In the Mountain and Sea Empire, the Four Great Sects were like vassal lords, each with their own territory and a corresponding degree of autonomy.

Although they all nominally deferred to the Mountain and Sea Empire, everyone knew the truth. Neither the Four Great Sects nor the Imperial Family were on good terms with one another.

The Mountain and Sea Empire was powerful—so powerful that it could take on all four Sects at once, forcing them to huddle together for warmth.

But the combined strength of the Four Great Sects was nothing to scoff at. If war were to break out, the Mountain and Sea Empire would pay a terrible price, even in victory.

Thus, the current stalemate had formed.

Nanyang City, a remote town within the territory of the Void Sect, was a settlement populated almost entirely by mortals.

Aside from the City Lord’s Mansion, which was loyal to the Mountain and Sea Empire, a station garrisoned by the Void Sect, and a few minor families, one could hardly find any Cultivators.

Today, an odd pair arrived in Nanyang City. Their journey through the streets drew the gazes of many onlookers.

"Brother Mo, does... does Daddy not want San Pang anymore?"

Jin Sanpang, a veritable mountain of flesh, pouted. He looked pitifully up at Mo Qi, who was sitting on his shoulder, and asked his question.

Mo Qi gazed into the distance, the sorrow etched between his brows deep and unshakeable.

Hearing Jin Sanpang’s question, he forced a smile and patted Jin Sanpang’s bald head. "How could your father not want you? It’s because San Pang’s performance was so outstanding that your father is rewarding you by letting you stay with me, so you can eat my cooking every day."

"Really?" Jin Sanpang asked, delighted.

"Of course it’s real. But your father also said you have to listen to me, understand?"

"Mhm, mhm! San Pang will definitely listen to Brother Mo." Jin Sanpang seemed to sense something was off, but with his simple nature, he was quickly taken in by Mo Qi’s white lie.

"San Pang, speed up! We’re going over there!"

Mo Qi urged, pointing in a direction he recalled from the depths of his memory.

"You got it!"

Jin Sanpang suddenly accelerated. His massive, fleshy body didn’t hinder his movements in the slightest. Kicking up a gust of wind, he vanished from sight on the wide street.

The commoners, whose attention had been captured by Jin Sanpang’s size, cried out in alarm. Murmuring "Immortal Master," they prostrated themselves in awe and didn’t dare to rise for a long time.

Mo Qi stood before a luxurious estate, his expression stirred with emotion.

This was the home Uncle Niu had once brought him to.

Although Uncle Niu was just a servant chef at the Void Sect, as the saying goes, even a servant at a powerful man’s gate holds sway. In the mortal world, Uncle Niu still possessed a considerable family fortune.

This was also why Uncle Niu had felt at ease leaving Niu Kexin in Nanyang City; the inheritance he left behind was enough for her to live a life of wealth and comfort.

"Who are you?"

The gatekeeper warily sized up Jin Sanpang and Mo Qi, his hand gripping a copper gong, ready to sound the alarm at any moment.

’Hmm? Shouldn’t Uncle Zhang be the one at the gate?’ Mo Qi muttered to himself, puzzled.

But that one quiet murmur caused the gatekeeper’s expression to change drastically.

"There’s no Uncle Zhang here! Scram!"

How could the gatekeeper’s strange behavior escape Mo Qi’s notice? His face grew grim.

"Isn’t this the Niu Residence?" Mo Qi asked in a low voice.

"What Niu Residence? Look closely! This is the Zhou Residence! There’s never been any Niu Residence here!" The gatekeeper pointed at the plaque behind him, a strange light glinting in his eyes.

"Impossible!" Mo Qi’s expression turned completely sullen.

He had complete confidence in his memory. This was definitely Uncle Niu’s home; there was no way he’d come to the wrong place.

’The only explanation is that something has happened to Niu Kexin!’

"Speak! Where did the people of the Niu Family go? What happened here?" Mo Qi grabbed the gatekeeper by the collar and demanded in a low snarl.

