Yun-Dian Province.
Lijiang Ancient City, Yulong Snow Mountain.
In the Naxi language, Yulong Snow Mountain is called "Oulu," which means "Celestial Mountain." Its thirteen peaks stretch continuously like a "giant dragon" soaring and dancing, hence the name "Yulong."
The master of Qiu Bai resided here in seclusion.
Mu Jinyu had spent half a day following Qiu Bai to this place. Without taking much time to admire the snowy scenery of Yulong, they hurriedly entered deep into the mountain.
After another half-hour of walking, the vast expanse of snowy landscape suddenly changed, revealing a verdant valley filled with dense vegetation and flourishing flowers before their eyes.
"Eh, this place is actually..."
Mu Jinyu, seeing the small valley before him that seemed like spring and starkly contrasted with the surrounding heavy snow, paused, his eyes filled with surprise and doubt.
Then, the more he looked, the more astounded and joyful he became.
This Yulong Snow Mountain actually harbored a half-dead Dragon Vein.
'With this, the Dragon Vein of Yinlong Mountain can be completed!'
Mu Jinyu stopped in his tracks and whispered to himself.
Seeing Mu Jinyu stop, Qiu Bai, puzzled by his astonished gaze at the valley, thought he was marveling at how such an extremely incongruent place could exist in the middle of a snowy mountain, and thus he explained:
"Dragon Master, this place is just like this. As my master said, it's located right at the center of this snow peak. The extremity of yin produces yang, causing it to be eternally spring, a true Peach Blossom Land."
"Mm, I understand..."
Mu Jinyu nodded slightly, his mind however not entirely convinced.
What Qiu Bai's master said was mostly correct, but the reason for the valley's perpetual spring was not the rising from the extreme of yin, but because the Dragon Vein was right beneath the valley. Ordinarily, the Dragon Qi would rise, and Spiritual Energy would gather towards it. The incoming snow would directly melt, creating this scenario.
However, he did not elaborate further, knowing Qiu Bai would not understand.
"Let's go."
Mu Jinyu suppressed the joy of finding what one has been seeking effortlessly, then spoke to Qiu Bai.
Qiu Bai nodded slightly, leading Mu Jinyu forward towards the valley.
In no time, the two arrived in the center of the valley.
Reaching a bamboo hut hidden among lush bamboo, Qiu Bai pushed open the door, gestured with his hand, and said to Mu Jinyu, "Dragon Master, please come in."
Mu Jinyu entered directly, casually swept his gaze around, and saw that the bamboo hut was sparsely decorated, containing only a bed.
A bed made of top-quality Warm Jade.
And on that jade bed lay a gaunt figure, from whom waves of chilling coldness continuously escaped.
This made the bamboo hut, which should have been warm due to the Warm Jade, somewhat cold.
Without needing Qiu Bai to introduce him, Mu Jinyu knew that the patient lying on the jade bed was his master.
"The situation does seem quite serious."
Mu Jinyu's brow furrowed slightly, and then he walked towards the jade bed.
"Hmm?"
When Mu Jinyu reached the bedside and clearly saw the face of the gaunt figure, his expression involuntarily changed, filled with surprise.
He recognized who Qiu Bai's master was!
The second on the Divine Rankings, Yu Shenfeng!
"No wonder, no wonder Qiu Bai, being so young, possesses the power of the Sixth Layer of the Divine Realm, no wonder he managed to kill Master Chen's nephew, Chen Mo, in just a few moves. His master turns out to be Yu Shenfeng!"
Mu Jinyu was surprised for a moment, yet felt it was unexpected yet reasonable.
Indeed, Mu Jinyu had asked who Qiu Bai's master was, but Qiu Bai had always been evasive and unwilling to say, possibly thinking himself too foolish, unworthy of his master's reputation.
Mu Jinyu didn't inquire further but guessed that Qiu Bai's master must be among the top five on the Divine Rankings!
He had never expected not to be wrong, and even more so, to exceed expectations—he was actually the second-ranked disciple on the Divine Rankings!
Thinking of this, Mu Jinyu gained a rough understanding of the strength of the top three on the Divine Rankings. Even the disciples they taught had the capability to challenge the tenth on the Divine Rankings. How terrifying must their own strength be?
