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"Have you seen our mother? Did she really go to the Butterfly Valley?" Yu Die anxiously pressed.
The voice chuckled. "I don't know who she is, but you can interpret that last statement as advice left by the previous visitor for those who come after."
"In the human world, you're still young, yet you've already achieved such cultivation—it's no small feat. So I think this advice will be very useful to you."
"Well, I'm tired. Take these leaves and find a massive creature ahead of you—it might help you complete your transformation."
After that, no matter how much the sisters called out, the voice didn't respond again.
Having received their divine trial, the sisters firmly believed that the Butterfly Valley truly existed.
But why did it mention crossing the vast sea? Could the Butterfly Valley be located over the ocean?
It wasn't surprising they thought this way.
On the Douluo Continent, sea soul masters and land soul masters lived like people from two separate worlds, with almost no contact between them.
Moreover, most sea soul masters only dared to explore near the coast. Beyond that, only a handful had ever reached Sea God Island.
What lay beyond Sea God Island? Not even legendary sea captains, let alone land soul masters, might know.
Originally, they thought that coming to the Butterfly Forest would allow them to find traces of their mother and resolve their doubts.
Now, it seemed the mysteries were only multiplying.
After reporting their safety to Feng Xiaotian and the others, the sisters continued deeper into the Butterfly Forest.
Following the voice's guidance, they found an eighty-thousand-year-old multicolored butterfly twenty kilometers ahead.
Upon seeing the leaves in their hands, the multicolored butterfly initiated the martial soul evolution ritual for them.
An invisible force enveloped their bodies, which then transformed into cocoons, "trapping" them inside. When they emerged from the cocoon, their martial souls would have evolved.
Feng Xiaotian and the others watched this scene from afar, marveling at the wonders of this place.
"What pure energy! Is there some kind of device buried underground?"
Having witnessed divine power before, the group wasn't too surprised.
Feng Xiaotian reminded everyone, "While Yu Die and the others are in the critical phase of their martial soul evolution, we'd best not disturb anything around them to avoid causing unnecessary trouble."
---
The process of martial soul evolution lasted three days.
When the cocoons broke open, the sisters' martial souls had officially evolved into the Dazzling Bewitching Butterfly. The improvement in their martial soul quality caused their strength to undergo a transformation, and the power of their martial soul fusion skill also increased.
Martial soul evolution wouldn't provide them with soul rings, so in the following days, under the protection of the group, the sisters absorbed divine-bestowed soul rings and successfully broke through to the Soul Sage level.
With this matter resolved, Feng Xiaotian decided to take everyone back to the sect first.
After all, the issue of the wolf bandits was significant—they couldn't rush in blindly to avoid unnecessary casualties.
Meanwhile, on their return journey, Ning Tianchen and the others learned that Ning Rongrong had successfully broken through to level seventy.
Ning Tianchen needed to return to the sect to oversee its upcoming operations.
After obtaining the title of one of the upper three sects, the sect's commercial plans could now be fully implemented. The influence of the Sky Sword Sect now far exceeded what it had been before.
As for Ning Rongrong's soul ring, Gu Rong took her to acquire it.
After all, as the future leader of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, every soul ring required for her advancement had long been mapped out by the sect, so the process of hunting for soul rings wouldn't take long.
---
Back at the sect, Ning Tianchen immediately convened a meeting of the sect.
"Master, when I heard the news of your victory, I couldn't have been happier," Niu Gao laughed heartily. "It's just a pity I didn't get to witness your strength firsthand."
Yang Wudi chuckled, "Old Rhino, Huyan Zhen was utterly defeated by our master—he doesn't even have the courage to look him in the eye anymore."
Hearing this, Niu Gao cheered with joy.
Back when the Elephant Armor Sect attempted to annex the Imperial Family, Huyan Zhen had constantly bullied them with his strength. Who would've thought he'd meet such humiliation today, especially during the re-selection conference of the seven great sects—a grand event that drew attention from across the continent.
Ning Tianchen raised his hand to quiet the room, and the elders finally settled down.
"Obtaining the title of one of the upper three sects is only a temporary victory. Our next goal is to make money!"
The re-selection conference of the seven great sects was held once every fifty years. Ning Tianchen didn't concern himself with what would happen fifty years from now; within this fifty-year period, the Sky Sword Sect had to plan its commercial endeavors to ensure the sect's generational survival.
Elder Tian Yu immediately stood up and gave a report. "Master, the sect's trade association has been fully established, and all departments are already operational. We've communicated with local officials in several cities near Tiandou City. It won't be long before our food city begins to flourish across the continent."
