Chapter 42: Cutting Ties to Embark on a New Journey

In the old Qin Estate in the prefecture city, Qin Anyu, Qin Lingxue, and Qin Youqin stood in the backyard, gazing at the desolate buildings.

Qin Lingxue asked, "Eldest Brother, are we really never coming back here?"

Qin Anyu nodded. "The concentration of primordial Qi here is too low, which is unfavorable for further advancement."

Qin Youqin asked, "Young Master, are the master and madam not coming back either?"

Qin Anyu smiled. "Just like us, they have ventured off to more distant places."

After the secret realm collapsed, as he circulated the *Primordial Opening Scripture*, that lingering obsession had faded significantly. Logically speaking, he could have left them to their own devices, but this physical body was their eldest son, and it had even integrated a portion of his soul. Such a bloodline inheritance could not be severed. Therefore, what he had promised beforehand had to be fulfilled, and he still had to take them along to ascend to a higher plane.

Qin Lingxue said, "Eldest Brother, since we aren't coming back, let's sell this residence."

Never had he expected her to be so calculating, possessing the natural temperament of a household manager. He thus replied, "You have the final say."

A flicker of hesitation immediately crossed Qin Lingxue's face. "However, if we sell it in such a rush, we won't get a good price. How about we leave it with the agency first and have Second Brother come back to collect the silver later?"

Qin Anyu still nodded. "If you say it's fine, then it's fine."

This mansion could fetch at most fifty liang of gold, whereas their storage rings contained at least four hundred liang; it truly was not a significant sum.

As cultivators, many things could not be bought with gold. One either had to craft and search for them personally, or trade items with others.

He had killed so many Qi-Nourishing and Qi-Condensing realm practitioners from the Universal Gate, yet he had not seen a single talisman, nor a single puppet, nor even a single human-grade medicinal pill. This demonstrated just how low the level of cultivation was on this plane.

Ever since emerging from the secret realm, the three of them had continuously circulated their cultivation techniques. There were no primordial Qi vortices on the surfaces of their bodies, nor was much primordial Qi entering them, showing how poor the cultivation environment of this plane was.

Consequently, he was eager to leave this place as soon as possible and head to a higher plane.

Upon arriving at the agency, Qin Lingxue became decisive.

The broker offered her two choices: first, sell it to the agency for a fixed price of fifty liang of gold, after which it would have nothing more to do with her; second, entrust the agency to sell it, with the agency taking a fifteen percent commission, though there was no telling when it would actually be sold.

She immediately chose the first option and successfully barged the selling price up to fifty-two and a half liang.

Having sold the mansion, Qin Anyu felt a shred of lingering attachment to this place vanish, and unconsciously, he breathed a sigh of relief.

The three of them stepped into a tavern for a meal, instantly drawing the gaze of numerous onlookers.

"Aren't those the young lady and maid from City Lord Qin's household? Why are they appearing here?"

"How is it that you only recognize the young lady and the maid, but not their eldest young master?"

"Let me tell you, the eldest young master of the Qin family has a truly murderous heart. Not only did he sever one of his aunt's arms, but he also drove his uncle's entire family out of the Qin Estate."

"Bah, you lot don't know the inside story at all."

"We don't know, but you do?"

"How could I not know? I just didn't want to drag out the suspense. The Qin estate master and his wife were abducted by a faction called the Universal Gate from Dali State. But before they were taken, certain intelligence was leaked by his sister-in-law—meaning the Qin eldest young master's aunt. Don't you think she deserved what she got?"

"Is that so? Then killing her was no more than she deserved."

"Then tell me, why did that Universal Gate abduct them?"

"Who knows? But I do know that the Universal Gate also wanted to capture the three siblings, only to have quite a number of them killed by Young Master Qin."

"No way, right? Word has it that he was eliminated by the Wuyuan Sect. How could he possibly kill people from a sect?"

