After Zhou Zhang reported to his sect, he went to the front gate to welcome them, only to find that only Zhou Yin remained there.

Zhou Zhang asked curiously, "Where are the others?"

Zhou Yin replied, "They found you too noisy and all left."

"......" Zhou Zhang's glass heart shattered all over the ground.

Brothers reuniting after a long separation naturally had deep feelings to express to each other.

Of course, only Zhou Zhang was excited. Zhou Yin's expression was expressionless.

If he didn't feel that holding hands was inconvenient for walking, Zhou Zhang would probably still be holding his hand and following closely behind him.

Zhou Zhang said excitedly, "Bao'er, in these years you..."

Zhou Yin interrupted, "Focus on walking."

Zhou Zhang deflated. "Oh, Master told me to bring you to see him."

Zhou Yin grunted in acknowledgment.

Zhou Zhang still wanted to ask something, but seeing his manner, he could only reluctantly hold back.

Although Jinting Sect could not compare to top sects like Shangxuan Sect in scale, it was still larger than Mirror Sea Sect. Moreover, its design was quite different from other sects. From an aerial view, the inner and outer courtyards looked like two concentric circles, one large and one small, symbolizing endless vitality.

After all, Jinting Sect was a sect with over a thousand years of heritage. The inner courtyard was a castle-like structure. While it could not be described as dazzlingly splendid, it was still grand and imposing.

On their way, they encountered quite a few people who all took the initiative to greet Zhou Zhang, from which it could be seen that he indeed had a good reputation in Jinting Sect.

After Zhou Yin and the others emerged from Lianyin Immortal Residence, they realized that while only a day had passed in the mountains, years had gone by in the world.

Together with the time after Mirror Sea Sect was merged into Shangxuan Sect when he went out traveling, a full thirteen years had passed. Although in the eyes of cultivators, thirteen years was just a snap of the fingers, everyone still felt the vicissitudes of time.

It had been a total of thirty-five years since Zhou Zhang left home. In just these short thirty-five years, he had leapt from an ignorant child to a Core Formation cultivator. This progress could not be described as just rapid, it was simply astonishing.

Zhou Yin, with an extra lifetime of experience compared to him, had only reached late Foundation Establishment stage. It could be seen that advancing further in cultivation was harder than ascending to the heavens. Zhou Zhang's achievements were not in vain for Zhou Yin's decisive support back then, convincing Zhou Chai and his wife to agree to let him cultivate at Jinting Sect.

The reason why Zhou Zhang's cultivation speed was so fast was not only due to his high aptitude. There were many people in this world with high aptitude. Someone like Yun Zong had talent not inferior to Zhou Zhang's. But Zhou Zhang's advantage lay in his state of mind.

Generally speaking, smart people tended to think more than others about everything. If their minds were preoccupied, it would hinder their cultivation. As the saying goes, a gentleman is open and aboveboard, while a petty man is always worried.

Zhou Zhang had no selfishness in his heart, as bright as could be. He never schemed this or that, and was even more gentle and sincere towards others, fully embodying a gentleman's demeanor. Even Zhou Yin was inferior to him in this regard - the environment Zhou Yin lived in during his previous life determined that he had to plan every step in order to survive.

Zhou Zhang's master was an elder of Jinting Sect, second only to the sect leader in status, and was even the sect leader's senior uncle in terms of seniority. Therefore, Zhou Zhang's position in Jinting Sect also rose with the tide. Those who entered the sect a bit later had to address Zhou Zhang as "Grand Master Uncle".

Reasonably speaking, once one's cultivation reached the Core Formation stage, they could accept disciples. However, Zhou Zhang told his master Elder Song that he felt his current cultivation was still insufficient to be a teacher to others and wanted to focus on cultivating. He would wait until reaching the Nascent Soul stage before accepting disciples. His master naturally agreed.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yin of course knew that he didn't want disciples to affect his cultivation. But the fact that Zhou Zhang could put it so tactfully showed that he was not stupid either.

