Song Song and I stood atop the wooden library tower, gazing silently over the outer walls of the Sect. The snowy fields stretched endlessly beyond like a white sea interrupted only by the distant forests dusted with frost.

The air was cold, and each breath we took turned to mist before vanishing.

I narrowed my eyes, shut off all other senses, and focused entirely on sensing through my Qi. However, the distance made it difficult, especially for someone who was barely at Foundation Establishment.

“You have a pretty good sensory range for a Foundation Establishment cultivator,” Song Song observed. “Do you use a technique to enhance it?”

“Not really,” I replied. “Though my element is related to the mind, and so is my first technique. So, by extension, that means my mind can handle a bit more and push farther than most.”

There was also Eight Mind Phantoms, a Sky Grade technique that undoubtedly helped.

Still, even with that, I wasn’t satisfied with my range.

“Don’t tire yourself needlessly,” she said. “Just know that some mighty beasts are coming our way. Also, next time, you can just ask. I like to think of you as an extension of myself, so think of me the same way. I can use your abilities, and you can use mine.”

Wow, the wording on that wording alone could cause so much misunderstanding. But I knew her words came from a pure place in her heart, and she really meant them.

“I know,” I said. “But it’s still good to have skills of my own. Anyway, how bad is it?”

“The Blazing Sun Sect might end up getting destroyed after all,” she said, shrugging without a care in the world.

That… wasn’t going to happen. Not as long as the Blazing Sun Immortal was around. The Sect would survive... probably.

Honestly, that Immortal didn’t exactly give off the most reliable vibes. Nor did he seem all that invested in the Sect he’d spent so much time building.

Song Song’s indifferent gaze drifted away from the far fields and landed on the courtyard below, where two people were sparring near the base of the library pagoda.

She was watching Tingfeng, whose sword moved like a flash as he cycled through the techniques he’d practiced over the past week. Opposite him stood Jiang Yeming, the girl who knew far too much. She was winning, her skill and composure making it clear that she had more experience than someone her age should.

“Are they really that interesting, that you’re still keeping them around?” Song Song asked.

“They’re very interesting,” I said, smiling.

Song Song raised a questioning brow at my tone but let it go. “What are you even teaching them?”

“To the bald kid, Tingfeng, I’m teaching him swordplay and trying to help him grow along that path. I’m really not an expert in the field. He’d probably have done better if he’d joined the Titanic Blade Sect,” I admitted. “As for Jiang Yeming, she’s trying to learn arrays.”

“Trying?” Song Song echoed, picking up on my choice of words.

“She has amazing Qi control, probably better than mine. She flew through the basics so fast I almost thought she was talented. Sadly, she wasn’t,” I sighed, not bothering to hide my disappointment.

“Well, you lose some, you get some,” she said.

I wasn’t sure that was how the saying went… but whatever.

“How are those elder meetings treating you? Any new developments?” I asked.

I hadn’t attended one in a while, so Song Song had taken over the role of relaying updates. Lately, she’d actually started paying attention and maybe even listening to the people she was supposed to command.

“They’ve also sensed the beasts pooling in the forests around the Sect,” she said, scratching her cheek. “But they’re hesitating to take action. Their excuse is that we don’t have the numbers for a direct strike. So, they want to wait behind the walls and take them out with defensive maneuvers once the attacks come.”

I nodded.

Waiting it out wasn’t the worst plan. But giving the beasts, many of whom had human-like intelligence, time to prepare? That was risky.

Some of them were even Core Formation beasts. So no, we couldn’t just send a strike team in and expect them to walk back out. More likely, they’d be the ones wiped out.

Quite the twist we’d found ourselves in.

Additionally, there were likely some hidden Core Formation beasts that blended into their environment, and we were unable to detect them. Technically I could detect their mental waves, but even my Qi senses didn't extend that far, much less my mental senses.

“Maybe we should have our own strategy meeting,” I suggested.

“What do you mean by ‘our’? Just you and me? We’re literally talking right now. Holding a meeting in some secret underground room isn’t going to magically make the ideas smarter,” she said, cutting me off before I could even finish.

The teasing smirk dancing on her lips told me she’d done it on purpose.

Really? Now’s the time to tease me?

But Song Song was always going to be her usual self. No strange situation or looming crisis would change that.

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“I meant a meeting between you, me, Ye An… and maybe my two disciples,” I said.

That last part might’ve sounded strange to anyone unfamiliar with the situation. But Jiang Yeming? She knew more than she let on. Her insight was worth listening to.

“Ye An?” Song Song frowned.

“We have to put our differences aside. Keeping grudges right now is useless. It’s unlikely Ye An is going to die anytime soon, so we have to keep our heads above water and stop thinking with our feelings.”

“And what do you want us to do?”

“Form an alliance. Agree not to stab each other in the back.”

“Promising not to stab someone in the back? That’s kind of pointless,” she said. “By definition, backstabbing happens after you promise not to.”

