「The next day.」

Bai Yuan and Xiao Qiaoniang descended Wan Jun Peak together.

They walked very slowly, taking a full hour to reach Zhou Siming’s small cabin outside the city.

"Brother Yuan."

Sister Qiao’s heart was a tangled mess of sorrow, but in the end, she only managed to call out his name.

Though she had a thousand things to say, she knew that even a woman should have her own path, or she would only become a burden.

Bai Yuan smiled faintly. "It’s not like we’ll never see each other again."

In the past, even with his cheat, he wouldn’t have dared claim he could reach the Entering the Realm stage. But now, it was a certainty.

Even if Sister Qiao went to another province, he could still find her.

Just then, Zhou Siming emerged from the small cabin. He glanced at Bai Yuan and Xiao Qiaoniang with his ghastly white eyes.

He had never married, nor had he ever been with a woman in his entire life.

Thus, he had always sneered at matters of love and romance.

His willingness to grant Xiao Qiaoniang this opportunity had nothing to do with her relationship with Bai Yuan; it was purely due to her talent.

In Zhou Siming’s eyes, there wasn’t much difference between humans and demons, men and women, or males and females of any species.

’If Bai Yuan knew this, he would surely praise it as true gender equality.’

Without any delay, Zhou Siming led Sister Qiao onto the Official Road. Soon, their figures vanished at the end of the road.

Bai Yuan didn’t feel much of a stir in his heart.

He had lived two lives and was long accustomed to the joys and sorrows of partings.

Rather than waste time wallowing in sentimentality, he’d be better off killing a few more demons to rack up some enhancement points.

After all, he was very busy right now.

Besides upgrading the Cultivation Technique he got from Old Dong, he couldn’t neglect the Demon Qi Lure from Zhou Siming.

He actually felt like he was back in his old days, pulling all-nighters to grind monsters in a game.

...

Shenfu Mountain was vast.

Aside from the main peak, the Thirteen Peaks, and a few cultivation holy sites like the Holy Fire Pit, most of the area was uninhabited.

It wasn’t even surprising to occasionally encounter demons that had gained sentience on Shenfu Mountain.

Within a stretch of lush mountain forest.

An old man and a young man walked leisurely, not at all nervous despite being in the Divine Mansion Sect’s territory.

"Elder Fang, where do you think this Divine Mansion might be?"

"I don’t think such a thing exists in this world."

"What Elder Fang says is reasonable."

The youth, Lu Yu, was a master of flattery, resolutely refusing to let a single one of Fang Kui’s words fall flat.

Fang Kui glanced at the young man beside him. Sometimes, he had to admit, people like Lu Yu usually managed to live very well. That was the only reason he hadn’t slapped the chatty brat to death.

The two of them had already searched Shenfu Mountain for days without finding the slightest trace of the legendary Divine Mansion.

Fang Kui was starting to lose his patience.

He had little interest in searching for the Divine Mansion in the first place; it was just a mission assigned by the General.

The thought of his old comrades killing more Northern Barbarians in the Northern Territory made him itch with impatience.

’Searching for something that doesn’t even exist is so damn boring.’

Lu Yu, in contrast, seemed much more patient and enthusiastic.

"Let’s call it a day."

Fang Kui suddenly said.

A trace of resignation appeared on Lu Yu’s face. But without the protection of this General Xuanwu, he would surely be discovered by Sect Leader Murong, who had already broken through the Zhigan Pass.

If the Shenfu Sect Master were to suddenly fly into a rage and kill him, the Lingzhou Army wouldn’t even be able to find his body.

Besides, his father, the General, had at least several hundred children, with no shortage of geniuses among them. He was not the most outstanding one.

The Lingzhou Army was powerful, but it wouldn’t tear all relations apart with the Divine Mansion Sect over a mere illegitimate son.

He had to admit that Sect Leader Murong and Peak Master Dong, whom he had yet to meet, were indeed very strong.

He had been to several other prefectures in Ling Province.

