As was absorbed in his gaze, Li Yunniang approached with a light, sharp laugh. "What are you staring at? That is a gift bestowed by the Sovereign of the Danquan Sect, personally refined by Elder Mingdan. Even if you envy it, you can't attain it. Even if it were placed before you, you wouldn't be able to use it."

Zong Shou’s lips twitched as he withdrew his gaze. He wondered if Li Yunniang had hit menopause; the woman was entirely prickly, like a hedgehog.

The Minor Qiankun Pouch was a spatial artifact. Since it was named Qiankun (Heaven and Earth), it naturally possessed a universe within. Inside lay a miniature world; even the smallest Minor Qiankun Pouch could hold a space spanning two hundred meters in circumference.

It was crafted from the hide of a Tier Eight superior spirit beast, and the artificer needed to be above the Sun-Roamer realm.

In the early days of the God Emperor Game in his previous life, a Qiankun Pouch could fetch an astronomical price. It wasn't until the name Sword Emperor gradually spread throughout the Cloud Realm that he managed to slay over a dozen Tier Eight superior spirit beasts to craft Minor Qiankun Pouches. Taking advantage of the high prices then, he earned a massive fortune and established quite the estate.

Later on, he even managed to acquire one in reality.

However, in this era of Dingfei, items like the Minor Qiankun Pouch should be exceedingly rare. Even for a spiritual mansion sect like Danquan, they likely possessed no more than eight or ten.

The fact that Elder Mingdan could bestow such an item upon Xuanyuan Yiren demonstrated the immense affection he held for this female disciple.

He was certainly envious. In later ages, there were even smaller Void Rings, containing only one to ten meters of space. But they were cheap, extremely common, affordable even for a moderately wealthy family.

In this era, though, the Minor Qiankun Pouch represented the lowest grade of spatial artifact. It would be dishonest to say he wasn't envious.

"I've heard something about the refining methods for Void Rings. I recall that west of the East Lin Cloud Continent, there are deposits of Sumeru Stone. One of those sites is not far from Qiantian Mountain. I've cultivated soul power now, so perhaps I can try refining a couple myself. Carrying all these things on my person is truly inconvenient!"

Zong Shou unconsciously stoked the campfire before him, causing the flames to surge higher.

Just as he was recalling the necessary materials for a Void Ring besides Sumeru Stone, Chuxue and Lian Fan returned, each carrying prey—three Tier Two Snow-Patterned Boars, one weighing over four thousand jin.

Zong Shou's brow arched, sparking his interest. He took over the roasting personally. Though the wild forest was teeming with ferocious beasts, most of their meat was tough and unpalatable.

But the Snow-Patterned Boar, being a superior spirit beast that was exceptionally lazy, had meat that was comparatively tender and exquisitely flavorful.

Relying on the skills honed in the game, it took him only half an hour to roast the boar until it was golden brown. Sprinkled with spices, the aroma was irresistibly enticing.

The mortals beside him were all drooling. Xuanyuan Yiren’s eyes sparkled; while maintaining her elegant composure without showing it, her appetite was no less than Lian Fan’s.

Even Li Yunniang, who had been anticipating a spectacle, was taken aback. She devoured half a boar leg in an instant, though her words remained sharp.

"This meat is roasted quite well, but it has long been said that a gentleman stays far from the kitchen. Never mind the great heroes and magnates of this world, but which ambitious Martial Master bothers to study such trivial skills?"

Xuanyuan Yiren frowned slightly, sensing the remark was excessive and was about to interrupt. Li Yunniang, however, continued, fixing her gaze on Chuxue across from her, who was still covered in bird feathers, and sneered mockingly. "Your maid spends every day catching those sparrows on the carriage roof—what use is that? Is it that fun? You are his young master; why don't you manage her? A promising martial seedling, instead of diligently practicing martial arts, insists on playing with those birds every day. If this continues, I fear she will be utterly ruined."

For experience! For experience! For experience! For experience! For experience!