He then continued, "However, the situation on the continent is currently very tense. Many people have started tightening their purse strings, and consumption downgrades will inevitably become a trend for a long time to come."
"Our food city has many high-end restaurants, which might struggle to survive in the future."
Ning Tianchen had already considered these matters during the carriage ride and devised countermeasures.
"Except for Tiandou City, the other food cities should reduce or completely eliminate high-end restaurants based on local conditions. However, we must reserve space for future high-end restaurant construction. Once the situation on the continent stabilizes, we can rebuild them."
---
After leaving the Butterfly Forest, the re-selection conference of the seven great sects had just concluded.
While passing through a city along the way, they learned about the situation of the Sky Sword Sect and decided to hurry back to the sect.
Just as Ning Tianchen finished handling sect affairs, they arrived at the sect.
After breaking through to the Sword Heart Realm, Ning Tianchen's perception had greatly improved. When Feng Xiaotian entered the sect, he immediately sensed that his aura was vastly different from before.
Without resting, Feng Xiaotian and the others immediately went to Ning Tianchen's study.
Seeing the mark on Feng Xiaotian's forehead, Ning Tianchen smiled faintly. "It seems you succeeded."
Feng Xiaotian nodded and glanced around, asking, "Where's Rongrong?"
The two exchanged stories about their recent experiences. But upon hearing each other's fourth trial content, Ning Tianchen and Feng Xiaotian were certain that the fourth trial required the eight of them to unite and jointly exterminate the wolf bandits.
"The wolf bandits are elusive, and we don't know much about their situation. Tianchen, do you think you can arrange for the sect's informants to investigate the situation in Xingnan City first?"
During the earlier sect meeting, Ning Tianchen had already assigned this task to Elder Bai He.
The wolf bandits were extremely ruthless, so he ordered the intelligence department disciples to only conduct aerial reconnaissance and avoid close contact on the ground at all costs.
Ning Tianchen spread out the documents on his desk and explained, "This is the intelligence sent by the Tiandou Empire."
Xingnan City belonged to the Tiandou Empire, and upon discovering traces of the wolf bandits, the city lord immediately submitted a report to Emperor Xue Qinghe.
However, with the impending war between Tiandou and Star Luo, Xue Qinghe had abandoned the lethargy of his predecessor, Xue Ye, and adopted an unusually firm stance on territorial issues.
Unable to reach an agreement on border disputes, the Star Luo Empire, which hadn't gained any advantage, would sooner or later launch a large-scale war to force Tiandou into submission.
As a result, the empire was under immense pressure at the borders and had no time to deal with the wolf bandits in Xingnan City.
The fact that this report ended up in Ning Tianchen's hands proved that Xue Qinghe hoped the Sky Sword Sect would intervene and resolve the wolf bandit issue for the Tiandou Empire.
In the report, the city lord of Xingnan provided a detailed description of the wolf bandits.
Of course, in Ning Tianchen's view, this was only the tip of the iceberg. The strongest wolf bandit mentioned in the report was only at the twenty-thousand-year cultivation level—far from enough to warrant the attention of the Asura God, the God of Light, or the Wind God through divine trials.
After reviewing the report, Feng Xiaotian sighed. "The intelligence is limited. This is likely just a small faction of the wolf bandits."
Ning Tianchen arranged, "Rongrong is still hunting for soul rings, so everyone can rest in the sect for the next month. Elder Bai He will continue gathering intelligence."
"The wolf bandits are particularly cunning. We absolutely cannot fight them blindly—remember not to rush."
After discussing the main matters, Yu Die inquired about Zhang Erhe's whereabouts.
Ning Tianchen smiled and replied, "You've returned just in time. Elder Zhang is preparing to leave on a mission tomorrow. He's probably packing right now—you can go find him."
After the sisters left, Feng Xiaotian recounted their encounter in the Butterfly Forest.
Upon hearing this, Ning Tianchen speculated that the sisters' mother might have been descended from a transformed spirit beast. Otherwise, how could their martial soul evolution method resemble Tang San's?
Whether or not this was true, he didn't draw a conclusion.
He simply remarked, "If the Butterfly Valley truly exists, I can roughly guess where it might be."
Isn't the other side of the vast sea precisely the Sun and Moon Continent?
Currently, their focus was on the divine trial, so traveling to the Sun and Moon Continent was temporarily out of the question.
Thus, Ning Tianchen didn't reveal the truth.
---
When the sisters met Zhang Erhe, he had already finished packing and was preparing to set off early.
Zhang Erhe's attitude toward his mission was commendable; otherwise, Ning Tianchen wouldn't have entrusted him with such an important task.
