Chapter 6 - Banquet Guests

Qing Xuan Peak was one of the 108 main peaks of the Tian Xuan Sect. Zhang Xuanyu, the ancestor of the Zhang family, was one of the true disciples of the current Peak Master. He was quite powerful. It was said that he had already reached the Golden Core Realm 150 years ago. He had dozens of children and countless grandchildren.

It was naturally impossible for a Golden Core cultivator to manage the cultivation resources of all his descendants. Other than one or two extremely talented juniors, the other descendants were basically left to fend for themselves.

Naturally, it was the same for Zhang Jianqiang and Zhang Jianchi. Even so, they were still much better than ordinary disciples. At the very least, they could pull off tiger skin to make a coat.

He Qingge had already found out about the Zhang family, including Zhang Jianqiang and Zhang Jianchi. Having experienced the troubles of his previous life, he naturally understood the importance of information.

For more than 20 years, apart from managing his connections, he had also been setting up an information network.

Zhang Jianqiang was about 70 or 80 years old. He had a technique to keep his face young, so he did not look old. He was quite shrewd. Two years ago, he was still an outer sect disciple at the 12th level of Qi Refinement. It could be seen that he had not yet entered the Foundation Establishment realm. After all, the treatment of inner sect disciples and outer sect disciples could be said to be worlds apart.

There was no need to hide the news of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Zhang Jianchi was Zhang Jianqiang's younger brother. His exact age was unknown, but it seemed that many people had been blackmailed by him before. However, every time they were blackmailed, their backgrounds would be investigated in advance. He was vicious and narrow-minded.

He had never announced his strength to the public, and he had successfully cultivated the skill—Breath Holding.

However, he should not be in the Foundation Establishment Realm or an inner sect disciple at the moment. Assuming that his cultivation level was also in the late stage of Qi Refinement.

From the sect mission issue, it could be seen that someone wanted to force He Qingge to go out. The expression and tone of the disciple of the Merit Room also proved this point. At present, the biggest suspect was Zhang Jianchi.

After analyzing all the information, He Qingge had a headache. The opponent's strength was far above his. Now, he was only a small shrimp at the fifth level of Qi Refinement. Even if his Berating was high, it would be difficult to kill an opponent at the 12th level of Qi Refinement.

However, he had to complete a sect mission. If he did not, he would be forced to complete a difficult mission, which would be even more dangerous.

If that was really the case, He Qingge would suspect that he would have to face Zhang Jianchi during his mission. Now, there was still room for choice.

He Qingge's first thought was to dodge. He knew that he would definitely not be able to defeat Zhang Jianchi. The difference in strength was too great.

However, he had already been hiding for four months, and the other party still did not want to let him go. If he could continue to hide in the sect, He Qingge would be happy to. Now, it was obvious that he could not. The sect mission was a huge obstacle, and the other party was forcing him out.

His own network could not affect the Merit Room.

The only person he knew who had power was Su Zimei, but was it really okay to plead with her?

Su Zimei's talent and beauty were definitely top-notch. There were countless bootlickers in the sect. If these bootlickers saw or found out that Su Zimei was standing up for him... Just thinking about it could make his scalp go numb.

He Qingge had never taken the initiative to look for Su Zimei. She was always the one who came to look for He Qingge. Su Zimei was powerful, and no one could monitor her, including the Peak Master.

It had always been peaceful for her.

However, it was different for him. If someone saw him, he would really be done for.

"Damn it, damn it! Why is it so troublesome to cultivate peacefully?" He Qingge felt helpless. He clenched his fists and sighed at how weak he was.

There was no time to delay. He wanted to participate in the Imperial Beast Peak's disciple selection in four months. He had to complete the sect mission before that to make it back in time. 

Even if he wanted to delay it, he could at most delay it for three months. However, time would be tight.

If that really happened, not to mention the difficulty of the mission, it would be impossible to return to the sect in a month.

