’s eyes immediately showed an expression of unbelievable dread. He knew his Senior Brother intimately.

When it came to natural talent in martial cultivation, among their generation, if Zhan Xuan dared to claim second place, absolutely no one else would dare claim first.

Although decades had passed since their last spar, leaving him unsure of the exact realm Zhan Xuan had reached, even if his cultivation hadn't advanced an inch over those decades, he had already been a supreme master who had condensed the Two Flowers in the past. More importantly, the Two Flowers Zhan Xuan had condensed were not fleeting blossoms without root, but firm ones, capable of establishing the Three-Way Stance.

For such a powerful figure to now appear before him with five severed fingers—what a horrifying affair this was.

He took a deep breath and trembled, “Senior Brother, who could have dealt such a cruel blow? Has some ancient monster who has achieved the Three Flowers Crown Convergence emerged?”

In his estimation, only those supremely powerful ancient monsters who had successfully reached the Three Flowers Crown Convergence could possibly injure Zhan Xuan.

However, Zhan Xuan gave a bitter smile. “Junior Brother, you could never imagine who struck the blow that wounded your brother.”

Zhan Tianfeng paused slightly. “Senior Brother, could it be the Totem Saints?”

When he uttered this phrase, the intense fear contained within was unmistakable.

In his mind, the horror of the Totem Saints even surpassed that of the average ancient master who had reached the Three Flowers Crown Convergence. If he had a choice, he would rather be hunted down by those old monsters than make an enemy of a Totem Saint.

Zhan Xuan shook his head slightly. “No, why would you think of them?”

Zhan Tianfeng’s eyes darted around. Although he knew no one should be nearby, he couldn't help but glance around before saying, “Senior Brother, have you been to the sacred land of the Totem Clan and stolen the totem of the Wolf Totem Clan?”

Zhan Xuan was astonished. “How did you know?”

“That’s simple. Master finally managed to forge a replica of that treasure twenty years ago, and besides that treasure, I truly cannot imagine any other artifact capable of mimicking the complete power of the Five Elements,” Zhan Tianfeng stated as a matter of course.

Zhan Xuan sighed deeply. “Junior Brother, you truly are exceptionally clever. No wonder Master took me up the mountain in the past and left you here.”

Giving Zhan Xuan a look of mild annoyance, Zhan Tianfeng retorted, “Senior Brother, you must be joking. If you wished to trade places with me, this humble junior would be endlessly grateful.”

A flicker of embarrassment crossed Zhan Xuan’s face. “Actually, this time, your brother failed because of that very matter.”

Zhan Tianfeng’s expression immediately grew solemn. “Since it wasn’t the Totem Saints, then who was it?”

A sharp gleam flashed in Zhan Xuan’s eyes, and he spoke each word deliberately: “He… Yi… Ming…”

Zhan Tianfeng’s mouth slowly dropped open. Although he had heard the name with perfect clarity from his Senior Brother, his head was buzzing, and he simply could not connect that name with the state of his Senior Brother’s fingers.

“This time, your brother truly tried to steal the chicken but ended up losing the rice,” Zhan Xuan lamented bitterly. “I personally went to battle against him, intending to slay him regardless of the cost, but after one fight, not only did I fail to kill him, but I sustained grievous injuries. If I hadn't abandoned the Five Elements Ring to hold him back, I doubt I would have managed to return at all.”

Zhan Tianfeng’s lips trembled, and he finally snapped out of his stupor. He carefully reviewed his Senior Brother’s words, and his pupils suddenly constricted. He gasped in horror, “Senior Brother, you even lost the Five Elements Ring that Master forged?”

“Yes.” The two words were spat out arduously from Zhan Xuan’s mouth.

“No, this is impossible…” It seemed he could not accept this fact, no matter what. Zhan Tianfeng spoke incoherently, “He Yiming is merely someone who has just stepped into the First Heaven realm, and yet…” He suddenly started, “I know! It must have been the Hundred and Eight beside him who acted!”

Zhan Xuan shook his head gently, extinguishing the last shred of his Junior Brother’s fantasy.

“Junior Brother, the Hundred and Eight did not intervene; he didn't even show his face. Your brother was truly defeated by He Yiming, and I nearly died on the spot.”

