Mo Yixuan’s eyes were currently staring at a mountain peak, one of the nine that surrounded Star Pavilion Valley. He saw a tiny flying cultivator swoop to its heights on his sword, then hop off onto a ledge and walk up the rest of the way. Of course, this was only possible with the enhanced sight of a cultivator—a normal human would need binoculars to catch so many minute details. 

“It exists,” he answered.

“The mountains here form a natural barrier around the valley,” Ouyang Che elaborated. “They’re reinforced by a barrier, so winter never reaches the lands below.”

Mo Yixuan didn’t reply, but his eyes did shift to the lush greenery beneath them.

“There’s a village that lives down there with sect permission. They’ve been around almost as long as us, and provide most of the food and crops for the general disciples in the sect. We cooperate on a bartering system—favors and talismans for grain and other things.”

“Mm.” It was a quaint little arrangement. “Why tell me this?”

“You’re a newcomer, so it’s natural for me to highlight our merits,” Ouyang Che said brightly. “And you’ve yet to answer my question.”

“I have no opinion,” Mo Yixuan said bluntly. He’d found some solace through admiring the scenery alone, but Ouyang Che was growing to be a noisy nuisance. Yet as he turned to leave, he remembered that he still had things to ask the man and stopped.

“I’m almost miffed,” Ouyang Che sighed. “But now I understand a little better, how you were able to improve in such a short amount of time.”

Mo Yixuan waited for him to finish.

“If you really feel nothing for this world, then it can’t hold you back,” Ouyang Che continued. “Abandon ties and sever all emotions. That’s the path to godhood.”

It’s also the path to depression, Mo Yixuan thought privately before he got to the point. “There’s something I want to know.” He tugged the white jade ring off his finger and placed it in his palm. “What’s this?”

Ouyang Che only gazed at the item without reaction. “It’s a ring.”

“Just a ring?” Mo Yixuan asked. When Ouyang Che looked to him for clarification, he told about how it’d been in his closet, then snuck onto his finger and stuck there ever since.

“Maybe it likes you,” Ouyang Che replied, unconcerned.

“And this is normal?” Mo Yixuan asked, the first sign of unease rising to his features.

“Stranger things have happened,” the peak lord went on airily. “Many things in this world are driven by fate. Perhaps destiny tied you two together.”

Mo Yixuan wasn’t satisfied. “But what does it do?”

At that, Ouyang Che leaned in close to study the ring, even prodding it a few times with his fingers while Mo Yixuan watched. When the inspection was done, he leaned back with a satisfied smile.

“Well, it’s certainly very ancient and possibly filled with an unknown power,” Ouyang Che began. “But beyond that, I have no idea why it’s fixated on your hand. I did hear that Mo Yixuan was an avid collector of exquisite objects.”

“Vases and bottles,” Mo Yixuan muttered. “The house is full of them. Not rings.”

“Then maybe this is the first for his budding ring collection,” Ouyang Che explained away easily.

Mo Yixuan’s estimation of Ouyang Che dropped another few notches. Was this man truly a peak lord, or just some annoying fool? The next second, he swung his arm backwards and threw the ring towards the valley below.

“Tut, tut, what a waste,” Ouyang Che said as he watched it fall. “That thing must have been a few times older than our sect.”

“It’ll come back,” Mo Yixuan said grimly. As soon as the object vanished from sight, he felt the familiar coolness embracing his finger again and sighed as he raised his hand for Ouyang Che to see.

“As a general rule, you should treat rare treasures with more care,” Ouyang Che noted.

“A nuisance is a nuisance,” Mo Yixuan replied, but dropped the issue. “I also want to ask about Nan Wuyue.”

“You’re full of questions today,” Ouyang Che brightened. “Settling into your new life?”

“I’ve figured out what I need to do,” Mo Yixuan said simply. “Where is Nan Wuyue now?”

“Finishing his lunch like a good disciple, if he’s keeping up his act.”

“Then I’ll make this quick. Do you know what’s wrong with him?”

“Oh, there are plenty of things wrong with that boy,” Ouyang Che smiled. “Where do you want me to start?”

Mo Yixuan wrinkled his brow but got straight to the point. “He’s not channeling qi properly and it’s damaged his meridians. Moreover, the thing at his stomach, the space there—”

“Dantian,” Ouyang Che supplied helpfully.

“Yes, the qi down there’s supposed to stick together, right?”

