Wait a minute, where is my master?

Zhao Dabao had already been staying in the mansion for several days.

The news in Gusu City was released by him.

...

...

On the night he returned to the city from Lezi Mountain.

As soon as he arrived at the mansion, he immediately went to the study to see his father.

He gave his father quite a scare.

"What kind of pig demon is this!"

Once he knew it was his own son, he quickly used a healing skill to reduce the swelling on Zhao Dabao's face.

Zhao's father, seeing his son's grave expression and hearing that he had important matters to discuss, quickly took him into a secret chamber.

In the secret chamber.

Father and son talked for a whole two hours.

Zhao Dabao recounted in detail how he had spent a hundred taels of gold and befriended a young Taoist; how he had broken the formation to obtain the Enlightenment Pill; and how Zhao Yan and his disciples were murdered.

Zhao's father was extremely pleased after listening to it all. His son's disposition and character were both first-rate.

It was just a pity that, with no Spirit Root, he had been unable to step through the gates of cultivation.

As the head of the Zhao family, he had also searched for such Spirit Pills and miraculous herbs for Zhao Dabao.

But the Nine Provinces Realm was too vast, and the Zhao family too insignificant. Those magical methods that claimed to spontaneously induce Spirit Roots were simply out of reach for someone at the minor Nascent Soul Realm like him.

Now everything had changed, his son had, with his mortal body, obtained the legendary Enlightenment Pill.

"Dabao, obtaining the Enlightenment Pill is a cause for great celebration, but those who went with you to Lezi Mountain, and those who knew you went there," Zhao's father's words trailed off.

Even though he was the renowned head of the Zhao family in Gusu City, known for his benevolence, he couldn't help but consider more factors when it came to his son.

Zhao Dabao understood his father's meaning and happily said, "Don't worry, Dad. I had arranged everything before I went."

When he returned to Gusu City, he took a secret passage and didn't alert the city guards.

As for the village woman and her husband, he had the family's loyal servant, Zhao Qian, place a Divine Sense Restriction on them early on.

Then, with a sum of money, he had them follow a merchant caravan to Luo City.

As long as they kept their mouths shut, they could comfortably live out their lives as wealthy folk.

And regarding those young martial practitioners, he had also placed Divine Sense Restrictions on them and arranged for all of them to go to the Great Xia capital, Shangjing City, to manage the Zhao family's business there.

Zhao Dabao did not believe Medicine King Valley would dare to cause trouble in Shangjing City.

Hearing his son's arrangements, Zhao's father nodded in approval, "Well done. Uncle Qian is indeed trustworthy."

Actually, according to his preference, killing them all would be simpler; dead men tell no tales.

But his child had grown up and had his own ideas, and he, as a father, shouldn't say too much.

It was enough to silently support his child from behind.

Afterward, father and son discussed how to cover up the causes of Yao Chen's and Zhao Yan's deaths.

In the end, they decided that the Zhao family would take the initiative to release the news of Zhao Yan's death.

After all, Zhao Yan had a Life Lamp in the clan, and by dawn, the clan members responsible for checking the Life Lamps would surely discover that his had gone out.

Then it would just be a matter of following the clues, which would inevitably lead nowhere.

The Lezi Mountain Valley had been turned into a basin by Jin Xu's Hand Palm Thunder, leaving no trace to be found.

As long as no one knew that Zhao Dabao had been there, that would suffice.

Once everything was properly arranged, the father and son left the secret chamber.

Before leaving, Zhao's father specially instructed his son to wait a few days before taking the Enlightenment Pill, to which Zhao Dabao happily claimed he understood.

Turning around, he left the study and went back to his room to rest.

Zhao's father sat in the grand armchair, deep in thought for a moment, his face no longer showing the gentle demeanor he had while talking with his son.

"Uncle Qian, have a few people go and test whether those people can keep tight-lipped. If they can, give them some more benefits."

As for the consequences if they were not tight-lipped, the head of the Zhao family did not say.