Currently, Yu Shenfeng was severely ill, just like the Old Dragon King in the past, with his strength greatly diminished, preventing Mu Jinyu from discerning his peak strength. However, it might have been around the seventh or eighth level of the Advanced Divine Realm!
Yet, that the second-ranked Yu Shenfeng had fallen into such a state was truly unexpected.
"Dragon Master, you recognized my master, didn't you?"
Standing by the side, Qiu Bai, seeing the change in Mu Jinyu's expression and his surprised eyes, knew that he must have recognized Yu Shenfeng's identity, so he spoke up.
His voice carried an undeniable pride, mixed with considerable shame and helplessness.
"Hmm."
Mu Jinyu came back to his senses and nodded slightly, choosing not to speculate further on why Yu Shenfeng had fallen into such a state. He said, "Take me to see the Pill Formula of the Mysterious Yang Pill and the medicinal ingredients."
When he was at Yinlong Mountain, Mu Jinyu was busy providing official cultivation methods and had no time to deal with Qiu Bai. He had thought of asking Qiu Bai to bring out the pill formula so he could directly concoct a batch to be taken back without needing their provision of medicinal ingredients.
However, Qiu Bai couldn't produce the pill formula, saying it was under the custody of his older sister, and the ingredients were extremely rare, likely not to be found in Yinlong Mountain.
Therefore, amidst his busy schedule, Mu Jinyu took the time to accompany Qiu Bai on this trip, not wanting to break his promise, and unexpectedly stumbled upon the long-untraceable Dragon Vein.
"Hmm, Dragon Master, follow me," said Qiu Bai.
Naturally, the medicinal ingredients and the pill formula were not kept in Yu Shenfeng's room; the temperature there was incorrect and could easily damage the medicinal ingredients!
The two left the room and headed for the medicine storage deep within the valley.
The room where Yu Shenfeng stayed was where the Earth's Fire energy was strongest, which also helped him suppress the internal coldness.
But the storage of medicinal ingredients clearly required lower, not higher, temperatures and thus was some distance away from Yu Shenfeng's room.
Soon, Qiu Bai led Mu Jinyu to their sect's medicine storage.
"I'm sorry, Master Chen's nephew, your medicinal ingredients have lost too much potency. I regret that I am powerless to perform alchemy," an old man lamented as he walked out of the storage with a woman.
"What should we do then? My master's cold symptoms are aggravating. If we can't produce the Mysterious Yang Pill, his life might be at risk!"
The elegant woman walking behind, hearing the old man's words, instantly showed a look of despair on her face as she spoke.
She was indeed Qiu Bai's older disciple sister, Yu Shenfeng's senior disciple, Chen Xiuying.
"Sister!"
Qiu Bai, hearing the conversation between his sister and the elder, also knew the person his sister had found couldn't help, so he called out in greeting.
"Hmm? Junior brother? You're back."
Chen Xiuying, distressed, turned at the sound of Qiu Bai's voice, and her eyes immediately brightened as she exclaimed, "Junior brother, finally you are back! Did you find any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that could suppress master's cold symptoms?"
"No," Qiu Bai shook his head.
During his last challenge for the tenth on the Divine Rankings, he barely won and secured an Extreme Yang Treasure, then realized that approach was futile. After bringing back the Extreme Yang Treasure, he pursued the challenge with Mu Jinyu, placing all his hopes on Mu Jinyu's alchemy skills.
This time, he naturally didn't bring back any Extreme Yang Treasure.
Hearing Qiu Bai's words, Chen Xiuying's beautiful face instantly showed a look of disappointment.
Qiu Bai said, "But it's okay, sister. This time, I've brought the Dragon Master of Dragon King Hall, who is skilled in alchemy and can surely help us produce the Mysterious Yang Pill!"
"Really?" Chen Xiuying's eyes lit up upon hearing Qiu Bai's words, and then she turned toward Mu Jinyu, who she hadn't paid much attention to before, and urgently said, "Thank you in advance, sir!"
"Hmm," Mu Jinyu nodded slightly, greeting her in return.
"Such big talk!"
At that moment, the old man sneered disdainfully.