where Cang Yan and the others are, people come and go all day—you'd never get any peace."
"The conditions here really are excellent." Yang Kai nodded in agreement.
"Give it some thought. I'm serious." Fei Yu smiled brightly, her flushed cheeks looking like ripe fruit.
Winding through passages inside the mountain, they soon arrived at a spacious clearing.
Though Fei Yu had grumbled about Cang Yan and that bunch of bastards only caring about her Thousand Blossom Wine, once they reached the spot, she enthusiastically set everything up—arranging tables and chairs, producing several jars of her home-brewed Thousand Blossom Wine, and bringing out treasured spirit fruits.
Just as she finished, hurried footsteps sounded from nearby. Moments later, Cang Yan, Li Wan, and a tall, slender man strode in.
"I seem to smell wine!" Li Wan's thick, bushy eyebrows twitched slyly as he exaggeratedly sniffed the air.
Cang Yan had some kind of demon beast slung over his back—one Yang Kai had never seen before—and he came swaggering with his head held high.
The moment they spotted the wine jars on the table, both of them broke into knowing grins, smiling obsequiously. "Fei Yu really is a wonderful girl."
Fei Yu's expression turned cold. "One jar each! Finish it and scram!"
"That'll do, that'll do!" Li Wan nodded eagerly, hugging a wine jar to his chest and refusing to let go.
Yang Kai quietly studied the third person. This must be the last of Tianxiao Sect's four Guardians. He was at the same level—the peak of the Transcendence Realm, Stage Three—but Yang Kai keenly noticed that while Cang Yan's presence was oppressive, Fei Yu's was soft and yielding, and Li Wan's was cunning and strange, this man's aura was especially sharp and piercing.
The other man seemed to be studying him too, and suddenly he grinned. "So this is the new martial nephew?"
The moment he bared his teeth, Yang Kai nearly burst out laughing.
The man had a comically oversized pair of buck teeth.
He had thought Li Wan was pretty repulsive, but compared to the fellow in front of him now, Li Wan seemed almost tame.
These two strong cultivators of the Tianxiao Sect really were… distinctive.
"Yang Kai greets Martial Uncle!" Yang Kai said with a solemn bow.
Fei Jian gave a slight nod, then suddenly struck a pose—drawing back a bowstring and nocking an arrow.
Hummm…
The very sky and earth seemed to tremble. The ambient spiritual energy stagnated.
Yang Kai's eyelids instinctively narrowed. In that moment, he felt the crisis of being locked onto by a venomous snake—inescapable, with nowhere to hide.
Cang Yan, Fei Yu, and Li Wan said nothing, simply watching Yang Kai with amused smiles.
Fei Jian's index finger twitched, and then—with a sharp whoosh—an invisible attack hurtled straight toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai's eyes went wide. Vast true essence erupted from his body as he threw a savage punch forward.
BOOM…
Energy churned, true essence surged, but Yang Kai's figure did not move an inch.
The eyes of all four Guardians lit up.
Fei Jian showed his buck teeth in a grin. "Not bad. Cang Yan told me your strength far exceeds that of an ordinary Shenyou Realm cultivator. I didn't quite believe it, but it looks like our Tianxiao Sect has gained another pillar of talent."
"Martial Uncle uses a bow?" Yang Kai's gaze flickered.
Fei Jian gave a slight nod. "I do."
Fei Yu sidled over and whispered in Yang Kai's ear, "He's a cunning one. He never fights anyone head-on—but once he's lurking in the shadows, no one can dodge his arrows. If you want to learn how to scheme against people, ask him for tips."
Yang Kai nodded. He understood that Fei Jian's strike just now had only been a test, carrying no hostility or ill intent. But even so, that single blow had nearly exceeded what Yang Kai could withstand.