"Do you still hear anyone talking about the Eagle Gang nowadays? That's because both the gang leader and vice-leader were killed by him. I heard he wiped out a bandit lair and slaughtered quite a few members of the Universal Gate as well."

"..."

Qin Anyu ignored the gazes directed at them. Looking straight ahead, he quickly finished ordering, ate his meal swiftly, and then strode out of the city toward the Wuyuan Sect.

Once outside the city, Qin Lingxue said, "Eldest Brother, while I was eating just now, I felt as though everyone on that floor was staring at us, and some of those gazes were malicious."

Qin Youqin agreed, "Indeed. I noticed six people whose eyes carried malice. Could they be members of the Universal Gate?"

Qin Anyu smiled and said, "Pay no mind to those petty scoundrels. You must realize that you are both in the Qi-Condensing realm now. Having cultivated in the secret realm for a month or three months, you are capable of sweeping through the Spirit Bridge plane undefeated. Therefore, starting from now, we shall embark on our conquests: knocking down the mountains blocking our path, slaughtering everyone who attempts to waylay us, finding our father and mother, and then fighting our way out of this plane and into a new one."

Hearing his repeated words of "kill, kill, kill," they felt a slight sense of tension, yet also a trace of thrilling excitement.

That's right, we are in the Qi-Condensing realm now.

The primordial Qi here is exceedingly thin. We ought to strike out toward planes with denser primordial Qi and advance to higher cultivation realms.

Right now, we are merely in the Qi-Condensing realm. Ahead lie the Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, Void Return, Dao Integration, and Great Vehicle realms.

Only by reaching higher realms can one guarantee one's own safety and the safety of one's loved ones.

Gradually, a brilliant light and towering ambition appeared in their eyes.

The three of them did not buy horses; they ran the entire way.

This time was different from before. All three were in the Qi-Condensing realm, and every single day in the secret realm they had driven themselves to utter exhaustion, so even the two women maintained an extremely fast pace.

However, they were running rather than leaping.

The distinction between running and leaping was the difference between the Qi-Nourishing realm and the Qi-Condensing realm.

Those in the Qi-Nourishing realm were no different from mortals, save for possessing greater strength, faster running speeds, and higher endurance due to extensive training; those in the Qi-Condensing realm channeled primordial Qi into their bodies, converting it into true Qi, granting them even greater strength, superior endurance, and the ability to "fly."

To call it flying was actually leaping. At most, a Qi-Nourishing practitioner could cover five feet in a single stride, whereas a Qi-Condensing practitioner could cover fifty feet. Thus, in the eyes of mortals, it looked like flying, but in the eyes of higher-tier cultivators, it could only be called leaping.

While running, they followed Qin Anyu's instructions, circulating their cultivation techniques on the move and learning to regulate their exertion and breathing.

Disliking that running empty-handed failed to yield sufficient training results, the two women even strapped gold and silver to their backs to increase their load.

Qin Anyu increased the weight of his blunt sword to two hundred and fifty catties before his speed finally dropped to match theirs.

Even so, no horse could overtake them; instead, they passed horses one by one along the road.

Arriving at the main gate of the Wuyuan Sect, Qin Lingxue instructed the guards to summon Qin Wuxiang.

Qin Anyu observed the situation within the Wuyuan Sect. He noticed that the primordial Qi deep inside the sect was relatively dense, though still inferior to that secret realm. He mused that without special formations or human-grade medicinal herbs, the absolute peak cultivation level achievable here would merely be the late stage of the Qi-Condensing realm.

When Qin Wuxiang emerged and saw the three of them, his gaze immediately shifted.

His look toward Qin Lingxue remained normal, but his expression upon seeing Qin Anyu and Qin Youqin was entirely different, laden with disgust.

The male is carrying a battered sword, while the females are lugging huge bundles. Are they hoping to attach themselves to me?

The look of disgust vanished in a flash. He smiled and asked Qin Lingxue, "Little Sister, have you thought it through and decided to return to the sect? As you know, you may return by yourself, but there is no way those two can enter the sect."