Zhan Tianfeng swallowed hard. He suddenly realized his own voice sounded somewhat hoarse. “Senior Brother, how did he accomplish this?”

Zhan Xuan’s expression shifted rapidly, becoming unpredictable. After a long moment, he said with utter bewilderment, “I don’t know.”

Zhan Tianfeng’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head. If he hadn't known that his Senior Brother’s martial cultivation was already unfathomably deep, far surpassing his own, he would have jumped out to accuse him long ago.

Zhan Xuan continued to shake his head. “His weapon, that great Guan Dao, it’s too formidable, and too bizarre.”

“The great Guan Dao?” Zhan Tianfeng asked, surprised.

“Yes, precisely that mystical and wondrous great Guan Dao,” Zhan Xuan said gravely. “If I had faced him barehanded, even if I couldn't win, I certainly wouldn't have been defeated. But when it came to weapon versus weapon…”

Zhan Xuan sucked in a sharp breath. “Senior Brother, is He Yiming’s great Guan Dao more powerful than the Five Elements Ring meticulously crafted by Master?”

The look of confusion in Zhan Xuan’s eyes grew deeper and thicker. Although he had fought He Yiming once—a true fight for life and death—even now, he could not figure out where he had lost, as if he had been inexplicably defeated.

This feeling brought him immense frustration and prevented him from summoning the will to fight desperately; even now, he felt lingering terror.

Although he said nothing, the expression on his face was the best possible answer.

Zhan Tianfeng’s eyes were utterly filled with shock, and he remained silent for a long time.

“Junior Brother, originally, according to Master’s instructions, I was forbidden from interfering directly in this matter,” Zhan Xuan said mournfully.

“Why?” Zhan Tianfeng asked instinctively.

“You should know about the one on Tianchi Mountain who is skilled in the art of divine calculation.”

A flicker of understanding flashed in Zhan Tianfeng’s eyes. “Senior Brother, is this person capable of deducing everything that has happened from the past to the present?”

Zhan Xuan let out a dry laugh. “The past to the present is too much of an exaggeration. However, Master once said that within a span of a century, this old man’s deductions have an accuracy rate of five out of ten.”

The back of Zhan Tianfeng’s neck prickled faintly. Even with only half a success rate, this was an astonishingly terrifying level of foresight.

He finally understood why Master had forbidden Zhan Xuan from acting directly. If people knew they had killed the future star of the Tianchi Mountain branch, their Master might manage to retreat far into the Northwest and survive alone, but the nation of Kai Rong would certainly cease to exist.

“Senior Brother, if that is the case, why did you personally intervene?”

Zhan Xuan’s expression turned exceedingly grave. After a long pause, he said, “Because this person, He Yiming, is simply too terrifying…”

“Terrifying?” Zhan Tianfeng asked, confused.

He Yiming had only recently advanced to the First Heaven realm. How could he be called terrifying in front of his Senior Brother?

“Junior Brother, I condensed my third tangible Flower ten years ago,” Zhan Xuan suddenly stated. “Although I have not yet achieved the Crown Convergence, the momentum for the Three-Way Stance is set.”

Zhan Tianfeng was overjoyed at once and quickly congratulated him. “Congratulations, Senior Brother, congratulations!”

However, there was no joy on Zhan Xuan’s face, only recurring bitter smiles. “When I descended the mountain, I saw He Yiming from afar. At that time, he was just a practitioner in the First Heaven realm who hadn't condensed a single tangible Flower.”

Zhan Tianfeng nodded, calculating the timeline, not finding this unusual.

Zhan Xuan hesitated for a moment, then added, “But this time, when I scouted He Family Village at night, I discovered that He Yiming had already formed a tangible Flower.”

Zhan Tianfeng’s eyeballs protruded once more. If he had been incomparably shocked when he learned Zhan Xuan was defeated by He Yiming, he was now beginning to suspect his Senior Brother had been possessed.

“Senior Brother, perhaps you don't realize,” Zhan Tianfeng ventured tentatively, “but He Yiming only advanced to the First Heaven realm a year and a half ago.”

