novelraw Chapter 129: A Sudden Premonition
Chapter 129: A Sudden Premonition
With no suitable replacement for the Enforcement Elder position, Qi Xiu’s eyes eventually fell on Ming Jiu.
The boy had a steady temperament—quiet, unflappable, rarely swayed by impulse. Zhao Yao had finally learned to read and write; there wasn’t much left for the Transmission Elder to do anyway. So Qi Xiu reassigned duties. Ming Jiu became the new acting Enforcement Elder, temporarily shouldering the sect’s internal supervision in Qi Xiu’s stead.
Once everything was settled, the ripple from He Yu’s defection settled into a dull ache rather than a storm. The boy had never handled day-to-day affairs; on the surface, the sect barely felt his absence. Qi Xiu spent a few extra quiet days with Minniang—long walks, shared meals, small touches that said more than words—then sealed himself away once more.
This time his Dao Heart felt different. Tempered. Unbreakable. The third major bottleneck of Qi Refining loomed ahead, but the light at the far end was no longer faint. He vowed to himself: he would not emerge until he reached the ninth layer.
The grass hut’s door was barred from inside. No external distractions were allowed. In the center of the bare room sat only Qi Xiu, cross-legged, surrounded by faint wisps of Spiritual Qi. A large vat of clear water stood in the corner—nothing else.
The air hummed.
The Nameless Compass spun at full power, glowing cherry-red, emitting sharp, stuttering cracks like it might shatter at any second. Qi Xiu’s body burned in sympathy. Sweat poured off him in sheets, rising in white vapor from his scalp. Teeth clenched, he threw everything into the assault—wave after wave of boiling Spiritual Qi slamming against the invisible wall.
Zzzzt… zzzzt…
“Dao is heartless!” The words tore through his mind like a roar. “If He Yu can abandon everything for the Dao, then what are human feelings? What is life itself?”
“Break this barrier or die trying. Wife, disciples, sect—they each have their own fate. If I die here, they’ll survive without me. I can’t carry everyone anymore. I won’t.”
“Life brings sorrow. Death brings no pain. Without the willingness to throw your life away, how dare you ask for the Dao? How dare you dream of longevity?”
“Fortune? Calamity? They are both Heavenly fate—and the heart of man. Seek fortune and avoid disaster, and disaster finds you anyway. Stake your life on the fight, and fortune comes on its own!”
“I’ve done good. I’ve done evil. Cause and effect don’t cling to me—so I will seize my own destiny!”
Countless thoughts screamed and clashed inside his skull, refining his Spiritual Qi sharper with every collision. Relentless. Endless. Until the barrier cracked.
One month later.
Pop.
The Nameless Compass gave a final dull thud and dropped to the floor.
Qi Xiu opened his eyes slowly. Seven-colored light swirled briefly in his pupils before fading. His aura surged outward—solid, unmistakable.
Qi Refining Layer Nine.
A wild grin split his sweat-drenched face.
“Good! Nothing stands between me and Foundation Building now. One more step on the Great Dao!”
He swallowed several pills in quick succession, slapped a Clear Mind Talisman onto his chest, and began circulating his Qi carefully, stabilizing the breakthrough.
The Spiritual Qi pool had expanded dramatically. The fifth aperture of the Seven Orifices Exquisite Heart flickered to life.
He probed it gently.
The fifth innate talent revealed itself.
Sudden Premonition.
He had felt the seeds of it long ago—ever since he began practicing Seek Advantage, Avoid Calamity Technique, his instincts had sharpened day by day. A same-realm cultivator approaching? He would sense it before they entered his field of vision.
Now that vague awareness had crystallized into something far sharper.
Sudden Premonition didn’t just warn of danger nearby. It could reach across vast distances. It could pierce through cultivation gaps. As long as the matter concerned his fortune or misfortune, no matter how far away, no matter how strong the source—it would tug at his heart like a thread pulled taut.
A practical, lifesaving gift. Far more useful than most of his other talents.
Qi Xiu laughed softly to himself.
“Seek advantage, avoid calamity… now I can finally live up to the name.”
He was still savoring the thought—
—when his heart lurched.
A violent thump against his ribs.
Clear. Immediate. Imminent disaster.
Qi Xiu’s smile froze.
“How is this possible? So soon?”
His brows knitted together.
“Does this talent just cry wolf?”
Before he could doubt further, the warning sharpened again—undeniable.
No time to think.
He blasted the barred door apart with a palm strike, leapt onto the main hall roof, and scanned the horizon.
The alarm came from the west.
Closer.
Closer.
Immortal Grove Hollow already sat in the northwestern corner of White Mountain. Farther west lay only a handful of Shandu vassal sects… and beyond them, the endless, poisonous Death Marsh.
Qi Xiu focused westward.
Deep night. No disciples had noticed his emergence. The world lay silent.
Then—
A single figure streaked in from the west.
No hesitation. Straight through the sect array. Heading directly for the hidden zone where the Chu family stashed their trafficked infants.
Qi Xiu’s eyes narrowed.
“Chu Duo?”
He recognized the silhouette at once.
Arms spread, he activated a Light Body Talisman and Spirit Monkey Movement Art together, flashing forward.
The high-grade illusion array concealing the deaf-mute couple and their infants was already fading—slowly dissolving into motes of light.
Chu Duo’s face was the color of old parchment. Breath ragged. Chest rising and falling in shallow, wet gasps. He was hurling a living infant straight into the vanishing array.
Qi Xiu’s stomach twisted.
He dropped to his knees in front of Chu Duo.
