And just like that, having learned from past lessons, the two downstream sects seemed to come to a mutual understanding—both promptly sealed off the entrances that connected the endstream regions to their territories.
Now, if one wished to travel to those lower sects, they’d have to take an extremely long detour.
With those downstream routes closed off, all the sects under the influence of Lianhua Sect were now facing a pressing, critical issue:
Where were they supposed to get Foundation Establishment Pills?
Even in normal times, acquiring a Foundation Establishment Pill in the downstream regions was an uphill battle.
Every sect had disciples stuck at the seventh or eighth stage of Qi Refining—unable to advance due to lack of talent, and without pills, there was no way to push through.
All they could do was wait.
Wait for that one elusive pill to break through, extend their lifespan, and buy themselves a shot at a better future.
Now that Lianhua Sect—their only reliable source for those pills—had shut its gates, the situation instantly turned from difficult to dire.
Desperation swept through the ranks.
That’s why this time, it wasn’t just Ye Lingtian heading out—all the sect leaders at Foundation Establishment level or above from the endstream had set off together for a place called Wudao Sect, where they planned to discuss countermeasures.
The moment Ye Ping’an stepped back into his home, his mother, Shen Mengting, rushed over as if she hadn’t seen him in years.
She checked him from head to toe—and didn’t stop there. She gave Ning Yue and little Mengyao a full inspection as well, and only after confirming they were unharmed did she finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Then came the motherly rant.
She launched into a string of complaints about how dangerous the outside world was, how it was full of crooks and con men, speaking like she fully expected her son—or worse, his two future daughters-in-law—to be snatched away at any moment.
With no way to get a word in, Ye Ping’an had no choice but to sit there obediently and take it.
After a full hour of scolding, she finally got around to the main question:
“So, what exactly were you all doing out there for so long?”
At last—the real topic.
Ye Ping’an, who had been practically flattened by the lecture, instantly perked up.
“Mom,” he explained excitedly, “we stumbled upon a great opportunity out there. Thanks to it, little Mengyao has now reached the seventh stage of Qi Refining!”
Of course, that wasn’t the full truth—he was deliberately playing it down. Mengyao had actually reached the twelfth stage, which was practically unheard of.
Even in the revered Tianxuan Holy Land, such a talent didn’t exist. If his mother found out, she’d probably shout it from the rooftops.
He’d already made plans to keep this a secret. Fortunately, the Condensing Origin Technique included a method for concealing one’s true cultivation level.
So, as far as outsiders could tell, little Mengyao was only at Qi Refining Stage Seven.
“What did you say?! Seventh stage of Qi Refining?” Shen Mengting was utterly stunned.
In her eyes—and really, across all the endstream sects—reaching stage seven was already a remarkable feat.
Disciples who made it that far could start preparing for Foundation Establishment. To reach it at such a young age?
That was almost unheard of!
In fact… at this rate, her daughter-in-law-in-training might one day reach the Nascent Soul stage. And in these parts, that level of power meant ruling an entire region.
For Shen Mengting, Nascent Soul was already the highest realm she could even imagine. The stage beyond that—Soul Transformation—was simply too far out of reach to dream about.
“That’s right,” Ye Ping’an replied proudly.
“Under my expert guidance, Mengyao managed to reach the seventh stage at such a young age. That’s why we were gone so long.”
He quickly added in a whisper, “Of course, we did spend a ton of resources. I used up more than half of the sect’s spirit stones from the treasure vault to get her there.”
“Half? I don’t care if you used all of them!” Shen Mengting waved it off like it was nothing.
This was her own disciple, after all. Sure, she hadn’t taught her much—but in name, Mengyao was still her student.
And now, her no-good son had finally done something right by finding a future daughter-in-law with terrifying talent. How could she not be thrilled?
She waved her hand with authority. If anyone had a problem with it, just tell them to come see her.
“Thank you, Master!” Little Mengyao immediately wrapped herself around Shen Mengting’s arm, her face beaming.
“Hehe, with me around, nothing’s a problem,” Shen Mengting said with a chuckle, gently patting Mengyao’s hair. But her smile soon faded as she sighed regretfully.
“It’s just a shame, really… Mengyao won’t be able to break through to Foundation Establishment anytime soon.”
“Why not?” Ye Ping’an asked, puzzled.
Shen Mengting let out another sigh, clearly frustrated.
“It’s because one of the downstream sects is about to go to war with another. Tensions are so high they could break out into a full-blown battle at any moment.”
Just recently, the passageways were sealed off. No one knows how long this will last—and with that, hundreds of sects have lost access to Foundation Establishment Pills.
And if Lianhua Sect loses the fight and the opposing sect takes over our territory… who knows what might happen?
“Your father went to Wudao Sect with the other sect leaders to discuss exactly this. He hasn’t returned yet.”
When Ye Ping’an heard the name Wudao Sect, his heart clenched.
That was the very first sect to be slaughtered by the Blood Demon.
While the Blood Demon’s origins were shrouded in mystery, Ye Ping’an—who knew how the story unfolded—was well aware that it came from outside the Tianxuan Holy Land.
Its cultivation methods were completely different, relying on blood essence over spiritual energy.
That’s how, even in the resource-starved endstream region, the Blood Demon had managed to reach half-step Soul Transformation.
If the main character hadn’t appeared and put a stop to things, the Blood Demon might have broken through to Soul Transformation completely.
Wudao Sect was located on the fourteenth spiritual vein out of Lianhua Sect’s twenty-seven branches—the most abundant one in terms of spiritual energy.
It sat right at the end of that vein and was led by a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator.
It made sense as the meeting site. It was central, lacked any powerful opponents like Core Formation cultivators who might stage an ambush, and was considered neutral ground.
But Wudao Sect also marked the beginning of the Blood Demon’s massacre.
After emerging, the Blood Demon slaughtered everyone in Wudao Sect, instantly regaining its strength—going from injured Core Formation back to late-stage Core Formation.
From there, it began to rampage through the surrounding sects, harvesting their blood and spirit to rebuild its cultivation.
In less than half a month, it reached peak Nascent Soul stage.
And Xuanxing Sect—Ye Ping’an’s own future enemy—was one of its victims.
All of it… started with Wudao Sect.
If his father had gone to that meeting a few years later, Ye Ping’an would’ve stopped him no matter what—and dragged him back home.
Thankfully, there was still time. He just needed to be fully prepared. If he played his cards right, everything would be fine.
Still, every second counted now.
“Son… why do you suddenly look so serious?”
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