Zhan Xuan nodded. “I know he only advanced a year and a half ago, but the second time I saw him, he had indeed condensed a tangible Flower.”

The corner of Zhan Tianfeng’s mouth twitched faintly. He finally believed his Senior Brother, and a deep sense of finality settled in his heart.

He glanced towards the direction where Cheng Fu had departed, contemplating if he should pour all his effort into cultivating Cheng Fu to reach the First Heaven realm soon, so he could contend with He Yiming of Tianluo Country in the future.

But at this moment, he profoundly understood that this was merely a fantasy.

“Junior Brother, He Yiming is absolutely the number one genius in martial arts history,” Zhan Xuan said hoarsely. “He not only condensed the Flower of Wind but also successfully condensed the Flower of Fire.”

“Two tangible Flowers?” Zhan Tianfeng murmured, his heart gradually numbing.

“Not only that,” Zhan Xuan’s voice grew even more bitter. “The moment I saw him, he was attempting to condense the third Flower, the Flower of Earth, sensing the surrounding Earth element forces. The possibility of him successfully condensing it is very high.”

Zhan Tianfeng was truly stunned this time. He didn't even know what expression his face wore.

In a year and a half—in just eighteen months.

He Yiming had not only stabilized his First Heaven realm but also successfully condensed two tangible Flowers, and even more terrifyingly, he had begun attempting to condense the third tangible Flower.

One must remember that condensing the Three Flowers becomes exponentially more difficult with each subsequent one. If condensing the first tangible Flower within ten years was considered extremely smooth progress, then condensing the second tangible Flower required nearly twenty years.

But to successfully condense the third tangible Flower? Unless one was incredibly lucky, one shouldn't even hope to achieve that within forty years.

Yet, thinking back to He Yiming’s rate of advancement…

Zhan Tianfeng finally understood why Zhan Xuan had risked everything, even the danger of being discovered, to kill He Yiming.

If such a person were given more space to grow, who knew what kind of monster he would become? By then, perhaps even their Master himself could not deal with him.

Zhan Xuan gently patted Zhan Tianfeng’s shoulder. “Junior Brother, since my action this time failed to kill him, and I ended up discarding Master’s Five Elements Ring, you must never again be his enemy.”

The muscles in Zhan Tianfeng’s face twitched faintly. Although he had anticipated this, when his Senior Brother actually stated it, he couldn't suppress the grief in his heart.

After a long silence, he sighed deeply. “Senior Brother, what do you plan to do now?”

Zhan Xuan stated seriously, “I will return to Master immediately and beg his forgiveness.”

Zhan Tianfeng said shamefully, “Senior Brother, it is all because I was useless. If I hadn't gone up the mountain to seek help, you wouldn't have descended, and you certainly wouldn't have lost the Five Elements Ring, which Master exhausted his life’s effort to create.”

Zhan Xuan shook his head slightly. “How can I blame you for that? This is all fate; heaven sent down such a monstrous anomaly. Who can be blamed?”

His voice held a strange kind of power. Zhan Tianfeng looked at him in surprise. Although his eyes could clearly see Zhan Xuan, in his perception, he seemed unable to sense his presence.

At this moment, Zhan Xuan appeared to have merged seamlessly with the entire cosmos.

Unity of Man and Heaven—this was the true realm of Heavenly Unity.

“Junior Brother, after I return, if I can receive Master’s forgiveness, I will enter a life-and-death seclusion with him. Until the Three Flowers Crown Convergence is achieved, no matter what happens, I will not emerge,” Zhan Xuan’s voice seemed to acquire a touch of ethereal mistiness. “Kai Rong Country may have to rely on you alone to sustain itself for the next decade or so. You must think thrice before acting and never be rash. Especially when facing He Yiming—I only have one piece of advice: retreat if you can, and even if you cannot, you must still retreat. As long as he does not extinguish Kai Rong, as long as a sliver of life remains, retreating for now is fine.”

Zhan Tianfeng looked up abruptly, but a hint of unwillingness remained in his eyes.

Zhan Xuan sighed lightly. “This person is so powerful that there must be someone even more powerful destined to oppose him. Moreover, he cannot remain confined to Tianluo Country forever. If he remains unfallen and continues to advance rapidly, then that is the will of Heaven, impossible for mortal hands to impede. But if he should fall now, then everything we have lost, we can reclaim twofold.”

