IC 05

Chapter 05

Qiran naturally sat down beside him.

The two of them were almost shoulder to shoulder. Qiran’s white robe brushed against Jing Qiu’s shoulder, making half of Jing Qiu’s body stiffen instantly. His scalp tightened as his fingers plucked a string, producing a trembling, lingering note.

A misty, distant zither sound drifted beyond the heavens.

The attendants of Jade Spirit Mountain were all stunned.

The little martial uncle was extremely skilled in music. His zither sound could affect the five senses and was considered peerless in technique. Yet such a lethal, blood-sealing killing art was rarely used by Jing Qiu. No one expected him to be in the mood today to play a purely melodic tune.

Moreover, the music sounded unusually complex—his emotions seemed tangled—making the melody even more heart-stirring.

Speaking of which, Little Martial Uncle Jing Qiu had brought back a strikingly beautiful man, and that man had even entered his private residence. Could it be that the two of them…

“Did you see that man’s cultivation level?”

“It looks like he has none.”

“Maybe he’s hiding it with a concealment artifact. Anyone who can interact with Little Martial Uncle Jing Qiu can’t be ordinary.”

“This is the first time Little Martial Uncle has brought someone back to Jade Spirit Mountain. He must value him greatly. We should treat him properly.”

That night, Jing Qiu personally cleaned and prepared Chaohua Hall and ordered the servants not to enter without permission. He worked until dawn, and then received a message from the sect master, heading to the forbidden ground of the Heavenly Realm—the place where the Heavenly Ancestor, his master, was in secluded cultivation.

After resting for a night, Qiran left the small bamboo house.

Two wooden birds were perched outside the bamboo house.

Qiran summoned one of them. It unfolded into a letter written by Jing Qiu.

The letter said that Chaohua Hall was ready for him to stay, that the ancestor needed to see him, and that Jing Qiu would take him to tour the Heavenly Realm tomorrow. For today, he could explore Jade Spirit Mountain. If he needed anything, he could instruct the servants, and any questions could wait until Jing Qiu returned.

—Jing Qiu was usually a man of few words, appearing cold and distant, but his letters were always long, detailed, and meticulous. Qiran only skimmed the important parts before putting it away.

The second wooden bird carried Li Che’s greetings, informing him of where the people stationed in the Heavenly Realm were staying, and that a transport spirit crane had been left outside Jade Spirit Mountain for his use.

Qiran arrived at the mountain gate and saw a blood-feathered spirit crane standing proudly, looking down at him from above.

Qiran raised an eyebrow.

“Bow your head.”

The spirit crane paused, then flapped its wings irritably. It looked at him with even greater arrogance, as if mocking a human without cultivation daring to ride such a noble beast. It was, after all, a royal mount!

Qiran curved his lips slightly and reached out. It was a casual gesture with no trace of spiritual energy, yet the previously arrogant spirit crane suddenly lowered its head and placed it into Qiran’s palm.

The crane was stunned. It tried to struggle, but found it couldn’t move at all.

Qiran stroked its head and said again:

“Kneel.”

The spirit crane directly crouched down, looking at the human in disbelief, a trace of fear finally appearing in its eyes.

Qiran sat on its back and patted its wings.

“Take me down the mountain. Show me around nearby.”

The spirit crane let out a cry and soared into the sky.

Deep within the forbidden grounds of the Heavenly Realm, at the ancestor’s secluded cultivation chamber.

Jing Qiu had just arrived when he saw an elderly man in an alchemist’s robe hurriedly walking in with the sect master, escorted by the Grand Elder. A vague sense of unease rose in his heart.

The alchemist wore nine star insignias on his robe—a Nine-Star Physician.

In the Heavenly Horizon World, physicians were ranked from one to ten stars. A one-star physician could treat Postnatal Realm cultivators; two- and three-star physicians treated Innate Realm cultivators. A nine-star physician could only treat late-stage or peak Nascent Soul Realm cultivators. Only a ten-star physician could treat Void Shattering Realm cultivators.

However, ten-star physicians had not appeared for five hundred years.

Even those still alive were elusive and nearly impossible to invite. Nine-star physicians were already extremely rare and difficult to summon.

The Void Shattering Realm represented the peak combat power of this world. Only ancient sect ancestors or founding monarchs reached such a level, capable of establishing great sects.

Within the entire Heavenly Realm, there was only one Void Shattering expert—his master, Dao’an Venerable.

Jing Qiu’s heart tightened. No one was allowed to disturb the ancestor’s seclusion—not even the sect master.

Yet he had received the sect master’s decree and entered without obstruction, all the way to Dao’an Venerable’s chamber.

Inside the stone doors, a thick smell of medicine mixed with blood assaulted his senses.

The sect master and the Nine-Star Physician stood by the stone bed. Dao’an Venerable lay there, half his body collapsed, with only white bones visible beneath his robes.

