Yin Wuhui went mad again. The demonic mist he released was overwhelming covering the sky, blocking out the sun. Anyone, whether an immortal cultivator or a demonic cultivator, caught in his true essence would die with their intestines pierced and bodies bursting apart!

This brutal and bloody scene terrified many cultivators, instilling fear in their hearts.

Lin Yan ordered the Chongming Bird to land, and Chu Binghuan and others promptly rescued the trapped disciples of Fengming Valley. Seeing their dishevelled state, Chu Binghuan treated them one by one while Mu Rongsa anxiously asked, "Where is my father? Did any of you see my father?"

A Fengming Valley disciple replied, "The Valley Master instructed Senior Brother to lead us behind. He and Madam Mei infiltrated the Fen Qing Palace first, looking for Young Master Chu and Young Master Mu."

Mu Rongsa was frustrated, "Did they go the wrong way?"

Chu Binghuan looked around. The disciples of Yuntian Shuijing were naturally at the rear, responsible for taking care of the injured in an orderly manner, as they were medical cultivators.

Shangqing Immortal Sect and Yeyou Mansion were at the forefront, with Fengming Valley providing support. Occasionally, they carried the injured to Yuntian Shuijing at the back. High-level medical cultivators healed injuries quickly, and the recovered cultivators charged back into battle, as if fueled by blood.

However, Yin Wuhui’s arrival shattered the momentum. Many cultivators froze in fear. If not for Lin Yan's quick orders to the Chongming Bird, many more would have died.

Chu Binghuan stopped the anxious Mu Rongsa, "I’ll go find them."

Mu Rongsa thought for a moment, then nodded, "Okay, besides, you need to meet up with Hua ge."

As Chu Binghuan was about to leave, Xie Wanting stopped him, sternly instructing, "You must find Wen Yuan."

"Wen Yuan? What’s special about him?" Chu Binghuan had been suspicious of Xie Wanting's invitation to Wen Yuan at the birthday feast. "Please be honest with me."

Xie Wanting hesitated.

Chu Binghuan remained calm, "Even if I don’t ask, Hua Che will when the time comes."

Xie Wanting sighed, "I have a guess about Wen Yuan's identity, but it's just a guess. I can't speak recklessly. If it brings trouble to Wen Yuan, it would be my sin. I invited him to Yeyou Mansion to confirm my suspicions, but Yin Wuhui disrupted everything, and I lost the chance..."

Chu Binghuan cautiously asked, "Is Wen Yuan a child of your old acquaintance?"

"No." Xie Wanting shook his head seriously, his gaze sharp, "I suspect he is not human..." Before he could finish, a loud noise erupted in the distance!

Demonic energy soared, a beast resembling a tiger with blood-red wings crashed through three attics in a row. Wherever its massive wings swept, everything crumbled, and vegetation withered.

Everyone was stunned.

Mu Rongsa: "What is that?"

"Is it a beast raised by Yin Wuhui?"

"It's huge, bigger than the Lord!"

"Run, or we’ll be crushed into paste!"

The cultivators turned pale and fled in panic. The demonic cultivators, thinking it was their ally, were initially boosted in morale.

The three demonic leaders charged ahead, shouting, "See that? It's our strongest weapon. We must annihilate those immortal cultivators..."

Before he could finish, the beast descended, crushing a group of demonic cultivators.

It attacked indiscriminately!

Chu Binghuan, still some distance away, saw it clearly, "Qiongqi?"

Despite Xie Wanting's prior suspicions, he was still shocked, "It really is... an ancient mythical beast!"

Qiongqi moved swiftly, closing the ten-mile gap in a few flaps of its wings.

To avoid the fate of the demonic cultivators, Chu Binghuan gripped his sword and charged forward!

The sword glowed with frost, slicing through the air with true essence, creating a force strong enough to tear the space, aiming at Qiongqi's wing!

Even the master of the sword, elder Qianyang, marveled at the young man's talent, "Such remarkable swordsmanship at his age. If only he had joined Shangqing Immortal Sect to study the sword from the start... What a waste, being delayed by medical cultivation!"

Just as everyone thought Chu Binghuan's strike would hit Qiongqi, even if not fatal, it would at least cripple its wing, Gentle breeze Sword slashed through the air, diverting Chu Binghuan's attack.

