"Alright!"

After a long silence, Leng Ping finally raised his head. "Alright," he said. His gaze was incredibly earnest as he looked at Qin Li. "Duke, your magnanimity and courage... I, Leng Ping... am in awe! Since you have treated me so well, I will certainly not let you down! From now on, Miss Yunyan’s business matters will be my matters—the matters of the entire Daqing Gang!"

Qin Li cupped his fist and said seriously, "Then, my thanks, Gang Leader Leng!"

Leng Ping laughed heartily. "It is I and the Daqing Gang who should be thanking you, Duke! In the entire Cyan Dragon Kingdom, who would dare to disrespect you now? We are merely basking in your glory!"

A layer of mist veiled Bu Yunyan’s autumn-water clear eyes. Qin Li had given up such enormous benefits just to pave the way for her. No one present was a fool; they could all see it clearly.

Letting out a soft sigh, Qin Li continued, "Although Zhao Xinghe is dead, he achieved his goal. I brought back the princess, but I also offended the New Qin Kingdom. However, their ambitions are vast and not merely limited to expanding their territory. For the time being, they might not have the luxury of dealing with me. Still, you all must be careful. Hide your identities as best you can, because I have to leave for a while. I might be back in six months or a year, or maybe... maybe it will be a very long time."

As Qin Li spoke, a hint of melancholy touched his expression. From his encounters with the Paradise Celestial Palace and the New Qin Kingdom, he had come to understand something. The number of powerful Martial Artists in this world was not small at all—in fact, it had never been. It was just that he had never stood at such a height before, so naturally, he couldn’t see so far.

It was like how for ordinary people, having enough food to eat and clothes to wear was the greatest pursuit of their lives. If they could be a little wealthier, they would feel immense happiness.

As for things like the meaning of life or the value of one’s existence, they never would—and simply could not—consider them.

Even if a war broke out, as long as the flames of conflict didn’t reach their doorstep, their lives wouldn’t change much.

Even a great and noble clan like the Shangguan Family sought nothing more than power and wealth.

Only a true Martial Artist like Qin Li, after taking that one step forward, would discover that the world before them was as vast as the sea and sky. Only then would they feel that the pursuit of life should not be limited to mere power and wealth.

And only by standing at Qin Li’s height would one discover that they were still insignificant.

The Celestial Shattering Realm—Martial Artists who were like gods in the Mortal Realm—was merely the beginning of the true path of the Martial Dao.

’So, will my trip to Profound Island really go as smoothly as I imagine? Will my mother be able to find Father and attain the happiness she desires?’

The thought of these things filled Qin Li with a sense of urgency. If not for the incident with Zhao Qianqian, he would probably be close to arriving at Profound Island by now.

"We will all take care of ourselves. Young Master, you... must also protect yourself," Bu Yunyan said softly, a trace of worry on her gentle and charming face.

Although Leng Ping didn’t know where Qin Li was going, he could tell from the others’ expressions that this journey would be anything but simple.

So he said, "Duke Qin, I, Leng Ping, won’t say any more than is necessary. Just leave Yellow Sand City to me! Although the Daqing Gang doesn’t have any Celestial Level Martial Artists to hold down the fort, our one hundred thousand members are no joke! If anyone dares to cross the Duke’s people, I, Leng Ping, will fight them to the death!"

"Leng Ping, thank you!" Qin Li stood up and cupped his fist toward him.

Leng Ping hurriedly stood to return the gesture, his expression filled with emotion. ’This man, Qin Li, is definitely someone worth dying for!’ Leng Ping thought to himself. ’Compared to the Crown Prince, the two of them are like heaven and earth!’

People have feelings, and likewise, they need to be respected. You can suppress someone with power and force for a time, but you can never suppress them forever.

This was why Leng Ping had abandoned the Crown Prince even before his downfall. It wasn’t that Leng Ping was treacherous; it was that Zhao Xinghe had never once treated him as one of his own.

"Leng Yao, come with me for a moment. I have something to show you," Qin Li said. He smiled at the others and led a puzzled-looking Leng Yao into the backyard.

The courtyard wasn’t large, but there were only three of them in total, so it didn’t feel small. In fact, it felt a bit spacious, with many rooms left empty.

He hadn’t seen Leng Yao in a while, and her strength had improved significantly. At this rate, it wouldn’t be long before she broke through the Profound Level and entered the Earth Level.

She had also never given up on Alchemy. They were much wealthier now, so they could afford to refine many Elixirs that were previously out of their reach.

The only thing that frustrated Qin Li was that he hadn’t found a single one of the four types of Spirit Grass and seven types of Spirit Flowers on Leng Yao’s list.

However, Leng Yao had successfully refined quite a few Essence Pills, which the three of them had already taken. As expected of a Pill Formula whose importance was stressed by a past Great Power like Prince Wu, it was incredibly powerful. Leng Yao told Qin Li that they could now completely withstand the aura of a Celestial Level expert. Moreover, their Divine Senses had all improved tremendously.

