Yang Che specifically chose remote, unfrequented paths, traveling day and night under the stars to rush back to Qing Jian Sect.
On the way, he still encountered large groups of Ancient Blood Corpses several times; they would directly slaughter any living beings they saw and suck their blood.
These Ancient Blood Corpses always moved in groups, rarely appearing alone.
Tianxie Ziyin once said that apart from Soldier-Level Ancient Blood Corpses, General-level and above Ancient Blood Corpses were extremely difficult to kill completely.
Besides their extremely tough Physical Bodies, as long as they had even a trace of vital blood, they could revive themselves even if killed.
The appearance of the Ancient Blood Corpses cast a pall of gloom over the Jiang Country Cultivation World.
...
Yang Che returned to Qing Jian Sect.
He flew directly to the main hall entrance of Sword Four Peak.
However, when he entered the sect just now, the Disciples on duty seemed somewhat unfriendly after recognizing him.
This surprised Yang Che.
"You brat, you finally decided to come back?"
An incredibly ancient voice, sounding somewhat displeased, came from inside the hall.
Upon hearing this, a warmth rose in Yang Che's heart, and he quickly rushed into the hall.
Peak Lord Zhang, the Peak Lord of Sword Four Peak, with his crane-white hair and youthful face, exuding an ethereal aura, stood inside the main hall with a peculiar expression on his face.
Peak Lord Zhang still had the golden wine gourd, which he treasured, hanging from his waist; he wore a grey-white long robe, had no beard on his face, and was meticulously clean and carefree.
"Disciple Yang Che respectfully greets Old Ancestor."
Yang Che bowed respectfully.
"Tell me, what have you experienced these past two years?"
Peak Lord Zhang seemed quite interested in Yang Che's experiences, asking about his whereabouts over the past two years as soon as they met.
Yang Che pondered for a moment, and apart from matters concerning Tianxie Ziyin and the dual hidden flowers of Jiang Huo City, he recounted almost everything in detail, holding nothing back, starting from his encounter with a Demonic Path attack after entering Feng Country...
However, Yang Che did not mention that he had entered the Blood Coffin of the Underground Cave, only saying that he had seen many Ancient Blood Corpses emerge from what appeared to be an ancient Restriction.
After listening, Peak Lord Zhang's expression became incredibly solemn.
"Follow me."
Peak Lord Zhang flicked his sleeve, and Yang Che felt a blur before his eyes, then found himself brought by the Old Ancestor to another unknown hall.
Peak Lord Zhang did not speak, so Yang Che could only wait with him.
However, they didn't wait long before six Cultivators entered the hall one after another.
Two female Cultivators and four male Cultivators.
All of them were quite old.
Yang Che had already seen some of these elders when he accepted challenges in the Sword Four Peak plaza.
When one white-haired old woman entered the hall, she specifically scrutinized Yang Che, with a strange, unfathomable meaning in her eyes.
Yang Che remembered that this white-haired old woman was Old Ancestor Tian Zhenjun, the Peak Lord of Seven Peaks.
"Greetings to Old Ancestor Tian and all other Old Ancestors."
As a Junior, Yang Che naturally performed the Junior's Thank you to these Nascent Soul Stage powerful Cultivators.
"Senior Brother Zhang, such a promising seedling, why has he not yet reached Foundation Establishment?"
The white-haired old woman, Tian Zhenjun, suddenly looked at Peak Lord Zhang, a smile on her face, but her voice was a little hoarse as she asked.
At Tian Zhenjun's question, another female Cultivator who looked like a middle-aged woman also smiled and said, "Yes, Senior Brother Zhang, I've long heard that your Four Peaks has taken in a great Disciple with extraordinary talent. Seeing him today, I didn't expect him to still be at the Peak of Qi Refining Stage, twelfth level; this shouldn't be."
The tone in this female Cultivator's words carried a rather intriguing meaning.
Peak Lord Zhang snorted lightly and said, "I called everyone here today not to discuss my Four Peaks' great Disciple. Rather, it's because my Four Peaks' great Disciple has brought back a very important piece of news."