Upon seeing their father, Yu Die immediately took out the flask and handed it to Zhang Erhe for identification.
"The flask your mother used wasn't like this. From what you've said, she did visit the Butterfly Forest, but I've never heard her mention the Butterfly Valley."
Zhang Erhe knew she had secrets, and he had his own as well. Both spouses tacitly avoided discussing them.
Cai Die, filled with anxiety, urgently pressed, "Dad, have you ever heard about the family behind our mother?"
Zhang Erhe shook his head again.
He only knew that she had a family but had never inquired about the specifics.
After a pause, he sighed, "It's been so many years. I even asked the sect leader to help search for her, but there's been no news. We must prepare for the worst. If she didn't mention these things, perhaps she didn't want us to bear too much."
"Some secrets are better left to drift away with the wind. Your mother's greatest dream was to be a free butterfly."
"She once said, 'Some birds cannot be caged; every feather on its body shines with the light of freedom.' Perhaps… she has truly found her freedom."
At this moment, Zhang Erhe smiled with a sense of release.
Yu Die understood—Zhang Erhe definitely knew something. But as he had said, he didn't want them to carry too much of a burden.
Yu Die raised her head and gazed toward the sky.
Perhaps only by finding the Butterfly Valley could they uncover the answers to everything.
---
Over the next month, the intelligence department delivered daily reports on the wolf bandits. Meanwhile, the lord of Xingnan City continued submitting petitions to Xue Qinghe.
After analyzing all the gathered intelligence, Ning Tianchen reluctantly stated, "The strongest wolf bandit we've found so far is only at the forty-thousand-year cultivation level. This is definitely not their main force."
"We can't wait any longer. Xingnan City is being attacked by the wolf bandits every day. Let's go first, help Xingnan City through this crisis, and then search for the main force of the wolf bandits."
"Has Elder Bai He not uncovered anything?" Chen Huayu asked.
Ning Tianchen shook his head.
Bai He was the head of the intelligence department, and Ning Tianchen couldn't afford to let him take unnecessary risks.
If anything were to happen to Bai He, it would be an immense loss for the entire sect.
"Pack your things. We'll set off later."
Ning Tianchen gathered the intelligence spread across his desk and continued, "Xingnan City is located southeast of the Tiandou Empire, near the coastal cities. The journey will be long, and we can't afford to waste a single moment on the road."
---
On the other hand, Tang San and the others, after a long and perilous journey, finally entered the Great Star Dou Forest without further incident.
Along the way, Tang San became unusually curious, constantly asking about the relationship between Tang Chen and Bo Saixi.
Tang Xiao wasn't fond of gossiping about their ancestors' affairs, and his expression turned displeased as he said, "Xiao San, what's the use of asking these questions? Grandfather was the founder of the Hao Tian Sect, and because of him, the Hao Tian Sect became the most legendary sect on the continent."
"For a long time, the Hao Tian Sect stood on equal footing with the Spirit Hall."
"Stop prying into our ancestors' affairs—it's extremely impolite."
Tang San realized he had been misunderstood and quickly explained, "Uncle, you've misunderstood me. Elder Bo Saixi is the Great Elder of the Sea God Island. Once we arrive, we'll inevitably have to interact with her. If we can leverage our connection to Great-Grandfather, we might avoid a lot of trouble."
Tang Xiao's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he looked at Tang San with admiration.
If it were him, he wouldn't have thought of this angle.
However, he didn't know much about the events of those days.
"I only know that Grandfather and Elder Bo Saixi had a special relationship, but I'm not sure how far it went."
After a pause, he added, "I remember I mentioned before—part of Grandfather's pursuit of godhood was for Elder Bo Saixi's sake."
Tang Xiao had only ever pursued love once—for Ah Yin—and failed.
In matters of the heart, he was even less experienced than Tang San, so how could he understand the nature of their relationship?
Dai Mubai, a seasoned veteran of romantic affairs, though physically limited and unable to gallivant as he once did, still retained his sharp instincts. At a glance, he saw through the situation.
"Elder Xiao Tian, forgive my boldness, but I believe Elder Hao Tian Douluo and Elder Bo Saixi were likely deeply in love."
Listening to Dai Mubai's lengthy emotional analysis, Tang Xiao felt humbled.
But what Dai Mubai said made sense, and he couldn't help but reflect seriously.
Tai Long chuckled, "If that's true, once we reach the Sea God Island, won't we have an easy backdoor entry?"
Tang San's heart raced with excitement, but he remained composed and reminded everyone, "With Elder Bo Saixi's strength, we can't just meet her whenever we want. We don't know much about the situation on Sea God Island. Once we arrive, everyone must act low-key."
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