Fei Qianchi turned his head towards this voice, knowing that he definitely didn't recognize it. Upon his face, there was confusion visible. Fei Qianchi stared at the woman, a delicate beauty, with thin brows, big eyes, and red lips. Her brown hair was styled into a bun, dressed in a white robe.

"Master, this?" Fei Qianchi tilted his head, blue eyes clouded. He stared towards Tian Sichan.

Tian Sichan looked at Fei Qianchi, "Ah, don't worry. You can introduce yourselves to each other."

As the woman walked closer, she stared towards Fei Qianchi, her eyes suddenly widening. There was a look of astonishment on her face that Fei Qianchi couldn't understand.

"Qi Meiyao greets Senior Brother, I am the daughter of the fifth lord peak, but I have always admired Senior Brother." Qi Meiyao bent her waist, speaking in a loud tone as she cupped her fist.

Ah. Fei Qianchi smiled brightly at her words. "Thank you for your words. I am Fei Qianchi, Master's fifth disciple. I have just returned from Ghost Realm, I didn't think that many would know of my identity."

"Your name has spread wide and far! Senior Brother is known as a true genius unrivaled." Qi Meiyao looked up, a sharp and enthusiastic look in her eyes.

Fei Qianchi couldn't help but chuckle. "Master, this new disciple of yours is truly different."

"She is a bit different compared to your Senior Brothers and Sisters." Tian Sichan replied. Then, his eyes turned to glare at the docile people in front of him.

Fu Huayan, Hou Mengshu, and Zhang Zaifan had a sheepish smile on their face.

"Now, you three... since you lost, go wash yourself under the Futian waterfall." Tian Sichan smirked.

"Master..." Zhang Zaifan argued, glaring at Zhang Bingmei. "Master, Bingmei was the one who said to attack you! She even said that she would distract you."

Fei Qianchi stood in silence as a huge mess began. Accusations were thrown all over the table, everyone was trying to avoid the punishment. Forty years and everyone was still as youthful and childish as before. He suddenly massaged his temple. Looking over at Qi Meiyao, he smiled.

"How long have you been Master's disciple?" Fei Qianchi asked, his voice almost inaudible amidst the screaming in the background.

Qi Meiyao looked up, a bit stunned as she quickly replied, "This is my seventh year. I... I truly do admire you, Senior Brother. I heard about your name, and even though you entered the Ghost Realm, your astonishing feats during the sect competition is still widely spoken about."

Hearing this, Fei Qianchi finally seemed to understand. It seemed like he hadn't been careful enough. During the sect competition, he had accidentally beat a disciple with a higher cultivation than him. Afterwards, he had also defeated Su Fuwen's disciple.

"Is that so? Forty years have already passed, I'm sure that there are other new geniuses now." As Fei Qianchi said this, his expression was serene. Forty years have passed... it has been a long time.

"Shut up all of you! Your Junior Brother has just returned, should I send you all off to Ghost Realm too?" Tian Sichan finally exploded from all the noise, raising his voice as he pointed towards Fei Qianchi.

Fei Qianchi could only stand in place as everyone turned towards him.

There was a grumble of mistreatment, but it was still silently mumbled.

"Master, you truly love Junior Brother..." Fu Huayan suddenly shook her head.

"Of course, he's the only who doesn't give me a headache." Tian Sichan replied, raising his brow. "Speaking of, it seems like the realm has done you well. You are already at the ninth layer of Soul Transformation."

"I found a few rare treasures in the realm." Fei Qianchi sparked up as he recalled something. In his hands, a blue fan appeared, white and silver lines running through the fan. "Master, I found this in a cave within the realm. I believe that your weapon is a fan, so I collected it for you."

Tian Sichan accepted the fan, looking over it. "Hmm, it seems like this is the Chuhen Fan."

