Just as the Battle at Withered Forest was spreading like wildfire.

Ye Qingchen had bid farewell to Kong Jing and returned directly to Hidden Dragon Mountain alone. This time, he wasn’t intending to go into seclusion for cultivation, but merely to sort out the gains from this mission.

However.

When he returned to Hidden Dragon Mountain, that head of silver hair still gave the Three-tailed Fox a shock:

"Your hair, why is it all white?"

It’s important to know.

Once a cultivator steps into a certain realm, their Qi Blood increases accordingly, allowing them to maintain their appearance for many years. Someone like Ye Qingchen, who entered the Human Immortal realm as a youth, could keep their appearance unchanged for hundreds of years.

Should wrinkles appear on one’s face or white hair emerge, it indicates a decline in Qi Blood and that their strength is waning from its peak.

"That’s not right!"

The Three-tailed Fox placed its little paw on Ye Qingchen’s hand and exclaimed in surprise. "Your Qi Blood is even stronger than before. Normally, when you enter the Human Immortal Realm, any depleted Qi Blood should have been replenished long ago, otherwise you wouldn’t have been able to verify your Dao as a Human Immortal!"

"It’s just a side effect of using a Secret Technique!" Ye Qingchen smiled, glancing at the Three-tailed Fox. "Didn’t expect you reached Human Immortal while I was away for two months!"

The Three-tailed Fox snorted, retracting its paw slowly, looking thoughtfully at Ye Qingchen before speaking slowly:

"Your Secret Technique is very strange. If my guess is correct, it should be extracting your vitality... Although you seem fine, you’re actually hanging by a thread. It’s best to completely abandon this Secret Technique in the future!"

"Oh?"

Ye Qingchen raised his eyebrows, not expecting the Three-tailed Fox to see through his condition. "How did you know?"

"My realm is naturally beyond your imagination!" The Three-tailed Fox twirled its body and returned to the spiritual pond. Seeing the other party unwilling to say more, Ye Qingchen had to quell his curiosity.

In these two months, although he wasn’t at Hidden Dragon Mountain, everything inside the mountain remained as new.

Sitting cross-legged, Ye Qingchen slightly closed his eyes, contemplating the gains and losses of the Battle at Withered Forest.

To outsiders.

It seemed that he and Venerable Yin Mountain won very easily, but in reality, only Ye Qingchen understood the danger within. An old hand like Venerable Yin Mountain, an Earth Immortal, naturally had many backup plans.

If he hadn’t known early on that Venerable Yin Mountain was still alive, forcing him to emerge early, the outcome of that battle might have been completely reversed.

"Although my current strength is not weak, normally there seems no difference with these old-timers, in a life-and-death battle, the difference in foundation is apparent!"

"I’ve only just started on the ’Heaven-Repairing Fragment,’ and have only comprehended the first move of the ’Great Freedom Heaven-Trapping Sword’... Besides, I still need other backups, either a magical treasure or some life-saving cultivation technique!"

"The Three-tailed Fox is right, the ’Heaven-Slaying Immortal Sword Scripture’ must be discarded. Had it not been interrupted by the Bone Flood Dragon at Withered Forest, my entire vitality would have been drained by that one sword!"

Ye Qingchen’s mind was calm, pondering quietly.

Of course. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

This was also the reason he brought back Venerable Yin Mountain’s remains.

"I wonder if Su Moran can help me refine a magical treasure!" Ye Qingchen rubbed his chin; having a mentor is advantageous, and naturally, he’d make use of it. Of course, he’d remember the favor and repay it later.

"But first, I have to hand over the mission!"

Thinking of this, after resting a bit, he set off for Void Peak.

After all.

The initiator of this mission was Marquis Guangjun of Void Peak, so naturally, the mission had to be handed over at Void Peak as well.

If the inner sect forms the foundation of Taotian Palace, the Seven Peaks are its supporting pillars. Any disciple able to enter the Seven Peaks is either at the Human Immortal level or possesses exceptional talent.

If someone enters the Seven Peaks for the first time and sees the passing Human Immortals, their heart might tremble. But Ye Qingchen had experienced a gathering of immortals at the Withered Forest; to him, this Void Peak was merely somewhat stronger.

"But, where’s the Task Hall?"

Ye Qingchen rubbed his chin.

Although Void Peak seems like a mere mountain, it has been enhanced by the ’Inner Qiankun Array,’ making its actual area at least a hundred times larger than it appears.

He had been there for a while and still couldn’t find the location of the Task Hall.

"Are you looking for the Task Hall?"

Just as Ye Qingchen was considering whether to use his divine sense to search or notify Lu Yanwu, he heard a crisp female voice nearby.

Ye Qingchen looked up and saw a young woman around her twenties, dressed in tight-fitting attire, smiling at him. Beside her was a young man of similar age, carrying a long spear.

Ye Qingchen looked at her curiously.

"I’m Aiqi. Coincidentally, I’m also going to take on a mission. Why not join us?" The woman said with a cheerful smile. "Although this Void Peak looks small, if you’re unfamiliar with the terrain, you could search for three days and nights and still not find it."

"Alright!"

Ye Qingchen agreed without pretense, nodding his assent.

The trio then headed toward the Task Hall together.

The woman named Aiqi kept curiously glancing at Ye Qingchen as they walked. Her personality was somewhat quirky, similar to Shen Yu’s, constantly full of questions along the way:

"You look so young, how come your hair is all white?"

"Young man, you seem unfamiliar, not one of our Void Peak people, right? You’ve reached Human Immortal Second Layer and don’t even know where the Task Hall is? Could it be your first time doing a task?"

"Indeed! It is my first time." Ye Qingchen nodded slightly.

Hearing this, the young man beside them, already displeased at how close Aiqi and Ye Qingchen seemed, snorted disdainfully.

It’s important to know.

Within the Seven Peaks, there exists such a group of disciples, with mediocre talent, but with family backing, they could barely reach Human Immortal. But this kind of cultivation relies solely on external forces or vast resources.

However, this method is inferior; although they reach a certain level, their mentality does not match, and they cannot fully exert a Human Immortal’s strength.

Though such disciples are few, they are indeed looked down upon.

"This mission of yours must have been very difficult, right?" The young man said mockingly, "Was it nine deaths and one life, barely completed?"

"Not quite nine deaths and one life, but certainly very perilous!" Ye Qingchen casually glanced at him and nodded.

"Really? Can you tell us, what kind of task was it?"

Aiqi asked, immediately interested.

"When we hand over the mission, you will know!" Ye Qingchen said calmly.

Hearing this, the young man’s disdain grew even stronger.

What nine deaths and one life?

What exceptionally perilous?

To him, it seemed the other party was just boasting. Just when he was about to mock Ye Qingchen further, a sudden realization came over, and Ye Qingchen looked up, seeing the Task Hall was right ahead.

"Here we are!"