Jing Qiu stepped forward and grasped his master’s skeletal hand.

“Master.”

Dao’an Venerable could barely open his eyes, his fingers tightening slightly.

“Jing Qiu…”

The thing he worried about most was this disciple. Talented, noble in status, yet without a powerful family backing. If even his master were gone, his future would be in great danger.

“What happened?”

Jing Qiu still remembered how, years ago, the Divine Dynasty’s imperial family had wiped out his small clan. It was his master who saved him during that massacre and brought him back to the Heavenly Realm.

“The Venerable suffered dao injuries when attempting to break through the Void Shattering Realm under the Nine Heavens tribulation. They never healed. Now the injuries have flared up again, and half his flesh has turned into dao energy. His time is running out.”

Jing Qiu had always known about his master’s dao injuries, and the Heavenly Realm had long searched for high-level physicians.

“Now that you’re here, can’t you save him?” he asked.

The Nine-Star Physician shook his head.

“Dao injuries are incurable to begin with.”

The sect master of the Heavenly Realm looked grim. Without the ancestor, the Heavenly Realm would lose a pillar of support. If no second Void Shattering expert appeared within a hundred years, the Heavenly Realm would decline like many ancient traditions before it.

Meanwhile, Qiran looked around casually as he traveled, simply getting familiar with his new surroundings.

The blood-feathered spirit crane obeyed his orders, flying close to the ground at a slow pace.

On the main roads, Heavenly Realm disciples gathered in groups, chatting freely with scrolls in hand.

“Prince Li Che’s people have entered Mist Peak of the Heavenly Realm. They’ll be staying there for a while.”

“That’s a prince of the Divine Dynasty. Rumor says he’s the most likely candidate to become Divine Emperor. Are the royal elders trying to recruit talent from the Heavenly Realm?”

“If you can serve the Divine Dynasty, you’d be set for life. Much better than wasting away here.”

“Dream on. Every mountain master is thinking the same thing.”

“Higher-ups are watching. It won’t be your turn.”

Qiran sat sideways on the spirit crane, observing everything with curiosity.

He saw disciples along the way—some had animal ears, some had long whiskers on their faces, and some women had tails while being surrounded by human men trying to flatter them.

These were not beast-forms, but humans with beast bloodlines. As they matured, their bloodlines awakened, granting them beast traits and abilities.

For example, those with Wind Leopard bloodlines were among the fastest in their realm. Even without special physiques like spiritual or dao bodies, awakened bloodline power could rival them.

Those with divine or even immortal beast bloodlines were even more extraordinary.

Qiran rode the crane, looking around with interest.

The passing disciples kept glancing at him and whispering:

“Is that… the number one beauty of the Heavenly Realm, Qin Long?”

“So beautiful…”

“I heard Qin Long has a phoenix-blood spirit crane, a royal-blooded beast gifted by the Ninth Prince of the Divine Dynasty…”

“The crane used to be untamable even at Condensed Vein tenth level…”

“Looks like it’s been tamed now.”

Qiran lazily listened to their chatter, wondering what “Condensed Vein realm” even was.

At that moment, someone suddenly leapt out from the bushes and blocked his path.

“P-please wait!”

Chapter 5

Qiran patted the spirit crane’s wing, signaling it to stop. He looked at the newcomer with interest, gesturing for him to continue.

The young man was handsome. Upon seeing Qiran, his face immediately flushed red. Stammering, he quickly lowered his head and shoved a letter forward:

“My senior asked me to give this to you!”

Then he forced the letter into Qiran’s hand and fled.

Qiran held the letter, confused.

He opened it. There was only one line:

“Midnight tonight. Meet at Mingyuan Lake. — Wang Huan”

No context, no explanation.

Qiran put the letter away. To avoid being stopped again, he had the spirit crane fly into the sky, disappearing from the disciples’ sight.

Those who witnessed it sighed repeatedly:

“As expected of the number one beauty. Even walking around, he receives love letters.”

By nightfall, Qiran returned to Jade Spirit Mountain and happened to run into Jing Qiu, who had just come back.

Jing Qiu seemed distracted. His master’s life hung by a thread, possibly about to dissolve into dao energy at any moment.

Seeing Qiran, Jing Qiu’s gaze fell on the spirit crane beneath him. He stopped and hesitated before speaking:

“Qiran, my master…”

Qiran jumped down from the crane, walked over, and grabbed his arm, interrupting him:

“Did you bring anything for me?”

Jing Qiu looked at the face so close to him and once again felt his breath catch. He nodded:

“Follow me.”

The surrounding attendants lowered their heads. Jing Qiu dismissed them and brought Qiran inside. With a wave of his hand, dishes filled the table.

Qiran tasted each dish one by one.

Jing Qiu stood beside him.

“Is there anything you especially like?”

Qiran shook his head.

“They’re all about the same.”

Jing Qiu froze slightly, stunned.