“Eventually, when he forms a golden core.” Ouyang Che looked amused. “But for a disciple who’s barely broken through Foundation Establishment stage, that’s still far away from him yet.”

For cultivators, the basic ranks of their cultivation went from Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, and Immortal Ascension. Young disciples all started at the bottom and worked their way to the top, while the peak lords were already at Core Formation or higher. Between Ouyang Che and Mo Yixuan, the former was already a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator while the latter had ascended to peak Core Formation stage after climbing out of the qi refining pool.

“There’s something strange about his qi,” Mo Yixuan muttered. He had observed Nan Wuyue channeling it through his body, which meant he’d seen it pass through his dantian as well. “Almost as if...it doesn’t fit.”

“Fit.” Ouyang Che echoed blankly.

“As if there’s too much of it inside his body,” Mo Yixuan explained. “Without a golden core, I don’t understand how he’d make excess.”

Cultivators who reached Core Formation stage formed a golden core in their dantians, capable of storing and cultivating qi. Otherwise, the energy simply flowed throughout the body in a continuous stream as needed. It was rare for anyone to produce more than they needed.

“Excess qi?” Ouyang Che frowned. “I haven’t sensed any from the boy.”

“It’s not obvious until he starts circulating it,” Mo Yixuan explained. “Most of it remains in his dantian region, but that doesn’t seem normal.” He knitted his brows. “And its movement is rather...chaotic.”

Ouyang Che’s frown deepened. “Train him until he’s well into Foundation Establishment stage. Buildup like that can be dangerous.”

“...how dangerous?”

“Qi is potent energy. Imagine building up an unstable, growing supply in his body without any place to store it. It’s fine if it stays latent, but if there’s ever a trigger to set him off…” Ouyang Che trailed off before abruptly slapping his hands together. “It’ll be over just like that.”

“He’ll die?” Mo Yixuan asked.

“After exploding into pieces from the inside out? Certainly,” Ouyang Che rattled off. “I’ll have to confirm your observations, but if it’s true, start training that disciple of yours to an inch of his life. Exhaustion will relieve some of the pressure inside.”

“What could have caused it?” Mo Yixuan asked.

“Any number of factors!” Ouyang Che waved impatiently. “Physical, mental, psychological—I can’t tell you an answer so quickly, I need to verify the details first.” He prepared to leave, but suddenly halted to spin on his heel. 

“You!”

Mo Yixuan blinked impassively. “I what.”

“Make me some food to go, I’ll take it to Junior Sister Mu.”

It took Mo Yixuan a few seconds to connect the name with the affectionate female peak lord he’d met on his first day. Instantly, his expression grew sour. “Why?”

“I told you I’d keep her away,” Ouyang Che tutted. “That means you need to provide me with bribes.”

Mo Yixuan’s expression turned doubtful. “She doesn’t need to eat eith—”

“I can buy you a month’s worth of solitude with a good meal,” Ouyang Che cut in smoothly. 

Mo Yixuan relented.

—

The two of them headed back to the kitchens, where Nan Wuyue was almost bent double over a large tub of water. Hearing their footsteps, he immediately straightened up with a quick bow. “Disciple greets shizun and Peak Lord Ouyang!”

“Good to know you clean up after your messes,” Ouyang Che said airily as he spotted the pile of dirty dishes by the basin. “How was lunch?”

Nan Wuyue didn’t want to comment. The rice cakes had tasted fine at first, but eating the entire plate by himself had...done interesting things to his stomach. Even two cupfuls of water weren’t enough to quell the fresh fire raging in his gut, and he regretted things sorely.

“F...fine…”

Mo Yixuan’s expression darkened at his disciple’s pale, sweat-slicked face and the hand not so subtly clutching at his gut. Was the excess qi already showing negative effects in Nan Wuyue’s dantian? He should ask Ouyang Che for some prescriptions if it helped some of the symptoms.

“Well, well. Don’t let us distract you from your chores!” Ouyang Che’s eyes roved over the boy from head to toe before he stepped back with a grim smile. “Junior brother, if you’ll lead me to the kitchens, we can continue our discussion.”

Nan Wuyue watched as the two peak lords walked away, noting the severe expression on his master’s face. He wasn’t sure if Ouyang Che was petty enough to talk about his outburst to Mo Yixuan behind his back, but something was making shizun unhappy, that was for sure. Meanwhile, his idea of eavesdropping fell flat when he sensed Ouyang Che put up a sound barrier inside. At the same time, another flash of pain came from his abdomen.

