Chapter 106: The Origins of the Southern Frontier

Amidst the dense forest, an eerie atmosphere had settled.

Song Yan remained hidden while the young girl sat alone atop a giant toad, the sound of a beast chewing echoing nearby.

After a moment, a massive scorpion slowly crawled out from the woods, joining the girl atop the toad.

Dangling from the scorpion’s tail were the bloodstained bags of two black-robed cultivators, swaying unsteadily.

The girl casually plucked them off, weighing and playing with them in her hands.

A silver bell tinkled as she withdrew her feet and sat cross-legged atop the toad’s head.

“Why are you still hiding? Such a coward,” she said with a smile, two faint dimples gracing the corners of her lips.

Innocent and playful, yet chilling to the bone.

Suddenly, the scorpion’s tail extended again, thrusting sharply toward his hiding spot!

Song Yan leapt nimbly, evading the sting and landing in the open.

It was clear this time the tail’s speed was slow, lacking hostility.

Still vigilant, Song Yan kept his eyes on her, his fingers quietly drawing a talisman for escape.

To flee in panic before an eight or nine-year-old girl might seem laughable, but it was better than entangling with this strange child here.

Though her spiritual power was weak, the poisonous scorpion she commanded could instantly annihilate an eighth-stage Qi refiner!

That was the most peculiar aspect.

The spiritual power she displayed was barely at the seventh stage of Qi refinement.

Click.

The scorpion’s tail suddenly elongated, blocking his retreat and enclosing him faintly before the girl. Drops of blood clung to the tail’s hook, falling one by one at his feet.

“Senior Brother Song...” the girl tilted her head with a light laugh, “You took the Awakening Pill and ran off, but Spirit’s hard work fee isn’t settled yet.”

She lightly hooked her finger, the tail contracted, forcing him to step forward.

Her pale little hand reached toward Song Yan’s face.

Without any spiritual fluctuation, she gently brushed the edge of his face, then slowly lifted the human-skin mask, revealing his true visage.

Rustling...

The tail withdrew, leaving no barrier behind, seeming ready to depart at any moment.

The girl toyed with the mask in her hand, occasionally donning it herself and making a face at him.

“Esteemed... fellow cultivator,” Song Yan forced a polite bow with hands clasped.

She had called him senior brother, but he dared not call her junior sister.

This person clearly was an elder like Granny Qin, pretending to be young.

“Thanks for your help in escaping this time,” Song Yan said cautiously.

The girl giggled seeing his formality. “No need to thank me, I just wanted this fake face.”

“My name is Xiang Zhaoling.”

She leaned forward, resting on the toad’s head, her small feet swinging behind her, looking at Song Yan with interest.

“Senior Brother Song, I often hear Qingqing mention you. Are you two... a couple?”

Qingqing?

Could she be an elder at Lotus Spirit Peak of the Foundation Establishment realm?

Now that the danger had passed, Song Yan noticed her speech carried a unique accent and a lack of common sense.

He shook his head and replied honestly, “Ah... you misunderstand. Qingqing junior sister and I are good friends, not lovers.”

“Oh...” the girl suddenly understood, then spoke startlingly.

“Then be my lover?”

“...?”

Song Yan was momentarily speechless.

“Oh dear...” The girl looked at his stunned expression with a hint of frustration, “The customs of the Central Plains are so troublesome, feelings have to be cultivated slowly...”

Central Plains?

Song Yan’s heart jolted. Could this person be from the Southern Frontier?

“Ah well, forget it. Maybe we can be casual partners sometime.”

No, this fellow cultivator’s choice of words was a little crude.

She patted the toad’s head, which turned and prepared to leave.

On its back, the girl still held the human-skin mask, waving at him as she turned.

“Senior Brother Song, remember to come find me for secret meetings when you return to the sect~”

Before the words faded, the ashen-green toad leapt high and vanished into the twilight.

“...”

Watching the disappearing figure, Song Yan remained silent, pondering briefly before moving on.

He summoned the Wind Escape talisman again and headed back toward the sect.

The states of Chu and other borderlands never called themselves the Central Plains.

The Northern Frontier was out of reach, likely unaware of the nine border nations.

Therefore, she most likely came from the Southern Frontier south of the Great Tianshan or the East Sea region.

“Is there someone like her in the sect?” Song Yan could not recall.

He had never seen her during his previous trips to Lotus Spirit Peak.

Why did she help him?

Fellow cultivator’s kindness?

Unlikely.

After much thought, he concluded she probably just found it amusing.

As for her strange words, Song Yan did not take them seriously.

Without pause, he returned to Green Leaf Peak.

Entering his cave dwelling, he exhaled deeply.

Had Xiang Zhaoling not intervened, Song Yan believed he could still have escaped, but not without a fierce battle.

Fortunately, the tide turned, saving him the loss of a precious Earth Escape talisman.

Though he expended some spiritual power and a sword essence, he escaped unscathed.

Sitting cross-legged in the center of his dwelling, he meditated, slowly restoring his spiritual energy.

After a long time, he opened his eyes.

From the bag, he took out a jade box and gently opened it.

Inside lay pills similar in size to ordinary elixirs.

They were pale yellow, glossy, with a semi-transparent coating revealing faint patterns.

These were not mere pill markings but traces of the unique refining technique from the Sword Suspension Mountain Alchemy Workshop.

Equivalent to Granny Qin stamping the pills.

In hand, it felt like a smooth, round jade bead, warm to the touch.

The Awakening Pill generally sold for about five to six hundred spirit stones on the market.

However, due to its rarity, the price was often much higher.

Song Yan’s purchase was fairly economical.

“...”

Putting away the pill, his thoughts shifted.

Such a breakthrough pill was rare and hard to come by.

If he tried to relearn alchemy from scratch to become self-sufficient, it would be unrealistic given his current situation.

Now that he had the Awakening Pill, many original plans changed.

The immediate priority was steady cultivation, to break through the seventh stage of Qi refinement and advance to the inner sect.

Yet his vision for the future had subtly shifted.

“Senior Brother Lin Qing said that a year of border duty would yield enough resources to exchange for a breakthrough pill.”

“After the mission deadline, there would be a major sect competition, with elixir rewards as well.”

Song Yan clenched his fists, a gleam appearing in his eyes.

He could stay safely hidden within the sect after reaching late Qi refinement, secluding himself.

But opportunities do not last forever; one missed step leads to many more.

He never saw himself as specially chosen, only that fate offers chances to all.

But when such an opportunity is placed before you, at least you must reach out and seize it!

The path to greatness demands struggle.

To avoid contesting is to resign oneself to an early grave.

“If Senior Brother Lin is correct, then the border duty at Changping still has at least three months remaining...”

“Moreover, the mission deadline is two years; only one year of duty is needed to accumulate enough merit for the elixir.”

“No rush...”

Time was ample—enough for steady progress to break through late Qi refinement!

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