The situation there was far worse than in Huanglong Prefecture. The local sects and Prefecture Magistrate’s Offices were locked in a deadly struggle with the people from the Soul-Chasing Tower and the Celestial Heart Sect. There were so many corpses they couldn’t even burn them all, and plagues had broken out in many places. Who knew how many more would die.

Compared to the peace in Huanglong Prefecture, it was like a completely different world.

All of this was due to the formidable strength of the Divine Mansion Sect.

Even in Ling Province, a place teeming with experts, the Divine Mansion Sect was by no means inferior.

"I’ll listen to whatever Elder Fang says."

Lu Yu once again put on his pleasing smile, showing no trace of displeasure.

...

An hour later, he and Elder Fang were back in Huanglong Prefecture City.

Lu Yu knew it was impossible to unravel the mystery of the Divine Mansion in a short time, so he simply pretended to be a merchant and rented a shop in the south of the city to help them hide their identities.

Fang Kui, of course, had no objection to this.

Although he didn’t fear those two from the Divine Mansion Sect, there was no need to provoke them for no reason. It was best to avoid them if possible.

"I’m heading out."

Fang Kui said flatly and pushed the door open to leave.

Lu Yu was already used to this.

General Xuanwu had recently been disappearing for days at a time. That was why, despite having been in Huanglong Prefecture for half a month, they had only been to the Divine Mansion Sect twice.

He knew, of course, that every time Old Fang went out, it was because his hands were itching to go kill remnants of the Demon Sect.

The Demon Sect experts in Huanglong Prefecture had already been wiped out by the Divine Mansion Sect, so Fang Kui always went to the neighboring prefectures to hunt them down. The round trip took several days.

Lu Yu didn’t mind. He lay back leisurely in a bamboo chair, playing the part of the Shopkeeper.

’A rare moment of leisure. Of course, he had to enjoy it properly.’

His cheap foster father, who had raised him for over twenty years, hadn’t actually treated him well. Lu Yu’s childhood had been difficult, and his greatest wish had been to open a pawnshop. Now, that wish had come true. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

He’d been clever since he was a child, so he always managed to get what he wanted in the end.

’The pawnshop was one example. His martial arts training was another. And the Divine Mansion... would be the same.’

...

"Junior Brother Bai."

Xiongshan smiled honestly as he looked at Bai Yuan, whom he hadn’t seen for several days.

’This junior brother of his was truly strange.’

’Other True Disciples couldn’t wait to spend every day on the mountain in seclusion, practicing their martial arts. But Bai Yuan? He was nowhere to be found all day.’

’The Martial Dao is a killing art, true, but you can’t just kill without practicing.’

"Junior Brother Bai, you can’t neglect your training."

Xiongshan couldn’t help but offer a well-intentioned reminder.

Although his realm was lower than Bai Yuan’s, he still understood these basic principles of the Martial Dao.

Bai Yuan replied, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

’He knew his own situation best. For him, killing demons was the same as training.’

After saying goodbye to Xiongshan, he returned to his courtyard next to Wan Jun Hall.

"Young Master, you’re back."

Although Liu Qing and Jiang Fei’s faces were full of exhaustion, they forced themselves to put on smiles.

Their young master left before dawn each day and didn’t return until midnight. His schedule was worthy of a model worker.

Bai Yuan gave a casual nod.

With the two women’s help, he changed into a clean set of clothes.

’He was getting more and more used to this life of a feudal landlord.’

"Alright, you’re dismissed."

Bai Yuan waved his hand.

Liu Qing and Jiang Fei gently closed the door.

Only then did he look at the panel.

[Name: Bai Yuan]

[Class: Demon Hunter, Sword Ghost, Boxer, Spirit Cooker]

[Skills: Demon Tracking (Legendary), Demon Qi Lure (Master), Thousand Faces Technique (Initiate), Sunflower Point-Striking (Initiate), Zhang’s Tuina (Initiate)...]

[Enhancement Points: 0]

As his strength increased, the rate at which he gained enhancement points naturally grew faster.

After his non-stop grinding, Demon Qi Lure had finally reached the Master level, and Demon Tracking had just been upgraded to Legendary today.