Curse this confounded stomachache!

He’d just have distract himself with training later. He refused to believe that a higher cultivation level couldn’t improve his tolerance for chili paste!

—

“Well?” Mo Yixuan asked when they were inside.

“You’ll have to get him to circulate his qi often,” Ouyang Che replied. “I can’t make a definite diagnosis, but from what I can sense, he does seem to possess a vaster pool than normal.”

“Any side effects?” Mo Yixuan asked. “He looked uncomfortable—should you prescribe something?”

“You’ve certainly started caring for him quick.”

Mo Yixuan’s lips thinned. “This body has a responsibility to him as his master.”

Ouyang Che wanted to keep teasing, but gave up at Mo Yixuan’s increasingly black expression. “You forget that we’re cultivators. To gain something, we have to suffer in turn. A little discomfort won’t kill him when he’s been through worse under your hands.”

When Mo Yixuan continued to glower at him, Ouyang Che only patted him on the back. “It’ll be good training. Or are you starting to worry about that too?”

Immediately, Mo Yixuan’s face turned expressionless. “It’s only natural to do well at a job you’ve been assigned.”

Ouyang Che sighed internally. When it came to changing tunes at a drop of a hat, this master and disciple were one of a kind. “Alright, alright. Hurry up and do your next job, pack Junior Sister Mu something nice.”

Once Ouyang Che wheedled out some handmade snacks from Mo Yixuan’s hands, he left him with some final instructions.

“Since his body’s grown accustomed to holding so much qi, it’ll always generate the same quantity when it’s been exhausted,” Ouyang Che finished. “Don’t let it build up indefinitely—have him deplete it often. The ideal method is to make him use it on instinct, without thinking twice. That’ll break through any self-conservation limiters he has on his qi.” It was only survival instinct: cultivators counted qi as part of their life force, and a full depletion could be fatal. Thus, most of them were careful to hold back, even subconsciously, to prevent draining themselves dry.

“Any suggestions?” Mo Yixuan asked.

Ouyang Che patted him on the shoulder. “Keep him on his toes. Ambush and sneak attacks are all fair game. By triggering his self preservation instincts, he’ll be forced to react with the best and most effective methods available for his reserves. Attacking with full intent to injure would be most effective.”

“You mean to say, I should try my best to kill him,” Mo Yixuan deadpanned.

“In this case, it’d only be helping him,” Ouyang Che smiles brightly. “If he doesn’t improve within a week, I’ll tag team him with you.”

Mo Yixuan was unimpressed. “It’s about time you get going.”

“Considerate of you, I’d almost forgotten,” Ouyang Che hummed and hugged the box of snacks closer to his chest. “You shouldn’t stay here indefinitely, either. Make a visit to the sect leader when you can, or eldest senior brother will go mad with worry again.”

Mo Yixuan’s lips thinned into a line. “I wouldn’t know how to act in front of him.”

“All you need to do is keep your cool. It’s him who always loses his head around you,” Ouyang Che observed. “Barring that, bring Nan Wuyue along as a distraction. He always infuriates the sect leader somehow.”

“Always.” Mo Yixuan echoed blankly.

“Oh, often enough.”

“You didn’t do anything to stop it?”

“If little Nan’s master didn’t even care, why should I?” Ouyang Che challenged. “Ah, and dealing with the sect leader’s temper is no joke.”

After wringing out some more useful facts about Fei Chenling, Mo Yixuan was finally ready to see Ouyang Che off. But once again, the peak lord stopped with a final reminder.

“There’s a couple of people to avoid around the sect,” he added. “One’s more likely to suspect you, while the other’s still holding a grudge.”

“Who?” As if trying to beat up the disciple who doubted him in the name of training wasn’t already hard enough. 

“Our third senior brother, Jun Zhen,” Ouyang Che rattled off. “And Peak Lord Ji—unfortunately, the two of you managed to destroy a rather rare pill formula in his possession.”

Something like that seemed to be on the list of Nan Wuyue’s accidents from the past few months. “And Jun Zhen?” Mo Yixuan asked as he made a mental note. “Why should I be wary of him?”

“He’s witnessed how nasty you can be in person,” Ouyang Che explained.

“Haven’t you as well?” Mo Yixuan raised his eyebrows.

“I’ve never suffered from it personally,” Ouyang Che said simply. “Not like him.”