Unlike Shangxuan Sect, Jinting Sect did not have a rule prohibiting the use of magic treasures under normal circumstances. So even with the slowest flying magic treasure, they arrived in just a moment.

The place where Elder Song lived was called Hefeng Residence. The interior was quite exquisitely arranged. In front of the door were a few vegetable plots with grapevine trellises erected over them. In the scorching summer heat, the lush green vines and leaves covered the trellis fully.

Under the grapevine trellis, a rattan chair rocked back and forth. An old man in gray cloth robes sat there, a cattail-leaf fan in his hand. A fat white cat crouched by his feet. Seeing them, it meowed but did not run away.

"Master!" Zhou Zhang raised a smile and quickly walked up to the old man. He also scratched the white cat's chin. "Dough Ball, you got fatter again!"

Dough Ball gave him a cold look, got up to change position and lay down, presenting its butt to them, its tail swishing back and forth.

"Master, this is the younger brother I told you about, Zhou Yin, nicknamed Bao'er." Zhou Zhang pulled Zhou Yin over and said with a grin, "Bao'er, this is my master. You can also call him Master."

"Greetings, Elder Song," Zhou Yin said.

"Bao'er!" Zhou Zhang got a bit anxious.

Zhou Yin came from Mirror Sea Sect, but now Mirror Sea Sect had been merged into Shangxuan Sect. One must know that Shangxuan Sect had an abundance of talents. Let alone Core Formation cultivators, even Foundation Establishment cultivators were too numerous to count. They certainly did not lack someone like Zhou Yin.

Moreover, after the sect merger, it had been thirteen years before he returned. Not to mention whether anyone still remembered him, even if they did, his position was probably long gone.

Therefore, Zhou Zhang wanted Zhou Yin to become a disciple of Jinting Sect, conveniently under the same master as himself. The two brothers could spend time together day and night. He could also take care of his younger brother. It was truly the best of both worlds.

Little did he know that Zhou Yin completely ignored him.

"Don't interrupt," Elder Song waved his hand. "I'm talking to your brother."

Zhou Zhang had no choice but to shut up.

In his youth, Elder Song was an unparalleled genius in Jinting Sect. He now had mid Nascent Soul stage cultivation and was the person with the highest cultivation and most respected seniority in the entire Jinting Sect. His discerning eye could not be said to be lacking. He was certainly not someone the likes of Mirror Sea Sect could compare to.

Back then, the Mirror Sea Sect Leader had not paid any attention to Zhou Yin at all. He merely thought, after seeing Zhou Yin perform well a few times, to rope him in as an assistant to the new Sect Leader. Now, Elder Song carefully sized up Zhou Yin and immediately came to a conclusion: this person was not simple.

Zhou Yin stood before a Nascent Soul expert, his expression calm. Forget nervousness or excitement, not a hint of emotion could be seen. Logically speaking, a little Foundation Establishment cultivator was completely negligible before Elder Song.

But not only was he not ill at ease, he even looked around at the scenery here as if it was only natural, clearly not considering meeting Elder Song to be a very important matter at all.

Such a person was either too arrogant or hid great potential within.

Elder Song observed him for a while before saying, "How important a sect is to a cultivator, I don't need to say. I believe you also understand. On the Taichu Continent, it is very difficult for rogue cultivators to survive. Now that Mirror Sea Sect is no more, with your cultivation level, if you go to Shangxuan Sect, you may not be well-received. If you are willing, you can stay and become my disciple, together with your elder brother."

With Elder Song's status, to be able to say such words, it was entirely for the sake of Zhou Zhang's face. Moreover, he had already promised Zhou Yin great benefits. Although the Jinting Sect couldn't be considered a first-rate sect, being able to take Elder Song as a master was many times more prestigious than being in the Mirror Sea Sect.

However, Zhou Yin's actions were always unexpected, as he had his own plans.