Instead of being afraid, the gatekeeper sneered.

"Where did this punk come from? How dare you cause trouble at our Zhou Residence? Don’t you know how many heads you have to lose?"

With that, the gatekeeper forcefully struck the copper gong in his hand.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The moment the gong sounded, more than twenty burly men in martial attire rushed out from the estate. Wielding long staves, they surrounded Mo Qi and Jin Sanpang.

"Such nerve, daring to touch a man of our Zhou Residence. I’ll give you one chance. Let him go, kneel, and apologize. I’ll spare your life and only break your arms and legs." The speaker was a powerfully built middle-aged man, clearly the leader of the group.

"Brother Zhou, this guy was asking about the Niu Residence the moment he showed up! He must be one of the remnants of the Niu Family!" the gatekeeper, still held in Mo Qi’s grip, shouted.

"Oh? Remnants of the Niu Family?" The middle-aged man was suddenly intrigued, his gaze toward Mo Qi and Jin Sanpang like he was looking at a treasure trove.

"Good, good, good! I was just wondering how to get on an Immortal Master’s good side, and you two deliver yourselves to my doorstep. It seems today is my lucky day!"

"Men! Seize them both! Don’t let either of them escape!" the middle-aged man shouted excitedly.

What he didn’t know was that the moment the five words "remnants of the Niu Family" left his mouth, the cold glint in Mo Qi’s eyes had already turned into killing intent.

"Kid, if you know what’s good for you, let me go, or I’ll make you..."

CRACK!

The gatekeeper’s threat was only half-spoken before Mo Qi crushed his throat. He collapsed to the ground, spitting blood, and twitched before his Vitality faded.

"How dare you! You even dare to kill someone from our Zhou Residence! I was going to spare your life, but now you can just die!"

The middle-aged man waved his hand, and the twenty-odd burly men, their faces contorted with menace, surged forward, pouncing on Mo Qi and Jin Sanpang.

"So noisy. You’re not allowed to be mean to Brother Mo!"

Jin Sanpang pouted, his eyebrows forming an inverted ’V’. He waved his hand in annoyance.

BOOM!

A giant hand formed from Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy descended from the sky, smashing all the burly men into a pulp.

The middle-aged man, who had remained in place, was spared. He stared blankly at the scene before him, his face turned pale, and he clapped a hand over his mouth and threw up.

"Immortal Master, spare my life! This lowly one was blind and didn’t recognize your eminence’s arrival! I have disturbed you! I beg the Immortal Master for mercy!"

The middle-aged man, ignoring the filth he’d just vomited on himself, hastily dropped to his knees and banged his head on the ground repeatedly.

Among ordinary people, he was considered a Martial Arts expert, but in the eyes of a Cultivator, he was no different from an ant.

He was cursing himself inwardly. If he had known earlier that Mo Qi and Jin Sanpang were Cultivators, he would never have stepped forward.

Jin Sanpang wrinkled his brow in disgust and raised his hand again, but Mo Qi stopped him.

"From what you said before, the Niu Residence becoming the Zhou Residence... it has something to do with an Immortal Master?"

"Yes, yes, yes." The middle-aged man didn’t dare hide a single thing. Like beans spilling from a bamboo tube, he poured out everything he knew.

「...」

In a woodshed deep within the former Niu Residence—now the Zhou Residence.

A woman dressed in coarse linen, her body gaunt and her hair disheveled, was struggling to wash clothes.

To her left were ten large basins of already-washed clothes. To her right sat a bowl of thick, soured congee and a mold-spotted steamed bun. Behind her was a mountain of dirty laundry.

The woodshed door was kicked open with great force, and a heavyset middle-aged woman walked in, a leather whip in her hand.

"Niu Kexin, are you finished yet?" the middle-aged woman demanded sharply the moment she entered.

"I’ve already washed ten basins, there’s still..." The woman in coarse linen spoke in a frail voice, but before she could finish, a whip cracked, sending her sprawling to the ground.