As he pondered, Su Yi suddenly recalled his appointment with the Spiritmartial Marquis, Chen Zheng.

Back in the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital, Chen Zheng once said that a month from now, the depths of the Bloodthistle Yao Mountain, one of the Eight Great Yao Mountains, would erupt with a beast tide. This only happened once a decade.

At the time, strange and shocking phenomena would appear deep within the mountains. Hundreds and thousands of divine rainbows would cover the skies, mingled with thunder and lightning. He suspected the mountains hid an enormous secret!

“Indeed, none of the Great Zhou’s Eight Great Yao Mountains are simple….” muttered Su Yi.

“In the future, should you be interested, I can accompany you to explore all eight, one by one,” said Ning Sihua, her lips curving into a smile. 

“We can talk about the future when it comes,” said Su Yi.

“Right, there was something else I wanted to let you know,” said Ning Sihua. “I’ve decided to have Wen Lingzhao cultivate alongside me.”

Su Yi was stunned; for a moment, he couldn’t quite figure out what she meant by this. After a while, he said, “She and I no longer have anything to do with each other. Why tell me that?”

“She’s stubborn, and her talent’s rather decent too. I want to see just how far along the path of the Grand Dao she can walk if I instruct her.”

“You mean you want to see whether or not she has hope of surpassing me.” Su Yi laughed dryly and shook his head. 

Ning Sihua smiled back, then said softly, “We cannot know the future, but don’t you think that’s what makes it interesting?”

Su Yi said nothing. He wasn’t even the slightest bit interested in the subject.

As they chatted, Zheng Muyao’s somewhat frantic voice emanated from beyond the front gates. “Uncle Su, I have information!”

Before long, she arrived in the pavilion. When she saw Ning Sihua, the sultry young woman was instantly stunned and frantic. “This disciple is called Zheng Muyao. Greetings, Palace Master.”

Su Yi furrowed his brow. “What did you learn?”

Ning Sihua blinked. “Do I need to step out for a moment?”

Su Yi shook his head. “No need. Now that you mention it, this is actually somewhat related to your Heaven’s Origin Academy.”

Ning Sihua was stunned, but Zheng Muyao had already started talking. “Uncle Su, my father sent his people to investigate the passenger ship you told me about; it was under the management of the Bluefish Gang. On the second night following its departure from the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital, it passed Thousand Whirlpool Ridge, then encountered a rare storm. The whole boat capsized in one of the resulting whirlpools.”

Su Yi’s pupils suddenly constricted. “Go on.”

“Last night, members of the Bluefish Gang went to investigate, only to discover that the passenger ship was in pieces. They recovered about a dozen corpses.” Zheng Muyao spoke at top speeds. “However, the dead were all ordinary people. I asked about their identities, and Elder Zhu Guqing wasn’t among them.”

“Zhu Guqing?” Ning Sihua furrowed her brow. She seemed to realize something. “You were looking for information about Zhu Guqing?”

Zheng Muyao nodded. “That’s right.”

“I heard that Thousand Whirlpool Ridge is a stretch of mountains lining the banks of the Great Azure, and that its name comes from the river. That stretch of river twists and turns, and the currents are powerful and rapid. Every time bad weather comes, one massive whirlpool after another forms. Even massive ships run the risk of capsizing as they pass through,” Ning Sihua pondered out loud. “Ordinarily speaking, when they encounter bad weather, passing ships will stop beyond that stretch of river, because once they’re caught up in the danger, they face almost certain doom.”

After hearing this, Su Yi’s gaze was inscrutable. “Grandmasters can walk on water and briefly linger in the air. With Zhu Guqing’s cultivation, even if she were carrying someone with her, taking to the skies and escaping that stretch of river shouldn’t have been a problem. It seems to me that the real problem is that sudden, unexpected storm.”

“That’s exactly it, Uncle Su,” Zheng Muyao said hurriedly. “Just now, during my investigation, the head of the Bluefish Gang said that the storm came out of nowhere, and that it was accompanied by a vicious hurricane, as well as thunder and lightning. It was extremely terrifying!

“According to the hunters living in the nearby mountains, they all thought the God of Thunder had lost his temper; the hurricane even ripped up many of the nearby trees and boulders.”

“Pouring rains, a hurricane, lighting… How fishy. There’s got to be something strange going on here.” Su Yi rose. “Where is the leader of the Bluefish Gang you spoke of?”

He was a bit worried about Wen Lingxue’s safety.

Zheng Muyao was a bit on edge. “Uh…. I was in a hurry to deliver this information, so I didn’t take him with me, but he should still be back at my house.”

“Fellow Daoist, do you plan to go to Thousand Whirlpool Ridge right away?” Ning Sihua’s keen senses told her that Su Yi’s emotions were out of whack. Don’t tell me this guy has taken a fancy to Zhu Guqing?

“That’s right,” said Su Yi.

He was just about to have Zheng Muyao lead the way when he heard a voice from just beyond the courtyard. “Young Lord Su, are you home? I brought the leader of the Bluefish Gang, Jin Xiaochuan.”

This new arrival was none other than the head of the Zheng Family, Zheng Tianhe. He was accompanied by a swarthy, tall, and lean middle-aged man—the head of the Bluefish Gang, Jin Xiaochuan.

In the Imperatorial Provincial Capital, the Bluefish Gang was a third-rate faction at best, and its leader was only a mid-stage Qi Accumulation cultivator.

Standing beside Zheng Tianhe, a peak-level authority figure and a man whose reach extended far and wide, Jin Xiaochuan was terrified. He was nervous to the extreme, and his legs felt like jelly.

“Family Head Zheng, you knew I wanted to find him?” exclaimed Su Yi.