A flicker of understanding finally appeared in Zhan Tianfeng’s eyes. He bowed deeply. “Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother, I understand.”

Zhan Xuan nodded. With a sweep of his large sleeve, he turned and departed.

Although this foray ended in crushing defeat—losing five fingers and the Five Elements Ring, which represented the endless hard work of his Master—for him personally, he saw a glimmer of opportunity within the failure.

This was the first ray of dawn he had seen after stagnating for over a decade since condensing his third tangible Flower…

One day later, within a majestic, towering mountain.

Among countless stone chambers, another chamber slowly closed.

A great master whose Three Flowers stood in stable balance entered within. Until he successfully reached the Three Flowers Crown Convergence, the door to this chamber would never open.

Even if this person could never advance further in his life, even if he died inside the chamber—it would be the same!

In the deep, secluded cave, a long, ancient sigh echoed.

“The Will of Heaven…”

※※※※

In the deep mountains, the endless ranges seemed to have no end.

Looking out, clouds and mist, dense at times and thin at others, swirled around the mountain waist, sometimes cascading like waterfalls, sometimes surging like broad rivers. The sharp peaks of the mountains protruded above the clouds, majestic and imposing, resembling armored warriors arrayed in battle formation, guarding the verdant oasis filled with sweet fruit behind them through the smoke of battle.

The sound of footsteps echoed softly behind him. Zhu Baqi approached He Yiming and sighed lightly, “Elder He, in another day, we will reach the main ridge of Tianchi Mountain.”

He Yiming did not turn around; he continued to gaze into the distance.

However, his heart was far from as placid as his expression suggested.

In another day, he would arrive at the main ridge of Tianchi Mountain, where he would meet those masters of the Three Flowers Crown Convergence who existed only in legend. But this was not the true reason for He Yiming’s excitement.

Deep in his heart resided a beautiful, beloved figure.

In another day, he would see her again…

“Uncle Zhu, according to my family uncle, the main ridge of Tianchi Mountain stretches for a hundred miles, filled with countless masters. This humble nephew has long desired to witness it,” Yu Xichen stepped forward and spoke flatteringly.

Zhu Baqi laughed heartily. “A hundred miles is a slight exaggeration, perhaps a few dozen miles exist, but if not for that, how could the main ridge of Tianchi Mountain be called the number one sect in the Northwest?”

His voice was filled with pride, clearly showing deep affection for Tianchi Mountain.

He Yiming nodded slightly; he did not reject the main ridge of Tianchi Mountain. After all, even the Hengshan branch was one of Tianchi’s tributaries, and over thousands of years, it had received care from the main lineage many times.

To claim to have no goodwill toward the main lineage would be disingenuous.

However, a slight disturbance moved his heart, and his brow furrowed. “Brother Zhu, Tianchi Mountain is so vast; will we be able to reach the main peak of Tianchi tomorrow?”

Zhu Baqi was momentarily stunned. He seemed to guess what He Yiming was thinking and smiled, “Elder He, the accompanying disciples from Hengshan all possess the cultivation of the Eighth Layer of Inner Strength. If we hurry tomorrow, reaching the main peak will definitely not be a problem.”

He Yiming’s face flushed slightly, but since he had received the answer, his heart settled.

Just as he was about to speak, his ears twitched twice, and his gaze shot towards the distance in surprise.

Seeing his expression, Zhu Baqi was momentarily taken aback. “Elder He, what happened?”

He Yiming pointed in that direction. “Someone, and spirit beasts, are coming toward us.”

A look of surprise appeared in the eyes of Zhu Baqi and the others, but no one made a fuss. With the strength of the three innate experts among them, as long as the arrivals were not experts at the level of Three Flowers Crown Convergence, there would be no issue.

Moreover, they were not far from Tianchi Mountain; even if they encountered transcendent experts, most would likely be elders from Tianchi.

A moment later, a loud cry carried faintly from the distance. Upon hearing this sound, Zhu Baqi suddenly showed an expression caught between laughter and tears, as if he had already understood what was happening.