Chapter 7: News

“Zhenzhen has been gone for so long without sending any word. It seems she must have made it through safely.”

In the fields, Qin Huai swung his hoe, hacking up a weed that had just poked its head above the soil. Even as he worked, he could not help muttering about his granddaughter, who had gone so far away.

“I only hope she’s safe in there.”

Madam Wang sat beside the field ridge, weaving the vines they had just gathered. At those words, her hands paused slightly, and she too looked toward the forested mountains to the south.

“Yes. Ye and Wen go to the area near the barrier every day to take a look. They’re hoping for any sign of movement.”

Ever since Qin Zhen had passed through the barrier, her family had been unable to learn anything about her. They only knew that Qin Zhen had successfully entered the cultivation world, but not where she was now, whether she had found Qin Jia, or whether she had encountered any danger.

Qin Huai said nothing more. He merely swung his hoe with noticeably greater force than before.

At the same time, deep within Cold Jade Peak of the Azure Cloud Sect.

Cold air filled the sealed cave abode. Qin Jia sat cross-legged atop a platform of cold jade, a thin layer of frost covering her brows, eyes, and hair. Her eyes were tightly closed as the surrounding ice-element spiritual energy continuously surged into her body.

The half-moon-shaped jade pendant hanging against her chest suddenly flickered faintly.

A weak green light flashed and vanished in an instant. Qin Jia’s lashes trembled slightly.

“Elder Sister...”

A vague murmur faded into the icy air, and soon the cave abode fell silent once more.

Nanfeng City, the rear courtyard of Fragrant Elegance Residence.

“Little Zhen, I heard you’ve found out something about your younger sister?”

Su Qingqing leaned against the doorway, smiling as she looked at Qin Zhen, who was crouched beside the spirit field. Qin Zhen was checking each of the emerald-jade vegetables in the courtyard. She lightly brushed her fingertips over the green leaves, and only after confirming that none of the plants’ roots had any problems did she rise to her feet.

“Yes, Sister Su. Yesterday, one of the guests who came to Fragrant Elegance Residence for a meal happened to be an outer disciple of Cold Jade Peak.”

At the mention of this, Qin Zhen’s expression finally relaxed somewhat.

“She said that Jiajia is in seclusion on Cold Jade Peak, attempting a breakthrough. She’s not in any danger.”

Although that outer disciple did not know Qin Jia personally, Cold Jade Peak was home only to Perfected Person Binghua’s lineage. Qin Jia was Perfected Person Binghua’s direct disciple, and she had not appeared in the sect for several years. She was indeed most likely in seclusion.

At least, she had not encountered any danger.

“That’s wonderful news.”

Su Qingqing offered her congratulations with a smile before asking, “Now that you know your younger sister is safe, are you still planning to remain in Nanfeng City and wait for her to emerge from seclusion? When cultivators enter seclusion to attempt a breakthrough, it may take as little as several months or as long as several years.”

Qin Zhen shook her head.

“I’m not going to wait any longer. Since Jiajia was safe before entering seclusion, she’ll naturally return home once she comes out. I’ve been gone for so long, and my family must be terribly worried about me. I’ll go back first and tell them that my younger sister is safe.”

Hearing this, Su Qingqing immediately looked disappointed.

“You’re leaving so soon? I was hoping to keep you at Fragrant Elegance Residence forever.”

Over the past two months, Qin Zhen had not learned a single spirit-plant cultivation technique, yet she could easily identify problems with the spirit vegetables. Which plant needed water, which had insects in its roots, and which patch of spirit soil contained too much spiritual energy—she could determine all of it with near-perfect accuracy simply by touching it.

Fragrant Elegance Residence had employed spirit-plant cultivators before, but when it came to caring for spirit plants, not one of them could compare with Qin Zhen. Su Qingqing was reluctant to see her leave, but she had no intention of stopping her.

Leaving aside the fact that Qin Zhen had a younger sister who was a direct disciple of the Azure Cloud Sect, just this ability to care for spirit plants alone meant that her future achievements might be extraordinary.

“Little Zhen, when you become successful in the future, don’t forget about your sister here.”

Qin Zhen replied earnestly, “Don’t worry, Sister Su. The next time I come to Nanfeng City, I’ll definitely visit you. Thank you for taking care of me these past two months.”

If Su Qingqing had not taken her in, Qin Zhen might not even have had a place to stay when she first entered the cultivation world.

“All right, there’s no need to be so formal between us.”

Su Qingqing waved her hand.

“Go pack your things first. Near the east gate of Nanfeng City, there’s a teleportation formation leading to Neighboring Immortal City. Taking the teleportation formation will be much faster than crossing the mountains and forests again.”

Qin Zhen’s eyes immediately lit up.

“It can take me directly back to Neighboring Immortal City?”

“Of course.”

Su Qingqing could not help laughing.

“Otherwise, do you think everyone entering or leaving the cultivation world has to spend more than a month traveling through the mountains and forests like you did?”

Qin Zhen was delighted. She immediately turned and headed toward the small room where she lived.

“You little girl, why are you in such a hurry?”

Su Qingqing called out from behind her. Qin Zhen halted and turned back in confusion, only to see Su Qingqing take out a small cloth pouch and casually toss it over.

Qin Zhen hurriedly caught it. The pouch was surprisingly heavy. When she opened it, she found fifty lower-grade spirit stones neatly arranged inside.