“Since you’re concerned about this incident, it’s surely of the utmost importance. I was worried that Little Yao couldn’t explain clearly enough, so I personally brought Jin Xiaochuan here to see you,” said Zheng Tianhe with a hearty laugh.

“That was considerate.” Su Yi nodded. See? This is what it means to be meticulous and clever. A hot-headed girl like Zheng Muyao can’t compete.

Su Yi glanced at Jin Xiaochuan and got straight to the point. “Do you understand the situation at Thousand Whirlpool Ridge?”

Jin Xiaochuan jumped, then hurriedly flashed Su Yi a toadyish grin. “Reporting to His Excellency, I earn a living sailing between the Cloudriver Prefectural Capital and Imperatorial Provincial Capital, and I’m on the Great Azure year round. I think I understand Thousand Whirlpool Ridge fairly well.”

This was someone even Family Head Zheng treated with respect. It didn’t matter that he looked young; how could Jin Xiaochuan dare be negligent?

Su Yi continued, “Traveling at top speeds, how long will it take to get to Thousand Whirlpool Ridge?”

“On horseback, assuming no breaks or pauses, you could arrive by daybreak tomorrow. However, the road is full of rugged mountain paths. It’s more comfortable to travel by boat, which takes at least….”

Before he could finish, Su Yi cut him off. “We’ll leave immediately. You lead the way.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Ning Sihua out of nowhere.

Zheng Tianhe seized the opportunity to ask, “Young Lord Su, this is….”

He noticed this youthful-looking stranger the moment he entered the House of Waveswept Rocks, and he could tell she wasn’t simple in the least! Especially as her clear eyes swept around the area; even Zheng Tianhe, a Grandmaster, felt his heart quiver and a chill run down his spine.

Zheng Muyao said hurriedly, “Father, this is the palace master of Heaven’s Origin Academy.”

Zheng Tianhe gasped, and his heart shook. He hurriedly clasped his fist. “Forgive me, Palace Master Ning; I was blind.”

Ning Sihua! There was no way he wouldn’t recognize this name!

But what made this awkward was that she lived deep in seclusion and rarely left. She was profoundly mysterious, to the point that not even the head of the Zheng Family had ever seen her true appearance before.

“The palace master of Heaven’s Origin Academy….” Jin Xiaochuan gulped, so stunned, his scalp went numb. He stared in wide-eyed, slack-jawed shock.

To someone of his level, Zheng Tianhe was already incomprehensibly lofty and grand, while Ning Sihua was like a deity straight of a legend, someone he could only gaze upon from afar.

Then he noticed that both Zheng Tianhe and Ning Sihua were here on account of the blue-robed youth. This realization left Jin Xiaochuan dumbstruck. Just who is this guy?

Then, Cha Jin worked up the courage to say, “Young Lord, I want to go with you too.”

When Zheng Muyao saw this, her eyes darted around. “Uncle Su, I want to go too!”

How could Zheng Tianhe fail to realize that this matter was of the utmost importance to both Su Yi and Ning Sihua?

If he could accompany them, he might be able to decrease the distance between himself and Su Yi. He might even be able to build a positive connection with Ning Sihua!

He cleared his throat and was just about to say something along the lines of “By coincidence, I just happen to have the night off, and I’d be happy to lend a hand”, but he never got the chance.

Before he could even open his mouth, Ning Sihua shook her head. “We can take at most three people with us this time.”

She then looked up, and a clear and melodious whistle escaped her lips.

Before long, a sonorant cry reverberated throughout the night sky.

A massive bird descended from the heavens, landing smoothly in the center of the courtyard. Its wings were dazzlingly blue, and it was incomparably swift. It stood there, over ten feet tall, its gaze sharp and intimidating.

Cha Jin, Zheng Muyao, and Jin Xiaochuan gasped. Based on the bird’s aura, it was no weaker than a Grandmaster!

A tier-nine yao bird, a Bluescale Eagle!

Zheng Tianhe narrowed his eyes and forced the words on the tip of his tongue back down. He felt disappointed; he already understood Ning Sihua’s intentions.

Ning Sihua then said softly, “Fellow Daoist, at Qing’er’s pace, we can reach Thousand Whirlpool Ridge in less than two hours. However, Qing’er can only seat three.”

Qing’er was the name she’d given the Bluescale Eagle.

Su Yi didn’t even pause to think. “Then you, I, and Jin Xiaochuan shall go together.”

Cha Jin was instantly disappointed.

Zheng Muyao pursed her lips, then stared at the Bluescale Eagle enviously. I wonder how it feels to ride a bird like that and soar through the heavens?

“Then I’ll remain here and look after your residence. Young Lord Su, Palace Master Ning, please allow me to congratulate you on your success in advance!” Zheng Tianhe clasped his fist.

Su Yi nodded, then said to Cha Jin, “It’s possible that I won’t be back for a while. If so, all you have to do is take good care of yourself.”

Cha Jin was stunned. If her heart was a lake, his words were like a massive boulder falling out of the sky; a wave of warmth coursed through her, catching her off guard.

She would never have guessed that Su Yi would show concern for her now of all times, seemingly out of nowhere.

If she remembered correctly, this was his first time telling her to take care of herself…

“Young Lord, please rest assured,” said Cha Jin, a radiant, intoxicating smile blooming on her beautiful face.

Before long, a clear, sonorant cry reverberated throughout the night sky. Under the others’ watchful gazes, the Bluescale Hawk spread its thirty-foot wings and shot into the skies, carrying its Su Yi, Ning Sihua, and Jin Xiaochuan into the air.

Before long, it disappeared into the depths of the night sky.