Song Song kept frowning, still grumbling. But I didn’t interrupt. I let her vent. Her scowl didn’t soften, but eventually, she gave a reluctant nod.

“I agree. But if Ye An keeps playing games, I’m not going to take her insults lying down,” she grumbled.

I nodded, already bracing myself for the inevitable headache.

For this to work out, I was going to have to meet with Ye An before the meeting.

God damn, these women were so troublesome. Why were they all so damn hard-headed?

I sighed. “I have to go handle some things.”

“Oh, and since you’re calling those two newcomers, why not include Wu Yan too?” Song Song asked.

I glanced at Jiang Yeming for a brief moment as a thousand thoughts raced through my mind in an instant.

“There’s this crazy theory I have… I’ll tell you about it later,” I said.

Song Song looked confused but just shrugged it off. She didn’t press further.

Then I spread my senses again, this time focusing on Ye An’s Qi signature. It wasn’t hard to find; it pulsed like a flicker of frost in the air, light but sharp and unmistakably hers.

I rose from the library roof, the cold wind rushing past me. A jade platform coiled up beneath my feet, spiraling upward before wrapping around me like a shell.

Then, with a low hum, it launched forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, the jade rippling with translucent energy as I cut through the sky in her direction.

Not long after, I arrived at the border between the outer and inner sects, near the jagged cliffs where the prison caves dotted the mountain face like dark holes, so precise that even modern machinery would have a hard time replicating them.

But what caught my attention wasn’t the looming stone or the dark mouths of those cells. It was the structure nestled just beneath them.

A house.

Newly built, with smooth wooden beams and glass windows that shimmered faintly in the winter light. The paint was white with bold streaks of royal purple.

I floated down and stepped onto the scorched yard, lightly dusted with snow.

But before I could even land, the front doors swung open, and Ye An stepped out with a smile on her face.

“Liu Feng, just the guy I was looking for,” she chirped. “I heard you have an array around your house that lets greenery grow during winter. Can you make one for me too?”

Well… this was not how I’d expected the conversation to begin. When did she become interested in gardening?

“Only if you promise me something,” I said with a shrug.

“What promise?” she asked.

“Just promise me you won't antagonize Song Song in the near future. Also, can you please attend a brief meeting? It will be just us, the younger generation.”

“You sure know how to charm a girl,” she sighed.

“So, is that a yes?” I asked.

“Well… is your so-called meeting actually a secret plot to have me killed?”

“No,” I said, shaking my head.

Ye An narrowed her eyes, looking me up and down like she was inspecting a suspicious package. Then she sighed.

“Whether it’s a ploy or not, I want you to know... while I might not be able to kill Song Song right away, I can definitely kill you.”

“Okay?” I replied, still a bit confused.

“So, I’ll make sure to take you with me to the next life if something like that happens,” she said.

“So…”

“Yes,” she said calmly. “Against my better judgment, I’ve decided to trust you with my life.”

Okay, this felt a bit random. But the last time I’d ignored someone’s behavior and chalked it up to personality, it turned out to be part of a multi-millennia scheme involving body swiping.

So, the only reason Ye An was so easily convinced and so open was because she wanted something. More specifically, she wanted my knowledge. This wasn’t the despair-ridden girl I had once met. This was someone with a future ahead of her, someone with grand ambitions.

The only time I’d really helped her was when I suggested that becoming an Immortal and halting the aging process might slow her condition.

She wanted more ideas like that, didn’t she?

Maybe she saw me as a sort of hope battery, something she could draw from when her own ambition wavered.

Either way, she clearly didn’t hate me enough to wish me harm. And as long as I didn’t break that fragile trust, things should stay stable.

“What kind of flowers do you like?” I asked, playing off our earlier conversation with an easy smile.

“I like blue roses,” she said. Her one icy-blue eye locked onto mine with a sharpness I hadn’t felt in a while.

I waved my hand.

At first, nothing happened. Then a gust of wind swept the snow aside, revealing scorched earth beneath. A square array lit up around the house and yard. Buds of grass pushed through, followed by creeping vines that unfurled, bloomed, and blossomed into blue roses.

It was beautiful to watch unfold. If it didn’t burn through way too much Qi, I might’ve blanketed the Sect’s scorched grounds with it, just for fun.

But when I looked back at her, she was frowning.

“What? You don’t like it?” I asked. “If you want something changed, just tell me.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “But after all your conditions, I thought getting this out of you would be harder.”

Technically, this was an old, outdated array, lost to the passage of time. A high-tier Level 2 formation, and no one else around here knew how to cast it.

Still, it may have come off a bit too domineering. No need to create unnecessary grudges.

“Sorry. I hadn’t considered how that might come across. The array’s free. If you’re still uncomfortable and want to skip the meeting, that’s your choice,” I said.

She sighed and gave me a displeased smile.

“No, of course I’m coming. After all, I trust your word, despite the bitchy company you keep,” she said.

“Thanks,” I said, bowing my head slightly.

“Stop that,” she grumbled. “You make it so damn uncomfortable to say no to you.”

...What was that supposed to mean?