Without waiting for others to speak, Peak Lord Zhang immediately revealed the matter of the suspected ancient Restriction at the bottom of the river.
"Senior Brother Zhang, this matter is grave and cannot tolerate any falsehood. How could your Four Peaks' chief Disciple, with only Qi Refinement Stage cultivation, know that there is a suspected ancient Restriction at the bottom of the river?"
Yang Che noticed that the speaking elder was bald but had a very long beard.
Peak Lord Zhang said with a stern expression, "Junior Brother Qi, how my Disciple came to know is not important. What is important is that we must confirm it immediately. If such a Restriction truly exists, our top priority is to break the Restriction and see if these Ancient Blood Corpses truly came from there. If so, then my Four Peaks' great Disciple will have rendered immense service to the dozen or so countries in our Cultivation World."
Upon hearing this, all the Old Ancestors' faces showed solemnity.
"Yang Che, inscribe the location of that place on a Jade Slip. A little later, we old fellows will go to investigate. You should return to Red Ripple Lake."
After Peak Lord Zhang finished speaking, he directly tossed an empty Jade Slip to Yang Che.
Yang Che's Divine Sense and magical power surged into the empty Jade Slip, and he began to inscribe the location of the great river on it.
After inscribing the Jade Slip, Yang Che handed it to Peak Lord Zhang.
Peak Lord Zhang suddenly threw him another golden Jade Slip, saying mysteriously, "After you return to Red Ripple Lake, follow the method described in this Jade Slip and seclude yourself to attempt Foundation Establishment. The Foundation Establishment Pill is already in your room. When the time comes, let these various Peaks see what kind of Mutated Lightning Immortal Root Genius my Four Peaks' great Disciple is."
As Peak Lord Zhang's words fell, Old Ancestor Tian Zhenjun of Seven Peaks and the female Cultivator who looked like a middle-aged woman both smiled awkwardly.
Under the leadership of Peak Lord Zhang, all the Old Ancestors left Qing Jian Sect and flew towards the great river.
Yang Che exited the hall, and with a sweep of his Divine Sense, he found that this hall was located at Sword One Peak.
Recognizing the direction, he quickly flew towards Sword Four Peak.
However, he hadn't flown far when he suddenly saw a woman in brocade robes approaching.
Yang Che recognized her as Zhou Qingruo, the former quasi-Disciple of Seven Peaks, the girl in brocade robes.
However, Zhou Qingruo had clearly matured somewhat, and had even successfully reached Foundation Establishment, becoming a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator.
Yang Che did not have a good impression of this woman, so he did not intend to pay attention to her and was about to go around her.
Zhou Qingruo, however, suddenly bit her lip and called out to Yang Che: "Senior Brother Yang, you... you're back?"
"Mm."
Yang Che stopped, nodded, and was about to continue flying towards Sword Four Peak.
Zhou Qingruo suddenly whispered, "That... did Old Ancestor Tian say anything to Peak Lord Zhang?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Che's face showed confusion.
He then shook his head, puzzled.
"Oh."
Zhou Qingruo seemed a little disappointed.
"Senior Brother Yang, you should be careful this time when you return. Many Disciples in the sect might have some animosity towards you now."
Yang Che was startled upon hearing this, and asked in confusion, "I was just wondering about that; I don't know why this is?"
So Zhou Qingruo hastily explained the reason to Yang Che.
"Wu Chan?"
Yang Che understood the reason and was somewhat speechless.
"Junior Sister Zhou, thank you. If there's nothing else, I'll return to Sword Four Peak."
After Yang Che finished speaking, the Dunjxing Shuo immediately transformed into a streak of light, disappearing towards Sword Four Peak.
Zhou Qingruo looked in the direction where Yang Che disappeared, a trace of melancholy in her eyes.
"Junior Sister Zhou."
Just then, a young Foundation Establishment Stage Middle Phase Cultivator flew towards Zhou Qingruo.
"Junior Sister Zhou, why have you been avoiding me for the past six months?"
This young man was none other than Xu Haijing, the fourth-ranked Disciple of Sixth Peak.