That voice was very familiar! Qin Sang’s heart stirred as he looked closely ahead.

The spiritual array activated, and the mist parted to both sides as a woman in red emerged from within.

Her eyebrows arched like distant peaks, her pupils black and clear as obsidian. She wore a phoenix crown upon her head, her beauty so dazzling it bordered on the otherworldly. Her red long skirt flowed like fire, her grace radiant and unmatched.

When her gaze fell upon Qin Sang, a flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"Granny Jing?" Qin Sang was equally taken aback.

Granny Jing, whose true name was Qingjun, was the daughter of Senior Qingzhu.

When they first met at the market, Qingjun had concealed her cultivation, taking on the appearance of an old woman under the alias Granny Jing.

It wasn’t until before entering Zhitian Peak that Qin Sang learned Granny Jing’s true identity. Qingjun’s real face was stunningly beautiful, no less than that of Chenyan.

But now, she had changed again. He remembered how, back then, Qingjun had revealed her true face dressed in pure white robes. She had seemed untainted by the world, like a fairy from the Moon Palace, ethereal and serene.

Now her beauty remained the same, untouched by time even after a hundred years, yet the feeling she gave him was completely different.

Her red skirt burned like the morning glow, fierce and radiant, leaving a vivid impression upon the eyes.

This woman’s temperament could shift like flowing clouds. Qin Sang found himself uncertain which version of her was truly real.

"How interesting! I had wanted to find you back then, to ask whether you had discovered that person’s remains, but you vanished without a trace. Later, I heard that in Ziwei Palace you offended Dongyang Bo and Chenyan. If I recall correctly, you weren’t even at the Core Formation Realm at the time, only at the Fake Core Realm. Yet you managed to escape alive, disappeared for so many years, and now reappear with such cultivation?" Qingjun’s lips curved slightly as her eyes swept up and down Qin Sang with interest.

My feeling was right. This woman did change; her demeanor and aura are completely different from what I remembered. Qin Sang cursed silently.

Confirming that this really was Qingjun, Qin Sang suppressed his thoughts and respectfully bowed. "It has been many years, Senior. Your elegance is unchanged. I intruded upon your cultivation without notice and hope you will forgive my rudeness."

Qingjun was Senior Qingzhu’s daughter. Since Peach Blossom Valley was their homeland, it wasn’t strange to meet her here.

However, from the way Qingjun had once spoken of her father, she didn’t seem to hold much affection for him. And Peach Blossom Valley was not some rich spiritual land. Qin Sang had not expected to encounter Granny Jing again so soon.

What shocked him most was that Qingjun’s aura was completely concealed; he could not see through her cultivation at all.

There was only one possibility: Qingjun had already reached the Spiritual Infant Realm.

But thinking further, he found it reasonable. More than a hundred years had passed since they parted, and even back then, Qingjun had dared to infiltrate Shaohua Mountain to assassinate Leng Yuntian.

"I’ve never mentioned Peach Blossom Valley to anyone. How did you know I was here? You must have another reason for coming." Seeing through Qin Sang’s intent at a glance, Qingjun said calmly, "Come in, we’ll talk."

She turned and walked back into the array. Qin Sang thanked her and quickly followed.

Beyond the array lay a valley full of fragrance and color, the peach blossoms dyeing the mountains red.

The trees had been carefully pruned. Some were in full bloom, while others bore bright red celestial peaches, filling the air with rich sweetness.

A gentle stream wound its way through the orchard, eventually feeding into a clear pond.

There were no grand halls or towers here, only an elegant courtyard and several wooden houses by the water, nestled amid the peach trees.

The words that Senior Qingzhu had left carved upon the cliff were simply a portrayal of the most unforgettable place in his memory.

Qin Sang’s thoughts shifted as he prepared to speak, but suddenly a wave of pure and dense spiritual qi surged toward him, far stronger than what he had sensed at Wandering Man or Li Yufu’s cave dwellings.

Isn't Peach Blossom Valley supposed to have only a small spirit vein. Qin Sang thought.

"I moved a spirit vein from Yuanshen Sect here. It's enough." Qingjun noticed his reaction and spoke lightly.

"Yuanshen Sect? Then Leng Yuntian must be..." Hearing this, Qin Sang gasped in shock.

When he had been at Yinshan Stronghold, he had deliberately inquired about Yuanshen Sect and learned that it remained among the top sects, still thriving, with Leng Yuntian alive and well.

He had assumed that Qingjun had failed to kill Leng Yuntian in Ziwei Palace. But now, hearing that she had moved a spirit vein from Yuanshen Sect, a realization struck Qin Sang like lightning. It seemed impossible.

The Qingzhu family and Yuanshen Sect had a blood feud. Qingjun would never have compromised with Leng Yuntian. There was only one explanation...

"Indeed. Leng Yuntian’s Fivefold Tower was contaminated by the Blood Defilement Divine Light, and I killed him in Ziwei Palace. Yuanshen Sect was too large a legacy to simply abandon or hand over, so I disguised myself as Leng Yuntian and took the position of sect leader.

"The disciples couldn’t see through me, though the red-haired grandmaster and a few others sensed something amiss. But the war was raging then, and I personally joined the frontline to resist the enemy. Once the situation was settled, since I hadn’t slaughtered innocents within the sect, Dongyang Bo and the others, aware of our feud, merely warned me and let it be..." Qingjun spoke of it as if it were a trivial matter.

But Qin Sang knew it couldn’t have been that simple. Leng Yuntian’s death and Yuanshen Sect’s takeover by another would have shaken the entire cultivation world.

How could the Spiritual Infant grandmasters of other sects not have felt alarmed and uneasy?

Even with justification, they would never allow such recklessness, unless the person responsible had the strength to make them all submit!

Qin Sang secretly studied Qingjun. He couldn’t tell if it was illusion, but her aura seemed even more unfathomable than that of the early-stage Spiritual Infant cultivators he had encountered in Seven-Kill Hall! The thought sent a chill through his heart.

A hundred years ago, when Qingjun dealt with Leng Yuntian, who had only barely reached the Spiritual Infant Realm, she needed to plan carefully and even call upon me for help.

Yet now, in just over a century, has she broken through consecutively and reached the middle stage of the Spiritual Infant Realm?

That is utterly astonishing. Even someone with a Heavenly Spiritual Root would struggle to advance so quickly. Or perhaps there has been some unknown secret behind it all.

Qin Sang sank into thought. Qingjun gave him a deeply contradictory impression.

Back then, she had disguised herself as an old woman and hidden within Wenyue Market. Yet she had dared to infiltrate Shaohua Mountain itself, even approach Dongyang Bo’s cave dwelling, without the slightest fear of being discovered.

Her cultivation had always been shrouded in mystery, fluctuating between concealment and revelation, impossible to discern.

While Qin Sang’s thoughts drifted, the two of them walked through the peach grove and came to a stop beside a wooden house.

"Speak. What brings you here?" Qingjun halted suddenly and looked at Qin Sang.

Behind the house stood two graves, the names of two women carved in graceful script upon their gravestones.

As expected, both of them had long since passed away. Qin Sang knew who rested there and sighed softly in lament. May Senior Qingzhu reunite with them in the afterlife.

He pushed aside his wandering thoughts and silently offered a blessing before taking a deep breath. His voice grew solemn. "I came under the entrustment of Senior Qingzhu, to return his remains and bury him here in Peach Blossom Valley."

As he spoke, light flashed at his fingertips, and he drew out the ice coffin that held Qingzhu’s body.

Qingjun seemed to have expected this. Her eyes fixed upon the coffin, her expression a complex mixture of emotions.