Qin Ye staggered out from his makeshift hut. There was a slight limp in his steps from his previous injuries. Looking upwards, he met the limpid eyes of his healer, surnamed Yue.

  She was a water element Jade Cleansing stage cultivator that had surrendered in that last battle. The most useful of her group, most elders in the Seven Mysteries Gate immediately agreed to her terms. She didn't have many freedoms, but she was most definitely treated better than the others. The more rebellious prisoners had already disappeared.

  Now there were just three prisoners left. The sect was still debating on what to do with them, but it did look like the healer would be able to join the sect along with Xuan Jing. Qin Ye was happy for them.

  He continued walking, leaving her behind. The Seven Mysteries Gate was still recovering from that battle. Everyone was injured. Especially their sect master, who was currently nursing his wounds deep inside some cave in the middle of nowhere. Only Li Fanghua knew where he was, as she remained the overseer for the sea of fog.

  Still, Qin Ye was happy to have his senior sister keep that role. After all, without having more time to himself, he wouldn't have managed so fast an ascension.

  But his breakthrough to the Qi Refinement realm had been overshadowed by the sect master. Even he couldn't believe it. Some of the things the An siblings had whispered in his ears made it seem impossible. But the sect master had done it. Achieved something no one else could.

  Qin Ye almost regretted focusing so heavily on the path of immortality without giving martial arts a proper chance. Especially when Li Fanghua almost matched his pace. Then he remembered her slow cultivation speed, only bolstered by her consumption of the ice lotus flower.

  He supposed it was valuable for someone like him to take the leading role in the path of immortal cultivation. At least he didn't regret being able to help the sect master in many fights over the years. Someone needed to be able to use artifacts, read formations, and prevent the others from falling into the traps and tricks available in the immortal world.

  There were times when he was worried. Carrying all those expectations with only Li Fanghua as company. Now, he was that someone the sect needed in order to pave the way for the next generation of cultivators, Li Fanghua included.

  All of this had been due to the grace and power of the sect master, Qin Ye realized. It helped brush away the mental fog that had lingered in his mind the past few days. With a lighter heart, he stepped into the meeting room with the other core members of the Seven Mysteries Gate.

  At the entrance, Jin Teng nodded, stepping aside to let him enter. The man had achieved a breakthrough as well. Many had, after that battle. Especially the martial artists, who were enlightened the moment they saw the sect master take the first step on the path.

  Two martial artists were such cases. Chen Niu, faster than anyone else, had opened his lower aperture. Wu Ruoling, after cutting down enough immortal cultivators, had condensed her inner force into primordial qi on the spot, opening her middle aperture and becoming a Grandmaster. In just a few years, the sect had leapfrogged above any other martial sect they had encountered, with two Innate realm experts, and two pseudo-Innates.

  Meng Zhang and Tian Du had reached mid-Viscera Tempering. Unfortunately, Tian Du had not escaped the battle unscathed. The martial artists that were assigned to him had died the earliest, and so a stray attack from a metal element immortal cultivator had managed to sever his right arm and cut deep into his hip. Now the man was focused on regaining his previous strength, though it seemed the healer surnamed Yue paid more attention to him for some reason.

  An Xin was standing with her brother. Song Lin was seated to the side. "Report," she said, looking at everyone.

  Meng Zhang stepped up first. "The martial artists have finished mining most of the Bloodgold Ore vein. They've also collected plenty of Black Iron Ore as well, enough to outfit the entire Seven Mysteries Gate even in Great Wind City, along with a duplicate set of weapons. Finally, the second portion of Deep Earth Golden Qi has almost been excavated and needs only a few more days," he said, looking at Qin Ye in that last sentence.

  "Thank you," Qin Ye replied. "We'll wait for the sect master to decide what to do with it."

  The next person to report was Song Lin. “The rebels have been disposed of,” he said respectfully. “I was able to gestate another Eight Thorns Spider.” That made four.

