As soon as Cheng Qian opened his eyes, he was startled by a feather duster-like head on the back. He then stared blankly at the feather duster as it turned around and greeted him energetically, "Third Senior Brother!"

The previous night seemed like an illusion. Cheng Qian was still a little dazed and asked in a daze, "What's on your head?"

Shuikeng said happily, "Seven-colored bird feathers, do they look good?"

"..." Cheng Qian walked with difficulty, was silent for a moment, and said sincerely, "It's a bit dazzling."

Shuikeng raised his eyebrows, then looked at his plain robe, which was neither new nor old, and then he felt relieved. He said with some tolerant helplessness: "Forget it, you don't know whether it looks good or not. Come on, we have to go back to the villa today."

Cheng Qian wanted to slap her in the face with the word "I don't understand", but after all, they hadn't seen each other for many years and seemed a little unfamiliar, so he didn't say it. He just lowered his head slightly, looked away, and asked, "What is the villa?"

Puddle: “It’s a new home!”

Cheng Qian put away the money that Valley Master Nian gave him, hung the Frost Blade back on his body, followed the puddle through the woods next to the clearing, looked up and saw Yan Zhengming waiting on a high place. Even though Cheng Qian never cared much about other people's clothes and appearance, he was shocked at this moment.

I don't know what strange mental skills the eldest senior brother has cultivated over the years. In this wilderness, he can still change his clothes neatly and make himself look radiant. In his hand, he holds a folding fan that he got from somewhere, tapping his palm from time to time... He is completely different from the person he was last night.

With the human-shaped pheasant in the water pit as a shining example, he looks like a banished immortal.

Cheng Qian glanced at the puddle with mixed feelings, thinking that this child was spoiled by his head brother. He learned the bad habits of being conceited, but did not learn the ability to be conceited from him.

Shuikeng looked around and asked curiously, "Huh? Where's Second Senior Brother?"

"He wanted to check the formation set up by Han Yuan, and he went back to the villa last night." Yan Zhengming glanced at the puddle of feathers, and wanted to scold her. But for some reason, he held back and said in a natural manner, "You can also run an errand for me. There is a letter from Zheshi, go and come back quickly."

Shuikeng was stunned for a moment, then said with some disappointment: "Oh, I still want to stay with Third Brother for a while longer."

Yan Zhengming thought in dissatisfaction: "He is a grown man, but he has no sense at all."

Unfortunately, it was not appropriate to say this, so he could only say sanctimoniously: "Since he is back, he will not leave again. If you have anything to say, you can come back and talk. Business is more important."

Shuikeng had well-developed wings but a simple mind, and she immediately believed her senior brother's nonsense about "business". She looked at Cheng Qian with some reluctance, and when she saw him nod and promise not to leave, she turned into a little bird, flapped its wings and flew away.

Yan Zhengming sent away the last annoying person. Before he could feel happy, he felt a little inexplicably nervous. He silently despised himself for a while and thought to himself, "I watched this kid grow up. Why should I be so nervous?"

Cheng Qian still felt guilty, and seeing that he seemed to have something to say, he just stood aside and waited obediently. However, after waiting for a long time, there was no sound, and he felt a little puzzled.

Yan Zhengming glanced at him and accidentally met Cheng Qian's eyes, but quickly looked away again. He thought angrily, "Damn it, he's still nervous. What the hell."

So he turned around, put on a face that was as frugal as gold, and said, "Let's go."

After saying that, he flew up into the sky on his sword first, with his sleeves of robe fluttering in the air as he waited for Cheng Qian. His posture was very intimidating, and at first glance, he almost had the calm demeanor of a great master. Cheng Qian hurriedly chased after him, but thinking about how ugly his senior brother used to be, and then looking at the back figure in front of him, he felt even more uncomfortable.

Yan Zhengming had several questions in his mind, and finally picked the one that he was most concerned about at this stage, so he asked: "Who gave you that sword?"

Holding that thing in his hand looked like a big gold tooth. It was definitely not something Cheng Qian found himself. It might have been given to him by some shady person.

Cheng Qian replied, "It was given to me by the Nian Valley Master of Mingming Valley."

Yan Zhengming linked the cause and effect of what Tianshuikeng said to him, and guessed that the "Valley Master Elder" mentioned by Nian Mingming was Cheng Qian. He immediately got angry and said, "Mingming Valley? When I went there before, the fat old man didn't even mention it. Is he trying to snatch people from me? Humph, you overestimate your own abilities."

The innocent Lord Nian must be feeling very angry at this moment.

Yan Zhengming continued to ask: "What are you doing in Mingming Valley?"

Cheng Qian: "Use his ice pond to rebuild my body."