Xuanyuan Yiren frowned slightly, sensing the remark was excessive and was about to interrupt. Li Yunniang, however, continued, fixing her gaze on Chuxue across from her, who was still covered in bird feathers, and sneered mockingly. "Your maid spends every day catching those sparrows on the carriage roof—what use is that? Is it that fun? You are his young master; why don't you manage her? A promising martial seedling, instead of diligently practicing martial arts, insists on playing with those birds every day. If this continues, I fear she will be utterly ruined."

Chuxue had long been fed up with this woman, and hearing this made her even more irritated. Her eyebrows shot up. "It's none of your business if I prefer playing with birds! The Young Master told me to catch birds; even if I’m ruined, it has nothing to do with you! Besides, I'm not just playing. I've already managed to increase my capture rate to 168 sparrows, only missing sixty before! I doubt you could do as well! If you're so capable, why don't you try it yourself? Giving empty lectures is no measure of skill!"

When Zong Shou heard Li Yunniang’s phrase, ‘playing with those birds,’ he could barely contain his laughter, his thoughts drifting involuntarily. Hearing the rest, he nearly doubled over in silent mirth.

Li Yunniang gave a cold—and even more contemptuous—glance at Zong Shou. She said no more, retrieved two birdcages from the carriage, and swiftly vanished into the woods. In just fifteen minutes, she reappeared.

The birdcages were stuffed full of sparrows, exactly two hundred birds.

Li Yunniang smiled confidently. After releasing them all, she stood in the center of the clearing. Her figure blurred and shifted as she snatched back the birds that tried to fly away.

At first, it was fine, but gradually she became strained. One bird escaped, then three, then five. In a moment, only 120 birds remained within the ten-zhang radius. Li Yunniang’s face was covered in a cold sweat, clearly struggling, and a flicker of shock appeared in her eyes.

When she had watched earlier, it hadn't seemed particularly extraordinary. Chuxue's movement technique was only slightly superior to an ordinary Secret Martial Practitioner, yet she could keep so many birds tightly controlled within ten zhang.

If a Secret Martial Practitioner who had only just reached the peak of the Eighth Meridian could manage it, then she, a Xiantian master, should find it effortless. However, the reality now was the complete opposite of her expectation. Her speed was nearly double Chuxue’s, yet she couldn't accurately predict the birds' flight trajectories.

After a while, Li Yunniang simply gave up, standing still with a dark expression as the sparrows flew away one by one.

Seeing this, Chuxue burst into a crisp laugh. "Look, all the birds flew away!"

Then she looked at Li Yunniang very seriously. "Turns out you can't even play with birds!"

Zong Shou was inwardly in agony from laughing, but he forced his expression to be solemn, glaring sternly at Chuxue. "Xue'er, stop! If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!"

Chuxue stuck out her small tongue and continued gnawing on a boar leg. Her appetite was immense; she single-handedly took care of two legs. She only worried she couldn't eat more, wishing no one would talk to her.

Meanwhile, Xuanyuan Yiren was thoughtful. After pondering for a moment, she couldn't help but look at Zong Shou with a touch of admiration. "Did you devise this method? It truly is an excellent tactic, perfectly suited for Chuxue! Chuxue’s intuition is also quite formidable..."

Li Yunniang’s face turned even ashen. With a cold snort, she walked back to the campfire and sat down again, her face shifting between dark and gloomy, appearing utterly bizarre under the firelight.

Afterward, neither Xuanyuan Yiren nor Li Yunniang spoke another word. When the mortals had eaten their fill, they sat quietly by the fire to rest.

Zong Shou sat cross-legged, appearing to be asleep. Yet, his hand inside his sleeve never left the hilt of a Cloud-Patterned Flying Dagger.

He cleansed the blade with Qi, nourished the edge with spiritual energy, and used his spiritual consciousness to bridge the gap, copying slivers of the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent onto the blade.

The material of the Cloud-Patterned Flying Dagger was virtually at the peak of talismans weapons; it could carry five times the sword intent of a Willow Leaf Talisman Knife.

And since Zong Shou had already reached the Nascent Soul realm, copying the Shocking Cloud Divine Annihilation Sword Intent was now easy and fluid.

However, the number of knives he carried on his person had decreased, now only four.

Although his Six Spirits Blade Control Art ensured every strike found its mark, the mental exertion required for each throw was significant. The more focused he was, the more formidable the killing power became.