“The child has done nothing! Why this cruelty?!”
Chu Duo shot him a venomous look.
“Spare me your cheap pity…”
He staggered, propping himself against a tree trunk, gasping.
The illusion array finally winked out completely. Three lives—gone in an instant.
Chu Duo’s shoulders sagged with relief.
“We’ve been exposed,” he rasped. “Emergency measures. After I die, use this—”
He tossed over a small porcelain bottle.
“Corpse-Dissolving Powder. Reduce my body to nothing and bury it. Then… leave it to fate. If they don’t find me, fine. If they do—remember: insist the Wei family ordered everything. It was all Wei Tong’s idea. Our Chu family raised you, helped you for years. Exactly for a day like today. You won’t forget your promise.”
“Exposed…”
Qi Xiu nearly staggered.
So soon.
Chu Duo slid down the trunk until he sat cross-legged. He closed his eyes, murmuring to himself, clearly preparing to end his own life.
“No!”
Qi Xiu roared.
If Chu Duo died here, would he really be forced to turn mad dog and drag the Wei family down with him? What would happen to Chu Qin Sect? To Minniang?
Sudden Premonition pulsed again.
One thread of hope. Thin. But real.
“No! You can’t die yet! We hide!”
Qi Xiu lunged forward, interrupting the suicide attempt. He hoisted Chu Duo onto his back and sprinted toward the old Lin family secret vault.
“What the hell are you—?!”
Chu Duo, too weak to resist, could only wheeze.
“You don’t understand! The whole White Mountain—more than ten Golden Cores—set a trap for me! If my corpse is found, the Chu family is finished. You’re finished!”
“Shut up!”
Qi Xiu snapped, dignity forgotten.
“There’s a way.”
He flipped aside a stone slab and carried Chu Duo into the cramped hidden chamber.
The place had been abandoned since its discovery years ago—too small, too inconvenient. Still the same: a few broken crates, scattered junk.
“This was the previous owner’s secret vault.”
Qi Xiu set Chu Duo down carefully.
“No array protection. But the stone slab above blocks all Divine Sense. I don’t know if it works against Golden Cores… but it’s worth the gamble. You don’t want to die if there’s a chance, right?”
Chu Duo gave a bitter laugh. He glanced around the tiny space, then fixed Qi Xiu with a mocking stare.
“I’ve been here multiple times and never noticed this place. Hiding here… might actually work. But Sect Leader Qi—even from me? Quite the cautious little mind…”
Qi Xiu cursed inwardly a thousand times. The man was half-dead, coughing up blood, and still sharp enough to spot the lie.
He forced a sheepish smile.
“It was never developed into anything useful. No need to mention it specially. Just stay here and recover. I’ll go clean up the traces.”
“Hm…”
With survival dangling in front of him, Chu Duo wasn’t foolish enough to push further. He closed his eyes and began regulating his breathing.
“Disrupt the fading array residue with your Spiritual Qi. Should be enough. Cough… If my Chu family survives this, you’ll be rewarded handsomely.”
“Rest.”
Qi Xiu rushed out.
Back at the array’s former location, the three lives had vanished without trace. He whispered a silent apology, then unleashed a flurry of minor elemental techniques—scrambling every lingering trace of Spiritual Qi.
Just as he finished—
More than a dozen streaks of light flashed overhead.
He exhaled in relief.
Then two of them doubled back.
They descended straight toward Immortal Grove Hollow.
Qi Xiu’s heart sank.
No choice.
He assumed the posture of someone testing new techniques—slow, deliberate movements, Spiritual Qi flowing in neat patterns. Know One’s Heart cycled quietly, keeping his aura steady. No cracks.
The two figures landed.
“Not here,” the female cultivator said, frowning. “The trace vanished nearby.”
The old man swept his gaze around, then beckoned.
Qi Xiu was yanked through the air and deposited in front of them.
“Heh. Caught red-handed. Still pretending?”
The old man’s grin was ugly.
Under Golden Core pressure, Qi Xiu could barely breathe. He forced an expression of terrified innocence.
“S-Seniors, mercy! I’ll give everything—everything! Just spare my family, my sect, my old and young!”
“Pah! You think we’re bandits?”
The old man slammed him into the dirt.
The woman circled the mountain gate once, returned with a deeper frown.
“No trace. Probably not here. An ant like this wouldn’t have the guts anyway. That one moved fast—definitely not a nobody among White Mountain people. Or… not White Mountain at all.”
She turned her cold gaze on Qi Xiu.
“What are you doing out here in the dead of night?”
Qi Xiu’s mind flashed.
He silently begged the Wei family’s forgiveness.
Then he lifted his chin, feigning righteous anger.
“I am the Sect Leader of this place. I just broke through. I came to my own territory to test a new technique. Is that a crime? Don’t get arrogant—I’m connected by marriage to the Wei family of Shandu! We have a Golden Core Ancestor watching over us. We’re not some rootless little sect!”
“Ohhh? My apologies.”
The old man sneered and kicked him hard, sending him tumbling.
“Which Wei family?” The woman’s eyes narrowed. She yanked him back by invisible force.
Qi Xiu, covered in dirt and bruises, allowed a smug expression to creep across his face.
“Which one? The Wei family of Wei Tong—the old Beast Taming Sect Ancestor! Don’t act ignorant. Remember what happened to Shandu Sect!”
The old man sucked in a breath.
“The Wei family… the ones who moved into White Mountain recently? The timing matches the infant disappearances…”
He exchanged a glance with the woman.
Without another word, they shot skyward, streaking toward Shandu Mountain.