Early morning, the red sun was about to rise, and the thin mist had not yet dissipated.
A crowd of clan members gathered in the square in front of the mansion to bid farewell to the two family juniors who were about to enter the sect.
Qin Long patted his son on the shoulder and smiled heartily, "I've already told you everything that needs to be said, no need to nag anymore. My son, just go to the sect and cultivate; don't worry about me. When your cultivation is accomplished in the future, just remember to come back and visit."
Qin Feng tugged at the corner of his mouth, trying to smile, but he couldn't, so he just nodded and grunted softly.
Not far away, Qin Xi was being held tightly by a weeping woman.
This was her mother.
To the woman, her daughter had now become a cultivator, and their family had received the care of the clan, living a life of no worries about food and clothing. Just cultivating well within the family was enough, so why go to the sect?
The two clan members who had joined the sect from the previous generation had not survived, so she was somewhat worried about her daughter's safety, thinking the sect must be full of dangers.
However, Qin Xi was gentle on the outside but strong-willed inside, filled with longing for cultivation. Otherwise, she wouldn't have stubbornly snatched this spot from several direct lineage youths in the family.
At this moment, the clan leader walked out from the mansion.
Qin Xi's father quickly pulled away his wife to avoid delaying important matters, "Alright, alright, it's a great fortune that Xi can join the sect. Why are you always crying?"
Qin Xi also said, "Mother, don't worry. I will take good care of myself. Besides, there are family elders in the sect to look after me; nothing will happen."After some persuasion, Qin Xi's mother finally stopped crying and stepped aside after a few more admonishments.
The old clan leader stepped forward, said a few simple farewell words, then summoned the Shadow Leopard, ready to depart.
Qin Feng bowed deeply to his father, performing a full ritual before standing up and sitting on the Shadow Leopard's back with Qin Xi. The old family master then took them flying towards the commandery city.
Qin Long did not accompany them; as the clan leader, he needed to stay behind to hold the fort. Otherwise, with only the third granduncle, an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator with weak war power, it would be hard to deter outsiders.
After all, the Huang family had recently suffered a significant loss due to an intruder. The Qin family couldn't be careless. Qin Long thus didn't personally see his son off to the commandery city. One could only imagine his thoughts if he knew that it was actually his son who caused the Huang family's troubles.
The Shadow Leopard soared high, and Qin Xi turned her head to look at her parents below, waving at them.
This spiritual beast flew extremely fast, and soon, they could no longer see the figures of their clan members below.
Qin Xi wasn't overly worried about her family. No matter how things turned out in the sect, the clan would take care of her parents, and she had two younger siblings to honor their parents.
However, being away from home for the first time, she felt a bit uncomfortable.
The old family master sensed their low spirits and laughed heartily, "No need to be sad. After you join the sect, it's not like you can't come back to visit. Once you have achieved some cultivation, you can take some sect missions that involve traveling out. If it's on the way, you can come back and have a look."
Hearing this, Qin Xi's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "Grandpa, are there many missions outside the sect? Are they dangerous?"
She was slender, with a delicate face, and her voice was soft and pleasant. But her voice wasn't loud. If it weren't for Qin Guanbao's profound cultivation, he wouldn't have been able to hear her on such a fast flight.
"There are indeed many missions. As long as you know your limits and act accordingly, you generally won't encounter much danger."
Qin Guanbao didn't want to dampen their spirits but still warned, "The path of cultivation requires both opportunities and resources, but never let greed cloud your judgment, or you may find yourself in a situation of no return.
There are countless cultivators in the world, with endless cunning tricks. Some people specifically set traps to exploit others' greed to gain resources for their cultivation.
Of course, even though such people can profit temporarily, they may easily encounter tough opponents and, if exposed, won't escape death."
At this point, the old family master began to tell them about various traps and methods commonly encountered in the cultivation world.
Having lived long and experienced much, his humorous and witty manner made these gruesome stories quite captivating for Qin Feng and Qin Xi.
Finally, he instructed, "I tell you these not to make you plot against others, but to make you more thoughtful in handling matters to avoid falling into others' traps and losing your lives in vain."
They both nodded, acknowledging his words, feeling a deeper sense of caution towards other cultivators in the cultivation world.
Qin Guanbao's lifebound spiritual beast, the Shadow Leopard, was not particularly large among Foundation Establishment Demon Beasts but still about fifteen feet long. Its smooth fur made the ride quite comfortable for Qin Feng and Qin Xi.
Although the Shadow Leopard flew swiftly, with the sound of wind whistling past their ears, Qin Guanbao had raised a spell shield in front of them to shield them from the cold wind.
Otherwise, at such a speed, talking would have been difficult, as opening their mouths would let in a mouthful of cold wind.
Half a day later, they arrived at Tieling County.
This city was built beside a tall mountain ridge.
The mountain was rich in metal veins, producing large amounts of refined iron used in artifact refining each year. Many forces came to buy refined iron and ore here, transporting them to various places for sale, greatly benefiting the families controlling the commandery city.
Outside the city gates, the Shadow Leopard landed.
The people coming and going here were evidently accustomed to seeing various cultivators. Additionally, the Zhao family of the commandery city was from the Beast Taming Sect, so the city residents often saw various spiritual beasts. Thus, they merely glanced curiously at the Shadow Leopard, without avoiding it.
Qin Guanbao put his lifebound spiritual beast into the Spiritual Beast Bag and led Qin Feng and Qin Xi into the city.
As cultivators, they didn't need to queue up like ordinary people and directly entered through the main gate. No gate soldiers dared to stop them.
The commandery city was clearly much more prosperous than a small place like Kun City. According to the old family master, the resident population here was three to four hundred thousand, with countless people coming and going along the streets.
Qin Feng didn't mind; he had seen more bustling cities before and apart from finding it novel, had no other thoughts.
As for Qin Xi, though she found it fascinating, her gentle and quiet nature meant she merely followed silently behind the old family master, without lingering because of the city's prosperity.
It wasn't until Qin Guanbao led them to the cultivator market in the north of the city that the bustling scenes diminished.
In fact, there weren't fewer people in the cultivator market, just not as crowded as outside.
Coming here, Qin Feng's eyes were opened wide, whether at the market's shops or the loose cultivators selling various spiritual objects on the roadside. The sights were overwhelming.
This was his first time seeing so many spiritual objects.
Qin Guanbao, seeing their amazement, stroked his beard and smiled slightly.
Recalling his first visit here, he had performed much worse than these two children, showing that they indeed had some self-control.
"This entire area is actually a residential zone for cultivators, separated by an array. Though within Tieling County, it's like a city within a city. Except for a few ordinary clan members from cultivator families who work here, ordinary people generally don't come here.
Of course, they wouldn't be able to enter even if they wanted to. Although the Eye-Blocking technique at the entrance is simple, it's beyond the sight of ordinary people, thus preventing them from inadvertently offending any cultivators and losing their lives."
Qin Guanbao smiled slightly, "Let's go. We'll first settle at the sect's station, then come out for some sightseeing."