  “Good job,” Liu Yingting praised. “The martial artists who survived that fight have been healing well. They should be ready to move out within a week at most.”

  An Xin smiled. "Then let's get to the main topic. What do we do with these prisoners?"

  The violent, rebellious, and arrogant ones had been sent to help progress Song Lin's craft in refining gu. Now only four remained.

  “Let’s get the simpler decisions out of the way first. All in favor of letting healer Yue join us?”

  Everyone raised their hands. It didn’t come as a shock to anyone that the healer was the first choice.

  “What about Xuan Jing?”

  Meng Zhang, Tian Du, and Wu Ruoling did not raise their hands. With many still undecided, the others looked at them to explain.

  "I don't trust her story," Meng Zhang admitted. "She's been a great help, but she's still hiding things from us. I don't see a good reason for that to happen with our sect master's advancement."

  Wu Ruoling nodded. Tian Du, meanwhile, shook his head. "I think she's trustworthy. My problem is that she comes from a sect. We cannot risk attracting the attention of an immortal sect right now. The only enemies we've faced are weak families and the splinters of demonic cultivator factions. I suspect she comes from a much, much stronger force. We cannot set her free so quickly."

  The others slowly nodded their heads. "Let's keep her as a talisman expert for now," Qin Ye said. Without the sect master here, he was the acting leader, the second-most powerful individual.

  Their eyes then turned to the first of the four prisoners. A rough-looking man, his back carried a hundred scars. This person was once a slave.

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  He looked up at them with hard eyes. "Kill me," he said, voice hoarse. "I will not be forced to serve once again."

  "That might not be necessary. Do you want revenge?"

  The man simply stared blankly at them.

  “Do you know Marquis Zhou?”

  “I respect him. Better than half the nobles in the capital,” the man cursed.

  “Then you will be pleased to know he’s planning a rebellion. Perhaps you can find your purpose there.”

  The man stopped. He tilted his head. Took a moment to think. Then said, “they are protected by Qi Refinement realm cultivators as well. But much stronger than the ones you killed.”

  “I suppose this means you’re in,” Qin Ye said.

  There was no reply, but after unlocking the door, the man stepped out and calmly waited to the side. Meanwhile, Qin Ye approached the second prisoner, a woman who kept her head buried in her arms.

  She only looked up once he had called three times. “I’ll offer you a chance to speak up in your defense. Where are you from? Where did you gain your immortal cultivation opportunity?”

  “Moongaze Lake,” she said. Her voice rang like music.

  Qin Ye was slightly shaken.. “Thank you,” he said, glancing away for a moment. “Do you have any goals to fulfill?”

  But the woman stayed silent. She blinked at him a few times, then moved to place her head back into her arms.

  “I’ll, uh, wait for the sect master to return,” Qin Ye said. Moongaze Lake was a location told to him and Lu Qingshan through the words of a storyteller. There seemed to be a mystery there.

  He turned and walked to the third prisoner, a shivering, shuddering man. There was a panicked, terrified look on his face.

  “Where are you from? What are your goals for the future?” Qin Ye asked.

  The prisoner would not stop shaking. At first he believed it to be nervousness. But then he drew even closer, and it was obvious something was wrong. The man was thrashing, not just shaking.

  Song Lin shouted. Qin Ye's sword flared brightly.

  The man was split in half, and a monstrous centipede erupted from the body. Its shell was so hard that even the flying sword’s cut was met with resistance. That had never happened before.

  A large crack on its head oozed with a greenish brown substance. It was probably dead.

  Song Lin entered the cell and inspected the monster’s corpse. “It’s a spiritual insect,” he said. “Not sure what kind. Let’s take it away.”

  In the meantime, Qin Ye made his way to the last prisoner. Her beautiful robes were clearly a step above any of the other prisoners. They hugged her body perfectly, well-fitted and tailored to her figure. This was a wealthy lady, no doubt about it.