"The old servant shall heed the master's orders," said a seemingly ordinary-looking elder in his sixties as he walked out from a corner of the study, unremarkable to the extent that if thrown into a crowd, he would show no distinctive traits.

This elder was none other than Zhao Qian, a domestic servant taken in by Zhao Dabao's grandfather. It was said that his original surname was not Zhao, but he later changed it.

He had served three generations of Zhao Dabao's lineage with high cultivation.

As Uncle Qian was about to leave with his orders, he was stopped by Zhao Dabao's father.

"Wait, Uncle Qian, when Dabao went to Lezi Mountain, did you see that little Taoist he mentioned make a move?"

"Because Yao Chen was there, I dared not get too close... but," Zhao Qian said, his body trembling slightly.

"The aura of that spiritual power was like that of a True Immortal descending to the world."

Hearing Uncle Qian's words, Zhao Dabao's father was slightly stunned; the old-fashioned old man had been by his side since he could remember.

He recalled how the elder had protected him and evaded the pursuit of three Nascent Soul Demons without showing the slightest fear. But just now, that tremble in his body was clearly out of fear.

He wondered what kind of strange creature his son had befriended, uncertain whether it was a blessing or a curse.

"Alright, Uncle Qian, you've worked hard. By the way, don't tell the old master about Dabao obtaining the Enlightenment Pill just yet. Let's wait for his Spirit Root to reveal itself and then give the old master a pleasant surprise."

Zhao Qian bowed in acknowledgement and then disappeared outside the study.

The head of the Zhao family regained his kindly expression, sitting in the capacious armchair, looking like an enlarged version of Zhao Dabao.

As the father, he couldn't truly disregard his son's experiences with the cruelty of the Cultivation World.

He hoped that those people would keep their mouths shut.

Given the choice, he, the head of the Zhao family...

truly wanted to be a good person.

...

...

At the hour of Yin, in Gusu City, at the Zhao family estate.

Inside a secret chamber.

Zhao Dabao was preparing to take the Enlightenment Pill.

Several days had passed; the rumors that were to be spread had mostly done so.

Now, inside the city, the Cultivator circle was abuzz with gossip.

Some said that the Third Elder of Medicine King Valley, Yao Chen, seeking to make a name for himself, led his disciple to challenge the Formation at Lezi Mountain.

While the Formation was broken, unfortunately, they perished, turning the entire mountain valley into a basin.

Others whispered that the Third Elder of Medicine King Valley was a lunatic who wanted to experience the rogue Formation, yet somehow he managed to detonate it, killing both himself and his disciple in the process.

The most outrageous rumor was that there was discord within the Zhao family, with Zhao Yan and Zhao Dabao vying jealously for Xiangxiang from Yingchun House. They said that the Third Elder of Medicine King Valley, attempting to defend his disciple, went to intercept Zhao Dabao at Lezi Mountain but ended up being killed in a bizarre twist.

It was the most preposterous thing; everyone knew that Zhao family's eldest son, Zhao Dabao, had no Spirit Root and was forever barred from the path of immortality.

Yao Chen was an established figure of the Void Refinement Realm.

In the end, it took the collective voices of both the Zhao family and Medicine King Valley to somewhat quell the rampant rumors.

Both families announced that:

The Third Elder of Medicine King Valley, Yao Chen, was a hidden Formation grandmaster who intended to break the Formation at Lezi Mountain for the benefit of the Cultivation World. Tragically, due to the Formation's complexity, complications arose. Although he succeeded in breaking the Formation, he passed away as a consequence.

He sacrificed himself for the Nine Provinces Cultivation World.

As for Zhao Yan of the Zhao family, he perished dutifully trying to save his master.

As to whether people believed that Yao Chen was truly a Formation grandmaster, or whether Medicine King Valley conducted a private investigation, that remained unknown.

Nonetheless, the Zhao family decided.

To commemorate Zhao Yan, the young hero who bravely met his death in an attempt to save his master, they would:

Host a grand banquet on the twenty-ninth day of the sixth month.

In Gusu City, for three days!

PS: Double monthly tickets, seeking support from my dear readers~