Previously, he went to the Mirror Sea Sect because in his previous life he was a demonic cultivator, and everything he did was figured out by himself. If he wanted to take a cultivation path completely different from demonic cultivation, he had to accept the orthodox cultivation methods of the Mirror Sea Sect that followed the rules.

Who knew that even a small sect wouldn't be peaceful, with mishaps happening every few days. In the end, even the sect was gone. Zhou Yin originally wanted to find another sect to settle down and continue cultivating, but after leaving Lianyin Immortal Residence, he changed his mind.

From various signs, it seemed that the Upper Realm didn't have much goodwill towards the human race, and could even be said to harbor ill intentions. Moreover, a large number of demon beasts had mysteriously appeared in the Taichu Continent.

Zhou Yin vaguely felt that this might be a sign of impending chaos. Now, with each country governing itself and cultivation sects secretly manipulating things behind the scenes, adding fuel to the fire, if the Upper Realm or the demon race were to interfere, the situation in the world would only become more chaotic.

If that was the case, no matter which cultivation sect he was in, he probably wouldn't be able to avoid the turmoil. Rather than that, it would be better to return to the residence where he cultivated in his previous life after reaching the Core Formation stage, and wholeheartedly enter closed-door cultivation.

Zhou Yin said, "Thank you Elder for your appreciation, but I am originally from the Mirror Sea Sect. Now that the Mirror Sea Sect has merged with the Shangxuan Sect, I should go to the Shangxuan Sect for the sake of both feelings and reason. If they look down on me, I'll make other plans then."

He rarely explained so much to others, and that was entirely for the sake of his foolish elder brother.

Hearing this, Zhou Zhang became anxious, "Bao'er, what's wrong with staying here?"

Elder Song also didn't want to force anyone. He didn't think much of Zhou Yin's cultivation level and didn't want to take the initiative to ask him to become his disciple. After a moment of contemplation just now, he went with the flow and said, "So be it, it's up to you."

Zhou Yin had wasted an opportunity that others would have begged for. Zhou Zhang was furious to death but had no choice. He could only apologize to his master and pull his younger brother to his residence to discuss in detail.

"What are you thinking? It's such a great opportunity, could it be that you don't want to be with me? We've finally reunited after so many years..."

Zhou Zhang looked at Zhou Yin pitifully, anxious to death in his heart, yet not daring to get angry at him, his resentment comparable to that of a bitter wife.

Zhou Yin ignored him and asked directly, "Did you go back to Zhou Village to take a look?"

Zhou Zhang was startled for a moment before nodding, "More than ten years ago, I took some time to visit Zhou Village, but there was nothing there. I don't know where Father and Mother went. Later, I went to the county town to look for Uncle's family, only to find that they had also moved away. Since then, there has been no news."

Zhou Yin didn't know about Ji Rong's family moving away. After pondering for a moment, he said, "They were killed."

"What?!" Zhou Zhang stood up abruptly.

Zhou Yin briefly explained the cause of death of the Zhou Chai couple, and finally said, "This matter is related to Jiang Hui, the Prime Minister of the Dongyue, but there are other inside stories involved. Jiang Hui is also a cultivator. In recent years, he has experienced internal struggles and fights for the heir's position in Dongyue, yet still sits firmly in the position of Prime Minister, showing that he is no simple character. Don't rush to take revenge, wait until I find out more."

Zhou Zhang had always been very convinced by Zhou Yin. Although he was filled with grief and indignation, he still nodded in agreement.

"Bao'er, if you don't want to stay in Jinting Sect, what plans do you have?"

Zhou Yin said, "I have my own plans, but I still need to stay with you for a while."

Zhou Zhang was overjoyed, "Don't just say a while, you can stay for a lifetime!"

Zhou Yin glanced at him and smiled slightly, "I want to stay until I reach the Core Formation stage. It's quiet here, just right for me to enter closed-door cultivation."

With this smile, it could truly be described as poetic and picturesque, instantly stunning Zhou Zhang. He thought to himself, even though they were born from the same mother, how could Bao'er be so good-looking, even more so than the best-looking junior sister in the sect.