Chu Binghuan, stunned, looked back at the approaching figure, then joyfully exclaimed, "Hua Che!"

"Don't hurt it," Hua Che, panting, landed, grateful for Zhuang Tian’s assistance; otherwise, his sealed golden core would have left him in pieces.

Chu Binghuan: "Why?"

Zhuang Tian looked grave, his voice hoarse, "He is Wen Yuan."

"What?" Mu Rongsa rushed over, thinking he had misheard, "That guy is Senior Brother!?"

Chu Binghuan, seeing Mei Cailian injured, was about to help her, but a disciple from Yuntian Shuijing beat him to it, applying various spiritual medicines, making Chu Binghuan’s assistance unnecessary.

Noticing something off about Hua Che, Chu Binghuan grabbed his wrist to check his pulse, but before he could diagnose, Hua Che grabbed his hand and pulled him in another direction.

Then, Qiongqi's giant foot came crashing down, covering the sky.

Though they narrowly avoided it, Chu Binghuan didn't need to check the pulse to know Hua Che's condition.

That was purely a mortal's desperate run, meaning Hua Che's golden core had been sealed by Yin Wuhui.

Chu Binghuan said nothing more; sealing a golden core wasn't an ailment a medical cultivator could cure.

The solution was simple: either Yin Wuhui had to die, or someone with higher cultivation than Yin Wuhui had to forcefully break the seal.

Chu Binghuan helped Hua Che, who was almost out of breath, and said sternly, "Don't leave my sight."

In such chaotic battles, it was hard to look out for others. Hua Che didn't want Chu Binghuan distracted, so he said, "Gentle breeze and Hanxue are here. I can defend myself."

Even with cultivation, survival was tough; without it, he was vulnerable.

Chu Binghuan was worried, no longer caring about sight range, and directly grabbed Hua Che's wrist, keeping him close.

Xie Wanting, looking at Hua Che from afar, felt a pang in his heart the current war was tight, he realized this wasn't the time for reunions.

Zhuang Xiaoer's sharp voice shouted, "Qiongqi, how can it be Senior Brother?"

The Wuji Swordmaster arrived, landing steadily, and sarcastically remarked, "Lingxiao Palace is truly a hidden dragon and a crouching tiger (NT: chinese idiom meaning a place of hidden talents waiting for the right moment to showcase their abilities). A son of the demon Lord wasn't enough; now there's an ancient mythical beast too!"

Zhuang Tian shouted, "That child isn't an ancient mythical beast! He's just Qiongqi's descendant. When I met him, he was as small as a palm, and after transforming, he was just a baby needing care. He's no beast or demon, just an ordinary child!"

"Ordinary? Where?" Another sword cultivator flew over, pointing at Qiongqi, "Open your eyes, Zhuang Tian. How is that ordinary?"

Zhuang Tian gritted his teeth, "Yin Wuhui must have triggered his wild nature..."

Hua Che gasped, "Demonic blood?"

Everyone looked at him.

Chu Binghuan explained, "Mythical beasts fear and love demonic blood. It drives them crazy. Some demonic cultivators raise beasts, feeding them blood to stimulate their ferocity."

Mu Rongsa suddenly remembered that in Mingyue Valley, when a demonic cultivator under the Left Protector died, his blood splattered on Wen Yuan. Wen Yuan seemed terrified, frantically wiping the blood off. Mu Rongsa did not pay attention at the time, thinking that Wen Yuan was just scared or had a cleanliness obsession.

"Good!" A sword cultivator from Shangqing Immortal Sect flew over, enraged, "Zhuang Tian, accepting the demon Lord's son as a disciple was one thing, but you also harboured an ancient beast's descendant? What are you planning? You raised him in secret all these years. What are your intentions?"

Another cultivator added, "Foreign threats are one thing, but internal betrayal is the real danger. What good is exposing the Fen Qing Palace if we have traitors within?"

"Zhuang Tian, you owe us an explanation!"

"You discovered Wen Yuan and instead of killing him immediately, you've nurtured him until now. Are you trying to harm us?"

"Shut up!" Hua Che shouted sternly, and inexplicably, everyone felt a chill down their spine.

Hua Che stood before Zhuang Tian and said coldly, "We understand Wen Yuan's character better than anyone else. Those who don't know the whole story should keep quiet!"

