Not long after Zhang Jingmo left the Lingxu Sect, a major event occurred in the Kuchan Valley.

Tianfeng, the younger brother of the valley master of Kuchan Valley, suddenly died a year after his resurrection.

At least in the eyes of outsiders, Tianfeng's death was sudden. And because of this incident, Tianlu, the valley master of Kuchan Valley, directly declared that he would capture Zhang Jingmo of the Lingxu Sect and skin him alive and tear out his tendons.

In the eyes of outsiders, Kuchan Valley should have presented a united front after this incident occurred, but Tianwan was clear in her heart that this matter was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

As the one-year period approached, Tianfeng also developed a feeling that his end was near, but there were no apparent problems with his body. He just had a premonition and felt uneasy all day long.

At that time, Tianwan didn't pay much attention either, and just regarded Tianfeng's feeling as being sentimental. She comforted him, saying, "Tianfeng, since you have already taken the Heavenly Core Yellow Spring Pill, there won't be any more problems."

However, Tianfeng couldn't suppress the anxiety in his heart. He said, "Sister, haven't you ever suspected that there might be a problem with that Heavenly Core Yellow Spring Pill?"

Tianwan said, "A problem? What problem? The alchemist who refined the pill personally took it himself..."

Tianfeng said, "The problem naturally isn't with the alchemist."

Hearing this, Tianwan frowned, "Tianfeng, what nonsense are you talking about? Your brother went to great lengths for the formula of that Heavenly Core Yellow Spring Pill. How can you doubt him?"

Tianfeng felt uneasy in his heart. He was already irritable, and hearing Tianwan's words, he directly said, "Sister, let me tell you something. Don't tell anyone else."

Tianwan nodded.

Then, Tianfeng slowly recounted his encounter with Zhu Yan and Zhang Jingmo; in his narration, however, Zhang Jingmo became a masked evil Daoist.

The more Tianwan listened, the paler her face became. She said miserably, "Did that Daoist really mention your brother's name?"

Tianfeng said gloomily, "That's right."

Tianwan gritted her teeth, but found it a bit hard to believe. She said, "Then why would Tianlu go to great lengths to heal you?"

Tianfeng smiled bitterly, "Tianlu didn't know before that I also had the same life-bound spirit pearl as you, sister. After I died, you must have begged him desperately, so he found a way to get that pill formula... but it was just another method to take my life."

Tianwan said, "Brother, you really..."

Tianfeng said coldly, "I wouldn't joke about my own life." When he was first resurrected, he indeed felt a vigorous vitality. However, before a year had passed, although his body had not deteriorated, he felt a sense of impending doom in his heart. Cultivators like them, although they couldn't accurately predict the exact day of their death, could already know the approximate time.

Tianwan was on the verge of tears. She said, "I don't believe your brother would do such a thing."

Tianfeng sighed, "I didn't believe it either..." When he was resurrected, he also felt that he had misunderstood his brother, but in less than a year, this fluke was punctured by the cruel reality.

He was indeed going to die, and there was no chance of resurrection again.

Tianwan said in a trembling voice, "Tianfeng, don't scare your sister. We've relied on each other for so many years, and you're my only brother..." Tianlu had not lived with them since childhood. Their respect and awe for Tianlu was more like that for a superior. Tianfeng was likely the only person in the world for whom Tianwan would give her life.

Tianfeng didn't say anything. He knew it was difficult for Tianwan to accept this reality in a short time, but facts were facts. His impending doom was definitely not a misconception.

Tianlu was unaware of Tianfeng's situation. If he knew, he would probably personally go to the Lingxu Sect to capture Zhang Jingmo and bring him back to Kuchan Valley.

However, Zhang Jingmo had already hidden himself, so even if he went, he would only come back empty-handed.

But there was already a rift between Tianfeng and Tianlu. Naturally, he wouldn't confide in Tianlu about this matter of life and death as openly as before.

Later, Tianwan pretended to ask Tianlu about the Heavenly Core Yellow Spring Pill. Tianlu was very confident about the medicine and directly said that he obtained it in a secret realm, so it should be genuine.

His words were very casual, which made Tianwan's heart feel a bit cold.

The year passed in the blink of an eye. In the final days, Tianwan stayed by Tianfeng's side the whole time, watching him change from a living person into a pile of bones.

Seeing this scene, Tianwan broke down and cried. This vicious woman who could make children in Kuchan Valley stop crying, now wept like a child who had suffered a great grievance. She held Tianfeng's bones tightly, refusing to let go. Tianlu's face turned ashen when he saw this. He immediately realized that he had been tricked by Zhang Jingmo.

So he went straight to the Lingxu Sect. This time, the sect master didn't avoid him like before, but received him with an unfriendly expression.

Tianlu immediately demanded to know Zhang Jingmo's whereabouts. The sect master sneered and said, "Asking about his whereabouts, what right do you, an outsider from Kuchan Valley, have to inquire about the whereabouts of a disciple of our sect?"

Tianlu almost lost his temper, but in the end, he endured it and left with a flick of his sleeve. From then on, the relationship between the Lingxu Sect and Kuchan Valley deteriorated to the extreme.