  Her bearing was noble, but her constant trembling belied the truth. Her eyes kept glancing at the monstrous centipede being hauled out. She didn’t even notice he had reached her cell.

  “Explain yourself,” Qin Ye simply said.

  The woman turned. “I’m Zheng Tianci’s niece.” As if that explained everything.

  “Anyone know who that is?”

  The other cultivators shook their heads.

  “Get Xuan Jing then. She might know.”

  Indeed, she did. Apparently, Zheng Tianci was the one who had someone join one of the nearby sects. A true sect, not a family. The emissary sent to her had asked for more information, but she refused, preferring to wait for the sect master to meet with her instead.

  “Fine,” Qin Ye muttered. “Stay there then. The sect master will be out soon. He’ll decide your fate.”

  “Wait—”

  Ignoring her, Qin Ye returned to his room, his vigor renewed. Immediately he sat down to meditate. This time would be different.

  ---

  Lu Qingshan opened his eyes. He let out a sharp breath. The pain receded as he read through the note delivered to him by Li Fanghua.

  “Interesting,” he muttered. All four of the prisoners were truly intriguing.

  He tossed a pile of pills into his mouth. The Dragon Whale Blood Diagram basically joined all three lesser techniques together, enhanced them drastically, and even added some extra features. His digestion had reached a new level, giving him the ability to rapidly consume even Qi Refinement spiritual medicines looted from the slain immortal cultivators.

  After the battle, his injuries had been great. The last time his sect had seen him, he needed to be carried away while gallons of his blood stained the earth crimson. It was no wonder most of the prisoners thought him dead or dying, attempting to escape. But his sect was strong and faithful.

  Lu Qingshan refused to falter to these wounds. A Meridian Opening martial artist had their fleshly body improve several times over. Then the Dragon Whale Blood Diagram multiplied his healing, enhanced his physique yet again, and gave him vast reserves of energy to draw upon. Even still, the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique combined with Great Ape Gigantification had almost caused him to lose his life.

  As he expected, the Heavenly Demon Disintegration Technique no longer gave him as much power. Exploding that drop of blood only matched the output of a second vein Meridian Opening martial artist. He'd have to fully explode his newly opened meridian in order to achieve a greater level of strength. Or reach a higher level in the technique.

  That would have to wait until later. The current priority was to finish healing from their injuries. Then they would return to civilization.

  Whether or not they should head towards Great Wind City or the Seven Mysteries Gate's past mountain-forest home was still up for debate. There would be a vote later. Most of the newly inducted martial artists who had fought in that battle obviously preferred the warmth of civilization, but the old guard — the ones with real power — unanimously favored the sect’s old home.

  The Giant Whale Gang’s village was also an option. He remembered the sincerity of the man and wondered if he would be open to joining the sect. Perhaps it would make accessing that ancestral grave easier, the one suspected to house a past immortal cultivator.

  After digesting the pills, Lu Qingshan took out the three crystal fruits. Reaching the eighth level of the Insect Harmony Mantra finally allowed him to establish a strong connection with the crystal cicada, though he noticed he could only use one of these powerful links at a time. Without it, he couldn’t direct the cicada to use its powers the exact way he wanted.

  But since it was the sole choice, he managed to open up the three fruits. They turned out to contain portions of true qi. Things that most Embryonic Breathing realm lone cultivators would kill untold numbers to get their hands on. And now, their sect had four.

  The fruits were wood element artifacts made to house true qi without having them slowly dissipate over time. They were very effective. Even while having them open, wisps of true qi that wanted to fly out were simply cycled back into the oval fruit. A cultivator could use this to aid their breakthrough, slowly sensing the properties of the true qi in order to better refine it themselves.

  This was an artifact that could change a family’s fate. Now, it was theirs to keep. Lu Qingshan closed the fruits, placing them back into his pouch.

  He smiled. Tossing another batch of healing pills into his mouth, he looked towards the horizon. Greatness lay in the future of the Seven Mysteries Gate.

  The world would never be the same.