The sword cultivator was furious, "Hua Qingkong, you!"

A wandering cultivator interjected, "That sounds nice, but now that it's gone mad like this, what are you prepared to do?"

Zhuang Tian's gaze was solemn, but he remained unusually calm, "He's my disciple. I have my own way to handle this. Please don't worry."

Qiongqi circled once, then quickly returned, not attacking further but flying erratically. As Zhuang Tian rang his golden bell, Qiongqi dropped to the ground in agitation, emitting a painful roar.

As the demonic energy condensed, the enormous Qiongqi gradually shrank, transforming into a human form.

To everyone's shock, because Qiongqi was so huge, no one had noticed there was a person hidden under its armpit!

Now that the beast had turned human, the person emerged.

Mu Rongsa exclaimed in disbelief, "Father!?"

Wen Yuan's consciousness hadn't returned; his eyes were bloodshot, tiger stripes still visible on his face. He glared fiercely in all directions, roaring deafeningly.

Some with lower cultivation couldn't withstand the pressure, spitting blood and collapsing unconscious.

"Wen Yuan!" Zhuang Tian and the others hurriedly flew over.

Chu Binghuan didn't approach, instead using Soul-Burning Technique to restrain Mu Qiniang, then checked his soul. He turned to the anxious Mu Rongsa and said, "He's fine, just minor injuries."

Mu Rongsa breathed a sigh of relief and quickly woke up Mu Qiniang loudly, "Father, what happened exactly? How did you get captured by the beast—no, Wen Yuan?"

Mu Qiniang hadn't caught his breath yet when Hua Che answered for him, "He wasn't captured."

Mu Qiniang nodded.

“Huh?”  Mu Rongsa looked puzzled.

Hua Che whispered, "Can't you see? Wen Yuan has been protecting him all along. Otherwise, your father would have been torn to pieces by the Fen Qing Palace‘s demonic cultivators in his current state."

Mu Rongsa‘s heart skipped a beat, his eyes welling up, nearly crying.

Zhuang Tian listened with a warm feeling in his heart. Approaching the frenzied Wen Yuan with a gentle smile, he said, "Good boy."

Lin Yan's face turned pale. "Master, it's dangerous!"

Zhuang Tian formed hand seals, and a huge array emerged beneath him. He used his true essence to cut his wrist, letting blood drip onto the array, which emitted a dazzling light.

Zhuang Tian raised his hand and inscribed the characters "Wen Yuan" in the air.

"Beast Taming Technique?" Mu Qiniang exclaimed, then vigorously shook his head. "No, no! Master Zhuang, are you trying to control Wen Yuan through a blood pact? That's too foolish. Qiongqi is an ancient demonic beast; how could it possibly obey you?"

As Wen Yuan let out a cry, he collapsed to the ground, suppressed by a force so strong he couldn't rise. At the same time, he was forced back into his beast form, but the ferociousness in his eyes vanished. It seemed he had regained consciousness, walking step by step towards Zhuang Tian. Just as everyone feared Wen Yuan might go berserk and turn against his master and sect, he suddenly lowered his head, affectionately rubbing against Zhuang Tian's hand.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

"W-what a good boy," Wen Yuan coaxed softly as he stroked Qiongqi's fur. With a stern look from Zhuang Tian, Qiongqi howled to the sky, spread its wings, and flew off towards distant demonic cultivators engaged in battle!

Mu Qiniang couldn't believe his eyes. "He, he, he, he..."

"I haven't summoned him since the blood pact," Zhuang Tian said absentmindedly, watching Qiongqi fly away as if transported back to the time when he had found the child by chance and discovered it was the ancient demonic beast Qiongqi. He remembered his struggles and the difficult decision to form a blood pact with it.

Mu Qiniang was astonished. "He's your contracted spirit beast?"

Zhuang Tian smiled in response. "Impressive, isn't it?"

Not long ago, Mu Qiniang had been mocking Zhuang Tian for keeping a seemingly useless spirit pet named Ji Xiang, a crane that couldn't do much. Little did he know, Zhuang Tian had this ace up his sleeve!

It took Lin Yan quite some time to grasp what had happened before she cheered, "Master, you're amazing!"

After his initial shock, Mu Qiniang couldn't help but mutter, "With such a powerful spirit beast, why not use it sooner?"