Leng Yao took out a palm-sized jade vial from her robes. It contained about twenty Essence Pills. She handed it to Qin Li. "Take these. I believe that for someone at your realm, these Elixirs will have an even greater benefit. Besides... on your trip to find Miss Shangguan, they might come in handy."

Qin Li took the vial, casually stored the Elixirs in his ring, and said with a smile, "Later, I have something for you and Yunyan too."

"Oh?" Leng Yao’s beautiful eyes stared at Qin Li, and she blurted out happily, "I’m looking forward to it!" As soon as she finished speaking, a blush bloomed on her pretty face.

It seemed that no woman, regardless of who she was, was immune to the word "gift."

That Top-Grade Spirit Grass had miraculously taken root and sprouted inside Qin Li’s Spatial Ring. There wasn’t the slightest sign of it withering; in fact, its stem and leaves seemed even more crystalline than before. Qin Li clicked his tongue in amazement. What surprised him even more was that ever since his ring’s capacity had expanded, it seemed to have undergone some indescribable changes. To Qin Li, it felt more like... a cave!

That’s right, a cave. Inside the ring, soil had begun to constantly form around the Top-Grade Spirit Grass. And as it turned out, this soil was no ordinary dirt; Qin Li could feel powerful Spiritual Qi fluctuations within it. The Spiritual Qi released by the Spirit Grass also filled the entire storage space. When Qin Li’s Spiritual Power seeped inside, the Spiritual Qi would immediately nourish it. As a result, opening his storage space now came at no cost; he actually gained from it!

The White Jade Lotus in the stone trough had also become increasingly translucent, its already jade-like leaves now brimming with even more spirituality.

Qin Li wondered, ’Could this ring actually evolve into a Little World, similar to the Mysterious Land?’ He decided that when he had time, he would catch a couple of living creatures and toss them inside to test it.

For now, the White Jade Lotus and the Top-Grade Spirit Grass were Qin Li’s secrets alone. Back at the Paradise Celestial Palace, he had also found many flowers and herbs imbued with spiritual properties. He took them out of his ring one by one and gave them to Leng Yao.

"I haven’t found the medicinal ingredients you mentioned yet, but I did have some other gains this time. Take a look and see if they’re of any help to you."

As Qin Li spoke, he took out the items one by one. Leng Yao’s eyes grew brighter and brighter as she followed his hands.

In the end, Qin Li took out over thirty different types, totaling more than a thousand Spirit Flowers and Herbs. Leng Yao’s eyes were wide as she stared, murmuring, "Heavens, where... where did you gather all these? This is Dragon-Seeking Grass, this is a Five-Colored Flower... This... this seems to be the legendary Earth Spirit Grass. And this... I don’t recognize this one, but the Spiritual Qi it’s giving off is so rich! Did you just rob some Sect’s herb garden?"

Qin Li chuckled and said, "The Paradise Celestial Palace."

Leng Yao’s face was full of admiration, and a nostalgic look appeared in her eyes. "I saw many of these at my home in the Potala Holy Land when I was a child. There are some I’ve never seen before. I’ll have to test their properties to know what they’re for. This is wonderful! These are all Top-Grade treasures! Every single one is hundreds of years old. Qin Li, you... you’re too good to me!"

"What’s wonderful? Leng Yao, don’t you dare enjoy something good behind my back!" Bu Yunyan’s voice came from outside the door.

"Yunyan, you’re just in time. I have something for you and Leng Yao."

"Oh? You’ve actually learned to give girls gifts? You’re really making progress!" Bu Yunyan said with a playful laugh as she entered.

She then closed the door and looked at the large pile of herbs and flowers suffused with Spiritual Qi on the floor, exclaiming in amazement, "Heavens, you brought back all these incredible things?"

Qin Li smiled and took a pair of Jade Bracelets from his ring. These were not the ones he had obtained at Phoenix Lake, but ones he had found on Hai Tongtian. To Qin Li’s surprise, this pair was also carved from Ten Thousand Year Spirit Jade, and the craftsmanship was not much inferior to the ones from Prince Wu. They were clearly the work of a master.

Qin Li had obtained two such pairs of Jade Bracelets in total. Ten Thousand Year Spirit Jade was a treasure in itself. Wearing it protected one from heat and cold and could ward off a hundred illnesses. Although it lacked a storage function, it was still a priceless treasure.

"How beautiful!"

Both women exclaimed in admiration at almost the same time, their eyes fixed on the Jade Bracelets, unable to look away.

"One for each of you."

Leng Yao and Bu Yunyan looked at each other, neither able to utter a word of refusal. They took the bracelets and fiddled with them fondly, their faces glowing with joy and happiness.

Seeing them so happy made Qin Li’s heart feel at ease. ’Some things are actually very simple, as long as you don’t deliberately overcomplicate them,’ he thought. ’After all, what we are pursuing now is a higher level of existence.’