This was a very dilapidated house. The furniture inside had long since rotted away, and the room was covered in decaying cobwebs that even spiders and mosquitoes no longer visited.
It was clearly abandoned for many years.
Qi Ping wasn’t surprised by this.
Back then, he had specifically instructed Old Zhou to hide deep in the mountains in the mortal world and not tell anyone his exact location.
At the time, he was mainly afraid that he might cause some trouble that would implicate Old Zhou.
In the end, Qi Ping didn’t cause any trouble, and this precaution ended up backfiring on him.
However, Qi Ping wasn’t too worried about it.
This might be a hassle for other cultivators, but for Qi Ping, it wasn’t all that difficult.
His figure appeared in the mountain forest, and he released over ten thousand bees.
“Search carefully within a hundred-mile radius and find Old Zhou’s trail!”
With Qi Ping’s command, over ten thousand late first-stage bees and several second-stage bees immediately went into action.
But this search wasn’t as easy as Qi Ping had thought. An entire night passed, and there was still no sign of Old Zhou.
“Could something have happened to him?”
A trace of worry began to creep into Qi Ping’s heart.
Fortunately, as the sun hung high in the sky and approached noon, Qi Ping finally received word that Old Zhou had been found.
“Man, this old man really knows how to hide!”
After learning Old Zhou’s exact location, Qi Ping couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration. To hide so deeply, this old man really had some skills!
But at least he was found, and Qi Ping put some of his worries to rest.
Then, with a flicker of his figure, Qi Ping quickly arrived at Old Zhou’s location.
There, at the foot of an unremarkable mountain, Old Zhou was meticulously tending to a patch of flowers.
On the blooming blossoms, tiny Green Dew Bees were buzzing back and forth, their bodies coated in a thick layer of fresh nectar.
“Couldn’t resist and started keeping bees again, huh?”
“I guess he just couldn’t help it!”
However, Qi Ping didn’t disturb Old Zhou there. Instead, he turned and went to Old Zhou’s courtyard.
But when he arrived at this courtyard, Qi Ping was slightly taken aback by its layout. It was an exact replica of the courtyard in the Cloud Mist Mountains, even the positions of the table and the lounge chair were similar.
Qi Ping didn’t stand on ceremony. He sat right down, picked up a teacup, and poured himself a cup of wine.
“Berry wine, hawthorn… and mulberry. Not a bad taste at all!”
Having not had such things for a long time, Qi Ping found his appetite stirred.
So he drank cup after cup.
Before long, he had finished an entire pot.
Not satisfied with that, he moved a large jar from a corner.
It wasn’t until Qi Ping had almost emptied a large jar of Old Zhou’s treasured wine that Old Zhou returned, huffing and puffing, wearing a straw hat.
But just as he entered the courtyard, he saw a familiar figure.
“Qi Xiaozi? How did you find…”
Before he could finish his sentence, he noticed the empty large jar beside Qi Ping.
Wasn’t that his treasured wine? How did Qi Ping get it out?
He quickly hurried over for a look, and seeing the empty jar, he felt like his world had collapsed.
This was a fine wine he had barely allowed himself a few sips of, and Qi Ping had come and emptied the whole thing!
How could Old Zhou, a wine lover, stay calm about that?
“You little rascal! You come here and guzzle down all this old man’s treasured wine? Are you asking for a scolding?” Old Zhou said, feigning sternness.
“Hehe, I was just a bit thirsty,” Qi Ping replied, feigning innocence. Seeing Qi Ping like this, Old Zhou didn’t actually mean to scold him. In fact, seeing Qi Ping arrive safely finally eased the worry he had been carrying.
He then asked:
“Is the chaos in Qingshi County over? How are the others?”
Having stayed here for so long, Old Zhou naturally wanted to know how his friends were doing.
In response to Old Zhou’s question, Qi Ping shook his head and said:
“Now is actually the most chaotic time in Qingshi County. Several major sects are fighting; Qi-refining cultivators have died in countless numbers, and no fewer than ten Foundation-building cultivators have been killed.”
“Over a year ago, the three great families, instigated by a sect hostile to Qingyuan Sect, started a civil war. The fighting was so brutal that bodies piled up like mountains and blood flowed like rivers…”
Then Qi Ping shared some more of what he knew.
Skinny Li Peng had disappeared without a trace.
The patron Meng Shanshan had latched onto back then wasn’t a powerful backer but a demonic cultivator disguised as a sect disciple. After having her cultivation drained, she went mad, and her current fate was unknown.
Wang Shan had survived within the three families and gained quite a few benefits.
As for Sister Nan, she was hiding deep in the Cloud Mist Mountains and had recently broken through to the seventh layer of Qi refining.
When Qi Ping finished telling all this to Old Zhou, the old man was completely stunned.
The news Qi Ping shared was simply too shocking!
One piece of news after another nearly scared his heart out.
Even though he was living a simple life, he couldn’t remain indifferent to the place he had called home for nearly a hundred years.
He had thought the situation might be brutal, but he never imagined it would be this devastating.
Fortunately, his good friends Wang Shan and Sister Nan were doing relatively well.
It seemed Wang Shan had managed to secure some capital for his child’s cultivation journey.
Sister Nan’s breakthrough to the seventh layer of Qi refining also surprised Old Zhou. One could only say her fortune was not shallow!
Someone with Qi Ping’s aptitude, to reach the mid-stage of Qi refining would already be pretty good. He would be lucky to reach the late stage in his lifetime.
Old Zhou had never expected Qi Ping to achieve great things; living a stable, simple, and happy life was enough.
Hearing about Meng Shan Shan, Old Meng’s daughter, being deceived by a demonic cultivator and having her cultivation drained, Old Zhou felt a pang of sadness.
After all, he had watched the girl grow up, and now she had ended up like this…
If only she had agreed to be with Qi Ping back then. He remembered Qi Ping also had a contract with Golden Marrow Bees. If the two of them had raised the Black Little Bees and Golden Marrow Bees together, they would have lived such a happy life!
As for Li Peng, Old Zhou wasn’t too worried. He had probably found someone to hide behind!
“Alas, the world is unpredictable!”
After being shocked for a long time, all of Old Zhou’s emotions ultimately condensed into a single sigh.
For a nobody like him, simply surviving was hard enough. What could he possibly control?
“Yeah, the world is in chaos, survival isn’t easy.”
“So, are you planning to stay in the mortal realm for a while this time?” Old Zhou asked casually.
He knew Qi Ping’s personality. If Qingshi County was this dangerous, Qi Ping wouldn’t risk staying there without being sure he could handle it.
“I came to take you back to Qingshi County.”
“Qingshi County is indeed too dangerous right now… Huh? What did you say? Go back?” Old Zhou stared at Qi Ping in shock.
He must have misheard, right?
In this situation, Qi Ping should be hiding, so why would he want to go back?
“Yes,” Qi Ping confirmed. “The environment in the mortal realm is too poor. Staying here will shorten your lifespan.”
So that was it! No wonder Qi Ping wanted to go back!
“Qi Xiaozi, don’t worry about me. I’m still holding up. Qingshi County is so dangerous right now, there’s no need to risk going back…”
But before Old Zhou could finish his sentence, his voice trailed off.
What was this aura?
His eyes widened as he stared at Qi Ping in disbelief.
“Foundation Establishment!?”
