The whole tournant felt like a fever dream to Qi Xiu and Bai Muhan—half farce, half miracle.
But land for the sect? Real land with a spirit vein running through it? That wasn’t sothing a struggling outfit like Chu Qin could turn down, no matter how suspiciously it fell into their lap.
Immortal Forest Hollow—the new na for their prize.
It had started life as Fallen Forest Hollow, or sothing older no one rembered. A Lin family cultivation clan once claid it. When Shan Du Sect rose, they wiped the Lins out root and branch; the na twisted to match the massacre. Owners ca and went over the decades. The last one, another Lin by coincidence, tried prettying it up—swapped “fallen” for “immortal.” Didn’t help. As a vassal holding, the Wei family drowned it in blood all the sa. Now it belonged to Chu Qin Sect, passed along like a worn coin.
The valley pinched inward like the character for “enter”—two low ridges pinching together, cradling a triangular basin. A minor spirit vein slept deep under the join. Most of the ground tested second-tier low-grade; the sweetest spot hit mid-grade—rare fuel for real cultivation. Clever channeling arrays had coaxed slopes into broad stretches of first-tier low-grade soil, the cash crop every past owner milked for inco.
The rest was rich mortal farmland. Small—maybe a tenth the size of greater Black River—but fertile enough for eight or ten thousand souls. More than enough to stop borrowing space from Wang Juan’s charity.
Immortal Forest Hollow sat northwest of the forr Shan Du peak, closer to South Chu Sect’s holdings north of the Death Marsh. Chu Duo picked it without asking, then laid down the law: burrow into the Wei family’s inner circle. Beco the Chu family’s eyes and ears on the mountain.
Qi Xiu swallowed the order without a peep. The old monster dangled sweets one mont, cracked the whip the next. Resistance felt like a forgotten reflex.
On the flight ho, Qi Xiu worked up the nerve.
“Old Ancestor… about Bai Muhan. She’s Bai Xiaosheng’s daughter. Pulled her weight this ti—more than. Any chance of… leniency for her father? He’s been chained in Black River Market square for years. Taken every humiliation. Whatever lesson needed teaching, it’s taught. Keeping a Foundation Establishnt loose cultivator on public display like that… doesn’t exactly polish the Chu family’s reputation.”
Chu Duo blinked, genuinely drawing a blank. Black River Market wasn’t his direct concern; details slipped through the cracks of a long life.
Qi Xiu recounted the whole ss: the offending pamphlet, Chu Hongchang’s fury, the public punishnt. Chu Duo listened, then shrugged. “Can’t decide that myself. I’ll ask when we’re back.”
A wink as they parted—pure sleazy uncle promising candy to a nervous kid.
“Good performance earns rewards. Keep that in mind.”
Back at Black River Peak, the announcent of new land sent the sect into stunned celebration. Zhan Yuan, Shen Chang, Pan Rong—n whose roots couldn’t drink from the peak’s gathering array—practically shook with relief. Years wasted in stagnation; now the clouds parted.
“No ti for speeches,” Qi Xiu barked, clapping for attention in the cramped Chu Qin hall. Empty spots where Gu Ji and Huang He once sat had quietly filled with Bai Muhan and Li Tan. So ghosts faded faster than others.
“Zhang Shishi—take He Yu and Yu Jing. Hit Black River Market, catch a Beast Taming beast ship to Artifact Talisman City, then another to the mountain. Fly the last leg by spirit boat. Accept the deed from the Wei family, stay put, and start putting the place in order. Wait for the migrants. Move fast—I don’t trust them not to strip anything valuable on the way out.”
Orders snapped out. The three vanished before echoes died.
“Zhan Yuan—you, Wei Yu, Pan Rong, Shen Chang—head to Qin Ji. Prep the southern migration. Stop at Wang Juan’s first. Thick gifts. They’ve sheltered our people for years. We owe heavy.”
Another chorus of acknowledgnt. They scattered like startled birds.
Bai Muhan got lighter duty: rest with Li Tan, mind the gate. She accepted with a tired but glowing smile.
Once the hall emptied, Qi Xiu pulled Yu Denou—still wearing his borrowed face—into the inner chamber and sealed it with a sound-dampening talisman.
Yu Denou straightened, alert. “Sothing sensitive, Sect Leader?”
Qi Xiu leaned close, voice barely above a breath. “Need a ssage delivered where only you won’t trip alarms. Slip past Chu Youguang’s watchers in the market. Find Bai Xiaosheng. Tell him I’m petitioning the Chu family for his release. Ask if he’d consider joining Chu Qin once free. Get a clear answer—but fra it careful. No hint we’re twisting his arm with his daughter, no sll of opportunism. Make sure he knows success isn’t guaranteed. This stays between us. No one else in the sect hears a whisper.”
Yu Denou’s eyes widened—recruiting a Foundation cultivator who’d once insulted Chu Hongchang? Gutsy. But then he rembered the tournant: a Qi Refining girl bulldozing through rings full of Foundation experts to claim spirit-vein land. Things around Qi Xiu were rarely what they seed.
He nodded once and left to handle it.
Qi Xiu didn’t sit idle either. He raided the sect vault for a few valuables, then pointed his spirit boat toward Beast Taming territory. Ti to visit Zhao Liangde. Gratitude was due—without the man’s original promise, none of this would have landed in their lap.
At the familiar border he fired the signal flare. The disciple who ca to escort him snorted when he heard the destination.
“Still looking for old Zhao these days? Word is he’s packing up to leave. Lost every scrap of favor.”
Qi Xiu lifted a brow. “Leaving? Where to?”
“Who knows.” The man glanced around, then dropped his voice. “He can’t stay here. Anyone tied to Old Ancestor Wei’s faction is poison now. Higher-ups set the tone; us little fish follow. Keep your distance if you’re smart—getting tagged won’t do you favors.”
Qi Xiu thanked him with real warmth. No Zhao ant the pig-and-fish deal was dead. Fine by him. From now on Chu Qin’s road ran through the Wei mountain anyway—relations with Beast Taming were bound to cool. But the sect had no expansionist bite, no reputation for bullying neighbors. Safety shouldn’t be an issue.
He flew on alone, mind already turning to whatever ca next.
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