Demon Hunter was not an ordinary class to begin with, and the grade of Demon Tracking was also extremely high.

The effect of a Legendary-grade Demon Tracking was, naturally, extraordinary.

He was now like a living radar. No demon within a hundred-li radius could escape his senses, and he could even perceive the demon’s strength—a feat that not even Zhou Siming was capable of.

In the minigames of his past life, there was a technical term for this: a map hack.

A Legendary-grade Demon Tracking was simply a god-tier development skill.

With this skill, Bai Yuan’s efficiency at finding demons would be greatly enhanced, and he could also avoid demons he couldn’t defeat.

In his past life, Bai Yuan had relied on a Legendary-grade Demon Tracking to reach level two hundred on a single life.

He had already unlocked Hunter’s advanced class, Demon Hunter, so acquiring the Legendary-grade Demon Tracking this time didn’t unlock a new class.

Only by obtaining three Legendary skills could he acquire an even higher-grade class.

Thanks to the powerful logistical support of the Spirit Cooker class, he was perhaps one of the few Martial Artists in this world who didn’t lack Spirit Medicine.

His current stock of Spirit Soup was already enough to support his breakthrough into the Entering the Realm Pass. He just needed to drink the soup on schedule every day.

Reaching the Entering the Realm stage was only a matter of time for him.

So, while breaking through, he also had plenty of time to grind his Cultivation Techniques.

Other Martial Artists were still training bitterly, but he was enjoying double the fun!

The capacity of the Blood Refining Pass was vast, but Bai Yuan felt he would soon reach its limit.

He was likely the first Martial Artist in Ling Province capable of pushing the Blood Refining Pass to its breaking point.

’Blood Refining?’

’Let’s see where your limit is.’

...

In the 30th year of Yuanding, Lai State City fell. The Demon Sect pushed south, slaughtering the people of Xuan Yang.

Emperor Xuanyang was enraged.

He dispatched General Zhenxi north to provide aid and ordered all sects to send their experts north to resist the Demon Sect’s invasion.

The war in the Northern Territory was brutal, and the sects of Xuan Yang were naturally unwilling to commit their full strength, especially those from the south.

But this time, Emperor Xuanyang seemed to be serious.

Although the Grand Ancestor Emperor had once made a pact with the world’s sects to rule together, the current Emperor seemed ready to break with tradition. Only after he wiped out more than ten thousand-year-old sects in one fell swoop did the other scheming sects finally fall in line.

Lai State had fallen. If Dingzhou fell next, it would be Ling Province’s turn.

Compared to the southern sects who were content to watch the fire from the other side of the river, the sects of the Northern Lands better understood the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.

The Lingzhou General and the Prefect sent several thousand soldiers of the Lingzhou Army north.

The Peak Master of the Divine Mansion Sect’s Wan Jun Peak even went personally to Dingzhou to slay enemies.

Somehow, Emperor Xuanyang heard this news, and in his great pleasure, he sent the Divine Mansion Sect a golden plaque inscribed with the four large words: "Pillar of the Northern Territory."

This was a first in the Northern Territory.

Having received imperial favor, Murong Tian was overjoyed and bestowed many rewards upon Dong Wanjun’s three disciples.

As for Dong Wanjun?

’Murong Tian had nothing left to reward him with. That Junior Brother Dong was even wealthier than him, the Sect Leader. What was there to give!’

And so, Bai Yuan, You Shengnan, and Xiongshan received a windfall.

South of Huanglong Prefecture City.

Lu Yu pressed his fingers to his temples. For once, he felt a bit frustrated.

The war in the north had become urgent.

Fang Kui had already been reassigned to Dingzhou by his father, the General.

Old Fang had no interest in searching for the Divine Mansion to begin with. Now that he had an excuse, he bolted from Huanglong Prefecture that very night.

Now, the matter of the Divine Mansion rested solely on his shoulders.

Although the Lord General had sent him several more skilled men from the Lingzhou Army, how could they possibly compare to General Xuanwu?

But Lu Yu had no intention of giving up.

Because he felt that there might truly be an Immortal Cave Mansion within Shenfu Mountain.

...