Chuxue had long been fed up with this woman, and hearing this made her even more irritated. Her eyebrows shot up. "It's none of your business if I prefer playing with birds! The Young Master told me to catch birds; even if I’m ruined, it has nothing to do with you! Besides, I'm not just playing. I've already managed to increase my capture rate to 168 sparrows, only missing sixty before! I doubt you could do as well! If you're so capable, why don't you try it yourself? Giving empty lectures is no measure of skill!"

When Zong Shou heard Li Yunniang’s phrase, ‘playing with those birds,’ he could barely contain his laughter, his thoughts drifting involuntarily. Hearing the rest, he nearly doubled over in silent mirth.

Li Yunniang gave a cold—and even more contemptuous—glance at Zong Shou. She said no more, retrieved two birdcages from the carriage, and swiftly vanished into the woods. In just fifteen minutes, she reappeared.

The birdcages were stuffed full of sparrows, exactly two hundred birds.

Li Yunniang smiled confidently. After releasing them all, she stood in the center of the clearing. Her figure blurred and shifted as she snatched back the birds that tried to fly away.

Just as dawn broke, and the Wind-Taming Colts were rested and the mortals prepared to move on, a streak of fire suddenly shot up from the distant woods, piercing the sky. It exploded five thousand zhang high, clearly displaying the character 'Dan' in blazing crimson light, visible for a thousand li.

Li Yunniang’s expression tightened upon seeing this. Xuanyuan Yiren also subconsciously stood up, poised to rush toward the flare, but she abruptly stopped. She glanced at Zong Shou, a look of hesitation crossing her face.

It was Zong Shou who stared fixedly at the sky before saying calmly, "That is your Danquan Sect's Fire Signal Talisman. Any fellow disciple within a thousand li is summoning you. It’s either a request for help or a life-or-death crisis. It shouldn't be far from here, less than sixty li. Miss Xuanyuan, why aren't you hurrying?"

Xuanyuan Yiren looked at Zong Shou in surprise, perhaps astonished by his breadth of knowledge, but she still didn't move, her expression remaining tentative.

Seeing this, Zong Shou shook his head. "Miss Xuanyuan, don't overestimate yourself. You only reached the Xiantian realm by borrowing the power of external elixirs. Those people haven't made a move yet for other reasons, not because of a mere Xiantian like you. Besides, I have Lian Fan and your maid here. Even if some misfortune occurs, they can hold out until you return."

Xuanyuan Yiren paused slightly, still unable to make a decision. Although Zong Shou's words were perfectly logical, something about them felt slightly off to her.

However, she couldn't pinpoint what it was at that moment. At this time, Li Yunniang also stood up and inclined her body in a respectful bow. "Miss, please go without worry. Yunniang will watch over things here. Failing to answer a summons from a fellow disciple is no small offense. If your companion only needed assistance, that's one thing, but if they face a mortal peril, then..."

Before she finished speaking, Xuanyuan Yiren darted away like a nimble swallow. She formed a hand seal and soared into the air. In an instant, she shot out hundreds of zhang, leaving behind only the words, "I'll be right back," before her figure vanished into the sky.

Silence returned to the woods. Everyone waited quietly. About half a cup of tea's time later, Zong Shou smiled faintly, strapping both the Thunder-Fang Sword and the Black Wave Sword to his waist. Then, with a leisurely and composed air, he leaned against the giant tree behind him, looking lazily toward the suddenly eerie and deep forest.

What was meant to come would eventually arrive. He had waited a full five days for this confrontation. If he didn't dye his approach with the blood of these petty villains, the journey back would surely be dull, wouldn't it?

Lian Fan was clearly experienced in battles and immediately gripped his weapon. Chuxue and Li Yunniang simultaneously adopted wary stances.

Moments later, three figures sauntered out of the woods, positioning themselves in distinct spots, stepping out from the shadows.

One was slender, another resembled a scholar, and the last was powerfully built. Each wore a weapon at their waist, all sword-shaped, but differing in length, width, and thickness.

The leader was none other than Ren Qianchou, who spoke as he approached. "I recall saying a few days ago: within half a month at most, I, Ren Qianchou, would certainly take the Young Duke's life! I have come now, as promised..."