Starting Cultivation During a Trip

In the dead of night, the black sky was like a curtain.

The moon gazed indifferently at the mortal world, just like a fox’s eye.

Qin Ancient Town, South E Street.

The dim streetlights sizzled, their light swaying with the night wind.

Since Zhang Evil died, this street had been sealed off under the pretense of repairing old street buildings, with ordinary people strictly prohibited from entering.

At this moment, a shadow stretched long and approached slowly from a distance, filling almost the entire street as it drew near.

"Who goes there? Entry is not allowed."

A sudden sharp shout burst from a corner. The hidden sentries on this street were all experts from the Jiangnan Province Daoist Alliance, alert at the slightest movement.

"Not allowed?" Chen Dragon paused, a hint of contempt appearing on his beautiful face.

"Not allowed into my own home? The Daoist Sect is indeed overbearing."

"Your own home? Who are you?"

A sound of puzzled exclamations echoed, followed by chaotic footsteps reverberating along the street, like rats scurrying about from all directions.

"Meow..."

In that instant, the boy behind Chen Dragon moved, a strange cry piercing through the eerie night, followed immediately by an extraordinary, terrifying aura sweeping through half the street.

Thuds resounded like sandbags hitting the ground, and the sudden surge of energy dissipated at once.

The street returned to quietude.

"Slurp..." The boy licked the corner of his mouth, his eyes glistening with a peculiar light, his pupils contracting into narrow slits, appearing far from satisfied.

Qiu Buyi, held in Chen Dragon’s grasp, was both shocked and panicked.

This master-servant duo killed like trampling ground, swallowed spirits as if stepping on stairs, absolutely ruthless and unparalleled.

What was most terrifying was that they knew Qin Ancient Town had become a Heaven and Earth Net, a dangerous cage, yet still dared come so boldly—that was what puzzled Qiu Buyi and inspired the greatest fear.

Such people must either be fools or madmen.

"A return to the old place..."

Chen Dragon murmured softly, her gaze scattered, observing the street before her, scanning the surrounding buildings, feeling both unfamiliar and familiar.

He was born here, grew up here.

It was on this street that he spent a carefree, yet arduously diligent, childhood.

Back then, he often followed Zhang Lingzong, alongside a group of clan siblings, scampering from one end of the street to the other.

He vaguely remembered a small alley behind this street, where Zhang Lingzong used to take him daily to practice talismanic magic, covering the walls with graffiti-like talismans.

He didn’t know if that wall was still there.

The cultivation back then was tough, yet joyous, with brothers protecting him, elders watching over him.

Until one day, they all died.

The street lost its former vibrancy as a great fire consumed his past, burned everything he had to ashes.

From that day on, he became like a piece of duckweed adrift in the world, rootless.

And it was from that day that he truly took on the surname Zhang.

"Like asking the Creator on the winds, the road is difficult, and faith is hard to cross. Only red candlelights fill the hall..." Chen Dragon murmured softly.

"Let the cup be gentle, let the song be gentle. Today, looking back at the old garden, the fallen flowers have withered, how many remain?"

At this moment, a clear voice came from afar, melodious and far-reaching, resonating with Chen Dragon’s soft murmur, echoing through the cold, old street.

Chen Dragon’s gaze slightly dimmed, and she looked upwards, seeing a middle-aged man, striding like the wind, walking leisurely in the bright moonlight.

"Uncle Shangqing!"

Seeing him, Qiu Buyi grabbed onto hope as if finding a life-saving straw, blurting out, his taut nerves slightly relaxing.

This night had been extremely difficult for him.

"Qiu Shangqing." Chen Dragon looked at the newcomer, speaking coldly.

"Chen Dragon!?" Qiu Shangqing’s eyes narrowed, scrutinizing this legendary figure.

"Are you an old acquaintance of South Zhang?"

A Celestial Master-level expert appearing here, revealing such emotions, it didn’t make sense unless they were of the Southern Zhang lineage.

Previously, Qiu Shangqing was puzzled as to why Chen Dragon was in Qin Ancient Town, but if his speculations were true, everything made sense.

"More than thirty years ago, your Qiu Family also partook in the destruction of South Zhang." Chen Dragon spoke coldly.

"Qiu Shangqing, you were there then, though just starting out."

"Who exactly are you?" Qiu Shangqing asked in a deep voice.

The Thirteen Zodiacs’ identities were secret, beyond their position, each had an undisclosed identity.

Clearly, this woman had a more special identity concerning the past Dragon Tiger Mountain, South Zhang lineage, beyond being Chen Dragon.

"Back then, your father died here at the hands of South Zhang." Chen Dragon sneered.

"The one who killed him was Divine Oracle Zhang Tian Sheng." Qiu Shangqing’s eyes turned cold.

He had witnessed the bloodshed when he came with the clan experts for trial, and his father perished in that unprecedentedly fierce battle.

"What’s your relation to him?"

"By seniority, I call him Second Uncle." Chen Dragon replied indifferently.

"Are you a remnant of South Zhang?" Qiu Shangqing’s brow furrowed tightly.

"My name is Zhang Nanfeng!"

As soon as these words came out, Qiu Shangqing’s gaze narrowed into a line; beneath the vast heavens, in the expansive universe, all things seemed void except for the woman before him, the one named Zhang Nanfeng.

After more than thirty years, the people of South Zhang had indeed returned.

Bang...

At this moment, Chen Dragon lightly flung her arm, tossing Qiu Buyi aside like garbage.

Such a minor character wasn’t worth her effort; at this moment, only the Celestial Master Qiu from the Qiu Family was in her eyes.