"It has a special status," Zhuang Tian explained. "Firstly, if I were to use it in front of everyone, wouldn't you accuse me of consorting with demonic beasts, labelling me as evil?" He glanced deliberately at the cultivator who had been incessantly muttering earlier.

"Secondly, Wen Yuan is too special. Despite his simple and kind nature, he is after all Qiongqi, an ancient demonic beast. If I were to control him with Beast Taming Technique, it would awaken his wild side." Zhuang Tian sighed with lingering fear. "So when he was taken away by Yin Wuhui, as his master, I could summon him from afar. But if his beastly nature were provoked, as you saw earlier, he could be terrifying."

Mu Qiniang understood. He nodded. "Yes, if he escaped into the mortal realm from the demon world, it would bring disaster, staining rivers and lakes with blood."

Yin Wuhui had abducted Wen Yuan intending to tame the demonic beast as his weapon. However, Wen Yuan already had a master, and the bond of blood and soul between them could not be broken by external forces. Even killing Zhuang Tian would not free Wen Yuan, for if the master perished, so would the spirit beast.

Yin Wuhui was particularly obstinate; he never wanted anything that others had touched before, hence his lack of excessive attachment to Wen Yuan. His entire heart was immersed in killing Xie Wanting, Chu Binghuan, and all those who stood in the way of him and Hua Che being reunited.

Yin Wuhui fought ferociously, unafraid even as Qiongqi approached. He enveloped Qiongqi entirely with his left hand's demonic mist and grasped its horns with his right hand to prevent being thrown by its massive body.

Summoning the Heartless Sword, he pierced through Qiongqi's tough fur with the momentum of thunder, stabbing from its front to its tailbone, cutting it open horizontally!

The demonic beast let out an earth-shaking roar. Zhuang Tian's face turned ashen as he ordered the beast to retreat.

With Wen Yuan severely injured, Chu Binghuan naturally rushed over to treat him. With chaos reigning in the battle ahead, it was difficult for him to worry about Hua Che, so he reluctantly entrusted him to Xie Wanting, who was farther away.

"Ice Cube, be careful!" Before leaving, Hua Che loudly reminded him.

Feeling the gaze behind him, Hua Che instinctively turned around, meeting Xie Wanting's overly sympathetic eyes.

Hua Che was somewhat puzzled, unable to immediately grasp the meaning behind Xie Wanting's expression. The continuous vibrations from a distance interrupted Hua Che's thoughts, and he grew worried about Chu Binghuan.

Xie Wanting seemed to understand his concerns and gently reassured him, "You don't need to worry about Tianyu. He hides much deeper than I had imagined."

Perhaps unintentionally spoken but intentionally received, ever since the martial arts competition, Hua Che had been feeling that something was amiss.

Now, this strange feeling further alarmed Hua Che, and he couldn't help but ask involuntarily, "Hides much deeper?"

Xie Wanting smiled warmly, "You're in the same sect with him, spending days and nights together. Don't you know?"

Hua Che replied, "Sect Master Xie means Chu Binghuan's extraordinary swordsmanship?"

"Not just swordsmanship," Xie Wanting continued, "but also a remarkable medical skill that astounds people. Do you know the pinnacle achievement of medical cultivation?"

Hua Che's heart skipped a beat, and a terrifying thought emerged in his mind, "Miraculous Healing?"

Xie Wanting nodded, "So you do know. Did Tianyu mention it to you?"

Hua Che's fingertips trembled.

Xie Wanting sighed, "He has truly surpassed expectations at such a young age. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it."

How could this be possible!

Those who were unaware might only share Xie Wanting's sentiment—absolutely incredible, the back waves of the Yangtze River truly pushing ahead of the front waves!! (NT: idiom meaning that new generations are constantly surpassing the previous ones)

However, Hua Che had long harboured suspicions he dared not admit. Now faced with the undeniable truth, he had no choice but to confront it head-on.

Not only proficient in swordsmanship like flowing winds Soul burning, but also skilled in Miraculous Healing.

How could such a coincidence exist?

One could be attributed to mere chance. But two?

Even if his talent were exceptional, it would be impossible for someone to reach such peaks by the age of eighteen, peaks that others struggled to achieve even after millennia of cultivation.

Could it be that Chu Binghuan was truly reborn?!

 

Translator: DarNan