The time Zhou Yin spent in Lianyin Immortal Residence was not wasted. Even when breaking formations and fighting, he was constantly tempering his cultivation techniques.

The transition from Foundation Establishment to Core Formation was a qualitative leap, signifying the stepping from a low-level cultivator to the threshold of a high-level cultivator. From then on, one could glimpse the Heavenly Dao and explore higher realms of cultivation.

He originally planned to find a quiet place to enter closed-door cultivation after everything was settled, but now encountering Zhou Zhang, there was a change in plans.

It was very quiet at Zhou Zhang's place. Although he had good interpersonal relationships, his master's seniority was high, so generally no one dared to disturb him.

Because of the demon beast matter, Elder Song was often invited to discuss matters, and there weren't many people in Hefeng Residence. Zhou Yin began closed-door cultivation to break through to the Core Formation stage.

The Core Formation stage was like a watershed. Before this, some people with high aptitude might advance quickly, and generally no one would fall during advancement. But the Core Formation stage was different. Some cultivators with ordinary aptitude wouldn't dare to form a Golden Core without absolute certainty.

Therefore, Zhou Zhang was very worried.

When he had nothing to do, he would circle a few times outside the place where Zhou Yin was in closed-door cultivation. He watched time pass bit by bit, yet there was still no movement inside. He knew that some people wouldn't come out even after ten or twenty years, but when it came to Zhou Yin, his concern turned into anxiety, and he couldn't help but think more.

It was a sentence from Elder Song that enlightened him.

"Your Golden Core is not yet stable, yet you have the leisure to worry about others. Even if you want to help him, you have to cultivate well yourself first. When the time comes and you see your younger brother has also formed his Golden Core, while you yourself are still only at the early Core Formation stage, won't you feel embarrassed?"

Zhou Zhang could only listen to his master's words and also calm his heart to cultivate.

With his honest and frank character, there were no obstacles in his state of mind. What he lacked was only experience and proficiency. Once he was willing to devote himself wholeheartedly to cultivation, he was bound to achieve twice the result with half the effort.

Sure enough, ten years later, when Zhou Yin successfully formed his Golden Core, Zhou Zhang had also successfully advanced to the middle stage of Core Formation.

Once he came out of closed-door cultivation, Zhou Yin had many things to do.

The residence from Zhou Yin's previous life had been sealed by himself with a prohibition that could only be opened after reaching the Core Formation stage. That place was extremely hidden and had his own unique seal, so there was no need to worry about being discovered.

The Lingyin Sword was, after all, only a middle-grade magic weapon with limited spiritual power. As his cultivation increased, it gradually could no longer exert its power. Fortunately, there was still that place where many things were stored, so he could go and take a look.

Zhou Zhang originally thought that after coming out of closed-door cultivation, he could keep Zhou Yin staying for a while longer. He didn't expect that Zhou Yin was in a hurry to leave, making him very melancholic for a while.

"Bao'er, are you abandoning me?"

Zhou Yin's forehead twitched. "I need to go out and take care of some matters. We'll meet in the capital of Dongyue when the time comes."

Once he made a decision, no one could change it. No matter how reluctant Zhou Zhang was, he could only watch him leave.

"Bao'er, be careful in all things, don't push yourself too hard. Although you have already formed your Golden Core, there are countless experts in the world, and there's always someone better. Avoid trouble when you can, don't stick your neck out!"

"Bao'er, although the Purification Technique can clean clothes, it's still not as comfortable as bathing. I've prepared a few sets of clothes for you to change into, they're stored in your ring. Remember to take them out and use them."

"Bao'er, remember to come find me when the time comes, don't forget..."

"Bao'er..."

Zhou Yin endured and endured, but finally could endure no more. He turned and left.

Stepping on the Lingyin Sword, he looked back amidst the clouds. That figure was still standing atop the mountain peak, gazing in his direction from afar.