Yan Zhengming frowned, and finally put his messy thoughts back, and said seriously: "As far as I know, there is no way to reshape the body except the reincarnation of the soul, otherwise Master would not have..."

Cheng Qian thought about it and answered concisely: "It may be because I happened to cultivate my soul in the Gathering Spirit Jade."

"What is the Soul Gathering Jade?" Yan Zhengming couldn't help but ask, "Can't you just start from the beginning?"

This is a long story. Cheng Qian paused, and finally managed to find the source. He started from the accidental meeting of Tang Zhen between him and Han Yuan, and talked about Wen Ya giving him the Soul Gathering Jade, and how he finally rebuilt his body in Mingming Valley. He only omitted the pain of the wind knife cutting his soul in the Soul Gathering Jade and the seven heavenly tribulations in Mingming Valley.

Unfortunately, Yan Zhengming was not an inexperienced person, so how could he not know what the primordial spirit was?

To cultivate the primordial spirit in one's own body, one must go through thousands of trials and tribulations of the soul. Only by breaking it can one succeed. How much more so in external objects. Moreover, using external objects to cultivate the body has been unheard of since ancient times. If it were really as easy as Cheng Qian said, all the demons and monsters would have already become adults. Why would they bother to practice so hard?

Not to mention the ice pond, even if you soak in magma for decades, you can probably only produce a piece of cooked jade.

Yan Zhengming pressed the issue: "Can a piece of jade, even if it is a divine object from heaven and earth, become good by just soaking it in an ice pond? It's impossible, to be honest."

Cheng Qian almost looked at him with new eyes. The young master who pointed at the monk and scolded him as a bald donkey and didn't know why the monk was angry after scolding him turned out to be so meticulous one day. He saw that he couldn't hide it, so he had to say: "Since it is against the will of heaven, there will be a heavenly calamity."

The sword under Yan Zhengming's feet suddenly stopped in the air: "What?"

His voice was a little dry for a moment: "Is it... a big calamity or a small calamity?"

Some cultivators whose realms jump too quickly will also experience heavenly tribulations, usually three to five. Nine divine thunders are considered the heaviest, representing a small punishment with a big warning. It is a warning from heaven to mortals to cultivate their minds and restrain themselves, and not to be ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth - this is called a "minor heavenly tribulation."

Only when a great being ascends to heaven will a great heavenly calamity befall. Even if the person who has gone through the calamity has the power to move mountains and seas and change the weather in the mortal world, he can only survive this hurdle - it is extremely disrespectful for an ant to struggle for life against the sky, let alone the delusion of living as long as the heaven and the earth.

Legend has it that when a great catastrophe occurs, thunder will be as loud as a bucket, and there will be no way to resist it, and there will be no magic weapon in the mortal world that can protect you.

Cheng Qian paused: "Uh..."

Yan Zhengming immediately confirmed: "It is a great calamity."

Cheng Qian said nonchalantly: "Oh, that's not the case. I have been in seclusion for a long time and my knowledge is limited. I have never heard that there are different levels of heavenly tribulations."

In this regard, Cheng Qian, who had been good at pretending since childhood, was much better than Shuikeng. After he finished speaking, he also showed a little curiosity and asked, "What is the great calamity?"

Yan Zhengming looked at him without saying a word.

Cheng Qian added lightly, "Anyway, I got through it. I didn't feel anything serious. It's probably relatively minor, right?"

Yan Zhengming's eyes began to look a little gloomy, just like when someone knocked over his incense burner when he was a child. He didn't say a word, but just kept staring at the person, with every eyelash visible, forming a shape that said "I'm very unhappy, apologize to me quickly."

In the past, Cheng Qian would usually think impatiently, "I've spoiled you," and then decide whether to comfort you perfunctorily depending on the importance of the matter. However, after so many years, he suddenly felt very soft in his heart - when he was trapped in the Soul Gathering Jade, he was dying. The eldest brother's bad temper, the second brother's toad, the fourth brother's troubles, and even the youngest sister's endless diapers were all things he longed for but could not reach.

Cheng Qian suddenly smiled, his slightly curved eyes forming a delicate hook. He avoided answering the question about the heavenly tribulation and just coaxed, "Brother, I miss you guys so much."

Yan Zhengming: “…”

His heart suddenly began to beat wildly, and he hurriedly said "We're almost there", then left Cheng Qian behind, swooped down under the clouds on his sword, and fled in panic.

At the same time, Sect Leader Yan thought with a heroic look on his face, "Don't expect me not to investigate. When I get back, I'll send a letter to the old fat man in Mingming Valley to find out the truth."

Cheng Qian originally thought that the so-called "mountain villa" was somewhere deep in the mountains and old forests, but he didn't expect that it was actually a mountain villa, located on the outskirts of the city, close to the mountains, with hundreds of acres of fertile land below. The tenants were busy and busy working in the fields but not in a chaotic manner.

