"What’s going on? Why is it suddenly so cold?"

The moment the thought surfaced, Qian Qi felt the world spin.

The scene before him spun and flipped upside down, finally settling on an all-too-familiar headless corpse. A torrent of warm blood was gushing madly from the stump of its neck.

’Huh? That person looks so familiar... Wait, isn’t that me?’

’So, I’m dead...’

THUD!

The headless corpse fell backward onto the ground, its shocking red blood mixing with the sand below until they were one.

Qi Yun bent down and, with practiced movements, felt around the waist of the still-warm corpse, deftly untying the blood-stained Storage Pouch.

This was a good habit he had developed in the Mirage Thousand Faces Realm.

Although most Outer Mansion Disciples were dirt poor,

there were always a few misers who had managed to save a little, hoarding Holy Essence in the hopes of buying something valuable.

Tugging open the man’s Storage Pouch, Qi Yun squinted and took a look.

Three pieces of Holy Essence, a pile of worthless mundane items, and...

Looking at the small, colorful booklet in his hand, its illustrations exquisitely detailed and masterfully drawn, Qi Yun snorted coldly:

"Hmph! Instead of cultivating properly, you spend all day looking at this stuff. You deserved to die.

Confiscated!"

With a solemn expression, he stuffed the small booklet and the Holy Essence into his own Storage Pouch, also picking up the Tracking Compass from the ground.

Lowering his gaze to the corpse on the ground and the distant figures that were clearly starting to panic, Qi Yun smiled gently as Sword Qi surged within his sleeves.

"Next, it’s my turn to hunt you."

...

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—

The sound of knuckles tapping—not too hard, not too soft—on the wooden desk startled the dozing Gatekeeper Disciple of the Ninefold Hall awake.

"Who’s there?"

The Gatekeeper Disciple opened his eyes in annoyance and looked up. A familiar face was standing in the doorway, smiling at him. The man’s mask was gone, and his starkly black-and-white eyes made the disciple’s heart tremble for reasons he couldn’t explain.

"Wait, you..."

Seeing Qi Yun, the Gatekeeper Disciple subconsciously glanced beside him. When he saw that Qi Yun was standing there alone, his heart sank.

’Wu Tianming and his whole group... they were all taken down?’

’They couldn’t even win an eight-on-one?’

Qi Yun took in the Gatekeeper Disciple’s reaction. Combined with Wu Tianming’s dying confession, the person who had betrayed his whereabouts was now confirmed.

’Interesting. His perception is pretty sharp. He recognized me even with my mask on. Did he identify me some other way? I’ll have to be more careful in the future.’

’As for this person...’

’Although I’d love to deal with him right now, killing him out here in the open would be a direct slap in the face to the Holy Sect.’

"You’re not bad. Smart and clever, you’ve got the makings of a businessman.

I’ll remember you."

Lightly patting the Gatekeeper Disciple’s shoulder, Qi Yun gave him a meaningful look, then turned and left.

His back was almost soaked with cold sweat. It wasn’t until Qi Yun’s figure had completely disappeared that the Gatekeeper Disciple dared to finally exhale the breath he’d been holding.

Only at this moment did he suddenly realize.

Perhaps they had all underestimated Qi Yun before.

He had no connections, no background, which led them to naively assume he’d become the current Champion Scholar through some fluke or trickery.

But now it seemed...

This Champion Scholar’s strength was far more terrifying than they had ever imagined!

...

Returning to his own private courtyard, the relatively safe environment allowed Qi Yun’s expression to relax considerably, a faint trace of exhaustion appearing on his face.

He walked over to the water vat in the courtyard, rolled up his sleeves, and revealed his blood-soaked hands.

As he washed the bloodstains from his hands, watching the clear water in the vat gradually turn red, Qi Yun’s eyes were clear and serene.

Once upon a time, he was just a Junior Cultivator, scrambling to escape the Black-clothed Servants.

Now, he had become the current Champion Scholar among the Wuji Holy Sect’s Outer Mansion Disciples.

Even if that title was a bit watered-down.

"Phew..." Shaking the water droplets from his hands, Qi Yun turned and sat on a nearby rattan chair, exhaled a breath of Muddy Qi, and took out the heavy Storage Pouch from his robes.

Turning the tables and killing Wu Tianming’s group of eight had nearly filled his Storage Pouch to the brim.

Although the eight of them were average in strength, dim-witted, and slow to react, their personal wealth was surprisingly substantial.

Especially Wu Tianming. His Storage Pouch alone contained over two hundred pieces of Holy Essence, three vials of unknown Elixirs, a scroll of a True Qi Heart Method, and three Spiritual Objects.

However, these things didn’t attract much of Qi Yun’s attention.

What truly made the trip worthwhile was an egg!

From the Storage Pouch, he took out a giant egg roughly the size of a washbasin.

Its shell was naturally covered in crimson, cloud-like talismanic patterns that resembled burning flames. These patterns shifted and swirled with extreme slowness. The egg was scalding hot to the touch, and Qi Yun placed it carefully on the table.

This was a Nansang egg.

It was a genuine Exotic Beast Egg.

He had once read about it in a book called the "Compendium of Universal Knowledge."

On the Mountain of Blazing Flame, red copper abounds on its peaks, and cinnabar below.

A bird dwells there, shaped like a great pheasant. Its body is as viridian as a newborn mulberry leaf, its beak like red crystal, its eyes like molten gold.

Its name is the Nansang, and its cry calls its own name.

It spits a mystic flame, black as ink. Whatever it touches is incinerated, and water only makes it burn hotter.

Its nature is violent. It oft travels in the Yin Netherworld and especially delights in eating human brains, which it considers a sweet nectar.

’A Nansang Bird... once it reaches adulthood, it grows four wings, and its combat strength is comparable to a Cultivator at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining. It’s just a step away from a Foundation Establishment Master.’

’I can’t believe an ordinary Outer Mansion Disciple actually possessed such a precious treasure.’

Looking at the Nansang Bird Egg on the table, Qi Yun propped his chin on one hand.

’This Exotic Beast Egg is definitely a treasure.’

’But it’s also a bit of a white elephant.’

’Rearing an exotic beast is a long-term and massive expense.’

’Forget an Outer Mansion Disciple like me; even the personal disciples of the Foundation Establishment Masters in the Inner Mansion might not have the wealth and patience for it.’

’That must be why the Outer Mansion Disciple who got this Exotic Beast Egg never hatched it.’

’Hatch it, and you can’t afford to raise it.’

’Sell it, and you can’t bear to part with it. After all, this is a miraculous beast that would be as strong as someone at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining once it matured.’

’If you could actually succeed in raising it, it’d be like having a loyal mount at the Great Perfection of Qi Refining—something no amount of Holy Essence could buy.’

’It’s tasteless to eat, but a pity to throw away.’

’And so the Exotic Beast Egg sat in his Storage Pouch, until it eventually fell into my hands.’

"Unfortunately, I’m not fond of raising birds."

After hesitating for only a moment, Qi Yun decisively reached out, grabbed the Exotic Beast Egg, and began to Refine it in an instant!

To him, a potential treasure that couldn’t be immediately converted into strength had its value greatly diminished.

It was far more satisfying to just Refine it directly and fill up a progress bar.

The instant the Exotic Beast Egg was Refined by the Magic Technique Panel,

two lines of text flashed in front of Qi Yun.

[Magic auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. Magic effects adjusted as follows!]

[Magic auto-update complete. This is a minor version update. Magic effects adjusted as follows!]

"Hm?"

Qi Yun was suddenly taken aback, a flash of astonishment in his eyes.

’It... updated two Magics at once?’

...