He could only rely on himself at the moment. The obvious advantage was that Hearing had given him a powerful perception ability that far exceeded ordinary people's. Even those at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm who did not specialize in cultivating perception spells could not compare to him.

Other than that, there was also his grandmaster-level Berating skill that was effective against the Golden Jade White Tiger at the peak of the Qi Refinement Realm. It might have an unexpected effect.

He Qingge checked the things he had stored up over the years.

[Items: Small storage bag, Cleansing Talisman x3, Vajra Talisman x10, Flying Sword Talisman x20, Body Lifting Talisman x60, old Taoist robe x2, Qi Fostering Pill x2, Sky Shaking Thunder x30, low-grade spirit stone x98.

This was his 20-year collection. For someone of his strength, it was quite rich. Most of his assets were the benefits brought by the beast milk.

He Qingge was prepared to wait for another month to make preparations. He wanted to have more backup plans. He wanted to cultivate for a month and leave the Zhang family in the dust first. After all, it was not easy to avoid making mistakes under high-level surveillance for a long time. Now, he had been under surveillance for four months.

At the same time, he wanted to see if he could wait for Su Zimei. After she told him about the legacy disciple selection last time, she said that she was going into seclusion. It had been four months since then.

He Qingge was prepared to focus on cultivating Berating this month. If it was already so powerful at the grandmaster level, it would definitely be even more terrifying if he could break through to the superb level.

Secondly, he would cultivate the Light Body Technique, which was used for escaping. If the difference in strength was too great, he would definitely lose more than he would win.

As for his realm, although his talent had increased, it was impossible for him to break through again in a short period of time.

Before he started cultivating, He Qingge had written several invitations. He had said that he would invite his friends to celebrate his obtaining a spirit pet. He could also take this opportunity to collect some money to strengthen himself.

After the invitations were sent out, He Qingge went to the market to buy supplies for the celebration.

He bought demon beast meat.

Long-haired rabbits had soft and bouncy meat and a delicate texture. There was almost no fat. Rabbit head salad was especially delicious.

The streaky pork from Black Mountain Pigs tasted the best. It had a rich texture and distinct layers.

Blood beef was filled with blood and Qi. Eating it for a long time could strengthen blood and Qi, improving one's physique.

...

He Qingge's cooking skills were excellent, and even Su Zimei liked it. She could be fasting, but she still could not help but want to eat He Qingge's food.

In the evening, the ingredients were all prepared. The invited guests arrived one after another. There were not many people, and they sat down at a table.

Li Le, the steward of Imperial Beast Peak's Merit Room, in the late stage of Qi Refinement. Exact cultivation level unknown.

Shen Xu, the manager of Imperial Beast Peak's Spirit Beast Garden, in the late stage Qi Refinement, age unknown. He Qingge's direct superior.

Gu Meng, the manager of Imperial Beast Peak's miscellaneous affairs room, in the late stage of Qi Refinement.

Fang Yuan, Imperial Beast Peak's outer sect disciple, in the late stage Qi Refinement. A first-grade Talisman Master who can refine basic talismans.

...

He Qingge actually knew that these people who were usually friendly to him might not think highly of him. After all, his strength and talent were very low. The reason why he could maintain such a relationship was all because of the benefits of the beast milk.

If they wanted to quickly increase their strength, they needed more resources. Beast milk's spiritual power was gentle, and at the same time, it had high nutritional value and was very beneficial to the body. Therefore, they could not be hostile to him.

He Qingge had gained a lot from the banquet, whether it was talking about cultivation experience, interesting things in the sect, or all kinds of gossip.

After the banquet ended, He Qingge asked Fang Yuan to stay behind, saying that he wanted to learn how to make talismans. The others tactfully left.

He Qingge had learned how to make talismans a long time ago and spent a lot of effort to get started. He could only draw the lowest level of Cleaning Talismans, the Mirror Talismans.