As Elder Han was waiting for the head of Beast Hall to talk to him, he saw a huge skylance roc flying towards the hall and landing nearby.
This one, however, was noticeably smaller than the one he had seen earlier.
Four figures dismounted from its back, one elder and three core disciples. Two of them were male, and one was female. All three disciples bore visible injuries, suggesting they had just returned from a mission.
Elder Han recognized them immediately.
The elder was the Peak Master of Drifting Peak, a Golden Core cultivator who was nearing the Nascent Soul realm. The three disciples were his direct students, and among them, the most well-known was Bai Zhou.
Bai Zhou was regarded as one of the most outstanding talents in the sect. Having already reached Mortal Core Formation in his twenties, he was widely acknowledged as a rising genius.
Moreover, he was the close friend of the Sect Master's son, which elevated his status even further among the core disciples.
Elder Han merely glanced at them before returning his focus to the matter at hand.
The disciples bowed to their master before taking the Roc back to the Beast Hall. After registering it in the records, they returned to Drifting Peak.
Once back at the peak, Bai Zhou headed straight to his courtyard.
As the foremost direct disciple, he had been granted a private residence, unlike many other core disciples who still shared space with their peers.
Entering his courtyard, he took out a fruit from his space ring. The fruit emitted a faint yet intense fiery qi, radiating warmth even through the air.
Without delay, Bai Zhou consumed it and sat down cross-legged to refine its energy. This was a special spirit qi fruit, which he found during the mission he just completed.
Although he had a junior brother and sister accompanying him, he had chosen to compensate them with some spirit stones instead, keeping the fruit for himself.
The qi within the fruit was dense. If fully absorbed, it could significantly fill his Mortal Core and push him closer to becoming a Refined Core cultivator.
It took him nearly an hour to completely absorb the qi from the fruit.
When Bai Zhou opened his eyes again, a faint smile appeared on his face as his mortal core was now half-filled.
But he also knew that such fruits were incredibly rare and opportunities like this would not come easily again.
Just as he was inspecting his progress, a knock sounded at the door.
Bai Zhou stood up and walked over, opening it.
"Friend, how are you? It's been a month," he said with a smile.
Standing outside was Alan Grant, the son of the sect master.
Alan returned the smile and casually placed a hand on Bai Zhou's shoulder as he stepped inside.
"Yeah, it's been a month. Did you find what you were looking for?"
Bai Zhou nodded.
"I did. The spirit fruit was exactly what I needed."
Then, with a light chuckle, he added,
"And I even managed to get an extra one for you."
He took out another fruit, identical to the one he had just consumed, and handed it over.
Alan's eyes lit up as he accepted it.
"Well, that's a pleasant surprise," he said.
Then, with a hint of pride, he added,
"I've got something for you as well."
From his space bag, he took out another fruit.
This one was smaller, but the moment it appeared, a richer and more refined aura filled the air.
Bai Zhou's expression changed instantly.
"Where did you get this spirit nurturing fruit?" he asked, his voice serious.
Alan smiled faintly.
"Do you remember Riven?"
"He was caught stealing and attacking another disciple. He was sent away for punishment, and all his belongings were confiscated."
Bai Zhou's brows furrowed.
"Riven…" he murmured.
"He didn't seem like that kind of person."
His gaze shifted to the fruit, then he questioningly looked at Alan and asked, "Tell me the truth. What really happened?"
Alan sighed as he passed the fruit to Bai's hand. "Well, from some investigation I found that he had the spirit-nurturing fruit, and since you needed it, I wanted to buy the fruit from him."
"But he rejected me and told me to forget about it."
"Soo..."
"I just made some arrangements and got a handle on this."
Bai's face darkened as he looked at Alan. "Why did you do that?"
Alan sat on the chair and said, "Bai, this is just the way the world works. If you want something you have to do everything to get that."
Bai looked at the fruit in his hand. "Alan, but you also need to be aware of the actions of what you are doing."
Alan shook his head. "You won't understand it now, Bai, but you will get that what I did was for your own good."
Bai, looking silently at the fruit, said nothing and put it in his space bag and then looked at Alan. "So something else happened during the time I was gone."
Alan smiled and said, "No, nothing special happened."
"You went so far. What else did you see outside there?
Bai said with a serious face, "While returning back to the sect, we came across a beast tide along with demon cultivators; they were seizing a city."
"And there was even a golden core cultivator among the demonic cultivators, so we couldn't even do something, as Master thought that it might become a dangerous situation for us, as there were even two elemental core cultivators."
Alan's smile faltered slightly. "Demon cultivators attacking a city? And elemental core cultivators too? That's... troubling. Did you report this to the sect?"
Bai nodded. "Of course. Master already sent a message to the elders. They'll decide what to do. But..." He hesitated.
"But what?" Alan prompted, leaning forward.
"It's going through my head that I couldn't do anything in such a situation."
Alan looked at Bai with concern and said, "Friend, why do you have to take on everything? That situation was more than you could handle."
Bai just nodded, but Alan knew that he was still thinking about the city, so he tried to change the topic.
"How about we go to the city? It must have been some time since you had proper food."
Without waiting, he pulled Bai Zhou along.
...
While Riven and the old man were flying, they suddenly noticed someone flying towards them from the front.
Seeing this, the roc slowed its speed, and the old man looked ahead.
The man stopped in front of them mid-air, clasped his hands together, and bowed respectfully.
"Greetings, fellow cultivators."
The person standing in front was a bald monk dressed in a simple brown robe.
Shen Chu frowned slightly.
"What are members of the Buddhist sect doing here?" he asked. "And why are you stopping us?"
The monk replied calmly,
"We received word that demonic cultivators were attacking a city ahead. Our sect has sent us to assist and protect the innocent."
"Since you are coming from that direction, I wished to ask about the situation. Have you seen what happened there?"
Shen Chu shook his head.
"If you are concerned about the city, you need not worry. When we passed over it, the situation had already stabilized."
"The demonic cultivators were eliminated, and the city is safe. You may return, or you may go see it for yourselves."
The monk bowed again.
"Thank you for informing us. However, we will still proceed to the city to confirm the situation and offer any assistance if needed."
He descended to the ground, where a group of monks awaited him.
"Brother Lee, what did they say?" one of them asked.
One of the monks said, "Brother Lee, what is the situation there?"
The monk glanced up briefly at the Roc disappearing into the sky.
"The cultivator said the city is safe. The demonic cultivators have been eliminated."
Another monk asked, "Should we still go?"
He nodded.
"Yes. We must verify the situation ourselves and help if needed."
With that, the group began making their way toward the city.
Back in the sky, Shen Chu looked behind them thoughtfully.
"The Buddhist sect truly is different," he said.
"While most sects would hesitate to send even a Golden Core cultivator, they have dispatched both a Nascent Soul and a Golden Core for this."
Riven did not respond immediately. His gaze remained distant, observing the land below at intervals.
After a moment, Shen Chu spoke again.
"Immortal Master… you mentioned there are many paths of cultivation."
He paused, choosing his words carefully.
"Does practicing kindness, generosity, or goodwill… contribute to cultivation in any way?"
The question lingered in the air, quiet yet profound.