"Zhang Bingmei and Zhang Zaifan, go take a look with the other disciples, I heard that they are on a mission to seek spiritual beasts within Xiehua Forest. Fu Huayan and Hou Mengshu, I believe that you two should enter cultivation for a bit. After all, you two still need to break through that bottleneck." Tian Sichan tapped the fan in his eyes as he ordered.

"Yes, Master." Without another word said, everyone ran as fast as they could.

Fei Qianchi watched as the surrounding suddenly became desolate. Everyone was still afraid of Tian Sichan. "Ah, Master, I also have something else to show you. Let us enter the hall first."

"En. Meiyao, return back first. I believe that your power is too high for the furnace, so switch it out with the Xiongniu furnace." Tian Sichan nodded his head as he then turned to Qi Meiyao.

"Yes, Master." Qi Meiyao didn't linger any longer as she turned and walked away.

With just the two of them now, Fei Qianchi followed as Tian Sichan led him towards the hall.

As they entered, Fei Qianchi closed the doors, even securing it with a talisman.

"What is it?" Tian Sichan asked.

There was a hint of hesitation on his face as Fei Qianchi searched for something in his storage ring. "I have visited many different caves throughout these forty years. Around five years ago, I chanced upon a transcript." Fei Qianchi took out the transcript. The book was both dull and pale, the words almost faded.

Five years ago, Fei Qianchi had found this transcript, and taking it back, he had tried to read it. Unfortunately, he was unable to decipher it.

Tian Sichan accepted the transcript, looking over it with furrowed brows. "This..." His voice trailed on.

"I had looked inside the cave to see if there were any other clues, but ultimately, there was nothing else." Fei Qianchi explained. The only weird thing was the mysterious set of bones near the entrance of the cave, as if a beast of some sort had died near the place.

Tian Sichan read over it before he looked at Fei Qianchi, "I also can't decipher it. The language seems to be a very old language, maybe forgotten by now." Tian Sichan closed the book. "I shall meet with the other elders. This transcript feels menacing if I am to say."

Fei Qianchi nodded his head, understanding what Tian Sichan meant. When he had found the book, the voice in his head had appeared once more. It took a while before Fei Qianchi was able to seal the voice away. After all, the voice within him, the darkness, it was becoming a part of him that he feared.

"Uhm, your new disciple, I guess she is my Junior Sister from now on?" With that matter over, Fei Qianchi brought up Qi Meiyao.

"Oh, Meiyao... she is a very talented girl. She is the youngest daughter of the fifth lord peak, Qi Henran, the elder of Xionghua Peak. I accepted her because she was a genius at refining pills. Truthfully, she asked to become my disciple and after a while, I accepted her." Tian Sichan briefly explained. "Overall, she brought up your name quite a lot. I believe that she truly admires you. Right now, she is currently 24 years old with her cultivation at the first layer of Core Formation."

Hearing this, Fei Qianchi nodded his head. "Of course... forty years have already passed." Saying this, there were some conflicting emotions passing in his eyes.

Tian Sichan sighed while shaking his head, "Everyone has grown during this time. I remember when I first picked you up. Back then, you were still shorter than me but now, you have already grown much taller. Not to mention, your cultivation is progressing so fast, you have already surpassed your Senior Brothers and Sisters."

"Ah, Master, actually, I also wanted to talk to you." Fei Qianchi recalled, breaking out of this melancholy.

"What is it?"

"I want to go out and wander the land for a while. It is similar to seclusion, but I merely want to go seek enlightenment." Fei Qianchi meekly smiled, a hand on his neck as he said this.

"You really do like to seek enlightenment." Tian Sichan cocked his brow. With his hands behind his back, his mental age seemed to show. "Well, it is normal for disciples to wander the land. Even your Senior Brothers and Sisters did so often and they were rather different compared to you. I guess, you have also aged. Soon, you will leave this peak."

"I do thank you for everything, Master. I may not have spent much time with you but everything you taught me is still something I remember till this day. To put it into words, I am already 56 years old now. While a cultivator's body can remain young, their minds are much older." Fei Qianchi muttered, blue eyes looking down.