The two of them landed on the top of the mountain and walked down. Looking from the high vantage point, they could still see the bustling city not far away.

Anyone who saw it would think that this was the residence of an ordinary landlord.

However, after entering the villa, Cheng Qian understood why Yan Zhengming bought this house.

I don't know who the previous owner of this villa was. This place is backed by mountains and has water. The terrain is very exquisite, and the spiritual energy of the green mountains on three sides is all gathered here. After walking around it, it is not inferior to the Qinglong Island in the East China Sea.

"I have reinforced the courtyard wall," Yan Zhengming said. "There are spells under the bricks to prevent the spiritual energy in the house from leaking out. Even though it is not as profound as Fuyao Mountain, it is definitely better than Mingming Valley."

Still sulking... Cheng Qian was speechless and could only nod in agreement.

After walking around the outer courtyard, there were pavilions and towers everywhere. Occasionally, servants who were cleaning the courtyard passed by quietly. After passing through a garden, I arrived at the inner house. There were thick green trees and tall bamboos everywhere. As soon as I stepped in, I felt that the heat was swept away. When people walked in it, they would involuntarily lighten their steps to avoid disturbing the tranquility here.

"They are not allowed to enter here. Even if you are in seclusion, no one will disturb you," Yan Zhengming said, "Follow me."

He took Cheng Qian straight to the middle of the bamboo forest, where they saw a small courtyard with a wooden sign hanging at the door with the words "Qing'an" inscribed on it. A breeze blew, and the bamboo leaves rustled. Cheng Qian stood in front of the gate, stunned for a moment, as if he had returned to Fuyao Mountain where he had been away for a long time.

The door of the study in the courtyard was half-open, with the four treasures of the study spread out on the table, and a half-hand-copied copy of the "Qingjing Jing" lying across the table, as if the owner had never left.

While Cheng Qian was looking around, Yan Zhengming quickly rolled up the half of the Pure Tranquility Sutra and hid it in his sleeve. He said to Cheng Qian as if nothing had happened, "I... well, I remember your Qing'an Residence was like this. Is there anything different?"

Cheng Qian looked at the lifelike carved windows, the tea tray with charms, the soft chair that could sink you into it, and the scent of seals coming from the side. He knew whose territory this place had belonged to before at a glance, and thought to himself, "It really has nothing to do with it."

But when he saw Yan Zhengming's pretending to be calm, he shook his head and lied, "No, it's almost indistinguishable from the real thing."

Yan Zhengming first breathed a sigh of relief, then he managed to hold his expression tightly and said in a very "master" manner: "That's good, it's reserved for you, come back and live here."

After he finished speaking, his expression became serious, and he glared at Cheng Qian threateningly and said, "Do you remember what I said? If you dare to leave home without telling me again, I will clean up your family."

Cheng Qian was amused and helpless, and couldn't help but choke: "Are you done yet?"

He didn't fight back or retaliate during the whole journey, and was so submissive that Yan Zhengming felt very uneasy. Finally, when he heard the familiar tone, he felt relieved as if a huge rock had fallen to the ground.

Sect Master Yan asked himself bitterly, "Can't you bear to see others treat you well, bitch?"

Then the bitch took a step forward and hugged Cheng Qian from behind. The moment her arms tightened, Yan Zhengming closed his eyes and held his breath, as if he was holding back a strange feeling. After just a moment, he loosened his arms, patted Cheng Qian's shoulders affectionately, and said, "Okay, have a good rest."

Then he turned and left, holding half a copy of the Pure and Tranquil Sutra in his pocket. Only when he walked out of the bamboo forest did he let out the breath he had been holding. With a satisfied and slightly melancholy look, he strolled to the next door, concentrated on immersing his soul into the master's seal, and carefully checked the mountain-sealing order left by his master.

Although Cheng Qian answered one question at a time and was not very detailed, Yan Zhengming keenly felt that his process of being reborn from the brink of death seemed to just correspond to the three disasters of "heaven, earth and man", which corresponded to the three locks in the mountain sealing order... Could it be a coincidence?

He tried to use his soul and the consciousness in the master's seal to fight against it. The master's seal treated him very kindly and would not hurt him, as if it was tolerating a not-so-sensible junior. It only bounced him back slightly, making him feel like an ant trying to shake a tree, and he was still far from achieving the goal, so he should stop trying to be clever.

Yan Zhengming bypassed the "human lock" that he already had an idea of, and turned to the "ground lock" at the back. He probed his spiritual sense into it, and saw four blue, white, red and black grids inside, arranged in four directions. There was a keyhole in each grid. Three of the locks were tightly closed, but the lock belonging to Qinglong was actually opened.

How is this going?