“Sister Su, this is...”

“The teleportation formation costs fifty lower-grade spirit stones per use.”

Leaning against the doorframe, Su Qingqing spoke in a casual tone.

“Take them. They’re exactly enough to get you back to Neighboring Immortal City.”

Qin Zhen quickly held the pouch out again.

“No, Sister Su. This is too much.”

“I’ve been eating and staying at Fragrant Elegance Residence for the past two months without doing anything to repay you. Why don’t I stay for a few more months and return home after I’ve earned enough?”

“If you stay for several more months, your family will probably be frantic with worry.”

Su Qingqing did not take the pouch.

“These fifty spirit stones aren’t a gift. Consider them an investment I’m making in advance.”

She spoke half-jokingly. “If you really become some great spirit-plant master in the future, you mustn’t forget that you owe me this favor.”

Qin Zhen held the pouch in both hands and remained silent for a long while. She did not want to incur such a significant debt of gratitude for no reason.

But when she thought of her grandparents, parents, and uncle waiting at home for news of her, she found herself unable to refuse.

“Thank you, Sister Su.”

Qin Zhen carefully put away the spirit stones.

“I’ll remember what you’ve done for me today.”

“If I ever have the chance, I’ll repay you.”

“All right, that’s enough.”

Su Qingqing waved dismissively.

“Hurry up and pack. The teleportation formation can only be activated a limited number of times each day. If you miss the last trip today, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

With that, she turned and walked into Fragrant Elegance Residence. Qin Zhen stood where she was, watching her retreating figure, and silently engraved this debt of gratitude in her heart.

Before long, she had packed her belongings. Compared to when she had first arrived in Nanfeng City, there was not much more in her bundle. The ordinary food her family had prepared for her before she left had already been eaten, leaving only a small bag of spirit-rice seeds and a few personal items.

Aside from those, she had only the small amount of spirit stones she had saved over the past two months.

Qin Zhen slung the bundle over her back, tied the long sword her younger sister had left behind across her back, and hurried toward the eastern part of the city. By the time she arrived at the teleportation formations, the sky had already begun to darken.

Several teleportation formations of various sizes were spread across the spacious plaza, with lines of people waiting before each one. Qin Zhen stood to the side and observed for a while. By following the symbols beside the formations and listening to the conversations of passing travelers, she finally located the line for Neighboring Immortal City.

She hurried over. The line was not particularly long, and it was soon her turn. The cultivator in charge of guarding the teleportation array sat behind a wooden desk. Without even looking up, he simply held out a hand.

“Fifty low-grade spirit stones.”

Qin Zhen handed over the spirit stones Su Qingqing had given her. The cultivator swept them with his divine sense, confirmed that the amount was correct, and raised a hand to point ahead.

“Go in. This is the last trip today. If you’re any later, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

At that, Qin Zhen hurried into the teleportation array.

The array was circular, its floor carved with intricate silver patterns. Several dozen people were already standing inside. Qin Zhen could only carefully make her way to the outermost edge, doing her best not to bump into anyone.

Before long, the cultivator guarding the array embedded a spirit stone into the array’s core.

The patterns on the ground lit up one after another. Blinding white light shot into the sky, instantly enveloping everyone within.

In the next moment, every figure in the teleportation array vanished. Qin Zhen’s vision went white, followed immediately by a violent wave of dizziness. It felt as though countless forces were squeezing her from all directions at once. Her chest tightened, and her internal organs seemed to be churning together. Her legs went weak, and she nearly lost her balance.

Qin Zhen bit her lip hard, struggling to remain conscious.

She didn’t dare close her eyes. She knew the teleportation would take only a moment, yet time seemed to stretch endlessly. She had no idea how long passed before that suffocating pressure finally began to fade.

The solid ground returned beneath her feet. Qin Zhen steadied herself against a nearby stone pillar and cautiously opened her eyes.

The people around her looked just as miserable. Some had only just managed to regain their footing when they began complaining.

“The teleportation array in Nanfu City is getting worse and worse.”

“No kidding.”

Another person rubbed his chest, his face pale.

“I ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​‍wonder how long it’s been since they last repaired it. These past few years, every time I travel to the Mortal Realm, I have to suffer through this.”

“Do you really think the people in charge of the city care whether we live or die?”

“As long as the array can still operate and collect spirit stones, they can’t be bothered to spend money repairing it.”

“Next time, I’m not traveling from Nanfu City.”

“I’d rather take the long way around and use the teleportation array in Yuxian City.”

Someone beside them shook his head when he heard that.

“The teleportation array in Yuxian City is stable enough, but each trip costs two hundred low-grade spirit stones.”

“Nanfu City is the closest to the Mortal Realm and charges only fifty. Other than here and Yuxian City, there isn’t a third teleportation array to the Mortal Realm anywhere nearby.”

“Even if it costs more, it’s still better than suffering.”

“That’s easy for you to say. You have the spirit stones.”

The group continued grumbling as they walked out of the teleportation array.

Qin Zhen stood among the crowd, her face still somewhat pale, but her heart was already overflowing with joy.

Linxian City.

She was finally home.

Qin Zhen tightened her grip on the Heartbound Pendant at her chest. Ignoring her physical discomfort, she hurried out of the teleportation array. She couldn’t wait to return home.

To tell everyone...

Jiajia hadn’t met with any misfortune. She was merely in secluded cultivation.