Fei Qianchi felt a heavy stone in his chest. When he was in Ghost Realm, he couldn't even tell how time passed. It was only when he stopped cultivating that he realized years and years had passed by while he wasn't paying attention. For humans who couldn't cultivate, forty years was a huge chunk of their lives. For cultivators, it was too short.

"You are already too powerful for your age. Even if you slack off, you will still be a widely known genius. While you were in Ghost Realm, your name was spread far without you knowing. You have already surpassed Mengshu, cultivating at such a fast rate. It is also time for you to take a rest." Tian Sichan didn't seem to have a big reaction, merely saying these things to Fei Qianchi.

Fei Qianchi's lips curved, eyes lighting up. He could tell that while Tian Sichan had turned away, he still seemed powerful in that moment. Fei Qianchi understood that his cultivation was too fast, especially for his age, but he didn't want to slow down. What he wanted most was power and he was willing to do anything for it. Even if his cultivation speed was too fast, he could only continue to push it even further.

"Master, I will stay for a few days before I take my leave. I should stay for a while before leaving again."

-

"I say, Junior Brother, your cultivation is too fast." Fu Huayan whispered, her eyes looking over at Fei Qianchi.

"Is that so, Senior Sister?" Fei Qianchi returned, not changing his expression as he merely smiled.

"Of course! I am only at the third layer of Soul Transformation, but you are already at the ninth layer of Soul Transformation. Even Senior Brother is only at the eighth layer of Soul Transformation." Fu Huayan retorted.

"What can we do, our Junior Brother is too talented." Hou Mengshu shook his head as he grasped a cup of wine and took a gulp from it.

As all the disciples gathered around the table, Fei Qianchi was at the center of the attention. He smiled as he also held a cup of wine, slowly pouring it into his mouth.

"Zhang Zaifan, come here! Don't you dare think you can cheat without this older sister knowing!" On the other side, Zhang Bingmei and Zhang Zaifan were playing a game of Go.

Qi Meiyao sat on the chair, holding a few manuals in her hand as she read them carefully, picking out a few different herbs every now and then. She stood and headed towards the garden in front of the pavilion.

Fu Huayan, Hou Mengshu, and Fei Qianchi sat around the table, enjoying the scenery and exchanging cups of wine as they spoke.

"Master said that you will be leaving soon. It seems like you have not yet finished surprising us yet." Hou Mengshu smiled as the cup of wine was held against his lips.

Fei Qianchi nodded his head, "Yes, I had an urge to go out. If possible, I want to seek englightment as fast as possible." Fei Qianchi felt at peace as he talked to them.

"What enlightenment? You are already so frightening with your current cultivation. Compared to us, you are much younger yet you have already surpassed us." Fu Huayan brought up as she took a big gulp of wine, grabbing the jar and refilling her cup.

"Junior Brother, you are truly frightening. Having surpassed all of us, you truly a genius." Hou Mengshu lightly said, "I have nothing to say. Now that you are truly powerful, there will be few who can rival you at your age. Since you will be taking your leave then I will recommend Qingyang. That town is truly beautiful. I went there on a mission with some other disciples, the town is a beautiful place."

Hearing this, Fei Qianchi nodded his head with a smile. He would take this recommendation seriously. There weren't many places he had in mind, so now that Hou Mengshu had offered one, he would take note of it.

"Ah, Luoyang is also beautiful. It is a place with many cultivators so there will be many auctions for rare items. Louyang is a bustling place for cultivators, going there will benefit you." Fu Huayan added as she leaned over and said.

"Hey! Junior Brother, you are really leaving?" From the side, Zhang Bingmei had stopped chasing Zhang Zaifan and moved next to Fei Qianchi.

Fei Qianchi looked at Zhang Bingmei with raised brows, looking at her hair that was out of place as the girl huffed and puffed. "It seems like your physical condition isn't so great..."