Tianwan originally half-believed what Tianfeng said, but Tianlu insisted that it was the alchemist's doing. Tianwan still held a glimmer of hope in her heart.

But that hope quickly vanished, because Tianwan accidentally discovered that the Luo'e Pill in Zhang Jingmo's body had stopped working.

Each Luo'e Pill corresponded to a lotus flower in Jinze. Zhang Jingmo's lotus was personally selected by Tianlu, who picked the petals and refined them into the pill.

The stronger Zhang Jingmo became, the more flourishing the lotus bloomed. When the lotus withered, it meant the Luo'e Pill was no longer effective. There was no medicine in this world that could undo the effects of the Luo'e Pill. Since the lotus had withered, it could only mean one thing - Zhang Jingmo was dead.

Tianlu was also very shocked to see the withered lotus. He couldn't figure out whether Zhang Jingmo had tampered with it during the pill refinement process or if there was a problem with his original formula.

Although Tianlu didn't know, this incident confirmed Tianwan's speculation. Even if Tianwan was unwilling to believe it, the answer closest to the truth was still laid out before her.

That day, there were already issues with the Heavenly Core Yellow Spring Pill formula, and it was precisely this formula that completely ruined the hope of reviving Tianfeng.

Deep underground, Zhang Jingmo was unaware that in this short year, of the three Kuchan Valley Nascent Soul old monsters who could have originally intimidated the cultivation world in the future, one had already passed away, and a deep rift had appeared between the remaining two.

For Zhang Jingmo, time had already lost its meaning. He soaked in the spiritual liquid, continuously absorbing the spiritual energy within. That heart had already allowed Zhang Jingmo's body to recover to its peak state. All his old injuries were repaired, and soaking in the spiritual liquid was constantly improving his body.

The dantian that had been stagnant all along finally showed signs of loosening. Zhang Jingmo also knew that he was about to break through, so he settled his heart even more, even completely forgetting about the existence of Lu Guijiu.

Time flew by, and the spiritual energy in Zhang Jingmo's dantian continuously condensed and gathered. Then, with a crisp sound like jade striking together, Zhang Jingmo felt a light blue mist rising above his spiritual platform. The mist circled between the buildings on the spiritual platform. A moment later, the walls of those buildings changed from stone to jade.

Zhang Jingmo's spiritual platform was very ordinary, just a medium-sized town. Because of this, his master declared with certainty that his future prospects on the path of cultivation were bleak. If he did not encounter any strange events, at most he would stop at the Golden Core stage.

Zhang Jingmo's master was indeed not wrong. If there were no fortuitous encounters, Zhang Jingmo would definitely not break through to the Nascent Soul stage in this lifetime.

But this was only an "if". Now, not only did Zhang Jingmo have a fortuitous encounter, it was an extremely heaven-defying one. If he still stopped at the Golden Core stage, he would probably find it difficult to forgive himself.

Only when the buildings changed to jade walls did Zhang Jingmo let out a sigh of relief. He had already stayed at the early Golden Core stage for several hundred years. If not for the assistance of this spiritual liquid, wanting to break through would just be a pipe dream.

This spiritual liquid not only provided rich and mellow spiritual energy, it also strengthened each of Zhang Jingmo's meridians. Naturally, no one could refuse this feeling of constantly growing stronger. Zhang Jingmo indulged in it for a time, completely forgetting about the passage of time.

Months in the cave, a thousand years in the world.

Zhang Jingmo thought he had only taken a short nap. When he awoke in the spiritual liquid, he was shocked to discover that several decades had already passed. Only after carefully calculating did he realize that he had been in the cave for eighty-six years.

Eighty-six years, if placed in the human world, the world would have already changed beyond recognition. Fortunately, Zhang Jingmo had long been accustomed to secluding himself for several hundred years at a time, feeling just a slight shock before letting it go.

After emerging from the spiritual liquid, he felt refreshed, as if his entire body had been renewed. After sitting on the shore for a while, Zhang Jingmo finally remembered that Lu Guijiu was also still in this cave, but he did not know what had happened to him.

Eighty-some years, Zhang Jingmo did not dare to be certain if Lu Guijiu had already left this place. He took to the air on his flying sword and began to search for Lu Guijiu all over the cave.

Two days later, Zhang Jingmo discovered traces of Lu Guijiu at the source of the spiritual vein.

An old, broken flying sword was stuck on the shore. After Zhang Jingmo went to investigate, he discovered it was the one Lu Guijiu had used before. The fracture on this sword was still fresh, evidently having just been placed on this shore.

Just as Zhang Jingmo bent over to examine the traces on the broken sword, he suddenly sensed something attacking from behind. He dodged to the side, and a sword energy slashed down beside his body, directly cutting a deep trench in the ground.

With just a glance, Zhang Jingmo recognized the person attacking him. The man before him, with his indifferent expression, was none other than his disciple Lu Guijiu, from whom he had parted eighty years ago.

Just as Zhang Jingmo was about to call out, he saw Lu Guijiu raise the object in his hand again and heavily slash down towards Zhang Jingmo. This strike was both vicious and fast, evidently holding nothing back.