Zhang Bingmei jokingly rolled her eyes, merely waving her hand, "En. I mainly cultivate the path of using Qi so I don't need to do all that other stuff. Unlike you all, I'm not a sword cultivator." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Psh, that's why Master always picks on you." Zhang Zaifan retorted, his eyes deadly as he gazed at his twin sister.

"Alright, don't fight now. After all, Junior Brother Fei will be leaving today." Hou Mengshu intercepted the pair of siblings before they started to physically fight.

Fei Qianchi didn't mind. He didn't want most of the attention to be placed on him. While he was leaving today, he had stayed with them for a week now. During that time, Fei Qianchi rested and spent some time with everyone, especially with the other disciples of the sect, teaching them.

Fei Qianchi glanced at Qi Meiyao, the girl who was wholeheartedly focused on looking at the plants in the garden, her hands never letting go of the manual she held. He also spent some time with Qi Meiyao. The girl was truly interesting. While she did marvel about him for a bit, she was focused on her cultivation and refining pills otherwise. Well, except for the fact that she frequently broke furnaces.

Fei Qianchi listened as everyone began to talk over one another, screams heard every now and then. All these people had aged yet they still acted the same. He smiled as he shook his head, the cup of wine against his lips.

Suddenly, feeling a pair of eyes on him, Fei Qianchi turned around. As his blue eyes looked around, he only saw the distant bamboo forest, nothing else. Weird... but he didn't linger on it as he looked back towards Hou Mengshu, who was rubbing his temples as he listened to Fu Huayan and Zhang Bingmei argue. Off to the side, Zhang Zaifan was fueling the flames.

"Senior Brother Fei?"

Fei Qianchi turned to his right, hearing Qi Meiyao call for him. "Yes, Junior Sister?"

Qi Meiyao stood next to Fei Qianchi, her pale hands holding a manual.

Fei Qianchi looked at her, eyes calm.

"Uhm, Senior Brother, will you be able to do something for me?" Qi Meiyao was very meek as she asked this, but her eyes shone as she looked at Fei Qianchi.

Fei Qianchi smiled, "Of course, what is it?"

"When you head out, will you try to find the Red Jade fruit for me? I need it to make the pill needed to break through to Nascent Soul..." Qi Meiyao asked, a light smile on her lips.

Fei Qianchi agreed at once. He was going to head to the auction houses anyway, picking up this request wasn't hard. "Please leave it to me. Is there anything else you need?"

At this, Qi Meiyao brightened up. The awe in her eyes was clear as Fei Qianchi smiled brighter in turn. Actually, he treated Qi Meiyao like a younger sister. Qi Meiyao also treated him like an older brother, and while they didn't know each other for long, Fei Qianchi knew that Qi Meiyao truly liked and respected him.

"Yes, I also need the Snowlight Flower and some White Spiritual grass." Qi Meiyao excitedly looked over her book, finding each of the ingredients that the garden did not have.

Fei Qianchi noted each of these things. It was a good thing that he had accepted a few different missions and sold off some of the treasures he found. Now, he had quite a bit of money in his hand.

As Fei Qianchi looked at the sky, he noted that the sun was already high up. He stood up and glanced at everyone, "I will have to pack some things first. Please talk for a bit. I will have to set off soon."

Fei Qianchi watched as Hou Mengshu nodded at him before he began walking away, heading for his courtyard. After a brisk walk, Fei Qianchi entered his room. His room wasn't overly decorated, just a few things here and there. Since he already had some materials in his storage ring, he just needed a few things. His plan was to be on the move often, so he wouldn't be stopping at towns for too long, perhaps only a week or two before moving again.

As Fei Qianchi put some books away in his storage ring, he faintly smiled.

He didn't know how long it'd be before he returns again. His plan was to try and cultivate as fast as possible before he returned.

.

.

.